Chapter Text
Matt watched as a few early fallen leaves tumbled in the stable on a gentle breeze and paused his work for a second.
He loved something about the gentle change between summer and autumn before it would become his job to sweep all the leaves out of the stable every morning. Then that would become a pain and Matt would grumble to himself in the morning as he gathered his broom and tended to the horses.
Footsteps sounded along the outside of the stable and Matt tore his eyes away from the leaves. The mare he was grooming nudged his arm gently and Matt resumed brushing her mane. She was his pride and glory and Matt had cared for her since she was a foal. She was a real black beauty and she was usually reserved for special guests and the King himself.
The footsteps stopped outside the stable door and Matt wondered who it could have been. If it was King Ramsey or Prince Gavin, they would have strolled right in. If it was one of the Kings in the alliance, then they would have knocked and then strolled right in. If it was anyone else…. well then they would be another servant of some kind and would stroll right into talk to him or pass on a message.
There was no one he could think of that would pause outside the door.
Still, Matt waited and carried on grooming the mare. Eventually, there were three, small knocks at the door and Matt put down the brush he was using on a low shelf. After checking the stable door was secure, he quickly brushed himself down and opened the door, ready to snap at whoever was distracting him from his work.
He flung open the door and paused in his tracks.
A young man, probably around his age was stood opposite him, looking slightly sheepish. He was dressed in a similar finery to that of the King and Matt wondered if there was some important message that he’d missed somehow.
“Hello.” The young man said. His voice was bright and a bit nervous but Matt couldn’t understand why.
“Hi.” Matt replied, dropping his hand from the door frame and standing awkwardly in front of the, presumed, royal. He towered over the other man and he knew he must have looked masterfully unkempt compared to the prim and proper man. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m looking for a horse.” The man admitted. Matt couldn’t stop the snarky comment that followed.
“Good thing you found the stables.” He said, immediately regretting his words. The other man laughed and Matt thought that his surprise would show on his face. Anyone of a higher standing than him would never have let him speak to them like that, let alone laugh.
“I’m visiting my uncle Geoffrey and he told me I could come here for a horse to explore the kingdom.” The man replied. Matt suddenly understood the attire and felt his embarrassment rise. This was the King’s Nephew. Oh Lords.
“My apologies, Prince Jeremy, for not recognising you sooner. In that case, I have a horse for you.” Matt replied, stepping away from the door. (In his defense, he hadn’t seen the prince in years, and they had only met each other when they absolutely had to, so it wasn’t like they were long-lost friends.) “I’ll bring her out for you.”
Matt went back into the stable and stopped in front of one of the male horses, opening the stable and stepping inside. He took a lead and saddle off the wall and quickly suited the horse for a rider. Years of working as a stablehand and then taking over from his mentor had given him a speed that had kept him in a job since adolescence. Gently, and with well-practiced ease, Matt led the horse out of the stable, bringing him out into a paddock. The prince was waiting for him, leaning on the fence with a casualness that Matt found jarring.
He knew that Prince Gavin was fond of climbing trees and mingling with the people, but he didn’t expect anyone with actual blood relations to the King to be the same. (Though he supposed, Prince Gavin had to get it from somewhere).
“This beauty here is Grisham.” Matt explained, drawing the horse close enough to the fence. Matt beckoned Prince Jeremy inside the fence and felt himself physically be stunned when the man jumped the fence instead of using the gate that was maybe two metres to his left.
“Can I?” Prince Jeremy asked, hesitantly lifting a hand towards the horse. Matt understood straight away.
“You need to stand to the side of the horse.” Matt explained, quickly directing him where to stand to stroke the horse. “They get scared if they can’t see you.”
“Is he still Gavin’s?” Prince Jeremy asked. He gently stroked Grisham’s nose and Grisham barely pulled away.
“Yes. Prince Gavin sometimes goes hunting in the forest outside the kingdom on Grisham.” Matt said. “Have you ever ridden a horse before?” He asked, absently stroking Grisham’s neck.
“Once or twice.” Prince Jeremy admitted.
“Can you remember how to get on one?” Matt asked, more genuine than scathing. The last thing he wanted to do was insult a royal. He liked having a job and a home.
