Things hadn't changed much since his time as a boy. It seemed as far as he could tell Manfred had left things as they were, save for a few additional portraits of him. Miles still couldn't place what it was that was off, but for now he put the thought to rest like all of his previous curiosities. As the prince wandered the halls he stopped for a moment at a window, one that overlooked the garden of the palace. Like phantoms he watched his memories play out, running in the garden with some of the kids that came to the castle with their parents. It gave him an idea. Miles moved down the halls with purpose, a nod to whatever servants he passed but for the most part his attention rested on one thing.

It felt childish to put his schedule on hold simply because he needed some air, and what a better place than the stables. It wasn't like the air was particularly fresh, what with the hay and horses, but none of that bothered it. Despite how pungent the air was there was still an odd feeling of nostalgia it gave him. Miles hesitated to turn the corner, stopping so the stables were just out of sight. It would be stupid to wonder why he stopped, he knew why. This place held so many memories and what's worse it held a person that contained even more. The anxiety made him feel distant from his surroundings silently debating to cross the threshold.

"iles..? Miles! Is that you?"

The prince nearly jumped out of his skin. For a split second there was a nervous excitement, causing him to whip his head around in such an undignified manner befitting his station. Oh dear god—

"Miles! It is you! Woah when'd you get back? Wow you got tall!"

He knew something stinked, and it wasn't just the excrements no less than a few feet away. If the furrow in his brow didn't give it away, the grimace he gave would. "Larry… what are you doing here?" Miles sighed, if his day wasn't going to be hard enough. Larry offered up a crooked smile patting his old friend on the back as he walked past. "My job obviously! What do you think I snuck in here… again?" Larry laughed, throwing his head back like the clown he was. Miles and Larry were friends, yes. Larry had been one of the children that were allowed here, the only difference was that he wasn't allowed anywhere but the kitchen. His mother was one of the cooks, always making sure Larry never left her line of sight. No one could blame her. There was a saying among the children: When something smells, it's usually the Butz.

"Your job? You work here now?" Miles followed behind, seemingly forgetting all of his anxiety from a moment ago.

Larry got to work, shuffling around the area filling feed bags. The stable itself had high ceilings made of dark wood. Each stall was well taken care of, hay neatly to one side with a water trough underneath a small window. There was enough room in each stall for two full sized horses despite each only containing one. These were where the royal horses were kept, the ones Miles got to ride on occasion in his youth as well as the horses that got to go on hunting events and pull the carriages. "Ya! Started off as the stable boy, then became a watchman, then I got kicked off that and sent to the kitchen but that didn't work so I tried grounds keeping, laundry duty, weapons maintenance, and some other stuff. But then they shipped me back here!" Larry rattled off all the jobs he had with pride "Now I'm the stable master!"

'Probably because it's the furthest from the rest of the castle.' Miles did his best to hold back a scoff but Larry's the stable master? That can't be right. "Wait, what happened to the previous stable master?"

"Oh you mean ? He hasn't been here in years!" To his credit Larry kept the place incredibly clean, there weren't any messes in the walkways. "After von Karma took over he sacked most of the old help, my mom, , most people got the boot." Larry patted one of the horses as it came over, attaching the feeder to the side of the gate. "Thankfully, I was already the stableboy at the time so they didn't get rid of me." Larry smirked, leaning against one of the support beams. "Real shame, he even got rid of the old steward. Place lost all its color without those flowers."

Flowers, that's what was missing. Miles never knew his mother, she died giving birth but he knew she was loved. The country mourned for a year, the loss of their queen weighted heavily on the hearts and minds of everyone. Even after the year his father never remarried, going as far as to keep her favorite flowers all around the castle. Vases of lavender were kept in almost every hall but now there were none to be found. Miles clenched his fist, releasing with a sigh. When he took over he'd have to bring everyone back, it didn't feel right the old staff were his family after all. Miles walked down to one of the stalls at the end, looking over the horses just before one caught his eye. Its coat had a rich brown color speckled with spots of cream. His eyes narrowed, staring at the beast unsure what to make of it— that was until it leaned forward and sighed from its nose getting snot all over Miles' hair. He recoiled staggering back, "You dreadful creature!"

From afar Larry tried his best to contain his laughter. He quickly moved towards the scene offering Miles a rag. "Never seen her do that with anyone! She's usually real well behaved! Ain't that right Clove?" That comment only served to annoy Miles more though he quickly recovered. The name rang a few bells and Miles felt his face turn red.

'That must mean she really likes you Miles! She only ever does that when you're gone for a while!'

What a childish thing to say, even more childish to believe in such a thing. Still, he found himself moving towards the horse again, taking off one of his gloves, and getting a small handful of oat's from the feeder. Miles offered them up just as he was taught to do so many years ago. "I'm sorry.. for not recognizing you sooner and for being gone… forgive me." The horse hesitated but then slowly began to eat.

"Woah! I've never seen her do that either! You're not a horse whisperer or something right?" Larry watched leaning against the stall.

"Of course not, think logically. She does it because she's my horse." Miles rolled his eyes, scoffing at the implications. But to Larry's credit he hadn't even recognized her. It had been years since Miles had seen her, and the last thing on his mind back then was making sure his horse came with him. "But… Thank you for taking care of her." He petted her maine, a sign of affection that doubled as a way to get the slobber off his hand before putting his glove back on.

Larry chuckled, putting a finger under his nose as he chuckled. "Of course! It's my job after all!"

Miles rolled his eyes again though this time it came with a smirk. He turned to walk past Larry now feeling better than he had. "Wait a sec Miles, where are you going?" Larry jogged behind trying to catch up to the prince.

Miles stopped, "Back inside, there's much to be done." That should have been obvious with his schedule this week. He needed time to prepare.

"You're just not gonna ask?" Larry cocked his head, arms crossed.

With a sigh, Miles took the bait "Ask about what, Larry?"

"About Nick of course!"