Ten

“Again!”

I quickly twisted my sword to intercept Sir Hirch’s blade as it came at me from overhead. The two dulled blades impacted one another sending a sharp jolt into my arm. I twisted my wrist as I had been taught, deflecting the knight’s sword down and to the right. He then swung upwards and I moved my blade to meet his own, causing his shorter but wider blade to skim across the long, thin length of mine. Hirch swiftly drew back, then lunged forwards in a thrust. I countered with an underhand strike that deflected his sword to the side.

“Again!”

Once more we moved through the same motions. Overhead slash, upwards swing, then a thrust. As before, I had to deflect all of the knight’s strikes.

“Again!”

Over and over we had done the movements. At first, Hirch’s attacks came slowly. He telegraphed them so that I could learn each move and counter them as he had instructed me. Then, as I began to catch on, the knight would increase his speed, going faster and faster until his movements were just a blur to my eyes. I didn’t always manage to block his strikes; either I would be too slow or make a mistake in the motions. Whenever that happened, I got a nasty bruise in remembrance. Dull practice blades or not, they still hurt like hell when they hit you.

“Again!”

And this was just today. During my previous lessons, Hirch had done the same thing except he used different movesets. We would repeat this exercise over and over again until he became satisfied with my performance. Then he would switch up to another set of attacks for me to block and parry. Needless to say, I was pretty sore after each lesson.

It had been two whole weeks since I had first woken up in this strange world. Sword practice with Sir Hirch had become pretty much routine. Every other day, except weekends, I would meet up with the grim-faced knight and he would teach me to use the thin-bladed sword he had chosen for me. After training me on the various stances, we moved on to more physical lessons. This involved Hirch lashing out at me with his practice sword, and me doing my best to block his hits. Thankfully I was wearing appropriate clothes for the occasion.

Madame Rancos had come through. About a week ago she arrived with my first set of clothing. These consisted mostly of various colored dresses and gowns, each tailored to fit my exact dimensions. They fit much better than the clothes I had been given before and both Madame Rancos and Griselda assured me that they looked better, too. I had no experience with such things so I decided to take them at their word. Among the clothes was the particular dress I was currently wearing. Unlike the others, it wasn’t big on fancy frills. It was quite plain (colored off-white and brown) and made of sturdier fabrics than my other clothing. It even had leather pieces sewn onto different areas for protection. The hem of the skirt was also much shorter than the others, stopping at around my knees which allowed me to move around much easier.

This was the dress I wore during my training with Sir Hirch. It was more durable than my other dresses and held up to the punishment the knight dished out. Sadly, it did little to soften the blows of the practice blade that struck me whenever my attention wandered.

“Ow!” I cried out, clutching at the side of my arm. I had failed to intercept one of Hirch’s faster swings and had paid for it.

“That should be enough for today,” the knight stated as he eased back.

I gave out a sigh of relief, my shoulders slumping down. They ached terribly, a result of hours of holding up a sword and parrying blows.

“We’ll pick up where we left off next time,” he told me. “You’re free to go.”

I thanked him for his time. After I put away my practice sword, I walked over to the entrance of the yard where Griselda was waiting for me. My entire body was sore. I probably had numerous cuts and bruises under my clothes; I always did after these sessions. Thankfully, all the damage would be gone by the time I woke up tomorrow thanks to my healing by sleep ability.

“How was your practice, My Lady?” Griselda asked me as I approached.

I gave her a dirty look.

“I see.” The maid gave me a serene smile, one full of understanding. “A long hot bath will do you some good.”

“I’m tired! I just want to go to sleep,” I complained.

“I’m afraid that won’t do,” she chided. “You are dirty and sweaty. You couldn’t possibly have tea with Her Highness in such a state.”

Griselda’s words confused me for a moment before I suddenly remembered. A few days ago I received an invitation to have tea with the princess. Ack, how could I have forgotten such a thing? This would be my first social meeting with one of the royal family. I’d never eaten with royalty before! (Or anyone else, really.) Sure she was just a kid, but she was still a princess. If I messed up with her, word might get back to her parents. Then I’d be tossed out of the castle or something.

