The familiar sights and atmosphere of the Glowing Afternoon stud farm washed over Frey like a soothing wave of nostalgia as he stepped out of the carriage. The surprisingly warm breeze despite it being late summer, the golden fields in the distance, and the scent of hay and trampled grass in pastures truly befitting the paradise he considered it to be.
"Wow," Marius whispered, appearing next to Frey to take in the view. "That's a big farm."
Frey wasn't sure how to deal with Marius at the time, thoughts spinning between wanting to talk to him and needing to push him away before getting too close, so he stayed silent.
"Do you have a headache?" Marius asked, hurrying along as Frey walked past the pastures without a word. "Drank too much yesterday?"
Frey spared him a shake of his head. He'd been cautious not to drink too much around his family, should his well-known, poor reaction to alcohol cause him to reveal too much about his current life.
"Did... Did she not like the gift?" Marius tried again. "Or the gifts, I mean."
"She's a baby," Frey said in a low voice. "It was hard to tell."
"I meant your sister."
Frey decisively stared forward as he walked.
"I think so."
"And you're sure you'll be fine without Tea For Two for a while? Even if it's just a couple of months?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure your head is all right?" Marius inquired. "You're so quiet."
"My head is fine, but I don't want to talk."
Marius did not seem to grasp that.
"Did... Did you at least get one cake yesterday?"
Frey nodded.
"Was it good?"
Did that man ever stop talking?
Frey didn't reply, and he could hear Marius suck air through his teeth.
"So it was bad, then?"
"... I don't know." Frey lightly kicked a pebble in front of him. "I actually don't like cake, or sweet things in general."
"You don't?" Marius sounded aghast. "You could have said that before I bought you a hundred cakes!"
"I know you didn't, because I saw the items from the lis—"
"Joking!" Marius almost sounded exasperated as he picked up his pace so he could look Frey in the eyes. "Like always."
"Just... Don't," Frey mumbled, wishing nothing more than to avert his gaze, but he couldn't show that kind of weakness. "Not now."
Marius sucked in another breath, falling back a little to give Frey space again.
"Just so you know, I know something's wrong," he said. "And I'm not gonna force it out of you, but you know you can talk to me if you need to."
Frey smiled wryly as Marius couldn't see it. He was the 'something wrong'. How was he supposed to help Frey through that without making things worse?
They reached the main stable after another awkward moment of silence, but before Frey could even approach the doors they were opened and almost slammed into his face instead.
"Lord Clausson!" Paulina Glowell ran up to them, brushing black stray tendrils of hair away from blocking her view. "Welcome back!"
It was an unbecoming amount of outwards excitement coming from a groom of the best stud farm in West Kerilia, but at least she remembered the no-touching rule regardless of how much it looked like she wanted to hug him.
"It's been a—" Frey began, but was interrupted as Raoul Glowell exited the stable as well to join in on his sister's excitement, proving to be yet another groom with lacking manners. Then again both of them had always been like that.
"Young— I mean, Lord Clausson, you're finally back!" Raoul stopped beside Paulina to greet their guests, tucking in part of his shirt to at least pretend he was dressed properly. "How long has it been?"
To Frey's displeasure but hardly surprise, neither of the siblings could keep their eyes away from the side of his face. It hadn't looked like that the last time he'd been there so it was natural, but it hurt nonetheless.
"A rather long time," Frey answered Raoul, dryly. "As I was just about to say."
"Both of you back off," another voice said, with Paulina and Raoul being pushed to the sides to make way for Eadgar Glowell's impressive frame. "You know better than to crowd around Lord Clausson like this."
His face twisted into a broad smile, and he raised a large hand to pat, or rather smack, Frey's shoulder.
"I haven't seen him in so long either, after all!"
Frey smiled, though wishing the man would remove his hand. Unlike his children, Eadgar had never quite grasped the idea of shoulder pats not being appreciated.
Certainly not befitting the owner of the farm.
"It's nice to be here again," he said to the three of them. "And that you're all doing well."
He glanced around, a small wrinkle forming between his eyebrows in case he'd spoken too soon.
"You are all doing well, I hope?"
