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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍

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A few weeks passed since Samuel was given the position of Wilbur's second-in-command and he was slowly beginning to accept it. The De Vil man liked helping his commander keep order around the camp and plan their upcoming battles. But the blonde boy's main job, and favorite job, was to train the new knights that had just arrived at their camp. From what he was told, all of the new recruits were orphans except for Jason, who ran away from a corrupt household. But none of them liked to talk about where they came from.

Like every other day since being given the position, Samuel found himself working with the young knights on their swordsmanship. He could never explain why but training them gave him a sense of comfort in the dark times. It was as if their training was the only thing he could control in his life. Throughout the day, all of them would work on their footwork before moving on to reviewing how to hold their swords correctly. At the moment, the De Vil boy had them showing him their stances and fighting techniques while he walked around to study their movements

"Nice work, Richard," Samuel praised after watching the thirteen-year-old swing his sword perfectly before the blonde boy turned around to face another one of the boys, "shoulders back, Fredrick."

After watching the boy correct himself, a small smile formed on Samuel's face. Just the sight of their quick improvement showed him that they would be ready for when it was time for them to go into battle. It wasn't long after that when the De Vil boy decided it was time for them to have some fun after a long day of training.

"Alright, boys," Samuel called out, drawing their attention to him before a giant grin formed on the former's face, "time for some sparring."

Their cheers instantly cut through the air in response to his announcement. They instantly dropped the sticks they were using and made their way toward the crate to grab their wooden swords. All of them took a moment to get used to the new piece of equipment and swung them around in the air.

All of them, except for Jason.

Jason was the youngest boy out of all the trainees at the age of twelve. From what Samuel had seen of him, he never wanted to train and always tried to watch their sparring sessions from the sidelines. The other trainees quickly took notice of this and would mock him every chance they had. The Willims boy appeared to be afraid of everything, including his own shadow. And that was something the De Vil boy was determined to change no matter how long it took.

Samuel just watched the boy for what felt like an eternity until Jason finally made his way over to the crate. The Willims boy stared down at the wooden swords before he let out a long sigh and picked one up. He adjusted his grip a few times around the object to get comfortable with it then turned around and walked back to join everyone. Once all the trainees were lined up in front of their instructor, Samuel began assigning partners. "Richard and Liam. Christopher and Jeremy. Fredrick and Alexander. Bradley and Ethan. Logan and Jason."

"Why do I have to be partnered with him? We already know that this is gonna end with Jason on his back in the dirt," Logan complained, causing Samuel to look over at the boy as a wave of irritation washed over the older knight.

"That's no way to talk about one of your brothers," the De Vil boy told him without even attempting to hide the annoyance in his voice. However, Logan continued to stand tall and look up at Samuel with defiance in his eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, the blonde boy saw Jason look to the ground before letting out a quiet sign. The rest of the boys were watching the scene in front of them unfold with shocked expressions on their faces. After letting out a sigh in an attempt to calm his emotions, Samuel turned his full attention back to Logan. "You're done for the day. Go see if Wilbur has any chores for you to do."

"But-"

"Go!"

Logan simply glared up at his instructor for a moment longer before he ran off in the direction of Wilbur's tent. As soon as he was out of sight, Samuel turned around to face the rest of the trainees. They were all staring at where Logan disappeared with mixed emotions on their faces. It wasn't long after that when they finally noticed the De Vil boy watching them, making them morph their expressions into forced smiles as they waited for their mentor's next direction.

"Begin your sparring," was all Samuel said to them before he noticed a couple of them looking over at Jason with sympathy in their eyes.

"What about Jason?" Jeremy asked after turning his attention back to his trainer.

"Yeah, who's he sparring with?" Alexander questioned.

"He can spar with us," Bradley and Ethan offered.

"I'm sparring with Jason," Samuel told them, making all of the boys' eyes widen. Their reactions caused the blonde boy to let out a small laugh before he grabbed one of the wooden swords and made over to where Jason was standing, "are you ready?"

"No," the Willims boy whispered just loud enough for his instructor to head as he glanced up to meet Samuel's eyes. As soon as the two boys made eye contact, the De Vil boy was able to see the sadness within them before Jason quickly looked back to the ground. "I can't do this. I'm too small...too weak."

An indescribable feeling soon began to flow through Samuel's veins as he stared down at the boy in front of him. Silence surrounded them for a moment longer before the De Vil boy found the courage to continue their conversation. "Who told you that?"

"Logan."

At the sound of the young knight's name, the blonde boy let out another long sigh while trying his best to suppress the urge to roll his eyes. "Don't listen to him, Jason. He has an ego that's too big for him. If he doesn't get it in check, it could cause him a lot of problems."

