As fast as he could, Morvran ordered his horse to run along, leaving you behind with a puzzled look on your face.

"Noble people are weird.", you mumbled and picked another flower.

The general stopped his horse below the branches of a tree, trying to get some of the cold shadow. His face was as red as a tomato, making him appear like an embarrassed school boy. By the gods, he had not felt this humiliated ever since his sister had started calling him Movi in front of every girl.

"Gods.", he gasped and buried his face in his hands. "I must have looked like an idiot. What was I thinking, talking to you like this? I must have looked like a madman. Or even worse. That (Y/G) now must think I am on drugs."

Agreeing, the stallion nodded.

"Fantastic. You're not a good help.", the general sighed. "Well we will probably never meet again. Must have been a farmer from the nearby village, trying to steal some of my flowers to sell them for a few coins. Whatever. They are just stupid flowers."

He sighed again, picked up the reins and ordered the horse to move on.

His mansion wasn't far anymore. He could already see the black roofs from afar. It was a stones throw away.

With a silent order, he let his hors run along.

Why was he even complaining?

The weather was great, sunny and warm but not unpleasantly hit. The air was fresh and he could smell the vegetables growing on the fields. Somewhere in the distance birds were singing. He even came across a deer and its child.

How had he been able to forget about this place?

He remembered how he had discovered the mansion for the first time. He still remembered how it had looked like. He had seen the changes, how the facades had been newly painted and how the ruins had turned into a home. The general loved this place dearly. As if it was the house he had been born in. It was his second home.

And yet he had been able to forget the mansion and its beautiful fields with the flowers for a few years.

But now he was back. And to be honest, he was thrilled to stay a while.

Letting his horse run faster, Morvran began to take in the landscape a little more. The wide fields of gold and flowers enchanted him so much, he was barely paying attention to the path before him.

Deeply lost in thoughts, he let the rains loose and the horse began to run freely below him. Without paying attention to its mood, Morvran let the horse go as fast as it pleased.

For a moment, he enjoyed the sun shining on his face and the wind that was stroking through his shoulder-length auburn hair.

But his lack of attention quickly became his worst enemy.
Suddenly, the horse began to pick up pace. It was so sudden, that he lost his balance. Out of reflex, his hands reached for the next thing near but he grabbed into nothing and fell out of the saddle. His foot hit tangled in one of the leather bands, dragged him a little, slipped and broke free.

With a loud grunt, he crashed into something.

The horse raised its hooves, jumped and ran off.

"Gods!", he cursed and tried to lift himself.

But the ground below him moved. Surprised, he gasped but lost his balance again and crashed back.

"Goddamit!", you screamed. "Get off me! Your heavy like a pig!"

With an annoyed noise, you pushed him to the side and freed yourself.

"What did you say?!", shocked, the general turned to you. "Who do you think I am?"

"The strange guy who is talking to horses.", you answered, while trying to pick up the sad rest of the flowers that you had spent picking the entire morning. "You're riding a stallion this noble but can't keep yourself in the saddle? Look at this! All the flowers. Do you know how much time I've spent picking them?"

"Do you know that you were taking them from my field?", he bit back.

"They are flowers. How greedy can you be, if you want to punish me for taking flowers?"

He couldn't really say anything against that. If he was honest with himself, he couldn't care less about the flowers. He did not need them. They were simply for decoration. If he remembered correctly he had planted them to impress a lady. She had ended up hating the colours and had turned him down.

So it was actually something good when somebody picked them.

Putting his anger aside, the general sighed and got back on his feet. Politely, he offered you a helping hand.

You refused, not harsh but making clear that you did not want his help.

"Thank you for the offer, sir. But I prefer doing my work myself.", you said.

With a sarcastic grin, he raised an eyebrow.

"Your work? Picking flowers is considered work now?", he asked back.

"It's not hard work. But it might cost a few fingers or a hand."

"Because of flowers?"

A sigh escaped you.

Why was he talking so much?

Since when did noble men talk so much with the commoners?

"If I pick flowers that the young master doesn't like, I might get fired. Or punished worse. He doesn't seem to be too nice."

"Is that so? Do the servants talk bad about him?"

You laughed, a little amused by his childlike curiosity.

"The servants love him. He pays well. Everyone is well fed and the roof above our heads is better than a farmers hut."

"Then why the fuss?", Morvran frowned.

Were you talking about the son of the noble man that was master of a mention not far from his?

Morvran had heard quite some gossip about the family. They were supposed to be moody, always speaking with harsh words and the punishments against their servants seemed a little extreme.

Questioning, you looked at the general.

"He has high standards. Some servants can't keep up with that. They want to live well but do little for it. They fear the way he is. Smart but also unreadable. One time he allows us to take a day off. And the next time he demands a head for a meal that was not hot enough.", you answered. "But let's not talk too much about him. He hates when people do him wrong. So, sir, accept my apologies. I will be on my way now."