Royal Desires - 3/8
Title: Royal Desires - Chapter Three
Pairing: Colin/Ryan
Chapter Rating: PG
Author's Notes: Because it's the weekend, you get this earlier than when I was originally going to post it. :D
“Your Highness? … Sire? It’s time to get up.” Greg’s unique tone of voice was a strange wake up call for Ryan as he tossed around under the covers, trying to bury himself into the mattress and sleep for just a little bit longer.
“Hello in there,” Brad sung in with an annoyingly happy tone. “Sire, if you wouldn’t mind letting us in, we have to make preparations for today.”
“And this couldn’t have waited until I woke up by myself?” Ryan gave a muffled cry from under his pillow, trying to block out the sun pouring through his window. There was a momentary silence on the other side of the bedroom door, and Ryan could just picture Brad and Greg looking at each other, realisation and embarrassment on their faces.
“Umm… well, yes. Sorry about that, sire.” Greg laughed nervously. “But since you’re awake now…”
Ryan grunted in frustration and flung pillow off his head. “Fine, come in.” And in entered his blushing footmen, bowing like two cowering idiots as they walked towards his bed. The prince looked on, bemused as Brad came round to his right hand side, and Greg to his left.
“And how are you this morning, sire?” Greg nodded, his styled hair bouncing like a jelly. Ryan glared at him through bagged eyes, his blond hair sticking out like electricity and Greg flushed at his mistake. “Heh… don’t answer that.”
“We’ve come to record your ideal traits in a woman,” Brad said, parchment and quill in hand. “We need to know what appeals to His Highness if we’re going to get you the right bride.”
The prince’s eyes widened - Damn, he’d completely forgotten about the whole marriage/bride thing.
“These traits shall be put on posters throughout the entire kingdom, sire. We trust that it will bring the girls in from miles around! No slim pickings for you, eh?” Greg giggled in his slightly nasally way and nudged the prince with his elbow. Ryan just glared at him again, making Greg look away sheepishly. “Tough crowd,” he murmured to himself as he flopped down in a nearby chair.
Turning his attention back to Sherwood, Ryan looked pensively at the awaiting quill in his hand. “Well… erm, my ideal bride would have…” He thought about it for a long moment and then it suddenly came to him from nowhere.
“Brown eyes. Those really deep shiny ones like you see on cute animals.” He laughed to himself quietly as Brad frantically scribbled away. “Oh, and dimples on their face that make them look really adorable when they smile. Oh, oh! If they like to work with horses, that’d be good, too.” Brad blinked at the dazed prince, but wrote it down anyway. Ryan took no notice as his eyes focused on something non-existent in the distance. “Someone with… those muscles that you can really see and feel when you put your hands on them,” and Brad almost snapped the quill in half at that one but again, Ryan didn’t seem to notice. “They need to have thinning hair, like half gray, half brown and a developing bald spot on top. And a really cute Canadian accent that sounds like music when they talk…”
Ryan paused, finally realising that over the past minute he had turned rather specific with the details. Brad and Greg looked on, wide-eyed, neither of them quite sure what to say.
“Well… did you get all of that?” Ryan asked a bit shyly and Greg snorted with laughter.
“Shit man, what kind of women do you date?”
For the third time that morning, Ryan shot daggers at his nasally footman who eventually got the message. He grinned cheekily, stood and backed out of the room. “I’m going now, sire. Look, I’m gone,” he said as he shut the door behind him.
“I’ll, erm, just get all this written onto the posters, then shall I?” Brad scribbled the rest of the details down and messily rolled up the parchment. “Tomorrow sire, the women shall arrive and then you can pick from them.” As he spoke, he made his way to the bedroom door.
Ryan watched him go and sighed with forced a smile. “Yeah, yeah. Great. Can’t wait.”
Brad nodded with a grin, bowed his head and exited swiftly, humming a little tune to himself, which sounded suspiciously like ‘Here Comes the Bride’.
The young prince huffed, blowing his hair in the process, and fell backwards back into bed. The start to his morning had not been a terribly thrilling one; bet felt a strange sense of anticipation inside him. Not for the whole bridal situation, but for something else… something he couldn’t quite remember.
And then it struck him - Colin. This time, he didn’t have to force the smile.
~~~
Colin awoke bright and early to the sound of neighing, like he usually did. He dragged himself out of his bunk, threw on his tatty, dirty workman’s clothes and got straight into his usual morning routine. He found no reason to deviate today.
He washed his face and cleaned himself using water from the nearby well and brought a few pails back with him for the horses. Lance was being his typical stubborn self; stomping and snorting in impatience. A few sugarlumps for breakfast soon calmed him down enough for Colin to get to work.
