I headed back to the fifteenth the next morning for a fun filled day of um: stamina training, sword training, archery practice and then more stamina training. The previous evening Sir Pelli had found my timetable very amusing, taking great delight in telling me all the ways the physical training instructors enjoyed making apprentices suffer and offering to give me all his bathing slots to wash the sweat and blood off. Even Sir Micah had laughed how we wouldn’t have to worry about me getting the attention of any of the maids once they smelled my laundry this evening.

So I wasn’t exactly feeling great about my day, ok I was a little bit grumpy (in the sense I spent breakfast staring daggers at Sir Flynn when he innocently asked me what I was doing today, the poor man had been out until after I’d turned in last night so obviously missed the mickey taking session. Anyway, I guess this is what I’d signed up for and it was something I’d have to do if I was going to be a knight one day. I reached the fifteenth, went to put my leather jerkin and my sword in a locker and then headed to the training ground where about fifteen other apprentices were milling about all waiting to find out what stamina training was. I spotted a pixie boy standing off on his own, the other human boys weren’t exactly ignoring him but weren’t including him either. Well, I’d never met a pixie before so I thought I’d go introduce myself.

“Hey,” I said, offering him my hand, “I’m Neesh, fourteenth.” The boy looked up and after a moment of confusion took my hand and smiled.

“Hi, I’m Fig,” he said a bit sheepishly. He was tall and slender like all pix and had their pointed ears and small features. His hair was a mossy shade of green, his skin a nut brown and his eyes were golden with pupils similar to a cat’s. However, it was his wings, emerging from slits specially cut into his jacket that intrigued me, translucent and shimmering with a rainbow of colours, the four wings were folded tight against his back, drooping down to his calves. “I’m in the ninth”

“They’re a bit of a pain to be honest,” he said, seeing me staring, “they can get damaged really easily and take ages to heal, plus flying is super exhausting, I can only do it for short bursts - not like a Celestial, I don’t know how those guys can stay up in the air all day.”

“Well they look really cool and I bet flying is amazing even if it is exhausting,” I said.

“Well it is kind of cool I guess,” he said.

“And maybe this stamina training will help with the whole exhaustion thing,” I said.

“I guess, I’m not sure they work that way to be honest, all I know is using them saps both your stamina and mana.”

Before I could continue the instructor turned up, a brawny looking knight called Sir Astell, and before I knew it we were running laps of the training yard. I’ll be honest I lost the will to keep count of how many we did but needless to say I completed the last laps at a trudge, well towards the back of the field. Fig was also struggling, only a bit further ahead of me, I could tell his wings were acting as a drag on him slowing and tiring him, I guess having them wasn’t all good. By the time I collapsed having finished my apparently fifty laps I was a sweaty horrible mess, and looking at the large clock on the west building I realised I’d barely have time to make it to my next class let alone find time to freshen up. At least it was not more physical training. Then I remembered I had a whole additional stamina training session to go through this afternoon and my heart sank.

I waved goodbye to an equally exhausted Fig, who had mathematics next, and headed off to my sword lesson. This was held in the training yard which was lucky as I don’t think I could stagger any further right now than the opposite end of the yard. A dozen training dummies had been set up - one for each of us in the class - and a barrel of blunted training swords stood before us. The instructor, an old knight called Sir Berna basically had us doing sword drills on the practice dummies, repeating simple strikes and slashes over and over, it was both boring and just as tiring as stamina training.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

By the time it was archery training I was relieved for the rest, although my arms were still sore and shaky from the sword training, my archery skill must have somehow helped me, as I still managed to draw my bow and hold it steady. Apparently I was mainly here to familiarise myself with different type of short, composite, recurve bows and crossbows; my instructor, Sir Trent, didn’t think I had the stature for a long bow but as a scout I wouldn’t really need one, it was more important for me to learn to shoot quickly and accurately, rapidly leave and return to cover and from horseback than to use a longbow. It turned out that by accurately he meant consistently hitting a mark smaller than the bullseye on a normal target - this was because the bows I’d be using, except the crossbow, were less powerful than a longbow and I couldn’t rely on my arrows being able to pierce through plate armour. So I had to be able to hit weak points in an enemy’s armour. Still although, I wouldn’t say Sir Trent was impressed he seemed satisified with me, I think I managed to find the mark enough to show I was a competent archer. I was enjoying my moment of self satisfaction when another boy with the badge I know knew represented the third company came up to me, he looked familiar but I couldn't place him right now.

"Hi, I'm Dene," he said.

"Neesh, nice to meet you," I said, wondering why he had come over to talk to me.

"You're a pretty decent archer, better than me at least!"

"Thanks, it's probably the only thing I'm good at though."

"I doubt that, I heard you're the one who knocked out Jerrant."

"You're not about to give me trouble about that too," I said warily.

"Ha, as if! That guy made my life hell for three years. Him failing to make the cut is the best thing that's happened in this city in years, plus he's aged out now, so he can’t ever bother me again."

"Happy to help, I guess," I said, the guy was a twit but I didn't actually do anything out of malice, well much malice, "what's the story then with you and him?"

"We went to the same sword academy, me, a scholarship boy, and him and his ilk never lost an opportunity to belittle me for it, bastards, the lot of them. I mean I'm from a respectable family, not rich, but my pa is a blacksmith, he's got a trade. What makes it all better though is he lost to you, a country kid without a penny to their name who walked in off the street. He's going to absolutely hate that, I mean they hated that I was better than them, so you beating one of them is going to make them absolutely furious."

Then it clicked, this was the tall boy who had beaten Alex.

"Oh!" I exclaimed in surprise. "You beat my friend Alex. You were really really good, that final attack I could barely see your blade move it was so fast."

"You're friends with Alex Commoroff?" he spluttered.

"Is that a problem?" I asked, arching my eyebrows.

"No, no, I'm just surprised. I mean how even would the two of you have met. The Commoroffs are the closest thing Malin has to royalty."

"Well your kick sent him flying into me," I said, "and then he stuck up for me yesterday when Jerrant's friends came after me."

"Well fancy that, I thought he was just putting on a polite act but maybe he is a decent guy as well."

"You should meet him and decide for yourself," I said, "have lunch with us tomorrow."

"Alright I will, thanks for the invite Neesh."

I was feeling pretty good, I'd done well with my archery training, made two new potential friends, I wondered if it would annoy Alex to have to socialise with the guy who'd beaten him, I didn't think so, he didn't seem the type to hold grudges; fingers crossed anyway. I was just about to congratulate myself on a day well done when I remembered it wasn't over yet. I still had two hours of stamina training!!