It was strange. The general had fallen off his horse as he had met you the second time. Considering this, it was also your fault that the stallion was gone. But somehow he had not mentioned you at all, it seemed. If he would have had, Herman would have screamed the hell out of you.

Still a little lost in thoughts, you prepared the food to be served. The general had asked to dine outside. So Bernard, the stable master, had carried and a few chairs outside. The two guests still had not arrived, so Morvran had allowed the remaining servants to dine with him.

He seemed a lot friendlier than you had expected. But still, you did not want to disturb him while eating. One wrong word and you could say goodbye to the money and the job.

The mood at the table was lighthearted, everyone was laughing and exchanging stories with the general. He listened patiently, smiled from time to time and suggested that the mansion should be rebuild. Or at least he wanted to fix the major issues. He even offered to help fix things himself.

How was he even real?

He looked a lot better than the other noblemen you had seen so far, less stuck up and a lot more manly. He was patient, which was also uncommon. And he seemed genuinely interested in the wellbeing of his servants and property equally. He was way too nice to be a real noble.

Maybe he was just pretending?

Or was he just bored and wanted to see how the life of a servant was?

Either way, you did not trust him.

With a full bowl of steaming hot food, you sneaked away. As silent as a mouse, you walked over the big courtyard, around the barn and through the back door of the stable.

The horses knew you well, maybe even better than Bernard. Every now and then, you gave them the leftovers of the raw carrots or some extra hay. In exchange, they let you let their heads and sometimes you were able to sit on their backs.

To be honest, you were almost absolutely unskilled in riding a horse but sometimes you would pretend and crawl onto their backs. Most of the time the horses kept calm but there had been plenty of incidents and bruises already.

With a happy smile on your lips, you rushed to the box of your favourite horse. It was a mere, elegant and noble. She hated being touched but whenever she had a good day, she allowed you to pet the black spot between her eyes. She had the whitest fur of it all, spotless and so soft, that it would have been a great blanket.

"Hello, my friend.", as your voice reached the meres ears, it tilted the head. "Did you miss me? Here, I brought some carrots."

With a grin, you pulled out a hand full of long, orange carrots and help them under the meres nose. Immediately, it tired to bite them but you pulled away and offered one at a time.

"Here. And don't be hasty.", you said and let yourself fall onto a stack of hay.

The hunger was killing you. The smell of food had stuck in your nose for quite some while now. With great appetite, you began to shove the mushrooms down your throat as if your life depended on it. The broccoli was soft but not as well salted as the meat.

The potatoes, however, were better than ever. Without bragging, this time your cooking was pretty good. Maybe it was because of the many times you had practiced. Or because the general had arrived.

The thought drove a smile to your lips. Funny, how he managed to sneak into your head over and over again. His handsome face was haunting you for the entire day now.
Annoyed, you rolled your eyes.

"Gods!", you screamed. "Why is he on my mind?!"

Your voice was so loud that it irritated the horses.

"Forgive me.", you muttered and started eating again.

Suddenly, a laugh sounded.

Struck by surprise, you jumped up. Your hand tried to grab the knife that you always carried on your side. But you had left it in the kitchen. By the gods, one day you would forget your head.

The heart began to beat faster inside your chest.

Was it a horse thief?

Or another troupe from Redania?

"Calm yourself.", the voice of the general sounded. "Are you always this noisy when you're by yourself? Or do you find it funny to scream at my horses?"

Grinning, he raised an eyebrow.

Halfway offended, halfway trying to suppress a grin, you shook your head.

"No, sir. I just prefer the horses as company. They don't talk as much as I do.", you answered.

Morvran laughed.

He had changed clothes. Instead of the heavy black coat of the Nilfgaard army he was wearing a simple cotton shirt now. His pants were the same but he had changed the golden belt into a normal one made of leather. This casual look was suiting him.

As you eyed him up and down, you realised how broad his shoulders were. He also had a muscular chest but hit slimmer from the pelvis down. You wondered how he would look like underneath those clothes.

Was he muscular?

Did he have any marks or scars from his time at the battlefield?

Or was his bare skin as perfect as his face?

Ashamed, you turned red as you realised what you were thinking. No. No, you were not supposed to think like this. He was your master. And you didn't even like him that much.

"Are you alright? You look a little sick.", Morvran said, as he noticed the red blush on your cheeks.

He was still wearing his sword, you noticed. He had no need to be armed when he was walking on his own land. So, you figured he must have wanted to leave on his own.

Maybe for a short walk or a ride at night. After all he was famous for his passion for horses.