Eleven

“Again!” I shouted.

I pulled my practice sword back then thrust it forwards. The little girl in front of me used her own sword to strike the blade away from her. I quickly swung in a wide slash, which she managed to deflect again. My last move was an overhead swing and, like before, she intercepted my blade with her own, thus blocking the hit.

“Good!” I said after backing off, earning me a smile from the princess. The blond girl was breathing hard and sweating, the result of an hour of rigorous sword practice. Despite her state, the princess impressed me by keeping up her stance and not lowering her guard. She was in much better shape than her two friends, both of whom were seated on a nearby bench looking extremely exhausted from their own turn at the sword.

“You’re doing much better,” I told her. “You’re moving faster, and you seem a lot more confident with your blade.”

It had been more than a month since I had first promised to teach these three noble girls how to use a sword. Within that month I had been instructing Riltara, Millisin, and Offsen as best I could. Basically, I just gave them a rehash of everything I learned from training with Sir Hirch. I repeated the same lessons the old knight had taught me, though I wasn’t as harsh as he was in the treatment of students. I gave the girls frequent breaks and was extremely careful that I didn’t hurt them during practice. Unlike me, they didn’t have a body that healed itself while sleeping.

I looked up at the sky and noted the position of the sun. It was close to the horizon, though not so much that the sky had turned orange. There would probably be another hour of daylight left.

“Why don’t we practice for another thirty minutes before calling it a day?” I said, lifting my sword up and getting into a ready stance. Riltara grinned and nodded, readying herself as well. “All right… again!”

Our swords clanged loudly against each other, the sound echoing across the practice yard. We were in the same area where Sir Hirch held my own lessons, the small courtyard containing all the training equipment. It really was the most convenient place to hold our secret sessions, since it contained everything necessary for said lessons. Plus, from what I heard, no one in the castle uses it anyway. Ever since the barracks had its own practice area set up, none of the guards had bothered coming all the way down here to use this facility to train. The space was pretty much ours and we took advantage of that fact.

The four of us weren’t alone, of course. Seated at a bench by the entrance were the girls’ maids. They were quietly talking amongst themselves while they watched us. Although I had no idea as to what their topic of conversation was, I noticed some of the concerned looks that showed on their faces whenever the lessons got too taxing for one or more of their charges.

I was impressed with the loyalty these young maids showed. Not only had they kept the girls’ lessons a secret from those above them, but they risked punishment by escorting their young ladies to practice themselves. They must have been very close with their wards to do such a thing.

I suppose I could say the same about my own maid, Griselda. She too was here, though she stood some paces away from the younger maids, silently watching our practice. As far as I knew, she also kept these little meetings a secret from her superiors. During the weeks that I had been here, I liked to think that Griselda and I had grown closer due to our various interactions. I’m not sure if I would call it a friendship (I’ve never had friends so I wouldn’t know) but I felt that we were definitely more than just strangers. It was nice knowing that the older woman had my back like that.

“Ah!” The princess gasped out in pain as one of my swings got through her block and struck her across the knuckles. She dropped the practice sword and grasped at her hurt hand tenderly.

“Your Highness!” gasped out Offsen and Millisin. The two rushed up to their friend and were followed quickly by their maids. All had concerned looks on their faces as each began to fret over the royal girl and her injury.

“I’m alright!” Riltara told them as they continued to fuss around her. “I’m alright! It’s just a little scratch, I’m fine!”

“I’m so sorry!” I apologized quickly, a worried look on my face. I had tried my best to be careful with my swings in order to avoid accidents like this, but it seems as if I had failed mightily. I really, really hoped that I wouldn’t be thrown into the dungeon for this.

“No, no, there’s no need to apologize, Lady Amelia,” the princess said. “Such things happen during training, I understand that. Actually, it’s quite a miracle that something like this hasn’t happened to us numerous times already.”

Well. I guess I had been doing a good job, after all.

“Now, let us continue,” the young royal picked up her dropped practice sword and took up a ready stance once more.

“Riltara, you can’t be serious,” Offsen said, her face filled with concern. “This has gone too far! It was all fine and dandy to play at being swordsmen when no one was getting hurt. Your mother will kill you if she finds out what we’ve been doing! Especially when she sees you all scratched up!”

“It’s fine, Offsen,” the princess said, sounding annoyed. “My mother will not know, since no one will tell her.” She gave a hard stare at everyone present, obviously making her statement an official order. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I came here to learn swordplay. I knew full well that learning the sword has its share of hardship, and I am perfectly capable of weathering such hardship myself. If my brother can do it, so can I.”

“Well said!” Millisin said with a smirk.

“Now, if we’re all done dawdling, how about we continue? What say you, Lady Amelia?” Riltara asked with her sword raised.

