Unexpected Friends

The barracks were older than the villages. They were also a little bit bigger. The knights led us to the door and Kyle opened the door. We both walked inside and there were two open beds. I took the bottom bunk and Kyle took the top. There wasn't anyone inside. We unpacked and got settled in. I sat down on my bed and Kyle sat next to me.

"To be honest, I'm glad I was put with you." he said

"I was just about to say something similar." I said

"Since I'm a captain, I'll be in charge of this group." he said

"I think we should stay close to each other, until we get comfortable." I suggested

"Yeah, that's a good idea." he agreed

"Do you hear anything about the others here?" I asked

"No. I was hoping they would be here." he said

"What is lower than a lieutenant?" I asked

"A private." he said

"Should we walk around? Or stay?" I asked

"We should get changed and put our uniform and badges on before we go out." he said

"Does that mean you want to stay?" I asked

"Yeah." he said, leaning against me.

The door slammed open and four young men came waltzing in. We both stood up. They turned to look at us. They each went to their bed and waited for us to say something.

"Hello, my name is Kyle Landon. I am your captain. This here, is Rowan Niron, he is a first lieutenant." Kyle said

"My name is Dave Skelton. I'm a second lieutenant." one of them said

"I'm Will Skelton. I'm also a second lieutenant. " the next one said

"I'm Toby Rainsford. I'm a third private." another one one said

"I'm Kent Brierly. I'm a first private." the last one said

"Nice to meet all of you." Kyle and I said

"Likewise." they said

Dave and Will were twin brothers. Dave was taller, but Will was more muscular. They both had brown hair. Dave had blue eyes and Will and green eyes. Toby was short with blonde hair and green eyes. He had a friendly face. Kent reminded me of Kyle, except Kent seemed more cold. He had brown eyes and dark hair. He was solidly built and was average height.

"So, Captain Landon?" Kent asked

"Just call me Kyle." Kyle said

"Sure. Kyle, what kinds of training ideas do you have?" Kent asked

"I have to talk to Commander Krieger. Then I will have a training schedule." Kyle said

"When will we start?" Toby asked

"Tomorrow. Use this day as a day off. Rowan and I will be back later." Kyle said

"Cool." Dave said

"Make sure to change. Commander Krieger will get mad." Kent said

"Yeah." Kyle said

The others began stripping and changed out of their training gear into their uniforms. Kyle and I changed into our uniforms as well. We walked back to Commander Krieger's office. Kyle and him talked for a few minutes. Commander Krieger said he could use any training tactic he wanted. He also said he can do any field training as well. The only restriction was that Kyle couldn't use real swords when sparring. We took our time when walking back to the barracks. We looked around and watched others training. We made sure to make ourselves familiar with the layout of the fort. Commander Krieger also said we are free to leave and go to Kelmarsh whenever, as long as we are back at a reasonable time.

"Hey! You must be the new captain!" a man said from behind.

We turned around to see who it was. It was a tall muscular man with the badge of second captain.

"Yes. Nice to meet you. I am Kyle Landon. This is Rowan Niron." Kyle said

"I'm Frank Gnoins. I'm a second captain." he said

"It's nice to meet you." I said

"Same." he said

"How long have you been here?" Kyle asked

"A few years now. If you have any questions, I'll be able to help you. My barrack number is 15." he said

"Ours is 20." Kyle said

"Cool, we are close." Frank said

"Yeah." Kyle said

"I'll see you around." he said, walking to the training grounds.

"Do you know how many barracks are here?" I asked

"50. Which means there are 300 soldiers here." Kyle said

"That's a lot of people." I said

"Some forts have up to 1,000." Kyle said

"Wow." I said

"We should get back." Kyle said

"Yeah." I agreed

We walked back and were greeted by an empty barrack again. Dinner was in ten minutes so it made sense. The barrack was very dusty and dirty. Although, the other guys did make their beds and fold their clothes. There was just a lot of dirt and mud on the floor.

"We should head to the cafeteria." Kyle said

"Yeah, I'm hungry." I said

"They don't organize the seating, so let's just find two empty seats next to each other." he said with a smile.

"Yeah." I said, opening the door.

The sun was setting as we were walking over. We noticed a young woman talking to a first captain on our way. We weren't close enough to hear their conversation, but she had a first lieutenant badge. I looked at Kyle and he just shrugged. I thought it was strange since women aren't usually allowed to be soldiers. The food wasn't as good as the noodle shop or my mom's cooking, but, in its own way, it was good. We found a seat and coincidentally it was next to Captain Frank Gnoins.

"Captain Gnoins, it is good to see you." I said

"No need for the formalities. Call me Frank. Rowan, was it?" he said

"Yes, sir- I mean Frank." I said

He let out a laugh.