“I remember you put a leg here…” Pince Jeremy raised his leg and hooked his foot into the stirrup. Except… He was on the right side of the horse, and he put his left leg in the stirrup.
“The other foot.” Matt directed, walking around so he was stood next to the foreign prince. Prince Jeremy switched the leg in the stirrup but he almost lost his balance. He would have fallen over if Matt hadn’t been there to stabilise him.
Matt righted him and Prince Jeremy flashed a smile at him that could have been ‘thank you’ or a ‘don’t worry, I have this under control’. Prince Jeremy pulled himself up and swung his other leg around, so he was sitting on the horse, facing forwards.
“Don’t the royals usually have an armed escort?” Matt asked, stepping back to do a final check of the saddle and the bit before handing the reins over to the Prince.
“It’s only my uncle’s kingdom.” Prince Jeremy waved off his concerns, holding the reins tightly in his hands. Matt was suddenly suspicious and kept one hand on the saddle.
“Does the King actually know that you’re here?” Matt asked.
“That depends on your definition of ‘know’.” Prince Jeremy said. “If it means that I snuck out, then yes, they do know.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you go riding without-”
“The horses need exercise anyway, don’t they?” Prince Jeremy asked suddenly, cutting across Matt. “So how about I accompany you?”
“Because I like my place here and I would like to keep it.” Matt replied, blunter than he wanted to.
“But you are stuck in royal meetings and stuffy room talking to potential brides. Forgive me if I wanted to escape for a little while.” Prince Jeremy said. For what he said about only having ridden once or twice, he sat on the horse with a sense of ease that took Matt a long while to achieve. Maybe he was just an awkward person.
“The King-”
“Will listen to me if I tell him it was my idea.” Prince Jeremy interrupted, lifting a hand as if he was going to physically wave off Matt’s concerns. “Come on, it could be an adventure; just the two of us.”
Matt was well aware that it would just be the two of them - that was one of the major reasons why he didn’t want to be alone with the King’s nephew. Another was he didn’t want to abandon the stable on some unauthorised ride about with the King’s nephew.
Honestly, the whole idea had ‘trouble’ stamped across it in searing, red letters and Matt, at his core, was against it. But a small, miniscule part of Matt wanted to say yes; wanted to show him the grounds, if not the kingdom.
The war raged inside of Matt and he knew he needed more time to make his decision.
“You do know that you don’t need to ride the horses to exercise them.” Matt said. Prince Jeremy laughed and it sounded he took pure joy from Matt’s statement.
“That’s what you’re thinking about?” He asked.
“I have a lot of thoughts, but yes, that’s one of them.” Matt said. He resisted the urge to shrug his shoulders. He had some sense of professionality, even if the other was disregarding it.
“So what are your thoughts on joining me for a ride?” Prince Jeremy asked. Matt glanced over at the stables and made his decision.
“Not in the middle of the day.” Matt said. “If you really want my company, come back here closer in the afternoon after I’ve done everything I need to.”
Prince Jeremy grinned at him and easily swung his leg off the horse, stepping back to the ground easily. He pressed the reins into Matt’s hand.
“I hope you’ll keep that promise.” Prince Jeremy said, beginning to leave again. Matt watched as he jumped the fence again, and leave in the direction of the castle.
The more he thought about it, the more he saw the similarities between this prince and Prince Gavin.
It must have been the Ramsey influence.
***
The sun had only just began thinking about setting in the sky when there was a knock on the stable door.
Matt looked up from his task of feeding one of the horses and suddenly remembered who that was. He stood up and gave the horse one last gentle pat before securing them in the stable and going to meet the man at the stable door.
“Hello,” Prince Jeremy said. “Ready to keep your promise.”
“I need to saddle another horse.” Matt said, going back inside. He had already saddled up Grisham, but the horse he was going to ride was still bare.
“What’s this one called?” Prince Jeremy asked, standing outside the stable, watching Matt as he put the saddle on the horse.
“Toshibi.” Matt replied. “She’s another one of Prince Gavin’s horses. Grisham’s daughter, actually, but he tends not to use her for hunting.” He adjusted the bit slightly and took the rein, wrapping it once around his hand to lead Toshibi out.
Matt saw Prince Jeremy follow him out the corner of his eye and walked Toshibi out into the paddock. The light had a hint of gold in it and Grisham looked up as Matt walked up to him.