After grooming the stallion, his next job was to clean the horseshoes, which was a difficult job on any day, particularly with Lance.
“Oh, come now, Lance. You should be used to this by now,” Colin smiled when the animal drew his hoof away for the fourth time whilst he’d been cleaning it. “Y’know, Margo never complains. I reckon you’re jealous of her, aren’t you?” He moved a bit of hay in front of the horse in the hope that he could be distracted with eating enough to take no notice of Colin’s interference with his feet.
This worked for a time, and Colin had managed to get two whole feet done in the time it took for Lance to munch his way through the hay. He had barely gotten started on the third when the stallion began to play up again, nearly kicking Colin in the chest a few times. Colin knew from experience that the hind legs of a horse in particular were very powerful weapons, and he wasn’t about to take any chances.
“Need a hand?” came a voice from the stable entrance. Colin turned his head in acknowledgement and let out a surprising sigh when he realised that it was Ryan standing there, all casual and care-free as he leant against a wooden beam.
“Oh, it’s you!” he heard himself exclaim, then mentally slapped himself for sounding so stupid and obvious. But Ryan just let out a burst of laughter.
“Yes, it’s me,” he said. “The very same.” He approached with the same fluid gait that he had left with yesterday and Colin swallowed as he moved nearer and nearer. The intense moment was ruined slightly by Lance’s tail swishing over and smacking Colin square in the back of the head, as if pushing Colin toward him in encouragement. He gave a surprised “Oof!” and the young prince had to struggle to contain a laughing fit.
“How about you take a break and I take care of Lance?” Ryan offered, freezing Colin to the spot.
“Oh… sire, really?” was all he could say at that point whilst overcome with confusion and Ryan rested a hand on his shoulder in assurance.
“Yes, really. I was going to take him out for a ride today anyway, and I think you need a rest.”
So that’s what happened - Ryan began to groom Lance and clean the horseshoes with a special expertise whilst Colin watched on from a distance. He felt odd letting someone else do the work, let alone a prince, heir to the throne and part of the aristocracy for goodness sake. The lanky man didn’t even seem to care that his dress shirt and matching royal pants had gotten dirty, which was quite an appealing look for him…
Colin shook his head vividly. Honestly, Mochrie, you can’t think that way about the prince. There’re probably laws against that sort of thing… and stop staring at him!
He had to giggle to himself when he realised he’d been watching Ryan’s ass the entire time, and hurriedly put his mind to other things. Margo still needed her morning clean and feed, he remembered as he fetched a pail of water and brush. Colin paused in his job and noticed Ryan saddling up the stallion, fastening the various buckles and preparing him for a ride. He smiled to himself fondly - Lance behaved a lot better when Ryan tended to him.
He had just finished brushing Margo off when he felt something nudge his arm. It was another saddle, held by the young prince in his direction. “Well?” he said expectantly. “Are you coming?”
Colin’s eyes widened at the suggestion. “M- me? Go riding with you?”
“Yeah,” replied Ryan softly flicking his gaze away briefly. “I still have to make up for how I treated you yesterday.”
The older man immediately felt his ears redden in a blush and did his best to hold down flustered laughter. “Oh, I don’t know if I should, sire…”
Ryan shook his head. “I told you, Col. Call me Ryan. Everyone else calls me ‘sire’. And I insist - come with me. Please?”
"Col", the stable boy thought to himself. I like that… maybe I can call him ‘Ry’? Hmm, best not.
Ryan’s eyes held a playful determination, but his sweet smile betrayed all that and told Colin that Ryan simply wanted to spend time with him - not just because he felt obligated to apologise.
As he reached out to take the saddle, Colin’s hands rested over Ryan’s for a moment until Colin flinched away and giggled at the realisation. Ryan blushed and looked a little sheepish, which just made him far more adorable in Colin’s eyes. Before long, they’d both mounted with only minor difficulties, though Colin did have a bit of trouble climbing onto Margo, but Ryan gave him a little boost by pushing on his ass to help him up, which was purely for assistance purposes, of course.
It had been sometime since Colin had ridden a horse. In fact, he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d been out of the stables. He glanced over at Ryan, who look braced and all set to go, and that gave him a bit more confidence. “Ready, Col?”
Colin nodded. “I’m ready… Ry.”
Ryan grinned fondly at his new nickname. “Then let’s go,” he said deeply and tugged firmly on the reigns - his stallion, always game for anything reared in enjoyment and with an excited “Yeehaw!” from Ryan, galloped straight out with Colin’s equally eager mare in tow.