"It's not only him who's told me that," Jason admitted, causing Samuel's eyes to fill with concern before the Willims boy let out another sigh and continued speaking, "my dad and brother said that too before I came here."

The De Vil boy told the rest of the trainees to continue sparring the moment he saw the young knight trying to hold back tears. Once he knew the rest of the boys would be reoccupied for a while, Samuel took Jason to sit down on a nearby log. The two of them sat in utter silence for what felt like an eternity before the blonde boy's attention left the young knights sparring and fell on the red-haired boy sitting next to him. "What happened before you got here?"

"I don't want to talk about it," the Willims boy responded while keeping his eyes glued to the dirt beneath his feet.

Samuel just stared at the boy next to him for another moment before an idea popped into his head, making a smile form on his face as he opened his mouth to speak. "My life was pretty bad before I came here too. I'll tell you my story if you promise to tell me yours after."

Jason didn't say anything at first before the De Vil boy caught his small nod in response before the Willims boy looked up at him with curiosity in his eyes. A smile soon formed on Samuel's face as he began his story of how he was the son of Cruella De Vil and how she and her dogs treated him. Throughout Samuel's entire story, Jason kept his eyes glued to him while taking in every single word that left the blonde boy's mouth. As soon as Samuel finished telling his story, silence surrounded them once again before the Willims boy let out another sigh and looked back at the ground.

"There was a fire and my mother was trapped inside of our cottage. My father and brother told me to go and get her out. I tried but I couldn't get to her. The cottage collapsed with both of us inside. Somehow, I survived but she...she didn't," Jason said in a tone just loud enough for Samuel to hear while trying his best to keep his emotions in check, "they blamed me for not being able to save her. I never understood why they sent me. I was the youngest. How did they expect me to get her out? After a few weeks of taking the blame, I ran away. I kept running until I managed to find this camp. Told them I wanted to be a knight. I don't know why. I'm terrified of everything."

"Might be one of the same reasons I wanted to become one," the blonde boy said after taking a moment to take in all the information that was given to him. His words immediately caused Jason to look up at him with curiosity in his eyes while another small smile formed on Samuel's face. "I wanted to make people feel safe and to make sure they knew I was there for them. I wanted to give people a feeling of safety because I never felt safe at home."

The only response the De Vil boy received was a slow nod from the boy sitting next to him. It wasn't long after that when his eyes wandered over to where the rest of the boys were sparring. After watching his friends for a long moment, Jason turned his attention back to the blonde boy as the first smile Samuel had ever seen from him appeared on his face. "Can we spar now?"

"Sure you're up for it, pipsqueak?"

"Up for taking you down, old man."

"Old man?" Samuel repeated with a confused look on his face and an eyebrow quirked before a large grin appeared on his lips, "that's a first. Just for that, I'm not going easy on you."

Their laughter cut through the air as both of them stood up from the log and made their way over to an open spot in the clearing. After they got into their starting positions, Samuel and Jason instantly began sparring and hitting their wooden swords together. That continued for a few more minutes then the De Vil boy easily sent his opponent to the ground. It only took a moment for Jason to realize what happened before he propped himself up on his elbows and glared up at the older boy, only for Samuel to let out a chuckle.

"How is this fair?" the Willims boy questioned while continuing to glare at Samuel, "you're twice my size and have been doing this for like a hundred years."

"You do realize I'm only seventeen, right?" the blonde boy responded with a smirk while trying his best not to irritate Jason any further, "and you're right, it's not fair. You're never gonna be in a fair fight. The only way to win is by learning what your strengths are."

As soon as he finished speaking, Samuel helped the younger boy to his feet. Jason took a moment to brush himself off before the two of them prepared for another round of sparring. Just as they were about to begin, the older of the two heard his name being shouted in the distance. The De Vil boy instantly let his arm fall as he turned in the direction of the sound, only to find Logan sprinting towards them with a panicked look in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" the blonde boy questioned as soon as Logan stopped in front of him and Jason.

"The Ogres are getting closer," the boy responded through labored breaths before gesturing back in the direction he came from, "Wilbur wants us to move camp. Now."

After quickly calling over the rest of the young knights, everyone rushed back to join the rest of the squadron. It wasn't long after that when they got our orders from Wilbur and began to help pack up their supplies. Once Samuel was finished helping the young knights take down their tent, he met up with Wilbur before the two of them planned on where to move camp. A few of the younger knights were curious as to why they didn't fight but the experienced knights already knew the answer. They needed to join the other squadrons closer to town so they could stand a chance of victory.

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