Title: A Fractured Fairytale
Authors: Butterfly (Cyanide) and Sandy-sama (Mai)
Summary: When you're a devious, somewhat odd slave for your /slightly/ evil stepmother, there's only one solution. Crossdressing. [BoyxBoy happiness and other strange settings. A twist on the fairytale 'Cinderella'. Because not all endings are happy ones.
WARNING! This is a work of fiction; all characters and plot belong to Cyanide and Sandy-sama, who aren't making any money out of it. Do not plagiarize or claim anything found here as your own work in any way, or we'll be forced to use Sandy-sama's uberly amazing cacti suppression techniques against you. That or the moo-things.
Short note: Six months since the last update, I seem to be making a habit of taking FOREVER with editing, updating and making bad excuses. But again, school hates me and exams are around. So squeezing my social life in is hard enough, let alone writing time xxxxxxxxxxx
But seriously sorry everyone -.-;;
Hopefully we'll have some more action taking place now it's holidays again
Wish us luck!
Random Note;; Cyan was listening to Forgive Durden's 'Beware the JubJub bird and shun the Frumious Bandersnatch' while he was editing this, so check it out, okay?
--------- – Change in Point of view
'Thoughts'
"Spoken"
Dedicated to Tsuki.
-heart-
---[.A Fractured Fairytale.---
Chapter Seven – Horses for the Poor
Yuan woke to the familiar sight of his pale ceiling, streaked with the early morning sunlight that shone through the open window. He yawned and rubbed his eyes, trying to banish the morning fuzziness that sabotaged his vision.
Quiet reigned over the bedroom, still and soft. The utter peace of it all never failed to convince Yuan to simply lay in bed for a moment longer and enjoy the morning.
That was, until a certain bird began it's daily demand for food.
A beautiful, exotic Parrot that his father had brought back from Sematte some years ago. It was more realiable than any wakeup call, starting up a loud squawking noise (as beautiful as it was to look at, the noise it made was atrocious) promptly at seven every morning, demanding breakfast. The Parrot, Tuelly, was kept in a silver enclosure on one side of Yuan's room. The cage wasn't particularly spacious, but Tuelly didn't seem to move about much anyway, more than happy to amuse himself with the various 'toys' Yuan had constructed for the bird as a child.
Sitting up, Yuan yawned again and smiled fondly at Tuelly. "Patience is a virtue," he told the bird, the same sentence he said every morning, which was often thrown back at him by the remarkable mimicry the Parrot possessed.
A shiver ran through him at the cold air that hit him as soon as the covers were thrown back, and Yuan hastily pulled a white shirt over his bare torso before picking up the small bowl of fruit and nuts that the maids left just inside the door every morning for Tuelly. Normally, Yuan would take the time to feed his bird each scrap of food by hand, but today another had his attention.
Kian. Yuan didn't want to miss a minute of her company; who knew when he'd see her again once she returned to Dybre, after all?
Opening the small door of the enclosure and placing the bowl inside, he chuckled at Tuelly's indignant and almost shocked screeches at not being given the usual lordly treatment. Dressing himself quickly in a loose grey jacket he usully wore when riding, and a pair of comfortable dark blue pants, Yuan stopped only to pull on a pair of plain black bloots and to tie his hair up once more. A final glance at the busily munching Tuelly told him the parrot would hardly be put out by his leaving.
"Greedy bird. Now that you're happy, I'm off to breakfast myself."
The door closed behind him with a soft thump, Tuelly didn't look up.
King Rupei looked up from his meal the moment Yuan entered the dining room. "Ah, Yuan," A knowing smile graced the older man's face. "I trust you slept well?"
Smiling at his father, Yuan gave a nod and sat down in a chair that one of the servants scuttled forward to pull out for him, despite constant reminding from Yuan over the years that he could do it himself. By now he'd just resigned himself to the fact that they wanted to be of use, and let them fuss over him. He stifled a yawn, knowing how much his father insisted on smart table manners even at this hour, and thanked the pretty serving girl as she set down a platter of fruit, bread and cheese. Breakfast at the palace was always a modest affair; a habit installed by the Queen, who had a relatively humble background for a noblewoman.
"Where's that Lady Kian of yours, then?" King Rupei asked cheerfully.
Yuan winced. "She's not mine," he said firmly. "And she's probably still in bed, sensible girl."
The King laughed and helped himself to an apple.
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"Did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
"About Prince Yuan! He invited a Lady to stay the night! Everyone's talking about it, how could you not have known?"
"Mosat likely because I was busy working and minding my own business, like you should be."
"Oh, stop it…"
The sounds of the two maid's bickering just outside of his doorway dragged Kian from sleep, feeling groggy and disorientated.
"But you have to admit, it is a nice change for him to finally take interest in finding a wife."
"I suppose. But it's to be expected, Prince Yuan is eighteen now."
"Mmm, You're right…"
By the time their voices trailed away and they moved on, Kian was well and truly awake.
It had been a shock to realize that he was, indeed not in his own room, but rather a bed about three times the size of his own and a great deal higher off the ground. It took a few moments more to collect himself as the memory of the previous night rushed back again.
Relaxing back into the warm comfort of the mattress and mountain of sheets, Kian rolled onto his side too face the wall opposite from the door, where a large window allowed the morning sun to shine into the room. A river of deep indigo laid out across the bottom of the bed caught his eye.
The dress.
It was as striking as ever, all shades of black, cobalt blue and deep violet. Kian knew without looking that the glass slippers and corset were hidden safely away under the bed, just in case. In case of what? He had no real ideas, but he felt better knowing they were out of sight.
