Stitch in Time𓃒 𝐉. 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫

XVI. Stalker

(unedited)

The next few days turned into a week and a half Roselyn had found herself looking at the barn, sitting there and staring at the horses that roamed around their paddocks.

She was still mad that Claire had the audacity to even try to do that, and she couldn't shake it off. No matter how good of the intention were, she hated it being used on her. She hated the response to it, the automatic freezing and obligation she felt to follow through with anything after saying three words.

Roselyn picked at the grass beside her, glaring at the wooden planks of the barn's fences as she let out a small sigh and decided that she couldn't just sit there and sulk for much longer.

She was going to drive herself crazy otherwise. 

Turning her head to the side, the white-haired female brushed off the strands of nature that peeled onto her dress and just as she went to move on her way, her head collided with a rough surface.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she let out a small curse as she rubbed her now sore nose. "Goddamn it," she grumbled at her idiocy of running into something hard before realising that there wasn't meant to be anything hard near her.

Her eyes trailed up from the brown-coloured thing in her vision and connected with the eyes of something she despised almost more than anything else.

She had bumped into a horse, and she put her hands on her hips as the animal let out a snort - nudging its head towards her and she automatically moved backwards. How she hated these animals was unknown to her, but she didn't want to become friendly with one either.

The horse had a singular white patch on its forehead, like a shape of a spade in those playing cards she used to have and as she looked at its hooves - which were dangerously close to her own, she noticed a darker brown around the end acting like socks of some sort.

"Well, go along," she grumbled, shooing the large animal off with a wave of her hand expectantly. When it only continued to stare at her, she tried again. "Go home you big Oaf."

The horse only looked amused as it shook out its head and remained still.

"I will fucking strangle you somehow if you don't be on your way," she threatened in a lame attempt before resorting to the best case scenario and to back away from the largely powerful creature.

Much to Roselyn's dismay, it only continued to follow her around the area and no matter how fast she walked, the horse kept pace just beside her as if to deliver a point it wasn't going to leave her side any time soon.

Roselyn huffed out, glaring at the brown eyes of the riderless horse, almost defeated. Blue ones stared at brown ones as they had a face off - neither one blinking as if the horse knew that if it were to blink it'd lose and have to go.

"Why won't you go and prance around and eat grass like you things normally do?" 

The white-haired woman didn't dare reach out and touch the horse as it moved closer and tensed up in response. It could so easily stamp on her legs and she'd be done for.

"Seems like Blair has taken a liking to you," a familiar, masculine voice called out from behind.

Roselyn immediately took 3 steps away from the dangerous creature and spun on her heel to face the ginger man who had been watching from afar the whole ordeal with amusement. "Have you been watching?" she questioned, pointing an accusing finger at the Scottish male.

"Well, I would be when the grumpy horse goes missing and I go looking for her expecting her to be kicking down wee lads and lasses along the way and only to find her stalking after you," Jamie mused, his arms folded across his chest and she noticed that he no longer had any sling for his arm.

"How's your arm?" she questioned, ignoring his comment as she gestured to the now obviously well-working arm and the young man gave a smirk in response. "Pretty good, Claire said I could go a few days without it now since it's healing well."

Roselyn opened her mouth to reply, a bitter taste filling her mouth at the mention of her supposed close friend who had been stuck down in the room of medicine the last week and a bit and only came out when it was meal times just to go back down again. 

A snicker from the side caught her attention and the woman slumped her shoulders in defeat as from the corner of her eye saw the muzzle of the very horse she's been trying to get rid of for who knew how long.

"Please get her away from me," Roselyn mumbled, leaning away from the animal and Jamie chuckled, shaking his head at the foreigner's behaviour. "Of course, Sassenach, but be warned, ye might be stuck with her if she doesna wanna come with me."

The young man reached in close to Roselyn's new stalker - Blair not seeming to like that idea and backed off, snorting out her disagreement and Rose watched with curiosity as the horse that pestered her got all riled up, stamping her feet on the ground underneath her.

Blair's ears twisted backwards, moving away from Jamie and seemingly getting her backside closer to Roselyn. "I'd stay away from that end, lass. If she's spooked, she'll rear end you in the jaw," Jamie warned, a spike of worry flashing in his gaze for the woman before focusing back on the horse.

Roselyn took it upon herself to move at least three buildings away from the two of them as it was the horse's turn to feel the constant pestering it did to Roselyn not that long ago but Blair had managed to find a way so that Rose had been put against the horse's side and the horse bared it's mouth in the direction of the puffed out Scot.

"I suppose you won't mind if you lead her back? She's certainly doesna want to come with me anytime soon," Jamie wheezed out, holding onto his sides as he looked at the Australian expectantly.

"Do I have to?"

Jamie blinked at the stubborn woman before him and shrugged his shoulders. "Unless you want her following you around, yes. It's the only solution as of right now until she's tired and we spend hours chasing her around or she chasing you."

Roselyn groaned out in defeat and cursed the horse in her head repeatedly, looking between the horse who refused to seemingly do anything without her and the man she had subconsciously been looking forward to seeing earlier. 

If only I didn't sit down for so long and did something productive, maybe I wouldn't be in this predicament. she thought, berating herself before pursing her lips into a thin line. But then again, I wouldn't be looking at the blue-eyed specimen before me.

Chewing on her bottom lip, she pushed down her distaste for the large animal and looked at the man she found conventionally attractive and rolled her eyes as she came up with a conclusion that had already been decided before she really thought about it.

I suppose it won't be that hard to lead her back into her home, right?

"How do I do it?"