It was a typical day, the sun hung high and bright, encouraging a song out of the birds.  The outside sounds were lost in the high rafters of the stables, drowned out by the stomps and neighs of the inhabitants.  Jinki’s palm made a slow, soothing path down the horse’s leg, making the large animal aware of his presence as he bent down to lift her foot.  Jinki took his time, enjoying the process, the routine of preparing a horse before a ride. He took in the distinct scent that could only be described as a stable - horses and hay and sweat and manure.  It wasn’t necessarily a pleasant smell, but it was familiar and comfortable. It made him feel grounded. Jinki always felt a sense of calm around the horses. While people could be difficult to deal with, animals were constant.  

     Nari, the mare before him, was one of Jinki’s favorites.  She was a beautiful creature, a light dapple gray that flowed into a silky, stark white mane and tail.  She had been the queen’s horse in her younger years but due to her age, the mare was retired a few years prior.  She was a gentle creature though so Jinki still opted to keep her in fit condition. The young prince was almost old enough to ride by himself and she was the best animal to tolerate the rough hands of a child.  

     He had planned to give her a thorough check before saddling her up for a ride.  Part of his job at the stables involved exercising the animals on a regular basis.  The nobles were adamant about their horses being in the best condition possible, even if they only rode the poor creatures once in a blue moon.  However, before Jinki could finish his pre-ride routine he was pulled out of his serene mindset by a high, feminine shriek coming from a neighboring barn.  He dropped the horse’s foot, straightening up to listen better as he strained his ears to hear any more voices. When he heard that same tone once again he rushed to the next barn, eyes widening at the sight unfolding before him.  

     The newest stable hand, Taemin, was standing, head bowed in shame as a noble woman continued to scream, her eyes ablaze and her face red with anger.  She was dressed in a plain brown and white riding dress, her lace up leather boots looked well worn but pristine. Despite the simplicity of her outfit, she could still never be mistaken for anything short of noble blood.  The linen too thick and the leather far too fine for a mere commoner. More than the clothes, her very presence exuded status. Her being effortlessly commanded attention and respect. A demeanor that was only cultivated through a lifetime of wealth.  

     Jinki quickly scurried over, catching her attention and immediately bowing, “M’lady, whatever is the matter?”

     “Who are you?  Are you in charge of this little vermin?” she spat, cheeks flushed and her hair spilling from its confines into a mess of curls around her face.  

     “Ay, m’lady, the boy has only been at the stables but a few days, if he has made a mistake let me apologize,” Jinki tried to choose his words with care and bowing once again for good measure.  

     “Apologize?  This filth just tried to put me on a beast without proper saddling!  Is he daft? I would ask him myself but I fear he is too simple minded to understand my question,” she snapped back, seeming not to care for Jinki’s explanation.

     Jinki’s face set into a hard line, veiling all emotion as he turned to the boy, “Taemin,” he hissed, motioning with his hand and the small boy threw himself on the ground in a deep bow, his apology slurred with how quickly he was talking. It was important for Jinki to take such an offense against a noble seriously, honest mistake or not.  Working at the palace stables was an important job, one that couldn’t be taken lightly. While Taemin was new and young, he needed to learn and learn quickly if he was going to survive.

     The noble woman turned her nose up with a huff at the gesture as if the sight of the groveling child only adding insult to injury.

     “Taemin, on your knees, arms up,” Jinki commanded, both watching the thin boy assume the punishment position before paying him no more attention. Jinki turned back to this disgruntled woman before him, “My apologies, m’lady.  He is my responsibility so the blame is mine. I will have to train him better.”

     “Of course you had!  I should have him flogged for such an offense,” she remarked, annoyance still apparent in her tone as well as her words.  

     “I beg of you m’lady, he is just a mere boy, I shall deal with him personally.  You have my word, it will not happen again,” Jinki tried again, bowing low to further show his remorse.

