“Don’t you think it would be wiser for us to wait until we have a chance to get practice blades? I don’t want to accidently hurt you.” William said as he looked down at his bare bale nervously.
Eloen laughed at his hesitancy. “Hurt me. The only person that I think you could hurt with that thing is yourself. Your grip is too low on the hilt. You need to tighten up your stance your feet are too far apart. It makes you too unbalanced.”
Eloen waited for the prince to fix his stance but even then it was still sloppy. Hoping a practical display would strengthen his resolve to learn a bit more she moved in. striking the side of his sword she pushed forward forcing him to take an awkward step back. Eloen didn’t wait for William to get his footing back she pressed the attack. William to his credit tried to twist and get his sword up but all it caused him to do was stumble forward allowing Eloen to easily step aside and slap the prince on the back with the flat of her blade.
Cursing William fell face first into the hard ground. Eloen watched as he shoved the blade of his sword into the ground to help him get unsteadily to his feet. As soon as the prince reset his footing and had his blade back at the ready Eloen attacked again. This time the prince heeded her advice and kept his feet shoulder with apart allowing him to move quicker without losing his balance.
Eloen was happily surprised that he lasted a few more moments but his movements were still to hesitant as if he were afraid of the blade. Instead of focusing on the fight he was focusing on his own blade too much. The narrow view made it too easy for Eloen to knock him off balance again sending him flying to land hard on his back.
After the ninth time that he was sent to the ground William held up his hand. “Ok…. You have proved that you are a far better fighter than me. Now would you mind telling me what I should do to fix it, or are you enjoying watching me hit the dirt repeatedly?”
“I would be lying if I said I do not find it amusing but I figured you would have to hit it a few times before you were really willing to listen.” Eloen replied smiling at the dirt covered prince.
William smiled back and bowed his head slightly. “I place myself in your worthy hands. Now would you be so kind as to show me how not to humiliate myself so much.”
Eloen first showed him the basic ten steps that were useful in close combat. It wasn’t so much stepping and pivoting on one foot and moving at a forty-five degree angle with the other. She made William move through each step in order first then switched them up to make sure he had each of them memorized. As soon as she was sure he knew the moves she went on to the eight basic attacks. It wasn’t anything fancy but was enough for a novice to at least hold off an unprepared attacker. If he met up against anyone skilled there was nothing she could teach him that would really save him.
After three hours of working with William he finally started to look like he knew witch end of the sword to hold. Eloen sat down and called the prince to take a seat next to her. “You need to spar someone your own level so I am going to have Darryl look for something we can use to spar with. Tomorrow onward when we stop you will spar with Brenda. She is a little better than you with a blade but your reach and strength should give you an advantage so it would be good for both of you. Me and Darryl will stay around to make sure neither of you develop bad habits. Other than that you need to practice what I showed you today. Those are the basics and all other techniques are built on them.”
“You want me to spar against a child?” William said with sheer astonishment in his voice. “I would be the laughing stock of all of Abla if anyone saw me.”
“She is the only one that wouldn’t outright trounce you. You need practical experience against someone near your own level and she is the only one we have. That is unless you know of another man in Abla who is as bad with a blade as you are.”
“I guess there is no way out of this and save my dignity is there. It was bad enough I had to get thrown around by you worse if I let a little girl do it.” William said thoroughly abashed.
“What’s more important your imaginary dignity or your life?” Eloen asked her voice teetering on anger.
“You should know better than to ask any man that.” The prince said half-jokingly. All joy left his voice when he saw the scathing look Eloen was giving him. “I get it. I get it. You will get no more complaints from me. Now if you don’t mind I am going to try and get a bit more practice in before its time to bed down. The last thing I want is for tomorrow night’s sparring match to go worse than it has to.”
Eloen watched as William walked off to go practice. Nothing motivates a man like threat of utter humiliation. Now all she had to do was to get Darryl to agree to the match. She didn’t think it would be that hard. The little man was evil in his own right and would love to see Brenda send the prince to the ground.
It wasn’t hard to find Darryl as he was with Brenda walking her through a basic set of sword attacks. As she watched the two she wished the prince had half of Brenda’s determination. She had made great strides quickly though she still had the bad habit of leaving her off hand side too exposed. Noticing her presence Brenda gave her a bright smile and waved enthusiastically. “Mom did you see me.” Brenda said rushing over to where she stood and giving her a tight hug around the waist.
Eloen returned the hug patting Brenda softly on the back. “Yes I did. You are doing much better but you still need to work on your foot work.” Brenda didn’t pout at her words she simply just nodded her head with a determined look on her face. “Darryl can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Sure.” Darryl said raising one eyebrow as he often did. She had tried to imitate the moment once spending hours in front of a mirror but was never able to accomplish the feat. “Brenda I want you to go over those sword strokes until I return.” Darryl said to the girl before accompanying Eloen. “What do you need?” he asked as soon as they were far enough away so Brenda couldn’t hear.
