It didn’t take long for Léonce to reach the stables, the smell of horse dung guiding him there. As he came up to the entrance of the stables, the sound of hundreds of horses filled the air, prompting Léonce to feel the sense of excitement continue to well up within him. He practically rushed through the gate. Coming into the stables, he was greeted by two men dressed in worker clothes and coveralls. They looked like farm workers, which wasn’t surprising. Although, what caught him by surprise was the rank on the one man’s collar. Stabbing a pitchfork down into the hay, the man clapped off the dirt and dust as he turned to face the new arrival. The man was fair-skinned, with a touch of a tan on his forearms, face, and neck.

  “And who, may I ask, are you?”

  Léonce stood straight before saluting the man, noting the rank of Lieutenant, “Cadet Leonce, sir!”

  “Oh, you’re that lucky commoner everyone was talking about,” The Lieutenant replied. “So, I take it the Captain sent you to learn how to ride and get your saddle?”

  “That’s correct, Sir. I was told you’d give me all I need to get started.”

  The Lieutenant smiled, shaking his head before turning to the other stable hand, “Oi, boy, I’m heading out. Can you take care of the rest?”

  “Sir!”

  Turning back to Leonce, he motioned for Leonce to move towards the door, “Come on then, lets go,” the Lieutenant said as he made his way past, stuffing his gloves into his belt before the two left the stable.

  “No saddles left?” Leonce asked.

  The man shrugged, “Not the one you’d need, no.”

  Leonce didn’t quite understand what he meant and was about to inquire further until they came to a stop at a separate building connected to the stables. Two large barn doors barred their path forward, and as the Lieutenant pulled a key out from his belt, the doors soon pushed away with the slightest breeze, giving entrance to the two Cuirassiers. Walking inside, Léonce would see what the lieutenant was talking about as the barn was filled with various pieces of equipment, all seemingly blessed or having a rune inscribed upon each, giving the young blond a moment to watch in both awe and envy at what Regiment had at its disposal. If the Lieutenant noticed Leonce’s facial expression, he didn’t show it. Instead, he just kept walking until finally, they came to a storage room guarded by what appeared to be a magical field. Another new wonder for Léonce to discover and one he really wishes Loup was here to see himself.

  “Here we are,” The man announced as the field came down with a flicker.

  Stepping through the threshold, both men were now surrounded by dozens of saddles, each one bearing a unique mark upon its inscribed leather surface. Léonce couldn’t explain what it was he was feeling, but he knew he was in a place brimming with power… ancient power.

  “This – this will be yours,” The Lieutenant said with a huff as he hoisted up the black leather saddle only to push it into Leonce’s arms.

  Léonce let out a small grunt as he felt the awkward weight of the saddle being shoved in his hands, prompting him to adjust his stance so that he could better hold the piece of equipment. With the weight of his gear and now the saddle, he was guessing he had well over a hundred extra pounds on his body. Still, it wasn’t overwhelming, just awkward. Looking at the Lieutenant now, he wondered what else he’d need.

  “One rune-inscribed saddle, one saddle blanket, one carbine saddle holster, and two saddle bags,” The Officer continued, plopping more weight onto Leonce before finally nodding, satisfied that the Cadet had all he needed, “All that’s left now is your horse.”

  The last bit caused Léonce to smile from ear to ear; he was finally getting a mount and the partner he’d have for the duration of his service with the Army. The two walked out, and the magic field came up once again, securing the items within. The walk to the stable was quick, and as they came in, Leonce was instructed to put the saddle and equipment down on one of the rails, and he obliged. With a heave, he rested the equipment on the rail; with it done, Leonce took a moment and loosened up his shoulders after the strain on his muscles from carrying the weight.

  As he rolled his shoulders, he followed the Lieutenant, who took him on a tour of the stable but notably didn’t offer him a horse. Instead, he just told him about the different breeds and what each was capable of. In reality, they were much different from each other in regard to their service to the Regiment. A Rodian Thoroughbred and Thainian Mustang. Both were powerful built breeds, but the only real difference was that one was smaller than the other. The Thainian was taller than the Rodian, but that was all. To Léonce, he considered the former to be the better for the Regiment, but by how the Lieutenant spoke, it was the Rodian most used due to the speed they offered, and when charging an enemy’s flank, it was good to have the faster mount – apparently. Either way, Leonce had much to learn, that much he knew for sure. But finally, they came to the end of the stable, and there stood a single white horse with a silver-grey mane, taller than even the Thainian and more physically imposing than the two breeds combined.

  “Oh shit,” Léonce found himself cursing aloud despite himself.

  The Lieutenant grinned, “And here we come to the final steed in the stable and the most temperamental of the lot. The Julian White,” He said, giving the Cadet a few moments to take in the sight of the horse, “As you can see, he’s a fearsome steed, and extremely rare. So rare in fact they’re often only given to those whom serve as guardians to the Imperial Family.”

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  “I can see why.”

  “Mhm, I bet you can. And, this one here is yours.”

  Eyes swiftly snapped towards the Lieutenant, “Excuse me?”

  Nodding, the Officer opened the stall and ushered Vance in. “You heard me. The Crown Princess herself expressly ordered this. Apparently, she made some deal with you and your brother—something about the two of you becoming her personal Knights… meaning her first two. It's not the type of honour one would give to someone they didn’t trust, which is also partly why the big guys upstairs aren’t too friendly towards you. More so given your standing socially.”

