After working non-stop on the soldier's ceremonial swords for two weeks, Otsu and Ren could finally get some rest. They'd completed the order on time, despite the setbacks of their injuries (Ren wouldn't let her burn affect her, seeing as Otsu's injury was much worse, but she did have to take some time off in order to get her arm re-bandaged by Shirayuki).

Finally the usual order of things in the forge could resume, and Ren got to wonder around the castle more when she wasn't working; she now knew her way around like the back of her hand, and it felt like she'd been here for years.

Ren was currently on her way to the Court Stables, the ever-present cloak hanging on her shoulders, carrying a box of some old, polished halters and some new ones that Otsu had finished that morning.

She was happy to be out in the warm sunshine and excited to visit the Court Stables; she had walked past it before, but hadn't had the time to go say hello and check things out for herself.

She was just walking along the side of the stables, about to round the corner to the entrance, when she heard an alarmed shout from that very direction:

"Everybody stay back!"

Ren paused for only a moment in confusion, but then strode on with more purpose in her step.

What Ren saw happening in front of the Court Stables made her freeze in shock.

Three large ropes were attached to a struggling stallions halter, and three men were holding onto these ropes for dear life. A small crowd of who Ren could only assume were stablehand's were gathered in a wide semicircle in front of the stable doors, unsure of what to do as they watched the wild stallion buck and pull, trying to get away from the people who were futilely trying to drag him back into the stables.

The sounds of desperate whinnying and exhausted grunts filled the air, accompanied by the pounding of hoofs on hard ground, clouds of dust flying up and distorting the earth beneath everyone.

Suddenly a rope was pulled free from one of the stablehand's grasp; he looked to be the youngest, and he desperately reached for the rope as it flew away from him, trying to grab it even as the horse continued to struggle in front of him.

Eventually another rope was pulled free, the large, muscled stallion gaining the upper hand as his struggles increased in their ferocity; Ren continued to watch from her position behind the small crowd, her body remaining frozen.

A fight for dominance was happening between the stallion and the last stablehand; he looked to be the strongest of the three, and his feet had made deep grooves in the ground where he had rooted himself to the spot, remaining strong and unwavering as the horse struggled in his grasp.

But even he couldn't hold on as the stallion reared back, towering above them all and making them cower in fear before he crashed back down, twisting his head away; the final rope was pulled free, leaving the horse to do as he pleased.

But Ren saw what no one else saw in that moment when the horse came crashing back down to earth; she watched as it leaned forward, its hind legs and muscles tensing as its hooves began to leave the ground - it was going to buck.

The world suddenly slowed for Ren. She saw every piece of dust as it flew high above the ground; every strand of hair in that horses mane as it tossed its head; every bead of sweat on the stablehand's heads. And she saw the oblivious, young stablehand, who stood in the direct path of the horses soon to be buck as it turned in his direction.

Ren's instincts took over, and she dropped the box, paying no attention to the resounding crash at her feet. She felt her body come back to life as she sucked in a deep breath, her heart pumping the blood in her veins like a river speeding its way through a mountain pass.

She raced forwards, frantically pushing her way through the gawking crowd and towards the boy that was so close to her; yet with the slight resistance caused by the crowd, Ren felt like he was miles away.

Ren shoved her way through any small gap she could find, and after what seemed like an eternity to her, she broke free of any barriers, almost stumbling in her haste.

Her limbs felt like they were made of lead, going in slow-motion as she made her way to the still oblivious boy.

I've got to go faster, Ren thought, I have to make it in time! And why is everything so slow?!

The gap was closing, but not fast enough; time suddenly sped back up again as Ren cried:

"Look out!"

The boys head turned, his eyes widening in fear and mouth opening in a scream that would never come as he realised too late what the horse in front of him was doing.

The stallion's hind legs began to straighten out, hooves heading straight for the boys head; there was nothing he could do, no time to run. It was all too late. His life was about to end.

Suddenly he was thrown to the side, a body larger than his tackling him to the ground, the person's green cloak and hair flying about them as the horse's hooves sailed just over their heads; it had been too close for anyone's liking.

They landed on the packed earth with loud thud, both grunting loudly from the bruising impact as they rolled across the hard ground a few times.

"Are you alright?" Ren asked, looking at the boy next to her, thankful she'd made it on time and holding herself up on her elbows, her body protesting after the sudden jar it had just experienced.