I smiled and was about to reply when a voice interrupted us.

“So! This is where all of you have been disappearing off to!”

Approaching us from the entrance to the yard was none other than Prince Callion. Following him, as always, were Lords Kasen and Hilmin. The boys strode over to our position, the prince leading with a steady, confident gait. He eyed everyone present, from his sister, to her friends, as well as the four maids standing beside us. Then his eyes found me and his young face twisted in distaste.

Well, screw you, too, kid.

“Callion! What are you doing here?” Princess Riltara’s voice sounded equal parts worried and angry. I suppose I would be, too, if I had a jerk older brother who just discovered me and my friends doing something we weren’t supposed to be doing.

“Why, I was worried about you, dear sister,” the prince said with a slimy smirk on his face. “Every few days at around the same hour, you and your friends seem to vanish without a trace. As the older brother, it is my duty to see just what it is you were all up to. So I followed you here. And, lo and behold, what did I witness when I arrived? Our kingdom’s dear, noble Hero physically assaulting my poor little sister.”

“It’s not like that at all!” Riltara spoke out.

Callion ignored her. “What do you think mother and father will do when they hear that the nameless nobody that they had so kindly taken in and cared for had utterly betrayed them by daring to harm a member of the royal family? And that members of the staff had stood by and let it happen?” He turned his sneering eyes towards the maids, who flinched upon meeting his gaze.

Oh, the nerve of this punk! Not only was he threatening me, but now he was also threatening Griselda and the other maids? What the hell was his problem?

“L-look! I’m completely at fault here, nobody else is to blame!” I said aloud. This entire mess was mostly my fault, after all. It had been my idea to hold these secret training lessons. I had to take responsibility. “I was the one who asked to train the princess and her friends. If you want someone to blame, blame me.”

“Oh, is that so?” The prince said as he looked at me through narrowed eyes. Yikes, this guy really did not like me. Not one bit.

“Enough, Callion,” Riltara spoke, her young voice sounding heavy and tired. “You undoubtedly want something. Enough with the theatrics and just tell us what it is already.” She was obviously used to her older brother’s antics and knew when he was after something.

The prince smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “What do I want? Simple.” He turned towards me and somehow his smarmy smile grew wider. “I want a match. Between me and the Hero. Practice swords only.”

“You can’t be serious?” the princess said in a weary voice.

“Of course I am.” Callion gave his little sister a grin. “She obviously thinks she’s good enough with the sword if she’s willing to take on students. I just wish to see how good she really is.”

So, that was his game. He wanted to humiliate me in a sword fight. I had only been learning the basics for a few weeks while he’s probably had years of practice under his belt. Fine. If he wants so badly to humble me in front of everyone, then I’ll do it. It’s not like I had that much pride to begin with.

And who knew? If I agreed, maybe it would lessen his irrational hatred of me. That was always a plus, right?

“I accept,” I said, standing up straighter in hopes that it would make me look taller.

“Amelia, no!” Princess Riltara shouted with deep concern.

The others looked equally distressed. Millisin looked utterly lost while Offsen bit her lip in worry. Lord Kasen had a decidedly unhappy look on his face while his friend Hilmin looked amused about the entire situation. The young maids looked scared out of their wits, while Griselda merely stood by silently. When she saw me looking at her, she gave me a slight nod. What that meant I had no idea.

“I accept,” I repeated.

“Splendid!” Prince Callion grinned, then walked over to the rack of practice weaponry. He searched through the collection of swords before choosing one that was practically identical to mine: a one-handed sword with a long, thin blade. He then strode off towards the center of the yard, where there was a wide-open area for us to move around in.

I nervously followed.

The two of us stood in the center of the yard facing each other, about ten feet apart. The others followed and stood beside the area, silently watching. I glanced at them, with their worried faces, and then to the prince. He had a confident grin on his youthful face and looked very much to be enjoying this moment. Although he was a few years younger than me, he was also several inches taller as well. It was so not fair.

“Prince Callion,” Lord Kasen spoke up, his features uncertain. “Are you sure this is such a good idea?”

“It’s just a friendly match, Kasen,” the prince shrugged. “Don’t worry so much.” The boy then looked towards me, his smile not leaving his face. “Are you ready, Hero?”

I swallowed nervously, then nodded. I lifted my sword and fell into a ready stance. My hands were sweaty and my shoulders trembled; I couldn’t help it.

“Very well.” The prince readied his own sword and his stance looked so much more refined than my own. “Let us begin then.” With those words, he lunged.

His sword point was headed towards my center and I moved my blade to intercept, but it turned out to be a faint. He quickly struck with his blade faster than I could react and smacked me hard on the side of my right knee. I flinched at the blow but managed to stay silent. I readied myself for his next move while I tried to ignore the stinging in my knee.

