There were a lot of things that were difficult to adjust to in his new life; a few things he had expected, and a handful he hadn't been prepared for in the slightest. In the whole scheme of things he had never expected to make it to the castle or ever have an audience with the king. He had been thinking that he was just going to be taken to the captain of the guard and be assigned to door duty, simple and done.

Now, that had happened, just with a few more grandiose things ahead of it then he had been ready for. Fairly immediately after setting himself up in his room he did get to meet the captain of the guard and he did get assigned to guard a door. It was just the captain of the royal guard, and it was a much bigger door.

And also the captain was a woman, which was a surprise. And a five-foot-tall pink haired woman at that.

Nino was knocked clean from his train of thought by a rather sudden and brutally vicious blow to the stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs and bringing him to his knees. He planted his hands down hard, dropping his sword and clutching at the thick blue cloth of his unarmored guard's uniform with one gloved hand, fighting to get his breath back as he heard the captain shout out to him.

"ON YOUR FEET LAHIFFE, where do you get off taking a hit like that!? Quit your daydreaming, you're on first spar!"

Nino dragged in a harsh breath through his teeth, groaning a bit as he looked up and across the training courtyard to see Alix Kubdel, sitting up high on a retired stack of training dummies with an amused grin on her face.

"Yes mam'," he wheezed, fumbling for his sword and trying to ignore the guards laughing around him. He just stood as best he could and got his bearings again, taking a look around as his unit prepared for that days sparring run.

It was late summer, practically the end of it now, and he had realized just that morning that it had been almost three months since he first arrived. The kingdom was preparing at large for the Fall planting and, for the most part, the eager gossip about a common boy in the castles' guard was finally starting to die down. He'd reflect on the life of living in a city but he didn't have much to recall, because pretty much since the second he had knocked on the armory door and met his commanding officer he had been pushed to his limit.

He got it, understood it perfectly. He was a farm kid; he knew a thing or two about sword fighting but absolute crap about anything else. He wanted to be stubborn and bold, retaliating against anybody who told him he didn't match up to anyone else, but he couldn't. The fact of the matter was that every member of the guard had been trained to fight since birth and was a thousand times more versed in castle order and societal etiquette then he was. It couldn't be ignored. However, the real thing that set him apart was that he accepted that.

As much as it may have made him grind his teeth in the beginning he kept his head down when he was spat at, but paid attention while he worked. He listened and practiced and worked and he never complained, he just grit his teeth whenever a senior guard would dent his armor or cut through his uniform and he did his job.

And the harder he worked and the more he learned and the better he did, the less they could say to him.

It took him a month to sit at their table as they ate with any kind of confidence. A few of the guys were more accepting and had been encouraging him to ignore the crotchity veterans with their heads up their asses, something he held onto like a lifeline though he'd never admit it. He could always sit with Kim and Ivan and they'd do a fair job of telling anyone else to mind their own if they gave him any problems, but he felt a certain kind of pride when he could sit down and nobody said a damn word.

It took him two months for Rodney to crabbily correct the way he fastened his armor on his own, making a slanted comment but moving over to help him all the same. By that point Nino had been starting to realize that every single time sparring came up during training he was always first pick, and Rodney made a comment about how the captain was really doing him a favor even if it didn't feel like it.

The more guys he took down in one on one matches the less they'd be able to say he didn't belong there, so it was best just to get it over and done with.

And now at almost three months there was hardly anybody he hadn't fought. He didn't always win, he wasn't indestructible. Actually he lost a good handful of matches right at the start, but something about the way he fought like he had everything to prove gained him respect. Over time the guys he was forced to challenge would have a few more remarks and bits of advice then they did insults, and as the tides in the guard houses started to turn so did his matches.

He worked twice as hard and fought with twice the strength because he didn't have any other options, and it had been a straight month now without a single loss.

Didn't mean he was buddies with everybody, as the pulsing pain in his stomach set to remind him. He looked to the side to watch as one of the graying fighters walked away with the shaft of a training spear in his hand and crooked grin on his face, lining up with everyone else for the captain to pick sparring partners to end the day before work set in.

A good number of guys still wanted to see him cut to his knees and sent back to his village, but he took no small amount of pleasure in knowing that, at this point, it was because they were sick of being shown up by him.

Served em' right.

"Done laying around?" Alix shot out, smiling as Nino didn't even pretend to get in line and just took his place at the center of the field. It was a wide space in the western castle courtyard that allowed for significant portions of the guard to train at a single time, while the rest were either on rest or working throughout the castle. The grass had been green and vibrant at one point, but it had eventually been so worn down by countless rounds of weapons training that Nino stood waiting on just a large patch of earth.