"Urrgh… yeah, I-I think so…" The boy replied, only just starting to move from his position on his back.

"Good," Ren said, "Now get to safety, I'm going to go help them."

"Huh? Wait!" The boy cried, sitting up and reaching out a hand to Ren's receding back as she raced towards the stallion once again.

It had been facing off with the other two stablehand's, snorting and shaking its head as it tried to find an opening to escape. But its freedom was being obstructed and the horse frantically turned this way and that, his stomping hooves like the beat of a drum.

Ren saw the opening just as the stallion did, and she wasted no time in getting there; the horse's brief pause of victory allowed Ren to block its only path as it prepared to bolt.

She stood strong and steady before the horse, calmness and confidence rolling of her in waves despite the situation that had just occurred mere seconds before.

Slowly, with her arms outstretched and palms open in front of her, Ren began to walk towards the untamed beast, talking in quiet, soothing tones:

"It's alright, nobody's going to hurt you… There's no need to be scared… We're all friends here… I've even got a treat for you." Ren slowly reached into one of her belt pouches, watching the stallion the whole time as he snorted and stomped his front hooves at her. She retrieved a sugar cube and held it on an open palm, showing it clearly to the horse as she neared him; she'd thrown some in a pouch as a treat for the horses before she'd left, and they were coming in more use than Ren could have anticipated.

"See? It's just a yummy sugar cube. You must have had one of these before, right?" Ren now stood before the horse, who was relatively calm and had only backed away a little bit when she had neared, though now he looked at the sweet morsel in her palm with interest.

Fortunately for Ren, and the other stablehand's, the stallion seemed to have an affinity for sugar cubes, for as soon as it sniffed the morsel it quickly gobbled it up. The stallion then began gently nudging the pouch on Ren's waist that contained more, his tail swishing as he gently blew air out of his nose.

The whole area was silent apart from the soft chirp of birds and the content sounds of the calm stallion. Everyone was staring at Ren as she stroked the horse's muzzle, smiling as everyone else was shocked silent, mouths open and eyes wide.

It was the Chief Stablehand who recovered first, yelling to the small crowd behind him:

"Alright everyone, back to work! Those horses won't feed themselves!"

His order was received by a few shouts of "Yes Chief!" but also a few groans of protest; they were all still amazed by Ren, and wanted to find out more, though they begrudgingly obeyed their boss.

Ren recognised the Chief Stablehand as the final man to have lost their rope to the stallion, and she recognised his voice as the one she'd heard earlier warning everyone to stay back.

She was soon distracted though by the boy she had rescued, who had retreated to the front of the crowd but was now running towards her, saying:

"I can't believe you've tamed him! That's incredible!"

However, he had stopped just short of Ren because as he had neared, the stallion beside her had lowered his head, snorting and stomping his hoof threateningly at the young man.

Ren, gently stroking the horses muzzle to calm him down, asked, "Does he give you a lot of trouble then?"

A laugh came from nearby, and the two turned to see the Chief Stablehand and the other man who had been holding onto a rope now walking towards them.

"Trouble?" The Chief Stablehand laughed, "This stallions been the very definition of trouble since the moment we bought him! None of the Court Stablehand's have been able to tame the beast for two years! Turns out all we needed were some sugar cubes to help us out! Though I think you have a lot to do with it as well Miss." He finished with a smile as they stopped in front of her.

"Thank you, but… If he's so much trouble why did you buy him in the first place?" Ren asked, confused and still holding on to the stallions halter; how'd they'd got that on him she'd never know.

This time the other man spoke, shaking his head at himself, "Ah well, you see Miss, this stallion was fairly well behaved in the ring when he went up for auction, and he was quite cheap too. We were very ignorant at the time not to realise why he was so cheap, especially since he's such a beautiful creature. I suppose we just couldn't help ourselves."

And Ren could see why; the stallion really was a beautiful creature. Power was evident in every muscle, and whilst he was slightly bulkier than the other horses at the Court Stables, Ren could tell he would be just as fast as them, if not more so. He was a beautiful golden caramel colour, his mane and tail a slightly lighter gold, and he seemed to glow like buttercups did in the setting sun over a summer meadow. He had long hair on his fetlocks which covered his hooves, and his deep brown eyes held wisdom and intelligence in them. Ren would be jealous of anyone who rode this horse, that's for sure.