"That must be Kyle next to you." he said

"Yeah." I said

"This is my friend Jack Copper, he is a first captain." Frank said

"Nice to meet you, Rowan." Jack said

"Likewise, Jack. This is Kyle, he is a third captain." I said, pulling Kyle into the conversation.

"Hello." Kyle said, covering his mouth full of food with his hand.

"You, Rowan, just happened to pick the only table full of captains." Jack said

I looked at everyone else's badges. All ten of them were captains. Except for one person near the end, he had a strange badge on.

"Who is that person? And what rank are they?" I asked Jack and Frank, directing them with a nod.

"Oh, that guy. He is the only colonel stationed at this fort." Jack said

"A colonel is below a general." Frank said

"He keeps to himself. To be honest, I've never had a conversation with him." Jack said

"Same, I don't even know his name." Frank said

"How long has he been here?" Kyle asked

"Longer than us. I've been here for two years." Jack said

"He's been here longer than you, and you know nothing?" Kyle asked

"That's not true. He is seventeen and has been here for five years." Frank said

"Five?!" I repeated in surprise

"Yeah. Imagine having amazing sword skills that at the age of twelve you are stationed at a fort and then are given the rank of colonel." Frank said

"It's super impressive. He was trained by the Knights of the Rose." Jack added

"Who are they?" I asked

"You don't know?" Frank asked

"No, sorry." I said

"Don't be. They are a special group of knights. There are only six of them, but they defended a whole village from an invasion. The coolest thing is that they are all in their forties. And they can still do that." Frank said

"Wow." I said

"What invasion?" Kyle asked

"In the Battle of Gergon, which took place when I was nine, a small village called Calat, it is a North village. Kralovia invaded and the six of them defeated the army and Barry Gergon, the commander, was forced to retreat. No lives were lost, well no Remus lives were lost." Frank said

"That was ten years ago?" Kyle asked

"Yeah." Frank said

"I've heard of Commander Barry Gergon. He was executed after losing the battle to six knights. If I'm right, he had fifty men with him." Kyle said

"Yeah, you know a lot, don't you?" Jack said

"I have an interest in history." Kyle said

"So do I!" someone said across the table.

"Can it, Harry!" Jack said

"What! Why?" Harry said

"We are having our own conversation. See how everyone else is having their own conversations." Frank said

"Fine. Fine. I'll just listen." Harry said

Harry was an interesting character. He had emerald eyes and light blonde hair. His hair was longer and he had a beautiful smile. He had muscular arms, but he didn't seem to be extremely muscular. He was very playful with the people around him. He had a calming voice, like an angel.

"Can I ask you two a question?" Kyle asked

"Sure." Frank and Jack said

"What do you think about the war going on between Evermoon and Qarif?" Kyle asked

"We entered the war, but passively." Frank said

"If anything, we are just prolonging the inevitable." Jack said

"That's what I was thinking. It didn't seem like we were doing anything to help fight, just protect." Kyle said

"Attacking isn't the only thing in war. You have to defend." Frank said

"Yeah, but we should help push Evermoon back." Kyle said

"I think this summer the war will end." Jack said

"How?" Frank asked

"I think Evermoon will give up and make a treaty." Jack said

"Well I think, the war is going to continue and Remus will go on offense." Frank said

"What do you think, Kyle?" Jack asked

"To be honest, I think Kralovia will enter the war and fight with Evermoon. Kralovia usually is very aggressive." Kyle said

"That is true." Frank said

We finished eating and cleaned up our table. After dinner is when the training day ends, but people are allowed to do personal training. We walked out with Frank and Jack.

"Jack what barrack are you?" Kyle asked

"14." Jack said

"We are all very close. Once a week, Jack and I do this thing where our barracks spar each other. You, Kyle, should join us." Frank said

"Yeah, I'd love to. When it comes to barracks, do they usually listen?" Kyle asked

"It would be treason for them not to. They don't have to listen to each other, but they have to obey you. You said you are in 20? You must be filling in. That old captain was always drunk." Frank said

"Oh, I see. Thanks." Kyle said

"Did he get court-martialed?" I asked

"Yes." Jack said

"Well, I'm going to go read a bedtime story to my squad." Frank said

"How old are they?" Kyle asked

"You are never too old for a bedtime story, Kyle." Frank said

"Never." Jack emphasized.

"They are sixteen to eighteen. They organize the barracks by age. The older knights are on the other side of the fort." Frank said

"Goodnight, guys." Jack said

"Goodnight." Kyle and I said

Jack and Frank walked off towards their barracks. Kyle and I did the same. We quietly entered the barrack and saw Dave passed out on his bed. Above him was his brother, Will. Toby was in the top bunk in the next set and Kent was on the bottom. Kyle and I quickly changed and climbed into our beds. Kent had a small candle light next to his bed and he was the only one up, he was reading a book.