To be continued…
Pairing: Colin/Ryan
Chapter Rating: PG
Author's Notes: Because it's the weekend, you get this earlier than when I was originally going to post it. :D
“Your Highness? … Sire? It’s time to get up.” Greg’s unique tone of voice was a strange wake up call for Ryan as he tossed around under the covers, trying to bury himself into the mattress and sleep for just a little bit longer.
“Hello in there,” Brad sung in with an annoyingly happy tone. “Sire, if you wouldn’t mind letting us in, we have to make preparations for today.”
“And this couldn’t have waited until I woke up by myself?” Ryan gave a muffled cry from under his pillow, trying to block out the sun pouring through his window. There was a momentary silence on the other side of the bedroom door, and Ryan could just picture Brad and Greg looking at each other, realisation and embarrassment on their faces.
“Umm… well, yes. Sorry about that, sire.” Greg laughed nervously. “But since you’re awake now…”
Ryan grunted in frustration and flung pillow off his head. “Fine, come in.” And in entered his blushing footmen, bowing like two cowering idiots as they walked towards his bed. The prince looked on, bemused as Brad came round to his right hand side, and Greg to his left.
“And how are you this morning, sire?” Greg nodded, his styled hair bouncing like a jelly. Ryan glared at him through bagged eyes, his blond hair sticking out like electricity and Greg flushed at his mistake. “Heh… don’t answer that.”
“We’ve come to record your ideal traits in a woman,” Brad said, parchment and quill in hand. “We need to know what appeals to His Highness if we’re going to get you the right bride.”
The prince’s eyes widened - Damn, he’d completely forgotten about the whole marriage/bride thing.
“These traits shall be put on posters throughout the entire kingdom, sire. We trust that it will bring the girls in from miles around! No slim pickings for you, eh?” Greg giggled in his slightly nasally way and nudged the prince with his elbow. Ryan just glared at him again, making Greg look away sheepishly. “Tough crowd,” he murmured to himself as he flopped down in a nearby chair.
Turning his attention back to Sherwood, Ryan looked pensively at the awaiting quill in his hand. “Well… erm, my ideal bride would have…” He thought about it for a long moment and then it suddenly came to him from nowhere.
“Brown eyes. Those really deep shiny ones like you see on cute animals.” He laughed to himself quietly as Brad frantically scribbled away. “Oh, and dimples on their face that make them look really adorable when they smile. Oh, oh! If they like to work with horses, that’d be good, too.” Brad blinked at the dazed prince, but wrote it down anyway. Ryan took no notice as his eyes focused on something non-existent in the distance. “Someone with… those muscles that you can really see and feel when you put your hands on them,” and Brad almost snapped the quill in half at that one but again, Ryan didn’t seem to notice. “They need to have thinning hair, like half gray, half brown and a developing bald spot on top. And a really cute Canadian accent that sounds like music when they talk…”
Ryan paused, finally realising that over the past minute he had turned rather specific with the details. Brad and Greg looked on, wide-eyed, neither of them quite sure what to say.
“Well… did you get all of that?” Ryan asked a bit shyly and Greg snorted with laughter.
“Shit man, what kind of women do you date?”
For the third time that morning, Ryan shot daggers at his nasally footman who eventually got the message. He grinned cheekily, stood and backed out of the room. “I’m going now, sire. Look, I’m gone,” he said as he shut the door behind him.
“I’ll, erm, just get all this written onto the posters, then shall I?” Brad scribbled the rest of the details down and messily rolled up the parchment. “Tomorrow sire, the women shall arrive and then you can pick from them.” As he spoke, he made his way to the bedroom door.
Ryan watched him go and sighed with forced a smile. “Yeah, yeah. Great. Can’t wait.”
Brad nodded with a grin, bowed his head and exited swiftly, humming a little tune to himself, which sounded suspiciously like ‘Here Comes the Bride’.
The young prince huffed, blowing his hair in the process, and fell backwards back into bed. The start to his morning had not been a terribly thrilling one; bet felt a strange sense of anticipation inside him. Not for the whole bridal situation, but for something else… something he couldn’t quite remember.
And then it struck him - Colin. This time, he didn’t have to force the smile.
~~~
Colin awoke bright and early to the sound of neighing, like he usually did. He dragged himself out of his bunk, threw on his tatty, dirty workman’s clothes and got straight into his usual morning routine. He found no reason to deviate today.
He washed his face and cleaned himself using water from the nearby well and brought a few pails back with him for the horses. Lance was being his typical stubborn self; stomping and snorting in impatience. A few sugarlumps for breakfast soon calmed him down enough for Colin to get to work.