Giving a sigh of resignation, the dark haired male hauled himself out of bed and towards the bathroom. As much as he didn't really feel like getting up, it was probably best to. He'd prefer it if some unknowing maid didn't come in just as he was changing.
Washing quickly, he ventured back towards the wardrobe, wondering if there would be a more comfortable dress for riding in. Thankfully enough, Kian could ride side saddle to an extent, seeing as he often exercised his stepsister's horses. Jessica and Amelia would not have their animals be ridden in anything but their own saddles (which Kian was sure they had only said to inconvenience him), and this meant using a women's style of riding. In truth, Kian had only ever used a man's saddle when he was younger, before his father's death. Now simply rode bare back, as he found it a great deal more comfortable.
Discovering a suitable dress close enough to his size (perhaps slightly too long, but that was irrelevant) and pair of riding boots, he struggled into his corset once more and laced himself in. The corset was no longer as foreign feeling, after having worn it for a fair few hours the previous night, and it wasn't nearly so difficult to breath in.
Glancing at himself one last time in the large mirror upon the vanity, Kian smoothed his hair slightly and left the room.
Almost as soon as he was clear of the door, the boy was surrounded by maids.
He had no idea so many people would ever berate him for dressing on his own. Actually he had no idea that anyone, let alone the mountain of people that greeted him then, would scold him for such a thing.
"Lady Kian! You're already dressed? You should have called for our assistance; we could have done it quite easily. There was no need for you to do so alone." A flustered, slightly breathless woman who had a motherly appearance around her, pushed through the throng of surrounding maids to greet the 'young lady', looking as though she'd been waiting all her life for Kian to appear. "We supposed you were simply sleeping late and wished to be left alone, but if I'd've known-"
Kian shook his head quickly, smiling courteously, "No, no. It was fine, I prefer to dress alone."
The maid continued to look unimpressed, but before she could open her mouth to speak, Kian cut her off.
"I seem to have forgotten the way to the dining room, do you mind showing me the way? I'm meant to be having breakfast with the Prince."
"Oh, of course not dear, it's right along this way."
Looking happy to be of use again, the maid bustled him off along the hall and down a flight of marble stairs, similar to those from the night before. They reached the dining room moments after, having only to descend a few stairs into a large, open room, in the center of which a large table sat. Yuan stood and smiled as Kian entered, a servant moving quickly to pull out a chair for the new arrival.
"Ah, there you are! Good morning. I hope you slept well?"
"Very well, I thank you." Kian sat carefully into the offered chair, smiling to the servant. "And yourself?"
"Wonderfully," was the predictable reply, and Yuan motioned for a maid to fetch Kian breakfast. "I see you've dressed for riding. I'm so glad you remembered." Yuan couldn't stop the almost childishly happy smile that graced his face.
"I doubt I would be able to forget, I enjoy it too much." That much was true, riding was perhaps the only chore Kian actually enjoyed doing, and it was thought of more as a treat then a task set by his stepmother.
"Good Morning, Lady Kian," Rupei greeted, glancing over the young girl with sharp green eyes. "It's a pleasure to have you with us. I must thank you for enduring the company of my son for so long last night."
Kian looked over in surprise, not having noticed the King's prescence.
"It is a pleasure to be here, Majesty." A half smile, half smirk played over his lips.
"Not at all, his Highness' company is much easier to endure then many noblemen's. It was an evening I wouldn't mind repeating."
"Oh? Well, it's very gracious of you to say so," Rupei smiled. There was a split-second pause, and Yuan felt a sensation of resignation, knowng that his father was about to start the mini-Inquisition.
"Tell me," the King began, and Yuan glanced up at the ceiling as though hoping for assisstance from the Gods, "will you be staying in Carliss long, Lady Kian?"
Yuan sent an apologetic glance towards the young lady, hoping he understood his regret at his father's actions.
"Not too long, you're Majesty. I will more then likely be returning to Dybre sometime in the next three weeks." Kian replied, accepting a plate of food from a maid with a thankful smile (his stomach had been complaining quietly for food all morning, and now it was with him, Kian welcomed the simple yet filling meal with open arms). "The time I return is still undecided."
The King looked pleased at this, and with a sinking heart Yuan could practically feel the plans of potential marriage slowly developing inside his father's head.
"Wonderful," Rupei said, munching busily on his apple.
"Well, you're perfectly welcome to stay as long as you like. I hear that you were previously staying with your cousin. I assume you've let them know where you are? I wouldn't want them to become worried about you, after all, being lovely young Lady like yourself."
Yuan almost laughed at his father's flattering words, having never heard him speak so courteously to anyone who wasn't the Queen before, but he managed to turn it into a cough at the last moment. Similarly, Kian surpressed a shudder at the sycophancy.
"I have let him know, and he had no qualms with my staying. And I thank you for the invitation, you're Majesty."
"Well, whether or not you choose to take up the invitation is entirely up to you. But we would be very honoured to have you stay." King Rupei took a last bite out of his apple, then threw the core into the corner of the room with careless accuracy, where it was pounced upon by his favourite hunting dog, Aoi.
"Are you engaged, Lady Kian?"
Yuan closed his eyes. Kian managed to keep from choking on the mouthful of fruit he had just taken.
"N-no, Sire. I am not."
Apparently the King had no idea what the word 'tact' meant. But then, Kian never had really installed it into his own vocabulary either.
"Ah," the King said, sitting back slightly in his chair with a pleased air about him. "Interestingly enough, neither are my sons, most notably-"
"Shall we go then? I told the stableboys that we'd be down at the stables by eight thirty," Yuan stood suddenly, not looking at his father. "Besides, the trail that I want to show you will take a long time, and we should set off now if we want to be back for lunch."
