Chapter Text
It had been almost a month since you'd been invited to join The Royal Sina Equestrian team, but it still didn't seem real.
Even now, as the bubbly young girl who’d introduced herself as Petra showed you around their grand facilities, you couldn’t quite believe it. This sort of thing just didn't happen to you. Yet no matter how hard you pinched yourself, you were here, at one of the top equestrian centres in the world, because they wanted you.
Despite the fact that everyone had been more than friendly to you, you couldn’t help but feel horribly out of place. You’d hoped that upon arrival you’d be shown to your room to change for dinner, but the young show jumper had swiftly attached herself to you and decided to give you the full tour after helping you dump your bags upstairs.
You just wish that you’d bothered to change out of, or at least clean your old riding boots. Although a good brand, they were marred by the dried mud and horse hair covering them from this morning’s effort of grooming your new horse Scout and coaxing him onto the horsebox. You couldn’t help but feel a bit self conscious standing next to Petra in her immaculate outfit and freshly oiled boots.
‘Hey, are you alright?' The other girl gave you a reassuring smile. 'If you're still tired from your drive we can finish the tour tomorrow, its no problem!'
You mentally shook yourself 'Sorry, It just hasn't sunk in yet, I can't believe I'm actually here!’
'Hey I was the same!, no matter how good a rider you are, when the most prestigious equestrian centre in Europe calls you up and offers you a place, its gonna seem crazy.’ She gave a comforting smile and tugged at your sleeve. 'Come on, I think some of your new teammates are schooling down by the river, we can go introduce you!’
As you followed her she pointed out various paths leading to different arenas, barns, and even a horse hydrotherapy room. The facilities were stunning, state of the art and expansive, not helped by the fact that it also encompassed a recently renovated 18th century hunting lodge that more closely resembled a small castle. The rest of the estate consisted of various equestrian outbuildings scattered between rolling pastures, ringed by the forest that made up the the estate.
The two of you approached a huge arena and leant against the wooden railing. There were three people riding, firstly a dark haired girl on a dapple grey horse. The animal was light and elegant, and as they cantered a circle on the sand, they gave the impression of floating, never putting a foot wrong. She was one of the best riders you’d ever seen, her hand and leg movements so subtle it was if she was guiding her horse with her mind alone.
The first boy rode a huge dark bay. He didn’t have the unified grace of the girl, his horse was coiled and ready to spring forward in anticipation, nostrils flaring and tossing his head with snort on every stride. The boy put both reins in one hand and turned to wave at Petra and yourself, before taking up the contact again and urging the horse on. They sprung forward, every muscle on the animal’s legs rippling, the boy keeping his balance effortlessly through the sudden change of momentum. Speeding down the side of the arena, the boy pulled them and turned sharply, into a sizeable jump that the pair sailed over with ease. Yep, he was definitely showing off.
The other boy couldn’t have been more different. He rode a horse about half the size of the others, its coat the colour of spun gold with a creamy white mane and tail. Whilst the other swooped through elegant patterns and tight turns, he kept the horse at a brisk trot around the edges of the school so not to get in their way. Not to say they were a bad pair, the pony looked well bred, the boy well dressed, and if you were honest, they reminded you a lot of your old horse Apollo.
Before you could become lost in thought, the boy nudged his horse towards the fence.
'Hi, I’m Armin, are you the new member of the eventing team’
You smile and introduce yourself, ‘Yep, although my horse isn’t going to be here until tomorrow.’
'You can ride Atlas if you like!' came the loud voice of the other boy, ‘I’m Eren by the way.’
'Mikasa.' added the girl as she sidled up to him.
You look round at your new teammates. ‘It’s great to meet you, from watching just now I can see I’m gonna have my work cut out keeping up with you. Which one of you is the captain?’
‘I’m not actually on the team, I just exercise the horses.’ Confessed Armin. He pointed towards the main barn. ‘Levi should be back there getting ready, he normally rides with us in the mornings then hacks out in the evenings.’
'You guys finish training, I’ll introduce her!’ Petra smiled, and after waving a quick goodbye to them you followed after her.
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‘So….What’s Levi like?' You ask curiously.
'Well,' Petra began. 'He's very......meticulous. He hates things being untidy, wether thats the barn itself, the horses or the riders. Also people who just don't put the effort in. Before you we had this girl in, she was fantastically talented, but did the bare minimum, riding sloppily and just dumping her horse on the grooms. Levi personally saw to it that she didn't last more than two weeks.'
'So I’ve just gotta stay on his good side?'
‘Yeah, but he's really not that bad, just keep it short and sweet and I doubt he’ll find anything to complain about. You’re lovely!’
Feeling somewhat reassured you follow her into the barn. Just inside was a small wooden door with a horseshoe knocker, polished so brightly it shone in the evening light. So, this must be Levi’s influence. Looking around you noticed that all the usual horsey clutter you’d find in a barn was tidied away and the floor swept to perfection. In the closest stall was a small black mare, dark coat shining. You smiled at the soft brown eyes blinking back at you.
‘That’s Duchess, she’s Levi’s.’ Petra said.
Looking back at the immaculate horse, you gathered your courage and knocked on the door.
'Come in.'
Shooting a glance at Petra you opened the door and stepped inside. Levi’s office was much like everything else in this place, not a hair out of place. Rosettes, and framed photographs were tacked up neatly around the room, and there was a cabinet displaying several trophies. A large window overlooked a paddock where three horses were grazing, and the world’s most organised bookshelf sat behind a desk. Looking up from oiling a brown leather riding boot was Levi, and judging from his expression, he was not in a good mood.
Petra smiled as if oblivious to the look he was giving you. ‘Levi, I thought I’d introduce you to the new team member, although unfortunately her horse isn't here until tomorrow.’
Levi’s eyes dropped from you as he went back to his polishing. ‘Petra, why are you bringing this dirty brat into my office?’
‘Lovely to meet you too.’ Seriously? Was that his idea of an introduction?
'If you're supposedly good enough to get onto our team I'd have assumed you'd know how to clean a pair of boots, and that its not polite to track mud into other peoples offices, although between you and the last girl it looks like Erwin is simply letting anyone in these days.' His tone was flat, bored, but the way his eyes held yours suggested a challenge.
Despite your better judgement, you snapped back. ‘You know, with horses mud kind of comes with the territory, it’s not too late to get a career change if that bothers you so much. And I refuse to be criticised by someone who wears a cravat to go out on a hack’
'Oh look, its also impertinent and has a shitty attitude.’ He said, giving you a disgusted look. ‘But I'm in a generous mood so I'm willing to make a deal with you. If you clean up the mess your disgusting shoes have made on my floors, and then clean out the two end stalls to my standard, I won't get Erwin to fire you immediately.’ He paused his polishing again to look you in the eye. ’Understand?'
‘Fine.’ You spat back at him, with somewhat less fire than you possessed a minute ago. You'd forgotten that he had the power to get you kicked out, and you sure as hell weren't going to let your hard work to get here go to waste on the account of some guy with an attitude problem.
'Even so, I doubt you'll last a week.’ He smirked at you as he got up and crossed the room. You hadn’t noticed how short he was when he’d been seated. His gloved hand picked up a leather crop that had been lying on the desk. He turned back to look you up and down. 'More promising and polite students have left sooner.'
He flicked his wrist, causing the crop to strike the leather of his boot. Despite yourself, you jumped at the unexpected sound, earning you another annoying smirk from Levi as he strode past you and exited his office.
You sank to your knees beside Petra
‘Short and sweet huh?’