Year 3000, day 44.
"The Warrior of Wills, I pray to you. Protect our faith and ideals with your omnipotence."
She opened her eyes after a prayer to the goddess. Her eyesight had worsened over the past couple of years. Her blurry vision adapted to the light spread out by a single wax candle.
"Open your eyes."
Two young boys were seated in front of her. As soon as she called out to them, they opened their eyes wide. Twins by birth, they looked almost identical.
They both had similar black hair, brown eyes, and an extremely fair complexion. Gawain was dressed in a brown tunic, while Godwin wore a black one. Their eyes were stuck on the porridge in front of them, almost drooling at the sight of it.
She picked up her spoon and said,
"Begin."
The boys followed her suit and started to dig into the dish with their wooden spoons.
Their young appetites were on full display. But because of their mother, they had to keep their manners in check.
'If we behaved like animals, she wouldn't let us have seconds.'
She had long, blonde hair, a matching complexion to the boys, and a beauty mark underneath her left eye. The mother was a disciplined and religious woman, expecting the boys to be at their best behavior.
The taste of the buckwheat porridge was as good as it always was. The usual pottage and black bread felt putrid in comparison.
Soon enough, the boys filled up their stomachs with the food. Gawain held in his urge to burp.
It was a farewell meal of sorts. Regina had made it a point to spend some of her savings on it.
She picked up the dirty utensils one by one from the table. After cleaning up, she took them outside to the nearby well to clean the dishes. Godwin gently pushed his elbow against Gawain's side.
"Your turn."
Gawain sluggishly got up from his chair. After stretching his limbs, he followed their mother outside.
The light from the moon was illuminating the area. He pulled out the wooden bucket with the help of the rope tied to the iron wheel. He filled it to the brim with water from the well, and he carefully took it to his mother to avoid the water spilling out.
She started to clean them up.
He turned around to leave, but his mother said,
"Stay."
Regina's voice was slightly trembling as she said those words. He looked at her face with a bitter smile.
She was crying. Her boys had turned 15, and it was time for them to leave for the city. Gawain was on his way to join the military academy, while Godwin would join the monastery. They were both going to leave her alone for a long time.
"Mother, don't cry."
He got closer to her and wiped her tears with his hand.
She had been through a lot to make this possible. Working most of her youth as a maid to raise them, she had kept her dignity as a single mother through her faith and astute nature. She never told them who their father was, and they weren't interested in knowing his identity. As far as ideals go, she was the most important person to them. Poking into a wound that could rekindle an old flame of sorrow was beneath their upbringing.
An expression of anxiety and loneliness, accompanied by an endless stream of tears that made their way towards the earth.
She wanted nothing but a better life for her children.
A tiny teardrop glistened under the single ray that had traveled from the moon's surface.
He was just as sad as his mother.
He mustered up the courage and hugged her gently. The warm embrace added some assurance to her mind.
For a moment, they both cherished each other's company. These were the feelings that instilled the meaning of "family" in a group of people.
She embraced him back with her cold hands.
"Thank you."
The stream of tears started to thin out.
'By the grace of Astarte, I have raised my children well.'
They both separated from the hug. Regina was still not over the heartache of their impending departure, but she composed herself and gave her firstborn a smile.
"It is getting cold out here. You should go inside."
He turned around and raised his face towards the sky.
"I'll wait for you."
He decided to stay by her side.
Godwin walked out of the house with a wide yawn. It was nice to go for a walk after a good meal.
"Your mouth is wide open. What if a bug flies into it like last time?"
Gawain made a joke at the expense of his younger brother, who immediately closed his mouth.
"Much better."
"If I remember correctly, it was you who 'Accidentally swallowed a fly the other day."
Godwin wasn't afraid to give one back. Gawain raised his eyebrow and said,
"That sort of attitude does not befit a saint-in-training."
"I thought that knights were supposed to be pillars of discipline."
"Enough."
A single word. Both of the boys fell silent.
Regina had cleaned up the utensils. She picked up the clean bowls and spoons and said,
"If you don't want to sleep outside, stop bickering like girls."
She walked into the house, and they quietly followed behind her.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Year 3000, Day 52.
"Name?"
The old receptionist looked at the young boy with an annoyed expression.
"Gawain Regina Rolfe."
He picked up his pen and circled a name in red.
He had marked the page with twenty blue circles and three red circles.
Blue was for aristocrats, and red was for peasants.
