Once the carriage stopped, Kloe ran out of it, straight toward the stable to see the horses. She was hoping to find a new one that would be her personal horse. She counted “Papa’s horse, Mama’s horse, Brother’s horse… and…” She stopped counting once she saw a new horse with blond hair that was almost matching her own hair color. The horse was smaller than the rest because it was younger than the others, just the size for a young girl like her.

“Mama! Is that my horse? Can I name it? Can I name it?” Kloe asked, jumping in place out of excitement.

“Sure. It is yours after all.” The mother kin her head and the daughter calmed down and began thinking of the name.

“I want to name my horse… Lemon. Because she is as yellow as a lemon haha!” The girl giggled.

“Interesting choice. Now try to give this to her.” The mother handed a carrot to Kloe. “Before you can even ride her, you need to show the horse that you’ll be the one taking care of it.”

The daughter grabbed the carrot and moved it closer to the horse’s box. The horse got interested in the carrot and smelled it. After sniffing the carrot she gently grabbed it into her mouth and chewed it.

“Mom! Give me another one!” The girl said with enthusiasm as she reached an open hand toward Lady Panma, waiting for more carrots.

“Okay. Okay. Here.” The mother chuckled as she gave one more carrot to her daughter.

While the mother and daughter stayed in the stable, Sien went inside the mansion. By the entrance door, he was greeted by their servant, Lily. A young woman with dark hair that in light looked almost purple. She always wore her hair in a ponytail so they wouldn’t get in the way of her work. She wore simple dark clothes and an apron. Lily cleans most of the house and helps Lady Panma with cooking. Lord Zimowit hired her so Panma could rest more but she insisted on cooking for her family so they often worked together in the kitchen.

“Good day, young master. Where is Lady Panma and Lady Kloe?” Asked Lily with a welcoming smile.

“Currently in the stable.” Sien quickly answered as he turned toward the staircase.

“Kloe is meeting her new horse, how lovely. Before you go Master Sien. The dinner will be ready in an hour.” Lily said before the boy could run upstairs.

Sien went to his room which was on the first floor. His room was simple without many decorations. Beside the bed, in the room, there was a chest, a bookcase, and a shelf. He barely spends time in there, even in the winter. By his bed, he had a window with a view into the gates of the manor. He hoped to find his present in his room but there was nothing in there. He even checked the chest if it was hidden inside it or under his bed.

“Maybe that’s where he left it. Father probably didn’t find time to sneak a present into my room.” He looked outside the window and saw the building made of the leftovers from their house and stable.

Running outside, he asked his mother where the present was since he hadn’t found it in the bedroom. “Mom! I can’t find my present!”

The mother thought for a moment, then she pointed at the building right beside the stable. “Maybe you should check the workshop. You know that he likes to play with wood.”

“Oh. Okay. Thank you, Mom!” Said the boy as he ran to the shed.

The workshop was small but it was able to fit all the tools that they possessed. On his right, there were shelves with tools on them. In front, there was a blackboard that covered most of the wall. The guards' duties to be performed during the week were written on it in white chalk. Guarding the gate, raking, cutting tree branches, etc..

To the left, there was a bookcase and a large table with small tools like hammers and knives on it. Right beside the knife, there was a chunk of wood that was slowly sculpted into something but it didn’t have a defining shape. Above it, there was a map of a whole country and parts of neighboring nations. 

Sien checked the table and shelves for his possible gift. No luck in finding it. The worst thing that came to his mind was waiting for his father to give him the present. That idea didn’t stop him from searching. 

Under the table, there were sticks, pieces of wood, and cloth. He searched them all and once he grabbed the cloth he felt something hard under it. Something was wrapped in it. 

“Please don’t be a stick wrapped in cloth… Please don’t be a stick wrapped in cloth…” Sien chanted repeatedly as he grabbed the thing wrapped in cloth. When he lifted it he knew that it wasn’t just a stick. It was much heavier. He slowly unwrapped the thing and saw a shining guard of a saber that would protect his fingers and hand. The blade was hidden in a sheathe that had a belt attached to it. Something fell off the cloth. It was a note “Happy Birthday son”.

He slowly unsheathed the saber and admired the blade that was reflecting the light and his eyes in it. The blade was slightly curved and much lighter than any sword he ever held.