I followed Griselda up to the bathroom in order to get a quick dunk in the bath to get the grime off. I hissed when the hot, soapy water touched the numerous cuts and bruises on my skin. I ignored the stinging sensation and hurriedly washed up. Griselda came a few minutes later to help me dry off and to put on a new dress. This one was white and pink with a whole bunch of ribbons on it. To tell you the truth, I looked pretty goofy in it. But Griselda wasn’t bothered by it and it was made by Madame Rancos, so it was probably this world’s version of high fashion. And when in Rome…

The meeting with the princess was to be held in one of the castle’s many gardens. Griselda took me on the same route we had taken with Ghaldor when we went to see my chalice. As we neared the courtyard where it was located, I swear I could almost feel its pulsing energy. It was a bit distracting, like I was hearing a loud, thudding heartbeat in the back of my head. Before we could take the hallway that led to the outside courtyard where the chalice was located, the maid turned in the other direction. As we moved farther away from it, I soon felt the throbbing energy in my head dissipate. When she led me outside into the open air, it was completely gone.

The garden was an amazing sight. A pleasant path made of white gravel wound itself through carefully maintained topiaries and blooming flowers. Colorful butterflies lazily fluttered through the air, happily moving from flower to flower in search of nectar. Small yellow honey bees buzzed along with them, dutifully pollinating the flowers they came in contact with. A slight breeze blew through the garden, sending the wonderful smell of fresh air mixed with the aroma of the flowers towards me. There was a white gazebo at the center of all this beauty and it was there that Griselda escorted me to, our boots crunching loudly through the gravel path.

Inside the gazebo were three preteen girls seated upon wicker chairs, surrounding a small white table holding a platter of biscuits and cake. They were being served tea by maids, all of whom were only slightly older than the three girls they were serving. I recognized the youngest of the girls to be the princess as she was unmistakable with her blond curls and blue eyes. The three had been busy with a conversation but, as soon as they saw us approach, they became silent. The princess looked positively giddy, almost bouncing in her seat with a wide smile at my appearance. The two others seemed equally excited, though they managed to hide it better than the blond girl.

When we reached the steps to the gazebo, Griselda stepped off to the side while I made my introductions. She had been teaching me all week how to curtsy, and I had been practicing so much that I was certain that I was capable of performing a proper one. In this case, I followed the motions precisely, bending my knees outward while sweeping my left foot back, head bowed with my hands holding my skirt out.

“Hero Amelia, at your service,” I said. Griselda had helped me figure out what to say during this situation for which I was very grateful. Without her assistance, I would have had no idea what to say. “I give many thanks to your generous invitation, Your Highness.”

The princess’ smile widened and she bowed her head. “Princess Riltara Jenessi Duncan. I am very pleased to meet you. Thank you so much for coming! Please, sit!” She motioned to the empty chair across from her.

I smiled nervously as I did as I was bid, and seated myself in the comfortable wicker chair. A maid came over and filled my empty cup with some greenish-looking tea.

“Please, help yourself,” Princess Riltara said while gesturing to the snacks on the table. “Oh, and may I introduce Lady Offsen of Genkrest and Lady Millisin of Vilgur.”

I bowed my head to the two other children, hoping that it was the proper thing to do. “Pleasure to meet you.”

We began small talk, with the princess taking the lead. She introduced her two friends with a bit more detail, telling me that Offsen was the youngest daughter of the Duke of Genkrest, which was one of the largest and richest territories in the kingdom. Millisin, on the other hand, was the only daughter of the Lord Mayor of Vilgur, which was the kingdom’s capital and the city right outside the castle walls. It appeared that these three children were very important people in this country, a fact that did not help my nerves at all.

Beyond the gazebo in the garden was a wide-open lawn of green grass. I spotted three young men on the lawn in the middle of practicing their archery. One of them I recognized as the prince, the boy who had given me a dirty look all throughout my introduction some weeks back. He was currently the one shooting arrows at a target board several meters away and doing a pretty poor job at it. He was mostly missing the targets completely, and those that did hit were woefully off their mark.

I watched the prince pull back on the bowstring as he adjusted his aim. I examined the tautness of the string as well as the direction the arrowhead was pointing. I mentally calculated the force behind the arrow as well as the acceleration and distance it needed to travel, and I knew that the arrow would woefully fall short of its target. The prince loosed his arrow and I watched it sail through the air. Just as I predicted, the missile lodged itself in the grass several feet short of the board.

“Oh, don’t mind them,” Princess Riltara said, snapping me out of my thoughts. “That’s just my brother and his friends.” Whoops, looks like she noticed what I was looking at. I needed to be more careful about zoning out in the future. “They shouldn’t bother us. They’re busy with their archery practice.”

“I see,” I said simply, whilst taking a sip of tea. The conversation lulled for a moment, until Millisim chimed in.

“Amelia, you should tell us about your world!” She exclaimed, her light brown curls bouncing with excitement. “I heard it was the most peculiar place!”

The other girls quickly agreed, and thus I was put on the spot. What could I possibly tell them? My own world was a mystery to me just as much as it was to them. I had been confined to a hospital room my entire life; the only experiences I had were through the screen of a computer.