"Yes mam'," he replied again, his expression serious enough that she cocked her head.

"No snarky line? That's disappointing," she commented with a chuckle, casting a professional eye over the way he held his stomach. Though she tended to operate with an aloof air she took her job seriously, and she had no intention of letting the other guard get away with that little stunt. Still though, fighting with an injury was good practice, brutal though it may be in training.

The captain shifted her weight, leaning on one knee and tilting her face to rest on propped up hand in a way that made it look like she was really analyzing you where you stood. Her seat put her above the standard eye line of her men but when she stood on the ground most of them had a foot and a half on her. She was small, thin, and sporting a brazen shade of hair. Overall, she was not your typical soldier, and when Nino had first approached her she was impressed that he took her seriously. It showed that he was smart.

It was clear that his very first thought was, 'If this teeny little woman can command the highest rank of the standing military with complete respect and obedience, I absolutely do not want to stand in her way and am just going to do what she says.'

She liked that about him. He respected her lead because he recognized immediately that she had to go through probably twice as much crap as he did to get where she was. She was powerful and she took command, and despite her difficulty gaining respect, she had absolutely no problem maintaining it.

She was silent for a moment, looking down over the gathered guards thoughtfully before settling her gaze once again on her newest recruit. And she had to admit-

She respected him too.

"Nino, this is about the time where I chuck you at yet another opponent to see how you do. I don't believe in just patting you all on the back, you're soldiers not babies. If you're waiting around for someone to give you a biscuit it's not happening." Alix paused, moving now so her knees were spread and she was leaning towards him, head cocked to the side. "You're a fighter and you work damn hard. I feel like you've been through your paces kid, so I've got one final fight for you before I let you off first spar."

Nino stiffened, aware of every guard watching him intensely now. The air was charged with sudden anticipation, and the way the captain grinned at him didn't make him feel any better about it. He tightened his grip on his sword and preemptively settled his footing, meeting the captain's eyes as she said what he was really hoping she wasn't going to.

"If you can take me down I've got something special for you Lahiffe, a move off door duty to something a bit more detailed to see how you handle it. BUT," she countered, moving to jump from her seat and stride forward with the kind of confidence that made him forget she was almost two heads shorter than him. "If you lose," she continued, smirking at him, "I'm gonna finally let Kim off guarding the dungeons and YOU get to replace him. How's that sound?"

The wager hung in the heat of the air like a bear trap filled with gold. Getting the captain off his back in training and finally getting transferred sounded good as hell... but he was not oblivious to what he had to beat to get it. And much like a bear trap yeah, it was the bite that got you, but it was the speed that pinned you down.

Alix waited for his response, sauntering out to face him centerfield and drawing her own weapon into her hand. It was usually a lot safer to use blunt blades to practice, but that's not the sort of thing she believed in. She was in the camp that real swords had a much more... motivational aspect to them.

Nino mulled about for a moment, taking the threat of her seriously but unable to help but smirk a little bit. "Something special huh? More special then the 'honor' of guarding the guest rooms for a summer?"

She quirked an eyebrow at him but laughed along with the rest of the unit, the comment being the closest thing to a complaint he had allowed himself since he arrived. The rest of the men would have complained a hundred times a second if they had gotten the same.

Alix grinned and nodded. "Very special. I think you've earned it, or at least you will have, if you can beat me."

"Won't it be shameful for you to get beat by your underling?" he challenged, smirking to hype himself up. "By a farmboy no less?"

"And what will you say to the prisoners once they realize you got cut down by a woman half your size? We're both outliers here kiddo." She gripped the hilt of the sword in a way only a practiced fighter could and held it before her, smiling at him over the razor sharp line of steel as she said, "Now are you going to fight me or what?"

There was a beat of silence where neither of them did anything... and then all at once, he lunged.

---

There were certain things most people took for granted without realizing it, probably never having noticed it enough in the first place to contemplate what life might be like without it. But you noticed when it was gone, and it crept on you if you never had it to begin with.

Like the sound of your footsteps, but just your footsteps. At some point in their life everyone alive would know what it sounded like to pace down a hallway and only hear the sound of your own footsteps, not the sound of two or three. Always.

The princess closed her eyes as she walked, listening to the two staggered pairs of armored boots walking some distance behind her, with her wherever she went. She slowed a little, her dress flowing over the exposed tops of her feet as she held her step, and a short space back the two others slowed as well.

On other days it might make her angry, but in the moment it just made her sigh.

Alya kept walking, attempting to ignore her 'company' like she usually did and instead focused on the warmth of the sun.