"Ah yes, Sumitha and Emrik will be here in a bit." Eadgar looked towards the house on the other side of the pastures. "I believe they're preparing tea."
Then he turned to Marius, who'd remained silent during the whole reunion.
"And who might this young man be?"
"Marius, Mr. Glowell." Marius stepped forward to shake Eadgar's hand. "I work at Lord Hargreaves' stable back in South Kerilia."
"Is that so?" Eadgar looked him up and down with a raised eyebrow. "I don't believe I've seen you before."
"He's new," Frey filled in. "But Lord Hargreaves seems to find him promising, so he's been tasked with accompanying me."
Eadgar smiled again.
"Travelling with a servant alone for hours, and yet you're not at his throat."
"I assure you I've feared for my life many times, Mr. Glowell," Marius said, faking a sombre look and Eadgar laughed.
"That seems more like it."
Despite the obvious glances at his scar, Frey was surprised to find the Glowells about as cheerful and welcoming as ever. It was as though nothing had changed. His father's demise and family being dragged through the dirt hadn't made a difference. They treated Frey the same way they always had, and he couldn't sense any contrasting emotions behind it either.
He cleared his throat.
"Shall we go inside then?"
"Right this way." Raoul beamed, waving them along through the stable doors. "Which ones would you like to look at first?"
"Lord Hargreaves wants two draft horses," Frey looked around. The place hadn't changed much since last time. "We'll begin there."
"I'll show you," Paulina offered before her brother could open his mouth, and with Frey's no-touch rule in mind, she chose to drag Marius with her instead. "We have new additions in the Fire family. Bonfire is only two though and hasn't been backed yet, not that it would be that long of a wait, but we also have his older sister, Embers, and then there's Pepper and Ginger from the Herbal family."
Frey grimaced as he walked behind them.
"Just one at a time, please."
"Oh, I almost forgot Marigold" Paulina stopped in front of a stall where a large, bay coloured horse was standing, not looking too interested in its new company. "She's a great horse, but she's getting up there age-wise so we're not necessarily planning any more offspring from her. She's got a lot of experience and plenty more years left though, so she's not a bad choice."
Frey nodded slowly. The horse's age wasn't much of a downside. Even past their breeding prime, horses could have a long life ahead, and he doubted Damien was concerned with the looks of a working horse even when her age started to show.
"Should I... Take a look?" Marius asked Frey with a low voice. "See if she's healthy and all?"
"We'll look at all of them first." Frey shook his head. "See which ones stand out most."
"Do you really need a stable boy for this?" Paulina had to ask, and while Frey couldn't agree with her scepticism more, he still didn't have the power to do anything about it.
"Even I don't get much of a say when it comes to what Lord Hargreaves wants."
"He's the one buying the horses, after all," Marius attempted to join in, but neither Frey nor Paulina found it a notable argument, no matter how valid.
"Still rude, isn't it?" Paulina whispered before walking again, and Frey smirked at the validation.
"Over here's Pepper," she continued with a nod to a chestnut horse, not as large as Marigold but sturdy enough to make up for it. "She's a delight. Not the cosiest, but has a calm temper and is happy to work."
"I think the workers can manage without the cosiness." Frey tilted his head as his gaze wandered up and down the horse. Honestly, when it came to working horses that weren't going to be shown off, his standards weren't too high. As long as they did their job well and without a fuss, he'd allow it. Of course, them being healthy and having a long life ahead was important too so perhaps, regrettably, it would come down to Marius in the end.
"Is this the young one?" Marius asked from behind them, having spotted a stall containing a dark bay horse with the same white blaze and stockings as Marigold. It was much younger though.
"Yeah, that's Bonfire," Paulina confirmed. "He's promising, but like I said he hasn't been backed so he's not ready yet."
"Look at him!" Despite his efforts to keep his voice down, Marius couldn't sound more excited as he tried to wave Frey over. "He's beautiful!"
Frey humoured him by giving the horse another look. Admittedly it was indeed beautiful and Frey did value appearance, but Damien wanted a grown, trained horse. Even if Frey could convince him to wait for a horse, there was no guarantee that horse would be a good fit.
"He is," he at least agreed before turning away again. "Now come along."
