Regardless of Frey's feelings towards his valet, it was still his valet, and he was supposed to listen to his orders. Not Damien's. Especially if those orders included waking Frey up at noon despite a booming headache and little sleep.
So as Frey descended down the stairs, fighting to keep his eyes open enough to see where he placed his feet, he imagined what it would be like to slap Damien across the face.
"Then again, why imagine?" he muttered to himself, sending the aforementioned man who'd sat down in the dining hall a disgruntled look.
"So he did manage to wake you up." Damien's eyebrows suggested surprise, but Frey was not as impressed.
"Since when is he supposed to take orders from you when it concerns me? Isn't he hired to do what I say?"
"You're not the one paying him."
"Again with that." Frey rolled his eyes before placing a hand over his forehead. "I came along with you. I'm returning to work, so leave me alone."
Damien relented at that, but still had a look of scepticism on his face.
"Well, if you're returning to your job, you can't sleep past noon."
"Today's an exception." Frey waved Damien's words away, head still making him suffer. "Yesterday was..."
He trailed off, and Damien grimaced accordingly as memories of the night before came back to Frey.
"Oh," Frey uttered, barely. "Oh... No."
"I won't be the one to warn you about being seen in the state you were in, because I reckon you're well aware of that yourself." Damien had a frustrating look of pity in his eyes. "But you need to control your behaviour so it won't affect your work."
"Everyone gets drunk, Damien." Frey scowled, wishing for less criticism in his pained state. "Everyone but immortal grumps like you. Countless people of our social class have slept in because they had too much to drink."
"But it's usually due to work related parties," Damien countered. "Not... Drinking at a tavern with friends."
Frey paused his episode of self-pity to stare, aghast.
"Friends?"
Damien clicked his tongue, unimpressed.
"I figured that would be your sober reaction."
"Is that some kind of joke?" Frey's cheeks were involuntarily turning red. "I don't have friends, and of all people, why would I even consider lower class waste like them for a role like that?"
Damien leaned back on the couch, raising his eyebrows as his lips curved into the slightest of smiles.
"Not even Marius?"
"Low class, and servant?" Frey scoffed before any pause in his speech could insinuate other feelings. "He'd be the least likely of them all."
"That's not what you told me last—"
"You know, if you're just going to spout nonsense, I won't stay for it," Frey snapped, rubbing his temples as the throbbing pain in his skull got worse. "I have to take Tea For Two out anyway."
"Really?" Damien's eyebrows remained raised. "I would have thought you would try to avoid Marius at least for a few days after what happened. Not to mention the current state of your head."
Frey let out a condescending 'ha'.
"And give him the pleasure of thinking I'm ashamed of something?"
Damien couldn't object to that, but then he looked out the window with a frown.
"It's been raining outside for a while now though."
"Doesn't matter," Frey said before Damien could spot his hesitation. "I can't risk him thinking I'm avoiding him."
"Sure caring a lot about what this supposed lower class waste thinks of you," Damien mumbled under his breath as Frey headed for the door, and the latter stifled the urge to stick his tongue out at him.
To his disappointment yet somewhat malicious delight, Tea For Two was not ready when he reached the stables. It was just what he needed. Yelling at the stable boy for not doing his job correctly, making him forget all about what had happened the other night and proving that Frey didn't care at all about his thoughts on him.
"At least you're clean," he whispered to Tea For Two as he patted her side. "I know you don't like mud or rain, but we don't have to go that far today. We'll take the shorter path."
"Lord Clausson?"
Fortunately, Frey was not surprised enough to flinch. He'd expected the stable boy to be there after all.
"Stable boy."
"You're, uh... Here, I see." Marius looked towards the window. "Honestly didn't expect you to be."
"I was under the impression I could come and go as I please." Frey's voice matched his dead expression, and he pulled the rain misted hood of his cloak back.
"Of course, I was just surprised, my Lord." The stable boy's smile looked sheepish as Frey glanced at him from the corner of his eye, and he wrinkled his nose.
"Why? I always take her out at this time of day."
"Well, yes, but... I figured after last night—"
"Is your job standing around talking?" Frey interrupted him. "Or is it preparing my horse for when I come here to ride?
Marius pursed his lips.
"The latter."
"And what are you doing right now?"
"... The first."
"Then at least you understand simple instructions." Frey walked past the curly-haired man with a huff. "I'll wait, but make sure this doesn't happen again."
"Just worried about your health, my Lord." Marius got to work, though his smile had weakened.
This did not stop Frey from giving him an icy glare. He had some nerve. Any proper servant would know not to bring something like the last night up. Frey had been in a vulnerable position and the man just spoke about it like it was nothing. Was he mocking him? Or something more sinister? If Frey had run into someone of his own social class in a shameful situation like that, he would have used it against them without batting an eye.
"What possesses you to think that's of any concern to a stable boy?"
Marius let a frown show just briefly, but he gathered up a breath to speak again.
