*Aaaaaaaah!*... Apolo cried out in desperation, watching as Mateo looked at him curiously.

—Another nightmare, my lord? —Mateo asked, already accustomed to Apolo's shouts upon waking up.

—They always look so real...—Apolo complained as he rubbed his face with his shirt and yawned—... What time is it?... *yawn*... How much longer until we're done with this procedure?

—Not too much longer, the line is moving faster and faster—Mateo commented, pointing with his hand to show that there were still hundreds of carriages to reach the castle—Now they're letting people in groups, it seems the examiners got tired of working individually.

—It's already night, did I sleep a lot? —Apolo asked, not hiding his displeasure at realizing he would still have to wait.

—You slept for over 14 hours, so yes, I'd say you slept quite a bit—Mateo commented, observing with satisfaction as another group of carriages was called to approach the castle.

—I slept for 14 hours?! —Apolo exclaimed like a madman. Immediately, the young noble proceeded to stand on the driver's seat, opening his arms to the sky and proclaiming to the world:

—Thank you, ancestors, for blessing me! I'll be the best magician this family has ever seen: I swear it on my life!

—Seems like sleeping was really a struggle...—Murmured Mateo under his breath, realizing Apolo's eyes had lost their characteristic dark circles, and his face looked healthier than ever.

—I wouldn't celebrate too much, my lord—Commented Orrin from the street.

—Why wouldn't I celebrate such an achievement? —Apolo asked, watching as Orrin fed his carriage horses.

Orrin continued feeding the horses calmly. For the animals, too, it was annoying to make so little progress and spend so much time in a queue, so Orrin knew it was best to attend to them with care. While this was happening, he explained his point of view calmly:

—We've been waiting for over 16 hours, but behind all this, there's a magician who has been examining candidates for over 16 hours straight. And to make matters worse, we're almost last in line. Can you imagine what mood he'll be in when we finally get there?

—With my ancestors on my side, why should I fear? —Apolo said with a big smile. It seemed his mood had completely changed after a good sleep—Even if it's the emperor's own son overseeing this bureaucratic procedure, I'll convince him to grant me the magician's position. I won't waste my time going back to the castle, and I have an oath to fulfill!

—I'm glad you're so superstitious, young sir. If the exam only assesses confidence, you'll surely pass—Commented Mateo, secretly hoping that his ancestors would lend a hand to Apolo. He knew that if the evaluator had a high noble rank, things could get complicated since Apolo couldn't flaunt his main "virtue": his noble blood.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

—I haven't slept this much since I was a child. Clearly, it must mean something...—Apolo commented as he sat back down and watched curiously as Orrin fed the horses —Can I feed them?

—No, the horses don't know you; they'll bite your hand—Mateo commented with concern, knowing his father was about to fall into an embarrassing silence again.

—And how do I make them know me? —Apolo asked, a little disappointed with the refusal.

—Feed them...—Orrin commented in a low voice.

—Oh, well, that's quite paradoxical...—Apolo said, noticing the dilemma.

—Not so much, just use special gloves until the horse stops biting you—Mateo replied calmly —If you want, we could teach you to tame a horse when you become a magician and get your residence.

—No, that's fine. We have plenty of time now, so we could try right now—Apolo replied, reminding himself to act like a servant for the rest of the day —I'll feed the horse, and if it bites me, I'll just take the life of a tree from this garden discreetly. There's no danger for someone with as noble blood as mine.

—Of course, that's how members of your family should handle warhorses—Orrin commented with a broad smile on his face—I'll show you how to approach to avoid making the horse angrier.

Apolo looked at the ground from the driver's seat and realized he was quite high up, so with a red face and in a very low voice, he muttered:

—Help me down...

With much embarrassment, Apolo allowed Orrin to catch him as he jumped down hesitantly from the driver's seat. The young lord was aware that if his brothers saw him afraid to jump from less than a meter high, they'd probably be rolling on the floor laughing. Nonetheless, Apolo filled his mind with the glory bestowed upon him by following his ancestor's advice and tried to mask his embarrassment with it.

—So, how do I approach this noble creature?—Apolo asked, blushing.

—Don't forget that the horses are likely to try to bite you—Mateo reminded with concern. He remembered Apolo giving nonsensical orders to the horses while driving, and the reality was that horses could be even more resentful than humans—These horses haven't been tamed, so they can't be ridden. They're only good for pulling carriages, so they're not very friendly to humans.

—Hold out the apple and slowly put it in front of its mouth—Orrin said calmly—Don't get the bucket of food too close, or the horse will try to yank the bucket out of your hands, and remember they're somewhat annoyed from waiting.

—I've always been liked by animals when I explored the forest, so I'm sure I have a knack with creatures—Apolo said, confidently taking an apple from the bucket and approaching one of the horses.

On the other hand, the horse observed as the no-good who kept confusing it with his nonsensical orders approached with an apple in his hand. However, the horse didn't panic; with patience, it waited for its chance for revenge.

Mateo watched with suspicion as one of his horses was acting more docilely than usual. Initially, this horse wouldn't let a stranger get so close without showing its teeth as a warning. So, Mateo wanted to warn Apolo of the abnormal situation, but the young lord seemed so confident that he might actually possess a natural gift with animals.

Apolo slowly approached with the apple, trying not to agitate the creature. Seeing that the horse seemed to invite him by gently moving its head, Apolo understood that he had gained the animal's trust while driving. Therefore, he decided to approach and give the horse the apple.

To the surprise of the two drivers, the horse gently ate the apple from Apolo's hand and moved its head from side to side as if asking for another.

—Impressive! —Orrin exclaimed, clapping exaggeratedly, as if this were the greatest achievement in his young lord's life.

—Your noble blood really shows, sir—Praised Mateo, realizing from his father's applause that now was the time to boost the lord's confidence.

—Naturally...—Apolo responded with a satisfied smile as he went to get another apple and held it out to the delightful creature—Here you go, little horse. Hope you like it.