Ulrick looks even larger in his armor. He’s towering and broad-shouldered. He stands rolling his neck and settling his shield.

  “Ready when you are, half-pint.”

  I smirk back as I unsheathe Lantecari. “Try to keep up, ogre.”

  Ulrick smiles and nods. I sing softly to myself. This is a song about a pixie, going from plant to plant, looking for a new place to live. Kenric gives the signal, and Ulrick advances, shield high and sword poised. I lean into my speed, moving sideways so fast that my feet barely touch the grass.

  The first exchange is over in a heartbeat. Ulrick’s sword whistles through empty air, but Lantecari taps his shield with some force and rings it like a bell.

  Luka lets out a low whistle, “Did you see that?”

  Arno nods, “She’s half his size and twice as fast.”

  Ulrick grins, undeterred. “Size really does matter, half-pint.”

  He presses forward, trying to use his reach to herd me. I let him, since I can dance around him while I wait for an opening. Ulrick finally gives me one when he lunges at me.

  I spin out of the way and swat him on the thigh with the flat of my blade.

  “Point to the half-pint!” Tobias calls out.

  Torsten’s eyes narrow, and he calls out to Ulrick, “She’s not just quick. She’s reading you. What’d I tell you about your tells?”

  Ulrick hears his father and nods, tightening up his stance. I can hear Kenric’s men-at-arms talking among themselves. Ulrick changes tactics now, feinting left and then swinging right. I dodge him the first time, but the second time, I don’t give ground. I meet him, and the ring of steel echoes through the trees. Before he can pull back, I twist, using his momentum to spin him off balance. I dart behind him, before he can get his balance back, and swat the back of his knee.

  “Ready to yield yet?” I asked.

  Ulrick laughed, “I never give up that easy.”

  I hear Usami tell Inaba, “She’s holding back.”

  They’re not wrong. This is a friendly fight—and, even more, a training session.

  I hear Inaba reply, “She honors him by not making it look easy.” Ulrick comes at me again, slower and more cautious this time. We trade some blows. He reminds me of Nieven—tons of power but not much speed. I have a decent amount of power and tons of speed.

  He finally manages to catch my blade against his shield, but I use it as an opportunity to slip under his guard.

  I tap his cuirass, hip check him, and call out, “Point!”

  Ulrick looks down at me and grins, “Smart ass half pint.”

  Torsten elbows Arno, “Pay attention, boys. She’s teaching him, not humiliating him.”

  Ulrick lowers his sword, grinning. “I yield. If I keep going, you’ll have me flat on my back in front of everyone.”

  I shake my head, “Probably not, but you did well. You lasted longer than most.”

  Luka calls out, “Next time, try two shields!”

  Tobias, laughing, adds, “Or maybe a net.”

  From my honor guard, Miyabe steps forward and bows slightly. “A worthy match. House Ariyuki would be honored to train with you, Lord Ulrick.”

  Ulrick grins, rubbing his ribs. “Maybe after I catch my breath.”

  I look at Ulrick and ask, “Tell me. Did I oversell myself or not?” Ulrick shakes his head.

  “I don’t think so. I caught some of the comments. Where did you learn to fight like that? Why did you learn to fight like that?”

  “The why is simple enough. I wanted to live. As for where, the Fey were being attacked. We had a long-running border war. Mass conscriptions scooped us up as soon as we turned twenty. They sent us to a training center for three years. They were supposed to teach us survival skills and fighting skills.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Ulrick asks, “Supposed to? I take it they weren’t very good at it.”

  I shake my head. “Most of what we got was physical conditioning. I was better equipped than most.”

  Ulrick gestures for me to continue, “My father is one of Ellisar’s ministers. I had more training than most, simply because we were in the palace so often. All of us who were conscripted taught each other. We took the bits and pieces each of us had and either figured out how to make them work or ended up being eaten by the things we were fighting. It was a simple matter of getting good or being dead. Once we got good enough to understand, we started hunting down those who could teach us. Anything useful, we shared.”

  At Torsten’s glance, Kenric smirks, “Yes, there are more of them just like her. I met some of them. They came to our Fey wedding.”

  Torsten walks over to Ulrick, shaking his head, “I hope we never face the Fey in battle. It wouldn’t take many like that to turn the tide.”

  Now somber, Kenric looks at me and nods. Torsten throws an arm around Ulrick’s shoulders and pulls him away from his brothers. When he speaks, his voice is low but carries the weight of years spent on real battlefields. “You did well, son. You kept your head, even when you were outmatched in speed. Staying calm is more important than winning every exchange.”

  Ulrick nods, so Torsten continues. “In a real fight, it’s not about looking good. It’s about surviving. Maybe also protecting your own, too, but to do that, you have to be alive. I know she’s tiny and female, but you let her teach you. You didn’t let your pride get in the way. That’s the mark of a man who’ll keep getting better.”

