Ivy

oh to be loved is not a crime

Sunday morning, time for a ride. It was a long-standing tradition, every week since she was old enough to mount a horse. Oftentimes her father went with her, but if he was busy she would go by herself. It was a good way to clear her head, to wake up properly with the fog still hanging around the trees and heather.

Of course ‘alone’ would always be a relative term. After all those years she was an expert rider, but nevertheless danger was never far. She was a Winter, after all, and the Winters had plenty of enemies. So for years, every Sunday morning their guards would join them on their rides, usually trailing behind just slightly. It was the end of her new guard’s first week and so it would be his first time to accommodate her.

She had personally saddled up her favourite grey mare Ivy, the first step to clearing her head. The downtime with the kind animal was something she valued greatly and so she insisted on doing it herself whenever she had the time. Nyx would be joining on Hero, a big, stocky gelding but the sweetest in the barn. She had a feeling that that was not an unnecessary luxury. Already having mounted Ivy, she looked back over her shoulder into the stables. ”Are you almost ready to go?” she called, a worried frown on her face. The forests and fields were prettiest during the dawn and she did not want to miss it.

as long as we don't die
this is gonna be one hell of a story

Her first week at the Winter castle had been both intriguing and tiring. While not much physical work was required compared to her previous jobs, it was mentally exhausting. Perhaps it would get better once she got used to it, but in the span of a week she had to get used to more customs and rules than she had to within her entire life. The good thing, however, was her luxorious room within the guard quarters of the castle. Compared to the actual Winter family and other Upper Ring families, it probably wasn't much, but to her it actually meant a lot. Never before she had slept in a bed so comfortable. It made the job much more bearable, at least.

Beside tired, the young guard was intrigued by the Winter lifestyle. The first week taught her many things, and today she would start to develop a newly, needed skill. Riding a horse. The thought of getting atop of such beast sent the shivers down her spine, but she couldn't simply decline. If the Heiress wanted to go for a ride, she would, and as her personal guard she was obligated to stay by her side. By Lythrana, this was going to be one hell of an adventure, and not particularly in the sense she'd like.

And there she stood, beside the already saddled up, big, bulky horse. Apparantly his name was "Hero", as the shiny nameplate on his stable door gave away. Hero, hm. She felt a lot of feelings standing beside the beast, but heroic sure wasn't one of them. The Heiress had already left the stables, leaving the guard wondering how in the world she'd ever get on the horse's back by herself. Luckily, she was quite the acrobatic type. As she climed upon the wall dividing two neigh(haha)boring stables, she could easily swing her leg over the saddle. Satisfied with her attempt, she took a few seconds to get comfortable within the saddle. She stuck her feet through the stirrups, as she had seen the authorities do quite often. Great, now she just had to get this beast moving.

Time was ticking, as the voice of Miss. Winter echoed through the stables from just outside the stable doors. She decided not to answer, scared to let the uncertainty about her actions show within her voice. "Come on, let's go," she whispered softly, heaving no idea how to actually get one of these beasts moving. "Ehm, forward, please?" Her second attempt was as succesful as her first. The horse wouldn't move an inch. "Hurry!" She hissed in frustation, giving the best a short kick with her legs. Finally! Relieved, the two of them stepped out of the stables and joined the blonde waiting for them. "I surely am ready, your Grace." She smirked. The usual, signature, slightly crooked smirk. The tone of her voice was able to come across calm and collected again, but in reality her stomach was twisting. She couldn't wait for the ride to be over.

@ Ali <3

oh to be loved is not a crime

By now she knew these woods like the back of her hand and so she didn't quite get why she had to bring her clumsy guard with her. He was nice enough, she supposed, but he slowed her down. More importantly, he cost her her privacy. She could pretend she was alone all she wanted, but the truth was that there was always a second pair of footsteps right there with her. The only time she was truly alone was at night in her room, and even then there was always someone posted right outside her door. There was no way for her to take a nightly stroll or other without anyone noticing. By now she had learned to ignore her guards for the most part, something that was definitely easier to do when they actually tried their best to blend in and not be a bother to her. It goes without saying that her newest guard had not quite mastered that art yet.

Instead of an answer to her question, she heard some noises coming from inside the stable. For a moment she contemplated going back to check if everything was alright, but wasn't it his job to check up on her? Luckily he emerged before her morals took over, looking slightly too cheerful to her liking. Garrett had always made sure that he was ready before her; she wasn't used to waiting and she didn't like it one bit. It took everything in her not to roll her eyes. Instead, she just nodded with a quick "Good.", before turning her head and steering Ivy towards the forest.