“Slow,” he said before lunging again. I wasn’t fast enough to intercept and the dulled blade jabbed me right in the shoulder.

I gasped at the painful strike and fell back a few paces, getting some space between me and the prince. Callion leisurely followed my steps, a look of pure amusement on his face. I risked a strike at him, but he easily batted my sword aside before retaliating with a swing that connected with my right side. I backed off again, this time with my left hand clutching at the aching area.

“What’s the matter, Hero? Why aren’t you fighting back?” He said with contempt. “Where’s all of this legendary power we hear so much about? I thought your kind was brave and strong?” He struck out a blow which I managed to deflect, but he quickly followed the move with a thrust that dug right into my belly.

I let out a grunt of pain as I staggered backward. I heard gasps from the crowd but ignored them as I readied myself for Callion’s next move.

Over and over, for what seemed like hours, Callion smacked me around with his sword. He seemed to take much satisfaction in each gasp and cry of pain he managed to get out of me. He delighted in making me scramble back in a desperate attempt to get away from him, and of seeing the fear in my eyes whenever I knew a painful blow would land. There were pleas from the princess for him to stop, but he ignored them. He continued to heap the abuse onto me until the pain just got too much. Tears began to fall from my eyes. The sight of me crying seemed to re-energize the sadistic prince, as his blows became faster and harder.

One of his hits was particularly hard and smashed down across my right thumb. I screamed in agony as I dropped to my knees onto the dirt, letting go of my sword in the process. I clutched at my right hand, from which a stream of red blood steadily dripped, coming from a deep cut in the flesh between my thumb and forefinger. Callion ceased his attacks and stood above me, a look of utter disdain on his face. As he stared down upon me, I must have made a most pitiful sight. I was all but sobbing in my misery, down on my knees and clutching at my bleeding injury. My hair was wild and there were numerous cuts and bruises on my body. I had never been beaten up before. In all of the stories and shows I have watched they always treated the main character being beaten as a hump or an obstacle to overcome. It was just an event, something the MC eventually got over that made him a better person.

I knew better now. Being beaten isn’t some life lesson; it isn’t something a person just gets over in a few minutes, afterward being ready to take on life’s other challenges. Being beaten up is painful, it’s awful, it’s humiliating. Nothing I do will ever take this moment away; it happened and I will always remember it.

“Pathetic,” I heard Callion say. I peered up at him and through the tears in my eyes I all but pleaded with him to stop. Instead, he kicked my sword over to me. “Pick it up.”

What? He wanted more? Wasn’t all this enough? How much more did he want to hurt me? What did I ever do to him that he would hate me so much that he’d go through all of this trouble just to torture me? Why was this happening?

“Pick. It. Up.” He repeated.

“Callion! That’s enough!” Kasen stomped onto our dueling area, having had enough of watching this farce. “Can’t you see that you’ve won? Well, you have! Congratulations! You’ve just beaten the wits out of a defenseless girl. Aren’t you proud of yourself?”

I lifted my eyes to glance at those who had been witness to my so-called match. Princess Riltara was weeping openly, staring at her brother like he was some kind of monster. Millisin was crying, too, and she was being held by a stiff-faced Offsen who was trying to prevent her from watching. The maids looked utterly aghast, their faces turned away from the scene. Griselda looked stoically on, though there was a glint of anger in her eyes. Lord Hilmin just looked bored.

“Watch your tongue, Lord Kasen,” Callion said to his friend, his tone dangerously low. “Do you need a reminder of just who you are addressing? If you weren’t the son of Duke Reynard then I’d have you-”

As Prince Callion continued to berate Lord Kasen, I felt a sudden rage welling up within me. I have had it. This was enough. I have had enough of this disgusting, psychopathic bully of a prince. He had hurt me terribly and I knew that, because of his position, he would get away with it. Sure, he may get a slap on the wrist from his parents, but there would be no real repercussions. Not for him. He would just go along his merry way to torment others who couldn’t stand up to him. Others like me.

I picked up my sword. The prince was preoccupied. Now was my chance. I wanted to hurt him; no, I needed to. He may get away with this; he will get away with this. But I wanted to leave my mark on him. I wanted him to remember this moment, not as one of triumph, but one where his victim had managed to commit harm upon him. Maybe even leave a scar. Despite the fact that it would be a small victory, it was one I would gladly take.

While Callion’s attention was away, I lunged. My sword point was aimed right at his groin. Sure, it was a low blow. But he deserved it. I wanted to hear the bastard shriek as he clutched at his injured royal jewels.