     She didn’t bother to respond to his words, only making a flippant gesture in the direction of the horse.   Jinki jumped up, going to work correcting Taemin’s mistakes and getting the horse ready for a rider. His nimble fingers worked with ease to fix the small straps and making the thick band that went around the animal’s belly as tight as possible.  He was aware of the noble woman’s hawk-like eyes on him, waiting for a slip up so she could pounce, but he ignored it, working off of muscle memory until the horse was fit to be ridden.  

     “May I lead him to the mounting block for you, m’lady?” She nodded, her face starting to lose some of that hardened edge due to Jinki’s polite words and obvious competence around horses.

     “What is your name, boy?” she questioned.  

     “My name is Jinki, m’lady.  Lee Jinki,” he responded as polite as possible, holding back any emotion or sign of annoyance.  Noble or not, she was but a child herself and the fact that she was calling him boy was as comical as it was insulting.  However, Jinki had learned long ago not to let such things get under his skin. She was a noble and he, a commoner. She could talk to him however she pleased.  That was simply how life worked.  

     “Alright.  Jinki, I don’t want that incompetent fool to touch my horse again.  I trust you will ensure this won’t be a problem?” she asked, leaving no room for discussion.

     “Of course, m’lady,” Jinki agreed. 

     Without another glance she stepped onto the mounting block, settling into the saddle and urging the horse forward with an expertise and confidence that few women contained.  Jinki stood for longer than he should have watching the curious woman canter down the well-beaten path with her head held high, hair fanning out behind her like a rippling wave in the wind.  

     He snapped out of his daze as her image blurred with the distance, going back inside to find Taemin right where he left him. “She’s gone, you can get up,” Jinki informed him.  Taemin sighed in relief, his arms falling limp at his sides. Jinki couldn’t hold back a small laugh at the boy. It had barely been ten minutes but he looked as if his arms would fall off from the rather minimal punishment.  The stick of a boy was in for a tough time until his muscles developed.   

     “I’m really sorry, hyung.  I don’t know what happened,” Taemin said, his eyes still downcast. 

     Jinki smiled affectionately at him, “Come here, I’ll show you,” Jinki responded, guiding the small boy as he made his way back to the mare he had been preparing prior to the disruption.  “Horses are stubborn animals. They have a mind of their own and you have to learn to think like them in order to work with them. Now look, watch her response when I put the saddle on her back,” Jinki laid the soft pad atop her back followed by the leather saddle.  

     Taemin studied Jinki’s every move but his face showed confusion rather than clarity since he had no idea what to look for.  Jinki smiled, his hand ran along the animal’s belly, directing Taemin’s eyes downward.

     “She’s holding her breath, see?  Wearing a saddle is uncomfortable since it has to be cinched so tight, so many horses will hold their breath while you tighten it so it will be looser for them when they are breathing normally.  This is why you always have to cinch it twice. Wait for her to exhale and then tighten the strap once more. Otherwise the saddle will be too loose when the rider tries to mount and it could be dangerous if they were to ride like that, especially in the case of a sidesaddle,” Jinki informed him, following his words with precise movements to demonstrate what he meant.

     “Wow, I didn’t think about that,” Taemin muttered, his eyes diligent to follow along, taking in each of Jinki’s movements.

     “I know.  It’s all right.  You are still learning but this is one of the many reasons why you shouldn’t be dealing with the nobles’ horses yet,” Jinki’s tone turned stern and authoritative as he fixed the young boy with a harsh glare. He was very strict when training new stable hands because this was the palace and careless mistakes could simply not be tolerated;there was too much at stake.  Everyone from a noble to a knight to the king himself could walk into these stables at any moment and mistakes were not taken lightly by the upper class. Furthermore, there was no reason why Taemin should have been touching a noble’s horse. He was resigned to sweeping the aisles and mucking stalls until Jinki could train him on how to care for each animal.  These rules were in place for a reason and Jinki took his work and his responsibilities seriously. 

     “I know that!  On my honor, hyung, I wouldn’t have touched the beast but I was the only one around and she was so short with me when I said I’d go fetch someone… I didn’t want to anger her further,” Taemin said, trailing off, regret painted his features.   

