Page 23 of Legends of Sorcery
“I’ll make a deal with you. I shall accompany the two of you today and test Arion’s ability to protect you in the future. We’ll get started on training immediately,” Taneth negotiated.
“Training for what exactly?” Arion asked.
“We’ll start with swordsmanship,” Taneth said definitively.
Arion groaned. Until today he’d never carried a sword and had no idea what to do with thing. He was an apprentice, a future magic user, not a fighter.
Valaria looked at him hopefully. Having Taneth on her side had always proven to be a good thing. He gave her more freedom than any of the other knights or royal guards the King had used to surprise her. If Taneth could train Arion for her protection, then she may be allowed to leave the castle without an official guard and without sneaking out to do it.
Arion sighed. He couldn’t say no when Valaria looked at him with such hope. “Okay,” he conceded.
Kilrest was a village of Gavalon in the far western portion of the kingdom. During the dark times the King drove those found to be evil followers to the far end, cornering them against the cliffs that fell into the sea. Many lost their lives jumping instead of surrendering, but after a standoff, those that remained colonized there to form Kilrest.
Taneth had spoken with the King and made the arrangements himself. The three of them set out that afternoon on a journey to Kilrest with enough vials of the potion to make a significant dent in the unicorn population if only they could find them.
At first Arion felt guarded with Taneth there, but the further they walked the more he relaxed and soon he and Valaria were back to joking and laughing as if the knight wasn’t even there.
It quickly softened Taneth towards Arion seeing the transformation of the Princess with her guard down when with him.
As the sun began to dip low in the sky, Taneth stopped them. He wanted to test Arion with his sword before entering Kilrest for the night.
“Why are we stopping?” Valaria asked him as they slowed.
“Lesson time before we proceed into the village,” Taneth announced.
Valaria groaned. It wasn’t the first time he’d done that to her, but she was secretly surprised, and happy to find the target of his interest was on Arion, and not her.
“Sword to the ready, Arion,” Taneth said.
Arion tried not to panic. He’d never even held a sword before that morning and had no idea what he was talking about. Worse, he hated admitting that to the knight.
“I see,” Taneth said feeling a little tense about the situation after hearing Arion’s confession. “Well, I guess we’ll start with the basics then. Valaria, find a stick and follow along.”
“Me?” she asked in complete shock. “You’re going to train me as well?”
“I can’t always be here to protect you, your highness. I think it’s about time you at least learned the basics for your own self-defense. Go on, find something to use as a weapon and if you don’t knock yourself out with it, I’ll talk to the blacksmith and see about having you a sword of your own commissioned.”
Valaria nodded to Taneth and then turned to gleefully find something to use as a sword. She had a lot to prove and wouldn’t let this opportunity of good fortune go to waste.
With stick in hand, Taneth had her stand next to Arion. The knight had already showed the him how to properly hold his sword, and much to his relief, he had only dropped it once and managed not to cut himself in the process.
Taneth showed them some basic steps: how to stand, how to grip their weapon, what angle to hold it, and how to parry.
When he felt they were both confident in these areas, he had them square off with each other and slowly practice the motions he showed them. They took turns attacking and defending with slow, deliberate practice movements until the sun began to fall.
“That’s enough for tonight. We need to move on. I’ve sent a courier ahead to make our arrangements. They are expecting us at the Inn,” Taneth announced.
“That was fun,” Valaria said. She was bubbling with excitement.
“It kind of was,” Arion conceded. He knew Valaria would have kicked his butt had Taneth allowed them to truly fight. He knew he work to do just to keep up with the princess if these lessons were to continue.
Arion had never been to Kilrest before, but if he had, he suspected his welcome would have been quite different than the one they received.
People murmured and pointed as they passed. Everyone wanted a glimpse of the Princess. Valaria had never been allowed to spend much time outside the confines of the castle of Gavalon. With the exception of the fields, valley, and forests surrounding the castle where she roamed to escape from everyday life in the court, she had little experience with the subjects of her kingdom.
The spotlight made her feel a little uncomfortable. The village of Gavalon was used to seeing her on a regular basis and so they didn’t stare quite it the same way these people were gawking at her. She instinctively took a step closer to Taneth and relaxed as Arion stepped nearer her too. It made her feel safer and tamed the anxiety building from the attention she was receiving.
Taneth ignored them all and pressed forward towards the inn. He knocked twice on the front door and the innkeeper immediately answered. He was delighted to have the princess saying in his place of business and assured them his best rooms were waiting.
