Syri let out a sigh as he lay on the twin-sized bed in the room provided by the manager of the outdoor workers. The room was stationed in the wing of the palace designated for the workers and maids and was humble in size. Syri was grateful he had a large window just above his bed out of which he could watch the sunrise and sunset and observe the birds floating about the courtyard. The furniture was plain, but the zeta did not mind. It was better than what he had growing up.

Syri had passed the interview and would begin working the next day. He had been given the rest of the day to settle into his new environment and become familiar with the workers' side of the palace, the side that the royals never saw. The workers' corridors were always lively as servants and maids came and went throughout the day. Syri turned to look at the set of clothes provided to him that had been set on the single chair positioned in the far right corner of the room and rolled onto his stomach before letting out a long breath.

The zeta closed his eyes and relaxed as he felt the warm, summer breeze float through the opened window and caress the slit of skin on his lower back that had become exposed when he rolled over. A knock on the door brought the zeta from his blank thoughts. Syri slowly opened his brown eyes to gaze at the wooden door. The zeta raised himself on his arms before swinging his legs off the bed and standing to his feet. Syri's bare feet padded on the stone floor softly as the zeta walked to the entrance to his room. The pink-haired rubbed his eye sleepily as he opened the door to reveal a well-built man standing just before the entrance.

"Afternoon, sleepyhead," the man greeted with a wide smile as he lifted his arm and leaned against the frame of the door. He was dressed in the outfit that had been distributed to the zeta. "Are you the new guy?" The male asked with a short lift of his chin. Syri nodded silently in response. The man smiled slightly as he saw the zeta's big, warm eyes staring up at him.

"Who are you?" Syri's voice was quiet as he addressed the stranger.

"I'm Kip. I'll be your mentor and help you settle in. I'm a beta. I'm guessing you're an omega?" Kip raised his brow as he inquired of the pink-haired.

Syri nodded his head in response. "Do you also work in the stables?"

"Spot on," Kip answered chirpily. "So, what's your name?"

"Syri."

"Okay, Syri. It's nice to meet you. You'll be seeing a lot of me from now on. Let's try our best to get along, hm?" Kip said as he extended his hand.

The zeta looked at the outstretched hand for a hot second before slowly reaching out and shaking the beta's hand. The beta's grip was firm as he shook the zeta's hand, the smile on his face growing bigger as he befriended the adorable 'omega'.

"Why don't you follow me, and I will show you around?" Kip offered as he took a step back and tilted his head to the left to gesture down the hall.

"Thank you," the zeta bowed in thanks as he ducked back into his room to grab the key lying on the table before cautiously stepping out into the hallway and shutting the door. Kip waited patiently as Syri locked the door and turned to face him. The beta pressed his lips together and raised his brows at the zeta who came to a silent stand-still.

"Ready?" The beta asked as he bent down slightly to grab the zeta's attention.

"Mm," Syri sounded in response with a short nod. Kip nodded his head a few times as he turned around and began leading the zeta down the hallway. Doors opening and closing sounded as the beta and zeta made their way passed the many doors on either side of the corridor. The zeta stepped closer to the beta as several workers rushed passed him. Kip looked back to make sure the small zeta was faring well in the hurried stream of workers rushing off to continue their duties.

Syri took a deep breath as he and the beta finally broke through the stream of workers and entered the common area that connected three other hallways lined with just as many rooms. Several sofas and chairs lay scattered about as workers took a short break to catch their breaths before continuing their work.

"This is the common room," Kip informed as he gestured to the wide space. "Feel free to come and hang out whenever you're on break or after meals." Syri looked around the room before quickly following the beta down the hallway straight across from the hall from which they had come.

"Kip Inso!" A young voice rang out from behind the two. The beta stopped and turned to see an omega running to him. Kip smiled as he ruffled the boy's hair when the youngster reached him. Syri tilted his head to one side as he observed the omega. He was young, could not be older than fifteen, and had light blue hair with bright green eyes.

"Heyah Ibbi! How ya doing?" Kip asked as he smiled down at the boy brightly. Syri remained quiet and still as the beta and omega conversed.

"I need your help. The captain's vorst is back, but I can't even reach the reins to bring him into his stall." A whine left the boy as he pleaded with the beta for help.

"Okay. I'll be right there," Kip told the young omega as he pursed his lips in thought. "Hmmm." Kip turned his gaze to the zeta standing beside him, his eyes lighting up as he thought of a solution. "Syri, why don't you come and watch as I stable Tran? It will show you some of what we do, so you won't have too big of a day tomorrow. How does that sound? You down?"

Syri readily nodded his head. He would take every opportunity to learn about his duties.

"Great. Follow me, then," Kip said as he crossed the common room and entered the opposing hallway.

"Are you the new guy?" Ibbi asked as he looked up at the zeta who was walking beside him. Syri turned to look at the small omega and nodded his head in reply. "I'm Ibbimon, but you can call me Ibbi!" The boy introduced himself lively with a smile.

"I'm Syri," the zeta answered softly as the two bowed at each other in greeting.

