Seeing Sorrel cozying up and comfortable in the stable alongside the loyal steeds of some of the knights made Irene smile as she began her stablehand duties for the day.
Even though she wasn't supposed to pay special attention to him, she still managed to sneak a bit of sweet oats into the food she gave him. There were also a few more scratches on his jaw and forehead than on the other horses'.
"In the stables, your basic duty is to do whatever the knights ask of you," Leif explained, designating himself as her apprentice guide even though the Duke hadn't asked him to that time around.
Irene listened intently regardless. Other than the teenager, Felix, who stood up for her at practice, Leif was the kindest to her. She hoped that he would continue to be that for her.
"What am I meant to do when the knights aren't here?" she asked. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel·fiɾe·net
"Don't tell me you're a noble that gets waited on for even your horse," Leif begged in disgust.
However, what Leif didn't know was Irene was one of the few noble girls who had experience taking care of her own horse. It was a point of pride for Sünsto to be self-reliant which was the reason that even the highest ranked cared for their own animals and forged their own weapons.
However, his disgust frustrated Irene and she slapped him in the shoulder.
"I am not!" she insisted. "Do you think my father would allow his own children to be raised like that?"
Leif contemplated this for a moment.
"You're not really what I would expect Sir Arthur to have as a child at all," he observed. "More of a cub, actually." Leif's blue eyes widened. "That's it! If He's the Wolf of the North, you're the Cub of the North!"
The boy started laughing and Irene could only clench her fists in frustration and frown at him.
"I am not full grown," she persisted. "What a pointless insult."
"Who said calling you short was meant to be an insult?" Leif shot back. "Even if you're tiny, you still put George in his place."
She was a bit volatile. Irritation turned quickly to flattered.
"I did, didn't I?" she asked accompanied with a small smirk.
Leif shrugged but then he was back to duties as usual.
"Since you're insistent you can take care of horses," he began, "all we're meant to do is keep the stables clean and we change out the horses' bedding once a week. If a horse hasn't been taken out in a while, we're allowed to ride them through the meadows to ensure they're getting apt exercise. I usually take them around the entirety of the property before bringing them back. Lucky for you, it's a cleaning day."
He did one stall for her, telling her the steps as he went, but she was quickly left alone. He reminded her that he wasn't there to babysit.
Intent on proving herself, she began doing the steps she remembered him explaining to her.
The horse was taken from the pen and tied to a post at the very center of the stable where there was a bit of food and water for them to consume while they waited.
In the meantime, she scooped out any manure and wet hay and put it in the walkway so that the third stablehand could sweep it away. She found out they sent manure to farmers while the squires would dry out wet hay for fire starters. If they were closer to the beginning of spring, they would have saved it for the gardens to fertilize the soil.
The girl then evened out the ground and spread out what was left of the bedding. She would also add more if needed then bring the horse back.
As she worked, she realized Leif was addressing each horse by name and patting them affectionately. He talked to them as if they were his friends and it made her smile. She met the eyes of one of the horses and raised her faintly reddish eyebrows.
"Leif, tell me their names, please," she requested. "These horses are jealous you're not doting on them so I will have to."
Leif didn't seem annoyed when she continued to ask what their names were each time she went to a new stall so she could give them the quality of service he was giving them.
During the apprentice's stall cleaning, there were only two knights who took their horses out as they went to patrol various places in the duchy. They were surprised to see a new face and even more surprised that it was Sir Arthur's child.
However, Irene's red hair was always a giveaway. It was common in the central region of the duchy where her family was located but on the outskirts, it became less and less common.
Other than the hiccup in morning practice, Irene considered that day to be particularly easy. It was a relief that there were mundane times in the knighthood as well.
Since there were three apprentices in the stables that day, Irene worked on one side of the stalls and Leif cleaned up the other. The third apprentice would sweep the middle whenever the other two had cleared out a stall. He would also organize the storeroom where much of the horse feed and supplies were located. They cleaned it out every couple of weeks to update the butler about what needed to be ordered.
Just as she dared believe that things were easy, a yell was heard easily in the distance because all the doors to the stable were wide open.
She and Leif as well as the other apprentice rushed out of the stables to see what was happening.
The kids looked off towards the foothills and, sure enough, there was one of the knights that day who had gone off on forest patrol by himself. While usually a job that required backup, there was a hiccup in the knights' schedules that day that left him alone.
They looked on in horror as a dire wolf had its claws sunken into the horse's hind quarters. The knight stabbed at the beast while the rest of the pack descended from the hill and approached.
"Find Gunnar! He's in with the Commander!" Leif shouted at Irene. "I will prepare horses. You haven't memorized everyone's horse yet."
That much was certainly true.
"Right!" Irene exclaimed and did what was asked of her.
However, her task wasn't a difficult one because, as she ran towards the Duke's Tower, Sir Gunnar was already walking out the back entrance.
"There are dire wolves attacking a knight!" she exclaimed.