King Rupei looked somewhat put out, giving Yuan a somewhat irritated look. "It's rude to cut people off in the middle of a sentence, Yuan," he said reprovingly.
"Sorry, father," Yuan said automatically, and his father's scowl deepened at the percieved show of disrespect.
Kian resisted the urge to laugh.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, you're Majesty." Kian did not curtsey, but did lower his head in a slight bow. Perhaps it would have offended the older man, but he did not wait to find out. Honestly, Kian wanted to get moving himself. Riding would be an exciting activity, one he looked forwards to.
"Are you ready?" He enquired, looking towards the blonde prince.
Yuan shot Kian a look of gratitude and he nodded, also giving his father a small bow before hurrying off out of the dining hall and leading Kian towards the stables.
"I'm terribly sorry," he apologised sheepishly, looking at Kian. "My father seems to think that a Prince ought to be married by the age of nineteen, if not eighteen. And so in his opinion, he's got to find me a suitable bride before my nineteenth birthday. Pay him no mind."
'And please,' Yuan added silently in his mind, 'please don't get any ideas yourself about marrying me. Although you're the nicest, most interesting female I've ever met in my life, the fact remains that you are, after all, female.'
Kian followed, having to speed up his pace slightly to keep up with the taller male's longer legs. The dress hindered his movements slightly, and the corset had once again become evil. Hurrying involved a certain amount of normal breathing, which he couldn't take part in while wearing the device. If he ever had another [no matter how brilliant idea that involved one of the cursed things, Kian would eat the rib crushing piece of fashion. And then drink acid, just to make sure all of its remains were completely destroyed.
"It's fine, he was…interesting." The customary smirk played over his lips, having been concealed behind a polite smile during his 'talk' with King Rupei. "I'm sure he means well." A thoughtful look crossed his delicate features. "He was born and raised in a time where people married young because of the constant battles. He wishes for you to carry on his family, and while there may not be any particularly evident wars that Carliss is involved in at the moment, the idea of one can loom out at any moment."
"I suppose that's true," Yuan agreed reluctantly. "He does mean well, I suppose... I just wish he wouldn't try and marry me off in the most embarrassing ways he possibly can. I swear he does it on purpose, too... I think his reasoning is that any girl who can survive his little grilling sessions without having a nervous fit would make a good Princess." He gave a rueful shrug. "Ah well."
The two entered the gardens, a bright array of colour and beauty in the morning sunlight, but Kian could not help but feel the scenery appeared much more attractive at night. The paths split away from one another, leading off through the maze of flowers, trees and crawling vines. It seemed somehow more…tame in the light.
"If I were to develop a twitch, perhaps he would reconsider his ideas upon the…idea." He paused for a moment, not wanting to finish with the word marriage. To be honest, the word disgusted Kian, thinking back to how his own father had rushed so easily into one after his wife's death.
Yuan couldn't prevent the look of relief that presented itself on his face at Kian's words. Evidently, he had nothing to worry about; Kian didn't seem to like the idea at all either. Afraid that his expression could be taken offensively, he hastily pasted a more polite smile on before spotting one of the stableboys, Syuu, waving cheerily at them from the gate at the far end of the garden.
"Prince Yuan, Milady, good morning!" he called, a warm smile on his face. Yuan smiled in return.
"And a good morning to you too, Syuu. Are the horses all well?"
"Apart from the two bay stallions," Syuu nodded, "Something spooked them in the night and the silly pair ended up hurting themselves trying to get out of their stalls."
A look of concern crossed Kian's face. "Will they be alright? Some of the smallest injuries can do permanent damage to a horse…" He trailed away suddenly, feeling akward.
Syuu gave Kian a look of delight, although it was tricky to tell, seeing as the boy never seemed to stop smiling, even when he was angry. It was almost creepy, Yuan reflected vaguely.
"Lady Kian's father breeds horses for a living," Yuan informed the stableboy as Syuu fell neatly into step beside them.
"Really? It's wonderful to see your concern, Milady," Syuu smiled. "But you needn't worry. One of the stallions has nothing worse than a chipped hoof and scratched leg, both of which'll be fine after a day or two of rest. The other isn't actually injured; just unusually skittish. Refuses point blank to let anyone near it, even me, and he usually lets me do anything with him." He gave a shrug, and the smile receded ever so slightly.
"I'd really like to know what gave them such a fright. All the other horses seem to be perfectly fine."
Yuan looked amused at Syuu's little monologue. The just-turned-seventeen year old was usually relatively quiet, happier to listen than to do most of the talking, but upon finding out that Kian's father bred horses for a living, something that Yuan knew Syuu had always wanted to do himself, had made the boy warm to Kian and happily take the chance to ramble on about his beloved animals.
Kian nodded, listening ardently to the stable boy. Despite how he tried to stay focused on remaining 'feminine and demure' (Things which he wasn't so good at either way, he was too…stubborn. He didn't work that way) he found himself quickly becoming sucked into the conversation with Syuu.
"Are they young or new to the stables? Perhaps they are uncomfortable with being in such a different place to their former home, since I doubt there are no stables in Carliss that are quite as grand as these. It's not unlinke young horses tohave trouble adapting to someplace new." It was more of a voiced thought then a true opinion or part of the conversation.
Though Yuan was, quite frankly, completely lost in all the talk about horses, he was content to listen to Syuu and Kian, walking in the morning sunlight. The stables were quite a way away from the palace itself; they used to be right next to it, but the Queen had developed a horrendous allergy to horses, and so they were moved to a more bearable distance.
"That's the thing you see, Milady, that's got me puzzled. Though they're obviously not what you'd call calm, seeing as they're not geldings, they're usually pretty steady and reliable. They've been here for, ohh..." Syuu thought for a moment, "Well, the older one, Vaughn, has been here nearly two years, and the younger, Benjy, has been here for five. It's a complete mystery to me." He paused.
