Gwendolyn nodded knowingly, and decided to change the subject. She wanted to keep some of the darker and more troublesome thoughts away, at least for today. This was supposed to be a fun outing, "Would it be alright if I sent mail back to Rome? My brothers would relieved to know that I've settled in alright, and have even gotten back to riding." She'd also like to check in on her new baby siblings, and hoped that her father's newest wife was still doing well.

Aldwin was glad that Gwendolyn steered the conversation away from the path it had been going down. He supposed that he was supposed to be getting away from his problems at the moment, not diving headfirst into them. Besides, he didn't want to bother Gwendolyn with unpleasant conversation, she was probably just as stressed as he, and probably didn't want to talk about topics such as those as well.

"Oh of course, I know you won't be able to see your family often, and I'd never want to keep you from them. Be free to send them mail as often as you'd like, I do not mind in the slightest." Aldwin smiled again, finally finishing tacking up. "Are you ready? I just finished." Aldwin held Oswyn's reins in his left hand, a bright smile on his face. Riding always made him much happier.

Gwendolyn gave Aldwin a joyful grin, paired with the soft sound of her patting the horse's neck, "Thank you, Aldwin... and yes - I am ready to go."

After the pair had left the stables and mounted up, Gwendolyn turned to the King, "You know these woods better than I - I'll follow you on any trails that you take."

Once Aldwin mounted Oswyn, the horse stood steady. Although he was probably excited, as Aldwin hardly ever rode anymore, he still kept his manners. This was one of his many, many good traits, and the reason why he was such a joy to ride. Although Aldwin sometimes enjoyed riding a horse that wasn't as well-mannered, today he just wanted to be relaxed and free. Not worried about the horse getting spooked by anything.

A large grin slipped onto Aldwin's face, and he couldn't help but chuckle under his breathe at Gwendolyn's question. "Well that depends, would you rather go through the woods, where there's many a stream to walk through and obstacles to jump over, or would you prefer just running through fields?" A sparkled has appeared in Aldwin's eyes that was not there before, the freedom that was rapidly approaching making him seem his actual age and not like an old man.

Gwendolyn stroked Peanut's neck while humming a tune under her breath, listening to the options Aldwin had given her. The already relaxed horse dropped his head a bit more, and his ears flickered around more casually.

Gwendolyn sat up straight and took ahold of the reins, facing Aldwin with a fiery look in her eyes, "I am up for a challenge - Peanut has quite a few jumps within him. Let us go through the woods."

Aldwin practically beamed at Gwendolyn's decision. Personally, he'd really, really wanted to go through the woods. Oswyn was fresh and would happily soar over the jumps, and it would make Aldwin feel more alive than he had in a very long time. So, in truth, Gwendolyn's choice made him extremely happy, and he couldn't wait to get into the woods.

With quiet hands, he turned Oswyn away from the original path they'd been taking. "Sounds great to me, just so you know, the very beginning of the path is a little rocky and you might want to look for holes and such. Once the path levels out, there shouldn't be any holes and such." Aldwin turned slightly to speak to Gwendolyn, but faced forward once he was done. Oswyn happily walking towards the trail ahead, feeling Aldwin's joy at being on his back again.

Gwendolyn nodded, before remembering that Aldwin wouldn't be able to see the motion, "Sounds pleasant. Thank you for the warning."

Due to Peanut being an older horse, along with it simply being in his nature, he wanted to walk slowly, graze, and ignore everything else. That would not work, and Gwendolyn made sure the horse knew that. She was not going to push him beyond his limits, but his limit was certainly not a walk that had energy put into it. Soon, the pair was actually moving forward, and keeping up with Oswyn and Aldwin.

Apparently I liked repeating myself on the 14th. I'm such an idiot I-))

~
Although Aldwin wasn't too concerned about Gwendolyn's riding skills-- he'd heard the gossip among the servants that Gwendolyn had absolutely stunned the stable master with her ability to ride--Aldwin did keep an eye on her. Going out alone, without an escort was risky, but he was a good fighter, and had no doubt that the part of the trail they were going through was heavily guarded. After all, all the knights of the palace knew that Aldwin hated being escorted places, so they just watched the places he went warily, making sure not a single unauthorized person got through into the forest. So although the forest was heavily guarded, Aldwin kept his eyes peeled. For both his sake and Gwendolyn's.

As the minutes passed, the stables disappeared behind them as they entered the woods, the trees towering around the four. It was not intimidating, not to Aldwin or Oswyn at least. In fact, within the cover of the trees, which blocked off the view of Aldwin's kingdom entirely, he seemed much less tense and more jovial than he'd ever been in Gwendolyn's presence. Beneath Aldwin, Oswyn pulled lightly at the bit, sensing his master's joy and wishing to fly as to release his own energy, but under Aldwin's firm hand, the horse calmed. "This is the part I was talking about," Aldwin spoke, breaking the silence, "the rocks become sharper and there are a few holes. Tread carefully." Whether Aldwin was talking to himself or Gwendolyn, he knew not, as it almost seemed like he was reminding himself to be careful.

Peanut had been confined to the stable and pastures for a while before Gwendolyn has started riding him, but he was still a warhorse, and did not spook easily. It took a few minutes for him to become adjusted to the trail, but afterwards, walked along fine. The gelding became slightly tense when the stables disappeared from view, but Gwendolyn murmured soothing words, and the horse relaxed.

When Aldwin warned about the rocks, Gwendolyn hummed her acknowledgement, and loosened the reins slightly, letting Peanut stretch down more, and carefully pick his own path. When he hesitated Gwendolyn would quietly take over, talking soft enough that only the horse would be able to make out to exact words.

"When I have gone out in the past days I followed some of the trails closer to the palace. This is very much preferred - it is much more peaceful," Gwendolyn mused, parting Peanut's neck as she guided him away from a deep hole, "Your steed - Oswyn - is he..." Gwendolyn narrowed her eyes for a moment, then continued on, "-How old is he? And his pedigree? He is beautiful and spirited, but listens well to you."

Now every time I write about horses I'm gonna think of my ass disappearing into the void as I fall off Gregg I can't 😂))

~
Oswyn eased himself around holes and over rocks, whenever he couldn't quite find a path by himself, Aldwin easily found a easy way to go and led Oswyn there. The horse was a bit restless, knowing the general area they were in and wanting to hurry to where he could truly run. Alas, being rushy in such areas was a dangerous gamble, and eventually Aldwin took over entirely, not wanting Oswyn so misstep and end up with a broken leg due to the horse's own excitment.

Gwendolyn's voice caught Aldwin's attention, and he listened though kept his eyes firmly on the ground ahead. After a pause, thinking of the answers to Gwendolyn's questions, he spoke. "Thank you Gwendolyn, though I must compliment you on your own skills, you are a wonderful rider, better than most of my men I'm sure." Aldwin looked up for a moment to give Gwendolyn a smile, before quickly looking down again to lead Oswyn around a pile of rocks. "Oswyn's sire was a warhorse, one of my father's best actually, his dam was a jumper mostly, but had been used for five battles, and came out with hardly a scratch. Oswyn here is seven, I got him as a birthday present on my twelfth birthday, and I trained him myself. He doesn't have much of a battle history himself, but he sure as hell has got the blood for it." Aldwin leaned over and patted Oswyn's neck, a fond smile on his face. Oswyn and Aldwin had gotten into plenty of trouble in their younger years, and Aldwin enjoyed looking back on those days of running away from the servants and hopping onto Oswyn bareback to escape from his tutor. Ah, the days of little responsibility and bright eyes and bird song, he missed those days.