"First of all, it's raining. You could catch a cold. Then there's the fact that you drank more than any of us yesterday, and I have to imagine your head is feeling that at least a little. What if you fall off?"
"That's still none of your concern." Frey dismissed the reasoning with a shake of his head. "I'm the one who decides whether I'm capable of riding or not. Your job is to take care of the horses in the stables or out in the enclosure, and that's that."
Marius still looked doubtful as he hoisted the saddle up on Tea For Two's back.
"What if Tea For Two here gets hurt, then? The ground is slippery after all. If I can't care about your well-being, I should at least be allowed to feel concerned about the horses I take care of, shouldn't I?"
Frey was too exhausted at that point. He didn't have the energy to waste on further snarky comments or faked concerns. If anything, Marius' reasoning only made him even more determined to go.
"Care as much as you want, stable boy, I'm still taking her out." He grabbed Tea For Two's bridle as soon as Marius was done, and began leading her outside.
"I'm Marius, by the way," Marius said from behind him, and Frey spared him a glance over his shoulder.
"Is that of any importance to me?"
"Well, if you want to vary your scoldings with other names than 'stable boy' perhaps?" Marius shrugged, with an attempt to look endearing. Or maybe he just looked endearing in general, but Frey disregarded the thought.
Instead he drew a breath.
"Servant, low-life, horse valet, muck-covered outcast, stable dweller, labourer, hireling, inferior worker, dreg, and pitchfork wielder, to name a few."
Marius didn't show enough emotion for Frey to read him, but he did open his mouth to reply.
"And 'Marius', to name another."
Frey only rolled his eyes and walked off with Tea For Two. What was wrong with the man? Why didn't he know his place? Was he really so hard working that Damien insisted on keeping him, regardless of manners?
He dared to glance back just a little before pulling his hood back on.
He wasn't even hired to be inside the mansion, so his looks served no purpose in his profession either. The horses didn't care, and Frey doubted the stable master did, not that it should matter either way. It was, indeed, just a waste.
It wasn't until he reached the outside that Frey realised just how exhausted he really was. His eyes stung, his head just wanted to cave in, and his breaths were shallow. He was in no shape or mood to ride. Just the idea of getting up on Tea For Two made his legs heavy, but he couldn't go back inside and admit it.
So he sat up, requiring a minute to find his balance and focusing on his task before heading towards one of their usual routes, but not without cursing under his breath.
"This sucks," he whispered to Tea For Two as soon as they'd reached the forest trail. "I just... Want to get out of sight right now. Not be seen by people. Not Damien, not the servants, or any other people that might visit, and I can't return you to the stables yet, or he will ask me more intrusive questions."
He sent a glare over his shoulder.
"Why can't he understand his place? I don't expect a servant to know what to say, but he should at least know to stay out of my way, and definitely not ask dumb questions about my personal life."
Tea For Two simply ambled along, and Frey clicked his tongue.
"He'd better be taking proper care of you at least, if he wants to get on my good side." He wrinkled his eyebrows. "Not 'good', of course, just... An indifferent side."
Despite his horse's silence, Frey chose to interpret the look she gave him, and he huffed.
"I'm not obsessing, I'm rightfully upset." He frowned. "But... I agree that I shouldn't give him the time of day."
After a while the ride seemed pointless. Tea For Two probably didn't mind, but Frey could not find the motivation to keep going. He wouldn't stay to rest in a forest though, so he just sat there on Tea For Two's back aimlessly.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered after having stared at two pleasantly symmetrical leaves on the ground for a while. "Let's head back."
A rustle sounded through the forest and Tea For Two pricked her ears. Frey's gaze snapped towards the sound as well, but he failed to spot the flock of birds bursting out of the thicket before they were already swooping over their heads.
Frey and Tea For Two were rarely out of sync, but their shared sound sensitivity did them no favours in the surprise encounter and caused them both to pull towards opposite sides, inevitably making Frey lose his balance. He still did his best to remain on Tea For Two's back, but through the commotion she'd stepped too close to the slippery ditch and stood no chance as her hooves lost their grip.
"Shi—" Frey began before Tea For Two's legs gave way beneath her and she let out a distressed neigh. Whether it had been her actual intention or not, the jolt she managed before going down threw Frey to the side, saving him from being crushed beneath her.
"Tea!" Frey hoisted himself up on his hands without missing a beat, disregarding the mud and leaves enveloping his body to look at his horse.
Tea For Two was covered in mud as well, making it difficult to discern potential injuries, but something was wrong. It wasn't just the slippery ditch that forced her to stay down. One of her front legs had suffered from the fall, and the panic in her eyes kept Frey from going forward on the off chance she'd kick him.
It was at that moment he noticed his own injuries. He'd landed hard on the side, bruising his shoulder and hip as well as twisting his ankle, but he still couldn't be bothered to care much. Tea For Two was his top priority.
"It's all right," he whispered to her with a strained yet soothing voice as he crawled his way up on the path again. "I'll get you up from there, and we'll make it back and tend to your leg."