     A fond smile pulled at Jinki’s lips, ruffling Taemin’s hair with affection. “Well don’t worry about it too much.  I doubt she will remember your face after tomorrow, and even if she does, I’m sure she will let you find someone else to do the job next time,” Jinki assured him, relieved that the situation played out as painless as it did.  Some nobles could be quite severe in their punishments towards servants, taking every infraction as a challenge to their station and needing to prove their own importance as well as the divide between the classes. While the noble woman had been harsh with her words, she had allowed the situation to end without demanding recourse and for that, Jinki was thankful.

     “Thanks, hyung,” Taemin responded, sincerity lacing his words.

     “So, back to the horses!” Jinki said brightly, going on to explain to the boy the proper way to saddle a horse, taking care to detail the process and reasoning.  There were many more steps involved when dealing with nobles’ horses and unfortunately, it was vital that he remember them all.  

     When he was finished he sent Taemin back to the stalls the younger was assigned to clean while he led the mare outside.  He lifted himself into the saddle with practiced ease and guided her to the open pasture he planned to use to put the animal through her paces.  Nari was wonderfully trained since she was used for royalty in her younger days. It felt like such a shame to let her lose some of that training from mere lack of practice.  He kept at it until they had both worked up a healthy sweat before taking her for a nice long stroll around the outer wall to cool down, enjoying the sight of the turning leaves that decorated their path. He knew he was wasting time, he still had three other horses to take out for exercise today after all, but he couldn’t help himself.  It was the part of his job that he enjoyed the most so he allowed himself the small luxury.

     Even after the years he had worked in the palace stables, it still amazed him how lucky he was.  Never in his life would he have dreamed that he would be able to ride such a fine beast as this. The thought that he was sitting atop the same animal that carried Her Majesty was humbling for Jinki who had come from such a modest upbringing.  It was more than he could ever ask for out of life and it gave him a sense of pride and satisfaction about his work. While being a stable hand was far from prestigious, it was honest work and he was glad to have a means to support himself and his family that he enjoyed and filled him with a sense of pride.

     Jinki was enjoying his ride, the comfortable afternoon sun bright and high in the cloudless sky, warming his back and trying to chase away the stubborn, chilly breeze that was invading the country.  The leather saddle was worn with age but it felt like a second home after the years he had spent in it. Nari pranced beneath him, her long legs itching to go faster than he would allow her. He rounded the corner of the far forest, just barely outside the palace walls when the sight of the gelding from this morning started him out of his thoughts.  The noble woman’s horse was standing by a small brook, having a drinking while the woman herself was replacing the saddle from where it appeared to have sat on the ground. But why in heaven’s name had she taken it off? Jinki was positive the saddle would have remained in place since he had dealt with the animal himself. And for that matter, how did she even know how to saddle a horse? Few of the noblemen could even do it correctly and most noblewomen could not even tell the difference between a horse and a mule. He was left with a muddled collection of thoughts.  

     This was a rather secluded area where the palace walls butted up against the northern woods, which were used for nothing but game hunting.  With the rising tension in the east, few nobles could find the time to go on such trivial outings these days. He was left pondering as he watched her set her dainty foot atop a protruding rock, springing into the saddle with ease and turn towards the stables.

