Rubies and Rumors

Chapter Fifty-nine

      In-Yeon's favorite place in the Go compound was a small wooden bench on the border of the kitchen garden. The late afternoon sun warmed the secluded nook, and the fragrances from the growing herbs were comforting. The rhythm and tones from San Jin's mother lap harp practice seeped into In-Yeon's consciousness bringing warm memories of his own mother teaching him the instrument. His fingers tapped along, remembering the feel of the strings from the many lessons. He was startled to realize the faint percussion came from pebbles he had unconsciously set dancing.

"How fun," San Jin said as he approached. "You must be feeling a bit better." In-Yeon blushed and the pebbles clattered into a small pile. "I can lend you my instrument any time you might like."

"You play?" In-Yeon had a hard time picturing the determined fighter pursuing such an art.

"Only when required, so not very well." San Jin admitted cheerfully and then got around to the reason he had sought In-Yeon out. "I was wondering if you were up for a visit to the stables. It is just across the way and if you get tired on the way I can give you a lift. What do you think?"

"Is there time before dinner?" In-Yeon squinted at the sun trying to judge how much time had passed since he entered the garden.

"Oh, I forgot to mention my Mom and Dad are going out, so we can just pop by the kitchen when we are ready to eat." San Jin gave In-Yeon an encouraging grin and offered a hand up. Once they were on their way he slowed his pace, keeping a close eye on the younger boy and stopping part way for a break. "Come on, climb up," he insisted once In-Yeon caught his breath.

"No, I can keep going."

"Of course, you can but I want you to be able to enjoy the horses so come on. Remember this was all my idea." San Jin insisted so In-Yeon reluctantly agreed to climb onto San Jin's back. He hopped down as soon as they were at the stable block but not before one of the guards teased San Jin about turning into a pony. San Jin neighed and laughed as the horses answered.

He led In-Yeon forward during moments their eyes to adjust to the dim lighting and placed the boy directly in front of a sturdy box stall. There was a loud snort, some pawing, and a large roan head darted toward the boy. "Oh, hello Rufus," In-Yeon said with delight as the horse gave a low nicker and then nuzzled him, "You want your special chin scratches, eh?" While he indulged the old war horse, he gave San Jin a questioning look.

"He is losing condition fast. Hae-sung thinks he is pining for Junseo so we are hoping changing herds might help." San Jin shrugged.

"He is not the only one pining," In-Yeon admitted quietly.

"You are right. I have been thinking about what we might do but things are still a bit dicey. Anyway, you definitely cheer up the old guy so I hope you won't mind working with him a bit." San Jin's smile couldn't hide his worry.

"Warm mash and slow walks. That's what our horse master used to do. Oh, and checking teeth but I am sure Hae-sung already thought of it." In-Yeon blushed when he remembered he was offering such simple advice to a senior.

"All good thoughts and no, I am not sure when his teeth were checked last." San Jin tried to approach but Rufus pinned his ears. "You can see it might have been a bit of a problem."

"It's okay. Let him settle in for a day or two and I will try to negotiate." In-Yeon rubbed the horse's forehead. San Jin left him there while he checked on the other horses and went to consult with the groom. When he returned, he found In-Yeon dozing inside the stall with Rufus resting his head in the boy's lap. He backed away quietly but In-Yeon opened his eyes. San Jin mimed going to get some food and In-Yeon gave him a lazy thumbs up.

The cook was scandalized when he proposed taking a picnic to the stables. "The boy is barely out of his sick bed. What were you thinking going all that way?"

"I think being around ones you love always helps you feel better. Besides, I will be carrying him most of the way." San Jin answered. The woman grumbled some more but make up a generous basket full of tempting treats.

When San Jin returned to the stable, he brought a couple of stools over for them to sit on in the alleyway beside the Rufus's stall. He also brought along some warm mash for the horse. In-Yeon coaxed the horse to start eating before tucking into the picnic with a reassuring gusto.

"Thanks, this was great," In-Yeon said while wiping his fingers on a cloth.

"You can tell the cook when we get back." San Jin answered as he cleared up bucket, basket, and stools. He returned pushing a wheelbarrow and said, "Your chariot awaits, young Sir."

In-Yeon laughingly climbed on waving back to Rufus. "On the morrow," he promised with a high court accent and the horse whinnied back.

He could not believe how much better he felt the next morning so started his day with some gentle stretches. Then he unwrapped the presents San Jin had dropped off in the night. The loose silk bag covered a fine lap-harp and a small box held a full set of silver finger picks. In-Yeon quickly ran through a couple of scales and adjusted the tuning before playing one of the first songs he had learned. He faltered a bit on the second piece then decided to stop before his fingers got sore.

When he looked up, he could see San Jin's mother smiling at him from the doorway. "I can't believe I lost all my calluses already," he said with apologetic bow to the instrument.

"Not to worry. A little bit of practice each day will have you back in form before you know it." She smiled warmly then added, "Feel free to join me anytime."

In-Yeon stuttered his thanks and bowed again. San Jin stopped in the hallway and put his arm around his mother. "See. I didn't just bring home a very polite guest. Now you have a boy you don't have to bribe into playing music," he teased.

"Oh you," she said as she swatted her son's arm. "What are your plans today?"

"Well, I am dropping of the syllabus for In-Yeon to look over. His family wants him to do some practice tests help sort out his standings. Then I am going to the training yard for the rest of the morning. I will be back this early afternoon and we will go over to the stables again but we will be back in time for dinner."

"Ok. I just wanted to let In-Yeon know the healer is dropping by this morning so he should probably wait for their go-ahead before doing any serious studying." She gave In-Yeon a little wave before going on her way.

"Don't worry about these," San Jin set down a short stack of books. "When you are ready, we can figure out where you are at with your subjects and take it from there. It's all part of our contract with the Knight-Master. Even I still get tutored a couple of times a week. Mostly just classics right now." He gave the young boy an encouraging smile.

"Thank you, for these, and the harp, and for sharing your home," In-Yeon started to choke up but San Jin just nodded and went on his way. In-Yeon reached over and picked the first book off the stack. He read the first couple of lines but the got a blinding headache and had to lay-down.