The hallway she walked down was opened on the side, sparse columns allowing for long windowless openings overlooking the numerous courtyards of the castle. The angle of the sun was just right that she was warmed by it as she walked, her hand trailing along the stone wall as she paused to look out, her mind wandering.

It was lovely out, finally starting to cool down from the pounding heat of summer. Still though, she knew how much her little sisters enjoyed the weather and knew that they would be sad to see it go (even if they loved fall just as much and always seemed to forget it). She'd be out with them now somewhere in the fields outside of town, but outings usually took a little more planning than that.

She couldn't just go to the fields to enjoy the weather, as little as that was to ask. Instead it had to be scheduled, and the earliest she could take the twins would be the next day. That was actually better than usual, she had to admit. Most of the time she'd be denied all together, but a small outing like this was tame and her father had agreed to it. He didn't like denying her anything but it always came down to a matter of safety, something she understood even if it annoyed her. If the twins weren't going to be with her she'd complain, but even if she knew it was ridiculous she wouldn't feel comfortable taking a risk to them.

Alya let a sigh slip out, grumbling to herself a little just for the sake of it and leaning on the stone half-wall.

There was little point in complaining about the same things as always, but on days like this she didn't have much she needed to do anyways and she hadn't had the foresight to plan something ahead so she was moping to pass the time. She had another free day tomorrow, which she would be spending with the twins, and after that there would be a long series of boring yet important things to do. Meetings, hearings, lessons, audiences... she sighed again and shook her head, the curls of her dark, red-tinged hair falling over her shoulders as she did.

It wasn't as if SHE had terribly much to do with any of those, it was her parents, but she still needed to go. It was important to learn and observe, and she understood it was her duty but still... it didn't mean it wasn't dull.

'Important' but dull.

It sounded like her.

Alya let the sun heat her face as she stood there with her eyes closed, the sunlight painting her vision red through her eyelids. She enjoyed the sensation, indulging in it for a few moments more before taking a step back, preparing to leave.

It was just as her eyes opened again that she heard a distant and sharp sound, followed shortly by the nearly inaudible sound of cheering and hoots of encouragement. The princess leaned forward over the railing and tilted her head, hearing again another sharp clash, then cheering.

Alya looked down over the courtyards and searched until her eyes landed on the far off space of the yard that the guards used for their own purposes. Normally they would be training or sparing in pairs of two, but today it appeared to be different.

It was quite a distance away but even from where she was she could see that there was some kind of commotion, a full unit of armored men forming a circle around a single match taking place in the center. Alya leaned out further eagerly, her face lighting up in her hope to see something interesting. She was not disappointed.

From where she was it was effortless to pick out the captain of the guard as one of the fighters, her bright head of hair unmistakable. The Captain was a weird one, but someone she was fond of when it came to those who worked in the castle. She respected her strength and determination, her naturally competitive spirit allowing her to make a place for herself in a field that normally no one would have considered her in. Now though it was clear that this was her element, the young woman dancing around her opponent with boundless energy and clearly enjoying herself.

The second fighter was harder to place. Alya knew the names and faces of a fairly good part of the guard but at this distance it was difficult to tell if it was someone she knew. His back was to her for the most part, his foot work shifting quickly to keep the captain from getting behind him and locking her to a certain half of the circle. She kept watching him, but even when he lunged and was forced to counter the captain's attack with rolling towards the opposite side of the field she still couldn't place him. After a moment she turned her head, keeping her eyes on the fight but referring to her own guards.

"Dawlyn," she called, remembering in time who had been nearby to escort her.

"Yes your majesty?" he answered immediately, approaching now that he had been spoken to but stopping short of the window.

"Who is fighting the captain right now? I don't recognize him from this distance." she asked, looking towards him to gesture his attention to the window and then out towards the training yard. As she did there was another sharp clash and the captain lost her weapon, the second fighter attempting to capitalize on it and ending up getting pitched to the ground in the process. In the short amount of time it took for Dawlyn to look out the window the captain had regained her sword and was trying to charge him but he backed up, keeping control of the momentum.

Dawlyn watched for a moment before humming to himself, glancing towards the early sun and then back towards the fight.

"I believe this is still the first spar of the day your highness, which means it's most likely Nino Lahiffe. It's a surprise to see the captain fighting him one of one though."

"Nino..." she repeated absent mindedly, absorbed in the high energy combat. "I don't recognize the name. I thought I knew most of the guards."

"He's new your majesty," he explained, also admittedly engrossed in the fight as the guards around it let out another distant cheer. "He's also been mainly stationed in the guest quarters, so it is unlikely you would have seen him."