Matt took Grisham’s reins and passed them to Prince Jeremy. He ignored the fact that their hands brushed and he ignored the suspicion that Prince Jeremy did it on purpose.
“Do you remember how to mount?” Matt asked. It took him a second to quickly correct himself. “The horse, I mean.”
“I’m pretty sure I can remember.” Prince Jeremy said, smiling at Matt as he swung himself up onto the horse much more smoothly than he did that morning. Matt resisted the urge to react and just mounted his own horse, adjusting himself smoothly and directing Toshibi to the gate.
He heard Grisham’s footsteps behind him as he leaned down to unlock the gate. Toshibi trotted out the gate and Grisham followed dutifully. Matt made sure to close the gate again and turned back around to see Prince Jeremy patiently waiting for him.
“Ready?” Prince Jeremy asked, guiding Grisham around to Matt’s side.
“You still want to see the kingdom?” Matt asked, moving Toshibi away slightly to put some distance between them.
“Actually, I walked round earlier today.” Prince Jeremy said. “I was thinking we could go explore the forest.” He looked over at a large expanse of trees off to the side of the castle.
“Forest?” Matt repeated, looking over the same way. “You mean the orchard?” Prince Jeremy just shrugged casually.
“It’s big enough to be a forest.” He said. “Come on: let’s go explore it!” Matt barely had any warning before Prince Jeremy set off towards the trees.
“Explore it? But it’s just the orchard!” Matt called out, urging Toshibi on to match his pace. Grisham wasn’t going fast, but fast enough to be more than a gentle stroll.
“Oh, where’s you’re sense of adventure?” Prince Jeremy asked, throwing an easy smile over his shoulder just as Matt caught up.
“Inside with a mug of beer.” Matt replied bluntly. “I’m really not one for exploring.”
“Then I’ll make you into an explorer if I have to.” Prince Jeremy said, slowing down so Matt had to slow Toshibi to stay level.
“Please don’t.” Matt said.
Prince Jeremy laughed loudly at that and Matt took a moment to assess how his life had gotten to this moment. Only this morning, he was just tending to the horses, perfectly happy in his life and his choices.
Now he was riding on horseback through the orchard with the King’s nephew talking about adventures.
God, Ramsey was going to have his head.
***
Matt was already up and working by the time Kdin arrived. He couldn’t sleep after the ride the day before.
As it turned out, the orchard was beautiful that time of year. It was technically a public place, and Matt knew that the apples on the trees were almost ripe enough for children to come and pick them. Some of the leaves had begun to redden and brown and Matt saw Prince Jeremy catch a falling leaf out of the air as they rode.
Prince Jeremy looked like he was searching for something, but when the sun got a tad too low in the sky, Matt forced them to go back to the stables. It wasn’t safe, and they’d already been out too long.
He had an uneasy feeling that Prince Jeremy would return, but he really wished he didn’t.
“Feeling better, Kdin?” Matt asked as the other stable hand walked in.
“Enough to get back to work.” Kdin admitted, grabbing a bag of oats and going to to feed the horses. “How did you manage without me? I heard you had a visitor.”
“Who could have told you that?” Matt asked, looking over at him from the stall he was mucking out.
“Who do you think?” Kdin asked.
“Oh, right.” Matt said, feeling slightly stupid that he didn’t realise right away. Even if there was really no way people could have known, whenever anything happened, she knew.
And if she knew, then Kdin knew.
“So how was your romantic ride through the forest with this stranger?” Kdin asked. “Have you finally got a girl that I don’t know about?”
“If I did have a girl, do you think I’d keep quiet about it?” Matt asked, raising an eyebrow at Kdin.
“That’s a good point.” Kdin admitted, lifting the bag of oats off the ground and tilting it to fill the feed tray. “So are you going to tell me who it was?”
“Nope.” Matt said bluntly. He started laying out fresh hay to replace the dirty hay.
“So it’s a secret.” Kdin said teasingly.
“That’s why I’m not telling you.” Matt left the stable he had just cleaned and went to go fetch the horse from the paddock. He returned with the horse (a beautiful white mare that was only really brought out for special occasions like the festival) and led her into her stall.
