Neighboring kingdoms, Magna Aurum and Perdita Bellicus, are headed into a new era. The presumed heirs to either throne are pushed together in an attempt to keep the country whole. Will they be able to keep it together or has everything already falle...
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A soft breeze of wind blew, sending the musky scent of the cozy, wooden stables drifting out into the air as the man and his younger sister led their horses back to their stalls for the night. Rays from the sun shone down — through the gaps in the handcrafted planks that made up the horses' source of shelter, landing on the floors of dirt and hay that covered the area within the stable walls.
The large animals of varying shades and colors stood lined up in their stalls, only the four nearest the stables large doors lacked horses. Most of them slept the day away while those missing, stayed out and about, assisting their owners with travel and heavy loads.
"Can you get some brushes please?" the young man asked, his voice soft. "I'll get Lady and Blue inside." His sister nodded, handing Blue's lead line over to him and wandering off to the opposite end of the stables.
"Which brushes, Michael?" She popped out from behind the wooden wall that hid her away and stared at older brother as he tried to get both of their horses to cooperate with him.
Michael shrugged and waved off his light brown mare into her stall. She tracked into the smaller area and stood there, waiting for Michael to come pet and coo at her but he didn't. Instead, he stepped into Blue's stall and attempted to lead him further in.
"Come on, Blue," he pleaded with the jet black horse that stood before him, "I'll give you a carrot."
Blue brayed and knelt onto the ground outside of the stall's large door. Michael huffed out a breath, placing his hand onto his biceps and rubbing his sleeve up and down his arm. The horse in front of him eyed an empty bucket in the corner of the room.
"An apple?" Michael asked and Blue turned his head back to him, scrambling up onto his hooves. "You'll get them in the morning if you come in here."
The horse trotted into his stall, staring at Michael as the man smiled to himself and slipped past him. He petted Blue's side a couple of times while Janet joined them both, brushes in hand. She reached one to Michael and stepped into the stall with Blue, letting Michael head off to tend to Lady in the next stall over. The duo began brushing and grooming their horses as rain softly pattered onto the roof and exterior walls of the stables, the wind blowing a bit stronger than before.
"We're gonna have to go back inside soon, Dunk." Michael told Janet.
He walked over to the stall wall and stepped up on a hay bale beside it, grabbing the top of the half-wall and peeking over it. Janet stopped brushing Blue and she met with her brother's wide eyes staring her down from over the wall.
"I like it out here though," she said, "nobody can yell at me for getting my stupid dress dirty out here." She yanked the bottom hem of her dirt-covered dress out from beneath the broad, black boots on her feet.
Michael tilted his head to the side with the slight shrug of his shoulder. "It doesn't get rid of it," he reminded her, "just delays it because LaToya and Rebbie won't come out here."
