The low grunts of impatient steeds and the tight clatter of metal against itself fills her ears as does the muffled uneven clang of the blacksmith's hammer against the work table. She moved farther into the stables inhaling deeply the comforting mix of hay and animal musk.

It wasn't until she was near the back of the stables that she came across a newer more intoxicating aroma. The fragrance of running in a deep forest and a heavenly smell of soft vanilla.

"What have I told you about keeping away from my husband's horses?"

She stared in panic, her eyes already finding the floor as she backed toward the closest corner. Not fast enough it would seem as her mistress's hand closed around her dirty chestnut hair dragging her backward for a hard slap across her face, then, she was being shoved backwards onto the stable floor. The horse closest to them, a handsome, light honey blonde colored stallion that hadn't been stalled there the afternoon before, reared up with a kind of worried anger at the show of force.

"Lady Zelena." A rough voice called out with such a calming commanding presence that just being able to hear such a thing drove any pain she might have been feeling away. As her mistress turned away from her with a low but still snarled "Help with the rest of the feeding and watering of our guest's mounts. Then return to your own quarters for the night." This was an order, but she obviously wanted to seem pleasant after being caught in such a violent outburst. Red nodded meekly, her eyes fixed on the floor as she pushed herself up after her mistresses' shadow departed, signaling her moving away to greet the newcomer at the stable entrance.

Red hadn't even realized she'd been injured until the small cut on her cheek dropped blood into the stone floor as she pushed herself back up to her feet.

"Your Lady is she always so cruel to her servants?"

Red stilled for the second time that day at the soft purr of a voice. It was soft like warm honey, yet still held a strong edge that told her its owner wasn't one to cross. She hesitated then nodded in answer, her eyes closed tightly waiting for a slap at speaking ill of her mistress.

It wasn't until she felt the cold sting of water against the cut in her cheek that she opened her eyes in shock. No one had ever been so nice to her, even if that kindness was just cleaning a little cut from the emerald ring Lady Zelena always had on.

At least not since she had been in Lady Snow's services; until Snow's husband's twin brother, posing as his kinder hearted brother Prince David, used Red's servitude as collateral when all his other options had run out on a bet he'd made with Lord Orcus during the last tournament. James's deception was found out too late. When both James and David were called back to protect a key stronghold of their Lord's defenses from being burned, the dishonest bargain had been enforced and upheld to avoid keeping the men from carrying out the King's orders.

However, even the warm friendship she had with Snow couldn't compare to the rush of tender calming feelings she was experiencing when her eyes opened to consider the face of her aide. Needless to say, the eyes staring back into her own were more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. Soft like chocolate yet dark like the night sky piercing her very soul in one single glance.

"It should heal soon without a scar." her dark-eyed angel whispered still dabbing gently at the small cut with her handkerchief.

"Thank You," Red whispered with a shy ghost of a smile pulling at her lips. Her dark-haired companion only nodded back her eyes casting around distractedly. "How about I help you bed the horses down then you could show me around the grounds, so I can get my bearings with such a big place like this to get around?" Red gasped in amazement but somehow managed to move her head to agree to the terms. She finally noticed something other than the woman's strong, gentle features. She had her long hair, dark chocolate with chestnut highlights pulled back in a loose braid. She wore a well-worn and dirt splattered creamy colored shirt and rather ragged, patched pants under her riding skirts.

Lady Zelena had been complaining about needing more help around the place with the new bigger stable that was just finished in time for the newest tournament to start up. So, she must be a new stable groom for the next weeks. Either that or she was part of their new guests' hired help. Red secretly hoped for the former, that way she would have more time to get to know the other woman.

"I'm Dorothy." The woman Red had been calling her angel announced in a quiet tone, extending her free hand over the horse's neck toward her before Red could move away to start brushing out the dark cocoa colored mare. Red guessed the mare was the mate of the stallion she had been unconsciously drawn to before Zelena had found her.