“Hey Matt, do you mind cleaning Mystery’s hooves?” Kdin asked, leaning over the door of the white mare’s stall. “She’s a bit testy today.”
“So you’re saying I should be the one to put my face by her very powerful feet?” Matt repeated, busying himself with removing the lead from the mare.
“She likes you.” Kdin said simply.
“No she doesn’t.”
“She likes you better.” Kdin corrected. Matt sighed in resignation. One of them had to clean her hooves.
“Fine, but you have to muck out the rest of the stalls.” Matt bargained.
“You’ve got yourself a deal.” Kdin said, taking the pitchfork that Matt held out to him as he left the stall.
Matt had the strange suspicion that he’d just been played.
Nevertheless, he went over to a table nailed to the wall and pick up the tool he needed. Mystery’s stall was the biggest and the one closest to the door. Matt walked inside, remembering to close the door behind him.
She was a beautiful horse, and everyone knew that the King was very fond of her (though that might had been because she was the King’s first horse). Matt held out a treat for her and Mystery instantly seemed a bit warmer towards him.
“Hey,” Matt said soothingly, gently stroking her neck as she ate the treat. Both Kdin and him had been increasingly worried for her recently. The last thing they wanted was for there to be some kind of complication while she was giving birth, for either Mystery or the foal.
Slowly, Matt lifted her foot and began scraping out the dirt and small rocks with the tool. For the most part, she was compliant. There were only a few times when she reacted, and that was usually when Matt had come across a rock that was causing her pain, but as soon as the rock was gone, she calmed down again.
Matt never understood why Kdin didn’t like Mystery; she rarely gave him any bother.
“Hello Matt.” A voice said and Matt slowly put down the hoof he was cleaning to look up. He immediately wished he hadn’t when he locked eyes with the King.
“Your Highness.” Matt said as a way of greeting.
“Am I allowed in?” King Geoff asked, gesturing the to stall he was stood in.
“Of course.” Matt tucked the tool back into his pocket and stood to attention as King Geoff walked up to his horse, gently stroking her nose.
“How has she been?” King Geoff asked, looking at Matt as he stroked his horse. Matt wondered if he missed her. He’d heard the stories of the King’s youth and how he would steal a few horses with the then-Prince Jack from the nearby village and they would ride for days, only to return to the then-King’s scorn and disapproval.
“Very well. She is exercising well and eating more.” Matt said. “Kdin believes she might have her foal by the end of the week.”
“The end of the week?” The King repeated, his voice growing excited. “Oh you’re going to have your baby soon Mystery!” He said, directing his speech towards the horse.
“Have you decided on what you would like to name the foal? Since she’s your horse?” Matt asked, watching the interaction with a strange feeling in his chest. He so often forgot that the King was a human just like him, and that the King loved these animals the same as him.
“Not yet.” King Geoff admitted. “Do you have any suggestions?”
“Me?”
“You spend more time with her.” King Geoff said.
“I hadn’t given it a lot of thought, in all honesty.” Matt said. “I assumed you would want to name them on your own.”
“I guess it’s not worth naming them until they’re born, isn’t it.” King Geoff said fairly. “I will say, I want to see them as soon as they’re born. Even if it’s the middle of the night, can you send someone to fetch me?”
“Of course, Your Highness.” Matt promised. “Is there anything else you wanted?”
“My nephew’s staying with us for a while.” King Geoff said slowly. “Do you remember Jeremy?”
“I have some recollection of him.” Matt admitted, his jaw a bit too tight to pass for casual.
“Well, he told us yesterday over dinner about a wonderful ride he went on yesterday through the orchard.” King Geoff continued. He said every word deliberately, almost like it was practiced. “How far into the orchard did you go?” He asked, fixing Matt with an intense look.
“What do you mean?” Matt asked, playing innocent until he absolutely couldn’t.
“Well, Jeremy didn’t exactly say anything, but I know that he doesn’t like to ride alone and Kdin was ill. I’ve also heard that you like the orchard this time of year.” King Geoff said, an amused look on his face. “Was it fun?”
“What?”
“Did you have fun?” King Geoff repeated.
“I guess.” Matt said, not sure what the King was going after. King Geoff gave a gentle laugh and put his hands on Matt’s shoulders. The gesture was fatherly and Matt’s chest felt tight.
