Collyn has a minion!

Fenn the Colt

He opened the door carefully, not wanting to cause attention to himself. It creaked in the cold winter air and he stood frozen, eyes wide with the fear of being discovered. There were no other noises in the night so he continued into the stables, his beating heart calming as the familiar smell of horses and hay enveloped his nostrils.

He didn't know their names, but they were welcome roommates in the winter cold. A large bay stallion grunted as he slunk past his stall, his breath warm on the young boy's back. Again he froze in place, but this time it was to relish in the warm air coming from the horse's mouth. A dying fire whispered in the corner of the stables, luring the boy to its hearth with callous promises of heat and warmth. The thought that there might be a man to tend the fire never crossed the young boy's mind; it was warmth he sought, and warmth he followed.

The young boy crawled to the hearth, keeping low out of habit rather than necessity. The bay behind him huffed with warning, his breath coming out in a great gust of steam. The boy looked back, worried now that the horse had called to him. The bay's ears flicked back against his skull and he nickered quietly, shaking his head as if to tell the boy no. He even pushed his great body against the rope of his stall, threatening to break the twine with his powerful chest.

The young boy, feeling his skin prickle in the chill, ignored the horse's warnings and escaped to the hearth, kneeling close to the embers in order to soak up as much heat as possible. He was so preoccupied by the flickering embers that he failed to notice the crunching of boots against snow until the bay stallion whinnied, crashing against his stall door. The boy flew his head around to see a large man behind him, eyes pink with wine, his face flushed despite the cold flurry of air surrounding him.

"What 'ave we 'ere, eh?" He gurgled, throwing himself forward to grab the boy by his collar. The boy squirmed and smacked, fear widening his eyes and silencing his voice. "A trespasser?! Me Lord don't tolerate much of this, no, no. If 'e caught me smugglin' a boy in 'ere 'ed 'ave me skin!" The man rubbed a large bulbous hand across his stubbly face, the sound raspy in the quiet of the winter night. He seemed to think for too long, as he started to nod off, still holding the boy in his grasp. The boy struggled some more and he awoke, turning widely in an attempt to throw the young boy against a wall. "I ain't getting no beatin', boy!" He growled menacingly, his intentions to kill the boy in his drunken state becoming clear. He waddled, the boy in hand, towards the bay's stall, which was nickering and whinnying with more intensity.

The man reached out to grab a hammer next to the stall, stumbling over his own feet. The bay stallion took his stumble into account and reached out with his long neck to smack the man with his large head, sending the man sprawling onto the ground. He grunted and loosened his hold on the boy, who scampered into the bay's stall to hide. The man rose slowly, clumsily, and called out obscenities to the boy, crawling in his drunkenness under the rope. His verbal threats to throttle the boy made him whimper in fear, causing the bay to stomp his feet and kick at the man, who avoided the lethal hooves with drunken grace. His shouts were growing louder, enough to wake the other horses in their stalls, which whinnied in anxiety.

Outside of the stables, a guard caught ear of the ruckus and stepped in to the stables, calling out his concern with a clearheaded voice. The drunken man in the stall ignored the king's warrior and continued to crawl after the boy, dodging the stallion's hooves in his now blind rage. The warrior, following the violent cries of the man, voiced his surprise and grabbed at the man, pulling him from the stall in a short struggle. The man yelled at the guard, his anger blinding him to the identity and superiority of the man holding him.

The horse began to calm, his violent trampling and nickering turning into grunts and pouts while he turned in his stall to nudge at the young boy, who had been violently shaking in the corner of the stall, frozen with fear. The bay stallion rubbed his velvet nose on the young boy's blonde locks, his lips caressing the boy's head.

The guard had managed to calm the drunken man down and set him by the fire before turning back to the stall, reaching in to grab at the boy. The bay grunted reassuringly to the boy, who followed the guard's hand out into the stables.

"What are you doing in here, boy?" He said coarsely, but his eyes held a glint of compassion. The boy looked up at him with tears in his eyes, still frightened by the man by the fire.

"I came looking for some warmth, sir..." He croaked, single tear tracks flowing down his dirty skin.

"You know it is wrong to trespass, don't you boy?" The warrior's voice softened, his heart melting for the plight of the boy, who seemed to be an orphan. The boy nodded, sniffing loudly as shivers still wracked his body. The guard sighed, moving his gloved hands across the boy's arms. "Well, this just so happens to be Maynard over here's third offense like this, all drunk and bothered." He smiled softly at the young boy, who had the heart to softly smile back through his tears. "If we tell the King, I'm sure he'll be fired for sure this time. And then... well, we'd need a new stable boy. Would that be something you'd be interested in?"

The boy's face lit up, all traces of fear extinguished at the proposition of a place to stay and be near horses. "Oh yes, yes sir!" He cried, flinging his limber arms around the guard's chest.

The guard chuckled, pushing the boy off of his chest to look him in the eye. "I can put in a good word for you, boy." He winked and stood, pulling the boy up with him. "Now, what's your name so we can introduce you proper to the Lord tomorrow?"

The boy looked up in wonder at the guard, his eyes again brimming with tears. "Collyn sir. My name is Collyn."

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