She was looking around at all his hard work, and he was happy that he'd done it instead of lapsing in the time of his father's death. He was confused when the queen asked about his family; surely she would have known about his mother being many years passed, but it was possible that she'd not heard about the death of one of her horses or the caretaker, the stable master. He tucked his hair behind his ears and appeared to be somber as he stated, "I fear m'lady that ye hast not heard of the misfortune to your stock of horses. One of the finer steeds was lost yesterday; it was the one you requested to be studded to a mare in another kingdom. My father was lost as well in the tragedy; as such, it leaves me working in your stables alone if you'd keep me, but your minus a stablemaster until you see fit to place one."  He was relieved that she was not to be going out, for who knows what lies out in the woods this day that had caused such a horrendous mess just the day before. He was a bit dismayed at her next question, though he'd heard that she'd asked several times since his mother's death. He supposed there were too many matters of the kingdom that it would be impossible to keep track of the people too, short of the ones who caused problems anyways. he decided to remind her again carefully, "Mother passed away some time ago, and it has been my father and I who've caried on that tradition." As she turned to leave, he felt a bit dismayed that perhaps she hadn't caught all of what he'd said, and now felt heavily pressured to do both the Queen's request on top of the daily tasks done by two people for the care of her horses. He tried his best not to allow the worry to be displayed upon his face just in case she decided to turn about quickly.