A Little Crush?

Writers: Arale, Heather
Date Posted: 2nd August 2012

Characters: Jeyme, Quexil
Description: Jeyme meets an admirer while preparing for a ride.
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 8, day 21 of Turn 6

Jeyme

Quexil paused in his work, brushing down one of the Hold's runners,
when he noticed the young lady enter the stables. This wasn't the
first time he'd seen this particular young woman coming to he stables.
Sometimes she took a runner to ride and sometimes she just pet them or
fed them redfruit or other treats. She stood out to him though,
because of how pretty she was.

Jeyme hadn't ridden in a while, but today she was in one of her riding
skirts, her long hair pulled back into a single braid. She loved
coming to the stables sometimes just to visit with the runners, but
today she was going to take out Blossom, one of the mares that
belonged to the Hold. Most of the stablehands had long since come to
terms with Jeyme visiting, since it was something she'd started as
soon as she'd arrived at Emerald Falls.

Feeling someone's eyes on her, Jeyme looked up and saw that one of the
stablehands was working with one of the runner's, "Good afternoon."

Quexil blushed a bit and offered a shy smile. This was the first time
the pretty lady had spoken to him and his heart beat just a bit
faster. "Good afternoon," he repeated quietly before starting his
brushing again. He kept peeking at the lady though, half hoping she
would continue speaking to him and half terrified she would.

Noting the shy blush on the man's features, Jeyme approached with a
friendly smile, "I've seen you down here before but I don't think
we've been properly introduced. My name is Jeyme, and who might you
be?" She questioned as she held her hand out towards him. Having a
friend in the stable could be an extremely profitable asset for
someone who liked to ride.

He stared at the offered hand for a moment with wide eyes before
quickly wiping his own off on his pants and taking it. "I'm, um,
Quexil," he managed to stammer out, his face burning. The pretty lady,
Jeyme - and was there a lovelier name? - was not only talking to him,
she was letting him touch her hand. He was so taken by the simple
handshake that he didn't even notice that he was continuing to hold
onto the lady's hand well past the normal handshake timeframe.

"It's very nice to meet you Quexil. Have you worked long in the
stables?" Jeyme asked as she gently removed her hand from his, her
hands moving to smooth her palms over her riding skirt.

"Yes, I've always worked here," he replied quietly, his eyes following
her hands as she wiped them off. It only made sense, his own were very
dirty. He shouldn't have touched her with them. What was he thinking?
But part of him was a little angry at the gesture too. It was like she
couldn't wait to rub off the feeling of his hand on hers. Feeling
confused by this, he returned to the brushing, though he added, "My
father was a groom here too. Before he died, I mean."

Jeyme scrubbed her palms over the soft leather of her riding skirt, "I
hate putting sweaty hands into riding gloves, and for whatever reason
my hands never seem to want to comply." She explained with a grin to
the stablehand as she pulled her riding gloves out, from where she'd
had the tucked beneath her belt. Slipping on the thin gloves, Jeyme
tossed her braid of long shiny hair over her shoulder, "Do you ever
get to take the runners out for a ride?"

Quexil ducked his head to hide the happy grin on his face. He felt a
burst of relief and even affection. Of course she wasn't so rude as to
wipe her hand off just because he'd touched her. No one that pretty
could be that rude. "I take them to exercise sometimes," he answered.
"When no one's taken them to ride for a while, I mean." He peeked back
at her again and offered another shy smile.

"Oh, I bet you know all of the best trails and places to ride. Care to
share one of them with me? I usually take the same route every day but
I'm ready to see some more scenary around here." Jeyme confessed as
she stepped over to Blossom's stall and held one gloved hand out for
the runner to sniff. Blossom happily brushed her lips over Jeyme's
outstretched palm, recognizing her human friend easily, and prancing
excitedly in her stall.

"Well," he paused to think, not even brushing anymore. He wanted to
suggest something she'd really enjoy. Someplace beautiful. Somewhere
that when she got there, she'd be happy and excited and would maybe
think of him because he'd suggested it. "You know the western riding
trail, the main one? If you follow it for a while, there's this big
boulder. Shaped a bit like a cracked egg. You've seen it?"

Jeyme's eyes lit up with interest at the mention of the structure,
"No, I haven't seen it! That sounds interesting! Thank you Quexil for
your help! I'll let you know what I think about it when I get back."
She said with a smile as she led Blossom out of her stable, hooked one
booted foot into the stirrup and then swung herself up into the saddle
with ease. Even though Jeyme was usually the epitome of what a lady
should be, she sat astride on the saddle, leaving that side-saddle
stuff for 'real' ladies. Arranging her riding skirt over her legs,
Jeyme fixed a smile at Quexil, "Thanks again." With that she pursed
her lips, made a clicking noise, and set Blossom into motion.

He watched her ride away and couldn't get the smile off his face.
She'd liked his suggestion. She'd thanked him. "Jeyme," he whispered
her name to himself and sighed. Was there a nicer name? Or a prettier
lady? "Couldn't be could there, old girl?" He answered the unspoken
questions aloud to the runner who merely snorted in response, making
him laugh a bit and get back to work.

Last updated on the September 1st 2012

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A Little Crush?