Chapter 8: The Stable

Unbeknownst to the fairies, however, Jasper, Eyeball and Aquamarine had overheard their conversation and thought that they could use Lapis' love for the young man she met to their mistress' advantage.

"Oh, deary me, poor little Princess," said Aquamarine in a sarcastic fashion. "She can't be with the one she loves, how heart-breaking."

"Who cares about that," replied Jasper. "At least by now, we know she won't be going anywhere outside the castle."

"Speaking of which," added Eyeball as she pointed to the sun. "Shouldn't we be getting back to White Diamond?"

The other two minions looked up and saw that the sun was in a position close to evening time. Without a moment's delay, all three of them flew back to White Diamond's castle, all whilst ensuring that they weren't spotted by any of Blue Diamond's guards. Once they made it back, all three of them immediately told their mistress about what they had heard, to which the wicked fairy was most delighted.

"This is brilliant news," laughed White Diamond. "Now I have the perfect plan to lure the princess to her demise."

She then told her minions that they would be greatly rewarded for their actions, to which Eyeball and Aquamarine were filled with joy, whilst Jasper just shrugged this off, as she saw her duty as being more important.

"Now, I want you three to go into the forest and pay the princess' 'secret admirer' a visit," instructed White Diamond as she gave the three minions a set of ropes to capture him.

"Yes, Your Excellency," scoffed Aquamarine with a devilish smile, to which Eyeball responded with a simple smirk. Jasper on the other hand was more sceptical about this idea, suggesting that by this point in time, the fairies would likely be keeping a close eye on Lapis until the sun had set.

"That is none of your concern," replied the wicked fairy strictly. "Leave everything involving the princess to me, for now, I want you to capture this young man, quickly now."

Without hesitation, the three minions flew out of the castle window and headed toward the forest.

"Though make sure you don't cause any major injury!" White Diamond called, as she wanted her prisoner to be alive when he was brought to her.

It took the three minions a fair bit of time to travel, but once they reached the forest, they hid behind the great oak tree. They figured that Lapis' secret admirer would probably arrive here, as they heard the princess had briefly mentioned it during her conversation with Steven.

Meanwhile, in another part of the kingdom, Jamie had made his way back to the stable where he worked at. The stable itself was located on the furthest outskirts of the kingdom, which meant that those who worked there were not fully in the know of what goes on involving the royal family. Once Jamie put Onion back in his stall, he went to greet his friends and colleagues, Connie, and Lars to whom he spoke endlessly about the beautiful girl he met in the forest. Whilst Connie was happy that Jamie had met someone special, Lars, on the other hand, felt that this seemed rather dubious.

"Listen, Jamie," he spoke to his friend. "It's great that you met this girl and all, but do you even know what her occupation is or even her name?"

Jamie thought for a moment, but in the end just gave a simple shrug, as he had forgotten to ask his admirer these questions. Understanding his friend's expression, Lars let out an unimpressed sigh.

"Of course, you didn't," he groaned. "One of these days, your infatuation with meeting a special someone will lead you into trouble."

"Oh, come on Lars," Connie retorted in frustration. "Jamie has wanted to find his special someone for ages, can't you let him have his moment?"

But Lars didn't respond as he soon got back to work, much to his displeasure. Just then, the stable's strict owner, Mr Dewey appeared. He did not look happy, for it had taken a few hours for Jamie to return with the escaped horse.

"What's all this nonsense I hear about some girl?" he asked crossly to his workers.

"Oh, nothing, sir," Connie replied, who along with Lars, wanted to keep Jamie's encounter with the mysterious girl in the forest a secret. "Jamie just saw another girl as he was escorting Onion back here."

The stable master eyed them both suspiciously, though luckily for them he believed their story. "Fair enough," he said sternly. "But enough chit-chat, you've all got a fair amount of work to do for this evening and I want it all done before I go home."

Connie simply responded with a simple "Yes, sir," as she went to clean one of the horses' coats, whilst Lars carried on with ensuring the horses were being well fed. Soon Mr Dewey's attention turned to Jamie, who was daydreaming about the girl he met in the forest. So much so, that he didn't see his boss making his way over to him.

"Hey!" Mr Dewey yelled. "Will you keep your eyes on your work, you've already wasted some of your time chasing after Onion."

"Sorry, sir," replied Jamie sheepishly. "I was just thinking about someone I met today."

Mr Dewey was not impressed, as he always saw Jamie's romantic tendencies as a waste of time that always got in the way of his work.

"I honestly couldn't care less," he argued. "Now quit your daydreaming and get back to your work, you have a lot to make up for in your absence."

"Yes, sir," replied Jamie sadly, as he returned to cleaning the stable.

"Now, I expect all of you to have to have made significant progress before I get back," Mr Dewey strictly informed the three friends. "And don't even think of leaving early once it's finished, you only leave when I say you can."

With that remark, the stable master walked away, leaving his workers feeling quite disgruntled. Jamie felt most upset and let out a sorrowful sigh as he continued with his work, whilst Connie and Lars looked at him worryingly.

"Don't be sad Jamie," said Connie. "We think you do an excellent job here at the stable, even with your romantic tendencies."

"Indeed," added Lars. "Once we finish our work, maybe you could tell us more about that girl you met."

This encouragement from his friends cheered Jamie up a little, and the three friends went back to do their jobs, hoping to get them completed before Mr Dewey would go home. Although, all three of them secretly wished they were doing something else, something that would help benefit the kingdom in some way.