"Ah, let me introduce ourselves. My name is Kaori, I'm the Chief Stablehand here at the palace. And this man is my second in command, Kiwa." He explained, pointing to the slightly taller man next to him who smiled at Ren, "And this is my son, Tasuku." He finished, patting the much smaller boy on the head; he seemed to like that action as much as Ren did when Otsu did it to her.

"I haven't seen you around before Miss, you new around here?" Kaori asked.

"Yes, I'm the new Apprentice Blacksmith, Ren. I've only been here a couple of weeks, and I haven't been able to leave the forge very often till now when I- Shit." She suddenly raced over to the corner of the stables, shoving one of the ropes in Tasuku's hands as he was the closest to her, and ignoring his nervous protest as she checked on the box of halters.

"Phew," Ren breathed quietly, relieved to see none of the halters were scratched or damaged and still in perfect condition. She picked up the box and walked back to the others, saying, "I was just coming by the deliver these halters… I almost forgot about them with all the commotion though." Ren laughed nervously as she handed to box over to Kaori, but he just smiled at her kindly.

"Thank you Ren. You'll have to remind Otsu for me that I still owe him that drink." Kaori finished with loud laugh; he was very similar to Otsu in that way, Ren noticed.

"What are we going to do with the stallion, Chief?" Kiwa said pointedly, "He only seems to be calm whilst Ren is around."

They all turned to look at Tasuku, who was leaning as far back as he could without falling over, a nervous expression on his face as the stallion looked at him and snorted; the horse almost seemed to be giving Tasuku the evils. Ren took the horse back from him, and the stallion calmed down immediately. But when Tasuku released a relieved sigh, the horse gave him one last threatening snort; the poor guy was set on edge again by that one action.

"Hmmm…" Kaori hummed, thinking for a while before saying with his hands on his hips, "The stallion will be Ren's official steed, should she ever need one on her journeys outside the palace. You may come and visit the stables whenever you want to, you're more than welcome here after everything you did for us today."

"T-that's very kind of you sir, but I don't have the time to take care of a horse! And really, i-it's just not necessary… I just helped out to stop anybody from getting hurt, you don't need to give me anything. Besides," Ren said, fingers twisting together, "I never go far enough away from the palace to need a horse…"

"Well you never know… one day this great steed may come in handy," Kaori said, a small smirk on his face; it oddly reminded Ren of the way Otsu had looked at the Court Herbalists, like he was sharing some private joke with himself.

As if to back up his words, the stallion nuzzled the sugar cube pouch again, nickering at her softly; the strength of the stallion had made her step back slightly, and Ren looked at the creature fondly; she supposed it would be nice to have an excuse to come to the stables more often…

"I can't thank you enough for saving my son, Ren." Kaori said solemnly. But soon his loud demeanour returned as he slapped his son hard on the back, laughing as he said, "He really can be an idiot sometimes! I don't know how he ended up so unaware of his surroundings! I tell ya, it certainly wasn't from my influence!"

"I'm sure Otsu will allow you some time off to come and look after him, maybe even ride him, though that may take some time…" Kiwa said, "We will do our best to look after him when you're not here, we are Court Stablehand's after all, and he is a lot more docile than he once was." Kiwa shared a laugh with Kaori at that, and Tasuku joined in too, though his laughs still sounded a little nervous.

"It is the least we can do to repay you. You've prevented a lot of injuries from happening today Ren." Kaori said, "And I'm sure Otsu will be happy to hear you tamed the horse which broke his arm."

Ren was a little shocked at that, but she bowed in gratitude saying, "Thank you for your generosity, I will try to visit as often as I can."

"It's no problem Ren." Kaori said, "And thanks again for the delivery."

The two older men left, going back into the stables and waving goodbye to her, trusting Tasuku to take care of the stallion.

"So does he have a name?" Ren asked the young man.

"No actually, he doesn't," Tasuku said; he was becoming more relaxed as time went on, "After all the trouble he's caused we never got round to it. When we first bought him though, we thought he'd become a member of the Royal Courts private horse because of his beauty, so they would've named him. But because of his unruliness…"

"That never happened." Ren finished, understanding the problem they had faced. Tasuku just nodded solemnly, and Ren tried to think of a name as she stared at the stunning creature.

Eventually she said, "Buttercup."

"Huh?" Tasuku said, confused by her outburst.

"I'm going to call him Buttercup." Ren said, smiling as the newly dubbed Buttercup tossed his head and nickered in approval, a few stray hairs from his golden mane falling into his eyes.