“I’m not mad, so you don’t have to pussy-foot around this, Matt.” King Geoff said. “If you want to be left alone, then I will talk to my nephew and I’ll make sure Gavin keeps him entertained. I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable.”
“Honestly, Your Highness, I was just concerned in case something happened.” Matt admitted. The King laughed, and it sounded like a hearty laugh.
“Nothing’s going to happen in the kingdom. The worst that could happen was one of you fell down.” King Geoff said.
“With all due respect, Your Highness, I’ve heard rumours. Down at the market. People seem to think that there’s going to be a war soon because of the other Kings in the alliance spending more time over here. They’re scared. Sometimes, I am as well. Especially now that Prince Jeremy is back here after so long.” Matt admitted. If he had any other king, Matt would never have dreamed about saying something like this to them.
“Matt, I say this honestly, not only as your king, but as your friend: right now, there is nothing to worry about. Yes, there is a little strife amongst the allied Kingdoms and some others, but right now we are in a time of peace.” The King said. Matt nodded in understanding. For the most part, he felt reassured, but there was the smallest, traitorous part of him that was still worried.
“In that case, I have no problems with Prince Jeremy visiting the stables.” Matt promised. King Geoff nodded solemnly.
“I’ll let him know that.” He said. “But don’t be afraid to send him away if something important comes up. Like the birth of Miranda over here.”
“Miranda?” Matt repeated, the amused tone shining through his words.
“Not good? I’ll keep thinking.” King Geoff said, laughing a little as he left the stall. “Take care of yourself, Matt. You too, Kdin.” He gave them a half-wave as they left and Matt saw Kdin slowly stand up.
“Were you hiding?” Matt asked.
“So you went on a horse ride with the King’s nephew?” Kdin asked in response.
“Are you done with the stables?” Matt said, not wanting to have to explain every detail of the day previous.
“If I am will you tell me how you ended up going on a romantic horse ride with the King’s nephew?”
“Nope. Now let’s just hurry up and take care of these horses.”
***
Jeremy stepped down from Grisham. He felt bad about taking Gavin’s horse without permission, but he needed answers. If there was anyone who could help him, it was the woman who lived in this cottage.
He unclipped the lantern hanging from the saddle and walked towards the door. A ginger cat watched him vigilantly, it’s tail flicking back and forth hypnotically.
Jeremy rapped his knuckles on the door thrice.
The cat jumped off it’s ledge and climbed into the cottage through an open window that Jeremy only just saw. It didn’t take long for the door to open after that and Jeremy had a wild thought that the cat was the red-headed woman who stood in front of him now.
Her hair hung loose down her back and thin twines of gold wrapped down her arms. She wore a knee-length, sleeveless dress that looked like it was made of some red feather that wasn’t like any bird Jeremy had ever known. She was a beautiful woman, but there was something ethereal about her that always made Jeremy the smallest bit nervous.
“Hi.” She said warmly. Well, that was unexpected. “You got here okay?” The woman asked, peering down the path Jeremy just came from as if she was expecting someone else.
“Just fine.” Jeremy said, pulling his cloak around him just the smallest bit tighter. A sudden chill had passed over him.
“Well then get in here.” The woman said, stepping to the side to let Jeremy in.
The cottage looked like some other world. It was wooden and much brighter than the outside world. A square cauldron sat in the corner, pearly smoke drifting off it with as much grace as a dancer. Various roots and herbs hung from the ceiling in small bunches and at least three cats of various colours were scattered around, all watching Jeremy curiously. He looked and felt out of place in this house but somehow, the woman looked like she didn’t belong anywhere else.
“Do you remember me?” Jeremy asked, not even turning down his lantern or shedding his cloak.
“Oh, course I remember you, Jeremy.” The woman said, turning around to go back to a book that was propped open on a low table in the middle of the room. “How are your potions coming along?”
“My father doesn’t believe in anything magical, so I’m brewing in secret in a forest near his estate.” Jeremy explained, finally dimming the lantern. “It’s difficult to sneak out, but I’ve made a lot of progress since the last time I saw you.”
He reached under his cloak and pulled out a book that was heavy and leather-bound. The leather was cracked and the pages were yellowing slowly but it was robust and Jeremy could recite it from memory.
