Disclaimer: I do not own WarHorse or anything related to it, and most likely never will. I only own my OCs (which aren't much) and will be nice to the other charcters involved.

A/N: Hello! Thank you for taking your time to read this story! I have had this idea for the plot for a while and it has nothing to do with any other story that has any similar characters or ideas. Hopefully my OC won't be a Mary-Sue and criticism is welcome, any will help me improve my writing. This is my first Fanfic, I'm just nervous, so forgive me for the long authors note. So without further ado, here's my story!

I nervously approached the sign up table. Having lived in Dartmoor all my life I was unusually scared of the men I had known since I was a baby. I hung my head low, staring down at my ragged pair of trousers and a loose, stained shirt under a vest.

My pixie-cut brown hair waved in the wind. I looked up to see that the man I was standing behind and using as a wind block had finished signing up. I took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Name?" asked the stoic officer.

"Michael Copper, Sir," I said in my best attempt of a man's voice that I had been practicing all day.

"Age?"

"20, Sir," I said, my heart pounding in my bound chest. I lied, I was actually 27, but I figured my age would make up for my height.

"You seem that age, and fit, might I add. Welcome to the 54th Calvary," he said, holding out a hand.

I reached out and grasped his hand. Shaking it firmly I let go and walked over to a group of girls giggling amongst themselves. Grabbing a dark haired one on the edge of the group, I dragged her over to the nearest alleyway and said quietly, "I did it!" I beamed happily.

Her expression darkened a bit but quickly brightened up again. "Thank God they didn't catch you Rose," she said grimly.

"Shhh, Amanda! You can't call me that, if anyone heard I'd be in trouble," I said quickly. "Remember, call me Michael. Just like we rehearsed."

She sighed, "Okay Ro- gah, Michael, at least you didn't get caught. Can you enlighten me one more time, why you're doing this?"

I knew she didn't want me to go. I wouldn't torture my best friend with the reasons of why me, a female, was going into the supposed "Great Nine Month War."

I frowned and said, "I've already told you why, and I will not be telling you again."

In the dim light of the alleyway I managed to see her eyes begin to water. I moved forward and pulled her into a tight hug.

She rested her head in the crook of my shoulder and croaked, "I don't want you to die, Rosie."

I whispered softly back, my throat tightening, "It's okay, I won't. I promise you, I'll be back in nine months." Pulling away from her I gave her the biggest grin I could manage. She quickly wiped her tears away and tried to smile back, although it turned into more of a grimace.

"Good-luck, Michael," she said quietly.

I resumed my deeper, 'man' voice and replied, "Thank you, my lady." Bowing slightly at the waist, I took her hand and we walked out of the alleyway.

The group of giggling girls I originally took Amanda from turned around to stare at us. We walked over and after I gave her one last hug, I let go, and walked away. With the gossip and giggles fading behind me.

Goodbye, dresses and sewing, and hello leather and guns. I took a deep breath and followed the last group of men to the barracks.

We were lined up in a straight line along the field next to the barracks. Shortest to tallest, which of course meant I was the last one. Standing at 5 feet, 3 inches I felt minuscule compared to the tall, muscled men. Luckily, very few men from Dartmoor joined the Calvary; instead deciding to go to the front lines. A shrill whistle rang out and the men immediately straightened.

I stood up straight, trying not to stick out my chest to much. Major Stuart, Captain Nicholls, and Lieutenant Waverly walked along the line of men, inspecting us. They soon neared the end of the line and I started to panic slightly.

'What if they discovered me? They're actually inspecting us! Not just giving a quick glance and an okay!' I thought worriedly, momentarily thinking about fleeing from the line, but they were already before me. I gulped and stood up straighter.

Major Stuart looked down on me like I was a speck of dust on his perfectly maintained uniform. Lieutenant Waverly looked down on me, a good humored look in his eyes. Captain Nicholl's handsome blue eyes looked into mine. He seemed to be the gentlest of the bunch.

My jaw tightened as I suppressed a urge to smile at him. Flicking my eyes away from his I turned my attention upon Major Stuart. He looked me over coolly and said in a deep, clear voice, "What's your name Private?"

"Michael Copper, sir," I said gruffly.

He nodded and turned back around, the others trailing behind him. I let out a silent breath of relief.

"Welcome to Britain's 54th Calvary," boomed Major Stuart, "I am honored to be the Major of such a fine group of men. I look forward to training and believe you will all do well. Dismissed." Me and the rest of the men saluted him, he saluted back and we were on our way.

Later, I walked back to the small, cramped, one-man tent I volunteered for. No one else wanted it. I happily crawled in and began writing a letter to Amanda.

Dear Amanda,

The Calvary is fine so far. I am well, although I miss you terribly. I wish you could see this place, the men are so orderly. The horses are amazing. There seems to be one of every kind out there, we'll be getting them tomorrow. I would love to write more but dinner awaits and I don't want to be late. I miss you.

Love,

Michael

Amanda and I decided we should pretend to be seeing each other so if anyone happened to see the letters, it would seem like nothing more then a letter from a suitor. I wanted to tell her about the men and their unruly behavior when the higher ranked personal weren't around. Also the lack of proper etiquette while eating, I know that I'm not the most ladylike thing in the galaxy, but you could still eat with a little bit of courtesy for other people. I would have told her about the Major, Lieutenant, and Captain. How the Major had an air of mystery around him, how she would love him. How the Lieutenant was actually a pretty descent guy, if you got the chance to talk to him.

At dinner I was waiting in line to get some food, he stepped up next to me. "Private Copper, right?" he asked.

"Yes sir," I said glancing at him, mainly focused on the choices of food in front I me.

Obviously new to the 'sir' thing he asked, "How did you like your first day?"

"It was fine, I can't wait until tomorrow."

"That's good, it was nice talking to you Private Copper," he said. We had gotten our food and he probably wanted to go to his own little cabin thing to eat.

"Yes Sir," I said as he walked away. I walked over and sat down at a empty table. Soon some other men walked over and began eating. I quickly learned that men eat with no etiquette when women aren't around...

I would have told her about the Captain. Although I had only seen him twice, he seemed more easygoing then the rest of the group. Also about his pretty blue eyes (and body/face), but that might look odd.

Later that night before bed I hung out around the campfire with the other men. They talked about their girlfriends and wives at home and their lives. I quietly sat there and listened, poking at the coals with a stick.

"How about you, shorty?" said asked a big, cocky man. He laughed idiotically, along with his other equally idiotic friends at my new nickname.

I glared at him and said nothing. Looking back to the fire I shook my head slightly, idiots.

He laughed and said, "Nothing to say, eh? You must not have one, you're to small and weak." He laughed and I whipped my head up to look at him.

I snarled and said, "Really, me, small and weak? I bet mines big-" I looked up to see Captain Nicholl's walking by, shaking his head at me. I bowed my head and turned back to the fire. I'm sure if anyone else had heard that, I'd be screwed. The man looked up to see what I was looking at, but when he turned back to me I was gone.

I had stood up quietly as the men were momentarily distracted. I shoved my hands into my pockets and realized how comfortable pants were compared to dresses. Smiling slightly, I walked along the rows of tents in the dark night. The cool night air was cold compared to the campfire I was just sitting next too. The bright, full moon cast a silvery light on everything.

I heard horses whinnying in the distance and men snoring.

Eventually reaching my small tent, I pulled myself through the opening and stripped down to my undershirt. I brushed my teeth with a ragged old toothbrush and pulled off my boots. Slipping under my issued blanket, I fell into a deep sleep.