Wooden swords met with such force that one flew right out of the wielder's hands, spinning through the air before impaling into the ground. Zeke clutched his right wrist as he winced in pain, “Ow, ow…” his mind focused on the panging ache pulsating up his arm, not realizing Circe and Einar coming closer to check up on him.

“Are you okay?” Circe asked with furrowed brows, “I didn't mean to put so much force behind that hit…I'm sorry…”

“No, it's fine,” Zeke held out his hand for Einar to see. As the knight took his wrist into his palm, he noticed them quiver slightly with the pain. “I twisted my wrist weirdly to try and block it. It's partially on me too.”

“...Yeah,” Einar slowly guided him towards the bleachers, where a first aid box laid ready for usage, “And besides that, I've been noticing this for some time now…but I feel like you're a bit awkward with your right arm.”

“...Really?” Zeke sat down and let Einar tend to his injury. As he watched the knight apply ointment and bandage up his wrist, he continued, “What exactly made you think that?”

“Well, I am technically left handed…”

Einar finished his work in mere moments, letting go of Zeke's wrist as he replied, “Your form is perfect for a beginner, yet each attack and parry felt unnatural. You've been taught to write with your right hand your whole life, yes?”

Zeke glanced at Circe briefly, “Yeah, and what's that got to do with this?”

“I'm just saying that it means you haven't tried using your left hand at all,” Einar went to grab Zeke's wooden sword, handing it into his healthy grip. “It's just my suspicion, but try it.”

After giving a nod to Circe, they returned to the arena. Circe adopted a one-handed grip since Zeke had only one hand to utilize. At Einar's verbal signal, they clashed swords. Their movements became more in sync, if one tried to attack the other, they would manage to twist their blades to block it each time. Despite this, Circe still managed to knock the wooden sword out of Zeke’s hand, claiming victory once more.

“...That was clearly better.” Zeke may have lost, though he felt satisfied with learning something new. He picked up his sword, and the both of them placed their weapons back on the rack.

“It's a rare case, but some people are born with the ability to use both their hands proficiently. You may not have noticed since you've been trained your whole life to be right-handed,” Einar spoke up as they headed over to the bleachers, “Your future lessons will have to be mirrored now. I think it's a fair trade considering that you're fighting at your best.”

Circe elbowed Zeke lightly, “And you can use your right hand when you're feeling playful.”

As Zeke replied with silence and a raised eyebrow, Einar continued speaking, “Anyway, you two did well for today so I won't keep you here for any longer.”

“Have a good day, Sir Einar.” Circe waved goodbye, and the knight flashed her a friendly smile.

“Likewise, my lady. If any of you need me, I will be training with the other knights before lunch time.” With that, Einar left the training ground, leaving Zeke and Circe alone to their own companies.

“Hey Zeke,” Circe called out, a small smile lit up a playful look in her eyes, “We haven't had the chance to visit the stables yet. Wanna go?”

After a moment of consideration, he responded, “Hm, it'd be nice to get familiar with horseback riding for the future…Sure.”

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Walking over to the stables didn't take as long as they thought despite the size of the marquis’ estate. Situated near the servants’ quarters, the stables still maintained a rich aesthetics just like the rest of the buildings surrounding it. A riding course located nearby provided space for practice, and beside it, a large, empty field allowed the horses to roam freely when not on standby.

Only two men occupied the stables, the groom and the stablehand. As soon as they noticed Zeke and Circe approaching, they paused their merry conversation and gave them both respective bows.

“Good morning, my lord, my lady. What's the occasion for this visit?” One of the men they presumed to be the stablehand greeted them with a wide smile. He had a slight accent when he spoke.

“As you can see from our attire, we just returned from the training ground,” Zeke spreaded his arms to the sides, “My lady here came to watch, and she said she wanted to try riding a horse. Could you arrange that?”

The two men shared a glance, their lips widening into joyful smiles. “Right away, young lord.” He turned to his friend, “Sam, you handle Lord Silas’ steed, I'll fetch Becky.”

When the stablehand and Sam the horse groomer disappeared into the building, Circe leaned in to whisper something to Zeke, “Have you ever ridden a horse before?”

“Nope,” Zeke slightly shook his head, “Have you?”

“Yep, only once though. I told you my dad was a bit hardcore, right? He took me to a race course once and I got to ride one of the horses.”

Hearing the joy in her voice as she recalled the past, Zeke inquired with his lips upturned, “That sounds nice. How was it?”

