With the council meeting concluded, Varre set off towards his daily training session. He walked through the corridors, together with his trusted chamberlain and entourage of guards. He knew that Kerryn, as always, would already be sitting inside of the courtyard. To his surprise, he also found Esther waiting for him close to the entrance.

  “Etty?” he asked, “have you finished exploring the castle already?”

  “Oh, it’s wonderful,” she replied, clapping her hands, “I remember you telling me stories about it, but I’ve never seen it in person. It’s magnificent. And the statues in the garden… amazing.”

  “Have you been up to the tower? The one next to the gate?” the king inquired, “there’s a great view of the entire city from there.”

  “You’ll have to show it to me,” the noblewoman grabbed his hand, “but I heard you’re going to spar with someone soon? Is it true?”

  “Well, it’s part of my training,” Varre explained, “I’m sparring with one of the Royal Guards.”

  Etty leaned to the right, trying to get a better look at one of the elite warriors following the monarch at all times. “Really? You’re going to fight him?”

  “Well, not him, him,” the king replied, looking at the same bodyguard, “one of the other recruits. I think it’s a little early for me to fight one of these veterans.”

  “Wow! You’re going to duel with a real knight! And such an elite too! Your dad never wanted to teach you how to fight, and now look at you!” she smiled, “fighting with the best that Logres has to offer!”

  “Yes, I’ve heard about that from Benjamin,” Varre said, “father didn’t want us to seem to ambitious I guess? Like we were trying to get the crown for ourselves? I suppose those skills would have come in handy now. Now, I have to catch up on a lifetime of training.”

  The pair continued walking as they talked all the way until they reached the training area in the courtyard. As expected, Kerryn was already there. He conversed with the recruit who would serve as the king’s opponent today.

  “Ah, there you are Va-“ the adventurer started to say, then stopped mid-sentence, when he noticed the appearance of an unexpected guest. He decided to stick to formality for now. “Your majesty. I see you’ve brought us a guest.”

  “Yes, this is Esther of Ashbourne,” the monarch introduced her, while the girl curtsied, “a friend and my personal guest here in Westbridge.”

  “I don’t mean to intrude,” the noblewoman added, “but I’d like to watch if you don’t mind. I promise I won’t get in the way!”

  “No problem,” Kerryn replied and pulled up a stool for Etty to sit in, “just… try to stay here. They’ll have to move around on the grass.”

  While she relaxed in the shade, Benjamin set up some refreshments on the nearby table. Meanwhile, the king and his opponent were warming up before the battle.

  The recruit was a young man, around the same age as the monarch. He left his signature plate armor back in the barracks and opted for a simpler cloth gambeson. For training purposes such as this one, there was no need to risk denting or otherwise damaging the expensive equipment. It was incredibly strong, but it had its limits. Falling over, or hitting it consistently in the same spot with a training weapon could have scuffed the metal. Technically, not a big issue, but the spotless appearance of each guard was vital to their image.

  Training with the heavy equipment had its place. The soldiers needed to get used to the movement and the weight of the real thing, so they’d fight effectively during battles. Today’s exercise though was intended to teach the king. Not the guard. And Varre would train unarmed. The monarch could be expected to fight in his regular clothes if he needed to fend off some assassins. Once he understood the techniques better, he would learn how to fight in armor as well.

  Besides, if the warrior accidentally ended up hitting the king in the face with his hand during a struggle, it’d be better if he wasn’t wearing a steel glove.

  Once the fighters were ready, they took up spots a few feet away from each other. Varre started off with a defensive stance. He held the sword low, around his hip, while the tip pointed upwards. His entire upper body was covered and he could easily orient the blade to repel an incoming attack. No matter the direction.

  The guard too held his weapon low, but the tip was facing behind him. Inches above the ground. He seemed open, but he could easily swing it upwards, diagonally, at full force, both to attack and parry. His left foot was forward, giving him room to step forwards or back, depending on the situation.

  At the signal, both men enhanced themselves. It was the knight who made his first move this time. He stepped forward and slashed upwards, aiming at the monarch’s torso.

  Varre saw this coming. He didn’t want to remain passively on the defensive, so he took the fight to his enemy. He advanced as well. Then turned his weapon downwards to stop the coming blow.

