As the witching hour approached, Henry observed the patrol towers of the garrison rising ominously in the distance. Behind the garrison, mighty mountains loomed, reaching up into the clouds. Shortly after, he heard the night patrol completing their rounds around the perimeter.
As he surveyed the scene, the patrol quickly approached the gate, where two knight apprentices were waiting for them.
"Welcome back, Sir Lance and Sir William," one of the apprentices said, saluting them with practiced ease—a testament to their hours of disciplined training.
Without responding verbally, Sir Lance promptly returned the salute, signaling to the apprentices that they had made no mistake. Relieved but maintaining their military posture, the apprentices opened the heavy gate as efficiently as possible. Throughout this interaction, Henry felt invisible, as he was not acknowledged at all. Pretending to be unbothered by the lack of recognition, he continued to observe his surroundings.
As they walked through the gate, Sir William quickly went his own way while Sir Lance continued ahead, leading the horse that still carried Henry. Henry was surprised by the vastness of the garrison; it could easily be likened to a miniature town. His eyes roamed around the various buildings as he took in the surroundings.
Henry's observation was cut short, as he had noticed they had made it into the heart of the garrison. In front of him sat the largest building besides the soldiers' quarters, the garrison's headquarters. The imposing building stood tall amongst the others as a symbol of the entire garrison's strength.
At the center of the main hall of the headquarters stood a tall man. His dark brown, curly hair cascaded down to frame his strong jawline, while his matching eyes held an intensity that captivated those who dared to meet his gaze. His skin was a warm shade darker than most. His lean body was compact with muscles that seemed even more explosive than those of most burly knights. Henry recognized his familiar face as Adar Melrose, the vice captain of the Sinclair knights.
Adar was one of the knights who consistently showed Henry the respect due to being his lord's son. However, the look in Adar's eyes at that moment made it clear to Henry that he would not receive the same level of respect he was accustomed to from him.
"Welcome to your new home, Henry," Adar greeted with a mocking smile, deliberately calling him by his first name instead of 'young master' to set the tone for what kind of stay this would be.
"I know it's late, and you probably want to get some rest, so let me help you out," he continued while walking over to a woolen blanket and a set of commoners' clothes. Not bothering to inspect it, he tossed it to Henry.
Henry, caught off guard by Adar throwing the blanket and clothes at him, didn't react quickly enough. As a result, the items fell to the ground between them in a disorganized heap. The change in treatment he had endured since being dragged out of the castle left him so shocked that he felt frozen in place. All he could do was look at Adar's face, who clearly seemed to take a sick pleasure in tormenting his former young master.
"Hurry up and pick it the fuck up, I don't have all night to babysit you," Lance shouted at Henry while firmly smacking his shoulder.
The sharp sound of the smack echoed in his ears, jolting him back to the chaotic night he had endured at the hands of Lance. In a rush of adrenaline, he sprang into action, darting towards the discarded blanket that lay crumpled on the floor. His hands moved frantically, grasping the clothes as they tangled together in a disheveled heap.
Just a second after picking up all the items from the floor, Henry felt Lance's heavy hand again as he received an even harder smack. "Aren't you going to thank the vice captain for making sure you have clothes to wear and warmth for the night?" Lance said in an almost joking tone. However, Henry could tell by the ache in his left shoulder that it was definitely not a joke.
"Thank you, Ada--"
Henry was cut off by the worst smack to this point, falling down to the ground from the force of Lance's hand.
"That's Sir Adar to you. Try again"
Henry felt incredibly wrong, but he needed this horrible night to be over, so he ignored the pain and slowly got to his feet.
"Thank you, Sir Adar," Henry squeezed out with his head down in submission.
Adar smiled at Henry's forced gratitude, but didn't respond to him, instead shifting his eyes to Lance and pointing towards the west wing of the headquarters.
"Lance, do me a favor and escort him to the headquarters servant corridors. He's not ready to be with the apprentices; he has some catching up to do. I'll handle his training starting this morning."
"Yes, Sir, I'll get it done," Lance said, snapping to attention and executing a perfect salute, which Adar acknowledged and quickly returned.
