Alex smiled. “Would you mind assisting me with some chores?”
I smiled. “Of course.”
“Great,” Alex said happily.
“I better head off to find Amadis,” Sebastian said, drawing my attention back to him.
Alex walked to the back of the stables where the tack room was and I turned to Sebastian. “Okay. Just remember that you don’t have to memorize everything right away. You will have some leeway on remembering everything.”
“Can I come see you after?” he asked quietly.
I wasn’t sure why he was asking my permission, but I nodded my head anyways. “Yeah.”
He smiled. “Great, I’ll see you later.” He kissed my cheek and hurried out of the stables.
“You may regret agreeing to assist me,” Alex said as he set three chairs down and a pile of dirty bridles.
“Tack cleaning?” I groaned. “You could have warned me what it was before I agreed to it.”
“But then you wouldn’t have agreed to help me,” he said with a laugh.
I sat down in one of the chairs, propped my foot up on another and then grabbed a bridle to start cleaning. “So, what do you do for fun?” I asked Alex.
“I usually play with the foals or go visit the Pegasus herd.”
I sighed longingly. “I wish I could visit the Pegasus herd.”
Alex rubbed the bridle vigorously, getting caked on dirt to fall off. “I’m sorry that law is in effect, but you have visited with a couple of them and ridden one.”
“Yes, but it’s not the same as being able to visit them. I really want to see the foals. I can just imagine how beautiful they are.”
Alex nodded his head. “They are. So, how long are you going to stay here?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. I know I have to stay long enough to heal my foot and make sure that I’m fully able to return to mercenary work, but I am already going crazy.”
“I think that is mostly because Favian is not here and you are dealing with Sebastian as well. I would probably be going crazy if I was you too.”
“It’s not so bad,” I admitted. Except for the fact that I was going crazy and was very confused. We worked in companionable silence until all of the tack was clean. It was nice to have another person I could work with so easily and feel so comfortable with.
“Well, now that we are done, would you like to get some lunch?” Alex asked.
“Yes, I’m starving,” I said as I stood up and hobbled on my good leg.
“Let me put this in the tack room and then we can head to the blacksmith’s building for lunch.”
I smiled. “I haven’t visited Baldemar in a long time. That sounds great.”
“Great, I’ll be right back.”
I limped over to Fire’s stall and pet her nose. “Hi, girl. How are you?” She nickered and nudged my shoulder. I ran my hand down her neck and sighed. “I’m sorry that I’m hurt and we can’t go for a ride. I’ll ask Alex to let you out in the pastures later.”
“You ready?” Alex asked with my crutches in his hand.
I took them from him and started hobbling out of the stables. “Yes. My stomach is growling louder than a bear after hibernation.”
Alex laughed. “Well I’m sure that Baldemar has a cure for that.”
Elves waved to us or dipped their heads in acknowledgment to me, but none talked to me. I ignored my sadness and hobbled on my crutches into the blacksmith’s barn, which was hot and made sweat instantly bead on my skin.
“Who goes there?” asked a booming voice from within the building.
“Alex and Marin,” Alex called back. “We’ve come to see if you might share some bread with us.”
Out of the shadows from behind the forge came an elf with muscles that only those who worked with him could boast about, muscles that one usually only saw on humans. He was tall, broad shouldered with silver hair down to his knees that he kept in a braid to keep it from getting burnt in the forge or smashed when he made items. “Marin? Little Marin who used to steal swords from my wall when she was a toddler?”
I laughed and curtsied to the famous blacksmith. “Hello, sir.”
Baldemar hugged me tightly against his chest. “Don’t be so formal girl. You’re like a daughter to me. A pesky, sword stealing daughter.”
“I haven’t stolen a sword since I was ten,” I reminded him.
“But you are the only one to have ever stolen from him, more than once,” Alex said.
“What happened to your foot?” Baldemar asked.
“Horse stomped on it and broke it,” I said.
Baldemar looked at Alex in shock. “A horse in your stables stomped on her foot?”
“It was Sebastian’s,” Alex said defensively. “And I warned her that he was temperamental.”
“Dad we have the food on the table,” the twins said.
I smiled at the twin male elves, Farrar and Fabron, who were almost identical copies of their father. “Hi guys.”
“Marin!” They said excitedly at the same time.
I hugged the very affectionate twins and then followed them to their table on the farthest side of the barn, leaning my crutches against the side of the table. “How are your lessons going?” I asked Farrar and Fabron, not bothering to ask one of them specifically since they always answered things together.
“Good,” they said in unison.
“They’re getting close to mastering swords,” Baldemar said as he set rolls of bread on each of our plates. The bread was hot and I could smell melted butter on it. “Please, eat.”
I took a bite of the bread and felt a smile on my face instantly. “This is delicious.”
“I made it,” Farrar and Fabron said with broad smiles.
“Are you sure you won’t become bakers?” Alex asked them half seriously. “This is great.”
“They bake on the side a lot. They spend any more time doing it and they will be bakers instead of blacksmiths,” Baldemar teased his sons. “So, Marin, how are you liking being a mercenary?”