“Haha,” Circe gave a dry laugh, though she remained smiling after seeing the look on Zeke's face, “I fell off the horse and cried a lot. I even screamed how it was my dad's fault since he was the one who took me there.”

“PFFT!” Zeke covered his mouth, “What the heck? Were you young at the time?”

“Yeah, I was ten. Who the heck let ten year olds ride a fricking horse anyway? I should've asked if they had ponies.”

“Were you hurt though?” Zeke wiped a stray tear from his eye, having managed to suppress his laughter but at a cost.

“Not badly, just some bruises since I fell while the horse was standing over mud,” Circe shrugged, “I was more frustrated at the fact that I got dirty rather than falling.”

“My lord, my lady,” the stableman and Sam returned, holding the two horses’ reins each, “We will be waiting for your return here once you're done with your outing.”

Zeke barely had time to react when the men handed over the reins. Looking up, the two horses stared down at him like curious children.

Before he could say anything, Sam beat him to it, “The brown horse is Becky, she's a Welsh Cob that'd been gifted to us by the king, though the marquis gave permission for her to be ridden by anyone.” As if responding to the groomer's words, Becky snorted and lightly shook her beautiful blonde mane.

“And this black one is yours, Lord Silas. He's a Friesian breed you've named ‘Spades’,” Sam paused for a moment, “...Ah haha, you haven't ridden Spade at all, so I suggest it would be wise to get use to each other first.”

“...Thanks.”

Since Zeke didn't say anything else, the groomer and the stableman bowed to the two of them once more. “We will be here if you need us. Enjoy your outing.”

When they finally left, Zeke let out a long breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. “...Circe, I have no idea what to do with these guys.”

He sounded calm, though Circe still noticed how stiff Zeke had gotten, not moving an inch since the reins had been passed on to him. She took Becky's for her own and replied, “Just take them out for a walk first. They seem pretty used to humans so they probably won't go wild on you.”

While Becky had a small stature and gentle appearance, Spades stood just about as tall as Zeke, his silken black fur shimmered softly in the sunlight, showing off the firm muscles underneath. Even the horse's entire demeanor seemed graceful as he stood calmly with his head held high.

“...Do I have to bow to him? I feel like I'm being very disrespectful right now.” Zeke sounded serious.

“Don't be ridiculous,” Circe chuckled as she shifted her focus towards Becky. Gently running her hands along her muzzle, the horse responded in kind with a relaxed exhale. “Hi Becky, I'll be in your care for today. Let's go for a walk, shall we?”

Without leaving any room for Zeke to speak up, Circe turned and began guiding Becky towards the field. Zeke wanted to call after her, but he felt more afraid that his loud voice might startle his horse. Swallowing, he turned to Spades. “...Hello, Spades.”

Spades snorted. Zeke took it as a sign that he accepted his greeting and smiled, “Please don't kick me or throw me off your back. I'll be sure to attend to you more often from now on, so let's get along.”

He waited for a moment to assess the horse's reaction. When Spades showed no sign of contempt, he carefully edged him towards the field. By the time he grew comfortable enough to relax around the horse, Circe had already hopped on Becky and slowly rode her around the tracks. “Oh,” Circe took notice of him, turning the horse along with her. As she spoke, her lips widened joyously, “Look, I still remember how to ride even after all those years.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Astonishment tinged Zeke's tone. Watching Circe steadily increase the speed, he took in the mannerism of both the horse and the rider. Minor movements and shifts prompted the other to adjust, as if communicating through those minute body languages. “...You're amazing.”

“What was that?” Judging by the look on her face, Circe truly hadn't heard him speak.

Zeke turned towards Spades, running his fingers through his pitch black mane, “Nothing.” After a moment, he decided to walk the horse for a bit around the field, “Hey Spades, I will try not to get nervous but you'll have to go easy on me, okay?”

“I don't know if this body will move along automatically like it did when me and Circe had to dance.” The thought flashed through his mind as his gaze fixed on the grass, “I'm kind of scared.”

“I'm going so fast! Zeke look!” Circe shouted from across the field, and there he saw her galloping through the course like a passing breeze, jumping over the obstacles laid out before her easily.

Spades snorted and lightly nudged at Zeke, garnering his attention, “What?” the horse whined and poked him again. Though unsure, he crooked his head, asking, “...Do you want to go for a ride?”

After hearing Spades’ content neighs, Zeke let out a pang of laughter, “Alright, let's go then. Can't let them have all the fun, right?”