  The knight was completely caught off guard by this decision. He expected the monarch to just block it, or perhaps back away to give himself more space to maneuver. Now, his sword was out of position and he didn’t have enough of a lead to pick up speed and attempt to overpower the block. The blades clashed to little fanfare.

  He was the one in trouble now. His weapon was on the outside, while Varre quickly rotated his own sword and slashed sideways against the guard’s stomach. The knight tried jumping back, but even with his higher attributes he was simply too slow. The wooden edge hit him in the gut. It would definitely leave a bruise.

  He’d like to massage it to get rid of some of the pain, but he was too well trained for that. If he was still alive, he’d need to keep on fighting. He kept his sword up and was about to counter attack.

  “Stop!” Kerryn yelled out the command, “first match goes to Varre. Well done.”

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  Etty cheered, while the warriors nodded to each other and returned to their positions. This time, the guard held the hilt at the side of his head, while the tip extended forward. The perfect position for a quick thrusting attack, or downwards slash. The king on the other hand returned to his original stance.

  He was currently learning techniques that started off with that position and wanted to practice them some more. His opponent was much more experienced and could offer interesting scenarios that could challenge the king. A good match up. While a veteran would know even more moves, their higher attributes would make each duel too unfair.

  Again, the guard lunged forward and tried thrusting right at the monarch’s head. A textbook move. Varre used his blade to parry the blow and moved his head to the other side. It was surprisingly easy. As if the knight was gently pushing the blade in the same direction during his attack.

  Sensing some kind of trap, the king jumped back. The guard followed after him with a diagonal swipe from above.

  Varre blocked it again and grit his teeth in anticipation of the superhuman strength. To his surprise, it never arrived. The attack was easy to block and it left his opponent wide open. Again, he suspected some kind of ruse, but he wasn’t going to ignore an opportunity for a free hit either. He took a bit of a risk as he charged forward and slashed sideways at the knight’s head.

  Fortunately he stopped just before he hit the leather cap. The opponent just let it happen. He didn’t try to dodge, or block, or overpower the king in some way. He accepted the hit. Something was wrong.

  The monarch turned around, looking at his audience. The noblewoman was cheering, but Kerryn was clearly unhappy. Then, Varre put two and two together. He’s going easy on me, the monarch thought to himself, he doesn’t want to risk embarrassing me in front of Esther!

  “What’s wrong soldier?” the adventurer yelled out, “get it together! Do you need me to talk to your captain about assigning you more training? You’re here to give his majesty a proper challenge!”

  While Etty saw this as some playful banter, the knight understood the message. He looked at Varre, with a questioning look, but the monarch confirmed with a nod. If he was going to impress his friend, then he wanted to do it with his own skills. Not through this blatant cheating.

  The men resumed their stances and the sparring continued. The guard was clearly serious now. He wasn’t unbeatable, but he wasn’t leaving himself anywhere near as open anymore. The fights were much harder. The king still managed to score a few victories against him, but each one was hard won. And the point balance wasn’t so obvious anymore.

  Not that the noblewoman was counting. No matter what happened, Etty kept cheering her friend onwards. Both celebrating his victories and encouraging him to try harder after each loss. It was motivating.

  Once the king had exhausted his energy, there was no more point in sparring. The entire purpose was to teach him how to effectively fight enemies while under duress. He needed to get used to his increased physical abilities and get a proper feel for his speed and the weight of a real weapon.

  He had enough resources to last him half an hour. Not enough for a full battle, but enough to survive until reinforcements arrived. With any luck, he should be able to dispatch several regular humans by himself too.

  Now that the sparring was over, Varre was allowed a short break. The dueling was exhausting, even in his enhanced state. He took a few moments to sit down, drink some water, and listen to an excited Etty gushing about the battle. Then, Kerryn moved on to other exercises.

  While the experience of battle was still fresh in his mind, the adventurer taught him some more fighting techniques. One of the veteran guards joined in, acting as an experienced opponent. He also showed off some tricks of his own.

