“I’m sure you can ride storm. I don’t offer this option to people, let alone ladies, very often. Normally they turn me down.” He said, the charming smile and voice not faltering despite him getting slightly annoyed with the girl. He just needed her to get up on the horse so he could snag her hairpin as she got up. Ashton extended his hand out, offering it in case she did accept the offer and needed help. “Something tells me I’d be less welcomed then you realize. So unwelcomed the guards would probably arrest me on the spot or start checking people’s faces when they walk in. Guards tend to not like me all that much.” Ashton sounded almost sure of the fact, maybe even a bit confused at the same time to pass off the little white lie. Ashton adjusted the way he was standing again before clearing his throat to speak. “You don’t seem to be from around here. or at least this village. You also don’t seem like you entirely belong in these kinds of settings. Like you do but you don’t at the same time. That hairpin in your hair also looks too fancy and bejeweled for you to be a simple common girl as well.” Ashton said, gesturing to the hairpin in her hair when he mentioned it. “There’s a couple ways that you could have gotten it. Some noble gave it to you because they thought you were pretty, you saved up enough money to buy it from a market or wandering traveler, you got lucky and found it on the ground.” Ashton paused a bit for some effect before continuing speaking. “Or, you were given it by your parents which would make you a noble or even royalty. So who are you?” He sounded intrigued, almost like this was a puzzle that he had almost cracked.

Ashton was a bit surprised by the girl, now Lottie, offering him her hairpin. It made things easier for him but he wasn’t used to that kind of kindness or gesture. Let alone from a stranger. “Thanks…” He said, his voice significantly softer and quieter. He realized he might have seemed rude as he took the hairpin because of his voice trailing off a bit. He put the pin in the bag that had all the valuables from the nobles before undoing it and digging through. It only seemed fair to him since she had willingly given him something that clearly cost a lot. As he searched, he cleared his throat and talked, sounding more sure of himself this time. “Thanks. No one’s ever bothered to do something like that before. I still think you have to be a noble or something. The names Ashton. If I actually had friends I liked enough, they’d probably call me Ash or something like that.” His voice got pretty quiet again when he spoke about her actions. When he talked about his name, he shrugged a bit as if it was no big deal. Ashton found a necklace in the bag that had some flower design on it. It wasn’t a big, flashy flower design. The necklace in question had some smaller flowers along the front that had some purple, pink, and green details to it. It was nice looking, certainly not his taste but it would probably work to make any young lady happy. He pulled it out so he could see it better before deciding that it would work. He stuck it in his pocket, closed up the bag again and attached it back to his stuff on the horse before walking back over to the saddle. He pulled out the necklace and handed it to her. “A token so you don’t forget the time you almost got run over.”Ashton said, teasing her just a bit. He grabbed the horse’s reins and clicked his tongue a little to urge the horse forward. The horse happily listened and moved into a walk next to him. “You should probably be more careful while you're out here. There’s thieves out here who would gladly rob you if they even suspected that you might have something of value. For all you know I could have been a thief as well.” The wind picked up a bit, messing up his hair just a tad. Some pieces fell from its normal shape, causing it to look like he ran or something to mess it up. He didn’t care though. It didn’t affect his vision at all so he didn’t fix it.

After a while, Ashton spoke up again. “These will probably sound odd but do you know if the village has any guards posted around or in it? What’s it like being able to be near the castle? I’ve never been to this village and only stay 3 days at most at any place that I stop at. I’m just trying to get a feel for those places.”