"Hm..." she hummed instead of providing a reply, her guard taking it as a queue to return to his place though she hadn't meant it that way. She'd ask him to come back but she knew she wasn't likely to get any kind of conversation out of him so she just continued to watch on her own. For the most part speaking with her guards made them uncomfortable, all of them so caught up in professional stoicism that they almost always restricted their replies to one word answers. Dawlyn personally was more talkative, but even he had a short limit.

The princess just watched, tracking the quick movement with excited interest as the fight seemed to be drawing towards a close.

As the man defended against an onslaught of strikes from his superior the princess watched him closely, his name trailing behind him in her mind as she tried to place why is sounded familiar.

---

Nino's knuckles were white around the hilt of his weapon as he tried to find an opening to counter attack, but it was all he could do to block. He had exhausted his strength advantage and was running out of energy to attack, but the captain was still backing him up with relentless speed.

He had managed a few times to disarm her with sheer power alone but she was always too fast for him to pin her down before she could regain it, and then he'd be right back to where he started. And now he was out of time to think of something clever.

Nino hit the ground hard, the wind getting knocked out of him for the second time as his sword skittered away from him. He was too dazed to try and get up right away, and just like that he felt something cold and sharp against his neck and a small, hard boot against his chest.

He knew he had lost before he even managed to crack open his eyes enough to see Alix's face staring down at him, his captain breathing heavily herself as she triumphantly held her sword to his neck.

Alix let the guards cheer for her as she gathered her breath, absorbing the way Nino tried to hide his disappointment before backing up. She stepped back and lowered her weapon, letting him sit up as she put her sword away.

The cheers died down by the time they both had enough breath to speak, and it was Alix who spoke first.

"Now that was a fight," she said happily, grinning at him as he struggled to his feet. He stood straight for half a second before holding his ribs again, managing a weak smile despite his loss.

"Well-," he huffed, wiping the sweat from his eyes, "I guess I lost my streak."

"You certainly did," Alix couldn't help but goad him, but her position as his superior couldn't allow her to rub it in his face. In reality, she was impressed. "But I wouldn't call that a defeat. A loss sure, but not defeat."

Nino's expression twisted in confusion in a way that made her laugh, and she leaned her weight haughtily on one hip as she explained.

"I asked you to fight with the wind freshly knocked out of you against your superior in command on three months of formal training and you had me going. By all rights I should have been able to knock you down within the first minute but you were clever enough to play to your strengths and drag it out. You did good."

Nino absorbed to compliment silently, his breathing still heavy as he looked around him. Without exception everyone still looked hyped, clearly having been excited by the fight and he took that as a good sign. After a moment he looked back to the captain and nodded in thanks.

"Thank you Captain, I did my best but there was no outpacing you."

"Naturally," she answered with a cocky grin that made him laugh. She walked towards his discarded weapon and picked it up, returning it to him before saying, "I can see a handful of things you need to work on, endurance for one, but you've made huge improvements with technique and your foot work was unbreakable. You won't always be able to rely on strength, so we play up the speed and train your endurance and you'll be able to keep up with anybody just fine."

"Yes Captain," he replied, taking his sword with another nod and moving to put it away. He was looking down and was surprised when she spoke again.

"You'll be transferred out to the escort team first thing tomorrow, your special assignment starts at mid-day so make sure your ass in armor and presentable by then. I don't need a rookie giving us more of a bad name with the princess then we already have."

"Excuse me?" he asked, speaking quickly as the captain made to leave through the ring of guards. "Captain, wait I thought I was going to be transferred to the dungeons?"

Alix paused, turning to look at him with a playfully indignant expression.

"Oh come on, did you really think I was going to let Kim off dungeon work that easily? He's going to rot in there until he can afford to pay for everything he's damaged in the armory with Max." She ignored Kim's agonized shout and the laughter of the unit in favor of continuing to answer, saying, "As far as I was concerned you had already earned a move up and a chance to take a crack at being a personal escort, I just wanted to see what you were made of first hand."

She grinned at his shocked face and laughed as she turned on her heel, pushing through her soldiers and calling his last directions dismissively over her shoulder as she left.

"You'll be the front-man escort for the princesses' outing tomorrow as special assignment. They're a handful and everyone else so far has been crap at handling them, but with your drive you'll probably survive. Just keep the little ones happy and the eldest one from disappearing and you're square. You leave at mid-day and they're your responsibility so don't blow it."

She gave a final laugh and a wave to dismiss the guards to their duties, giving him a somewhat concerning, "Good Luck!" before she was gone.