"Is it because he's handsome?" Paulina whispered as they walked, and Frey knitted his eyebrows.
"The horse?"
"The stable boy," she whispered even lower. "You're so patient with him."
"Well, you're asking intrusive questions and I'm patient with you too."
"And aren't I handsome?"
Frey smiled weakly, but he hadn't come there for interrogations into his private life. Just horses.
"And this one?" he asked as Paulina headed for another stall.
"This is Embers." Paulina gestured back to where they'd come from. "Bonfire's older sister. Perhaps a better choice if you're looking for someone from that family."
Frey looked the horse up and down. She looked somewhat similar to the young horse but her markings were slightly skewed, which didn't mean much other than appearance-wise, but it irked him. Or perhaps it was Marius' enthusiasm that had gotten in his head.
"Gotta say, I'm surprised their names are so short," Marius leaned in to whisper as well. Apparently today was a day for whispering into Frey's ears. "You were so picky about my suggestions but this one's named Embers, and I'm pretty sure I suggested Cinder back then."
"First off, Cinder is not a fitting name for a chestnut horse, but also, what are you talking about?" Frey pointed to the plaque next to the stall. "All of them have long names, Paulina's just using part of them."
Marius' shoulders slouched as he let out a sigh at the plaque.
"I guess... There are too many letters for a short name. Should have figured."
Frey sighed as well, on the inside. He'd forgotten about the man's illiteracy. There was a chance that him being in a place like this with people he's not used to could have made him self-conscious about his level of education, not that the Glowells were that formally educated academically.
"... Perhaps I should read them out loud," he said, causing Marius to blink. "I mean, it's a horse we're gonna have to live with, so we have to like its name."
"You could always change them." Paulina shrugged, listening in on their conversation. "Although they're used to being called their current ones."
"And therefore we might as well hear them." Frey gestured with his hand, turning Marius' gaze to the mare in front of them. "This is Embers Of Two Dynasties."
He pointed back to the others.
"The old one is Flickering Flames Of Marigold, the chestnut one is Honey Peppered Porcelain, and the young one is Bonfire Dancing 'Til Dawn."
"What is he, a witch?" Marius smiled, either because of the name or out of gratitude for Frey's help.
At that moment, Sumitha Glowell caught up to them, throwing her bulky arms around Frey in a much unappreciated way.
"Oh, young Lord Clausson! It's so nice to see you again!"
"Drop the 'young', Mother," Paulina hissed under her breath, and her mother grimaced.
"Of course, I'm so sorry." She released the tensed up Frey to look at him with eyes of overflowing pity. Then to everyone's further mortification, she reached up to touch Frey's scar. "You poor dear."
"Mother!" Paulina snapped louder now, and even Marius felt the need to chime in.
"Mrs. Glowell, I don't—"
"Oh, who is this?" Sumitha turned her attention to Marius in the blink of an eye, looking between him and Frey with surprised eyebrows. "Did you finally find someone, yo— Lord Clausson?"
"He's a stable boy," Frey uttered, still shaken by the sudden, physical contact but refused to let it show. "He works for Lord Hargreaves."
"Of course." Sumitha nodded gravely. "You're still staying there. I understand that returning here must be—"
"Mother, can I see you over there?" Paulina tackled Sumitha's shoulder before she could continue her pity speech and pulled her towards another part of the stable. "Excuse us."
"I'm sorry..." Marius looked awkward as they were left alone. "... It didn't feel like my place to stop her from doing that."
"No matter." Frey shrugged it off. "I think we could look at the horses by ourselves, so let's move on."
Then his eyes fell on a very familiar sight, and before he could even realise it he'd made his way past stalls to the end of the row.
"See one you like?" Marius asked as he caught up to him, eyebrows arched as Frey had already gently bumped foreheads with an older, white mare while scratching the top of her neck.
"She's not for sale." Frey caught himself having dropped his guard, and he let go of the horse. "No one in their right mind would sell a horse like her."
"She's undoubtedly beautiful," Marius agreed. "So she's been here for a long time then?"
Frey smiled, blaming his resuming, affectionate scratches on not wanting to disrespect the mare.
"Rusty Rose Tea," he said without looking away from her. "Tea For Two's mother."
