The Hahn family was absolutely flummoxed when they heard about Caspar's promotion. They had never expected that the once troublemaker Caspar would one day be promoted to be a Captain in the Royal guard.
They spent the entire night celebrating, but Caspar had to rest early that night. Tomorrow he would have to go to collect his new uniform and equipment.
To be honest, Caspar was excited about his promotion, but he knew that not everyone was, The nobles and higher class had monopolized those positions for a very long time. They did not appreciate someone stealing a slice of their cake.
After all, where else would you be able to find a cushy job where you would get all of the honor and glory but without the danger and grit of war. Even ignoring all that, they all had to go to a specialized academy and go through harsh training to gain their positions.
Now, A no-name commoner jumped over all the hoops and gained the rank of Captain no less. While having his thoughts clouded by what is going to happen tomorrow, Caspar soon found himself whisked away into dreamland.
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The next day, Caspar got up early, washed up, and headed towards the Royal guard supply station next to the palace. Once he arrived at the station, he noticed that everyone seemed to be paying attention to him.
Caspar sighed and ignored their gazes as he made his way to the Quartermaster's station. The Quartermaster was an older gentleman, and from his looks, he seemed to have weathered a few wars throughout his time. The Quartermaster looked at him in disinterest and asked in a gruff voice.
"What do you want, lad?"
Caspar took a deep breath as he looked at the old Quartermaster.
"My name is Caspar Hahn, newly commissioned Captain in the Reiksguard."
The old Quartermaster left eyebrow shot up in curiosity as he gave Caspar a grin and said.
"Oho, so you're the pipsqueak that got the whole Royal guard to act as if they're sitting on pins and needles!"
It took Caspar a second to register what the old man said before stuttering a reply.
"I.. I don't...Wha..."
The old Quartermaster laughed at bumbling Caspar and thrust his hand forward for a handshake.
"The name is Eckardt Schuttler, Been serving in the Royal Guard for as long as I remember, If you find yourself in any trouble, you can come find me!"
The people standing around listening to their conversation frowned at Eckardt's proclamation. Caspar, stunned by the offer of protection, smiled at the old man and thanked him.
"Thank you, Sir Schuttler, but I believe I will be able to solve any problem I come across."
"Suit yourself."
Replied Eckardt as he went back to grab Caspar his uniform and equipment. He quickly found what he was looking for and brought it up to the front. The outfit consisted of black pants that had a decorated, long silver line running all the way down the side. There were also long, shiny black military boots.
The top consisted of a collarless white button-up shirt and a black blazer decorated with multiple silver Aiguillettes[1] running down the center of the blazer. The sleeves were also decorated with silver lines showing his rank. While on the shoulder of the blazer were Epaulettes[2] showing his rank.
Other than that, he was also given a black fur cap with a silver skull embroidered on it. But what he was most excited to receive was the semi-straight saber, with its golden handle and handguard and black sheath.[3]
As soon as the saber was put in front of Caspar, he picked it up and pulled it out of its sheath to inspect it. The people around visibly tensed at his action and put their hands on their own weapons.
Eckardt looked at Caspar, inspecting his saber without a care in the world before sighing and telling him.
"You should really look at where you are at before you pull your sword out. Do that inside the palace without a good reason or at least telling someone first, and you might find yourself being put down in an attempted assassination charge!"
Caspar looked around for a second, realizing he was out of uniform and holding a saber in a military base, he sheathes the saber and smiles shyly in apology to old man Eckardt.
"Sorry about that!"
Caspar and Eckardt kept making conversation until Caspar heard a soft voice calling him from behind.
"Umm, excuse me, Captain Hahn?"
Caspar turned around to see a short person with feminine features blushing while looking down. Caspar got confused for a second, he did not know any young noble ladies, certainly not ones that would talk to him in the Royal Guard supply station.
"Uh... Hello there young lady, how can I help you?"
The feminine person raised their head with shock drawn all over their face as they complained.
"I AM NOT A LADY! I am a soldier of the Reiksguard!"
It was Caspar's turn to get shocked, but upon closer inspection, the uniform that the person was wearing was very similar to the one he just got, except for some insignias denoting the rank.
While Caspar was looking at the person, the young man decided to introduce himself with a frown.
"My name is Sven Kindl, I am a soldier that will be serving under you in the Reiksguard third squadron."
Seeing the hurt look on Sven's face, and him being a member of his squad, Caspar decided to apologize for his misunderstanding with an awkward smile and a hand scratching the back of his head.
"Sorry about that, Kindl, but what brings you here?"
Sven decided to accept his apology as he explained the reason he called out to him.
"It's alright, but I was sent by the Reiksguard Commander Carsten Grau to let you know that you are to show up at the Reiksguard base next to the palace in two days so that you may be briefed of your duties and introduced to the other members."
Caspar was stunned by the revelation that Carsten was Commander of the Reiksguard and couldn't help but ask.
"Wait, Carsten is Commander of the Reiksguard??"
Sven Kindl did not know what to do about his Captain's strange question, so he couldn't help but reply in wonder.
"Yes..., Could it be that you did not know that?"
"Well, I always thought it was weird that a normal advisor would follow the prince everywhere!"
Caspar replied with his hang holding his chin as if he had uncovered something huge. Sven Kindl, on the other hand, decided that it was better to ignore his Captain's strange behavior and simply replied.
"Well, Captain, that is all."
Sven Saluted and quickly made his way out as if running away from a strange person.
As Caspar was standing there, he heard a laugh from behind him. He turned to see old Eckardt laughing at the two's interaction before telling Caspar.
"Well, kid, you have a lot to learn about the palace."
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After gathering his equipment, Caspar made his way back home, where he was forced to hold a one-man fashion show with his new uniform to his family.
Caspar looked particularly dashing in his uniform, so much so that his mother and sisters couldn't help praising him for his looks. But after settling his affairs with his family, especially his mother, who was glad that her son would not be assigned to some faraway place. Caspar got some rest while thinking to himself.
'Two days, after two days, everything is going to change.'
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[1] Aiguillettes: An aiguillette, also spelled aguillette, aiglet or aglet, is a cord with metal tips or lace tags, or the decorative tip itself
[2] Epaulettes: an ornamental shoulder piece on an item of clothing, especially on the coat or jacket of a military uniform.
[3] Look up Prussian Death's Head Hussar Uniform to get the look I was going for.