Snippet #1892002

Salem had been up since an hour before dawn as usual to clean out the stables with the help of the three stableboys that he'd brought on from the streets three years previous. They were hard-working and eager to please in exchange for food, a warm place to sleep, and clothes on their back; to them the money was just a bonus. It had been a hard sell to get the King to allow him to hire the boys but he had managed it by promising to take full responsibility for their actions, should they prove to be dishonest. He'd taught them all that they'd need to know in order to perform their jobs and as he'd been hoping he'd never needed to vouche for them or punish them for anything.

When the Prince arrived, since he was the stablemaster, it was his job to tend to his horses personally no matter how much he hated it. Salem wished that he could send someone else to do the job, not wanting to meet his love's forced future husband. However he kept his face friendly and conversation to a minimum as he unbridaled the horses and placed them in the open stables so that he could rub them down then provide them with food and drink so that they could eat while he brushed them. After that he cleaned out the hooves before leaving them to rest from their long journey as he attended to the other horses with the help of two stablehands.