Page 41 of Quest for her Knights
It’s only her soft voice that pulls me from my trance.
“Draven?”
I look up to see her standing in front of me, holding out a piece of cooked meat in offering. “Would you like some dinner?” she asks, moving it closer to me. I put my dagger away and reach out to take it from her.
I say nothing, but she doesn’t seem to mind as she smiles, then plops down beside me. “Can I ask you something?” she asks, making me grunt in response.
“Why do you clean your weapons every night if you haven’t used them?”
I consider ignoring her, but knowing she wants to know a little more about me has me wanting to answer her. “I like to make sure they’re always in pristine condition, you never know when you’re going to need them. And cleaning them soothes me, it helps to ground me in the present.”
“I can see that, you look like you’re almost in a meditative state when you do it. Do you think I could try?”
My eyebrows pinch together as I turn to look down at her. “Do you even know how to handle a weapon?”
“Yeah, you hold the handle and aim the pointy end at the bad guys.”
Arrow lets out a laugh, and when I look up at him, he shrugs. “She’s not wrong.”
“They aren’t toys, you have to be very careful not to hurt yourself,” I say, turning back to her.
Her eyes brighten with excitement as she replies, “I promise to be super careful!”
Sighing, I pull out an extra cloth and one of my small throwing daggers, passing both to her. “Careful now, yes that’s it. Now let me show you how to do it.”
I pull out my own dagger and cloth and show her how to clean it without cutting herself. She’s quiet and listens carefully, repeating my exact motions. I’m glad to see she takes it seriously, and soon the two of us work through all my daggers.
“What’s the difference between all these blades?” she eventually asks.
“The small ones are throwing daggers, some are used for fighting if I can’t get to my sword, some are better for stabbing versus slicing.”
“Oh, wow. You like to get a little stabby, huh?” she asks. I glance at her face, expecting to see disgust there, but instead I see bright eyes and a smile. She’s teasing me.
“Sometimes the situation calls for it.”
“I think I’d be more of a thrower. Can you show me how to throw them?” she asks eagerly.
I glance up and see we have a little bit of daylight left. “Alright, let's do it over there.” I point to the back part of the clearing, where it’s free of men and horses.
“Yes!” she jumps up and claps her hands excitedly, making me shake my head at her dramatics.
“Okay, you’re aiming for this tree,” I say, placing my palm on a trunk and then directing her to a spot twenty feet away. “This is how you hold the dagger,” I say, showing her the grip. “You pull your arm back like this and then when your arm gets here, you let go.” I show her the movement in slow motion before passing her a small dagger so she can practice the movement. I correct her form and when I’m satisfied she has it down. I show her at full speed twice before letting my dagger fly, it hits the tree and sticks straight into the trunk.
“My turn?” she asks excitedly.
“Yes, do two practice throws at half speed, then you can let go on the third one. She lifts her hand and I watch as her tongue pokes out of her mouth in concentration. When she lets it go, it heads straight for the tree, but the handle hits the trunk before it drops to the grass below.
“Oh, boo!” she pouts as I move to grab both our daggers.
“That’s alright, try again.” I say, passing her. “I was terrible when I started to learn, I missed the target completely.”
“Really?” she asks hopefully.
I nod my head in reply. “It took me years to master the technique.”
“It’s impressive you stuck with it if you were so bad. Why not give up and try another weapon?”
“I was practicing with all weapons, but there’s something about holding a dagger that soothes me. I can’t really explain it. I don’t feel at ease unless I have them on me somewhere.”