"Milady seems to know a lot about horses. I don't suppose you'd would like to have a look at the stallions...? There's no danger, or risk, of course." Syuu added quickly, glancing at Yuan with a sheepish grin.
The Prince just let out a quiet huff of amusement. About eight months earlier, Yuan's cousin Angela had come to visit and had visited the stables without Yuan; he'd had to sort out some of his studywork that had gone wrong, and so he'd told her to go ahead without him. But upon finding the stables, Syuu had assumed that since Yuan had let her come alone, Lady Angela must know all about horses and so he'd let her into the stall of one of the more temperamental mares.
The poor girl refused to so much as get in a horse-drawn carriage now, according to servant's gossip.
"It wouldn't worry me either way; I have a habit of getting myself in and out of hazardous situations quite easily." Kian replied.
Sadly enough, it was the truth. One thing Kian could say about his life was that he had never been bored; he had no chance to be. In that week alone, he had managed to escape his stepmother's wrath on eight separate occasions, only one of those things being something he had nothing to do with. The rest had been, he admitted only slightly shamed, his fault entirely. But really, if those chickens hadn't been out on the forth landing of the stairwell instead of their shed out on the manor grounds, the maid would never have broken her leg anyway, which would have prevented his…well, it was probably best not to go into that just then.
As the trio continued on down the path, Kian glanced up, wondering when the stables (which had become something of a legend around Carliss, thanks to their fine animals and apparently rather amazing architecture. Kian had wondered why and what would make the form of any stable so grand. Personally, he believed the importance lay in the creatures inside) would eventually make an appearance.
"But please don't bother with calling me 'Milady', Kian is more then fine." The dark haired youth offered a smile to the stable boy, feeling a horrible clenching in his stomach each time the title was used in place of his true name. "But yes, I would love to see them. They sound wonderful, despite the current situation."
"I'll seize the liberty then," Syuu replied, looking pleased.
"Forgive the further liberty, Mil - Kian, but you seem to be very different to any noblewoman I've ever come across. It's refreshing; I can see why Prince Yuan likes you so much." This last comment earned the stableboy a light cautionary nudge from Yuan, along with a slightly disapproving glare. As fond as Yuan was of the cheery, intelligent stableboy, he had after all been brought up under the strict belief that there were Lines which non-nobility Did Not Cross. And one of those Lines (oh yes, the capital letter was very important) was the keeping of one's opinions about those higher in rank than oneself private.
"I'm sure that Kian doesn't need to hear that she's different," Yuan said reprovingly, choosing to temporarily forget the fact that he himself had commented on it several times.
"Of course," Syuu said instantly, though his tone was odd. Yuan could rarely tell when Syuu was actually being serious; it disturbed him ever so slightly.
"I do apologise, Lady Kian."
Kian laughed. It was a relief that Syuu hadn't made a fuss about using his fake title. Even though he had only spent roughly 24 hours as 'Lady Kian', the long list of official titles and forever being called by a noblewoman's proper label had already become annoying. Along with the added pressure of hiding the knowing smirk whenever he was referred to as a 'lady', the dark haired cross-dresser (he shuddered to think of the words 'cross-dressing'. If this didn't traumatize him for life, nothing would) felt that a simple 'Kian' would suffice from then on.
Waving a hand in dismissal at the apology, Kian moved ahead of his companions briefly to pause before a brilliant, blood red flower jutting defiantly out from the neat sides of the path. Pale, thin fingers brushed over the deeply coloured petals, feeling the slightly waxy, damp texture. The underside of the petal was darker and silkier then the opposite face, something he was not surprised to discover. Rosa Macdub, a climbing rose. He had a smaller version of the plant back in the manor, lurking in one of the wilder, more overgrown parts of the garden. He had found it shortly after the fourth anniversary of his father's death, and decided to care for the pathetic looking, diseased plant that had become choked by various crawling vines and climbers. Slowly, he'd restored and revived the beautiful plant to its original state.
It was rare that anyone traveled so far back into the manor's grounds besides Kian, so it remained unseen by anyone but himself. But somehow, he preferred it that way.
Syuu observed Kian's movements with a shrewd eye.
"The flower suits you,"
His voice had become quiet, so that Yuan did not hear. Normally, of course, the Prince would have heard no matter how quietly Syuu said it, but the noise of the stables was in the air now, as they were very close to them, and it conveniently covered Syuu's words temporarily from Yuan.
"Far from the norm. You're not what you seem, are you, Kian?"
Again, the words were said with that constant smile and pleasant tone of voice. Syuu genuinely didn't seem to be insinuating or accusing Kian of anything; it was as though he was merely stating a fact.
Kian looked shocked, but the expression quickly became one of innocent surprise.
"Whatever could you mean, Syuu?"
"Ah, there we are," Yuan said suddenly, completely unaware of the sperate conversation going on beside him.
"The Royal Stables. A little over the top, I've always felt, but the stablehand's insist that the horses deserve to live in such a... splendid place."
'Splendid' was a pretty good choice of wording. The stable was, to put it bluntly, huge. The outside was proudly supported by tall pillars made entirely of carved marble, which had cost a fortune to have made. Marble was a very expensive material, after all, not to mention very difficult for sculptors to carve in such detail. The main front doors were made of strong, dark mahogany, and several tall windows were situated around the stable walls, framed with gold leaf and further artistic carvings. Altogether, it looked very grand indeed.
"Yes, great creatures deserve great homes. But father always said to never overlook those who call the more modest of housings home."