"Oh my, the queen herself." Marius matched Frey's smile and stroked the horse's withers. "I should have figured Tea For Two would be from this place."
Frey nodded, a little too eagerly in retrospect.
"Every foal from this one has been exceptional. Admittedly I've lost track after Tea For Two's younger brother, Tea At Three, but I've only heard good things about later ones even though I haven't seen them. They don't have the same father as Tea For Two and her brother though, and the foals before that, Hug In A Cup and Love In A Cup have another father as well. Actually, that horse is from Teshome's stud farm where I've heard there's a good option for Tea For Two's potential foal. It's in Wyrmdon, where Tea At Three is as well, but not at that farm—"
He paused, noticing Marius' smile having broadened while listening, and Frey felt a blush coming on. He'd been rambling, like he wasn't supposed to.
"... In short, Rusty Rose Tea has had many successful offspring."
Marius tilted his head as Frey didn't continue.
"That's an impressive horse." He gave the mare another look. "Tea For Two's beauty aside, couldn't Rusty have a foal for your niece? Save you and Tea For Two the trouble?"
Despite not wanting to admit something like that, a very good reason to Frey was the price difference of finding a stallion for breeding rather than buying a whole, purebred foal of that standard.
"I guess I'm a bit curious too," he said, which was also truth. "What it would look like, and what kind of horse it would become. My fear is not finding a stallion that's good enough for Tea For Two. Hearing good things is not enough after all. We'll have to go to Wyrm—"
He choked his words.
"I will have to go to Wyrmdon to have a look."
"I... Wouldn't mind coming with you if you'd like," Marius said to soften the blow, but the vague happiness on his face still made Frey regret it. Why did he have to slip up like that? Marius had to understand that they couldn't know each other. Not as friends, at least, but accidentally saying things like that was bound to make him think otherwise.
"Despite what Damien thinks, I know I'm capable of picking out a horse on my own, should Teshome be no help that is."
"And what if Tea For Two doesn't like your choice?"
Frey's gaze fell, and he pretended to turn his attention to Rusty Rose Tea.
"It doesn't matter much," he said, almost as a mumble. "There are breeding hobbles for that."
"For...?"
"So she can't kick the stallion."
Marius' grimace wrinkled his entire nose.
"That... Sounds pretty cruel."
"That's just how it is." Frey's pretended focus remained on the horse. "High-born horses don't get to choose... They just have to accept what's best for their bloodline."
He could feel Marius' gaze on him, and he released a silent sigh before straightening his back.
"Who knows though. Perhaps she's lucky and will turn out to like the best one."
Marius hummed, but didn't say more.
"So I've scolded my mother," Paulina said as she returned, giving Frey a sheepish look. "And if you're ready we can move on to Ginger, and then we'll all have some tea."
They had a look at the second chestnut horse, which much like the others seemed to be in good condition. If Frey had to be honest he was certain any of them would do well, so as far as he was concerned it all came down to appearances unless Marius had objections.
And if Frey would listen to them.
"I'm not sure why you would think I'd try to sell you a sick horse," Eadgar said as they sat down in the Glowell family's garden. "Even if you had not been capable of telling a healthy one from a non-healthy one, Lord Clausson, I would never lie about something like that."
"I too wish Lord Hargreaves would have more faith than that." Frey nodded gravely, though unable to ignore the way Marius was loading his tea with sugar and he threw him a disapproving glance. "But the stable boy was instructed to come along and he's done well in not disobeying orders, so he might as well do his job while he's here, unnecessary as it may be."
"I... Do feel a bit out of place here," Marius said, looking more awkward than usual. "Perhaps I should wait somewhere else."
"No, not at all!" Sumitha said and pushed his shoulder as if he'd begun to stand up. "They're just being rude. You're a guest and will be treated as such, or else."
Marius smiled appreciatively, but it looked a bit off.
"What do you think then, stable boy?" Eadgar asked, and Marius flinched. "From first glances, which horses would be best suited for Lord Hargreaves?"
"That's hard to say, to be honest, Mr. Glowell." Marius lowered his head in thought. "Like you said, there's nothing apparent wrong with them so I'd need to take a better look to tell... But I do doubt it's necessary."
