Once things had been cleared up and the soon-to-be bands had been appropriately sorted, some of the older recruits were told to guide them to their respective rooms in the south wing of the barracks. There, they were told, their mentors would meet them and explain what would be happening over the next year in great detail. These mentors would also answer any questions the recruits had and since training hadn’t officially started, would generally be more gracious. In the ending arrangement, there were six in Etraon’s band, including Aurelius and Etraon himself. A third-year recruit, Carlo, had been assigned to give them a general tour of the place as well as to lead them to their mentor, who was waiting for them somewhere in the south wing.

The barracks were essentially a fortress, built many years ago by the hands of the soldiers themselves. An old inscription of gold gleamed faintly against a stone plaque in the dining hall, something about how the barracks were a home away from home, Etraon remembered vaguely, though the plaque was too high up for him to read it. They were passing by the dining hall again, and he glanced up at the plaque once more. Two second-year recruits were on stepladders attempting to clean it. There was no way for Etraon to see it in any legible form no matter where it was that he was going to be having dinner. Still, the stones around them spoke volumes of the care and detail that had gone into the building of the barracks. Each was cut to fit together like a puzzle, so that none were seen to be jutting out and tar had been smeared into any cracks in the mortar, allowing rain to simply drip off the side of the roofs without wetting the interior of the buildings.

Details regarding his new living space were not all Etraon was picking up; he was also beginning to learn the names and a bit about the backgrounds from which his bandmates had come. They had been redirected to meet a fourth-year recruit who was to take them to their appointed wing, leaving them to chat amongst themselves as they walked if they so wished.

The girl that had caught Theodore’s attention earlier was named Catherine. From the way she carried herself, Etraon knew that she may be hard to handle. He was used to girls who were quieter, even if they turned out to be more like Morgan in the end. Catherine on the other hand, seemingly strong and confident, with an attitude similar to Morgan’s, was different, though he couldn’t quite decide in what way. Her blond hair was cut short, about shoulder length, and gave her a sterner image than most other girls her age. She was also quite blatantly giving the boy next to her, Windsor, the cold shoulder.

“So what’s your father like, Cathy?” he pressed, having been impressed with the knowledge that the famous Wolfe was directly related to his bandmate. Catherine turned to him with an exasperated expression.

“Catherine,” she snapped with an indignant toss of her head, flaring her blond hair out dramatically.

“Oh, come off it, Cat,” Windsor winked at her. “We’re all pals here. A little familiarity will help you to settle in just fine.”

“I said, my name’s Catherine,” she snarled, “and we’re not friends.”

“As her royal Cat-ness commands,” he yawned, stretching languidly. His off-handed reply seemed to infuriate her more. He caught Etraon’s gaze as he turned away from her and winked once mischievously.

Etraon turned away quickly to hide the growing smile on his face. Catherine was clearly annoyed, and he knew better than to add oil to the flames. Windsor reminded him a great deal of Aurelius. Both had short blond hair, but he couldn’t quite decide which one was the more talkative. The look that Windsor had directed at Catherine was intriguing, though whether it was one of expressed interest or just the look he made when he was satisfied with his teasing, Etraon couldn’t guess. The deliberate needling was simply temporary, he hoped as they continued walking. Having Catherine constantly on edge and wanting to strangle Windsor would do nothing for their teamwork. A sheepish grin from Aurelius clearly said that he had thought of exactly the same thing.

A light scurrying of feet came from the right.

“I’m sorry,” the large, bald-headed boy apologized, gasping for breath. “The sentry at the door didn’t recognize me, so I was detained for a while.” Carlo looked unimpressed, but cocked his head in the direction of the others.

“Name?” he sighed, closing both eyes as if this was the most strenuous and tiring part of his job.

“Damon,” the boy replied, reaching into his pocket to retrieve a cotton kerchief, which he used to clean the sweat off his brow. He folded it neatly and returned it to his pack before he continued. “General Theodore said that this band had room for one more, so he sent me here as soon as they-”

“Just get in line,” was the short reply and Damon bowed his head apologetically and moved to join the others.

Etraon decided he didn’t like Carlo very much.

 A light tap on his shoulder caught his attention and he turned, surprised to see no one there. He looked around, wondering just where the tap had come from, and cast a suspicious glance in Aurelius’s direction. His friend said nothing, but a wicked grin had split his face and he was quietly sniggering. Etraon’s eyebrows narrowed in perplexity and Aurelius pointed to a small form that was standing right next to them. Etraon started with surprise as his eyes met the bright-eyed gaze of an auburn-haired girl who was graciously covering her mouth in an attempt to hide her giggles. He had somehow missed seeing her earlier on in the courtyard, noting that her petite form was the likely reason why. His attention had been otherwise occupied in the courtyard, but he still couldn’t believe that he had allowed the girl to pass him unnoticed. His face reddened slightly at the thought and she laughed at what she interpreted as his embarrassment.

“Hello, your Highness! I’ve heard so much about you from Morgan. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” She held one hand out to him in greeting. “I’m Sirena!”

“Just… ‘Etraon’ will do, Sirena,” he replied after a brief pause.

No one had addressed him as ‘Your Highness’ since he entered the barracks, and it caused him to hesitate as he thought up an appropriate reply. He eventually reached out his own hand and shook hers gently in greeting. It had occurred to him that the appropriate response might have been to kiss her hand, but the last thing he wanted was to remind everyone that he had been brought up differently.

