No Longer An Outsider

Henry was ready and in his apprentice armor early, but his nervous energy caused him to rush. He was pacing around his house for a long time before finally deciding he should leave.

True to their word, the knights met Henry at the gates which separated the peasants from the middle class.

Henry had never wandered through these gates before, having been warned for his entire two decades of life that he would be shunned or abused if he were ever to step foot inside the walls.

The knights wore their armor, and the silver metal glistened in the early morning sun.

Normally it would be cloudy this early in the morning, but it seemed that the gods were smiling down on the day and offering Henry a proper sunrise for good luck.

There were three knights but four horses, and Henry raised his eyebrows as he made it to the group.

"Good morning, Henry," Trenton greeted him first, and the other knights followed suit. "You can ride, yes?"

The horse Trenton sat on top of was familiar to Henry because he had seen him many times before in the stables. He was a black destrier, a perfect animal to carry such a large knight into battle.

The horse tossed his mane, causing Henry to smile.

It seemed the horse recognized him too. His name was Cole. He was a good horse.

"Of course, sir," Henry responded.

He wouldn't admit it, but riding horses was his favorite part of working at a stable.

Leo owned land a little further away from town, and if horses were housed at the stable for long periods, the stablehands were able to take some horses out for runs so they could exercise and burn energy.

The knight threw Henry the reigns that were in his hands.

This was a smaller horse than Cole, and Henry thought it must be some type of courser due to its smaller stature.

"His name is Axe," Trenton explained. "You can borrow him for the day."

The horse was already saddled, and Henry patted him on the cheek and nose. He could tell the horse was older and more experienced. He had a gentle nature compared to younger courser horses that leaped around and wanted to be at the front of a war.

"We'll ride to the arena, then you can eat breakfast," Maximus said as his horse stepped forward. "Let's go before the stables are full."

Alix was quiet as usual and sat stoically on his painted horse as it ate grass around a fence post. He was the quietest of the group by far, and Henry couldn't help but be nervous in his presence.

Henry easily mounted the horse, and the moment he sat on the saddle, Axe became more excited and stomped his feet. It occurred to Henry that he had never ridden a horse with armor on, but it shouldn't be much different than what he was used to.

"Woah," Henry said, scratching the horse's mane.

Soon they were off on their short journey, and the horseshoes clattered on the well-manicured brick roadway.

From the moment they went through the gate, the buildings around them were much nicer, and the streets were well-maintained. The people seemed happy, and none of them were skinny like the peasants across the brick wall. Even the clothes people wore were more vibrant in color and had fewer holes.

Being middle class was starting to sound good to Henry as he observed his surroundings with interest. Had he aimed too high when he dreamed of nobility? He always thought it would be nice to have the power of a noble, but witnessing the carefree smiles of children made him second-guess his desires.

Adults walked the paths next to the streets leisurely rather than rushing to their next job. He didn't spot a single person begging on the sidewalks or sitting idly because they were simply too hungry to move. It appeared that everything horrible was set aside for the peasantry.

Alix kept his gaze straight forward, but Trenton and Maximus noticed Henry getting lost in the surroundings. Henry had said before that he always lived there, but he was acting like they were in a different country rather than simply beyond the wall.

They only traveled for a half hour before the buildings became bigger, and they were on the far side of the castle compared to where they began.

The greater area was considered the Kingdom of Hydrogia, but there were places broken down into neighborhoods. Most neighborhoods were simply referred to as the cardinal direction they were in.

The arena was in the city's town square. The streets started to narrow, and more people bustled around, only ducking to the side when they saw knights walking through.

Alix was at the front, and Henry was in the middle with Trenton and Maximus on either side of him.

As more people started to take notice of the armed men on horses, someone started yelling, "Knights of Hydrogia!"

The crowd that had been moving to the side to let them pass through started to get larger, and more people were pausing to watch the knights walk by. Their progress became much slower as they moved forward.

Henry kept his head down, feeling nervous at the attention. One look and someone would be able to tell that he didn't belong with them.

The knights surrounding him looked proud, and Maximus was handed a flower, which he smiled at and tucked behind his ear.

It seemed that the reputation of the knights within the walls of the city was much better than it was among the peasants. They were seen as war heroes after their success in battle many years before. All the knights had to do now was protect the kingdom from monsters and patrol the city walls to keep the city safe.

They finally made it to the heart of the town square, and the high walls of the arena loomed in the background, concealing even the castle. It was made of the same light brown brick as the castle, and the edges were worn, making it look equally ancient.

There was a large stable just outside of the arena, and Alix led them in that direction.

After confirming the identities of the knights and Trenton introducing Henry as a competitor, they were able to move forward, and stablehands took them to where their horses would stay while the competition was going on.

They made it to the inside of the arena, and Henry didn't think he had ever seen more people in his life.

He caught a glimpse of the heart of the arena and the number of people spectating the competition as he walked through the hallways beneath the stands. The number of spectators was more than the entire population of peasants outside of the city walls.

The group made it to the largest opening, where most people were walking through to get inside, and the knights stopped Henry and stood in a huddle.

"This is where we register," Trenton explained. "We'll get a good spot in the apprentice bracket since we've arrived early."

Henry only nodded, overwhelmed by his surroundings. He had to focus to hear what anyone was saying.

"The knight's bracket is going to start soon," Alix explained. "Maximus and I will be watching from the audience. There is a reserved section for knights."

"We'll get a pint first," Maximus's expression became mischievous as he looked toward Alix. "Good luck, Henry."

"Good luck," Alix said as he placed a gloved hand on the younger man's shoulder.

It was the first time Alix had ever shown him such kindness, and he smiled in response, bowing his head as he thanked the two knights.

Henry seemed nervous as their group shrank to only two.

"Don't worry. I'll stay with you up until you compete," Trenton said. "I'll be watching from below with you."

Henry gave his thanks, and they went off to register.

It was all becoming more real now that Henry was in the arena and looking around at his competition.

He tried to seem confident, but each knight or apprentice he saw seemed more intimidating than the last.

"You're number 23," Trenton explained. "The knight's bracket will be starting soon. We should go to the apprentice side and watch until it's time for you to warm up."