Tino's heart raced with both excitement and nervousness— he wasn't sure if he was ready for this.
Of course he was a very good stable boy; after taking care of his uncle's horses practically since he was about six years old, he knew the ins and outs of horse care. However, this was the first time he would be taking care of a horse for a knight.
Knights' horses needed to be very well taken care of; they were used for everything, from parades to tournaments to full-out combat, and each horse was different for each situation.
He sat outside of the barn, waiting for the supposed knight to arrive. Tino wondered what he would be like.
A lot of knights are kind of fit, aren't they? But they aren't really that superior… I mean, there's nothing to be nervous about; they're just regular people that happen to have trained for years for battle… right?
Tino had no idea what to expect; he grew up in a tiny village away from any kingdoms for most of his life. Once and a while, one of the King's knights would come to collect tax payments for the kingdom. Tino always remembered them to be scary-looking as a young boy; tall men clad in metal, with swords by their sides and riding the biggest horses that Tino had ever seen.
He only knew the basics; he knew that rich young boys were sent to live with a lord by the time they were about seven years old to become a page. As they learned different skills, their rank reached to squire by about fourteen, which is when they helped the knight more and more, until he himself became a knight at about twenty-one.
When Tino was about thirteen years old, a knight came into the village to collect taxes. As he rode around the village, Tino, who was unaware that he was here, was playing a game of hide-and-seek with his friends. He darted out into the street to find the perfect hiding spot behind a large barrel, but did not see the knight on his horse. The horse lifted its feet up in the air, threatening to crush Tino in an instant. He was suddenly knocked down out of the way before the horse came back down.
Tino blinked in shock as he looked at his rescuer; the boy as much taller than he was and had an intense, deathly glare with his blue-green eyes. Tino shrunk back in fear, but the boy said nothing. Silently, he reached out his hand towards Tino.
The smaller boy hesitated; he was too scared of him to move.
"We're leaving, now; get back on the horse." The knight barked above them. The silent boy nodded and climbed on, riding off from the village.
He never saw the boy again.
Tino shook his head; thinking about all of those memories at once made him dizzy. However, he never forgot about him, or about the slightly hurt look on his face when Tino didn't grab his hand; he always felt a little guilty for that.
I must have given him the wrong idea Tino thought. He sighed and straightened out his tunic; he had to at least look slightly presentable for a knight; after all, they were sons of rich nobles.
Tino saw a horse in the distance riding up pretty quickly. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and before he knew it, he came face-to-face with the knight.
Well, sort of.
Tino was surprised to find that the man had his helmet on along with his light armor, as there were no parades, festivals, or battles going on.
"S'rry, I w's training." The man mumbled, getting off of his horse. Tino raised his eyebrows; he was gigantic, taller than any man Tino had ever seen. The knight turned towards him and stopped in his tracks. "… Y'u look f'miliar…"
"D-do I?" Tino laughed nervously. "I doubt I've ever met you; I'm not from around here." The man took his helmet off and Tino nearly fainted;
A pair of glaring, sharp, blue-green eyes stared him down—very familiar eyes.
It can't be…