The morning air quickly calmed her temper, and she could feel herself relax as she felt the wind in her hair. Ivy seemed quite cheerful too, snorting excitedly as she had to contain her energy until they would reach a wider path where they could pick up speed. The sun was slowly coming up, casting the forest in a warm light as it reflected on the dewdrops. The sound of Hero's hooves was nothing more than background noise that she barely registered at this point. It was really a perfect Sunday morning.

As they finally reached the wider path, Ivy didn't even have to wait for her cue before picking up speed in what started as an easy canter. Her excitement quickly took over, and it did not take long before they were galloping at full speed. It felt freeing. So freeing that any thoughts on her new guard had moved way towards the back of her head.

as long as we don't die
this is gonna be one hell of a story

Why did high-borns like doing this? Risking their lives by voluntarily riding these animals. And for fun, too. She had read about horses being the primary source of transportation within the kingdoms, but why bother within Ashmoor? Here, they had both trains and carriages to take them to their destinations. Although she preferred to walk the shorter distances within the city.

As the blonde steered her mare towards the forward, the guard quietly followed. Was she supposed to say something? Supposedly not. Her uncertain posture on top of the horse probably wouldn't go unnoticed, but the young guard already had an answer laid out for the situation in which the heiress would notice.

While stiff and uneasy on horseback, the guard couldn't help but to be amazed by the scenery they've arrived at. A lush forest that would soon be turned into a sea of auburn and gold as soon as autumn striked. But for now, they were surrounded by green. While still mainly keeping her gaze locked on the woman riding before her, she couldn't help but to take in the scenery. "Quite the beautiful route you've chosen, your Grace," she commented, doubting if it was suitable to say such things to the heiress. The guard still had to get used to the customs of the higher borns. She was glad to even know how to adress the woman, but why, when and where could a guard even speak to someone of her status? Were they meant to build a more personal relationship, or was it supposed to be a "don't speak unless spoken to' situation? Time would tell, she guessed. ~~hihi~~

The guard didn't have long to sink within her spiral of thoughts, as the sudden change of pace instantly pulled her out of it. Before she knew it, the heiress took off with an amount of speed she had never witnessed a horse reach before. Instinctively, scared to lose the blonde out of sight, she tried to spur the horse into a faster pace. It took her a few times before the animal obeyed, as she probably was doing it incorrectly. Without warning, the animal suddenly matched the pace of the mare before him, as the poor guard on top tried to hold on for dear life. As her nails dug themselves into the front of the saddle, her legs squeezed the beast as if her life depended on it. How was this fun? Who in the right mind would ever depict this activity as fun or relaxing? If being a guard meant to accompany the heiress on rides every single day, it might become the death of her.

@ Ali <3

oh to be loved is not a crime

Had she really been so naive as to think that she wouldn't be bothered by Nyx accompanying her? It had been very clear from the start that the guard had not prepared for his new job as well as he maybe should've. He was supposed to be of help to her, but instead he felt rather like a nuisance. It wasn't that the staff was supposed to blend in with the furniture; she had a great relationship with her personal maids and had always gotten along perfectly fine with Garrett as well. But it wasn't her job to make sure things were going smoothly, even though this past week it certainly felt that way. There was something so clumsy about him, so out of place that she was never quite certain that he had things under control. But again: Her father had seen something in him, so she supposed it should be fine.

It caused her temper to flare back up at his comment on the scenery, the most utterly unnecessary observation of the century. Why would she ever choose a route that was not beautiful? This was a time for her to clear her head, not to exercise the horses or to have small talk with a guard. A grunt left her throat before letting Ivy take control of the tempo. It was enough for her to take her mind off the situation for a moment. The path narrowed down again before taking a sharp turn to the right, the cue for her to slow down her pace again. This time, though, she slowed all the way down to a halt, turning Ivy around to watch the path they had just headed down. Just in time to see her newly appointed guard come crashing towards her in what looked to be some sort of suicide mission. Any relaxation that she might have gathered so far was now gone. Instead, she could feel her anger flare up again.

She waited for Hero to slow down to join Ivy, bless his soul, before opening her mouth. "You cannot ride, you do not know how to behave yourself and you are about a foot shorter than I am." she started. "Tell me, why did you take this job? Did you think it would all be fun and games? That it would just naturally fall into place?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, eyes flaring with anger. "I can tell you already that that is not how this works. It is hard work and sacrifice. Your main priority is me and there is no room to mess around and find out. I may not be able to fire you, but I am the person that you will spend most of your time with so I suggest you start putting in a bit more work." The utter disrespect of it all was what angered her the most. Did he not realise that for him, there were ten others? That any amount of slacking could result in her death?