It was true, the old dun Kian often rode around the manor grounds, a mare affectionately named 'Bee' by his mother before her death, was a wonderful creature, despite being forced to live in the shed by the orchard to make room for his stepsister's horses and ponies.
"Then your father was a wise man," Yuan nodded, with Syuu nodding alongside him in agreement.
"If you'd like to come round the back?" Syuu offered, gesturing. "We're keeping the stallions out there, in case it was something inside their stalls that frightened them. Although, we haven't found anything yet..."
He shrugged.
"Oh, and what are your riding preferences, Kian?" the stable hand asked, head tilted ever so slightly to the side. "Mare, gelding, stallion? Any particular colour preference? Age? Or would you simply like to pick one out from the stables once you've satisfied your curiousity with Benjy and Vaughn?"
Yuan vaguely recollected that Benjy, the younger of the two stallions, was a fairly small grey Connemara, but he couldn't remember what Vaughn looked like, although he definitely recognised the name. Although he hugely enjoyed riding, Yuan wasn't the most confident of riders and preferred to stick with mares and geldings rather than the more frisky, temperamental stallions.
Kian nodded absently to Yuan's comment, distracted slightly by the mass of sound and sights around him. He had been in a stable before (though it was only the one back at his stepmother's manor, which he had spent the majority of this life in. If he could have, the dark haired youth would have slept in the hayloft every night, but the stables were set further away from the main part of the manor, meaning it would take longer for Kian to complete the day's tasks), but these were by far superior. It took a moment to adjust to the array of activity.
Following the other male's lead, the pale teenager followed a few steps behind the two. He had never particularly cared what gender horse he rode, and neither age nor colour mattered to him.
"I will ride whoever you wish me to." Came the simple reply.
"How experienced a rider would you describe yourself as, Kian?" he asked, taking a moment to wave at a couple of fellow stableboys that were perched comfortably on a bale of hay, polishing a set of tack.
"We've got a new arrival and we haven't had the chance to ride him yet. Perhaps you'd like to see what he's like...? Of course, if he's not to your taste then you can always switch mounts. Oh, and you'll be riding...?" This last sentence was directed at Yuan, who'd been contentedly breathing in the slightly dusty air of the stables as they walked through them.
"Oh... Ah, I'll have Shelt today, I think," Yuan answered, nodding towards the horse's stall as they passed it. It was empty, which didn't surprise Yuan. Shelt was very much an outdoors horse, and hated to be cooped up in her stall any longer than she needed to be, and so the stable hands often took her out of her stall each morning to spend time in one of the various paddocks that surrounded the stables. Syuu nodded and one of the stable hands jogged off, presumably to catch the mare and prepare her for the ride.
"Quite well, I would suppose. I can handle strong horses easily enough. I wouldn't mind trying him out for you, at any rate."
Kian brushed away a few strands of black hair that had stubbornly insisted on obscuring his left eye, cursing mentally at the obstinate bangs. Seeing as he only ever cut his hair himself (usually with an old pair of scissors and without a mirror. It was surprising that it could look even vaguely presentable, let alone 'lady-like') he had no one else to blame for the odd lengths of hair that fell in layers around his face. The majority could easily be held back by a ponytail, as he usually wore it, but there were always a few annoying bangs that seemed determined to block his vision.
Yuan caught Kian's movements out of the corner of his eye and he smiled, amused, at the offending bangs. 'Cute...' his mind supplied, and the smile grew a little in agreement.
The cool, somewhat dim interior of the stables suddenly gave way to bright sunlight as the trio went out of the back doors, heading towards the stallions that were enclosed in separate fenced squares.
Upon seeing the horses, Yuan remembered Vaughn easily. He was the huge black Noriker horse that always seemed to be nibbling at Syuu's hair affectionately. Recalling what Syuu had said before about Vaughn not letting even him come near, Yuan realised the significance at last. The stallion was apparently devoted to Syuu (as far as Yuan would go as to call a horse capable of devotion, anyway.
Although most horse owners he'd met, and certainly all of the Carliss stable hands, insisted otherwise, the Prince had never really taken to the concept that horses could feel, albeit to a lesser extent, human emotions).
Syuu bowed in mock extravagance to the pair. "Kian, may I introduce Benjy," he said, gesturing to the grey on his right, "and Vaughn," he gestured to the left. "They're pretty friendly in general, and I'd let you go into the enclosure with them, only I'm not so sure they'd like that, seeing as they were so alarmed last night. Plus, they won't let me in with them, and they know me better then most..." he shrugged apologetically.
"But perhaps your eyes can spot something we haven't? We'd really like to get to the bottom of this. Of course, don't feel pressured to find something. We appreciate all the help we can get."
Yuan rolled his eyes at the stable boy's odd sense of humorand brushed his own bangs out of his eyes, wishing he'd remembered to bring his bandana. His hair wasn't usually that troublesome, being long enough to comfortably tuck behind his ears, but when it was breezy like just then, it could become a problem without some sort of restraint.
Kian noticed Yuan struggling with a similar hair problem to his own. With a small, amused smile, he reached behind to untie the length of black ribbon from his own hair, leaving the ponytail held in place by the same silver butterfly clip he had worn the previous night. "Here," Kian offered the ribbon to the blonde Prince. "It should be long enough to tie around your head to keep everything in place."
"Thankyou," Yuan said, reaching out and taking the ribbon from Kian's fingers. "I appreciate it." He knotted the ribbon neatly around his forehead, securing his bangs. It felt a little odd, as he'd never done it before, but he soon decided that it was more convenient than a banadana, which kept in the heat too well and made Yuan uncomfortably warm after a while.
Kian nodded, and turned back to watching the two stallions. The dark haired boy noticed a small bandage on Benjy's left foreleg, obviously the scratch Syuu had mentioned earlier.