After a five-minute walk down the west wing of the headquarters, Lance and Henry finally arrived in the servants' quarters. Lance guided him to a small, dark room with no furniture, just a small dented pine-built frame and a straw mattress very past its prime.
Without a word, Lance threw Henry into the room and shut the door to the small room before he had even hit the ground.
Henry didn't even have the energy to be upset; he quickly made his way to the bed and layed down, hoping to dream his way out of his new reality. Unfortunately, he couldn't get comfortable on the old bed, and his scratchy blanket made him itch uncontrollably, exacerbating the issue.
After an hour spent tangled in his thoughts, drowning in a sea of self-pity, he finally succumbed to exhaustion an hour and a half before dawn. He curled up tightly, using his arms as a makeshift pillow, his weary mind gradually slipping into a restless sleep, seeking solace from the turmoil of his feelings.
As the first light of dawn broke over the horizon, casting a soft golden hue across the room, Adar suddenly entered, waking Henry from the comforting cocoon of sleep. This moment marked the beginning of long, grueling days filled with hardship and struggle.
For the next two weeks, Henry rose each morning at the crack of dawn, the chill of early light seeping through the cracks in the walls. He would dash down the headquarters personnel misty track, pushing himself to run until he felt his lungs were on the verge of bursting. After a swift, simple breakfast, he would immerse himself in rigorous training. His routine involved a series of intense bodyweight exercises followed by hours of swinging a wooden practice sword in various stances. Each swing left his arms trembling and exhausted, his grip growing weak as fatigue set in, making the sword feel heavier with every movement.
In the afternoons, Henry's training shifted focus as he learned the importance of military discipline. He was taught to uphold a sense of military bearing at all times, practicing the precise postures and movements expected of a soldier. Alongside this, he immersed himself in the nuances of military courtesies, mastering the respectful gestures and formalities that defined a well-trained serviceman. Each day was a blend of physical exhaustion and mental sharpening, shaping him into the soldier his father, Arnold, thought he should be.
Any lapses in effort were met with increasingly severe punishments, which intensified the longer he endured the training. Each day, the hope that his parents would take pity on him and rescue him from this military training diminished until, two weeks later, it had all but disappeared.
After two more weeks, a month of intense, life-altering training, Henry had finally adjusted to his new reality. He had just completed his final military bearing class.
"Although I had to force your hand, you've really come around, Henry. I'm proud of you. I know you resent everyone for putting you through this, but just remember it was for your own good." Adar said sincerely, with his hand on Henry's shoulder, for the first time in a non-violent manner.
Adar's words left Henry with mixed feelings. He hadn't fully let go of the sense that he had been wronged, but he also knew deep down that his own actions had contributed to this outcome. After a month without women, gambling, and, most importantly, alcohol, his mind had become sharper and healthier. Adar's words of praise were something he had missed in his old life, largely because of how he had lived, and they almost made him shed a tear.
Maintaining his composure thanks to his new military discipline, he stood at attention and responded, "Thank you for your kind words, Sir Adar. I will strive to improve further."
"Good, you'd better, because this is just the beginning. Tomorrow, you'll join the aprentices during the daily spars, you'll just be observing since you having quite reached foundation establishment level 1 yet, since you were so out of shape when you arrived, but don't worry your knight aptitude isn't terrible at a C, so it won't be long before you get the qualifications to become a knight apprentice anyways I've got to go help out in the apprentice training today so I'll see you in the morning." Adar explained, then walked away with a wave.
Henry still had no idea about this foundation establishment business and was too embarrassed to ask, but he did vaguely remember being checked for aptitude at his coming-of-age ceremony on his sixteenth birthday and indeed having a C rank aptitude.
'I'll learn about all this foundation establishment business when I need to, no need to worry,' Henry thought as he made his way to the servants' washroom to rinse off, and then finally his room, making sure he's well rested for tomorrow's new beginning, as Adar had called it.
After a month, he was well adjusted to the feeling of his bed, and so he didn't have many thoughts before he was fully out for the day.