  Torsten slaps Ulrik on the back, nearly staggering him. “Don’t be afraid to lose in a practice bout. That’s where you’ll learn the most and be the least likely to bleed for it. She’s worth listening to.”

  Chuckling, Kenric agrees, “She spent a long time fighting. Longer than her appearance might suggest.”

  Torsten nods, “I can tell. How she moves. What she says. Maybe more than most men twice my age. Take what works for you from what she can teach you. Make it your own. Next time, try to spot her tells, and keep a closer eye on your own.”

  Ulrick heaves a sigh, “I’ve been working on that.”

  Torsten laughs, “Remember, you have your brothers at your back. Train together. Watch out for each other. You’ll be ready for whatever comes.”

  Ulrick’s brothers, Luka, Arno, and Tobias, are horsing around and swatting at each other with wooden swords. I walk over, balancing Lantecari across my shoulders. I cock my head and give them a sly smile. “Don’t think you’re safe just because you weren’t in the ring. If you want to stand up to someone smaller or faster, you need to learn to use your reach. Just don’t let having a big reach make you lazy. You’ll come to regret it if you do.”

  “What’s wrong with big swings?” Tobias asks.

  Ah, to be that young again.

  I grin at Tobias. “Inherently, nothing. Like all things, they have their purpose, but know what you risk. Big swings leave big openings. You have to pay more attention to your footwork. You can overbalance yourself if you let your blade get too far ahead of you. You can have a weak swing if you’re too far ahead of your blade.” I pause for a moment and grin at them again, teeth showing this time. “Never, ever let your opponent set the rhythm.”

  Arno looks interested, so I continue. “If you’re fighting someone like me, who’s much faster than you, you’ll have to work to make me react to you, instead of the other way around. If you let me set the rhythm of the fight, you’ve already lost.”

  Luka is standing there, feet spread wide, so I use him for a demonstration. I whip Lantecari off my shoulders, make a quick side step, flick my blade out, and tap Luka’s shield before he even realizes what just happened.

  I point to his feet. “See? If you plant your feet too wide, you can’t recover quickly enough. Keep your stance springy. Don’t lock your knees and be ready to move in any direction. Oh, and don’t forget to breathe. Holding your breath slows you down.”

  Arno nods as he rubs his chin thoughtfully. “You make it look easy.”

  I grin at him and shake my head. “It’s not easy. I’ve had a lot more practice at it than you have. And maybe a bit more mischief.”

  Snatching cookies from my mother and running, if I'm honest.Whenever my mother made cookies, she would leave them out to cool. They were usually made for someone else, so I wasn’t allowed to have any. Depending on what kind of cookies she baked, I would sneak one. I had to outrun my mother while dodging her dish towel. She could snap that thing like a whip, and it stung almost as bad as one. I got pretty good at dodging things while moving quickly, so I could get my occasional cookie.

  Tobias seems to be the joker of the bunch. “What if I just run away?”

  “That can work… if you’re faster than your opponent. But if you’re not, you’d best learn to fight,” I grin back.

  I set Luka into position with his wooden sword. "Here, let me show you how to break a stalemate without brute force."

  While I’m working with Ulrick’s brothers, Inaba, Usami, Nasu, Miyabe, Hagiwara, Yoshida, and Oshida are busy drilling Kenric and his men-at-arms. Inaba has singled out Kenric as being worthy of his personal attention. This is a better outcome than I had hoped for.

  These warriors from Nintoku do not waste their time or talents on anyone they deem unworthy. Their willingness to train him shows that they also see potential in Kenric. Some of the men-at-arms are grumbling because moving through sets of movements with a tree branch doesn’t resemble the kind of training they’re used to. I watch this with interest, and Torsten wanders over to stand beside me.

  “They’re teaching them how to move correctly,” Torsten observes.

  I nod. “My honor guard doesn’t come with a teaching mode or even much of a friendly mode. If they ever get into a ring with you, it’s a real fight in every sense.”

  I watch Inaba correcting Kenric’s form and smirk. I glance up at Torsten. “Did you know that Inaba’s blind?”

  Torsten looks surprised. “I saw his eyes and wondered, but he doesn’t move like he’s blind.”

  I shake my head. “Not in the least. He is quite helpful when assassins try to come out of the darkness, though.”

  “So what you said to Ulrick about the best swordsmen in Centis?” Torsten asks.

  I wave my hand at the field and nudge him with an elbow. “I suspect that we’re all right here.” Torsten laughs. “Ulrick tells me that this isn’t some business arrangement between you and Kenric.”

  I smile and shake my head, “Not in the least. Not even the tiniest shred of it. For the first time in a very long time, I find myself happy, even a little bit content.”

  “And what of the dukes?” Torsten asks.

  Personally, I refuse to be afraid of anything I can outrun. What about you? Let me know in the comments...