With a careful movement he grabbed the reins, pulling them towards him in an attempt to get her to stand up. While she tried to obey, her bad leg and the mud underneath her made it difficult, and after a while she had to give up.
Frey gritted his teeth and looked around. He had to make the slope less slippery. Unable to walk properly, he went down into the ditch again and proceeded towards a pine tree. Pinching his lips together as needles pricked his skin, he conjured all his strength to tear branches off. The pine was young though, and soft enough not to break so easily.
"Fucking useless piece of wood!" Frey's mind flew into a rage and he slammed his fist repeatedly against the trunk. His rapid pulse boomed in his ears to an excruciating point, making it all worse, and he had to stop hitting the tree as his hands began to cramp.
A whinny from Tea For Two broke through his panic, and he looked back to his horse who had turned her head to watch him.
He couldn't give up. Despite his recent urge to bang his head against the pine he channelled the fury he had left to tear a few branches off and crawled his way back to Tea For Two.
"This won't be enough," he mumbled as he tried spreading the branches out. They were too small and far too few to support the weight of a horse. He still grabbed the reins again though, with another attempt to pull her up from there, but while the ground had improved marginally she still couldn't make it all the way, and to Frey's further horror his rain-soaked hands were losing their grip.
"It's all right," he repeated to her, trying to wipe his hands dry on his clothes but to no avail. "I'm not leaving you."
In the end he had no idea for how long he fought to pull her up from the ditch. His hands were red from cold and soreness, he was drenched and muddy to the bone, and both Tea For Two and him were fighting exhaustion.
At that point, Frey could have sworn he was hallucinating as two more hands grabbed the reins.
"Pull on three," Marius' voice said next to his ear, warm breath like fire against his neck.
Frey saw no choice but to obey, as much as he didn't want to heed someone like Marius' orders, but Tea For Two had to come first. The two of them synced their efforts and pulled the horse forward, but there was only so much they could do. She was exhausted and wet from grime and rain.
"I'll boost her." Marius let go of the reins and headed down, only then stopping to look at Tea For Two's leg. "... She's injured."
"We'll see to that later," Frey uttered, voice trembling and too weak to sound condescending. "Just— Just get her up from there."
"Even with the two of us, I don't think it will work," Marius said before making his way back up, to Frey's horror.
"Then— Then what do we do? We can't leave her down there."
"She's too exhausted to get up on her own, we'll—" Marius began, but paused as he looked at Frey's face. "Oh, fuck."
A small spark of annoyance lit up in Frey's eyes, but he was too weak to act on it.
"What?"
"You're freezing." Marius raised a hand to place it against Frey's cheek but the latter hastily pulled away. "Can't you feel that?"
"It doesn't matter," Frey hissed, but Marius shook his head with a look of grave concern.
"No, you really are freezing. Your lips are blue and your body's gotta be ice cold at this point, having been outside and wet for this long. It's dangerous."
"I told you, it's none of your business." Frey backed away, almost tripping as his injured ankle caved, and Marius stared at his leg.
"You're—"
"I'm not leaving her," Frey promptly decided, but Marius sucked in a breath before grabbing hold of his arm.
"I'm sorry, but you need to get back inside now."
"Let go of me!" Frey tried to jank his arm loose, failing out of exhaustion and inferior muscle mass. "You're not allowed to touch me! You can't make me leave without her!"
"I'll go back for her." Marius removed his cloak to put it over Frey. "After I've gotten you inside."
"Stop it!" Frey fought back, staggering as he tried to get away, but Marius wouldn't have it.
"No, you stop it!" The sudden frustration in his voice made Frey waver. He'd never heard him yell like that before. "Understand the reality of what's going on. You're about to freeze to death while trying to get your horse out of a situation you can't manage alone. I promise, I will go back for her, but not until you're safe."
"I don't need your help! Why do you insist on making me seem weaker than what I am!?" Frey kicked and tried to fight Marius off with his hands as the latter began to drag him away. "You're not going to make me look bad! No one's gonna listen to you anyway!"
"What?" Marius wrinkled his forehead. "Why would I—"
Then Frey's hands reached his face, accidentally clawing across his skin instead of just pushing him back.
Frey's heart skipped a beat in shock, but he refused to falter.
"Just— Just let me—" his trembling voice managed, but choked as Marius suddenly lifted him from the ground and hoisted him over his shoulder.
Marius didn't say anything. Frey had no words either. He had all intentions to slam his fists against Marius' back and try to escape, but his fading strength would serve no purpose. Instead he squeezed his eyes together in resignation, tears welling up in his eyes as he had to accept that he'd need to leave Tea For Two after all.
After some time, his mind was too tired to care about his surroundings. A shift in pressure on his body suggested Marius had moved him down to carry him in his arms instead, but Frey couldn't bring himself to care. He was being carried regardless.
Vague images of other servants reached through to him, and then Damien's worried face, but it wasn't until he'd landed in a warm bath and finally being rid of the mud that he dared to fall asleep tucked into his bed.