Calvin spent most of the first day wandering around his new castle, servants bowing whenever they saw him pass. It made him uncomfortable to be revered like this, no one was willing to talk to him without either shaking in fear or only saying 'yes sire, no sire'. All he wanted was someone to talk to... and where was that raven haired woman? Wasn't this supposed to be some fairy tale where he would meet her, fall in love (haha) and live happily ever after (even funnier)? He wasn't exactly the settle down and make babies type.
He sighed in boredom as he sat at the table, poking the meat they had served him with a knife, pushing it around the plate idly.
"Sire, would you wish to go for a ride across the country, to see your kingdom?" Alfred said as he stood behind him, ready to take away his plate as he finished, or refill his fancy silver cup.
"Ride?" Calvin looked back at him in interest. "Why... yes. That would be wonderful." What time was he in, anyway? Obviously some time before air rescue if his shipwreck had been any indication. From the tunics and dresses everyone wore, he'd say it was a very long time ago. If only he had paid more attention in history class...
"I shall have the stable master prepare your horse, sire. It will be ready after your meal." Alfred said, his voice the normal stiff tone it always took. He waved over a maid passing by and sent her to send the message to the stable master.
Calvin grinned excitedly and ate his food with vigor, finally looking forward to something he could enjoy in this huge empty castle. Alfred took away his plate when he finished, a small hint of a smile of amusement on his face as he cleaned up after Calvin, pointing the way toward the stables.
Calvin practically jogged down the stairs, his boots making loud noises on the white stone as he pushed the door open to the courtyard outside the castle, breathing in the fresh sea air happily as he walked over to the stables.
Inside the large house at the end of the courtyard sat a carriage as well as several horses, the largest of which sporting a sleek saddle on its back. The brown and cream horse looked at him with interest, whickering. A tall man stood up from bending over, looking over the side of the stable walls to see Calvin. "Sire!" The man bowed quickly, standing up when Calvin waved a hand to stop.
"Is this the horse?" Calvin opened his palm up for the horse to smell him, smiling when the stallion snorted his hand enthusiastically.
"Yes sire, that is Zephyr. He is our strongest and fastest horse at the castle." The stable master said proudly, setting a hand against Zephyr's neck affectionately.
"He's magnificent." Calvin agreed, rubbing his palm against the stallion's snout in a gentle caress. "I'll give him a good run, no need to worry about that."
"Aye sire." The stable master smiled happily, taking the horse's reigns and leading him out of the stable.
"What's your name, by the way?" Calvin said idly, not noticing the shocked look the stable master gave him.
"Um... Aaron, sire." The man said tentatively.
"Aaron, thank you for readying the horse for me. I'll be back later this afternoon." He mounted the large stallion with a strong jump, swinging his leg over its back and smiling at the feel of the animal beneath him, the power in its muscles as it stepped back and forth to get used to his weight.
"Alright Zephyr, let's put your name to the test." Calvin set a hand against the horse's neck, trotting him out of the stable before letting out a loud yell for the horse to take off. He let out a loud yell of glee as the horse started galloping across the large expanses of the field toward the shoreline.
He let Zephyr trot comfortably along the shoreline, the horse's hooves splashing against the waves that lapped the sand. Calvin's hair was blown in all directions from the speed of the trip, still grinning from excitement. He patted the horse's neck affectionately before looking up and seeing a red object in the sand up ahead. He squinted his eyes to see better, but couldn't quite make it out. Leading the horse closer to it he saw immediately that it was long bright auburn hair spread across the back of a woman who was lying naked on the sand, face down.
"Shit-" Calvin hopped off Zephyr and sprinted over, kneeling next to the woman and rolling her onto her back, grateful when she coughed up water and started gasping for air. Calvin took off his riding cloak and set it over her, looking down at her in shock. She had pale skin with freckles scattered across her face, deep green eyes looking up at him with the same surprise he felt.
"A-are you alright?" Calvin managed to say, wrapping the cloak tighter around her against the cold sea air.
The woman opened her mouth, but the only sound that came out was a small squeak. She looked confused for a moment before trying again, but only with the same result. She resorted to just nodding, looking angry and glaring out in the direction of the ocean.
"Well, that's good." Calvin said in relief, thoroughly confused. The woman he had seen during his rescue had looked nothing like this one... but wasn't the mermaid the one that rescued him, or was it this woman? He picked her up off the ground before leading her over to Zephyr, who pranced in place impatiently. The woman immediately went over to the horse, comforting him with a hand against his snout, making small clicking noises to him. Calvin watched with interest as the horse immediately calmed, standing in place and lowering his head so the woman could reach his snout easier.
She looked back over to Calvin and gave him a soft smile, holding the cloak tightly around her as she walked back over to him. She pointed to the horse as if asking if they could go.
"Oh- of course." Calvin said, feeling stupid for staring at her as she petted Zephyr. He put his hands on her hips and hoisted her onto the horse, trying to ignore how curvy she was underneath that cloak. He jumped up behind her, heading back toward the castle to get her some clothes.
"Alfred?" Calvin called through the castle as he led her inside, an arm around her shoulder as she shivered from the cold. "I found a lady on the beach, do we have any clothes for her?"
The manservant rounded the corner with an expression of confusion, which turned to shock at the sight of the woman. "Yes sire, right away." He walked quickly back in the direction he had come from, shouting for the maids to help.
Calvin left him to it, guiding the woman over to a chair and letting her sit down. "Are you sure you're not hurt?" He asked, trying to look over her arms and legs to make sure nothing was too scraped up. "The rocks on that shore were pretty sharp."
The woman nodded, holding her cloak tightly around her as she shivered again. She smiled up to him gratefully, and looked back down to the floor, her green eyes clouded with thought.
"Well, my name's Calvin." He said, feeling a bit awkward around this woman for some reason. "Are you from around here?"
She let out a wry laugh and shook her head, a smile on her face in amusement.
"Well, you can make yourself at home here." Calvin said, confused by the strong answer.
A maid scurried up to them, the large woman tsking in pity at the sight of the woman. "Poor thing, come with me, we'll clean you up and get you dressed. I can't imagine what could have happened to you." She led the woman down the hall, Calvin watching after them curiously, noticing her glance back to him before she rounded the corner.
He sat in another chair, setting his chin in his palm in thought. The woman he had seen in his rescue had black hair and blue eyes- nothing like this woman with her fiery hair and freckles. Was the mermaid he was supposed to find either of them? Both? Neither? This wasn't how the tale was supposed to go. Where was the raven haired woman, anyway?
He tapped the table in thought as he tried to think, wondering what he should do next. Obviously spend time with the red-head, for some reason he found himself drawn to her. That might have been the freckles, though. He might as well let this play out as it went, he had a whole month, after all.