A Change of Scenery

A/N: This is my first ever Reign fic so i'm a bit nervous. But I hope i'm able to at least adequately write both this ship and the characters. :)

Takes place inthe near future...in a world where Kennash made it through the Antoine mess. (Which hopefully becomes a reality on the show).

NOTE: I did do some research on medieval horseback riding for this story, mainly to figure out when the stirrup was invented lol. The sources I looked through told me that they were invented in a time where Bash and Kenna would have been able to use one, but since I am not a history buff, I apologize if my descriptions aren't completely accurate.

Kenna stared at the huge animal in front of her in a hesitant manner, unsure of how exactly to respond to seeing it. When she told Bash that she wanted him to let her into his life a little more, she wasn't expecting the request to lead to something like this.

Her husband stood beside her, his arms crossed over his chest. Kenna could practically feel the smugness radiating off of him.

After staring at the creature for a few moments longer, she turned to face Bash directly, her expression hard and questioning. "Bash...what on earth are you implying with this?"

Bash was quick to answer, his blue eyes containing faint amusement. "You claimed that you wanted to see more of my world, Kenna. And this is a fairly large part of it. Are you still willing to give it a try?"

Kenna wrinkled her nose lightly. She supposed that she really should have expected something like this. Horseback riding was a large part of Bash's life. But although she had been around horses plenty of times before, she had never actually ridden one...and truthfully, she never had the desire to. But she wasn't going to give up that easily, her distaste towards the idea aside.

"Alright," she replied in a falsely bright voice. But she couldn't help the nervous feeling she once again experienced as she took in the full size of the tall, chestnut mare. "How do I get on?"

She could do this. Despite her utter lack of knowledge when it came to horses, she knew it was possible for her. Both Mary and Lola had ridden horses just fine, after all. And so could she.

Bash wordlessly gestured towards the step-like looking platform that rested against the horse's side that she once heard him call a 'stirrup'. "Step onto that and then swing one of your legs over the horse. Put yourself into a position where you're able to take your place on the saddle."

Kenna nodded in response to his instructions, even though in actuality, she had only really registered about half of what he had said. Sucking in a small breath of air in an attempt to calm herself, she placed one of her feet on the stirrup, only to end up freezing in fright when the horse moved back a short distance and let out a soft neighing sound.

Bash's arms were there to catch her slim frame when she fell back at the sudden movement of the creature. He spoke to her in a quiet whisper, as if he didn't want to be overheard by anyone. "There's no need to be startled. It looks as though she only became distracted by the stable boy walking past us."

Kenna glanced up and saw that there was indeed a very young looking stable boy walking by them a few feet away. The young man had what looked to be a nervous expression on his face as he regarded them.

"Pardon me, my lady. It hadn't been my intention to startle the horse. I could..."

"No, no," Kenna insisted, having the feeling that he had been about to offer help of some kind. "It's perfectly fine. Just go about your business."

It was already slightly mortifying that her husband was witnessing her struggles and seemed to be gaining a lot of enjoyment from it. She didn't need others possibly joining in with him. After the boy had left she placed her foot back on the stirrup once more, determination invading her every sense.

She felt Bash place a hand on her upper-back. "Kenna, if you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Kenna heaved herself onto the horse, this time successfully seating herself on the creature's back. There was no point in trying to fight off the triumphed smile that crossed her lips. She had done it.

Now all she had to do was ignore how far below the ground was...

She was about to ask Bash what was next when she suddenly felt him move directly behind her, making it clear that he had gotten on the horse as well.

"Bash!" She exclaimed, both surprised and a little aggravated. "I can do this..."

"I wouldn't expect anyone to ride alone during their very first attempt at it. Even Francis and I received a lot of help from the trainer our father hired."

Kenna frowned, not quite buying into that explanation. "But you were most likely a child when you first learned. I am a woman."

"Perhaps. But the fact that this is your first time riding holds true. Now, do you want to continue or not?"