Unfortunately, Prince Callion had more martial awareness than I thought. He seemed to sense my intent and jerked away at the last moment. Instead of slamming into his junk, my sword jabbed hard into his inner thigh. I had been so close!

The prince squealed in surprise and jumped back. He looked down in shock, clearly realizing what I had been aiming for. The others seemed to realize it as well as they directed astonished glances in my direction.

Callion looked down at his thigh, then directed a glare towards me. His eyes flared and his face twisted in fury. His cheeks reddened as his mouth opened and closed, stunned that I would have the audacity to attempt to do to him what I just did. Finally, he gripped his sword tight, then rushed towards me.

“You bitch!” He shouted as he raised his sword. Kasen made a grab for him, but the prince managed to shake off his hands.

Callion bore down on me. I scrambled back on my hands and knees, trying to get away, but he was too fast. He swiftly thrust his sword forwards, directly into my face. I heard the princess scream.

As I watched the blade coming straight towards me, I realized that judging by its speed and direction that the point would most likely pierce me in the left eye. I went over the math in my head and found that I was correct. Best case scenario was that I would lose the eye and become half-blind. Worst case was that the blade would continue on into my brain and that I would die.

Neither of those situations worked for me.

My brain powered into overdrive. I calculated the sword’s size, speed, and the direction of its motion. I processed the data, calculating the momentum required to redirect the sword. My mind burned through the numbers, my neurons flaring as they processed each and every variable present, including position, displacement, velocity, and acceleration. All this computation took the span of a fraction of a microsecond.

My left hand shot out to intercept the blade. As soon as my fingers touched the metal, I used the calculations I had processed to redirect the forces acting upon it. I pushed it all up, releasing it all back into its source. But I didn’t just counter with equal force; I increased the magnitude several hundredfold.

I may have blanked out for a bit, because for a moment I didn’t know where I was. Then, I heard screaming. Suddenly, it all came back to me. The prince and his stupid duel. The pain and humiliation. The sword blade headed right towards me.

I looked up from the ground and saw Callion. He was the one who was screaming. He was there, lying on his back, rolling around on the ground and clutching at his right arm. The limb was, for all intents and purposes, ruined. It was bent unnaturally at various points, flopping about bonelessly as the prince continued to writhe in pain. His hand, which was visible past his sleeve, was bloated and purple. His face, which was so recently filled with joy at my anguish, was red and constricted in fear and agony.

Now it was his eyes dripping with tears. Mine were completely dry.

The others all stood still, their faces betraying their shock and horror. Princess Riltara looked aghast at the sight of her brother, her small hands covering her wide open mouth. Her friends looked on in concern, as did the maids who looked utterly dazed. Lord Kasen and Hilmin were just as dumbfounded, the latter not looking bored any longer.

The prince continued to wail and weep, still clutching at the mangled meat that used to be his arm. Kasen seemed to snap out of his stupor, and he rushed to Callion’s side. This movement brought the others out of their trance, with the maids breaking out into frightened screams. Hilmin shook his head and joined Kasen, trying to tend to the injured prince as best he could.

“Enough!” a sharp, steady voice sliced through the chaos, silencing the squealing maids. Griselda stepped up and quickly took control of the situation. “My Lords, please keep His Highness still,” she told Kasen and Hilmin. “Try to keep him from moving his arm, as it may do further damage.” She then turned to one of the younger maids. “Mathi, go quickly and inform the head butler of the situation. Tell him to get the chief physician here at once!” The maid she addressed nodded and swiftly rushed off, running for the entrance as fast as her boots could take her.

“As for you two,” Griselda turned to Millisin and Offsen, both of whom had tears in their eyes. “Please bring Her Highness back to her room. She doesn’t need to see this.”

The two girls nodded, then led a still shocked Riltara out of the courtyard.

I stayed where I was, sitting in the dirt. Now that the adrenaline had worn off and the danger had passed, I felt myself begin to shake. I looked at the prince, still lying on the ground while his friends tried to keep him from moving around too much. He still continued to howl at the top of his lungs, seeming intent on letting the world know of how much pain he was in.

Did I do this?

I flinched when I felt two hands settle atop my trembling shoulders. I looked up and saw Griselda kneeling behind me. She gave me a soft smile and said, “We should go.”

“B-but,” I looked over at the still screaming prince. Shouldn’t we do something about him?

“The guards will be here soon,” Griselda told me in a soft voice. “They will see their prince injured and may react harshly to the one who injured him.”

I blinked at her words. Oh. Damn.

My maid helped me to stand. “We need to get you to Master Ghaldor. He will keep you safe.”

“O-okay,” I said. I allowed Griselda to lead me away, out of the courtyard and back into the castle.

All the while the prince continued to scream.