Winter 4986, 33 Aoimoth
Shon was still sore after running to exhaustion the night before, and it was only going to get worse. After prayer, the boys weren't led to their lessons as usual. Instead, they were marched outside by Sir Selibra and directed towards the stables.
Shon smiled with the rest of the Squires, though he resisted the quiet cheers many gave as they made their way across the courtyard. For most of them, horsemanship was their favorite part of training. For Shon, it was a very close second.
As a Paladin, he'd known he would never be alone, Hengist would always be with him, but he'd been excited to learn that the knights all eventually gained a second companion, a divinely blessed warhorse that would be an extension of their mind and partner in battle.
Except... now he already had such a companion in Ryuuko... Because he was a Sorcerer... Glancing up at the pseudodragon Shon caught a glimpse of his new sword pommel over his left shoulder, swirling a dark navy blue.
Ryuuko twittered above him, hovering on the updrafts of a gentle breeze that blew some of the fresh snow up from the ground. The familiar wove back and forth over the boys' heads, and Shon could feel the little dragon's curiosity and excitement at this change in routine. He couldn't help but smile just a little broader. Though he couldn't tell if the joy was his own or the dragon's.
Ryuuko landed lightly on Shon's shoulder and he reached up to stroke it, finding the little dragon's head waiting for his hand. It rubbed along his palm, pressing its long neck into him and arching his back up like a cat. He'd already been working hard in his training, but now he felt he had to double his efforts. The pseudodragon was a reminder of what he was. The sword was a reminder that the Temple was vouching for his safety. He wouldn't let them down.
"Where are you going?" Lily's voice called from across the courtyard and the girl herself followed soon after, jogging behind the Squires as they filtered into the stables.
The Major General answered before any of the boys could, turning to block Lily's path as he did, "Today, they will be practicing mounted training. You may watch if you wish, but I don't want you in the stables."
"Why?" Lily looked crestfallen, "I've never seen horses up close before..."
Selibra didn't budge, shaking his head, "You can watch from outside the ring," he waved Master Daunas over but continued explaining to Lily, "Horses are spooked by smoke and fire, and though you appear to have control of your magic, you don't have your clearance. Master Daunas can show you to the practice ring."
Lily's lip jutted out in an exaggerated pout, and Shon sighed, flicking his eyes from Ryuuko to the disappointed Lily. With a sharp whistle, Ryuuko complied with his silent request, brushing Shon's hair with its wings as it swooped off to land on Lily's head. It rubbed her scaled cheek with its own until she finally giggled and accompanied Master Daunas around the other side of the fortress.
The Major General and three other Paladins followed the Squires into the stable, assigning them each a horse. It would be the boy's job to get them fully tacked and ready. The boys socialized as they worked, and Shon ignored them as usual until Zihler led his mare next to Shon's gelding and addressed him directly, "So, we get the most embarrassing lecture of our lives, and you immediately ditch practice to spend some alone time with the only girl in a fifty-mile radius?"
Shon glared over his saddle and, to his surprise, saw Zihler glaring right back. He wasn't teasing, the Squire was genuinely annoyed. "It's not like that," Shon muttered, looking down to tighten the horse's girth and adjust the stirrups.
"Then what's it like? I don't get you, Shon. Do you like her or not? One minute you're offering to let her play with weapons, then the next, you're trying to pawn her off on one of us." Shon's head shot up again despite himself. He arched a very confused eyebrow at the Zihler, who continued ranting, "You spend all your free time with her, but you don't actually do anything different than you've always done."
"What do you expect him to do?" Baradin had started leading his mount past but stopped at the conversation he was overhearing.
Zihler rolled his eyes, ducking his head to work on his own stirrups, continuing, "I don't know, man. But after yesterday I expected something this morning. She was beaming like the sun at him, and he just brushed her off like always."
"I don't brush her off," Shon stated, for some reason feeling more annoyed than he should.
Finished with his saddle Zihler grabbed his reigns but snapped at Shon, "Well? Do you like her or not? Because some of us do, and your cold shoulder is starting to grate. It's not fair to lead her on if..."
"It doesn't matter." Shon snapped back to interrupt him. Some of the first-year boys looked over at the commotion and Shon glared until they looked down, then turned his icy stare back on Zihler, "I'm here to train, not pick up girls. Even if we were allowed, it's just a distraction."
"That's cold, man..." Rehlien muttered, stopping by the door with Baradin.
Zihler sneered at Shon's glare, "You can't tell me you've never rubbed one out. She's gorgeous."
