First Day

The sun was barely peaking over the horizon to chase away the deep purple evidence of nighttime. Clouds were high in the sky, but where the sun was emerging was clear.

Sir Trenton woke up earlier than he normally would as excitement for the first day he would have an apprentice overtook his ability to stay asleep.

He slept with only shorts on and as he pulled his pants on and grabbed a random tunic, he walked to the window and looked out over the training grounds. He could tell it was going to be a good day. By the way, the clouds looked, it seemed the rain would hold off until at least the afternoon or early evening.

Most of the day would be spent showing Henry the ropes and helping him understand his duties and where things were. However, Trenton was most excited for the next time he could get in front of his apprentice with a sword.

There was something about Henry's skill that reignited his love of sword fighting. It made him want to reevaluate his skill and become a better knight altogether.

There were only a few other men to be seen as he went to the stables to retrieve his black horse.

His horse, Coal, was seemingly well-trained and calm, but the moment he put the saddle on, the energy seemed to pour out of the horse and he started stomping his feet.

He also got the other horse, Axe, saddled up so that Henry would have a horse to ride back as well.

"Excited as I am?" Trenton said and scratched the horses behind their ears.

He would give the horses a treat later, but for now, he had to get started, knowing Henry rose with the sun and would likely be waiting for him.

Trenton got on top of his horse and kept the reins of the other horse in his left, nondominant hand.

Loving the feeling of air going through his unruly red hair, he led his horses to go faster and faster. Axe was older and took instruction better than Coal, effortlessly following along despite no one being on his back.

Sir Trenton only had to slow down as he approached the wall and more people were around.

Even without his armor, some could still tell that he was one of the knights by the sword strapped onto his belt and he had to nod his head at passers-by to be polite. With knighthood, there was always an image to keep up so that people could feel at ease around the knights and trust them to protect them.

As soon as he made it to the gate, there was the post he usually left his horse at and he kicked some grass so the horses would notice and could have a snack while he tied them up.

This side of the wall was much more lively than the inner area of the wall this early in the morning. It seemed those who had to do manual labor had earlier starts and he found the difference interesting. It was no wonder Henry never complained about early training.

The last time Trenton went to Henry's house, it was dark outside and only candlelight led them there. However, during the day the state of the house was much worse than he could have ever imagined.

The size was self-explanatory, but the state of the dwelling wouldn't hold through the winter which was only a few short months away. He would have to convince Henry to invest in better wood and plaster with the money he earned before the entire building collapsed.

His hand reached for the doorknob, but the door opened before he could reach it.

"Good morning, Sir Trenton," Henry said with a smile. "I saw you approaching and decided I'd meet you."

"Good morning," he nodded at the younger man. "Do you have your things together?"

Henry had two bags: one in his arms and one on his back.

For a moment, Trenton considered asking him if that was it, but he knew better than to do that considering how empty the house was that Henry came from.

Having said goodbye to his mother the previous night and knowing she didn't rise as early as he did, Henry stepped forward and stood next to Sir Trenton. There was nothing left for him to do.

Not wanting to leave empty-handed, Trenton took the other bag from Henry's hand and set out for the knight's inner wall area.

The trip went without a hitch and they arrived in the knights' area very quickly.

Compared to when Trenton first left, there were more knights on the training ground or tending to other chores around the fortress. He could even smell breakfast starting in the dining hall of the fortress.

They had a long day ahead of them and, despite his stomach telling him to get breakfast, he knew he should put the horses away and show Henry to his room first.

As soon as they walked through the entryway underneath the fortress, down the brick road, and towards their right, there was a building three stories high that connected to the fortress by a wall 10 bricks deep. That was where the knight's barracks were.

The building was enough to house the 50 knights and varying numbers of apprentices that the Knights of Hyrdogia had. When Henry arrived, there were 15 apprentices.

They entered the fortress and went up brick stairs down one hallway. Once on the second floor, they walked outside and found themselves on the wall they had seen from the bottom. There were only about 20 feet of the wall to walk over before they walked into the barracks.

The halls were plain and dark due to the lack of natural lighting. Fortunately, it looked like candles were constantly lit between every other space between the doors. As soon as they got to the heart of the second floor, Trenton stopped at one of the rooms and opened it for Henry.

"Most of the knights are on the first floor so that they can exit quickly in case of emergency," Trenton explained. "This is the floor for the apprentices and few squires who may occasionally stay in the barracks as well."

When the brown wooden door was open, Henry stepped inside first and looked around. He had a small window that faced the village he had just come from and an impressive view of the sea in the distance.

"Just so you can remember where you came from," Trenton's voice was quiet as he observed where Henry's eyes had gone.

Henry turned to the knight who had done nothing but be a blessing in his life since the first time they met. The burly and large exterior of the red-headed knight would be intimidating to anyone, but since he had gotten to know the knight, it was unbelievable how thoughtful he was.

"Thank you for everything, Sir Trenton," Henry said. "I never thought I would be here. Not in a million years would any peasant think this is where they could go."

The knight nodded in response.

Henry's eyes went to the rest of the room. There was a wooden table and chair in one corner, a small wardrobe on one wall, and a twin-sized bed on the other with blankets already there.

The bed didn't even seem to be filled with hay and Henry had never slept on anything besides hay or the ground before in his life.

To most the room would seem small and plain, but it was everything Henry could ever dream of.

He placed his things on the table and decided he would unpack them later. He also had two swords on his waist and he undid his belt so he could leave the sword the Chamoian man had given him.

After redoing his belt and adjusting his trusty onyx sword, he turned to Sir Trenton.

"Shall we get breakfast then?" Trenton said. "This is the latest I've ever eaten."

As soon as they got to the dining hall inside of the fortress area, Henry kept his head down and followed Trenton. He wanted to be confident, but he couldn't bear seeing someone's judgmental gaze in case they were wondering why Sir Trenton chose a peasant as an apprentice.

Soon they were eating porridge and fruits were sitting on the long tables where they ate.

Henry had been eating his fill of breakfast in silence, trying to get out of this area as soon as he possibly could. He had eaten around Sir Trenton and knew that he was a fast eater anyway.

Unfortunately, a spoonful of porridge got stuck in his throat as he heard a recognizable voice at the end of the table where they sat.

"What do we have here?" Commander Lothian's voice made the room quiet.

There was no question it was directed at Henry.

The young apprentice felt goosebumps rise all over his body. Before him was just the man he was hoping to avoid because of how intimidated he made him feel.