HELEN: The Wine Dark Sea

"Yes, I want the fastest. Let's race them."

Tyndareus turned to hide his smile. "What do you say to a race, Menelaus? I'll ride the gray if you'll take the bay."

"A course over flat land?" Menelaus asked.

"Yes, the same course you raced here a few weeks ago." Tyndareus called for bridles, and the horses were soon ready to mount. "Go up on the roof terrace where you'll have the best view, Helen. Maybe you'll see more than speed when we run."

She took Omalu up to the roof with her. "I'll accept the swiftest horse, but if I took them both, you could ride with me."

Terrified by the prospect, Omalu shook her head. "Oh no, I would slide right off the horse's back and break my neck. Don't ask it of me."

"I'm only teasing." Helen leaned against the stone railing circling the roof and waved. Her father and Menelaus trotted their mounts to the starting line and quickly broke away in a dust swirling gallop. The gray had the greater initial speed, but the bay passed the pretty mare to win. The choice was more difficult than she had expected, and she worried on her way down the steps and outside.

The gray was a beauty, and tossed her snowy mane as Helen came near. "This is a very fine horse, but I want the bay," she announced.

"Excellent choice," Menelaus exclaimed. "He'll carry you happily even if you ride all day."

Her father touched her shoulder. "You are still not to ride without an escort, your brothers, or a stable boy I choose."

"Yes, Father, I understand."

"What if I took her for a ride now?" Menelaus asked. "We won't go far."

Helen was already on the bay's back before her father had a chance to object. "Yes, you may go, but don't be away long."

"We'll come back soon," Helen promised. She took a firm grip on the reins and turned the bay toward her favorite trail. "Thank you. What's my horse's name?"

"He has none as yet. Call him whatever you wish." Menelaus swung himself up on the gray and rode beside her. He patted the mare's arched neck. "You ride very well. Did your father teach you?"

Helen thought a moment. "He gave me lessons, but I may have been born knowing." She tapped her heels against the bay's flanks and galloped away.

Menelaus sent a hurried glance over his shoulder, but Tyndareus had already entered the palace and had not seen how quickly Helen had outsmarted him. He clucked his tongue at the dapple-gray and sent her at a run after Helen, but he did not overtake her until she had pulled her new mount to a halt.

"You should not race ahead on your own," he scolded, his brows drawn in a hostile line. "There might be dangers you couldn't see."

She thought him too cautious and scanned the land she had ridden over all her life. The tilt of her chin made her intractable mood plain. "No terrible dangers have ever been encountered here, and my father's warriors could handle them if they did. We can return to the stable at a walk. Will that please you?"

"Yes, and we must race again another day when I'm riding my usual mount," he responded between clenched teeth. "Or would you prefer racing chariots?"

She was too young to control a chariot, but it would be like flying over the ground, and she looked forward to the day she would be strong enough to handle it. "I've never seen a woman drive a chariot. Have you?"

He ran his fingers through his windblown hair. "No, but I believe you could do it when you're grown, if any woman could."

"I hope so."

His mood lifting, his smile grew wide. "I'll await that day with eager anticipation."

* * *

Leda's eyes widened in horror. "You let Helen ride alone with Menelaus without a chaperon? His interest in her is decidedly premature, but she should not be alone with him. It's most improper."

Tyndareus rubbed his hands up and down her arms with a gentle reassuring touch. "He merely wants to ingratiate himself with our family, which will make him doubly careful she comes to no harm. Cease to worry. Helen will return home safely."

Leda waited outside to make certain. She waved as her daughter came into view and met her at the stable. "I came to see your new pet. He is a beauty, isn't he?"

This time Menelaus jumped down fast enough to swing Helen to the ground. "He's one of my finest, and Helen will find him an easy and comfortable mount."

Helen rubbed the gelding's soft nose. "It was time for me to have a horse. Maybe I'll teach Omalu to ride my pony."