"You can't call him that!" Tasuku exclaimed, "That's a cow's name!"

"It's just a flower!" Ren laughed, "And the colour of his coat reminded me of one. I think he likes it, don't you Buttercup?"

Once again the stallion loudly nickered his approval, and Tasuku couldn't help but laugh and shake his head saying, "I suppose he does."

Suddenly the boy blushed, his body tensing as he said, "Oh my god. I haven't thanked you for saving me yet!"

Ren quickly interjected, waving her free hand in front of her frantically as she said embarrassedly, "It's not a problem! Really! You don't need to thank me for it, I was just acting on pure instinct! I didn't want anybody to get hurt, you know? There's no need for you to thank me I swear."

"Well… thanks anyway." Tasuku said, shrugging at her frantic reaction. "So where did all your knowledge and skill with horses come from? Was it from blacksmithing?"

"Sort of," Ren said, "My mother's a blacksmith, and whenever she went to re-shoe a horse she would take me with her. They were a passion of hers, and she taught me everything I know about them." Ren stroked Buttercup as she remembered her mother and home, "We do have a horse at home, but we use him to carry loads too heavy for us and to make deliveries in the forest surrounding my village. My parents needed him more than I did, so I came here on foot instead of riding here."

"That explains why we never saw you before now," Tasuku said, "If you had ridden here, we would've met when you came to put your horse in the stables."

"We've met now though, even if it did take a little longer. And I have a horse of my own now." Ren laughed at the bizarrity of it all; she never expected this to happen, not in a million years. After a slight pause she said, "So how long have you been working here Tasuku?"

"Well, I've officially worked here since I was…hmm… 14? No, 15. So that means it's been… 3 years now? But I've always been around the stables since I was little; my father would bring me here to keep an eye on me. Horses seemed to be the only thing that kept me out of trouble." Tasuku laughed, Ren joining in at the idea of a small boy being watched by a stable full of horses. "How about you?" he asked, "You been settling in okay?"

"Yeah, everyone's been so kind it's been really easy feeling at home here. I still miss my village though, it's so far away… And it's only been two weeks! I don't know how long I'll survive here without getting really homesick!" Ren laughed, trying to hide her true worries.

"Lots of people miss home," Tasuku said, seeing through her laughter easily, "The staff here come from all over Clarines, and whilst they miss their homes and families, they have another, larger family right here in the palace. You should come down to the communal areas more often, it can be a lot fun. Plus if it's someone's birthday, there's always cake and booze going round."

Ren smiled but she still looked unsure; there would be a lot of people there…

"You know," Tasuku said, "I think we live in the same building. That rumour about the hooded figure who only appears in the forest late at night? That started in our building, probably because people saw you leave. Some say you're a spirit… others just say you just sleepwalk." Ren eyes were wide with surprise; she hadn't heard of these rumours before. Tasuku just laughed, "You're the mysterious Apprentice Blacksmith, Ren, and these rumours will only grow the more you avoid people. I think it would be best if you showed them you're just an ordinary human being, not some forest spirit. And sooner rather than later."

Ren just blinked at him, mumbling, "Yeah… haha… you're probably right…"

As Tasuku smiled at Ren, she could see the resemblance he had to his father, and it wasn't just in the olive skin or the black hair, nor the sturdy build and lean muscles; it was in the way he could easily reassure someone, the calm and easy going way in which he said things that could placate anyone around him – both father and son had this ability, and Ren had no doubt it worked on the horses too.

But Tasuku was also very different from his father; his hair was messy and it fell into his blue-green eyes, whilst his father's hair was neat and his eyes as blue as a clear summer sky. Tasuku had a bit of stubble on his chin and he was much shorter than his father – a head shorter than Ren whilst his father was a head taller than her.

Wait a second… Ren thought, he's been working here since he was 15 for 3 years…

"How old are you?" Ren asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed.

"18. Why, how old are you?" Tasuku replied, confused.

"18… What month?"

"March."

"…May." Ren said with a victorious smirk.

Tasuku remained confused for a moment, but then his eyes widened and he whispered, "Oh no… You've got to be kidding me."

"Haha! This is brilliant!" Ren exclaimed with childish delight, "I'm taller than you! But I'm younger!" She could barely control her elated giggles, and Buttercup even joined in by nickering at a melancholy Tasuku.

