Chapter 5 : blossoming feelings

Jillian was sitting under the shade of a tree admiring Guinevere as she brushed the mane of her horse, when his mother walked over and stood next to him.

"Beautiful isn't she." The boy spoke.

"The horse or the girl?" Susan teased her son

Jillian stood up wnd chuckled. "The girl of course! I must be the luckiest man in the world."

"Then why are you wasting time, she's of age now and you're eighteen." His mother spoke. "Ask for her hand."

Jillian looked back at the blue eyed girl, "it's not yet time mother."

Susan was as excited as Gezelle about their children's courtship, Guinevere was strikingly beautiful and her son was a handsome young man, they would give her the most beautiful grandchildren and she couldn't wait.

"You better hurry up before someone steals her from right under your nose." Susan advised her son, "a beautiful girl like Guinevere has many men after her, just waiting for a chance to swoop her off her feet."

"They'd have to knock me off my feet first." Jillian responded.

The boy picked up the saddle and started walking towards Guinevere, "let me practice my riding skills on the ol' girl."

"Which one?" Susan asked with a sly smile.

Jillian laughed heartily and waved to his mother. "I'll let you take a guess."

The boy walked over to Guinevere and saddled up the horse. "Ready to learn how to ride?"

"I guess."

Never in any of her lifetimes had Guinevere learnt horse riding, the one time she'd tried, she was almost kicked by one so she was a bit skeptical about the whole thing.

Jillian climbed onto the horse and reached for Guinevere. "It's alright, I'll help you."

Guinevere took Jillian's hand and got onto the majestic animal. The boy placed her hands on the lead rope and cupped her little hands in his.

"Lightly grip the horse with both your legs." Jillian whispered in her ear

Guinevere did as she was told and the horse started moving forward.

"Whoa! She's moving!" Guinevere exclaimed excitedly.

"You're doing great" Jillian commented "now pull the lead line gently to the right."

When Guinevere pulled on the line, the horse turned right.

"Now gently to the left."

The horse turned left

"Look at you, you're riding a horse." Jillian praised the girl.

Guinevere was over the roof, this was great, she was actually riding a horse. And with Jillian sitting right behind her, she felt very safe and confident.

"How do I make her go faster?" Guinevere asked.

"Faster? Umm I think we should stick to this pace for a bit."

Guinevere turned her head slightly towards the boy. "But you're here with me, I know I'll be safe."

Jillian had done many jobs as a scout in their little town, so he was a very good horse rider. Him and the other scouts would patrol the town which was prone to looters and bandits that passed through and catch them. He was like a local town hero.

Jillian smiled at Guinevere, the fact that the girl felt safe when she was with him warmed his heart. "Alright then, add a little more pressure with your legs."

Guinevere did exactly that and the horse began to gallop. "Oh I get it now."

The girl added more pressure, and more, and more and even more till the horse was running at full speed.

"Guine take it easy."

The girl couldn't hear Jillian, she was too busy enjoying the rush.

"How do I get her to jump?!"

"Jump?" Jillian looked ahead and noticed they were quickly approaching the fence bordering their stables. "Guinevere wait!"

The horse dashed towards the fence and leaped off the ground, landing on the other side with a powerful gallop.

Jillian quickly grabbed the lead line and pulled it backwards, making the horse slow down to a stop.

Guinevere was chuckling with excitement, Jillian looked down at the laughing girl and joined her laughter. He was worried that she would be shaken up by the incident but clearly Guine was no ordinary girl.

They rode the horse back into the stables and Jillian helped Guinevere down. "Did you have fun?"

"I did!" The blue eyed girl exclaimed excitedly. "It's so exciting Jillian thank you, I can't wait to learn how to ride Star all on my own."

"Star?"

"Yes." Guinevere responded as she stroked the horse's snout, "that's her name."

Jillian smiled. "It's a beautiful name."

The boy took the saddle off the horse and led it back into the stables. "We should let Star rest, let me put her back in the stables and get her some water and hay, I'll be right back."

The girl sat down on the soft grass and watched Jillian lead her horse to the stables. He really had grown into a handsome man hadn't he?