Ashton chuckled a little at her comment about him not being a thief before speaking up. “Well, If I was a thief I would have figured out how to seamlessly get your hairpin. I would have used you getting up on the saddle to swipe the hairpin. I could have used helping you and being kind to earn your trust as well. Risky or not, I would have attempted it even if you noticed or it made you mad. But that’s just assuming I was a common thief.” He said, basically sharing his original plan he had made after he noticed Lottie’s hairpin. He just made it seem more like it was a common thief and not actually him. “But like I said, that’s what a common thief would do and you seem pretty sure that I’m not a thief or criminal.” A slight grin appeared on his face because of the irony as he spoke. He took off his cloak as he walked and examined the back of it for dirt. He got some off and placed it back on his shoulders before adjusting it. As Ashton adjusted it, the idea to mess with the guards just a little popped up in his head, causing a mischievous grin to spread across his face. “Nothing nefarious huh? Almost sounds like a challenge or an invitation to stir just a little trouble up.” He said as he finished adjusting his cloak. When he looked up ahead of them, he noticed they were walking into the village. He slipped the hood of the cloak up to hide his face a bit. He didn’t need to be spotted by a guard who would recognize him instantly from all his wanted posters that were all over the kingdom. “Looks like our time together is almost up, Lottie. Maybe I’ll run into you at the festival you mentioned. Maybe even earlier then that.” Ashton said as they entered the village.

Ashton chuckled a little at her, restating that he wasn’t a thief. “If only you actually knew.” He mumbled to himself. “But if I was a thief, there wouldn’t be any fun in being handed something like that. You really are a strange noble huh? Most nobles I come across are easily scared and seem stuck up to me.” He said, before pausing to take in their surroundings a bit better. “If you're going for a more stealthy entrance, there’s a better way to go about it than being as much into the open as we are.” With that, he clicked his tongue again and led the horse over towards an alley. Ashton led the horse farther in a bit before stopping it. He extended his hand out again for her to take. “This way, you can disappear into the village easier. It’s been nice talking to you as well.” His hand that was on Storm’s reins adjusted just a bit, leading to the horse’s head to turn around. Its ears flicked around quite a bit as it paid attentioned to its surroundings and the two people next to it.

“Likewise.” Ashton said, bowing slightly before he turned to leave with the horse. As he left, he adjusted the hood one last time to make sure it covered his face before leaving the alley and disappearing around the left corner. He walked back towards the saddle on the horse, keeping to its left side so if any guards were to walk past him, they wouldn’t recognize as quickly. He came to an inn with a small stable attached to it as he got farther into the village. He tied Storm up on the post outside of it before shifting to the bag. He opened it and pulled out a handful of coins before closing it back up. He went around the backend of the black horse and went up to the front steps, leading to a small porch and the inn door. When he reached the door, he opened it, stepped in and closed it behind him. Ashton looked around the place briefly, taking in his surroundings and lowering his hood. There were some tables with chairs around them, some table runner looking things on them as well. The table runners Ashton could only assume was made by the inn keeper’s wife or the innkeeper themselves. He walked up to the counter where a younger boy around his age was standing behind. When the boy behind the counter noticed him, he smiled and greeted him. “Hello! Welcome to my family’s inn! How can I help you today?” The boy greeted, sounding rather friendly. Ashton put on his best smile as he walked up to the desk. “Hi. I’m looking for a room, preferably your most private room you have. I’ll also need a stall. Just for three days.” Ashton sounded rather friendly as he talked to the boy. The boy looked behind him at a shelf with a bunch of keys hanging below a room number, studying it as he tried to think of which room was the most private one they had. Eventually he removed a key from a hook and turned around, placing the key between them. “Here ya go! Room 5. That will be 30 gold for all three nights plus the stable stall!” The boy said, his hand out waiting for the money. Ashton pulled out a wallet-like thing from a pocket on the side of his pants. He dug through them and pulled out the proper amount before placing them in the boy’s hand. “Thank you! Have a good day sir!” The boy said as Ashton took the key. Ashton only nodded his head in response before leaving the building to put storm away.

Ashton led storm into an empty stall, closing the door behind him. He removed the saddle, the fabric underneath, and the bridle off the black stallion. He placed them on the door and a nail next to the door before untying his stuff, including the bag holding the jewels, from the saddle. When he had collected all his things, he carried them back inside and to his room. When he reached his room, he dug out the room key from his pocket and slid it into the lock before twisting it. When the lock clicked, he stepped in and looked around the place. It was smaller yet bigger then he was used to with a table, writing desk and chair, and a bed in it. He closed the door with his foot and walked over to the table where he placed his things. He walked over to the window, noticing how dusty and old the curtains seemed to be. “That kid really wasn’t kidding when he said that this was a family inn.” Ashton said to himself before walking over to the bed and laying down on it.