Consulting_Angel and Yellow. one on one

[Yellow.]

A pastry on the counter was all Lucas needed to tide him over through the night, wasn't much but it was what he could afford and it was easy with the little bit of time he had before and after work. With the pastry gone Lucas moved around the small area to get ready for bed, the one room holding everything he needed. It gave him time to wonder what the next day would hold, laying down in his bed waiting for sleep to come. It wasn't often that he thought the next day would hold something different than it always did and maybe it wouldn't. Maybe the prince didn't know or if he did maybe he didn't care and that would be the end of it.

Lucas was finally able to fall asleep late and woke up early, the few hours of sleep that he managed to find would have to do as he pulled himself from the bed. His morning went much like the night before, grabbing a pastry to tide himself over while he got ready to head back to the palace. A quick good morning and goodbye to his friend and landlord with a promise to talk with him more later tonight had Lucas heading out the door and down the path to the palace. He wasn't late by any means but he was a bit later then he liked, so his pace was quick on his walk a nod once again to a different guard this time had him on his way to the barn.

[Consulting_Angel]

The next morning, Ashton stayed asleep, enjoying the peace that he was getting. At least, he was sleeping until a servant knocked on the door to tell him that breakfast would be ready in fifteen minutes. That, however, did not bother Ashton. He didn't leave his bed for another few minutes, then he quickly got himself ready. He considered it a talent, to be awake, dressed and ready for the day within ten minutes, while looking like he'd spent at least half an hour getting ready. He had to work quickly, but it was always worth it for those few extra minutes of sleep. He picked up the rolled-up and tied letter, before leaving his room, and found the first available servant, telling them to deliver the letter to the barn immediately, claiming it was a request for later on in the day... which wasn't entirely untrue.

Ashton walked down to the dining hall, for breakfast. There, he was told that the entire day would free for him, which he was pleased about. That meant he would definitely be able to go to the stables, to talk to Lucas later on. He was, admittedly, a little bit excited, because despite all of the concerns, he had found his soulmate. It might be tough for them both, but it was also something of a relief to him. He knew that he never liked girls romantically, for one, and he also didn't particularly like any of the nobles that were his age.

[Yellow.]

Lucas was greeted at the barn not only by the sounds of horses ready to be let out and given breakfast but with a servant headed his way. It wasn't uncommon for the servants to be sent down for various reasons, normally there to tell him that someone or another needed horses ready later that day or that someone was headed out. He greeted the women simply and thanked her for the letter waiting until she left to set it on the table. He didn't expect the note to be anything other than that which meant he had time to take care of the horses before he needed to do whatever the letter told him.

Feeding and taking care of the horses took a couple of hours before Lucas remembered the letter and hoped that whatever was on it really would be okay considering he'd waited so long to read it. Whipping the dust off his hands and onto his pants he picked the letter up off the table and reads the few words on it. The words on the letter take him for a loop, his mind having pushed the events from yesterday to the back of it to keep him going in the morning. But now it all crashes back to the front, he wasn't crazy the mark he'd seen on the prince's shoulder really did match his own. He really was soul bonded to the prince and he had no idea what to do with that information.

[Consulting_Angel]

He quickly finished breakfast, and he left the moment he was able to. He had to come up with something to do for the next few hours, before his proposed meeting that he had with Lucas. He didn't even know if the stablehand even wanted to talk with him. He hoped that he did, otherwise things might be rather awkward. Ashton shook his head, trying to shake off those thoughts. He also seriously hoped that he hadn't been mistaken, and that they really did have the same soulmate mark. It would certainly be embarrassing if he was wrong, but he was confident that he was right. For the time being, though, he was going to have to refrain from appearing too elated, as to not be asked any awkward questions. He'd already narrowly avoided it last night.

A few hours later, just before midday, Ashton walked out of the palace, to make his way to the barn. He was a little nervous now - he really wanted the conversation to go well. He didn't want to be rejected, even if the proof was right there. His pace slowed down a little, as he neared the barn. Ashton took a deep breath, and picked up his pace again. He smiled brightly at the guard, then he stepped into the barn. Glancing around, Ashton looked out for Lucas, hoping that he was still in the barn.

[Yellow.]

The letter wasn't very clear as to where they were going to meet, but the message was pretty clear the prince would find him sometime after midday and they would talk about the marks. He didn't expect the conversation to go well, hell if he was lucky he'd get to keep his job after all of this. And wasn't that a topic of conversation he didn't want to go down, if he lost this job it wasn't like he had many other skills lined up for another one. "Wait to see what he wants before you think of all the different possibilities." Lucas reasoned with himself, setting the note back down on the table while pushing away from it.

Figuring it would be easier for the prince to find him if he stayed around the barn, Lucas found little things to do around the barn. When the prince did walk in, Lucas was inside the stall of one of the new stallions, a fiery black horse with little experience holding a rider and even less just being around humans. He would never understand why the nobles brought in some of the horses that they did, but it wasn't his place to judge he just had to do what they told him. For now, that meant trying to get the stallion to trust him, but really he was doing good just to be in the same stall without being kicked or charged.