He handed the recruit a leather bag.
"Uniform, rulebook, and subject books. Make sure that you don't misplace or damage any of it. You will be fined if you lose or damage anything, and the academy will sell your body to pay it off if it has to."
He wrote him a receipt and handed it to the boy shortly after.
"Ground floor, first room from the stairs. Don't peek into any other rooms if you want to keep your head."
Gawain placed his hand on his neck. With an exasperated look on his face, he left the reception.
The capital city of Euphemia, Eleyphis. A place that was starting to feel more and more overwhelming as the days passed. A simple farm boy like him found it hard to digest the capital's atmosphere.
But to fulfill his dream, he had to hold on.
He made his way down the stairs, only to find two rooms opposite each other at an equal distance from the staircase. Heeding the warning from the receptionist, he made a polite knock on the wooden door to his left.
"Excuse me. Is this the dorm assigned for the recruits?"
"Come in."
He grabbed the handle and pulled it back. The dorm came into view, and along with it, the inhabitants.
There were two boys and one girl in the room right now.
Gawain had a feeling that he wasn't going to be greeted by the others. After looking around, he found his locker in the corner.
He sat down on his bed and placed his leather pouch at his side.
Five training manuals, one thick rulebook, a royal blue colored shirt with a Tiger insignia on the sleeve, and matching trousers that were made according to his measurements.
He looked around the room and saw the rest of his fellow recruits dressed up in their uniforms.
'I should put it on."
He stood up and took off his grey tunic. The girl turned away in a hurry, and the two boys were not interested in the first place.
Finely toned muscles, lean posture, and a firm chest. His upper body was in good shape.
He took off his pants. The knee-length braies underneath kept the private parts hidden, and his calf muscles were in good shape as well.
The girl was sneaking a peek every 2 seconds or so. He could feel it, but he chose to ignore her.
'Done.'
The uniform was a perfect fit.
'Knock knock!'
"Open the door."
Someone was outside. The shameless girl walked to the door and opened it up.
A tall and robust man in a red uniform entered the room. Behind him were the remaining 19 recruits that had joined the academy this year. One of them was leading the rest of the pack, and the grin on his face was ominous, to say the least.
"Here. These peasants think that they are allowed to be in the same rooms as us. This must certainly be a mistake."
There were three commoners. All of them were boys.
The man in the red uniform folded his hands together.
'Of course.'
Gawain said to himself. Nobles have to be nobles.
"Every year, fools like you come to me with the same complaint."
The grin on the noble prick's face vanished.
"It has become a ritual in the academy. Annually, someone has to make an example of himself."
He took a deep breath in and shouted his first orders.
"All the knight recruits, go and stand in front of your beds. This is a direct order from your immediate superior!"
He gave them an ice-cold glance. Without hesitation, all of them hurried toward their beds.
"Where are you going?"
The target of attention, the kid who had the urge to complain, was grabbed by his collar before he could escape.
"I said 'all the Knight recruits'."
His mouth was agape.
"You have been expelled as of this moment. Submit your equipment to the reception, and leave the academy premises as soon as possible."
"You can't do this! I am the son of-"
"If you wish to get your family involved, then go ahead. They will lose their status, and you will lose your head. Now hurry up and pick up your bag!"
The boy had no choice but to accept his decision. Fearing what the instructor might do next, he walked toward his locker and took out his leather bag.
He walked by the instructor but soon found out that he couldn't move any further. He was hanging in the air.
"Arrogance will not go unpunished."
The instructor had grabbed him by the collar once again.
"This is the Knight Academy. If you can't tolerate someone, then leave."
He flung the kid outside the door with one hand. The boy crashed into the other door.
"Do you understand?"
All the recruits simultaneously answered.
"Yes, sir!"
He looked at Gawain and then glanced at his bed. The leather pouch was still out.
"5 rounds of the training ground. The pouch must always be in the locker when not in use."
Instead of arguing, he bowed once and said,
"Yes, sir!"
Gawain picked up the bag, opened the locker, took the key inside, placed the bag inside, and locked it up.
"Follow me."
The instructor took him outside the room and gave him directions to the training ground.
Gawain bowed out of respect and made his way toward the training ground as fast as possible.
'He was that harsh with a noble. If I tried to raise my voice, he would have killed me without any hesitation.'
He thought to himself while staring at the area of the training ground.
A memorable first experience of his new academy life. Painful yet eye-opening.