[wait! What the hell am I thinking?! No no no]

Guinevere smacked her head with her palm.

[do not catch feelings for this boy Guinevere, don't you dare!]

Guinevere's thoughts were interrupted when she heard the giggling of a group of girls who were watching Jillian carry hay into the stables.

"Jillian!" One girl waved to him. "Over here."

The girl was tall and blonde with emerald eyes, she was really pretty. Guinevere disliked her instantly.

Jillian closed up the stables and walked over to the three girls. "Good afternoon ladies, do you need anything."

The girls giggled among themselves.

[calm down you little tramps, he isn't that funny]

"I just wanted to personally thank you for catching the looters who stole from my father's shop." The blonde girl spoke "you're a hero Jillian."

Jillian smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "No need to thank me, I'm just doing my job."

The blonde handed Jillian a small basket. "Take this as a small token of my appreciation, you work so hard, these will help you keep your strength."

Jillian took the basket and nodded at the girls. "Thank you, I appreciate this."

The boy then gave the girls a wave and walked towards Guinevere.

The three girls giggled and waved excitedly at the boy, then they turned around and walked down the road.

"Friends of yours?" Guinevere questioned Jillian in a less than amused tone

"Just daughters of the townsfolk I've helped, they just came to show some appreciation."

Jillian sat next to the blue eyed girl and opened the little basket. Inside were different little packages wrapped in paper, when Jillian unwrapped them, they revealed a small cake, a jar of homemade jam and different fruit.

Jillian broke a piece of the cake and tasted it. "Wow this is delicious!"

He broke another small piece and handed it to Guinevere. "Here, try some."

Guinevere opened her mouth and ate the cake.

"How is it?"

"Eeh it's alright." Guinevere responded.

[It tastes so good it's infuriating]

Guinevere then noticed a small note in the basked and took it, she opened it and read its contents aloud.

"Thank you for everything Jillian, if you need anything, and I do mean ANYTHING please don't hesitate to let me know."

[that little tramp]

Guinevere pouted and handed the the note to Jillian. "This is for you."

"Oh I'm sure Helen didn't mean anything by it." Jillian responded sheepishly, having noticed the pout on Guinevere's face. "She does silly things like this all the time."

"Oh so you know her name." Guinevere crossed her arms and sulked.

"It's a small town Guine, I know almost everyone's names."

Jillian closed the basket and took Guinevere's hand in his. "I can toss it out if you want."

[yes! I want you to throw it right in that little tramp's perfect face!]

"No don't throw it away it would be rude." Guinevere responded.

"Okay then why don't we go inside and have the cake with some lemon and ginger tea.

[gosh that sounds heavenly]

"No you go ahead." Guinevere responded as she stood up and dusted the grass off her skirt. "I need to head home anyway, I promised mother I'd help her with the laundry."

Jillian stood up and grabbed the girl's hand. "Alright let me walk you home."

Guinevere pulled her hand away. "No it's alright, you should go put that cake away."

Jillian watched Guinevere walk away, he'd never seen her act like this before. Was she angry with him? Was it the cake? Was it Helen?

*

When Guinevere got home, she rushed into the kitchen where her mother was.

"Mother."

Gezelle turned around and smiled at her daughter. "Welcome home honey, how was your day with Jillian?"

"I'm in need of a favor mother."

Gezelle put down the plate she'd been wiping and studied her daughter. "What's wrong darling? Did something happen with Jillian?"

Richard who had been eavesdropping poked his head into the kitchen, waiting for his daughter's answer.

"I want you to teach me how to bake." Guinevere said

Both Richard and Gezelle exchanged confused glances, their daughter had never been interested in anything to do with the kitchen. She only learned the basics so she could cook for her father when her mother was away or ill.

"Why would you want to learn how to bake?"

Guinevere pursed her lips, why did she want to learn how to bake? She thought about Helen's cake and how Jillian's face lit up when he ate it.

"I want to learn how to bake because I want to make delicious cakes for Jillian!" Guinevere declared. "That way he won't need anyone else to make him cakes ever again!"

Richard fell off his chair.

[oh my god what is wrong with me?]