“Well,” I began, trying to think clearly about the words I was about to express. “My world is a bit… ordinary. It has no magic, but it does have technology which helps us out.”

I began telling them about cars, trains, and airplanes. About skyscrapers and television. About space travel and cellphones. Things I’ve only witnessed second-hand. I tried to be as descriptive as I could, bringing up details that I remembered reading about or seeing online. I think I did a pretty good job, as Riltara and her friends were absolutely spellbound by my words. I was in the midst of telling them about the internet, of what it was and how you were able to access it, when we were interrupted.

“Well now, what do we have here?” I heard a voice speak up from behind me.

I turned my head towards the sound and saw the prince, as well as his two friends, climbing up the stairs of the gazebo. The maids all turned to him and bowed. I, for a moment, wondered if I should do the same. Princess Riltara, on the other hand, frowned when she saw him. It looked like she was about to say something snappy, but held back at the last moment.

“Lady Amelia,” she said. “May I introduce my brother, Prince Callion Marvil Duncan. Behind him are Lord Kasen of Genkrest and Lord Hilmin of Akurance.”

The young prince grinned, then inclined his head downwards in a modest greeting towards my general direction. The other boys gave me a more proper bow.

“Um, pleasure to meet you,” I told them awkwardly.

“Yes, yes. I’m sure,” the prince stated as he strode up to the table whereupon he looked down at us from his standing position. “What, if I may ask, is our ‘great’ Hero doing entertaining a bunch of children?”

That got him a dark look from the three preteen noble girls, as well as a frown from me. You’re a child, too!

“Lady Amelia is here since she has gracefully accepted my invitation to tea,” Princess Riltara explained, though her voice was tight.

“Ah, I see. I see.” Callion said, a smarmy look on his face. “And what, pray tell, have you four been talking about? Local gossip? Clothes and dolls?”

“Actually, Lady Amelia has been regaling us with tales from her world,” said Lady Offsen, somewhat cheerfully. Obviously, she was acting like we were all having a polite conversation in the hopes that in doing so it would eventually turn into one.

“Yes, she did,” the princess spoke up. “Earthworld is quite the fascinating place. Did you know that they managed to send a man to their moon?”

Prince Callion busted out a laugh at that. “Truly, is this what she’s telling you? What rubbish! Everyone knows that the Heroes’ world is one utterly without magic. How the hell would they manage that?” He crossed his arms and shook his head, still somewhat chuckling to himself. “No, their world is most definitely a primitive and savage place. No proper civilization could have formed without magic tying it together. That’s just common sense.”

The three girls looked totally offended, most likely on my behalf. The two young lords behind the prince just looked at each other awkwardly. I, on the other hand, was mostly confused. Sure, this brat had just insulted me. But I was more concerned with the fact that these two royal children were all but openly bickering in front of me. What the hell was I supposed to do in this situation?

I had no idea. So I just sat there ineptly, keeping quiet.

“Brother! How dare you! You are talking to a Hero! Apologize at once!” The little princess all but shouted, her face reddening slightly in both embarrassment and anger.

“A Hero, eh? I see nothing of the sort in front of me.” He sneered. “Heroes are brave, cunning, strong. They have powers. All I see before me is a weak, sniveling girl who’s done nothing but live off our father’s good graces. No, Ghaldor in his incompetence summoned us a fake. The gaul of that old man, thinking he can commit an act of the gods!”

I knew that at that moment I should have been angry. Most of the people I’ve read about would be. The main character of any story, movie, or tv show would probably have told the royal brat off, or said something clever to insult him back and thus earning the respect of everyone around them. But at that moment, all I could feel was shame. I was weak, he wasn’t lying. Despite what Sir Hirch said, I was hardly holding up during sword practice. I also needed Griselda’s help just to move around the castle so I wouldn’t get lost. Hell, I couldn’t even dress myself in the mornings, I haven’t even tried.

And what if Callion was right about me being a fake? I hadn’t manifested my powers yet. I might never do so. I was an unknown variable, after all. I was summoned by a man, not a god, not like the other Heroes in this world. What if Ghaldor had miscalculated and his chalice had been faulty? What if I was a mistake in this world like I was in my old one?

Princess Riltara didn’t seem to share my lack of conviction, though. As soon as her brother had finished his rant, she stood up from her chair and began shouting. “Enough! Callion, you are just awful! You insulted me, and what’s more, you insulted my guest! I won’t stand for it! Leave, now! Before I tell mother and father about this incident!”