"Red." The servant girl answered, her fingers closing around Dorothy's briefly yet still long enough for her arm to go numb with a kind of tingling warmth she'd never felt before, while the unnaturally light green eyes of the mare stayed locked on her as if quiet calculation.

Dorothy hummed in acknowledgment whispering the name a few times while they worked, testing it out before asking. "How can a color be someone's name when it isn't enough to match that person's inner strength?" Red nearly dropped the water bucket she'd been carrying her eyes wide in disbelief at the honest note in the new stable hand's tone. "Your parents should have called you something stronger like Ruby."

Red blushed at the praise then hastily corrected with "Granny is really the one who named me. She would always say that even when I was small she could see a kind of red fire in my eyes when she'd look at me and the name just stuck I guess…but you can call me Ruby if you want to. I kind of like it better actually…." She smiled shyly earning an agreeing nod from her companion at the acceptance "I was raised by my grandmother since I was small." Red explained as she brushed the dust and dirt from the mare's side as she talked "My mother abandoned us for a better life shortly after my birth and Granny said that Mother never told her outright who my father was.". Red was amazing herself at the openness she felt with this woman so soon after meeting her. She'd never told anyone the little she knew of her own past not even Lady Snow.

"Your Gran sounds a lot like my Aunt Em." Dorothy smiled before adding "After my parents passed on, Aunty Em and her husband took me in and have been looking after me ever since." She stilled, her eyes going wide as if she'd let slip some great secret.

Not that Red would press her on them, other than asking "So it was your aunt that helped teach you your trade or am I right to think that your skills with bedding down horses was self-taught?". Red let out the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding as soon as Dorothy's shoulders relaxed at her teasing question. The servant girl waited for her stable hand companion to finish raking out the existing straw while she waited at the stall door with a fresh bail.

"No, my Uncle taught me. He would always stress that a real lady should know how to properly care for everyone in her house. Watching the healers tending to any injuries, small things or an emergency, working in the kitchens baking with the cooks, helping the ladies maids change the sheets and linens in the main and guest bedrooms. I even helped out in our family's smithy and our farm for two weeks in between my other lessons. And then, the obvious one: knowing how to both bed down, saddle and shoe my own horse or in my case, horses." Red noticed a sudden humor in Dorothy's voice as she looked between the two horses they had been working with as if she was unconsciously part of some inside joke as she continued to talk.

"Cause how can a lady like yourself, my young niece, know if the job is being done properly unless you yourself have done it step by step?" Dorothy opened up her voice playfully dropping just a bit, so she sounded more like a man on the question while she led her horse back into its stall for some much-deserved rest.

"Is it safe for them to be bedded in the same stall?" Red asked knowing the thing was wide enough to accommodate both animals

"These two rest better together than apart. The only time I'd stall them apart is actually during the tournament when Fiyero is a lot more energized from competitions. But even then, I keep them in sight of each other; either side by side or across the walk from one another." Dorothy explained running her hand down the stallion's muzzle to calm him. "Besides Fiyero would sooner break his own legs than risk hurting his girl." Dorothy countered taking the lead off "isn't that right Aro?" she asked with a childlike coo.

The stallion at her side snorted with what could only be considered a kind of horse humor but dipped his head as if in agreement as the female pressed herself against his side affectionately her unnaturally green eyes shining in content as soon as the male dip his head over her neck in a tender hug giving Red and Dorothy time to both slip out of the stall and slid the door closed behind them.

"Want to see what we can hunt up from the kitchens for lunch before we start the tour?" Red offered once the pair had finished storing the other gear away for later.

Dorothy hesitated, wondering if she should accept heading back to the castle yet and risk being outed to the kind woman at her side for who she really was. But then, she saw the pained nervous flash in her Ruby's eyes when she started to back out of going, so instead, she answered with "Lead the way Ruby." As she slipped her hand into Red's, they walked out of the barn just as a soft rain started to fall around them.