“I love it,” I answered him between bites. “Favian and I have been traveling all over doing missions. Although, I have to admit that it was nice to come home for a little while and sleep in a real bed.”
“How long will you be staying?” Farrar and Fabron asked.
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. Favian is off on a mission for Father right now so I can’t leave until he returns anyways, but I believe Mother wants us to stay for the official ball for Prince Sebastian’s return.”
“How are you dealing with the new Prince?” Baldemar asked with a knowing look on his face.
Did everyone know how I felt about Favian?! “Fine,” I responded softly.
“I cannot tell them apart yet. Have you figured out a way?” Baldemar asked.
I laughed bitterly. “Only their voice so far. Though I have considered smearing some juiceberries on one of them to stain them for a little while, but I don’t think they would appreciate that.”
Everyone laughed and Baldemar said, “Or you could cut one of them somewhere visible so you would see their bandage and know which was which.”
That was actually a really good idea that I should have thought of myself.
“You cannot cut one of them,” Alex said seriously to me.
“Oh come on. I could just give one of them a little cut on their cheeks that could scar and then we would never have problems telling them apart again,” I said with an evil grin.
Farrar and Fabron said, “Sounds like a good idea to us.”
Alex shook his head. “You shouldn’t encourage her.”
We finished our bread and Baldemar asked to see my weapons. I followed him to his work bench and laid my swords and daggers out on the bench. He took one look at the daggers and groaned. “Boys, tend to these.”
Farrar and Fabron each took three of my daggers and then went to their separate work benches to clean and sharpen them.
“You need to treat your weapons better, Marin,” Bal
demar chastised me.
“I clean them after a battle, but ogre blood is difficult to clean,” I complained.
He examined my swords closely, but never touched the blades. “Would you be willing to leave these with me for a day?”
“Can you give me some loaners? I hate to be without swords.”
Baldemar stood up and walked to the wall where he hung all of the weapons he had recently finished. “I think these might be adequate replacements for now,” he said as he handed me two identical swords with shiny black pommels. “I should only need your weapons for one day. Come back tomorrow night and I will give them back.”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely as I put the swords in my sheaths on my belt. “And thank you for lunch as well.”
“Thank the boys, I didn’t make it.”
“Thank you Farrar and Fabron,” I said with a little bow to them since it was difficult to give them a formal bow on crutches.
“Bye Marin,” they called from their benches where they were vigorously cleaning my daggers.
Alex said goodbye to the family and then we headed back to the stables. “Do you need help with any other chores?” I asked him while he checked each horse to ensure they hadn’t done anything to injure themselves while we were gone.
“I’m going to turn them out in the pastures in a minute and I had planned just to watch them play. I’d enjoy your company if you don’t have anything else to do,” he said with a smile.
I knew he was flirting and I realized that I was enjoying it. It had been a while since any males had flirted with me, aside from Sebastian. “I’d help you lead them to the pastures, but my crutches are burdensome for leading horses.”
“Why don’t you go wait at the pastures while I get them together and take them out there?” he suggested.
I would have rather tried to help, but knew I would most likely get in the way in my current condition. So, I took his advice and made my way to the pastures, sitting down against a tree which had a perfect view of the three pastures. Alex walked out of the stables with the horses all obediently following behind him in a straight line with no bridles or ropes at all. I used to believe he had magical powers or used a spell on the horses because whenever I tried to get more than one horse to listen to me at a time, they ran away. For Alex though, the horses walked quietly and slowly along and obeyed as he separated the mares into one pasture, the stallions into another and the foals into the third. Once all of the gates were securely shut, he sat beside me, pushing my shoulder over so he could lean against part of the tree as well.
“I swear you use a spell on them to get them to behave so well,” I whispered as the horses started running up and down the pasture.
He laughed. “No. But thank you for the compliment.”
“I wish I was as skilled with the horses as you are. I have always envied you for that,” I admitted to him.
“I’ve always envied you for your fighting skills, so I guess we are even,” he said with a sweet smile.
“How can you be envious of my fighting skills when you are better than me?” I asked curiously. I had seen him fight in the arena and he was almost as good as Favian.
“True, I am able to win against you in a fight, but I envy how much you enjoy fighting and how skilled you are for your lineage. I also envy your determination. I watched you many times when you would sneak off at night and practice with Favian. No matter how many times he knocked you down you continued to get back up and practice.”
I wasn’t sure how to reply to that, so I chose silence and watched the horses. It was nice to sit and watch Fire playing with other horses. I felt bad that she was not with a herd most of the time, since horses were herd animals. Unfortunately I could not do anything about that unless I gave her up, but then I would just have to take another horse and it would be the same thing all over again.
“Have you ever been hurt by a horse?” I asked Alex. Now seemed the best time to get to know him a little better. I felt bad for having known him most of my life and yet not knowing anything about him.