The prince huffed and rolled his eyes. “As you wish, dear sister. I’ll leave you and the other children to your games.” Callion turned around and proceeded down the steps towards the gravel path. “Come along, gents,” he said to his two companions. “We have sword practice to attend.”

“Coming!” Lord Kasen called out before turning to us. He gave a hurried bow, as did the other boy. Before they left, I saw him mouth, “I’m so sorry,” to his sister, Offsen. At least I assumed they were siblings; from what the princess had said, both of them were from Genkrest.

The table was left in an awkward silence after that. I looked around at the three girls. Offsen and Millisin were quiet, staring down at the tea in their cups. Riltara sat in her chair looking close to tears. I just sat in mine feeling guilty. This was all my fault. Sure, the prince was a jerk, but none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been here. I decided to speak up. Maybe a change of topics would get everyone’s cheer back.

“I practice swordplay,” I said out loud.

All three’s eyes suddenly looked towards me.

“W-what?” The princess asked in confusion.

“Sword practice,” I said. “The prince said he was going to sword practice. I have sword lessons, too. With Sir Hirch.”

“You do?” Millisin asked, her big eyes looking interested.

I nodded. “Yup. Ghaldor said that it would help bring out my powers. It hasn’t happened yet, so I’m still training hard.”

“How is it?” Offsen asked.

“It’s very tiring,” I told them. “And very difficult. Sometimes I feel like my arm is about to fall off from all the times I’ve swung a sword around. But Sir Hirch says I’m improving, so I must be doing something right.”

The table was quiet once more. I took a sip of tea, trying to think of something else to talk about when the princess suddenly spoke up.

“I’m jealous,” she said. “I wish I could learn how to use the sword.”

“Why don’t you then?” I asked in confusion. “You’re the princess. They’d probably teach you if you asked.”

The three giggled at my words.

“She can’t learn the sword, silly,” Offsen told me after their laughter died down.

“Huh?” I asked. “Why not?”

“Because, I’m a girl,” Riltara said as if that would explain everything.

Oh. Right. I’m in a medieval fantasy world. Why do I keep forgetting that?

“I’m only allowed to learn embroidery, music, and such,” the princess complained. “Nothing interesting like sword fighting or archery.”

The three little girls around the table nodded in unison. I guess they all had to partake in some boring lessons, in order to grow up to be proper ladies or something droll like that. It was awful, not being able to do what you wanted. I knew that fact very intimately. I decided to do something, right then and there, to thank the princess for her kindness.

“I could teach you,” I told her.

“What?” Riltara asked, her eyes growing wide.

“If they won’t teach you the sword, then I guess I could,” I said. “It’s not like I’m an expert or anything, but whatever Sir Hirch teaches me I can pass down to you.”

“But you’ll get in trouble!” The princess looked absolutely adorable when she was concerned.

“Not if you don’t tell on me,” I said with a smirk.

Riltara smiled brightly, then nodded her head. “Teach me then!”

“Oh, me, too!” Millisin piped up. She looked at me excitedly, bouncing up and down in her seat. “I wish to learn the sword as well!”

“O-oh. All right.” I smiled. “I guess I have two secret students then.”

All eyes turned to Offsen. She glanced around at the three of us, looking quite worried.

“Will you learn with us, Offsen?” Riltara asked, her smile eager.

“I don’t know,” the noble from Genkrest said. She was the oldest of the three at twelve and was probably well into her training (brainwashing) as a young Lady. She’d be the most difficult to convince.

The princess turned pleading eyes towards her, grabbing the older girl’s hands in her own. “Please, Offsen. It wouldn’t be the same without you!”

Offsen bit her lip in worry, wondering if this was all a good idea. She deliberated for a moment before, finally, it seemed like her mind was made up. She looked at Riltara with a small smile and nodded. The three girls burst into squeals and giggling, knowing they had just entered into a pact that would get them into serious trouble if they were ever found out. They didn’t care, though. They were young and it seemed like good fun.

I wished I could say the same about my sword training. For me, it was definitely not fun. Just painful and tiring. Could I subject these three little girls to the same sort of abuse Sir Hirch had been inflicting upon me? Most definitely not. For my lessons, I intended to give them a toned-down version of Hirch’s intense training sessions. A very toned-down version. I doubt I could keep this whole thing a secret if the princess and her entourage kept coming back to the castle black and blue.

But I would teach them. All of my life I had been hindered in the worst possible way, unable to do anything I wanted to, stuck in my own limited form. I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone fully capable being restricted in any way, especially for such a stupid reason as what their gender was. Not if I could help it.

Huh. Weird. Is this what having resolve felt like?