Kerttu's Selection

No Horsing Around - Chapter 19

I had to get the group down to fifteen by the end of this week and the Elite soon after. It was Monday but I was ready for a chaotic sequence of dates. I had squeezed in a group date after the town meeting of Elias, Hogar, Willson, and Dadson. They were all nice and intellectual, which was fine. But today was the week for the greats. The lineup was Shaan, Tyrion, Jakob and Adim. It would be me and Jakob's first solo date. Hopefully it wouldn't be awkward.

I had sent a letter to Shaan through his butler. I wanted him to meet me in the yard. I figured he might enjoy some fun competition on horseback. Plus, every good romantic movie scene started on horseback. Maybe we could finish our last discussion.

He showed up in a tee shirt and jeans, his hair as tousled as always. He had his hands in his pockets as he strolled up to me.

"Hey!" I replied bubbly.

Shaan stood across from me, hands drenched in his pockets, wind floating through his hair like a knife through butter. "Kerttu, I'm not feeling a date today."

It was like someone had tossed a bucket of freezing cold water on me. "Okay," I said, careful not to express too much emotion.

"Okay," he repeated, moving back to the Palace."

"Wait!" I called after him. "Did I do something wrong?"

He didn't turn back as he replied "No."

I didn't say anything to the camera crews as I put the horses back in the stables. One was finally bold enough to ask me a question when I had finished.

"Where's Sir Shaan?" The reporter asked, a little too eager for my liking.

"He wasn't feeling well. Goodbye." I said rudely, leaving them in the stables with no story, no nothing. I hated them sometimes.

I walked up and down the second floor. I wanted to know what was wrong with him. But maybe I was the problem. What had I done? I hadn't danced with him at Berry's birthday party. Could he really be that upset over that?

"Kerttu?" I turned to see Tyrion. He looked handsome as ever, a book tucked in the nook of his shoulder.

"Hey Tyrion."

"Why do I keep finding you prancing around in hallways?" he said with a thin smile. I laughed and he did as well. His laugh was buried deep within him. It was great hearing it out in the open.

"I'm a little lost, I guess." He didn't know how deeply I related to that sentence.

"Do you want to talk about?" he asked, arching his eyebrow. Maybe he did.

**What's going on with Shaan?**

**Tyrion and Kerttu....you a fan? And Amberry updates are coming lol **

**Thank you so much for reading this, thank you.**