However, on the opposite foreleg, a small splatter of something dark around Benjy's hoof caught his attention. Squinting at the small stain, Kian wondered if it was a marking in the stallion's coat. It was unlikely to be blood from the scratch, as it couldn't have bled enough to splatter even that small amount around the opposite hoof.
"Syuu…" He began, hesitantly, wondering if his thoughts were correct.
"Yes, Kian?" Syuu asked hopefully, looking up from his inspection of the fence he'd been leaning against. It was fairly obvious that he was enjoying the opportunity to miss out the 'Milady'; something he never really ever got to do. Missing out the 'Highness' and simply calling Yuan 'Prince Yuan' was as close as Syuu had ever gotten to missing out on the whole name and rank thing before, and he was going to savour the opportunity.
"I'm…not sure." He paused, as if thinking his words through properly first. "On Benjy's right foreleg, there's a small splatter of something. It's difficult to tell from here, but it could be just a mark of his coat." From the way the horse was moving, the cut and chipped hoof did not hinder him in the slightest, but there was something decidedly jumpy about the way he stood. Muscles were tense beneath his glossy grey coat, head raised slightly higher then necessary every few moments, as if scanning the ground around him for…something. From what Kian could tell, the horse was looking out from something small or something that stood close to the ground.
"When you say you checked the stalls, was there any blood in the bedding? Even a slight amount?" He knew that there was a high chance of any blood found belonging to Benjy himself. But the slight size and placing of the wound made Kian doubt more then a droplet or two of blood would fall away from the area of the injury.
"A small amount," Syuu conceded, "but that was just from where he scratched his leg. We think, anyway... Where's the mark? Oh, wait, I see it..." he crouched down, peering at Benjy's leg, and action that was hindered by the way Benjy kept on turning around.
"Huh..." he said out loud, sounding puzzled. "I've never noticed that before, but it's really hard to spot, so it might just be that I hadn't seen it before..." From his tone of voice, it was clear that he didn't like that thought. Syuu prided himself on his observancy, both with people (as proven with Kian) and horses. He stood up and turned around, calling out, "Zuki! Fynn! Hey, come over here for a moment!" From just inside the back doors, two stableboys emerged. One was very tall; taller than Yuan by a good couple of inches, with a very serious expression on his handsome face. The other was, oddly enough, darkhaired with freckles, an unlikely combination.
"Good morning, Prince Yuan. Good morning Milady," the freckled boy said with a polite smile. The taller boy gave a little bow, but didn't say anything.
"Good morning," Yuan answered, before being cut off by Syuu. Yuan was sure that Syuu didn't mean to be disrespectful, so he let it slide.
"Have a look at Benjy's right foreleg," Syuu gestured. "You see the little dark mark there?" Fynn (Yuan was sure that the freeckled one was Fynn, which meant the other must be Zuki) crouched down as Syuu had done to study it, while Zuki chose to lean down without actually bending his knees.
"... Yeah," Fynn nodded after a while, squinting. "Hell, you've got good eyesight, Syuu. It's really hard to see, especially in this damn bright sun... OW!" The cause for his exclamation of indignant pain came from the fact that Zuki had smartly clipped the shorter boy on the ear with a glare.
"Language," he hissed, shooting an apologetic look towards Prince Yuan and Kian.
"It wasn't actually me that spotted it," Syuu shook his head, "it was Lady Kian here."
Kian shook 'her' head at the pair, a small smile on his face. "Please, just Kian is fine."
Zuki looked surprised, but Fynn just gave a friendly grin and nodded. "Honoured, Kian," he said, before crouching down again to squint at Benjy's leg. "Wow... So you spotted that? Really? Heh... I can't say I've noticed it before."
"It's not part of his natural coat," Zuki put in, frowning. "I remember seeing it now, because I was the one to bandage his leg earlier this morning. But I'm sure it wasn't there yesterday."
"We'll definitely have to look into that," Fynn nodded, straightening up. "C'mon, Zu, you can hold his head while I take a look." He started to head back into the stables, Zuki following and complaining in a low voice that he was always stuck holding onto horses while Fynn stressed him out by doing the more dangerous bits and making him worry so much. It was endearing; Zuki evidently cared a lot for Fynn, though whether the vice-versa was true or not, Yuan couldn't be sure. 'Lucky Fynn,' he thought, a tad wistfully.
"Thank you very much, Kian," Syuu said, still looking at Benjy. "Ahh... But if you two are planning to be back in time for lunch, then you'd probably best set off now. It's nearing to nine, after all."
"Alright," Yuan nodded. And as if on perfect cue, a stable hand turned the corner with Shelt in tow, tacked up and ready. The placid-looking mare was following the boy obediently without having to be led by a guiding hand. She was one of Yuan's favourites to ride, seeing as she'd never even dream of doing anything that she wasn't told to.
"Thanks," Syuu took the reins as the other stablehand asked politely, "And who would Milady like to ride?"
"'Milady' likes to be called Kian," Syuu said, "and she's kindly agreed to ride the new gelding for us. You'll like him," Syuu added to Kian, as once again the stableboy jogged off, handing the reins to Yuan. "He's as big as Vaughn is, and he's absolutely beautiful. He's called James, which I personally think doesn't suit him at all. But that's my personal opinion, and we're hardly going to change his name now, so..." he shrugged.
"He sounds fine, I'm glad I'll be able to ride him."
His step sisters horses were all attractive horses, but had little to them past that. While lovely creatures, the animals were used to being spoilt and small sessions of light riding. Plus, Kian needed permission to exercise them, which he only had once a day for an hour each at the most. His own mount, Bee (really just his mother's old horse that his stepmother could never be bothered to get rid of. Kian wondered if the vain woman even knew the animal still roamed the property), did well, but was old and could only manage a short amount of work before needing a rest.