"Yeah, yeah you two, cut it out…" He grumbled, "I'm still older than you Ren, so you should respect me as your senior."

However, his feeble attempts to regain respect were shattered when Ren said, "You're only a 'senior' by two months, and besides… I thought you were supposed to look up to your seniors, not down."

Tasuku tried to get a reply out but the words just stuck in his throat, so he gave up and hung his head dejectedly as Ren continued to giggle at him.

"I should get back to work…" Ren said, her laughter finally ceasing.

"Yeah… me too." Tasuku agreed, still a little sour about the whole height thing. "But er, what happens once you leave? I mean with Buttercup." He looked at the stallion nervously.

"He'll be fine. He's not as much trouble as he was before, and he hasn't tried to hurt you or run away again as we've been standing here, right? You'll be a good boy, won't you Buttercup?" As Ren said this the stallion tossed his head and neighed; Tasuku wasn't sure if it was a good sign or not so he just hummed, unconvinced.

But Ren seemed to think it was a good sign as she was already walking away saying, "You'll be fine, beansprout! I'll drop by soon, okay?"

"Fine… but I'll see you this evening in the communal kitchen! If I don't see you I'm coming to find you! You hear me ya freakish giant?!" Tasuku called, trying to get back at her for the nickname; but Ren simply waved and grinned over her shoulder.

Tasuku sighed and waved back at her, looking over at the stallion he was holding onto, who snorted right in his face; Tasuku quickly tilted his head back, his smile now a little strained because of his nervousness, and he watched the horse from the corner of his eye as Ren turned the corner of the stables.

Huh, Ren thought, it's only been two weeks and I've already met so many people… Erisa, Obi, Shirayuki, Ryuu, Kai and Shiira, and now Tasuku. To think I've made so many friends so quickly here… and I only really had one in Tarrin! I've changed so much… I don't think Kyoko would recognise me anymore! Ren's pondering had been positive till this point, but now she thought sadly with a sigh, Not that she'd want to see me anyway…


A/N: I'm so sorry everyone. Not only is this quite late but its also one of my shortest chapters. Never the less, I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter!
I'd like to thank my friend Emily, and of course google, for helping me with the horse stuff, because I know very little about them. If I did get something wrong then please correct me.
Thanks so much to EVERYONE for reading my story, it means so much to me, and to everyone who has followed and favourited, your the best. I love getting your feedback via reviews or a private message, I know most of your usernames by memory because your comments brighten up my day. I seem to get two reviews per chapter at the moment, so lets break that pattern everyone!

Review Responses and RenxObi:

Alex-senpai: Whilst I would consider writing an au fic where RenObi is a thing, I a) have no idea when or how this story will end, b) have other fics I would like to write in the future and c) I would love to have a life outside of writing.

I am going to explain some things now considering Obi and Ren as a couple, and also Ren's romantic interests, so everybody listen up! I dont mean this in a hostile or mean way, so please dont read it that way D:

1) There will be certain scenes or conversations in the future (and maybe in the past) which I think can be read in a RenObi manner. They can either be read on a friendship level, or you could read it differently in a romantic manner. It's all about your own perception of things, and that is up to you.

2) I will say again that I think it is important for a male and female to have a close relationship without being romantically inclined. People can love and care deeply for one another without that love being romantic.

3) There is a HUGE reason, that I have not previously mentioned, why Ren cannot become a couple with either Obi, or any of the other male characters. I don't know if anyone has figured it out yet, my hints have been few and subtle, but I will say it loud and clear:

REN. IS. GAY.

Ren likes girls. That's pretty much one of the biggest reasons. I got writing and it happened, so... there it is.

I am NOT going to stop you from shipping Ren with Obi, or any other guy characters, and I'm certainly not going to stop you from shipping her with female characters either. YOU ARE FREE TO SHIP WHOEVER YOU WANT. Its just guyxRen ships will never be canon in this story.
HOWEVER: if you have an idea or scenario that is RenObi, MAYBE I'll write a set of oneshots which all occur within this story for you at a later date. MAYBE. IF you send me your ideas, by pm or my tumblr: limegreenarcher. It could happen if enough of you REALLY want it to.

Okay, sorry for the long A/N again, but thank you so much for reading! And whether you like what you read or not:

PLEASE REVIEW!

-Limegreenarcher

Edit: Thank you guest for pointing out my mistake with the months. Its now been fixed :D