"Nice to meet you, Syri! I'll be working with you in the stables. There are ten of us all together, but you won't have to meet everyone until tomorrow. We don't want to overload you just yet." Ibbi smiled up at the zeta as he talked to the quiet pink-haired who smiled slightly and nodded in response. "Kip is the prince's vorst's main caretaker, and Tran's main caretaker is not here today, so Kip is the best one to stable the captain's vorst."

Syri nodded as he took in the information. The three had exited the corridor and were now making their way to the royal stables. The beta, zeta, and omega walked over the soft dirt as they crossed the expansive courtyard and approached the impressive stables.

"Hoiii! Kip!! Ibbi!" A feminine voice called out as the three reached the entrance to the massive steed housing.

"Bevy!" Kip waved as he quickly reached the alpha holding the brown vorst's reins.

"Thanks for coming," the female alpha said to the beta as she handed Kip the reins. "Calix isn't here, so we thought you would be the best to bring Tran in."

"Mm," Kip sounded in agreement. "Thanks for getting me." The beta turned from the alpha and began stroking his hand on the vorst's muzzle. "Hiya, Tran. How ya doing, buddy? Looks like you've had a long day. Why don't we get you all cleaned and ready to rest, hm?" Kip's voice was gentle as he slowly began leading the vorst into the stables. "How was his condition when he came in, Bev?" The beta inquired of the alpha as he brought Tran to a large stall positioned toward the end of one of the long halls flanking to the right of the main corridor of the stables.

"Both he and the prince were exhausted," Bevy answered as she, Ibbi, and Syri slowly followed the beta and vorst.

"The prince came in with Tran?" Ibbi inquired of the alpha as he cocked his head to the side.

Syri let out a silent breath of relief as he heard the alpha's words. He's back.

"Mm. The captain ran alongside Tran in his wolf form," Bevy added.

"Wow. That's...unusual," Ibbi commented as Kip successfully led Tran into the wide stall.

"Ibbi, grab the bucket, will you?" Kip requested of the omega as he began removing the vorst's saddle.

"Sure thing!" The omega whirled around and ran off toward the entrance while Kip finished removing the saddle and brought it out of the stall. Bevy took the saddle from the beta, so Kip could remove the bridle. Syri watched every step with intent as Kip took the bit out of the vorst's mouth and slipped the bridle off Tran's muzzle.

It was only a few moments until Ibbi returned with two buckets of water in each hand.

"Thanks for prepping the stall," Kip thanked the omega as Ibbi brought the first bucket inside the stall for the steed to quench his thirst. Ibbi beamed at the compliment and readily took the bridle from the beta's hands. Syri watched as Ibbi exited the stall with the bridle while Bevy entered with two brushes."Syri, wanna help me brush him off?" Kip inquired of the zeta as Bevy handed him a brush.

"Sure," Syri answered with a nod as the alpha handed him the second brush. The zeta followed the beta's motion to enter the stall and came to stand beside Kip who had begun to run his brush along the steed's thick fur.

"Follow my motions, go slowly and gently, and go in one direction," Kip instructed the zeta as Syri watched the beta intently. After observing Kip's brushstrokes for a few moments, Syri lifted his brush and began gently bringing it along the vorst's side. "Good, good," Kip voiced in approval of the zeta. "You can go a little bit faster," the beta instructed as Tran lifted his head from the bucket, leaving it empty.

Syri heeded Kip's comment and lightly increased the speed of his strokes. After a good while, the steed had been brushed, and Syri exited the stall while Bevy entered with a longer brush and bucket of soapy water. Soon, a trail of buckets lined the outside of the stalls as the alpha and beta cleaned the vorst. Ibbi then went in and cleaned the stall as Kip and Bevy dried the steed before Syri and the beta did another round of brushing the vorst's fur.

An ample supply of hay was placed inside the stall, and a thin piece of fabric was draped over the steed to help him continue to dry before the four sat to catch their breaths. The four had gathered in a room designated for the workers and were drinking refreshing cups of water while they rested. Syri looked around the break room to see several empty chairs. "Where are the others?" The zeta inquired of the beta who was sitting next to him.

"They are with the first half of steeds in the fields. There are so many that we have to rotate them for field time. You will work with Bevy, Ibbi, Calix, and me tomorrow when we take our half of the steeds to the field in the morning," Kip answered before going on to explain, "There are five of us on each team, and there are five vorst. The evening team has three; we have two. They are quite a handful when they're riled up. But I doubt they'll be too hard to handle in the morning. Both Tran and Ajax have had a busy past few days."

"Oh, tell me about it!" Ibbi joined in. "I had never saddled Tran so fast in my life! Calix was working like lightning just to get Tran to the captain on time."

"Same!" Bevy responded with a huff. "If Ajax was not the best steed in the world, it would have been impossible to get him ready in time."

Syri's brows furrowed as he looked at the four in slight confusion. Kip let out a small chuckle when he saw Syri's expression. "The prince and captain needed Tran and Ajax for something urgent, so we had to saddle them in record time," the beta explained. "As soon as their steeds were ready, the prince and captain took off like bolts of lightning."

"I wonder what was so urgent," Bevy contemplated before taking another drink from her cup.

Syri pursed his lips as he realized the prince's efforts in order to save him. The zeta understood at that moment how hard Jae had tried to keep him safe. How will I truly be able to pay you back, Prince? You have done too much for me...