  Leonce understood that bit, hell, even he was a little shocked by the honour initially, but he wasn’t going to reject it – neither was Loup. Such an honour would come to aid them in their future careers as adventurers, which was the main reason for them doing this whole thing in the first place. That, and Léonce had to admit that he had found the Princess alluring before he found out who she really was.

  Either way, he pushed such thoughts aside for now as he came to look at the horse a little close… too close, in fact, as the white stallion turned to face the blond, eyes of red seemingly staring into Leonce’s very soul. He didn’t know how to respond in that moment until it turned away, as though having found some answer that none by he knew. In a way, Leonce felt a little insulted. It felt like he just gave away something personal to this giant of a horse.

  “Seems he likes you,” The Lieutenant noted with a chuckle.

  “I doubt that.”

  “Would’ve started to go crazy if he didn’t. There’ve been several other hotshot officers who tried their luck at taming this handsome creature, and every one of them ended up in the hospital,” He explained as he began to pet the neck of the horse.

  “Seems like he likes you too, so why haven’t you claimed him as your mount?”

  “Wrong. He tolerates me. Essentially, he sees me as a caretaker and little else. If I even tried to put a saddle on him, he’d kick me through the wall without a second’s hesitation.”

  “Goddess…”

  “Mhm, he’s a soldier's horse, and there’s a reason why only the best are given them. As it’s only the best that can actually mount them,” As the Lieutenant finished giving his explanation, he then nodded for Léonce to grab his saddle and gear, “Well, seeing how he’s accepted you, best to try and ready him for riding. The faster we get everything done here, the faster we can get to riding and getting you used to being on a saddle. As you’re going to spend the next few years on one.”

  Léonce did as instructed, feeling a little awkward tightening the straps with a helmet on; he opted to take it off, resting it on a nearby stool before returning to saddling his new partner. The Lieutenant just stood and instructed Leonce on where each belt and strap went, how to ensure it was comfortable for the horse, and such, as he wasn’t permitted to go beyond that without risking the horse’s ire.

  “Have you thought up a name for him yet?” he would finally say after all was said and done.

  Léonce shrugged, “Haven’t really thought of it. I figured you guys already gave him a name.”

  “Nope! It’s tradition to let the rider choose the name. Can’t exactly form a bond if you’re not the one naming them.”

  A tradition of the rider naming their mount made sense. It was similar in nature to a mage securing their contract with a familiar. However, obviously, it would be without the magic annotations. Still, Leonce knew he’d need to think about it a little bit, but for now, the main focus today would be on riding. Leading his horse out of the stables, he moved to the open field where the rest of the regiment was training. He didn’t need to wait long either until the Lieutenant came up with his own horse. After some instruction and some mild trepidation, Léonce was mounted readying to learn how to ride. The next few hours were spent with Léonce, learning all the different march styles while on a horse, how to lead, control, and steer, as well as the additional tasks that came with the art of horsemanship. After a few days of practice, Leonce was eventually able to join the squadron proper. His initial placement with the squadron was met with more than a few pointed glares from both the commoner and noble ranks alike, as many saw the blond as nothing more than an upstart, similar to those in his initial training platoon. Still, he was determined to change their minds.

  But getting to know them would have to wait as he was trying to learn all he could about being part of a cavalry unit. The first thing he learned is that each Squadron within the Regiment was made up of 200 men and women, all armed and trained the same, with only the officers getting ornate uniforms and equipment to distinguish their ranks amongst the rest of the troopers. The Regiment itself had over four squadrons, each commanded by a Captain who’d then select their second in command from one of the different Lieutenants who led platoon-sized formations within that numbered 50 each. From there, troops of ten would be led by the junior most officers, often Ensigns. Each troop had a Sergeant, a Platoon, a Staff Sergeant, and the Squadron itself, a First Sergeant. The idea was to ensure that an NCO would help train, lead, and educate the officers and troopers who’d grow in rank alongside their officer, which made it paramount for each NCO to work with their Officer to ensure they had the chance to grow in rank and pay. Leonce himself had yet to receive a rank in an official capacity, so he was considered a Trooper until graduation.

  Still, it didn’t bother him much, as he was able to take his learning in stride. It was a relatively simple thing to learn, too, given his experience the weeks prior during the primary drill stage he had undertaken with his brother.

  Learning how to ride in formation was both exciting and scary, as was the rush he felt when they surged down the field. Two hundred men and women on horses were charging down the field until they came to the marked flag on the opposite side. Every day would see the unit riding in various formations, ensuring they were fully memorized and each could form up at the appropriate sound of the horn.

  The other part of the training would be sabre drill. Men and women would trot down an obstacle path with various posts up with a melon on each representing a body or head. Each trooper would swing and strike the melons at different speeds, keeping them battle-ready for charging down infantry. At the end of every week, they would practice shooting both mounted and unmounted. Overall, the training was pretty standard. Cleaning, stripping their gear, and maintaining their personal weapons and armour. Leonce found the training with the shorter muskets called carbines to be a little awkward at first, as he was never a firearms expert like his little brother, but he came to become an average shooter. Though, he still wasn’t even close to being at the level Loup would be happy about.

  “Just means he’ll be the one having to handle the shooting~”