"I hope he's to your liking," Syuu nodded happily. "If you'd like to follow me, Kian? I'll take you to him."
"I'll warm up Shelt, then," Yuan nodded, slotting a foot into the corresponding stirrup and bouncing neatly into the saddle; easy enough for someone of Yuan's height. He wondered with amusement; how exactly Kian was going to mount a horse as big as Vaughn wearing a dress? It would be especially difficult with a side-saddle. Maybe Syuu would get her to stand on a mounting block or something... Yuan didn't know. Shrugging to himself with an amused smile still on his face, he pushed Kian's kindly offered ribbon a little higher on his forehead then nudged Shelt with his heels, starting to trot in a steady circle to warm her up for the long trek.
Out of Yuan's earshot, Syuu sent another sharply intelligent sidelong glance at Kian, who was a mere few inches shorter then the stableboy.
"It's not my place to pry, of course," he began, "but I would like to ask; whatever secret or secrets you are holding, please be careful. There are... Well, things are a little unstable, pardoning the pun, in the Carliss courts right now, contrary to the Royal family's beliefs. Your secrets probably won't place you in any danger, but better safe than sorry, especially if you're planning on spending more time with Prince Yuan."
Kian wasn't all that surprised by the comment this time.
"I understand your concern, but I won't be staying in Carliss long. Yuan will have forgotten all about me before next summer, I can assure you."
"Oh?" Syuu answered, and for the first time there was the hint of a slightly deeper insinuation than the face-value. "I suppose it's beyond my place to enquire why that is, exactly? You sound very sure."
Stopping, he reached out and unlatched the door of one of the slightly larger stalls with a neat flick of his wrist, pushing the door so that it opened inwards. He made a few clicking noises with his tongue, alerting the gelding inside of his presence.
"Hey, James," he murmured. His tone of voice was, predictably, the same as ever, but there was a very slightly gentler sound to it now; almost unnoticeable if you weren't paying attention. "Lucky you, you get your first rider here today. Going to let me take you out, hmm? Good boy." Syuu walked into the stall, reaching out and gently taking hold of James' reins, patting his neck fondly. He started to lead him out, wrinkling his nose as part of the horse's black mane tickled it. James was a handsome bay colour; black mane and tail with a chestnut body.
"It's the inevitable; there is nothing I can do to escape it." It was the closest he could get to the truth without answering directly and creating a great deal more trouble then he needed at that point. If he was discovered, he would surely be executed for attempting to 'lead the royal family astray', erasing him immediately from Yuan's life. However, if he somehow managed to get away with the (rather elaborate) scheme, he'd be gone within a few weeks. Either way, Kian wouldn't be returning to Carliss.
Despite how little any horse's appearance mattered to him, Kian found himself in awe of James. The horse was beautiful; plain and simple. Large eyes, the colour of molten chocolate, were just a few shades darker then the horse's coat, and the hair around his muzzle, eyes and ears were smudged black. Long ebony stockings and a proudly held tail completed James' picturesque look.
"He's stunning." Kian breathed, wondering if he'd be as pleasant to ride.
"He is, isn't he?" Syuu said warmly. "If you'd like to hold his reins for a moment, I'll go and find a side-saddle for you. Or perhaps you'd prefer a...? Ah, um, never mind." Syuu hastily handed Kian the reins then walked briskly off towards one of the many tack rooms.
James huffed loudly, starting to move after the stableboy, apparently unafraid of anything in his current surroundings. Kian's grip remained firm on the rein, but the materialization of a familiar face to his left caused the boy to start in surprise.
"Hey," Fynn panted lightly. "Thought I'd come and keep you company for a few minutes."
He gave Kian a slightly sheepish grin, then added, "Well, actually, Zuki's kind of mad at me right now - although, what else is new? Sheesh, you'd think I deliberately went out of my way to piss him off the way he acts - and I thought I'd better get away for about... about two and a half minutes. He's usually forgiven me by then." Fynn grinned more cheerfully at Kian, evidently not feeling remorseful at all.
Kian laughed at the grinning stableboy, "Ah, so I've become a safe house, have I?"
Zuki, a dark look evident upon his handsome face, seemed to be having a rough time trying to convince Benjy to calm down some way down the stables. Kian guessed that the tall stablehand wouldn't come over to yell at his freckled partner. From what he had seen, Zuki was all manners and respect around any noble and would not even consider scolding Fynn in the presence of one. And, for the time being, Kian was a noble. It still entertained said boy whenever he thought of that particular fact.
"Maybe you should try to make it up to him?" Kian thought aloud. "It'd be a nice surprise."
Fynn gave the other boy a surprised look. "Make it up to him?" he echoed, looking bemused.
"Um... Well, I guess I could, but he's going to forgive me anyway, so..." he shrugged. "Besides, how would I do that? I'm not very good at apologising... probably 'cos I don't do it much, but hey..." he grinned, reaching out a hand and patting James affectionately on the shoulder.
Then, without warning, he suddenly burst into chuckles. "Hey," he said through his mirth, "I saw Syuu looking at you in that weird way of his. You better watch out; you've got him curious now. You can betcha he'll dig around until either his curiousity's satisfied or he drops down stone-cold-dead, whichever comes first." Fynn didn't seem at all bothered that he was talking to a noble, especially a lady, in pretty much the same manner to talked to the other stable hands.
"Well he's going to be curious for a long time then, because I have nothing all that interesting about me for him to find. If he can find it at all." The words sounded light and laughing, but unease squirmed in the pit of Kian's stomach restlessly. Would Syuu discover anything, should he bother looking? What would the stableboy tell the Prince, if he did?
