For a week after the dinner, Jeb and Azkadellia exchanged no more than cautious nods in the gardens, where she walked one way and he walked another, both with different intentions.
Jeb couldn't have been happier for his monthly day off to roll around. For a day, he didn't have to watch Az lower her gaze when she passed, or go out of her way to allow him to walk his rounds around the garden. More than once during the week, he'd wanted to ask Cain for a switch, but the gardens were convenient with the kitchens. On top of that, 'because I make the princess uncomfortable' was really not a good reason to switch shifts with someone else.
Instead of spending time training or around the palace with loved ones, like some of the other guards had, Jeb decided to take his horse out to the cliffs beyond the orchard for a little ride.
Saddling and bridling alone was a royal pain in the ass with Albatross, his horse, but taking the stallion out without having him take off proved to be a challenge as well. Jeb lost his grip on the reins halfway out of the stables, and ended up having to follow the large, white thing for at least half a mile before he returned, looking sheepish and strangely pleased with himself.
Albatross allowed Jeb to get on before pawing at the ground and pulling against the reins once again. It really had been too long since Jeb took him out, judging by the horse's excitement, and Jeb made a mental note of never neglecting him for longer than a day again.
With a small nudge, the stallion was already galloping off, and Jeb did his best to find his balance and steer the large thing in the right direction. Hopefully he would be smart enough to not gallop exactly like this off the cliff.
--
Azkadellia was not aware of Jeb's day off in the morning when she packed up a picnic, took her new, auburn mare, and went out for a quiet ride. Her guard rode behind her, once more at the sort of distance where you could hear the horse hooves, and he could see her, yet he wasn't really with her. Nonetheless, the picnic had been for two.
Her mare carried her at a calm trot through the orchards, up to a particularly mountainous region behind them. Along the way, several Papay accompanied her, making their strange noises and forcing a smile from the woman. They were rather cute, in their own way, and she couldn't help but stop to give them a treat or two from the trees.
Once she got to her chosen spot, Azkadellia dismounted, letting her mare wander. Karida wouldn't go off too far, and if she did, her guard would bring her back to the fresh grass in the meadow. Az chose one of the rocks, settling her basket next to her and picking out several grapes, popping them into her mouth.
It was beautiful up here, and on a clear day, she could see down to the bottom of the canyon, to the raging river below. For a moment, she wondered what it would be like to be a large bird of prey, falling down to the very bottom for a rabbit of a fish only to catch yourself just before you hit the ground, or the water. The free fall would have been something to experience, it must be.
She sat down on the rock, popping another grape into her mouth and letting it sit there. If she weren't terrified, she would have liked to dive into that river from here. After all, DG and Cain and Glitch and Raw had, and they were still alive and well today. It must have been a wonderful and terrifying experience.
--
His horse whinnied loudly, and to Jeb's surprise, he thought he'd heard a returned whinny answer from somewhere not too far away. Albatross, deciding that whatever Jeb said was not important enough, took off in that direction, leaving the young man hanging on. He was all right with the speed, the wind in his face, but not the lack of control, though yanking on the reins now only led the horse to gallop faster and faster.
The answering whinny rang again, and this time, Albatross waited until he was in the meadow before stopping, rearing, and cantering quite calmly toward the mare. Of course in the process, Jeb ended up slipping off the horse, and lay back in the grass, taking a deep breath. At least he was off the damn thing, and he could gallop circles around the world now, and Jeb wouldn't give a damn for him. Someday, Albatross would kill him.
Azkadellia, startled by the horses' whinnies, brought herself to her feet, picking her way through the rocks and back to the meadow where the horses were. She was surprised to see a large white stallion prancing circles around Karida, and even more surprised to find Jeb lying in the grass, looking a bit dazed.
"Jeb!" She called out before she had time to process the events, rushing up to him, afraid that he was hurt, though if he were, surely her guard would have reacted in some way. "Are you alright, what happened?"
The young man let out a soft grunt, turning his head to look over at her. "Oh, Azkadellia…" He was actually quite surprised to see her running up to him like that, instead of running away. "Good morning, or is it early afternoon? My dear Albatross decided to toss me here to frolic with your pony instead." A soft laugh followed his comment, and he briefly closed his eyes against the sunlight before pushing himself up with one hand. "I'm fine though, nothing's broken." Thank god for soft grass, ground, and whatever else these cliffs were made of.
By the time he sat up, Az was already sitting by his side; one hand touched his shoulder briefly, and then pulled away as if he'd burned her on contact. "Oh, good." She cast a nervous smile down toward the grass, and then toward their horses, which appeared quite happy grazing in the near distance. "If you're sure you aren't hurt… I brought a picnic out here…" She glanced up at him, chewing on the inside of her lip nervously. "Would you c-care to join... join me?"
"Sure." He gave her a smile, forcing himself to get up and rubbing his lower back, where he'd taken the primary force of the fall. "I'd like that." The fact that she wasn't fleeing from him, or terrified of him, was better than the invitation itself. Az seemed to finally be able to talk to Jeb.
She led the way back to the cliffs, and after an awkward half an hour, Jeb and Azkadellia were chatting pleasantly about the surroundings, life in the castle, and even life before the witch was destroyed by DG.
"It was different then, really different. We believed you to be some sort of devil, but most of us don't know."
"You… you don't?" She was asking about him, specifically, and masking the question under you, as a general resistance population.
"No, most of the resistance doesn't. And I don't either." He fell for it. Jeb gave her a gentle smile, picking up a piece of toast to chew on between their conversation bits and pieces. "You didn't do any of those things, it had been her. We can't fairly blame you for a single thing."
"I guess you've got a point there." Throughout the conversation, Az had relaxed significantly, laughing and smiling easier around him, and even eating a bit more than she normally would have. "I've been silly, haven't I? Avoiding you, and a number of other people, for silly reasons?"
"If you'd excuse me saying so, but yes, you really have." Jeb still didn't understand her. She'd admitted to being silly before, but she'd never really done anything about it.
Az let out a little laugh, waving him off. "Formalities. You're allowed to say whatever you want, there's no law against it unless you're directly threatening mother or father."
"Oh, right."
"Tell me more about the resistance… camp life…" She was oddly interested in it, and he seemed only eager to talk about it. Az wanted to know what it would have been life for them, how difficult life had been, and if she could do anything at all to help what was left of the resistance now. Surely they must want some sort of compensation for every bit of harm she'd ever done.
"Well, there isn't much more to say really."
"Tell me about when you became the leader, then."
"I was fifteen, and the previous leader's personal… assistant, you could say…"
Jeb broke into the story, leaving Azkadellia to nod with interest and make soft noises at all the right moments. It was this sort of simply interaction that created the beginnings of a bond between them, a real bond, more than just 'oh, hello, I'm going to leave now' as they had been before.
Author's Note: Az is not suicidal, she just wants to learn how to fly. -nods-
I have no idea where that thought came from, but it seemed like an Az thing to do...
At PenguinGoddess - That's a good question there. Maybe it's because they're not exactly close... or Cain's just got a bad habit of signing his name... or Jeb's got a secret other father lying around...
Jeb: Shut up while you're ahead, Lena. It's actually because dad's just like that. Maybe he thinks I forgot his name...
You would.
Err... Yes. :D I'm not a crazy.
At T-G - aka Lyc - Yay for reviewing every chapter. :D
More o' ye should follow that there example, I like reviews. They make me feel loved.
At D - But Cain's note is Cain's bad nitpicky language things. Also: gimme my copy of Tin Man back plz?
Why yes, I did mostly type this up here for a longer Author's Note. It looked small and lonely being only a paragraph long. :P