Sien tried using the saber. In his mind, he performed like the master swordsman but in reality, the sword was a little too heavy for him to lift properly. He admired a sword a little bit longer imagining how amazing he would look with it.

“Looks like I’ll have to train if I want to use this sword properly. But how do I train my muscles?” Thought Sien as he tightened his grip and watched his forearm muscles move.

Sien carried his saber in both hands like he was about to give it to someone. He went to the guards by the gates to ask them for advice as they were experienced with swords and weapons alike.

“Master Sien. What brings you here?” Asked Sifrid as he was the first to notice the running boy.

“I got this sword as a gift for my birthday. But it’s heavy. How do I train to be able to wield it?” He asked as he tried to hold the blade but it fell to the ground.

“It’s called a saber. It’s much lighter than a sword. If you want to wield the sword you need to train both your arms and legs. For example, you can just swing the sword like that many times.” Tomal joined the conversation and showed Sien how to train his body. He took a wide stand and swung the sword vertically up and down. A motion similar to chopping wood.

Sien tried repeating those moves but Sifrid stopped him and turned him around away from them. “Remember. While you train you don’t point the sword toward anyone. You don’t want to hurt us by mistake. Do you?”

“Right!” The boy quickly answered, embarrassed by his action.

Sien swung his saber a few times but it was hard for him to balance. The guards saw his unhappy face with the results of his swings. Before he could burst out his anger Sifrid said something.

“Training doesn’t bring results instantly. It takes time, but once you can wield it properly you will look back at this training with pride.” Explained Sifrid, puffing out his chest and striking it with his fist two times.

“Thank you very much for the advice!” Sien leaned his head to show gratitude toward the helping guards.

Sien continued training for a few minutes while the guards watched him and from time to time gave him bits of advice on how he should stand. His training was stopped by a voice inside his head. “The dinner will be ready in an hour.”

“The dinner! I have to go. Bye!” Sien ran to his home with a saber above his head like he was about to attack someone with it.

“Try not to hurt anyone!” Shouted Tomal with a slight chuckle and both of the guards waved as the boy ran.

The table for the dinner was already prepared. Kloe was sitting by the table waiting for the food to arrive. There were only cups of warm tea ready when Sien came into the dining room.

The room was small with a table that could fit only eight people. There was only one painting on the wall, showing the whole family with Lily and the guards. 

“Look what I got, sis!” Said Sien with excitement to show his present to the rest of the family. 

“Wow! You got a sword?!” Kloe stood up from the chair to take a closer look at Sien’s present.

“It’s a saber!” Sien corrected his sister with pride as he knew what the weapon was called.

“Wow! Can I try it?” She extended her hands toward the weapon to get hold of it.

“Sure. But it’s really heavy.” Sien was about to hand the saber to Kloe but the mother took it before Kloe could even touch it.

“Beautiful saber you got there. But it’s not a toy so don’t play with it at home. And Kloe this is not befitting a lady of your status… But you can try it tomorrow with Sien under guard's supervision.” Lectured the mother as she took the saber away.

“Okay…” Both children responded to their mother's warning with their heads low as it wasn’t happening often that their mother needed to lecture them a bit more harshly. 

For dinner, the family had scrambled eggs with bread and vegetables to choose like tomatoes, lettuce, or cucumber. The kids drank compote while Lady Panma and Lily enjoyed warm tea.

Usually, the servants eat after serving their masters and in a different room. Like in the kitchen where they cook. Lily was treated differently by the Alk family. She ate with the family by the table. She had her spot in front of Lady Panma. 

When Lily first came to work in the mansion she was hesitant to eat with the family. Saying it was not befitting for her to eat with the royal family. Lady Panma was persistent and pursued Lily to finally eat with them.

After dinner, the children went to sleep while Lady Panma helped Lily with the dishes. Lady Panma saw Lily not as a servant but as a helper with her house responsibilities.

The next day calmly passed. Kloe took care of her horse and spent most of the time in the stable with Lemon. Sien practiced, supervised by guards. Kloe joined them for a moment but left quickly as she was unable to lift the saber. 

The night came and Panma looked through the window. Hoping to finally see the light of a carriage with her husband coming home. She finally fell asleep with the hope of seeing him in the morning.