Kenna let out a quiet sigh of frustration but nodded. Despite her slight annoyance, she was secretly a little relieved that she wouldn't have to navigate the horse entirely on her own. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she were to accidentally fall off. With Bash sitting behind her, she felt a lot more secure.

He guided her hands to the reigns of the horse's harness, preparing to direct her. "Now here's what you do..."

It didn't take long for them to get the horse moving. Although Bash was doing most of the work with his arms safely encasing her to prevent her from falling off, there were points where he encouraged her to take the reigns for a few moments at a time. And despite her initial disdain towards the activity, she found that it was...kind of enjoyable. She liked glancing around at the scenery of the grassy hillsides as they moved further and further away from the stables, and the slight rush of adrenaline. The crisp feeling of the morning air felt surprisingly nice as well.

"Are you ready to stir her into a gallop?" Bash suddenly asked, halting the horse near the very edge of the grassy hillside.

Her eyes widened in alarm. "What do you mean?"

"This isn't near the maximum speed that this horse is capable of, Kenna. I merely wonder if it's due time to allow her to show us her true potential."

Kenna was conflicted. She had been enjoying the relatively slow pace that the horse had been going at up until now. She also didn't want to back down from his suggestion...not when she had already come this far.

Even so, she knew that she had to know her limits.

"I don't know if i'm ready for that. You've barely allowed me full control of her even at the slow pace."

Bash gave a short, albeit hearty chuckle. "I'll be the only one taking over the reigns this time. I only wanted to know if you were up for the adventure." He could obviously sense the anxiousness she was feeling because he made a move to wrap his arms even more securely around her. "Everything will be fine. I'd like to think you know that I would never allow you to be harmed. But if..."

"No, i'm ready. Just...get on with it before I change my mind!"

Thankfully, he did what she ordered without further questioning. In much too short of time for her case, the horse sped off.

By the time that the ride was over, Kenna was fairly sure that her hair now resembled a haystack. She made a mental note to get that taken care of the moment she returned to their chambers.

Bash was the first to jump back down onto the ground and when he turned to face her, his eyebrows rose at the sight of her still firmly seated on the saddle.

"Do you have any plans of coming down?"

Kenna huffed, trying to mask the small amount of fear she felt as she stared down at the ground...which once again, looked much too far away for her comfort. "How do I get down?"

"In nearly the same way you got up. Place one of your feet on the stirrup first and then place the other on the ground."

When she still continued to hesitate, he sighed and stepped closer, reaching up a hand for her. "Come on. I won't let you fall."

After a few minutes of frantic fumbling on her part, they were finally both standing on the ground once more. Kenna walked alongside him as he took the horse back to the stables, musing on the day's events.

She already knew that horseback riding was never going to be a daily part of her life, but she supposed she could endure it if it meant being a part of something that Bash obviously enjoyed doing. That was part of the arrangement they had made with each other, after all...letting the other in each other's lives more often as long as both parities were willing to compromise on the activities from time to time. Besides...she found that it actually wasn't all that terrible...and some aspects of it were even enjoyable.

And now she could reap the benefits that came with tomorrow being her turn. And on just the right day.

"For tomorrow, I want you to escort me to the feast that's being held," Kenna said as Bash directed the horse back into her stall. "It most likely won't be the grandest of events, but it's been far too long of a time since i've gotten to attend a large social gathering. And I have the perfect dress for it."

She knew full well that Bash wasn't very fond of parties and feasts...but he knew it was important to her. And since she had just braved a galloping horse for him, she figured that it was a fair trade.

But the slight grimace on Bash's face only lasted a few seconds and it was replaced with a charming smile. He gently pulled her into an embrace, kissing her on the lips softly and tenderly before he spoke. "I would be honored to be your escort, my wife."

Kenna held back a squeal of excitement and instead, settled for a smile of her own before pulling him into another, more passionate kiss.

A/N: Eh. The ending was a little abrupt because I didn't know how else to end it without dragging it out too much. But I hope it wasn't bad for my first Reign fic.