“So where are we going? Around Kirton or Cliforge?” Braydon asked Mireille. She had made sure to keep him to his word the day before about going riding together. And Braydon was more than happy to go along. Considering that he had taken her in, he had not been able to spend much time together with her. He at least wanted to know somebody that he was looking after a bit better than he already did.

“Kirton!” Mireille looked excited about that. Since the war had been in full swing when she started riding with Lani, they had stuck to riding in Braydon’s original lands around Midbury. Ironically the technically safer part of his lands; even with the refugees and bandits trying to cross the border.

“Alright then, lets see what you can do. The gates, if you will.” Braydon said as he helped her onto her horse before mounting his own. He looked to the guards who were already on it, having heard their conversation.

“Don’t get left behind.” This time it was Mireille who started the conversation before speeding off once the gates were opened wide enough. He just smiled and laughed as he started off with a trot watching her speed up.

“Well it seems like that was a challenge.” Braydon was more than happy to oblige. Once his own steed passed the gates, it was his turn to speed up before she was too far for him to follow.

“Slow poke.” Mireille said once Braydon came to a stop beside her where she had been waiting for him.

“Merely enjoying the scenery.” Braydon replied with a grin. He could tell that she was more than happy to just ride even without competing. At least that is what the small smile she had been wearing since mounting up back in the castle told him.

“Old man.” Mireille’s cheek was something new. He was used to her expressing great annoyance and not much else but it seems that riding had at least brought out more of her personality if nothing else.

“So, through Mapjess or around it?” He was not going to dignify the dig with a response. As fun as it might be, one Nela was enough for him. He was not about to raise another.

“Around.” With the eye roll that she had just given him, he got all that he needed to know even if she had not responded. Where was the fun in riding through town when you can ride however fast you like outside of it?

“Well then how about we slow down enough to talk at least?” He was all for racing but if they were going to be out for long, they would need to pace themselves. The horses could only take so much and there was no way that Mireille was going to be happy with anything less than multiple hours of riding.

“Fine.” She said with a small pout before turning her horse back to the road. They both set off once again, this time riding side by side as Mapjess slowly revealed itself in the distance.

“So other than learning to ride, how has your time at the castle been?” Braydon was slightly curious about how she spent her time. He knew that she had a good relationship with the servant, Mea, who had helped Nela nurse her back to health. But other than that he could not imagine her life to be all that interesting. There was simply not all that much going on in the castle. Unless Colin’s work counted.

“Boring. Not many people to talk to.” Even though she said that, Mireille didn’t sound all that upset about it. Braydon couldn’t tell what else she thought about the matter since she said that as if it was something that didn’t affect her.

“Hopefully Nela and I being back can help change that. What about your time with Lani?” He could already guess that she liked Lani quite a bit. This was the person that had taught her to ride after all. But he was curious about the young woman’s impression of such a unique character amongst the nobility.

“Fun. She tells interesting stories.” Mireille’s smile broadened when thinking of Lani. Though her words lacked anything mentioning being taught to ride, slightly surprising Braydon. It seemed that he would have to ask Lani to recount these stories himself.

“Then is there anything that you would like to ask me?” He was conscious that he had been the only one asking questions so far. Not much different than when he had first met her. But since she was obviously more animated now than then, he wanted to see if he could coax more out of her.

“What happened before you found me?” After a short pause to think, Mireille turned and looked at him before asking a considerably more serious question than he was expecting. The smile on her face had dropped slightly as she looked at him with genuine curiosity. It was only then that he realised that other than asking if she remembered anything, nobody had actually told her about the circumstances that lead to her waking up in Cliforge Castle.

“It is quite a gruesome story, are you sure that you want to know?” Braydon asked to make sure. He knew that him telling her would not have quite the same impact than if she remembered it herself, but he still asked to make sure.

“Yes.” A large nod in the affirmative.

“Then I will start with where the day began for me…” Braydon wasn’t sure how much of his experience she wanted to hear, but he was going to tell her anyway. It was all the same event to him, even if she was only found near to the end of it.