  After about an hour of trying out different moves, it was time to move on to physical exercises. The king jogged around the courtyard and lifted weights. He did push ups and sit ups. Normally, such a training session could be even more exhausting, but fortunately the coach was going a little easy on him too. While he wasn’t going to cheat, he didn’t want to accidentally embarrass his monarch in front of the guest either. It also wasn’t Varre’s only session for the day.

  After about an hour of running around, three new women entered the courtyard. Elvira, along with her two new apprentices. The twins.

  “You must be that Esther everyone’s talking about, aren’t you?” the witch began, “I am the Elvira. The royal Court Mage.”

  The noblewoman curtsied in response. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, my lady. I am Esther of Ashbourne. I wanted to see Varre’s training for myself.”

  The sorceress bowed back. “Welcome. And these two are my apprentices. Perry, and Jury.”

  Perry raised an eyebrow, though she quickly tried to hide it. She wasn’t familiar with this Esther girl, and yet somehow, she was referring to the monarch by his name, rather than title. Most unusual. She decided to investigate further. “Are you planning to join us lady Esther?”

  Etty giggled. “Oh no. I don’t think I’m ready for anything like this. I can’t run very fast in this dress,” she gestured to her outfit.

  “Our training is more meditative in nature,” Elvira replied, then paused and looked at the twins, “at least some of the time. But please, you are welcome to try.”

  The noblewoman glanced towards the king, as if trying to gauge his opinion.

  Varre shrugged. “I don’t mind. I don’t know how fun it will be, but if you want to join me, go ahead.”

  Encouraged by his words, she excitedly pulled up her sleeves. She approached the king and carefully observed his body movement, matching his stance.

  “If we have to start with a complete beginner, it might be best to do it on the ground,” the court mage looked around the courtyard, “but we can’t sit on this dirt. Shall we move to my laboratory?”

  “I don’t mean to impose,” Esther raised her arms defensively, “I’ll just watch from the sidelines then.”

  “It’s no problem at all. It’s getting pretty chilly out here anyway,” Varre said.

  Elvira agreed and the group started following her to the far more comfortable quarters. It wouldn’t be their first indoor session. The laboratory limited some options for spell casting, but it also allowed the sorceress to deploy some more delicate equipment in her exercises.

  While they walked through the corridors, Perry decided to go on the attack. “So, Lady Esther was it? I think I saw you at the feast last night. Have you known his majesty for long?”

  “Oh yes. I’ve known Varre for ages! We grew up together,” the noblewoman cheerfully replied.

  The apprentice frowned. “Really? Back in Lindridge?”

  “Mhm,” Esther confirmed, “my father was one of Duke Tymon’s loyal vassals. Our land is excellent for hunting, so Varre’s dad visited us all the time. We used to play for hours, while the adults were away. And then, once he had to participate as well, I begged until they let me join them!”

  Perry kept her eyes forward, avoiding the girl. “I see. So you came to visit an old friend of yours, have you? Are you aware that he lost his memories? It’s tragic, isn’t it?”

  The noblewoman lowered her gaze. “It’s terrible. But, there is hope! I’ve been talking to Benjamin. We want to visit Varre’s family home. That experience might just trigger some of his memories to return!”

  The apprentice stopped in her tracks. “What?”

  “It’s amazing right?” Esther urged, “besides, I’ve seen how hard he is working! It’ll be a good chance for him to relax.”

  “B-but…” Perry stammered, “there are risks as well! The Soulkiller plague is extremely dangerous and damaging. His majesty’s mind is still weakened! We have to be careful!”

  Elvira, noticing the commotion, had turned around and joined them. “I think he can handle that,” she smiled, “come on, have a little faith. I’ve been his court mage for months and I don’t see any cause for concern.”

  “You don’t?” the apprentice laughed nervously and scratched the back of her neck, “I suppose you know better than me!”

  “Maybe we should still talk to Master Zarkon,” Jury cut-in, “he is the one who healed his majesty after all. Only he properly understands the danger.”

  Elvira shrugged. “I really don’t see why you’re making such a big deal out of this, but if it will make you feel better? Go ahead.”

  Jury grabbed her sister under her shoulder and started pulling her away. “Come on, we still have a training session to go through.”

  I tried to look up some actual fighting stances before writing my duel scenes. I hope you'll enjoy it