The window he was staring out of looked out into the courtyard and over the wall; it was a beautiful view of the city and forest beyond its walls. He turned to Kain, still wearing his armour and cloak.
"There will be a tourney in a year's time, I wish for you to partake", he stood behind the desk.
Kain stopped halfway into the room at the words. He could hardly ride a horse and was even worse with a bow. Even with a sword, he was only good due to his physique.
"I can only use a sword, Ser" his icy eyes scanned the room.
A collection of swords hangs above a fireplace on the left wall. Rapiers, bastard and long swords, all engraved with feathers and vines and animals of all kinds. On the right wall was a set of wardrobes between a desk cluttered with books, scrolls and papers as high as Kain, on the far left corner of the right wall was another red wood door closed shut.
"Then I shall give you my horse" he walks to the fireplace and plucks a hanging kettle from above the flames, and pours it into a small pure white cup.
"Take her to our own tourney grounds in the morning. I won't have you in my service if you lose this tourney," he places the cup on the table and stares down at a pile of papers.
"My father is returning from the capital just before the tourney to take my place here. Do not embarrass yourself in front of the entire court," he slides his hand out for the leather gloves, showing pale, milky skin like a woman's.
"And what about other weapons ser" Kain bows his head.
"You are not an archer, so they will not expect you to use a bow" He lit a candle on his desk.
"Understood, Ser" Kain bows.
"I will see you tomorrow at sunset for training. That is all," he removes the cloak and places it on a hanger near the closed door.
Kain bows once more and walks out into the freezing cold castle halls. He walks back to the entrance of the inner keep.
"Little knight", the woman from before smiles down at him with sharp, pointed teeth.
She had been washed and bandaged; her filthy hair was now bright and red, but her face was still battered. Despite wearing men's clothes, they fit as if they were made for her.
"I'm a squire", the sound of his gulp filled the cavernous hall.
"Help me wherever those men have run off to, will you" she waves her hand at him.
Kain walks to her side, slips his hand around the small of her back and walks with her towards the door.
"Strong for a lad that short", she chuckles, her voice still gravely.
"Tall for a woman that weak", he grumbles under his breath.
"Just because I'm all the way up here to you doesn't mean I can't hear you" Her sweet chuckles fill the hall.
They walk in tandem out of the inner keep and out into the cold night. Laughter bursts from the barrack windows and out into the courtyard, where the men on the walls look back in envy. He helps her into the stables and towards the black destrier.
She lowers her head and huffs as Kain enters, but at the sight of the woman, the horse stirs in the pen.
"I never got your name" Kain's heart pounds as he opens the gate and steps in with the giant warhorse.
She calms as he approaches and lowers her head. He scratches her and reaches for the saddle placed on the pen's wall. Its groove fits her back better than any boot Kain had ever owned, and the leather of it was the finest he had ever seen. Even the stitching was elegant, woven into patterns of feathers where space allowed.
"Lyra. And you are Kain, right?" She leaned against the doorway, silhouetted by the moon.
"Y..yes", he leads the horse out of its pen and into the yard. Grabbing a stool, he offers a hand to Lyra to climb onto the horse.
"What a gentleman", she climbs the horse without a stool or hand.
Kain clambers atop the horse using the stool, seated in front of her, he begins to trot towards the gate.
The horse ignores his commands before setting off on her own accord. A single guard atop the wall hung his head over and looked down at the pair.
"The gate, please, ser, I'm off to see Noah", he stutters at the guards atop the wall.
"Neither of us are ser's, but give Noah our best", the chains rattle as the door opens inwards.
The horse ignores Kain's frantic tugs on its reins and canters through the stone wall and into the empty road, down the hill towards the city centre.
"Do you know where the silver river is?" Kain turns back to the smiling woman, her hands gripping either side of his waist as they carry on down the hill.
"No, I've never been to this city before, do you not?" she chuckles in his ear.
"I haven't been in the young lord's service long" Kain clears his throat.
"Young lord?" She chuckles again.
"I thought Ser Karsten was older than you" Her breasts pushed into his back, yet he felt nothing from it despite knowing he should.
"I have no clue how old he is, but I'm sixteen… I think" the hill evens out as they reach the innermost part of the city.
People watched as they rode by on the giant black horse. A sign hung over a bustling building with a river of silver on its sign. Under the river were white letters. Kain's mouth mimicked the sound of each letter in silence as he read it.
