Passing by the South Gate, Leyla headed towards the royal stables. The long building that stretched between the inner-keep and soldier barracks glistened with the same ice-material that covered all of the other important structures in the Kingdom. The keep, stables and barracks all ran down the back of an ancient volcano. From this vantage point, Leyla could see two of the four royal houses that were attached to the corners of the inner keep; the House of Quartz and Coal. The higher ranking houses of Iron and Steel were on the opposite side, facing the edge of the cliff.

A group of third-year recruits with orange crescent moons on their lapels stood in salute as she passed by. Leyla nodded, pretending not to notice when one of the less circumspect ones began gossiping before she was out of hearing distance. "Do you think she really dodged three-hundred arrows!?"

Three hundred arrows? Leyla's lip curled in amusement.The sun was low in the sky, the nip in the air slowly turning colder. The horse trainers would be returning from the barren fields beyond the village homes soon. Swinging open the stable doors, Leyla entered the semi darkness and drew in the familiar scent of horse and hay. Tia was probably mucking out one of the stalls again. Manure duty was one Leyla had often been given as a child. Of course the Home's little stable with its two horses was nothing to clean in comparison to this one.

Rows and rows of wide stalls lined the walls, leather saddles hanging on the doors of those which were not currently empty. Leyla peaked into them as she walked further into the dimly lit building, looking for the little girl. Her steps slowed when an angry voice came from a few stalls ahead: "Why am I surprised? Can't you even shovel shit properly, traitor's spawn?"

Fury burned her throat and every instinct in her body told Leyla to run in and tear the bastard into pieces. But that wouldn't help Tia. She was born to runaways, a mother and father who had abandoned the Warrior Kingdom to become No-Landers. If Leyla beat the soldier to a pulp for calling Tia what she was, it would become obvious that she was siding with the traitors' spawn. And then what? There were many who hated Leyla for being a mixed-blood, but couldn't touch her because of her rank. If they knew she cared about Tia, they would take out their hatred on the little girl.

Her fingers curling in frustration, Leyla came to the edge of the stall, taking in the scene. A recruit was stroking a fidgety black horse, his back to Leyla. Beside him, her face streaked with feces and tears, Tia was huddled on her side. Had the bastard kicked her? Calm. Keep calm. But how was she meant to stay calm when she wanted to strangle the lot of them? The recruit who thought he had the right to abuse a 7-year old child. The instructors who refused to teach her any skills, abandoning her to a lifetime of cleaning out stalls. And her parents who had lost her in the woods in their attempted escape, condemning their child to suffer this fate forever.

Her desire to protect Tia was what made it so imperative for Leyla to get promoted quickly. Once Leyla became a Captain, she would be given a personal servant of her choice. Then, finally, she would have the power to pull Tia out of the stables, to give the girl a chance at a better life. As an officer's servant she would command a degree of respect. At the very least, no one would be able to push a shit covered boot into her face. But until then...

"Recruit, care to explain why you are raising your voice next to a skittish horse?" Leyla's tone was silky smooth, belying her feelings.

The third-year turned around, his eyes going wide as his eyes travelled from the silver crescent on her chest to the colour of her hair. He looked about fourteen and with typical Warrior height, was s good hand with taller than Leyla. Nevertheless, her rank had him scampering to stand at attention. "I'm sorry, Sir! I was instructed to take the horse out to the rink but this...girl got in my way."

"You're telling me you're making the horse trainers wait because you couldn't step around some stable girl?" Leyla narrowed her eyes at him, satisfied with his nervous look. "What is your name, recruit?"

"Lorik, Sir!"

"Lorik. Get the horse out of here and report at the climbing wall after training. You'll be doing ten rounds."

"Yes, Sir!" The boy grabbed the horses bridle, crestfallen.

Leyla waited for the sound of horses hooves to fade, before crouching beside the silent Tia. The girl had managed to get herself into a sitting position and was looking at her with wet eyes that tugged at her heart.

"Let's get you to the medical ward."

"No, no Lieutenant," Tia shook her head quickly. "It didn't hurt that bad. I was just... It's just I got a bit..." Scared. The word remained unspoken as the girl bit her lips to stop them from quivering.

A Warrior had to be brave, always. Leyla helped Tia to her feet, feeling her fragile bones under her hands. "Have you eaten?"

Tia nodded, but would not look her in the eye. She had guessed as much. "Take this," Leyla pulled out the small loaf of bread from her inside breast pocket. Because the Warrior Kingdom could not grow its own crops, food supplies brought in from the Greenlands were rationed precisely. When someone took your portion, finding another was almost impossible, especially for a servant with as low a status as Tia. How often did she go without?

"Take this," Leyla said, pushing the bread at the girl when she held up her hand to refuse. "It's an order."

Tia took the bread, clutching it to her breast with two hands. "You are always so kind to me, Lieutenant."

Uncomfortable with the gratitude in the girls eyes, Leyla cleared her throat. "It is against the law to steal someone else's rations. If they take your food again, you can report it to a superior."

"They don't do it a lot," Tia smiled, tearing into the bread. "If I report it, they'll probably come up with other things to do..." Her words trailed off, but Leyla understood her meaning. At the moment she was being harassed for something her parents did; a perceived slight. Things might get a lot worse for her, if people hated her for something she was actually responsible for. Hadn't Leyla learned that lesson all too young? She had never reported food theft either...

"It will be dark soon, when does your shift end?" Leyla tried to inject a positive tone into her voice, but it came out as listless as she felt. Tia's nose was still red from crying, and now that she was standing straight Leyla could see boot marks on her shirt.

"I've only got this stall and one more, down near the door left to clean. Then they'll let me rest."

"I see." Leyla reached out, patting the little girls' head. This kind of physical contact was awkward for her, but it made Tia's eyes smile a little brighter. "I will come by again soon."

With nothing more to say, Leyla turned on her heel and left the stall. In the semi darkness, she waited for a moment or two, listening to Tia's movements as she resumed her work. With her pitiful strength, it would take her hours to get the job done. Leyla had a bit of time before she had to supervise the early evening shift change. Circling her shoulders, she headed for the store room in the back of the building to find an extra shovel.