Cosimo took one look outside. It had been a miserable ride, alone, and he sat next to the Signor Silvestri who had insisted he called him Zio Giuseppe. Alone mostly in his thought, as the man remained silent during the trip.

He was afraid, not willing to ask him questions. Now, they were on the outside of the major city. It was closer to the countryside, although there was a small town. 

“How much longer?” He asked when they were taking a break. 

The man had stretched, tired from the long ride. It had been a while. 

“We’re close by,” he said to them. 

Cosimo let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he was soon to leave the carriage. He found it constricting, and he went back to the seat and took one on the carriage’s feet. 

Then, they were soon to continue. This last stretch seemed to be endless, as all he saw was forests. He gazed, perhaps even for the slightest hint that they were not anywhere near it. 

“I don’t think you should worry, it’s at most a half an hour ride to the nearby town.” He told him. 

“It seems far.” 

“It’s an academy, and a military one. It’s expected that it would be far, but not far enough.” Just out of the city, but close enough that royals could visit. 

They were now out of the forests. Instead, he came to see an imposing building, perhaps of a few floors, and it was bigger than any building that he had seen. At the top, he saw a clock and a bell. 

Signor Silvestri had put a hand over his shoulder. This looked much older than what he remembered. 

“Thank you, for accompanying me here.” 

“I followed as I had to return to Lonoa anyway, not that far off.” He put his hat on, with only a small smile. 

Cosimo doubted it either way. “You didn’t have to.” 

His father couldn’t find the time to do it although Cosimo would rather seat with a stranger instead of his father for a long trip. Since all he was going to hear was how he needed to not embarass the family; he preferred absolute silence over that. 

“It’s not much, someone should see you off.” He put his hands into his pockets.

He didn’t have any uncles or aunts on his mother’s side; she was the only child and daughter. 

His sisters clung to him until he left, hoping that he’ll not go. But the man had been patient, and waited until they let out all their emotions. 

His father had given him the briefest of goodbyes. 

“I had a stepmother once, who sent me here.” He looked. “I know my sister sees you as a threat. But this was where I found my path i life.”

Cosmi nodded, listening, gripping his own shirt, staring at where he would remain for the next few years. It didn’t feel like home. 

“You know when this was founded?” Signor Silvestri’s blue eyes looked into him. 

“A century ago, was what I heard.” Cosimo knew. 

“Did you know how it started?” 

Cosimo shook his head. 

“It was simply to train them to be loyal to the kingdom, and the monarch alone. This is where his future generals and admirals would be chosen from.”

Cosimo remained curious about a few things. “Was it easy?” 

“Not even close. It was hard for me to reach my status, and the academy is a rough ride.” 

He turned ot him. “What I can expect here?” 

The man only had an unreadable smile. “It’s hard, but I suppose that you’ll do better as you had no attention. The difficulty in moving to any academy is that you’re away from family and hence, alone. But eventually, you would have to learn it.” 

“Thank you for telling me that.” He looked. “Did you have that as a child?” 

The man nodded before ruffling his head. “We are alike in that way. With fathers who saw us little more than assets to  further the family's ambition. It’s the same for your sisters. My stepmother was  a far kinder woman, but I barely remembered my own mother but you don’t.” 

He remembered about his own mother. Signor Silvestri was a man that he wished was his father.  

“I would have to protect my sisters.” 

“That’s up to you to decide,” he finished. “Have you heard the story of Prince Amadeo?” 

“No, I have not.” Cosimo never heard many stories, his mother preferring story tales.

Signor Silvestri started on the short tale. “He was famous for his fights against Jusakiye, but he was born in Rancie. The Rancien king snubbed him when perhaps just having that command and switched to Pannonia.”

“What happened to him after?” He interrupted. 

“I was getting to it.” He looked at her. “He was one of the most successful generals against Jusakiye, turning the stalemate between two empires to the Pannonians having the advantage; and it all started from a humiliation in life.” 

Cosimo nodded, listening to it. “What was it?” 

“A Rancien king snubbed him, laughing when he asked for a command. But he got one in the court of the Emperor,” Signor Silvestri said. “So, do not think that anything bad. I thought this was the worst thing that happened to me, but it had shaped me and gave me strength. I hope that it would be the same for you.” 

Cosimo heard the bell ring, he covered his ears. “Do I need to go in now?” 

“No, it doesn’t start today.” He smiled, the sound not bothering in. 

Cosimo let out a relieved sigh, glad, before realizing. “You would have asked me to go in if it was true.”

The man smiled, 

“There is some advice,” he said. “You can choose to let the world wound you or you to take it in stride and turn it into a strength.”

He was homesick, but he remembered what Ana had told him. One day, he’ll be able to leave. 

This was still an opportunity, even if he wanted to spite his own father.

But maybe, he should seek something else.

“Is there a particular type of soldier that spends a long time away from home?” He asked.

“A sailor or an admiral, those spend a long time in the sea.”

Cosimo could aspire to that.

He looked on, going into the academy, his steps slow and steady.