"This is it", he slides down off the horse and offers a hand to Lyra, but she jumps off with ease although she grimaced when her feet hit the floor.
A young boy sat with a hand holding his chin up and his eyes closed. He woke when they approached.
"five coppers to tend to your horse", he holds a hand out for the reign and Kain places it along with five copper in his hand.
The duo push open the pair of oaken doors. Inside were countless women rushing across the busy floor with flagons of ale and wine and meat, and even more men sat at the tables, merry as could be.
Kain's icy blue eyes dart around the room, but don't seem to find Noah in the crowd as he opens his mouth. All thoughts of yelling for him fade as one of the men at the closest table stands up.
"How much for a go at her lad!" The room gives a bawdy cheer as he plays with the buckle of his belt.
"You couldn't afford it" She gives him a toothy smile, flashing her filed teeth, and the man turns white, sitting back in his chair, he grumbles.
She drags Kain by the arm through the maze of tables and chairs. On her way, she pulls an empty chair from a table.
"Ser!" She cheers as Noah's shorn head comes into Kain's view.
The table of men, most still clad in armour, turns in confusion. A young woman sits on Noah's lap, her skin tan and hair dark. He smiles at Kain.
"Why have you brought the lady? She should be resting" A soft smile still stays on his lips.
"I made him bring me, I was going to buy you a drink, but the bandits took my money… and my armour…. And my arms," she lifts her arms into a shrug and lowers them, slapping the sides of her legs.
"Armour and arms? Do you expect me to believe you were a knight!?" A man Kain did not recognise burned red with rage.
"I haven't been knighted, but I had armour and weapons", she twirls that seat she dragged behind her into an empty spot and shoved Kain into it.
"This man here", he says, looking at the woman on his lap, and pushes two fingers into Kain's chest. "He cut down a man twice his size who was about to cave in my skull" Noah places a mug in Kain's hands, and the woman on Noah's lap pours wine into it.
"My name's Calder by the way" the Northern.
"I'm Heward, and that over there is Osmund", the short guard from patrol points towards the pox scarred man at the bar, talking to a pair of women.
"We've heard about you already, but I'm not sure I know this beautiful lady's name" Calder reaches for her hand, but she ignores it and drags a free chair, sitting next to Kain. She snatches up his cup and drains all the wine.
"Don't fall in love", Noah howls with laughter at Calder's growing smile and glinting eyes.
Osmund returns with two flagons, one of wine and the other of ale. Before long, they were empty, and another two were called to the table.
"First to finish a flagon gets another" A flagon of ale is placed in front of both Kain and Lyra.
They both neck down the ale, Kain's Adams apple moving up and down with each gulp of alcohol. The more he swallowed, the more violent it became until ale spilled from the cup, drenching the shirt with a brownish stain.
'I want another', he swayed and tried to gently place it back on the table, but slammed it instead.
One of the women tending the drinks rushed over with a cloth; she blushed with each rub of the cloth on the now see-through white shirt. However, Kain's face turned to stone, his eyes staring down at her as icy as their colour.
"Do you not like women, boy?" Noah chuckled as Heward arrived with more ale.
"I don't like men if that's what you mean", the words ached. He turned and snatched a flagon of ale from Heward and poured himself a pint.
Ale spilled from the cup as it overflowed and splashed onto his lap. The woman who tried to wash the ale from his shirt rushed to dry the new spill but stopped as she dragged the cloth up his thigh.
Kain stood up so fast the woman almost fell. He turned to find Lyra slamming a man's arms into the table.
"Now me", Noah sat down opposite her with force.
They both gulped down pint after pint of brown and red as if it were water. Slowly, they both slowed and slowed some more until neither could lift a hand to order another.
The woman who had dried Kain's clothes took him by the arm and led him outside. Before Kain could get a word out, she leaned close and closed her eyes. Kain stared at her in silence, staggering in places and leaning against the wall so as not to fall on top of her.
Her lips touched his, and a fire burned within his cold blue eyes. He shoved her backwards and stared at her with his icy eyes.
"I don't bite" her eyes were blue, but her hair was as light as Siena's had been.
'She looks like her,' he ran his fingers through her hair.
They leaned into each other and locked lips. Kain was clumsily bumping noses as they embraced. Her tongue slithered between his lips and into his mouth, brushing against his own tongue. His eyes shoot open, and his grip around her waist tightens along with his britches.
'Another drink' was the last coherent thought he had that night.