Chapter 65

Things were not going back to normal nearly as fast as Frank would have liked. He was starting to work with the other animals more again, but he was still being set jobs that had nothing to do with horses when it came to the stables. He'd known when he made the decision to leave with the horses that he would get in trouble, but he hadn't thought it would be this big of a deal.

His annoyance must have been clear on his face, because Hazel raised an eyebrow as she leaned on the outside of the the stall he was cleaning, "Bad day?"

"Hey," Frank glanced up to give her a small smile, before teasingly adding "You're later than usual."

"We finally got word that we're to head home, so everyone's hurrying to try and get packed up as quickly as possible," Hazel shrugged. It had been five days since the duel. They had all known that Percy winning meant that Piper and everyone who came with her would be going home, but everyone had seemed reluctant to actually do anything until word officially came.

"You'll just have to find a way to make it up to me," Frank teased in response, grinning at her for a moment before going back to his work.

Hazel smiled back, before adding "You didn't answer my question about your day?"

Frank sighed, continuing to work as he answered, partly because it needed to get done, mostly to try and distract himself from getting to annoyed again "I talked with the master of horses again about possibly getting some of my old duties back and it was a stern no. Says I broke his trust by taking the horses, as if he would have cared if it wasn't for them being 'stolen'. It wasn't like they didn't come back safely."

He didn't look at Hazel, but he had a fairly good idea of what her face would look like. Guilty, even though it wasn't her fault, and sad for his situation. It was the same face she made every time he mentioned being stuck in the stables instead of helping with the horses. It was also pretty easy to predict the words she said next "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Even if it was your fault, which it isn't, I'm not sorry it happened. I'm glad I did what I did and I would do it again," Frank shrugged, still focusing on the straw on the ground around him "I just don't understand how I'm supposed to earn his trust back if he won't let me do anything outside of bruising down horses, cleaning stalls, and polishing gear."

"I don't know," Hazel admitted, though as he glanced over at her he got the impression that she was thinking about something.

Frank didn't press. Instead he just smiled a bit, though there was some sadness in it as he added "And from the sound of it you're going to be leaving soon, so that sort of adds to the bad mood too."

"I'll miss you too," Hazel replied. There was a moment of silence before she hesitantly added "What if there was a way we didn't have to say goodbye?"

That got Frank's full attention. He stopped shifting through the straw, setting the shovel against the back wall. Raising an eyebrow, he leaned his shoulder against the side of the stall, crossing his arms in a relaxed way as he asked "Yeah? I suppose I would be really interested in how that could happen."

"Well-" Hazel hesitated for a moment, before looking at Frank seriously "Look if the answer is no I completely understand, I won't be mad, alright?"

Frank frowned, tilting his head as he looked over at her "What is it?"

"You know how I was talking about wanting to learn more about my history? I think the best way to do that is to actually go find groups of druids. To talk to them and learn about them. I'm planning to travel part of the way home with Piper before leaving off on my own to look," Hazel seemed to hesitate again at that, and this time she didn't continue as she seemed to search for some sort of reaction from Frank.

"So- you want me to come with you? To look for groups of druids and learn about them?" Frank asked as he looked over at her, brain spinning a bit as he thought about it. He was already running through scenarios with it and he found most of them were fairly nice.

"I understand if you don't want to. I just- with your grandmother gone it didn't seem like there was a lot keeping you here. And leaving for awhile could give things a chance to calm down, so if you did return you could probably slip back into your old duties easier- or if you wanted I'm sure Piper would get her father to give you a job if you decided searching around the woods for druids wasn't for you-" Hazel shrugged a bit, trying to act relaxed though it was clear she was nervous "And it would be nice to have someone else with me. Especially someone who knows about animals. It would also give you the chance to be near horses again, since Piper has already said she would provided one for me to use, so I'm sure you would be included too. I just- figured it was at least worth asking."

"I like the sound of that," Frank agreed, smiling at her as he did so. It did sound really nice, the two of them riding around. Being around nature and animals. "Are you sure me being there won't put the whole thing in jeopardy? I mean I'm not a druid, so will me being there make them more weary to trust you?"

"I don't think so. I'm a druid, so if I trust you they probably will too. At least as much as they are going to trust me anyway, but honestly it'll depend from person to person. I think most won't mind though, if we're coming in good faith," Hazel shrugged, before look up to meet Frank's eyes "Is that a yes?"

"I-" Frank hesitated. It sounded nice, but it was also a big decision, one he couldn't bring himself to just jump into "Can I think about it?"

"Of course," Hazel nodded quickly "I'm sorry there's not a lot of time, but I only decided what I wanted to do yesterday and I didn't really plan to ask till I heard your comments about the stable. We're leaving three days from now-"

"I'll figure it out before then," Frank assured quickly, smiling at her as he did so "I'm already leaning towards coming with you. There are just a few things I need to think out first."

"I'm glad," Hazel replied, a wide smile spreading across her face at that "I'd really like it if you came."

"I'd like that too," Frank agreed, and for a moment he just smiled at her, before grabbing the shovel he had been using again "Now, I believe I still have three days with you for sure, and you owe me for showing up late. What do you say we get this done quickly and spend our free time doing something much more fun?"

"I like the sound of that," Hazel agreed, just grinning at him for a moment before moving to pull open the stall door to help.

As they worked Frank let his mind wander, zoning in occasionally to joke or talk with Hazel. Whenever they lagged though, falling into an easy rhythm and comfortable silence, his mind drifted back to what Hazel had asked him, thinking through the options. It wasn't really that hard for him to figure out.

They hadn't even finished cleaning out the stalls when Frank had made his decision.