After grooming the stallion, his next job was to clean the horseshoes, which was a difficult job on any day, particularly with Lance.
“Oh, come now, Lance. You should be used to this by now,” Colin smiled when the animal drew his hoof away for the fourth time whilst he’d been cleaning it. “Y’know, Margo never complains. I reckon you’re jealous of her, aren’t you?” He moved a bit of hay in front of the horse in the hope that he could be distracted with eating enough to take no notice of Colin’s interference with his feet.
This worked for a time, and Colin had managed to get two whole feet done in the time it took for Lance to munch his way through the hay. He had barely gotten started on the third when the stallion began to play up again, nearly kicking Colin in the chest a few times. Colin knew from experience that the hind legs of a horse in particular were very powerful weapons, and he wasn’t about to take any chances.
“Need a hand?” came a voice from the stable entrance. Colin turned his head in acknowledgement and let out a surprising sigh when he realised that it was Ryan standing there, all casual and care-free as he leant against a wooden beam.
“Oh, it’s you!” he heard himself exclaim, then mentally slapped himself for sounding so stupid and obvious. But Ryan just let out a burst of laughter.
“Yes, it’s me,” he said. “The very same.” He approached with the same fluid gait that he had left with yesterday and Colin swallowed as he moved nearer and nearer. The intense moment was ruined slightly by Lance’s tail swishing over and smacking Colin square in the back of the head, as if pushing Colin toward him in encouragement. He gave a surprised “Oof!” and the young prince had to struggle to contain a laughing fit.
“How about you take a break and I take care of Lance?” Ryan offered, freezing Colin to the spot.
“Oh… sire, really?” was all he could say at that point whilst overcome with confusion and Ryan rested a hand on his shoulder in assurance.
“Yes, really. I was going to take him out for a ride today anyway, and I think you need a rest.”
So that’s what happened - Ryan began to groom Lance and clean the horseshoes with a special expertise whilst Colin watched on from a distance. He felt odd letting someone else do the work, let alone a prince, heir to the throne and part of the aristocracy for goodness sake. The lanky man didn’t even seem to care that his dress shirt and matching royal pants had gotten dirty, which was quite an appealing look for him…
Colin shook his head vividly. Honestly, Mochrie, you can’t think that way about the prince. There’re probably laws against that sort of thing… and stop staring at him!
He had to giggle to himself when he realised he’d been watching Ryan’s ass the entire time, and hurriedly put his mind to other things. Margo still needed her morning clean and feed, he remembered as he fetched a pail of water and brush. Colin paused in his job and noticed Ryan saddling up the stallion, fastening the various buckles and preparing him for a ride. He smiled to himself fondly - Lance behaved a lot better when Ryan tended to him.
He had just finished brushing Margo off when he felt something nudge his arm. It was another saddle, held by the young prince in his direction. “Well?” he said expectantly. “Are you coming?”
Colin’s eyes widened at the suggestion. “M- me? Go riding with you?”
“Yeah,” replied Ryan softly flicking his gaze away briefly. “I still have to make up for how I treated you yesterday.”
The older man immediately felt his ears redden in a blush and did his best to hold down flustered laughter. “Oh, I don’t know if I should, sire…”
Ryan shook his head. “I told you, Col. Call me Ryan. Everyone else calls me ‘sire’. And I insist - come with me. Please?”
"Col", the stable boy thought to himself. I like that… maybe I can call him ‘Ry’? Hmm, best not.
Ryan’s eyes held a playful determination, but his sweet smile betrayed all that and told Colin that Ryan simply wanted to spend time with him - not just because he felt obligated to apologise.
As he reached out to take the saddle, Colin’s hands rested over Ryan’s for a moment until Colin flinched away and giggled at the realisation. Ryan blushed and looked a little sheepish, which just made him far more adorable in Colin’s eyes. Before long, they’d both mounted with only minor difficulties, though Colin did have a bit of trouble climbing onto Margo, but Ryan gave him a little boost by pushing on his ass to help him up, which was purely for assistance purposes, of course.
It had been sometime since Colin had ridden a horse. In fact, he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d been out of the stables. He glanced over at Ryan, who look braced and all set to go, and that gave him a bit more confidence. “Ready, Col?”
Colin nodded. “I’m ready… Ry.”
Ryan grinned fondly at his new nickname. “Then let’s go,” he said deeply and tugged firmly on the reigns - his stallion, always game for anything reared in enjoyment and with an excited “Yeehaw!” from Ryan, galloped straight out with Colin’s equally eager mare in tow.
To be continued…