Swords were the weapons of nobility, and to be knighted was to enter the lowest of their ranks. Still, there were other weapons, and Leandra learned them all alongside her fellow students: spears, axes, maces, axes, halberds, bows, crossbows. Some of her cohort had been training since they were very young, and she struggled to catch up to them.
Horses were another matter. Leandra had been riding for nearly as long as she could walk; she knew the beasts and their moods. Warhorses were larger and fiercer, but she took to them all the same, and when it came to charging with shield and lance she found herself at an advantage.
That was where she first met Vishan. Proud and self-assured, he had mounted his horse without preamble, and immediately been thrown. She had rushed over to check on him -- dark-haired and grey-eyed and athletic, but clearly no friend to warhorses -- and the first words out of his mouth were, "You didn't see that." Then he'd groaned, inhaled sharply, and tried to push himself back to his feet.
"Didn't see what?" she'd asked innocently, widening her eyes and smoothing her face to hide the laughter. She held out a hand, he took it and let her help him to his feet.
They'd been inseparable after that: practicing together, teaching each other, eating together... It wasn't until three months later that Vishan let slip that he was a Prince of the Realm.
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