Page 28 of Tall, Royal and Grumpy

Kai returned the man’s smile softly and gestured to him. “Princess Esmeralda, this is Jorge, the stablemaster.”

“Good afternoon, Jorge,” I said, offering the older man my hand. “I know you were only expecting Prince Kai, so I hope you don’t mind me turning up like this.”

Jorge quickly yanked one leather glove off and shook my hand. “Not at all, Your Highness. I’m very happy you made a trip to my stables. Will you be accompanying His Highness on his ride?”

I tilted my head hopefully. “If that’s not too much of an ask.”

“Of course not,” he said with a chuckle. “We can have a horse saddled up within a few minutes. And seeing as you are here, we can ready a horse of your own choosing too.”

I beamed at the older man. “I’d love that.” I immediately started scanning the stables.

“Jorge, Princess Esmeralda will need to borrow a pair of boots in a size five,” Kai said behind me.

“Of course. Aladdin.”

“On it,” the young boy said, handing the reins of the brown horse to Jorge.

“And don’t forget Prince Kai’s jacket and boots!” Jorge called after him just as I stopped in front of the third stall on my right.

Inside stood a black giant, showing off its side-profile as it munched on a hanging bale of hay. At least seventeen hands tall, powerful yet lean, and from what I could see of the magnificent creature, every inch of it was obsidian black. It’s bottomless eyes, it’s neat mane, it’s coat shining so brightly like it was dressed in silk.

“Who’s this?” I asked.

“Who? Ah—wait, you mean, Bucky?” Jorge said with surprise. “Ah, wait, wait, Your Highness, I wouldn’t go too close!”

The panic in the stablemaster’s voice halted my steps. “Is he untrained?”

“No, no, he’s not untrained, it’s just… Bucky can be a little aggressive is all. We’d have to see how he takes to you, Ma’am.”

Jorge’s eyes moved past me, and I followed their direction to see him looking at Kai. Kai replied to their silent conversation with a nod. “It’s okay, Jorge. Bring her an apple.”

“Of course.” Once Aladdin returned with two pairs of boots and a worn black jacket, the older man scurried off in the same direction as the young boy had gone in.

“An apple?” I repeated to Kai.

He made his way over to my side. “Hmm. If he takes it from you, you can ride him.”

At the sound of Kai’s voice, Bucky flicked his head over to us and stared. The horse stepped forward and threw his head over the stall door, kicking it like he was beckoning Kai over. Kai went to him.

“Is he yours?” I asked, sounding and feeling like the air in my lungs was being replaced with heavy, giddy gooeyness as I watched Kai stroke the horse’s nose with a soft smile on his mouth.

“Hmm.”

How it was possible for one soft sound to convey so much affection I had no idea, but Kai managed it. I felt it right in my chest as an overflow of bubbles. Seeing him care so much for an animal was dangerous. It was pushing my crush to the edge of a cliff that led to a bottomless pit called love.

“I found him as a foal, injured and abandoned in a ditch while I was on a trip with Fay and a few friends to the south a few years back.”

Well…hello, cliff edge of love. We finally meet.

I tried to resist you, I did, but then he told me he’d rescued a baby horse like it was some normal thing to do, so it really was out of my control.

Shit, why? Why had he told me he’d rescued Bucky? How was I not supposed to turn to a puddle of love and lust at the thought of him trying to calm a frightened little foal, covered in dirt as he got the poor creature out of the ditch?

Thankfully, Jorge returned at that moment, so I didn’t have to try to come up with a coherent response that wasn’t, “I think I’m in love with you.” But once the apple was in my hand and both Jorge and Kai stepped back, the weight of what I had to achieve dawned on me.

There was truth in the idea that animals were the best judges of character. So, if the horse didn’t think I was trustworthy, then that was bound to doom the progress I was trying to make with Kai. In other words, I had possibly just shot myself in the foot. Shit.

Please take the apple. Please take the apple. Please take the apple.

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