P.S. the horse above is Morning.  ;)

"No map, no nothing, just me and my chestnut horse, Morning." "Ok, pause the story, why didn't daddy send a whole league of men after us?" Winter pointed out. "And, while I was adopted into the Blossom family, that was 14 years ago, when I was 3. I've heard of almost all the princes in this corner of the globe; you weren't one of them. Why would daddy choose you?" Jasper looked at the girls with a new respect. He didn't think they would ever have thought that out. Winter had her hip stuck out at a cute angle with her hand on it, frowning, wishing for answers. Arianna just stared at him expressionless. Literally. He searched for any sign of emotion, but there was none to be found. He continued to stare at her, wondering why he suddenly felt self conscious. It was like –

"Find what you were looking for, Jasper?" Arianna said with raised eyebrows. "Or are you just stalling because you don't have an answer for our questions?" Jasper realized he had been staring at her like a fool for the past 30 seconds. He shook his head, angry at himself for acting so un-prince like. "Oh, yes, I mean no, so sorry princesses, I was in deep thought." Winter snorted. "Where was I...." Winter decided it was time to intervene. "You weren't. You were too busy staring at my beautiful sister, wishing you could just grab her hand and take her for a romantic stroll through a stunning garden at midnight; that is what you were thinking, right? Hee hee, I knew it!"Winter smiled as she heard Arianna's gasp and watched as Prince Jasper turned a deep shade of red. She giggled. 'That was fun! I need to do that more often.' Before Jasper could come up with a suitable comeback, they heard shouts in the hall. Winter grabbed Arianna and ran behind the door with Prince Jasper. She quietly kicked the door until it looked shut, then they huddles together, Winter putting herself in between Jasper and Arianna. They heard heavy footsteps rushing down the halls, then silence. When Jasper decreed they had waited long enough, he motioned them to follow him. He opened the door slowly, and then the girls went past him into the hall. He then shut the door and brought a piece of paper out of his pocket. After a moment of uncertainty, he pointed left, and they followed him for many halls.

After a while, they came to an old looking door, and Jasper motioned them to come close. Winter put her head over his shoulder while pulling Arianna closer. He showed them the map he had been reading, and then told them that behind the door was a staircase. "You guys are going up the stairs first, so I can cover you. This is what you are to do. When you get to the top of those stairs, you will see Morning. Both of you give him a carrot from the tan saddlebag; he won't let you ride him unless you do that. Then ride to the east. I will catch up to you." Hearing a shout, he unlocked the door with his never ending supply of keys, and pushed the girls in. He then shut the door so they were in their by themselves. The girls looked at each other, and then started climbing. Winter, with a mix of curiosity and boredom, started counting steps. When they got to the top, gasping, and slow as turtles, she had counted 397 steps. They fell on the ground, exhausted, hoping to refill their lungs before they got caught.

When they had caught their breath, Winter tried to figure out where east was, while Arianna tried to find Morning. "Morning, oh Morning, where are you? I've got a carrot with your name on it," she sang. To her delight, at 'carrot' she heard a neigh, and a beautiful deep red chestnut emerged from the shadows. "Hey Ari, east is that – whoa, awesome! That's Morning? No wonder he was called that! His color is exactly like that of a sunrise! Gorgeous!" Winter ran up to him and held her hand out to be examined. He lowered his nose and snuffled her hand, making her giggle. He then lifted his head, and Arianna swore he shook his it. 'Can they do that?' she thought, knowing nothing about animals. Winter didn't seem to think it was weird, so Arianna figured she just had a lot to learn. "Oh, so sorry beautiful, I forgot to give you a carrot, didn't I? Silly me, here you go." She reached into the tan saddlebag and got two carrots, one for her, and one for Arianna. Winter threw it to her sister, and then gave Morning hers flat handed.

Now it was Arianna turn. She had no experience with animals, so she was very nervous. She slowly walked up to Morning, not taking her eyes of his large head filled with those big teeth. She cautiously held her hand out, placing the carrot on it. Raising her hand, she closed her eyes, waiting for it to bite her fingers off. Winter was a silent bystander, watching her sister with big green eyes brimming with excitement. Arianna squeezed her eyes tighter, feeling Mornings breath on her hand. He gently lowered his lips until they barely brushed her hand; then the carrot, the breath, and the lips were gone. Arianna backed up and opened her eyes to the sound of crunching, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "That was..." Arianna literally couldn't think of a good enough word to describe her feelings.

The moment was shattered when Morning put both his ears to the sky, dropping the end of the carrot. He sniffed the air, and something about his demeanor made the girls suddenly very cautious about their surroundings. They all backed into the shadows that Morning had originally been in, hoping that whatever the threat was, they would deal with it. Form the stair door there was a thump, then another, as if someone heavy was climbing up them. The sisters hugged each other, knowing that if they were to die, they wanted it to be together. Another thump, and then the door opened to admit...