Selice let relief flood her as the Royal City came into sight. She had been riding her horse, Cerus, for a fairly long time and her body was not appreciating the bouncing of the trotting pace they were going. She turned her head to the caravan behind her. "We're just about there, sir," She called to the lord who was relaxing in his carriage. The Captain of the Royal Guard had been visiting the lord to address the frequent spats along the border between Galinas and Orewyn. However, since he was on his way to attend the festival of destinies, he had requested that Selice accompany him on the ride to the castle. She had accepted, but hadn't realized that they would be riding at such an agonizingly slow pace. Thankfully it didn't take long to reach the city.
The royal stables were bustling with activity, people unloading the carriages and tending to the horses as well. Selice took a moment to gaze over the organized chaos on top of her horse. She enjoyed the view from being tall and wanted to wait for a bit of clam before she left her horse in someone else's care. Dust flew around from the stomping of feet and a strong, unpleasant odor filled the air. As much as she loved her horse, the warrior wouldn't want to spend her time in this place. But, she supposed, there were some people willing to make the sacrifice. Selice could tell her horse didn't like the close proximity of the chaos, and did her best to sooth his nerves with gentle strokes. Smoothly, she slung her leg across Cerus's back and hopped off. She kept a calloused hand along his flank, waving for the nearest stable boy to come over.
Jaime was tening to one of the many stalls in the Royal Stables when he felt a new wave of fear roll over him like a wave. He'd been feeling the emotions of the horses in the stables all day, but this feeling was completely new. Stepping out of the stall, he latched the door and began looking for the source of the fear. It was then that he saw a woman, who oddly enough appeared to be a solider. She was waving for assistance while trying to calm the horse beside her down.
"Good day ma'am," Jamie said with a bow, making red hair sweep across his eyes. "May I be of any assistance to you?"
Selice gave Jaime a once over and, deeming him to be acceptable for the job, turned to grab the reins on Cerus. She lead the chocolate colored horse over to him and handed him the rope of leather. "I need you to take care of Cerus. He has a strict diet and needs a lot of exercise, he must be in top condition at all times." She began to list off all the instructions she had for taking care of the horse. It seemed a little excessive, but it worked. "With the festival of destinies coming up, I'll be busy and unable to check up on him. So I need someone to take up the reins, so to speak. If there is even one thing amiss, I'll know." The brunette warned. Her attentive posture seemed intimidating, but it was only a scare tactic. She needed this done right. "If need be, I can send a more thorough list to the stables at a later time. But for now, do you know what needs to be done?" Her dark brown eyes trained themselves on the dirty stable boy, and she quirked a brow up almost challenging him to say no.
"Yes, ma'am. He will be taken very good care of." Jamie took the reins from her hands and rasied one of his own up to the neck of the horse. The moment he touched him something seemed to change in Cerus. He instantly calmed down from his scared state of mind and leaned into his touch ever so slightly. Jamie smiled for a moment, happy to bring the horse peace with all the chaos going on around them. Though, being here in the presence of horses made him miss his own horse. Mystic was residing in the way back of the stables until Jamie was done for the day.
"You still may send a detailed list, if that would please you, ma'am,' he said, looking over towards Selice once more. There was confidence in his eyes as he looked at her. He could tell she wasn't one for weak minded people or people that didnt know what the hell they were doing. Thankfully for her, Jamie knew exactly how to treat her horse and wasn't one to disappoint. "He will be well taken care of either way." He gave her a quick bow of his head and waited for what she would say next.
"Great, I'll leave Cerus in your care then." Selice turned back to the stallion momentarily. She took a treat out of her satchel and held it up to his mouth. Her other hand stroked his neck while the horse consumed her offering. "Don't cause too much trouble." She mumbled to him. When he finished, Selice gave him one final pat before turning away and heading into the castle. On the way there, she began stripping herself of her riding cloak, impatient to get into more comfortable clothes. However, she did have one more duty to attend to before she could get to the good stuff.
Not long after Selice left, a man came jogging into the stables, out of breath. He took a moment to catch his breath, nose wrinkling at the smell of the place. His sharp brown eyes then scanned the area, clearly looking for something. His gaze locked on to Cerus, and he made his way over to Jamie. "Excuse me, is Selice here?" He asked, running his hands through his short brown hair, trying to put it back in place.
Jamie tore his eyes away from the beautiful horse in front of him and glanced at the man who had just entered. With a nod, Jaime pointed in the direction the stunning but seemingly cold woman went in. "Yes, sir. She should be right up there. She left him here not a minute ago."
Thank you so much," The man smiled while adjusting his rumpled clothes. Without another word, he walked towards the door to the castle, his long strides taking him quickly across the stables without causing him to become sweaty or disheveled. One of the men guarding the area elbowed the other knight next to him with a sly grin on his face, pointing to the rushing man as he disappeared into the castyle door. The two snickered, continuing their job and gossiping along the way.
Jaime watched the man walk out the door then, adjusting his clothes as he went. He looked more of a higher born than Jamie was and of course a lot cleaner too. That was one thing Jaime was hardly ever to pull off, being clean. Working in the stables as much as he did made it pretty hard to smell like anything other than horse and manure. Though he vowed to take a bath before the festival. As his mother had said, he was never going to find his destined smelling like he did. The thought of her saying that made him smile as he patted Cerus on the neck.
"Well, what you say we get you some water and grub," He said to the horse, leading him over to a empty stall. "Then maybe we will go out for a trot to keep your rider pleased.We wouldn't want to make her angry."
Merule