"Don't be crude," Baradin groaned at Zihler, who rolled his eyes, which just pissed Shon off more.
Rounding both horses, Shon brought his face to within a handsbreadth from Zihler, the older boy tried to smirk, but his lip twitched nervously under Shon's glare, "This might be a game to you, but it isn't to me." Shon growled, "If you want to be a Paladin, stop thinking with your dick, and if you really want to impress Lily, then you should know she isn't 'playing with weapons.' She's training harder than half the Squires here. She didn't pick the staff because she wanted to train with me. She picked it because it's a weapon she thinks no one can take away from her. Because it's just a 'stick.'"
"Uh, Shon..." Thom called softly from behind, but Shon didn't break eye contact with Zihler. It had been evident from the beginning that he liked Lily, but if he wasn't going to take her seriously, he didn't deserve to shine her boots.
"She spent her life with next to nothing, and they would take what little she had with the snap of their fingers. Her animals, her books, and her magic. Everything. She's trying to build her life from scratch and become more than just an experiment. If you really like her, then stop thinking about how beautiful her smile is and start thinking about how you can help her keep it."
"Shon, your sword..." Rerves' voice came from beside Thom's, but Shon wasn't done yet.
"It doesn't matter if any of us like her. What matters is that we're here to be Paladins, and Paladins protect people like her. That means making sure she's strong enough to protect herself when we aren't around. Because she isn't going to stay here. She will leave to gods know where and then we will too, and I'll probably never see her again. It. Doesn't. Matter. What matters is that we work our hardest to be the best knights we can be. That's. It."
"Wow, I didn't know it changed color..." Kefir walked his horse around Thom and Rerves and stopped to stare at Shon, who finally looked away from Zihler. Following Kefir's eyes to his shoulder, Shon glanced up to see his sword had grown translucent and sky blue.
"Squires!" Sir Selibra barked from the saddle of his gray mare, "Fall in! Forth and third years, with me in the field. Second and first in the practice ring. Go."
Shon didn't look at Zihler or any of the others as he led his gelding out the back of the stables to the practice ring behind the fortress. He took deep, steadying breaths as he walked, reaching up to stroke the horse's neck. It didn't seem to mind his cold, so long as he didn't stay in one spot for too long.
He found comfort in its solid calm and strength. He had never lost his temper like that before. And in addition to being angry, he was now worried about the implications of his sealing gem changing color. What if it stopped working? No one had been shivering, so it obviously still was, but for how long?
"How pretty..." Lily's voice spoke from the side of the ring, and Shon nearly fell over as his horse sidestepped into him to get away from her. He stumbled forward to keep from falling down and being trampled, his horse pulling on the reigns nervously, continuing to circle around away from her.
Master Daunas pulled Lily back, and she looked concerned as more of the horses tugged at their reigns. "Come on, Missy, let's watch by the wall..." he pulled Lily away but glanced over his shoulder at the obviously stressed steeds.
The horses continued to shy away from the side of the ring where Lily and Daunas watched as the boys practiced. The first-years worked on the basic gaits and steering with their legs, while the second-years were instructed on the more advanced battle commands and staying seated while performing them. Outside the fortress, the third and fourth-years would be practicing mounted combat maneuvers. Eventually, Master Daunas left with Lily, back to the front of the fortress and probably to train there. The boys worked until eleventh bell, when they were finally dismissed to brush down their mounts.
Shon avoided the third-years as they wearily led their horses back in through the front of the stable from their own drills. They would all be sore for the rest of the day and probably tomorrow from so much riding. Still, the practice was enjoyable enough that none really minded. Even if they complained in private.
There was a brief commotion by the door when Rehlien's mare reared in fear, pulling out of the Squire's hands and bolting into the stables straight to her stall. Shon furrowed his brow in confusion, then saw Lily beyond the door with her hands behind her back and her head down, backing slowly away from the stables.
Once they were finished, the Squires were dismissed for lunch and exited the stable to join Lily just as the noon bell began to ring. "They don't like me..." Lily whispered as the Squires approached.
"Don't be silly, Lily, everyone here likes you," Zihler called confidently, his smile wide and genuine.
Lily shook her head, hardly mollified, "The horses are afraid of me..."
Thom patted her gently and briefly on the back, "Maybe it's the fire... Horses don't like fire..." but warhorses were trained not to bolt at fire...
Shon didn't know what to say, but Zihler patted her on the top of the head and ruffled her hair, "It's okay, Lily, I like you enough for all of them." that at least made her smile, and she even giggled as Ryuuko snapped at Zihler's hand and waved its poison tail threateningly at him.
***
