Moonmount Castle - LGBT, manXman

8

Coda

It was growing dark when I finally left the tack room, my arms aching with all the cleaning and polishing I'd done. I'd sorted and cleaned the tack of all the horses stabled at Moonmount, leaving the guest tack for the other stable boys to sort out tomorrow.

Aside from the occasional snort or stamping of hooves, the stables were quiet; the horses were all fed and settled down for the evening. As I slipped from the tack room and made for the servant's entrance to the castle, a deep voice hailed me.

"You there!"

I turned to see the green-eyed man coming towards me. My heart leapt involuntarily as he stopped in front of me. "Can I help, sir?" I wondered what he wanted; I didn't even know who he was.

"Yes. Fetch my horse. Now!"

I blinked, taken aback by his abrupt tone. "Yes, sir." I set off for the stables, when I realized I didn't know which horse to fetch. "Excuse me, sir. Which horse is yours?"

He gave me a haughty stare. "Have you been living in a cave?" The man demanded.

"No, sir. I'm just new here. This is my first day."

"Jamocha, the black hunter. Go and fetch him."

I recognized the name from one of the brassy plaques I'd seen in the stables. "I'm sorry sir, but I'm not allowed into the Hunter's Quarter. But if you'll wait a moment, I'll fetch someone who is allowed."

"No, I will not wait a moment!" The man growled. "Go and fetch him, now!"

I hesitated for a second, before nodding. I quickly fetched the correct saddle and bridle, tacked the large black hunter carefully, and led him out to the yard.

"You there!" A second voice shouted. "New boy... What's your name again?"

I turned to see Ulric coming towards me. "Coda, sir."

"I told you not to touch the horses in those stables."

"I know, sir. But this man wanted his horse, and there was no one else here."

"It's alright, Ulric." The green-eyed man came over and mounted his horse quickly, vaulting lightly onto the animal's back. He glanced at the groom when he spoke, and ignored me completely.

"Master Lodareth, sir. I didn't realize you wanted your horse tonight, sir, otherwise I would've had him ready for you, sir. I'm sorry you had to wait for the new boy, sir."

"He was fast enough, Ulric."

Before the head groom could reply, Master Lodareth booted the horse, hard, and set off down the courtyard at a gallop, heading for the open castle gates.

Before I could slip away, the head groom caught hold of my collar and shoved me towards the tack room.

"You can wait for him to come back, and bed down his horse when he does." Ulric disappeared before I could protest.

With a sigh, I unfastened a lantern from the wall and carried it into the tack room, resigned to a long night of even more polishing and sorting.