     He slowly guided his own animal down the same path, far enough behind her that she wouldn’t notice his presence as his mind brought up question after question about this strange noble.

~~~

     The sun was setting when Jinki finally got back, leaving the sky a portrait of blood-orange with tendrils of yellow and purple over the trees.  It was the kind of scenery he wished he could paint, but nothing in his collection of colors could ever replicate such beauty. However, Jinki had little time to enjoy it since he was busy finishing up with the last horse for the day before he could go appease his stomach with a bite of food.  

     “Taemin, hurry up!” Jinki shouted, latching the stall and carrying the saddle back to the tack room as he waited for the young boy to show up.  Just as he expected, a tuft of black hair came bobbing towards him, his breath labored from running.

     “Hyung!  I’m so glad I finally found you!” Taemin exclaimed.

     “What is it Taemin-ah?” Jinki asked.

     “It’s about her!” Taemin said as if such a meager explanation would be sufficient.  Jinki blinked at him, waiting for the younger to explain so he could understand. “The noble woman,” He clarified.  “When she got back from her ride today she requested you come and deal with her mount but you weren’t here and she got upset.  Yelling loud enough to rouse the dead, she was. Joonha hyung was trying to help her and she wouldn’t have anything to do with it.  After a while she just stormed off, angry as a bear and one of the stable hands was able to put the horse away once she left,” Taemin filled him in with a rush.  

     “She did all this because she wanted me to un-tack to her mount?” Jinki asked, perplexed.

     “Seems so,” Taemin answered with a shrug.

     Jinki sighed, cursing his luck that some temperamental noble woman seemed to have caught him within her sights.  He had enough things to worry about, enough work that needed to be done, and he just really didn’t have time for this.  “I see. Well, nothing to be done about it now. Are you finished with all stalls?” Jinki questioned as he went about cleaning all the equipment he used, wiping down the leather with an oiled cloth and washing off the metal bit before returning everything to its proper place.

     “Yes, hyung. Everything is done,” Taemin proclaimed, his chest puffed up with pride.  Jinki couldn’t help but smile. Taemin was a good kid and a hard worker. He was young and inexperienced, but he was trying his best and desperate for Jinki’s approval.  

     “Good, let’s go eat.  I’m starving,” Jinki responded, wrapping an arm around the small boys shoulders and guiding him out of the stable and into the chilled night air.

     A comfortable silence settled over them as they walked up the slight incline, the huge palace looming before them, casting eerie moonlit shadows across their path.  Jinki led them to the servant’s entrance on the side of the castle, the thick oak door opened with an aged creak to reveal and wide corridor, candles flickered merrily to line the stone walls and light their path.  Jinki weaved through the maze of hallways, greeting each person he met with a kind smile or familiar greeting until they reached their destination, the bustling kitchen.

     “Jinki!  I was wondering when you would come!  Come here darling, sit; sit. I made beef stew today and I know one of these girls made sure to save a few slabs of bread for you.  Oh? And who is this little scrap of thing you’ve got on your heel?” the head cook, Madame Kim, chattered at him as he walked in the door.  Jinki’s face melted into a fond smile at the woman, waiting for her to finish her musing. She could talk for the both of them after all.

     Madame Kim was rather intimidating to most.  She was a large, no-nonsense type woman. She always had an opinion and didn’t feel shy about sharing it.  However, for Jinki she was like a surrogate mother. She had been the first person Jinki met when he moved to the city at the tender age of four and ten.  It had been by chance that he had bumped into her when she was doing the daily shopping in the market, but somehow, despite their short encounter, he had made an impression on her.  She claimed it was because he looked like a lost lamb but Jinki suspected that his obvious country drawl and ingrained mannerisms softened her heart. Whatever the reason, she took him under her wing, mothered the life out of him and got him set up with a cot in the servants quarters of the palace since he had nowhere to go before eventually helped him secure a job within the palace.  She took care of him and had treated him like her own from the very start. Jinki honestly didn’t know what would have happened to him if she hadn’t been so kind.  

     Taemin looked a little bit stunned, there was so much activity, too many people to count scurried around the room, too many sights, sounds and smells for him to take in all at once and then there was Madame Kim as she turned her hawk-like eyes onto him.

     “This is Taemin, our newest stable hand.  Taemin, this is Madame Kim, the head cook.  Stay on her good side and you will never go hungry or want for anything while you are here,” Jinki said, sparing Taemin from actually having to speak.  

