Moonmount Castle - LGBT, manXman

35

Lodareth

Seguin and I arrived in Faversham early the next morning. We asked at the blacksmith's for Coda, then the butcher's, then one of the inns. No one had seen anything of him when we settled down to eat a quick midday meal on the green. We were debating where to ask next, when Seguin nudged my arm and pointed towards one of the town's larger inns, at the end of the high street. A young stableboy was walking a palomino mare down the street.

"That's Devi, isn't it?"

I nodded, and we led the horses over to the boy. "Excuse me, where did you get that horse?"

The boy immediately paled, seeing my expensively cut clothes and shining sword. "I didn't steal her, sir, I swear I didn't steal her."

I glanced at Seguin, who was hiding a grin behind his hand. "I never said you did. Who gave her to you?"

"She belongs to one of the stable boys at the inn, sir. He only arrived yesterday, sir. The inn we work at is moving to Alnwick, and the horses are being taken down early, sir."

"Where's her owner now?"

"He went ahead to Alnwick with four horses this morning, sir."

"Whereabouts is the new inn to open?"

"On New Church Street, sir. The Black Boar."

I tossed the boy a coin for his information and turned towards the southern road.

"How long will it take to get to Alnwick, sir?" Seguin asked me once he'd caught up.

"A week, perhaps, if we aren't held up."

"That long?"

"It's in the far south of the kingdom. We may be able to catch Coda on the way though. If we press hard, we should cut the journey to five days. And he's travelling with four horses, so he'll be going slowly."

We mounted up and hurried out of town, heading south. We rode in silence for a while, before I spoke.

"Seguin, you didn't have to come with me."

"I did, sir."

"I don't think I can ever go home," I whispered after a short pause, feeling suddenly frightened at that realisation. "My father and I..."

"Let's find Coda first, sir." Seguin said bracingly. "Then we can decide what to do next."

I nodded agreeably, thankful that someone else was taking charge for a while. The thought of never going home again scared me more than I cared to admit. Seguin, who sensed my mood, turned Maiko from the road and led me down beside the riverbank, to a secluded clearing. We turned the horses loose and sat down beside the river.

Seguin pulled some food from our pack and we ate the snack in companionable silence. "Why are you so scared, sir?" He asked me finally. His eyes were inquisitive.

"I'm... I'm scared Coda will reject me after the way I treated him. I'm scared to go home. I'm scared my father will have guessed who I love. I'm scared he'll send someone after me." I sighed heavily. "I didn't realise I was so scared."

Seguin reached over and squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. "Secrets are better shared. We can figure something out when we find Coda... Have you ever hinted to your father about any of this?"

"No. He thinks I love a maid in the town."

"Then why should he guess, sir?"

"He'll be angry about Isolde."

"For a while... I'm sure he'll get over it, sir."

I shuffled over and leant against him. "It feels good to talk about this," I murmured. "It makes it feel... more real. These past few months, with Coda... they've felt like a fantasy. I still worry sometimes that I'll wake up and find it's all been a dream. Talking of it makes it more real."

He smiled at me.

I sighed heavily. "What if he hates me?" I whispered.

"I think he'll be mad at you." Seguin said softly. "But I don't think he could ever hate you."

"What if he doesn't come back with us?"

"Well, if needs be, sir, I'll strap him to my horse, and we can take him away somewhere and not let him go until he forgives you." I grinned at him. "He might put up a bit of a fight, but he's a scrawny little shrimp, so I'm sure we'll manage."

"Watch it," I warned him. "He might be a shrimp, but he's my shrimp, alright."

Seguin grinned. "That's more like you, sir. A bit of fighting talk."

I smiled. "Besides, he's small, but he's really strong. He can pick me up, you know."

"When did he ever- never mind."

I snorted with laughter.

Seguin looked uncomfortable, but also curious.

I smiled at his look. "Why're you so interested in our relationship anyway?" I asked him.

"My cousin," said Seguin, after a short pause. "He lives in King Ryn's kingdom, to the south now, but he used to live in Faversham. He prefers male company. I always wondered what was so different, so appealing, about men over women that he risked his neck every time he kissed someone."

I hesitated, unsure of how to answer. "I don't know what it is," I said finally. "There's just something about guys, about Coda in particular, that... Well, no woman could ever make me feel the way he does."

Seguin thought about that for a while.

"Is there anyone you like?" I asked him. "Can I help solve one of your problems?"

He paused, obviously embarrassed. "One of the kitchen girls is quite pretty, sir," he mumbled, blushing deeply.

"Which one? The blonde or the redhead?"

"Redhead." He stood up abruptly, and began re-saddling the horses.

We mounted quickly and set off down the road at a swift canter.

"So why don't you ask her if she'd like to court you?" I called across to him as we travelled.

"I've... got no spare time." Seguin said weakly.

"What?" I snorted at his feeble excuse.

"My master keeps me pretty busy. He's... a handful, sir."

"Hey!" I frowned at him, and saw his playful grin. "Seriously, why not go and talk to her?"

"Well, I'm too shy, I suppose. Plus, I really don't have much spare time to see her. One or the other of us is always busy with something. There's always someone around."

I smiled to myself. I hadn't realised Seguin was so shy. "Well, we'll work on that. When... if we get home."

He nodded absentmindedly, staring intently down the road. "What's that? Up ahead?"

I looked up the road and saw a cloud of dust rising.

"Horses." I gathered my reins and made to urge Jamocha to a gallop, when Seguin turned Maiko in front of my horse, bringing me to an abrupt halt.

"Let me go first, sir," he said firmly.

"Why?" I asked impatiently, half tempted to push him off his horse so I could get around him.

"Well, first it might not be Coda. You might take a stranger by surprise if you go galloping madly off. Second, if it is Coda, and he really is feeling any animosity towards you, it might be best if you didn't ride up and catch him off guard, sir."

"I suppose so." I frowned at Seguin in annoyance, before sighing reluctantly. "I'll stay behind."