It would occur to him belatedly how much their mounts seemed to reflect their riders; Abrax, a wild foundling like the young Captain of the Royal Guard did not appear to be discombobulated by their expedient race across the Sun scorched dunes, indeed, discerning the powerful stallion’s sides heaving rhythmically with each and every flying stride, Odi grinned fiercely, knowing as sure as the desert was cruel that the rebellious creature was, like him, only beginning to warm to the task set them by contrivances of fate. The only way that Ebony differed from her mistress was in the way Nanu would not willingly exude weakness. Both slender, beautiful specimens of their kind, the mare was as honest as the Sun was bright, and brave as she undoubtedly was, coming from such noble stock, anyone well versed in the body language of horses would have been able to tell that she could not sustain their breakneck pace for much further. Ever the one to challenge what could and could not be done, the Princess, in contrast, wore her defiance like a suit of silk armour; light and beautiful, and impeccable. Who knew better than he the fact that admitting to be anything less than perfect was not in her blood – she was the daughter of the Pharaoh, born to rule, weakness was for lesser beings.<br/><br/>The only acknowledgement the stallion gave to its new rider was a brief snort and a shake of his head, much like his master. Odi knew that he did not have to turn his attention away from lengthening their lead in order to tend to the princesses’ needs. Indeed, had he done anything to assist her, she would doubtless have given him a lashing with her tongue worse than any punishment meted out by the grizzled training master- Oh she had been furious with him that evening when she and her brother had come to visit him after the flogging he had taken for stating his guilt to spare them any harm. Odi smirked at the thought and obliged her imperious kindness by taking a scant sip, enough to defeat the creeping dryness caking the inside of his mouth. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched Ebony slow her pace and begin to drift off back towards the palace. Hopefully she would make it back safely, a mount like her would have bandits shrieking after her in a heated chase; it was just as well that she was unadorned. The presence of the Princess’s finest riding accoutrements would have made a safe escape somewhat suspect.<br/><br/>Her hissed imprecation caught him unawares, and a quick sideways glance told him as to the reason for her uncharacteristic use of coarse language. “Hai, Abrax, Hai!” The combined urging of the contact to his rump and the call to speed had the desired effect and with an outraged whinny, the maverick warhorse found some extra speed, hiding the small dark figures of their pursuers behind the sloping dune down which they shot like an arrow loosed from a hunting bow. “What?” It was just as well that the guards had been closing in on them or the perfidious desert jinn storm would have caught them and whirled them haphazardly across the sands. “Yalah, Abrax, the demon of the dust shall not have us this day! Hyah!” Odi had seen the shape of dwellings in the mid distance and his maplike understanding of the region they were in spoke a single name, “Iken, yes. By Horus we shall reach it. Let our friends be the jinn’s playthings!” Not pausing to see what their foes were doing in response to the looming natural impediment whirling dizzyingly their way, Odi gave the reins a sharp tug, and with a grunt, Abrox adjusted his headlong charge slightly, veering decidedly towards the walled trader outpost cum settlement.<br/><br/>“Ah, see, even a show off like Abrax cannot hide the fact that that was no canter in the oasis.” Slowing to a subdued canter as they made their way into Iken, Odi dipped a hand into the small saddlebag, offering a palmful of thanks to their conveyer. “Shelter should not be a problem, but water first,” Odi knew her agile mind had leapt to the matter of concealing her courtly finery; dressed for the celebration, she had not had the opportunity to change and any indication of her personal treasure would spell the end, whether it involved being surrounded and hauled back to the palace to face execution or worse, being surrounded by desperation-eaten ne’er-do-wells and murdered, any evidence of them swallowed up by the sands. These were the conclusions Odi was determined not to let come to pass.<br/><br/>Emulating her example, Odi landed with a soft thump upon the sand shrouded ground, offering Abrax more respite as he patted the horse’s shoulder as a fellow trainee was wont to do after a long, hard day’s work. “Well done, wild one, well done,” he whispered, earning a soft whinny of acknowledgement and a light flick of the ear. Leading him closer to the well, Odi slackened the reins as the thirsty desert shadow accepted the proffered gift with gusto, nickering softly at the affection the pretty female his master had a hankering for bestowed upon him her personal thanks. Nanu loved horses, had always done so ever since she as a child. Seeing her bonding with these noble creatures would make any who thought that the royal family were all about wealth and jewelry pause and reassess their misperception- clearly she was a princess of her people. Raising a brow at the proffered ladle, Odi gently turned it back towards her. “Only if you take the first sip. I may be from the dust, but I know my manners.” It was an old joke, one that the pair of them had shared since their first introduction; the princess everyone thought was a delicate desert flower, and the sand scum everyone thought was raised by jackals. “Are you… alright… Nana?”he asked softly, taking hold of the ladle and offering her a drink.