"But anyway, it doesn't have to be an apology. It could just be something nice for him, I used to do things like that for my father when I was a child."
"Uh huh... Maybe. Yeah... Maybe I should." A guilty look stole over his face. "I don't think I've ever said sorry in any way to him, ever... Which is weird, really. He never demands an apology or anything, just sighs at me and rolls his eyes and offers to have a horse-race with me..." Fynn said slowly, the guilty look getting steadily stronger on a face that wasn't used to bearing anything other than a carefree grin.
Seeming to suddenly, abruptly make up his mind, Fynn took a bouncing step backwards.
"Thanks Kian, I guess. Hey, you ain't half bad for a noble, if you don't mind me saying so. Hope to see you around again! I'll update you on the Benjy situation next time I see you!" Fynn gave Kian a quick wave, then spun on his heel and started jogging back to Zuki and Benjy.
Kian sighed and leaned against James, murmuring to the great horse, "It's barely 9:30, and I'm already exhausted. What else could happen today?"
Moments later, Syuu rejoined to two once again, carrying a large side-saddle over his arm.
"I found one," he said, rather stating the obvious. I'll just make sure it fits him, then yourself and Prince Yuan can get moving." He stood to the side of James, hoisting the saddle up.
"If you could just keep a tight hold of him? He's perfectly used to saddles, but I don't know how he reacts to them yet." As he said so, he gently placed the saddle on James' back. "Oh, I was wondering..." he said, voice as light and casual as ever, "one of the maids mentioned that you were staying with your cousin who is in the employ of the Westard family. Is that true?"
Hearing the slightly too casual remark made by the forever smiling youth, Kian glanced sharply at the small part of Syuu he could actually see around James' strong shoulder. "Yes, it's true." He replied in a tone similar to the stablehands'. He paused his stroking of James' neck momentarily, until the large creature gave a gentle nudge with his muzzle, unsatisfied by the break in Kian's petting.
"Why do you ask?" He continued, resuming his patting.
"I happen to be passing by that way in a couple of hours. By the Westard place, I mean. Would you like me to pick anything up for you, or take a message or something?" Syuu enquired, finishing with the buckles and sliding two fingers between the girth and James' stomach to check the tightness.
"No, I wouldn't want to bother my cousin, and the Westard's have never particularly liked me, so I do not believe they'd appreciate my interrupting their servant's work." A good enough excuse, hopefully. He knew that if Syuu went by the manor now with news for the male version of himself, especially when his stepmother would no doubt be furious about his disappearance, questions would immediately rise. And considering how there would be no cousin awaiting Kian back at the manor, things would become sticky extremely quickly.
"But thank you for asking, it was very kind of you."
"Of course, but it's no trouble, if you ever change your mind… Now, how do you normally mount a horse, Kian?" Very few women ever rode horses at the Carliss stables, and Syuu wasn't entirely sure how to get the tiny girl onto the big horse.
Kian moved around to the great animal's opposite side. "I usually manage to haul myself up well enough, but if you wouldn't mind holding his head for me, I'd be grateful."
Gathering the reins up to keep James' in place with one hand, he gripped the back of the saddle with the other, facing the horses' back. He'd never really been taught how to mount side saddle, though his father had given him lessons for riding using a man's saddle, so he'd managed to adapt the mounting style to suit that particular style of saddle.
Shoving his left boot-clad foot into the single stirrup, Kian used his arms and leg to push his body up. The moment he was airborne, he flipped himself around, managing to switch his hand around in a moment and seat himself comfortably in the seat of the saddle. Hooking his left leg over his right, which was now lodged firmly in the stirrup, Kian gathered up his reins once more in both hands.
"All set?" He asked Syuu, feeling oddly thrilled by the sudden gain in height.
"I'm afraid I have to be off now," Syuu said politely, looking slightly amused as he give Kian a small bow. "I hope you and Prince Yuan have a good morning's riding." He gave James a parting rub on the neck, then walked briskly off in the opposite direction.
Feeling the large animal beneath him shift his weight from one leg to the other, anticipating the command to move forwards, Kian smiled softly at the proud animal. His head and tail were held held aloft, ready. Smoothing the area of mane closest to him, the pale boy watched dark ears flicker back to listen as he whispered soothing words. With a small tap to his side, the two moved forwards and out into the bright sunlight.
Blinking as his pupils contracted with the near blinding light, Kian looked up to see Yuan waiting for them, mounted on his mare. Realizing just how long they'd been gone, the 'young lady' urged James into a light trot, joining the other cautiously.
"Sorry about leaving you to wait, it was difficult to find a saddle that fit."
Yuan smiled with relief.
"Not a problem, I thought perhaps something had happened to you, that's all."
The young prince paused, looking curiously at the girl now seated upon her huge mount. Kian looked more…relaxed on horseback. Happier.
"Shall we be off then?"
---------------------------------Chapter Seven----
Author's Note: Rather boring chapter, pretty much a filler. Not to worry though, more excitement to come. But now it's 2 in the morning, and I'm getting up and 4am to go to the beach. Surfing, whoo! Nighty night, reveiwwwwwww 3
Kazugo;; Thanks very much, hope this didn't take so long that you lost interest x.x
Cady;; You came back!
Haha, lovely to see you again, even if it DID take forever before you got another chapter up for you -.-;; But we're also working on a little profile for you guys to read, just 'cause you asked xD Impressed? You shouldn't be P Anyway, seriously hoping you managed to find you're way back here again and got to read the latest chapter, wanna know if it's still up to our readers standards, and I love reading your comments, haha
Thanks very much for the review!
Dragonist;; Haha, of course, gay all the way this time
