Battle Horse

Chapter Thirty Four

Three weeks later, Ena was cleaning out Dancer's stall when Corbin entered her small stable yard. In three weeks, she had fixed the place up nice, adding a pasture for Dancer to graze on, and a corral she could work him in. She was still in the process of widening his living space. Evanlyn teased her about treating the horse better than herself. Which was probably true.

"Good afternoon, Milady." No matter how many times she tried to tell him, he insisted he call her that. If it was suppose to flatter her in some way, it wasn't working. In fact, it made her despise him slightly. The life she left in Redmont was higher than a peasant's, but lower than a courier. She didn't want to be constantly reminded of the life she left. Over the past three weeks, she had thought long and hard about what would have happened if she had given into Alyss and become a courier. She would still be with George, and really would be a Lady. But that was in the past.

"Corbin." She answered curtly. Corbin hung his arms over Dancer's stall, as he had done the first time she met him. His brown hair was unruly, as if he had just woken up.

"So... Jeanette made us lunch." Corbin said winking. Ena rose an eyebrow.

"I don't recall ordering lunch from Jeanette." She scoffed. He smirked, making her heart flutter slightly.

"No, I did. This is the first beautiful day we've had in weeks. Jeanette thought it would be a good idea for us to spend it outside." He said. Before she could refuse, he grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the small stable.

"Corbin!" She yelled in frustration. As he dragged her throughout the village, several elders chuckled as they enjoyed the warm air from their verandas. They clearly saw her predicament amusing, no matter how much she struggled. After several minutes of following Corbin unwillingly, he stopped in a small meadow near the river. The grass was dead due to the autumn weather, but it was a beautiful meadow nonetheless. He led her over to a blanket laid down under a maple tree, shading them from the afternoon sun. A basket sat in the middle of the blanket, piled high with food.

"Sit." Corbin said. She glared at him before lowering herself down onto the blanket. She was hungry, but that didn't mean she had to tolerate him. Corbin sat down with a small bounce, smiling as he dished out the food to the both of them. Venison, bread, and fruits piled high on Ena's plate, making her mouth water. It was no Jenny's mince pies, but it was good.

"Why are you doing this, Corbin?" She asked with a sigh.

"I want to get to know you. You're new. You're pretty, and you seem to hate me, which makes me want to be around you more." He answered. She silently cursed herself. She thought by ignoring him, he would leave her alone, not chase after her even more.

"Look, Corbin. I appreciate your kindness, but I'm not interested in you." She said shyly. "There is someone back home. I can't forget him yet." Corbins face dropped, but he nodded.

"That doesn't matter. We can still be friends, Milady." He said. She smiled and nodded.

"Friends." She held out her hand to shake his, but instead he took her hand gently, kissing her knuckles.

"Whoever he is, I'm certainly jealous of him." He said grinning. Ena laughed, thinking of someone being jealous of George. Growing up in the ward, she never thought she would hear those words, let alone them be about her. The thought made her feel loved in a world falling apart around her.

***

Ena and Corbin spent the rest of the afternoon laying around in the shade and throwing bits of food at each other. They told stories about one another, Ena managed to leave out the fact that she was banished less than a month ago. Not that Corbin would change his opinion about her, but she felt it was a private matter, privy to only those who truly knew her. Of course she told Jeanette, but she was under a lot of stress and needed to tell someone.

It felt good to talk to Corbin. She felt she could tell him almost anything. His wicked grin and disheveled appearance made him lovable and trustworthy. She found herself trusting him more than she had trusted any one in weeks.

"I have to ask. Where on earth did you get that magnificent horse?" He asked, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"He...um, he was given to me. By my master." She said hesitantly. He rose an eyebrow.

"He's amazing. You must be proud. You're lucky."

"Yes, I am." She answered kindly. Dancer had stayed her constant friend, the one who had never left her side. Yes, he did break ribs, which still pained her, but he was always there.

"Well, we should head back." He said standing. He helped her up and she brushed off her skirt.

"Thank you, Corbin. I suppose I did need a day off from worrying." He smirked.

"Happy to help." They walked back to the village side by side, saying not a word. It was a comfortable silence, but Ena gave a sigh of relief when her small little house came into view. Corbin left without a word, and Ena made her way through the door. Evanlyn huddled on the hearth with multiple blankets and pillows. She stared deeply into the flames, not noticing Ena's entrance.

"Find something interesting in the flames did you?" Ena teased. Evanlyn startled and cleared her throat.

"Not particularly. How was your date with Corbin?" Ena glared at her.

"It was not a date. I told him about George." Ena retorted. Evanlyn winced.

"That must have hurt his ego." Ena chuckled in reply.

"Probably. Alright, I'll start dinner. Should be done in a couple hours." She said, fetching a smoked ham from the meat chest.

***

Sorry it's been a while. I'm irritated with how this book is going currently. This is a total filler and I hope to get to better stuff soon. Not to soon, however, next week is finals week, so I need to focus on my Spanish. I'm really really bad at Spanish. :) love you all!

~Avis