Eloen explained about her plan to have Brenda and William spar over the next few days. Darryl didn’t respond right away he simply pursed his mouth contemplatively. “Well what do you think?” Eloen asked annoyed after waiting a good while for Darryl to respond.
Darryl shook his head then smiled. “I don’t want to set my student up to fail, so would you mind telling me a bit about what the prince’s strength and weaknesses are?”
Eloen let an evil grin spread across her face. “I would be more than willing to tell you everything you need to know.”
It took the better part of the night for the two to discuss what they would be doing. Eloen didn’t envy Brenda who would be getting a late night due to Darryl’s special training course. Neither did she envy the prince who would receive the brunt of that class the following night. The thoughts of what would be happening the following night did make for some pleasant dreams. She didn’t want to admit it but the thought of taking the prince’s pride down a few pegs made her happy.
The next morning Eloen was awoken by Ballard. “Not like you to sleep in captain.” Ballard said as Eloen hurriedly shoveled a few hard biscuits into her mouth.
“Just had a good sleep.” Eloen replied as she hurried to get ready as the others already had their horses saddled. The prince had most likely ordered them to let her sleep. While it was appreciated she wished they would had woken her earlier so that she wouldn’t have had to rush. In short order she began her day like any other riding along beside Brenda and he others talking about whatever they could think of to pass the time.
When they stopped for the midday meal Eloen was surprised that William asked to practice. She honestly didn’t expect him to show any amount of dedication until after he had sparred with Brenda. While she was surprised she was also happy. It was nice to the see the prince doing more than reading in his coach.
She had tried to read one of the books that he had picked up back at Treforge but none of them were very interesting to her. She enjoyed a good story but the prince’s books were historical books with little to no real story to them.
Though he was more than willing to practice it didn’t last long. As soon the food was ready he was ready to stop and take a break while Brenda continued to practice while she ate. It was entertaining to watch the girl dance around dodging Darryl attacks while a piece of mutton hung from her lips. Though Brenda was getting better she still spent more time on the ground than standing. She never stayed down long though no matter how long hard Darryl knocked her down. Watching the display Eloen was really begging to look forward to the coming night’s events.
Smiling Eloen made her way to the coach. Inside she found the prince relaxing with his meal reading a thick worn leather-bound book. As soon as she sat down opposite from William he let his book tilt just enough that he could look over the top of it at her. “You look like you’re are having a good day.” He said causally.
“Just enjoying the trip.” Eloen said trying to keep the smile that wanted to flourish on her face subdued.
William never replied he simply went back to his book. Eloen never really enjoyed her evening rides. Sometimes Brenda would join them and add a small amount of excitement to the ride but otherwise Eloen spent her time idly waiting for them to reach their destination. She would talk to William throughout the ride but he seldom sat down his book and having a discussion with someone when you knew they weren’t paying much attention to you was infuriating.
Sitting back Eloen closed her eyes and let her mind wonder about the possibilities of what could happen during the spar between the prince and Brenda. The feeling that was bubbling inside her was much like what she felt when she was younger and her aunt had hinted that she would be getting a unique birthday gift. Opening her eyes seeing William sitting their idly made the image of Brenda standing over him all the more enjoyable.
Time passed irritatingly slowly. Eloen found herself looking out the coach’s small window watching the sun slowly make its way across its path in the sky. It had been such a long time since she had anticipated something this much.
When the coach finally stopped Eloen jumped off it like a child running to go play. She made her way straight to where Darryl was unsaddling his and Brenda’s horses. “Is everything ready for the show?” Eloen asked with a large smile on her face.
“Yes I went over everything with Brenda. That girl is a wild one. As soon as I told her what we were doing she jumped right on it. I tell you when she gets older she’s is going to drive the boys crazy.” Darryl said returning Eloen’s smile.
After the camp was set it was time for the festivities. Ballard and Darryl marked off a large circle and made sure it was clear of any large rocks or anything else that hurt either of the two by accident. For weapons Darryl had secured two long sticks. The one for the price was about six feet long while Brenda’s was only four foot long. They were both sturdy branches and smooth as can be. They would leave some bruises if they were hit hard enough but other than that they were harmless. Eloen still worried slightly that the prince might hit Brenda a bit too hard but she honestly doubted the prince would land a solid hit on his opponent.
William and Brenda started off about eight paces away from each other when the fight started. As she had been instructed Brenda didn’t close slowly but ran at the prince turning right before she reached him and began running around him. Just as Eloen and Darryl had suspected William had little clue what to do. His eyes followed her but after a few turns he quit shifting his body to her angle.
As soon as she noticed his feet had quit moving Brenda darted in hitting William as hard as she could in his sword arm. His grip was tight enough that he was able to keep his grip but he did let out a loud curse and rub the large bruise that was growing. His eyes more focused again he followed Brenda this time as she ran around him. As planned Brenda attacked again this time going low. The prince tried to adjust his strike but he was tall and lanky and swinging at such a low target was awkward for him. Brenda’s stick found its mark again hitting William hard on the shin. Her pattern changed for each attack. The prince to his credit got in a few hits himself but none of them were hard and only gained him a small yelp from his opponent. When the fight was called Brenda stood confident while the prince looked like a wounded dog as he rubbed his many new bruises.