     “Oh poppycock.  I make sure to feed everyone, even the ones I dislike.  Lord knows you haven’t gone without a decent meal since I dragged you off the streets,” came Madam Kim’s flippant reply.

     “Yes, she saves the heel of bread and burnt bits of meat for them,” Jinki teased.

     “How dare you suggest my food is ever burnt!” Madame Kim shot back, smacking him lightly upside the head. Jinki chuckled in response, her lips twitching as she held back a smile of her own. “Now sit down, both of you.  You must be hungry and I want to hear all about this little sweet pea; he needs some fattening up anyway,” She waved them over to one of the tables where a few of the kitchen helpers sat, snapping beans and gossiping amongst themselves.  Madame Kim sat them down, producing two large bowls of steaming stew before them and a plate of fresh baked bread as well. Jinki began to dig in with earnest, ever since they had entered the kitchens his stomach had been making pained whines at the delicious smells circulating the room.

     “So Taemin dear, how is this big oaf treating you?”

     Taemin smiled at Jinki’s eye roll, “Jinki hyung treats me fine, ma’am.”

     “Don’t lie to me just because he’s sitting here.  If he’s being too harsh with you then just tell me, Madame Kim has ways of making him suffer,” The woman informed him, making Taemin giggle.

     “Why would I abuse the kid?” Jinki protested.

     “Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Madame Kim scolded, ignoring his words entirely.

     “Jinki hyung is very kind and he is patient with me.  The only problem I had today was with that noble lady,” Taemin told her with a shy smile.

     “Noble lady?”

     “Ay, a new one it seems.  I didn’t recognize her. She gave this one here a spot of trouble,” Jinki filled in.

     “Well?  What happened?”

     “I saddled her horse wrong and she started yelling at me,” Taemin said, eyes downtrodden.

     “She wouldn’t allow him to go find someone who had been working here for longer than a minute to do the job but then got angered with him for making a mistake,” Jinki muttered.

     “She’s new you say?”

     “Seemed so.  Do you know of her?” Jinki asked, trying not to sound too eager but he was more than a little curious and Madame Kim had a reputation for knowing everything that went on within the city walls.

     “What does she look like?”

     “She has dark, curly locks and a small face.  She was a bit… odd? She was going riding by herself after all,” Jinki supplied, his mind painting a picture of her sharp features, her delicate hands as she took the reins from him and her cold attitude of superiority.  Something about the woman stirred him. He wanted to capture the fiery passion from her eyes inside of a painting. Jinki usually favored nature for his paintings, the wind through the trees and the beauty and simplicity of animals.  It was rare he saw a person who acted as a muse for him. It was confusing and intriguing. 

     “I’ve heard whispers of a new one around these parts.  Name is Gwiboon, Kim Gwiboon. Husband hunting that one.  Heard she comes from old money but her father squandered near all of it with gambling debts.  They want to get her married off quick before he sullies the family name too badly. By the looks of it, they are trying to marry her high in hopes of saving some scraps of pride.  I heard she’s living with relatives here in the city. I tell ya, she’s gonna get into trouble with a face like that. She’s said to have a nasty temper though. Face of an angel; soul darker than the devil himself,” Madame Kim supplied with ease, living up to her title as the palace know-all.  When every maid and squire made it through her wing of the castle it was inevitable that she would be supplied with every bit of information that slipped passed a noble’s lips. There were no secrets within the palace walls. Jinki had always been convinced that Madame Kim would be the first to know if war ever broke out.

     “Shame,” Jinki muttered but kept his thoughts to himself.  It was easy to envy the life of nobles. They wanted for nothing.  Food, clothing, shelter and comfort was all an understood in their lives.  What commoners worked their whole lives to maintain, the noble class took for granted.  Instead, their lives centered around parties and status symbols. Jinki sometimes forgot that nobles were also people with the same emotions as he.  It must be hard for her, living away from her family and in essence being sold off to the highest bidder all while trying to keep her pride intact.

     “Ay,” Madame Kim agreed.

     “Why would she have to move to the city just to get married?” Taemin asked, curiosity piqued.  Jinki smiled at the young boy. He was too innocent for his own good sometimes.

     “That is the way of the nobles, my dear.” Madame Kim explained. “Marry high and marry rich.  She’s gotta use her face to lure some lonesome, rich bachelor into courting her and saving her from a lifetime of shame.  All the best money is right here, around the castle. I give her a fortnight before some pathetic bloke is following on her heel.  The harvest festival is coming up so there will be plenty of opportunities for her to mingle with the man-folk and snag some unsuspecting fellow.” Jinki nodding in agreement.  If she is only at the palace to find a suitor then it wouldn’t take her long. She was far too beautiful to be alone.