Izzy looked at Grall in disgust. "Have you completely lost your mind? What's wrong with you, did you hit your head?"
Grall slowly turned his head back, half his face was glowing red, but he didn't seem to be in the least offended or angry. He didn't even look surprised, rather as if that had been exactly the reaction he had expected. He looked at her with a slight smile and waited to see if she would hit him again. When she didn't, he limped back a step to be on the safe side. "A saddle is perfect." He flinched briefly as her eyebrows furrowed. "They're made for humans to carry goblins on their backs, aren't they?" Izzy nodded very slowly, like a stone giant waking up from a long and deep sleep. "It's just a kind of backpack, no different from the wooden frame, only much more comfortable. Many wear saddles, that's quite normal."
Izzy's grumbling was probably difficult for Grall to interpret, so he leaned back a little and waited for her answer. "Horses... Ponygirls wear saddles, but I'm not a ponygirl! Besides, you don't really believe that I'll follow you to your father and try on saddles in front of everyone. You must have completely lost your mind!"
"We don't have to," he tried to calm her down, but her eyes burned like fire. "If you allow it, I'll bring one here, then you can look at it. You then decide whether we do it. No one will see it, no one will hear about it. Come on, at least look at it, otherwise our holidays will fall through. Pleeaasssee."
Izzy inhaled heavily. " Fine, get it here, but beware of anyone following you or seeing it." She could hardly believe that she was willing to look at one of these monstrous saddles. She had seen enough of it on the backs of poor girls and women in her life, and never wanted to get too close to any of them. But on the other hand, he was probably right: without a solution, their holidays were ruined. It was the last school holiday together that they had left before they would finish school. Who would know if they even had time for each other afterwards. Oozol had made no secret of the fact that Grall should do more on the farm, and there was always something to do on a farm like this. She waited nervously for his return. It was all very strange. Impatiently, she looked around the corner and shuddered when she saw a ponygirl slowly bending forward and kissing Oozol's feet. She had never seen anything like it before, but Oozol and the other goblins seemed thrilled. She turned away in disgust and was startled when Grall stood in front of her with the saddle.
"This one will suit you. But first take a close look at it, then you can decide." The saddle was made of dark, thick leather. A very fine and elaborate work, as even Izzy immediately recognized. The seams were all perfect, and the leather was flawless and extremely soft, it gave way elastically under her fingers, only to immediately jump into its old shape afterwards. Nothing protruded and could hurt the animal's skin -- her skin, she thought, if she wore it. You could certainly have him on your back for hours without any pain, she noted approvingly. The straps with which the saddle was tied to the horse were as finely crafted and felt soft and smooth, the buckles were made of fine metal and so masterfully crafted that Izzy wondered why there was such an expensive saddle on Oozol's farm at all. This wasn't your usual saddle for any ponygirl, it had to belong to a rich goblin. "Did you steal it?" Izzy asked uncertainly.
Grall shook his head energetically. "We have a few special saddles in stock. They are never used, so no one will miss it. It won't be noticeable when we use it. I just have to clean it in the end."
Izzy's fingers ran over the leather again. The saddle was clean, even too clean. It was obvious that no horse had carried it before, she would be the first -- she snorted again, and would have liked to hit herself against the head. Where did these thoughts come from? She knew that the straps all had a different purpose: One part would go over her shoulder and support most of the weight, while another part would go around her stomach so that the saddle would sit securely on her hips and butt. In general, the butt of a horse was an important feature for a ponygirl. A good saddle followed the natural curves and made use of them so that the horse could distribute the rider's weight well. This is one of the reasons why Ponygirls were popular, while pony boys were only used for breeding -- apart from the fact that they were much more difficult to keep. Izzy looked over her back and realized with shame that her curves and buttocks were certainly perfectly shaped for a saddle.
"Do you want to try it on?" Grall asked quietly.
"We try, but you stop immediately when I say so. Understood?" She looked around again. There was little reason why any of the grooms should come here, but she wasn't so sure about Saxea.
Grall nodded, terribly badly to hide a broad grin. "TACK!", he said loudly. Izzy looked at him in surprise. She knew the word, she had heard it several times before. Goblins used it to get their Ponygirls down on their knees -- whether to get on or off, or to do something with their saddles. She was boiling with rage, and was about to stop everything, but she gathered all her strength not to slap him again. " Sorry, that was just out of habit. Sometimes I had to help with the saddle. It won't happen again, I promise!"
"You really think I'm a ponygirl, don't you?" she said sharply.
"No, no, you're my friend Isabel, and I know that. Really!"
She knelt down slowly and turned her back to him.
"With clothes?" he asked and quickly added before Izzy could say anything: "With clothes, of course... stupid question..."
It was a strange feeling when the saddle was placed on her back. The material felt wonderful, it hugged her body and adapted to every single curve, like a soft coat. She waited for Grall to continue, but he hesitated. She looked over her shoulder and he stared at her with wide eyes.
"Your arms..." he stuttered, as if these words carried the danger that he could lose his head. And he wasn't wrong, Izzy jumped up and looked at him fiercely.
"We talked about a saddle, not that you can tie me up!" She grabbed his arms and twisted them on his back. He grunted in the pain. "Do you think that's nice, would you like it that way?"
"Izzy, please, you're really hurting me. You're too strong for me."
Izzy awoke from her anger as if from a trance and let him go. " I didn't mean to hurt you, but why do you think I'll let you do that?"
He wiped a tear from his face and rubbed his arms. He looked at her with the look of a kicked dog. "All ponygirl saddles are like that, you know that. Or have you ever seen a ponygirl juggling balls while being ridden?"
"How am I supposed to know that there is no other way? I thought you'd just tie the saddle on my back and it's good!"
Grall nodded. "You're right, I didn't explain that properly. But it's like that, otherwise they don't sit properly. The arms give the saddle lateral support, otherwise they wobble around too much. It doesn't work without it. If we want to try, then we have to do it right. But it's okay if you don't have the courage to do it."
