How To Fall From Grace [MxM]

Step 3: Fall off a horse

Frey curled his lip in response. The stable boy noticed and continued.

"Perhaps Cinder?"

Better, but far from good enough. With Tea For Two's name in mind, the other horses should have at least two words in their names.

Frey raised his chin and swung his leg over Tea For Two's back to step down from her. He wouldn't be able to make a powerful exit after berating the man if he was on a horse.

"Well, I suppose—"

His sentence was interrupted and he reluctantly let out a yelp as the heel of his boot stuck to the stirrup, causing him to rather clumsily flail around in order to maintain his balance with his right foot.

The stable boy hurried to his rescue, grabbing his shoulders to keep him from falling over and Frey's body stiffened as the hands closed around him.

Absolutely not.

Before the stable boy could proceed with freeing his boot from the stirrup, Frey decisively pushed him away, causing him to lose his balance once again and tumble to the floor with a loud thud. Tea For Two looked down at him, and Frey knew she was judging his disgraceful landing. He just hoped the stable boy would have the decency to not acknowledge the embarrassing display.

"Lord Clausson, are you all right?" The stable boy reached a hand out, but Frey promptly ignored it. He struggled to stand up from the ground without letting his hands touch the filth beneath him and flinched as his back stung. At least his foot had managed without any notable damage, and he resisted the urge to wipe his clothes free from dirt.

"That wasn't too bright, was it? You shouldn't have pushed me away like that," the stable boy continued, and Frey's eyes flashed with annoyance.

He shouldn't have? What about the servant who'd touched him in the first place? He was the one who shouldn't have.

"Excuse me?"

"You wouldn't have fallen if you hadn't pushed me—"

Enough.

"Let me be clear with you," Frey interrupted, voice cold enough to make any villain proud. "You are a servant. You do not get to question my intelligence, or my choice of clothing, and you do not have permission to touch me unless I tell you otherwise!" He resisted the temptation to complete his scolding with a poke to the stable boy's chest, albeit a rather impressive kind of chest, and instead only pointed his finger at him.

The stable boy did not react the way he'd wanted though, and if Frey wasn't mistaken he even looked amused.

"Apologies, my Lord," he said, however. "I'll, uh, stop bothering you then and tend to Tea For Two immediately."

"Good." Frey turned around and once again felt the pain in his lower back. He stopped and grimaced.

"I hope your ass doesn't hurt too much, my Lord," the stable boy said before Frey could leave, and he froze on the spot. Then he turned around, mouth agape.

"My—?"

The servant arched his eyebrows.

"Your ass. The soft part of your backside. I think even someone of your social class has one?"

"I know what it is." Frey scowled, his gaze once again drawn to the stable boy's smile. "And what's so funny?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, it's just... The frown you make when you're angry, it... Kind of suits you."

Frey's eyes widened, but he refused to be speechless.

"What's that supposed to mean? You're trying to make me angry on purpose?"

"No! No, not at all." The stable boy's smile finally faded. "Apologies, it was... It was just my way of saying... That you look pretty when you're angry. Not that you don't always..." He trailed off, and Frey's mouth opened and closed as he tried to figure out how to respond.

"Well... Keep this kind of behaviour up and you'll see a lot of pretty then."

It was a terrible comeback if he could even consider it one at all, and he was usually so good at them. The stable boy snorted and opened his mouth to say something but closed it just as quickly as he spotted something behind Frey.

"What's going on here?" The stable master looked down at Frey as the latter spun around. "Is he bothering you, Lord Clausson?"

Before Frey could say something the stable boy spoke up instead.

"I was speaking out of line and regrettably insulted him, but I've made sure to apologise."

The stable master said nothing but stepped past Frey and slapped the stable boy across the face.

Frey winced, but said nothing.

"I apologise for his behaviour." The stable master bowed his head and grabbed the stable boy by the neck, forcing him to do the same.

Frey only nodded, still processing the slap. That was just how it was, he reminded himself. Servants weren't allowed to misbehave without consequences like he was. No one would ever slap him for something so minor as insulting another person. It still bothered him though, and he left the stables without another word.

"He was speaking out of line," he mumbled as he walked, trying not to feel the blooming, negative emotion he'd never associated with a servant. He shouldn't have to feel guilty about the slap. It wasn't as though he'd been the one to do it, and he hadn't even said anything to the stable master.

It had forced the stable boy's persistent smile to finally disappear though, and it irked Frey. He had thought he'd hated it. That it was disrespectful, but as soon as it was gone it felt wrong, and whether he liked it or not, Frey had played a part in it.

He then spotted Damien, who was sitting on a bench in the garden with a book in hand.

Damien looked up as Frey approached and tilted his head to the side with a puzzled frown.

"Did something happen? You look shaken... And red."

Frey finally acknowledged the burning of his ears. His entire face felt warm and he scrunched up his nose.

"Nothing, really." He sat down next to Damien and glanced towards the stables.

At least he was pretty sure it was nothing.