After congratulating Brenda on her fight Eloen made her way over to where the prince sat. The look on his face was priceless. It was all there he was ashamed that he had done so poorly against such a young and inexperienced opponent. Eloen only hoped that it was enough to truly motivate him into practicing sincerely. “Did you enjoy yourself?”
“Have you come to rub mud in my eyes and salt in my wounds?” The prince said dejectedly.
Eloen tried not to laugh but she couldn’t help it. William waited for her to get over her fit of laughter his face growing dimmer with each passing second. “You have to admit it was amusing.” Eloen said after she was able to calm herself. “The real reason I came over was to see if you were willing to take your practice seriously now?”
William looked up and gave a sad chuckle. “You made your point. A child could kill me. I promise I will take my practice more seriously. Just do me a favor and don’t ever tell anyone about me getting beat by a child. I don’t think my ego could take that big of a beating.”
Laughing Eloen sat down next to William handing him a mug of ale. “I wouldn’t worry about that William. I don’t want to be known as the woman who married a man after her daughter kicked his rear.”
CHAPTER XX
The days were passing quickly and Copperstone was nearing. William had said they would reach it within a few days. William had started taking his training more seriously and had progressed some but it was painfully obvious to Eloen that he had little natural talent with the blade. William had tried to bring up the details of the wedding, but Eloen was more concerned with what would happen after it not during.
They had stopped for the night in the only forest Eloen had seen in Abla. The sun still had a few hours when they had spotted the trees but Eloen had insisted that they go ahead and stop. It had been a long time since she had seen so much green in one area and she wasn’t going to let it go to waste. If William was in that much of a hurry he should have ridden a horse.
While the others set camp Eloen disappeared into the trees. It didn’t take her long to walk the entire perimeter of the small forest it was more of a large grove than anything but she would take what she could get.
When she was far enough away from the others that she could no longer hear their idle banter Eloen found a nice spot and sat lay down on ground. The area was still mostly rock so it wasn’t that comfortable but the sight of the sun shining through the leaves was worth the slight discomfort.
Eloen wasn’t sure how long she had laid there before she started hearing voices coming in her direction. She figured it must have been Ballard and Darryl looking for her. Didn’t they understand that every now and then she wanted time alone so she could work her way through her own thoughts. She started to rise from her resting place until the tones of the voices came closer and she noticed that they were not from anyone she knew. It was a possibility that they were those of the two soldiers who drove the coach as she had not spent a great deal of time with either but it sounded more like a small group of men than just two.
Rolling over on her stomach Eloen crawled along the ground in the direction of the voices. They were speaking silently and while she could hear them she still couldn’t make out the words they were using. After a few painful moments of crawling on the ground the words of the strangers reached her ears.
“”You’re sure their stopping for the night Alan? I don’t want to make a break for the horses in the dark because you thought they were stopping.” A voice said in the distance.
“I told you, they stopped up ahead. We won’t get a better chance than this. The trees will cover our approach and once they’re asleep we can take them out without a bit of trouble. Easiest five hundred gold we ever made boys.” Another voice answered the other.
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Eloen still couldn’t see the men but she counted at least eight different voices though it was more than possible that there could have been more. Slowly and as quietly as possible Eloen got to her feet keeping crouched down. She moved as fast as she dared afraid she would alert their would-be assassins of her presence.
Suddenly the small forest felt much larger as she was forced to move slowly. Each moment that passed was longer that her friends were in danger. She had to warn them but the best chance they had was preparing for their attackers without them knowing.
Eloen exited the woods slightly down from where they had made camp, but that mattered little now that she was out in the open she could move more freely. Even if the men in the forest saw her they most likely wouldn’t think anything of her brisk walk back to the camp.
Her heart pounding she walked as fast as her legs would carry her without breaking into a full run. When the sigh of Darryl and Brenda going through their daily practice came into view she had to hold back the urge to yell out a warning. Instead she continued on to where the two worked and called for them to follow her back to where the others were gathered around an already burning fire.
Darryl face looked worried but he held his tongue until everyone was gathered. Eloen leaned over to Ballard who sat on her left. “Men in the forest at least eight, armed and looking for us.” She whispered. She saw Ballard’s eyes widen at the news but as he was trained her lent to William who sat next to him and repeated the message.
“What?” the prince nearly yelled as soon as Ballard told him the message.
“I told you Your Highness we don’t have any more wine.” Eloen said defensively though her eyes gave him an unspoken message. A message that promised world of pain if he didn’t control himself.
“That will not do. I can’t wait until we reach civilization again. I can’t spend another day drinking this swill.” William said trying his best to keep his voice haughty though Eloen could still hear a slight quiver in his voice.
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