"And you, Lord Clausson?" Eadgar turned to Frey instead. "What does your gut tell you?"
"I'll admit work horses aren't my area of expertise, so from what I can see either of them would do." Frey swirled the tea in his cup, and then looked back to Marius. "I would have thought this one would have an idea of which ones are built best for pulling carts though, given his former job in the mines."
To Frey's confusion Marius looked deeply uncomfortable at the mention, combined with the Glowells raising their eyebrows in an unimpressed way.
"Lord Hargreaves hired someone from the mines?" Eadgar asked, and Raoul followed.
"Aren't mine horses horribly treated?"
"Well, no, and also yes, I suppose," Marius tried to defend himself. "They— Their lives aren't great, but they're needed there and I did my very best to make sure they had as good of a life as they could."
"Still, what a life." Paulina did not look convinced. "Those cramped spaces, all dark and gritty. I'd feel like I was suffocating and I'm a third of the size of a horse."
Marius' face looked strained as he rose from the table.
"You know, I... I really shouldn't sit around and enjoy myself. I should do the job I get paid for after all."
He walked off in a hurry, leaving the Glowells and Frey silent as they watched him disappear into the stable again.
"Is he alright?" Paulina asked. "Perhaps we sounded too harsh."
Frey was unsure. Marius had never shied away from awkward conversations before. He actually seemed to thrive in them from Frey's experience.
He still stayed for an appropriate amount of time to not be rude before heading over to find Marius, assuring the Glowells he'd be fine looking at the horses by himself.
Marius was standing next to Bonfire when Frey entered the stable, and Frey sighed inwards. Of all horses he could have caught a liking to, it had to be the least convenient?
"You're acting different," he said to cut to the chase, but didn't want it to come off as concern about the man's health either. "Is there something wrong with the horses that I should know about?"
"No." Marius smiled weakly while patting Bonfire's back. "I just thought I'd get ahead."
"By cuddling the horse we're least likely to get?"
Marius pursed his lips together but stepped out of the stall.
"Apologies."
Frey stared at his non-smiling lips with discomfort, and cursed himself before opening his mouth.
"The Glowells are horribly friendly people. If you were upset by what they said about mine horses, you should know they meant no ill words towards you as a person."
"I don't take it to heart," Marius said, turning his gaze away. "I can't disagree with them."
Frey still wasn't satisfied. He needed that smile back.
"I have no doubt you did everything you could for them."
To his greater confusion and dismay, Marius' expression darkened, leading Frey to suspect he'd made things worse instead.
He glanced over at Bonfire.
"He is a beautiful horse," he admitted. "Perhaps the most out of the lot, but we can't know for sure he'll be a good working horse."
"I know, I know." Marius sighed, but turned to head for Marigold further away. "I was just saying hi."
"That..." Frey gritted his teeth, hesitation almost choking him. "... Doesn't mean he couldn't be good for other things."
Marius slowed down, turning his head to give him a wide eyed stare.
"He could?"
Frey shrugged, feigning indifference.
"I don't think Damien would be thrilled if I returned without two properly trained horses, but... This one is beautiful and I'm curious to see what could happen with it. Perhaps backing him could be a nice pastime as well."
Marius still stared, but also knitted his eyebrows.
"For you or for me?"
Frey wanted to take things back again. He did not need Marius thinking they would do something like that together.
"You, mostly, but I suppose I would have to be around to make sure you're doing it right... From time to time."
"That's..." Marius' smile finally returned, to Frey's reluctant delight. "... Thank you, but I don't want you to go out of your way for me."
"I'm not doing it for you," Frey protested as soon as Marius had finished his sentence. "And don't go thinking this is going to be easy. He'll require a lot of time and effort outside of your regular duties."
"You sound like my mother when I got my first dog," Marius said, grin turning mischievous and Frey chose to turn away before dignifying it with a smile back.
"It's about time we choose the actual horses Damien should want."
Then he spun around, arm gesturing at Bonfire.
"But we're keeping him away from Tea For Two. Last thing I need is a blend of those two."
Marius tilted his head.
"I wanna say... Piping Hot Kettle."
"I said no."