“Wait,” he said, catching her wrist gently before she passed him. “What do you mean you’ve heard about me from Morgan?”

“Morgan, the royal medic…?” she spoke slowly, as if he had some trouble understanding what she had said. Seeing that she had no intention of leaving in a hurry or dodging the question in any way, Etraon released her hand. She nodded briefly in acknowledgement and also, perhaps, by way of thanks.

“I know Morgan, but I’m wondering just how it is that you do.”

“Ah,” she smiled then, pleased that they were finally on the same page. “She recruited me directly a month ago, and even made the journey here to the capital with me to put my parents at ease.”

“Which inevitably led to storytelling,” Etraon sighed.

“It helped to pass the time on horseback.” Seeing the expression on his face, she laughed and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “There’s no need to fret, Etraon. They weren’t all bad.”

“Which in other words, also means that they weren’t all good,” he reminded her.

She laughed then, and after promising that they would talk more at a later time, moved on to speak with Aurelius who was more than pleased to be talking to her, Etraon could tell. He made a mental note to remind his friend that staring at a girl, no matter how attractive she was, only had two outcomes. It would, one, make the entire situation awkward, and thereby make the girl nervous, or two, some budding genius would attempt to put one and one together and come up with three. The last thing they needed when they were only just starting their training was teasing, and Sirena, if not Aurelius, certainly didn’t deserve that.

Lance’s group had taken another route earlier on, but they passed each other now, Etraon giving his good friend a brief nod as they walked on without him. Lance returned the gesture, and they continued their separate ways. Having reconciled the idea that despite being in different groups, they would not, in fact, fight each other, Etraon was quite relieved. To make things even better, Theodore had addressed his main concern regarding ending up in different bands; both he and Aurelius would be able to work with Lance again in the future, and though living arrangements dictated one’s time and the people said time was spent with, the dining halls were left open to each recruit to sit elsewhere should they so desire. They’d see each other again, Etraon knew, and he hummed quietly to himself, though he had no particular tune in mind. It was just too good of a day not to enjoy it.

As they continued walking and turned more corners, they ran into fewer people until the only others that they saw were second-year recruits who were being sent on various errands for their commanding officers. Only a few minutes passed before Carlo called them to a halt and gestured into the hallway on their right, pointing towards the room on the very end.

“You’ll find your mentor in there,” he told them, “best of -”

“Carlo!” A steady voice rang out from just beyond the barely open door. “You’re going to find yourself in need of a new hand if you don’t get my trainees in here.”

“They’re coming!” Carlo squeaked.

Etraon raised an eyebrow at his reaction, not quite sure what to make of it. The barracks were filled with all sorts of interesting characters, it seemed. Theodore, for one, had first come across as a gruff instructor only to burst out laughing at the news that an old comrade was still alive. Carlo, for two, had been somewhat unpleasant and surly about taking them through the barracks and was now quaking in his boots like a rat that had been cornered by a snake. A snicker came from behind him, and judging from the sound, it was Windsor. Etraon turned and saw that Windsor’s face was completely expressionless and marveled at how quickly his new bandmate masked the sound. Windsor’s eyebrows raised slightly in surprise at the attention that Etraon was directing at him and winked once as Carlo surveyed them suspiciously.

“I’ll see you later, recruits,” he bade them farewell as he turned on his heel and began to walk away.

Windsor grinned at Etraon and winked once, forcing Etraon to turn his own head away to hide the smile that had appeared of its own accord.

“What were you in the middle of saying earlier?” Catherine called after him. It would appear, Etraon laughed inwardly, that none of them had cared too much for Carlo. No one, especially teenaged recruits, liked being talked down to, and Catherine was certainly not one to pass up on an opportunity to cause trouble for someone who had annoyed her.

“I said ‘best of luck’,” Carlo replied. Damon’s shoulders were shaking and he turned away to hide his laughter, which was unfortunate for them all because Carlo saw the movement and his eyes narrowed as he realized that he had been the center of a joke. “That’s the only time I’ll say it, recruits, so enjoy my well-wishes while they last.”

“Wow, thanks,” Sirena beamed at him. One of Etraon’s eyebrows shot up at that. Sirena was either the most optimistic of their band or she was the best actress of them all. Either way, he was looking forward to working with her.

“Three seconds, Carlo!” the voice came again, more agitated this time. Something flew past the group and a metallic clang against Carlo’s spear head made him yelp in panic and he took off running. All the members of Etraon’s band collapsed to the ground laughing at this point. Disrespectful or not, seeing a third-year recruit jump a foot or so into the air was absolutely hilarious. Etraon clutched at his stomach to keep from doubling over. He had never known that laughing at someone’s reaction could be quite so painfully funny. In more ways than one, he thought as his laughter sent spasms through his body.

“Laugh all you want,” Carlo called back to them. “But with that woman as your mentor, you’re going to need it!”

-----

Author's Note:

This chapter is quite a bit longer than usual because I posted the whole thing all at once (for once, lol).

It felt like it would be too short if I split it in half, so I went ahead and left it whole. Hopefully this wasn't too much reading for anyone. So...let me know? I've been trying to keep each post in the range of 1.3 - 1.6k words, so let me know if that should change or if folks are generally happy with the usual length :)

On another note, I hope you come to love Etraon's/Aurelius's little band. They're here to stay.

xoxo,

Elfarine