[Consulting_Angel]

As he looked around the barn, Ashton quickly spotted Lucas in one of the stables - the one with the new, firey stallion. He was, admittedly, a little bit scared of the stallion, since it was clear that he didn't seem to be trusting of humans. This stallion was, no doubt, meant to be a horse for one of the knights - at least, when the horse would actually let someone on his back. He walked over, slowly, but he didn't try to hide the fact that he'd now arrived. "...Lucas?" Ashton asked, to also signal that he had now arrived. He stood a short distance from the stall, so that Lucas would be able to leave it and focus more on the conversation. He hesistated, wondering how to approach the subject of the conversation. He bit his lip for a moment, then he started.

"I think... I think we need to talk about something we've both discovered," Ashton paused, clearly referring to their soulbond marks. He watched for Lucas' expression, because he really wanted them to talk about it, but it wouldn't work if one of them wasn't interested in it. "I think we have to try and figure out what we're going to do," Ashton continued, pressing on the conversation. He kept his voice fairly low, just in case there were any eavesdroppers outside of the barn.

[Yellow.]

Lucas simply stood inside of the stall not pushing closer to the stallion but just getting him used to someone being close, the door closed next to him in case he needed to make a quick run for it. All his focus was on the horse in front of him, reading him for any signs that he was going to charge, knowing the horse was trying to get a read on him as well. He was startled out of focus by his name being called from outside the stall. "Prince Ashton," Lucas greeted while he worked his way out of the stall, making sure the door was closed behind him so he could focus his attention on the noble. The letter meant he wasn't surprised to the see the prince, may be surprised to see him alone, but he honestly didn't know what to think at this point.

He listened as the prince stuttered through his words, wincing a bit when he said they had both discovered the other was there soul bonded. While they had both found out on the same day, Lucas wondered if maybe the prince would be mad Lucas had not told him when he had learned before he did. Granted it really wasn't much before, but it still was and it really wasn't something he should have tried to keep. Schooling his features back and nodding Lucas gestured towards the small office in the barn where random papers and such where kept on the horses. "I think that might be best, we can talk in here if you want or I can follow you to the palace." Lucas suggested, unsure if the prince had told others about the marks yet.

[Consulting_Angel]

Ashton knew that - at least, he was making a guess that he was sure was right - Lucas had known they were soulmates before he found out. He didn't really mind, though, because he wasn't sure if he'd have been able to bring it up himself if he'd known first anyway. And that didn't really matter too much now - they both knew, and were going to talk about it. He wasn't sure what he shoild expect from the conversation, but he hoped that it would put him and Lucas more at ease with the situation. The first step, he supposed, was acceptance of the fact they were soul bonded.

He glanced towards the small office that Lucas had gestured to. "No!" he quickly said, rejecting the suggestion of them going to the palace to talk. The last thing he needed was to risk a nosy servant or knight overhearing their conversation... or, worse, his own parents. He had to be ready to tell them, not let them find out on their own. "In here is fine," Ashton clarified, and he started to walk to the small office. "I can't have anyone else find out just yet... hence why I figured we should talk, rather than try to avoid it," he explained, though he was more speaking his thoughts to help release some nerves that he currently had.

[Yellow.]

While he was surprised with the outburst of a no from the prince when he suggested going to the palace if he was more comfortable there, he didn't show it. He really shouldn't have been surprised, he highly doubted the prince told anyone about what he found out. I mean how do you tell your parents your soul mate turns out to be a stable hand working for them when the two of them are both from highly respected families? The short end is that you don't, hell Lucas wouldn't be surprised if the prince never told them, he probably wouldn't. Once again his mind was headed down a path he didn't want to go down before this talk, but it seemed he couldn't stop it from doing so.

"Of course," He answers formally while walking into the office, letting the prince decide if the door needed to be closed or not. "I understand. I don't want you to feel as if I was avoiding it when I found out, I just wasn't sure how to bring it up at the time." Lucas replied quickly, not wanting the prince to think he was trying to hide the information from him in any way. While he had tried to hide it at first, it wasn't a long-term plan more of a what the hell kind of action if that made any sense.

[Consulting_Angel]

Ashton closed the door, feeling as though it would just lend to the privacy that he wanted while talking with Lucas. The more he could limit the risk of them being overheard, then the better. He turned back towards Lucas, and he nodded slightly in acknowledgement. "Thank you, I... it's okay," he replied, and then he perched himself on the desk, where there was a clear space, just so that he could sit down for a bit. He averted his gaze towards the ground for a few moments, as though he was trying to figure out what to say next. There was a large whirl of thoughts going through his mind, and it was difficult to know where to start, now that they were ready to begin the conversation.

Eventually, though, Ashton decided that he'd figured it out. "Well... let's figure out what we're going to do. I mean, we can't change what is, so I think we need to look forward. Obviously, it's not going to be like everyone else and their soul-bonds, but... I think we can make something work," he said, deciding to get to the point - at least, as to-the-point as he felt like he could. He did feel like he was stating the obvious, but he figured that it was better to be acknowledged, than unspoken about.