“I’ve learned every potion in this book.” He said proudly. The woman took it off him and ran her hand over the cover. He noticed her nails were painted black at the cuticle that faded into gold by the tip and they had been filed to a point. A sudden image of talons came to mind.
“Then it’s time you had some more to learn.” The woman said, going to a large bookshelf that stood beside a wood fire that was the source of a strangely sweet smell in the air. She trailed her nails over the spines of the various hardbacks on the shelf and settled on one in particular.
Jeremy took it from her gratefully and opened it to the first page. Or he would have if she hadn’t snapped the book closed on him.
“Why are you really here, Jeremy?” The woman asked, fixing him with her piercing green eyes. It was unnerving and Jeremy wished he could look away.
“I need your help, Lindsay.” Jeremy admitted, feeling the fight leave him.
“That’s what I thought.” Lindsay said, stepping away. “Come on, take a seat.” She gestured to two chairs that Jeremy wasn’t totally sure existed before she mentioned them.
He did as he was told and Lindsay followed suit. As soon as she was settled, a cat jumped up into her lap and Lindsay absently stroked them with the tips of her nails.
“So tell me what’s wrong, Jeremy.” Lindsay said, practically inviting him to open up to her.
“Do you know why I’m back here?” Jeremy asked, needing more time to think of how he was going to phrase what he wanted to say.
“There’s only two reasons why someone of your standing would return here: war or a wedding.” Lindsay said. “Are you wanting a potion of luck for the battle?” She asked bluntly. She spoke as if it was obvious and normalised when the opposite was true.
“What? No! There’s no war!” Jeremy protested.
“Well, you’re not getting married.” Lindsay countered. She spoke like she knew every outcome from the conversation and she knew how to get to the one she wanted. Everything was a fact, a simple statement, no room for error. And it was fucking /annoying/.
“Well, that’s why I’m here.” Jeremy admitted.
“You want a way out of the nonexistent marriage.” Lindsay said.
“No! I want a way out of my arranged marriage.” Jeremy corrected. “I can’t stand the thought of being married to someone I can’t love.”
“And there it is.” Lindsay said, leaning back a bit further in her chair. “That’s the root of the problem.” A small silence fell over the two of them and Jeremy found himself wanting to fidget.
“So are you able to help me?” He asked. He hated that small note of desperation in his voice, but he was desperate.
“Help you with what?” Lindsay asked.
“Help me get out of a marriage!” Jeremy stopped himself from shouting. Lindsay smiled at him in an almost knowing way and stood up. She went over to a chest in the corner and spent a few minutes rifling through it. The bottles inside clinked together gently and Jeremy felt his apprehension grow.
“Here it is.” Lindsay said, straightening up. She held up a bottle with a translucent blue liquid that caught the light in a strange way.
“What is that?” Jeremy asked. He felt the urge to stand up as well and he walked until he was stood facing Lindsay.
“Don’t use this until you have to.” Lindsay warned, holding out the bottle to him. “When you absolutely have to, throw this potion at the person.”
“Wait, throw it at them?” Jeremy repeated, his hand closing around the neck of the bottle. “Won’t that hurt them?”
“Not with these kind of bottles.” Lindsay promised. Her expression cleared for a second before she blinked and looked back at Jeremy. “Someone’s looking for you.”
“Really?” Jeremy frowned and looked towards the door.
“You should go back to the castle.” Lindsay urged. She tapped the lantern and it lit to full brightness. Jeremy went to the door and he had his hand on the handle when Lindsay got his attention again. “You should really practice your sword fighting.”
“What?”
“Go!” Lindsay urged, acting as if she hadn’t spoken. She almost pushed Jeremy out of the cottage. “Go down the path and you’ll find him. Tell him you thought you saw something and let him be angry. Also, Ryan’s kingdom is very fond of magic. As is the prince.”
“Why is that helpful? Which prince?” Jeremy asked. He didn’t get a response before Lindsay shut the door behind him and he knew better than to knock again. Quickly, he secured the book and the potion in the inside pocket of his travelling cloak.
Jeremy wasted no time in mounting Grisham and leaving back down the path. The night air felt all-encompassing and Jeremy was forced to hold up the lantern to see where he was going.
Another spot of light appeared further into the forest and Jeremy urged Grisham on every so slightly to meet them.