“Many times,” he said with a nod of his head. “Once I had a mare bite me because I entered her stall with her newborn foal. She was just being protective, which is natural, but I spent many hours with her after that to ensure she understood that things like that were not okay when it came to elves. I’ve been stepped on, bitten, kicked and even bucked and reared off just like every other rider.”
It was hard to imagine horses doing these things to him since I had only ever seen the horses obey his every wish. “Wow, I just never imagined the Horse Master would have those kinds of problems.”
He shrugged. “Every horse is different and you have to witness their problems before you can begin to try to fix them.”
“Where are your parents?” I asked since I had no idea who they were and had never met them, to my knowledge.
“My parents died when I was only five, about the time that you came here. The previous Horse Master took me in since he was friends with my parents and taught me everything that he knew. He died when I was twelve and I inherited the title and the responsibilities. At first Queen Amadis was opposed to the idea of me becoming Horse Master so young, but after witnessing me taming a wild mare, she changed her mind.”
“I wish Mother would be proud of me in my job,” I whispered.
“The Queen is very proud of you, Marin. I have heard her boast to others about your accomplishments.”
I wasn’t sure if I believed him, but it did make me feel better. “So, why haven’t you begun courting females?” I asked him, no longer able to hide my curiosity.
He shrugged nonchalantly. “There are a few who draw my attention, but they are out of my league.”
“Out of your league?” I asked, “How?”
He plucked a piece of grass and ripped it in half slowly. “I’m just a stable boy and I know my place. None of the ladies I fancy could ever want a man who smells of manure every day.”
“I think you smell wonderful,” I said before I could stop myself.
He laughed and kissed my cheek. “That’s kind of you, but I am afraid you are the exception, not the rule.”
“So, who is it that you fancy?”
He shook his head. “That is my secret and I shall not part with it.”
Drat. I had hoped he would tell me so that I could try to set him up.
The sky began to darken as day shifted to night and the horses stopped playing, waiting by the gates so that they could go back to the barn to be fed. I was getting hungry as well, but didn’t want to spoil the nice night that we were having. Luckily he stood up and herded the horses into the barn to feed them. I followed behind, watching as he talked to the horses as though they were his children and fed them their dinners. How could such a kind, gentle, talented and amazing elf think he wasn’t worthy of a female? It was the females who were not worthy of him.
Chapter Five
“Good evening, Marin,” Sebastian said softly from behind me at the entrance of the stables.
I turned and smiled at him. “Hello Sebastian.”
He looked incredibly handsome in a full formal suit which was usually worn for balls and other fancy events. “Would you do me the honor of joining me for dinner?” he asked in a very princely tone.
I curtsied as best as I could with the crutches and broken foot and said, “I would be honored to.” A wide smile split his face and I said, “Your lessons with Amadis are going well I take it?”
He nodded his head. “Yes, but there is much to learn and remember.”
Alex approached us. “Thank you for keeping me busy today so that I didn’t go stir crazy with this broken foot,” I said once he was close to us.
He smiled happily. “You’re welcome. I enjoyed spending time with you. If you ever need some distraction, feel free to come help me clean tack again.”
I laughed and nodded my head. “I’ll do that.”
He picked my hand up and kissed the back of it softly.
“I had a great time today. Thank you.”
Surprised by his gesture, I wasn’t sure what to say at first, but finally managed to say. “I had fun as well.”
“Shall we go to dinner?” Sebastian suggested, “We shouldn’t keep the King and Queen waiting.”
I nodded my head and followed behind him out of the stables, taking one last look back at Alex who was smiling as if he had been given a Pegasus. After a few minutes of silence Sebastian asked, “Did you have a nice time?”
“Yes,” I answered, looking at him curiously. Was he jealous? No, he couldn’t be jealous. Yet he had a strange tone to his voice that I had not heard before. “So what did you learn today?”
“Proper greetings and etiquette that I already knew, but it was nice to have a refresher course since I will need to use them soon.”
“Soon?” I asked. “Where are you going?”
“They’re having the feast for my return once Favian has returned, remember?”
Actually I had forgotten. “Of course I didn’t forget,” I said with a smile.
He laughed. “You’re a horrible liar.”
“I am actually very skilled in deceit,” I said in indignation.
“Most females are,” he said with a wink and then opened the door to the castle for me.
“Males hide things instead of using deceit,” I said as we walked down the hallway.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, but I could see a slight smile forming on his lips.
“Males especially hide their feelings, which is very frustrating.”
“I do not hide my feelings,” he said with a sideways glance at me.
“Really?” I asked, “Then why were you upset when we left the stables?”
He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I laughed and opened the door to the ballroom. “That, my friend, just proved my point.”
“Hello, Daughter,” Mother said with a smile. “Did you have a nice day today?”
I sat down and leaned my crutches against the wall behind me. “I did.”
“What did you do?” Father asked from his chair where he was slouching comfortably and watching me with an amused look on his face. He was hiding something, something he wanted to say or ask me, but hadn’t yet. It worried me when he looked like that.
Protector (Little Death Bringer, #2) Page 6
