The sky was a soft blue, lined with brushstrokes of light pinks and white that stretched for as far as one could see. Waves of scattered clouds paralleled the rolling hills under them, framing the sky, with it all just beginning to be illuminated in the earliest hours of the morning. Weak sunlight blanketed the town and trees, and shimmered across the surface of a large lake. On the west shore, Nveh knelt down with two buckets, retrieving water. The picturesque displays of the day before it began were ones that he’d grown accustomed to, but that didn’t subtract from their majesty in the slightest.

     He looked up at the horizon as he dipped the bucket down into the water, both as a sight to behold and as a reminder that he needed to be finished with all of his duties by midday. Feeling the second bucket no longer filling, he picked it and the other up, and started towards the knights’ stables.

     His walk through the main parts of town was a peaceful one. No one else was awake this early in the morning, save for a few other squires or servants just as industrious as him. The cobbled streets were empty; valleys of stone running between the mountains of wood and glass that the buildings were. Nveh remembered the time before Rhian’s father had taken up the title of viscount: when these roads had not been even half as populated as they were now. As he continued, he passed through a town square, serene in its unusual emptiness. Looking around, he caught a glimpse of unmistakable flame-colored hair down the way on his right. Nveh sped up, but he was too late.

     “Nveh! Hey, wait!” Rhian’s voice carried through the square, and likely roused everyone in the vicinity. Seeming not to notice Nveh stiffen at his shout, Rhian ran up to him. “You’re tending to the stables, right? I’ll go with you; I got some stuff to do there too.” The early sun and otherwise dead quiet laid Nveh’s reluctance out for anyone to see. He didn’t have time for this. And that wasn’t different any other time Rhian came to bother him.

    Ever since they were seven—the beginning of their squire training—Nveh and Rhian knew each other. In the regiment that was composed mostly of commoners trying to rise, they stood out: Rhian because of his impressive charisma and Nveh, his forte in combat, but both because of the clear preferential treatment they received. Both proceeded through their years, faced with courtesy, laced with derision. In that, they found amiability, but Rhian seemed to think that that brought them closer than anyone else there. So many times during their squire duties, Rhian would approach Nveh, striking up conversation and trying to pull him away from his work, and just as many times, Nveh had to politely decline. But even then, Rhian would not stop imposing on Nveh.

     “Very well,” Nveh sighed, lacking the energy to argue. He wouldn’t have as much of a grievance with Rhian if he would just capitalize on his talents. Everyone knew that the heir was impressive as a strategic commander, but other than when it was absolutely necessary, he squandered his talents, just fooling around instead of training or working.

     Even now, he was half-convinced that Rhian was just skipping out on his work and had nothing to do at the stables, seeing as how his hands were completely empty, but he refrained from pointing that out. He couldn’t even try to guess why Rhian had been badgering him this consistently, either.

     “I can carry one of those buckets you got, too.”
     “I am fine carrying them,” Nveh responded curtly, refraining from interrupting him out of courtesy.

     The two continued on towards the stables, with every one of Rhian’s attempts at small talk being shut down by Nveh. He was determined to not let this irresponsible, carefree picture of nepotism affect him any more than he already had. Until Rhian said something that struck him.

     “Hey, I get that you don’t want to talk to me, but I’ve been wanting to ask: why’s a guy that beat one of the Honor Guard knights still doing the same stuff as all the other squires? I mean, everyone’s seen how good you are, so why’re you settling for stable duty?”

     Nveh flicked his gaze to Rhian, trying to gauge his reaction after his first phrase, but the heir just continued staring straight ahead as they walked. Rhian’s face was completely neutral, not realizing the weight his words carried to Nveh. He was dumbfounded for a moment, and a short pause preceded his response.

     “I… I’m not above any of the other squires. We are all training to reach knighthood, and we are all responsible for doing our parts. Regardless of whether we’ve beaten one of the Honor Guard members or not,” Nveh defended his diligence, feeling almost embarrassed, though he didn’t know why. However, Rhian picked up on it.

     “I like you.”

     What?
     Oh, right. Rhian was just trying to distract him. Nonsense. As always.
     Always, with that roguish grin and those sharp eyes.

     “If you put half of the focus you put into fooling around towards your actual duties, you would be among the best of our number,” Nveh quietly scolded him, uncharacteristically irritated and making no attempt to hide it. “Why are you so insistent on pestering me?”

     Nveh didn’t wait for a response—he stormed off. But as he turned a corner, he heard Rhian’s voice from around the corner.

     “‘Cause I’m not fooling around.”

     Nveh paused his strides for a second, but shook it off, face and ears burning for a reason he couldn’t understand.