“Grisham!” He heard a familiar voice shouting out. Jeremy waited until he was in view of the other voice before he spoke.
“That’s a funny way to pronounce ‘Jeremy’.” He said teasingly. He saw Matt visibly start when he heard the voice but Jeremy felt very smug when he saw the annoyance settle on Matt’s face.
“What the Lords are you doing?!” Matt demanded. He wasn’t quite angry, but he was well beyond put-out. “You’re out here in the middle of the night! What if you got lost? What if there was someone out here?! We’re going back to the castle, now.”
Matt turned his own horse around and began riding back to in the direction of the castle grounds. Jeremy followed him obediently and rode beside him in silence. He knew Matt was furious, but he wasn’t outright expressing any of it. His knuckles were tight on the reins, and Jeremy saw that his jaw was tight, but Matt was staying silent.
Maybe he was ashamed of his outburst. Maybe he thought that Jeremy would tell Geoff about what Matt had said and then he’d be in trouble.
“How did you know Grisham was missing?” Jeremy asked, breaking the awkward silence between them.
“I was called out of bed by Kdin.” Matt admitted. “Mystery was giving birth and he wanted my help. When the foal was born, I noticed that Grisham was missing. I thought that maybe one of us had left the door open by accident, so I went out to find him. Now I know that you took him.” Matt told the whole story with his eyes focused completely on the path ahead. He held his own lantern up to illuminate the way in front of him and the light cast threatening shadows on the trees.
“I’m sorry for that.” Jeremy said.
“Are you?” Matt barely glanced at him but Jeremy could feel the disbelief.
“I am.” Jeremy promised. Matt didn’t respond and Jeremy felt guilt settle heavily in his stomach. “Matt, I promise you that I’m sorry.” Matt let out a short huff that was probably meant to be a laugh.
“I didn’t realise you knew my name.” He said. Jeremy had no doubt that he was being genuine when he said that but something about the sentence made the guilt spread to his chest and a certain kind of sadness settled over him.
“Why wouldn’t I know your name?” Jeremy asked quietly. Matt didn’t reply.
The rode the rest of the way in silence, both lanterns overlapping and throwing double shadows. Jeremy rode his horse slightly closer to Matt’s, but Matt sped up so they weren’t side by side.
“How-” Jeremy cleared his throat awkwardly. “How did you end up as a stablehand?”
“What?”
“I’m curious. My uncle talks about you and Kdin fondly. I just wanted to know how you ended working for him.”
“Almost everyone ends up working for him in some way.” Matt said. “King Geoff knew my father very well. He was Prince Gavin’s tutor for a long time, and if I couldn’t go to school for any reason, I would share lessons with the Prince. He was wild and excitable and whenever he could, he would be climbing those damn trees. But I like to think we were friends, if only briefly.”
“What happened?” Jeremy asked. He’d known that Gavin didn’t go to school like most of the kingdom children, but he didn’t know that his tutor was Matt’s father.
“My father died. It was sudden, and I hope it was painless for him.” Matt said. He didn’t sound sad, more resigned. “But the next day, King Geoff approached me and told me that one of his grooms needed an assistant. It was the only way I could support myself, and I remembered that Prince Gavin always sang the groom’s praises. So I’ve been working with the horses ever since. I used to sleep in the servant’s quarters, but I recently managed to scrape enough for my own room, even if it’s a small one in a local inn.”
“What about your mother?” Jeremy asked.
“She died giving birth to me.” Matt said. “But I’ve been told by countless people that she was a lovely woman.”
“If she was your mother, she must have been.” Jeremy said without thinking. Matt fell quiet for a little while.
“We’re almost there.” Matt finally said, spotting the familiar grounds.
“Matt, I didn’t mean to-”
“Why were you out here anyway?” Matt asked, smoothly cutting Jeremy off.
“I was exploring and I got lost.” Jeremy lied without thinking.
“This late at night?”
“I lost track of time.”
“Prince, I didn’t lie to you,” Matt said strongly. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t lie to me.”
Jeremy felt stunned. He didn’t know why that cut him so deeply, but it did and the guilt tripled.
Jeremy watched as Matt rode on ahead slightly and wondered why he was so affected by Matt’s disapproval.