It took Reese a moment to compose himself. Part of his mind worried she'd attack him just for being there.

“Sorry, just saw you two sparing and thought it looked interesting. You’ve got some speed behind you.” Reese tried to diffuse the tension a bit.

The girl huffed and began adjusting some of her training armor.

“If you want to stay, pick up a sword, otherwise leave.” Her face was a mix of a scowl and smirk. As if there was no doubt in her mind of her own skills. At least, against him. Though, he doubted she was serious about actually having a match.

It did leave him curious though. How good was she? All his sparing was either with people far older than him or younger, like his father and even Gezal who was about 8 years oldr. On the other younger end was his sister Mabel who like their father had a natural talent but was still 5 years younger. On the other hand, this girl looked to be about his age, maybe a year on either side, it was hard to tell with elves. Which given her ears she must have been.

It might be fun to see just how strong he was against someone nearer his age and skill level. It would also be a good way to detach his mind for a while and focus on something simpler. In his old life he had never considered fencing or kendo, but here he had found it almost enjoyable.

The woman knight called out to him, "Hey boy, if you're serious you can use my training sword. I'd like to see how my student faces off against someone other than me." She handed Reese her training sword, holding up the handle, beckoning him to take it.

The young elf huffed in disapproval and mocked Reese with a quick flourish of her own sword, "Do you even know how to hold a sword?" She mocked.

"My father was a Knight Commander. He'd never let me go without at least some training, and I've got a few scars to prove it." Taking the sword, Reese gave it a quick flourish of his own. “Any rules?”

That caused the elf girl to pause and for a moment as she looked him over. As if truly assessing his physical condition and abilities. One thing was clear to her at least, he was serious about sparing, which made her tense up a bit.

Her face grew solid and resolved, but with a faint crack of a smirk, like part of her still didn't take it too seriously. “Only one rule, no techniques, just swords. Let’s see how much you actually know.”

She rushed him. Using her speed, she didn't bother to feint or do anything beyond a rapid advance. She was full of openings but even without any techniques was just too quick for Reese to do anything but block her first strikes.

Clack.

Clack.

Smack.

It wasn’t just her speed, she had power behind those strikes and Reese could feel the echoes of each hit in his wrists and arms. But it was all simple otherwise. Still, simple was often effective.

CLACK.

Finally, a quick imbrocatta at his stomach, a piercing attack. Which hurt quite a bit. He suddenly wished he was wearing armor.

“0-1” The Knight called out.

Feuer's smug and dismissive smile told Reese everything he needed to know. She was arrogant, and would be predictable next time.

Sure enough, she rushed him again. But he was expecting it, and prepared this time.

Smack.

As she struck at his side he parried her attack and bound their wooden swords. As she tried to pull back, her speed worked against her, and Reese advanced. His sword pulled along just slightly before it was freed.

Smack.

Clack.

SMACK!

A quick slice into her arm, and the point was his.

“1-1” The Knight sounded impressed but with an air of smugness, as if saying ‘I told you so.’

Maybe it was just Reese’s imagination.

The next round was even worse than the prior two. Feuer moved with rapid speed again, it was hard to believe she wasn’t using any techniques or magic. She still had openings this time, but there were less of them just due to the ferocity of the attack.

Clack.

Smack.

The two traded blows, and parries. But it felt different, while he tried to learn her movements, she seemed more interested in just ending the fight decisively. Something Reese used to his advantage. A quick slice left her open, if he could move in fast enough.

CLACK, SMACK!

The two impacted each other at about the same time.

“2-2” The woman guard gave them the score that both were too proud to admit too themselves.

They stood there for a moment. The scowl on Feuer's face causing her to literally bear her fangs. The thought that a boy like Reese matching her was not something she could tolerate.

Not even waiting for the next match to start she began swinging her sword.

"Hey!" Reese tried to call the fowl while the two continued to exchange blows.

Smack.

Crack.

Crack.

It was hard. As their sword bound together again, she advanced and closed the distance. For a moment, their faces came very close. Reese wasn't expecting her fist to impact his chin.

CRACK.

"3-2, I win." She proclaimed as Reese fell back to the ground rubbing his slightly opened lower lip.

"I don't think that's particularly sporting." He protested from the ground, having lost regardless.

The Knight interjected, "He's right. The hit was fair, but you can't start the match without both parties being ready."

The young elf shrugged, "He was open. You always tell me a knight has to be prepared."

"He wasn't ready." The woman sighed, "You know 'Fire Princess' isn't a term of endearment, right? You need to cool your emotions when you fight. You were full of openings that I'd bet the boy will take advantage of them again next time. You're too predictable…” The knight threw her hands up in defeat. “Why do I even bother."

The elf huffed at her instructor's words. Knowing they were right, but wishing they weren't. She just wanted to fight right now, not learn.

"Fire Princess?" Reese whispered to himself as his mind began to click into place, "Fire… Feuer. I see, you're Feuer aren’t you. I’m sorry I should have realized." She didn't acknowledge his statement. "I should probably introduce myself I'm-"

Feuer didn’t give him a chance to finish. "Reese Bronwyn. I already know who you are."

Feuer looked at her personal knight, ignoring him, “Shevana, can we spar again. I want an actual challenge this time.” Her body moved with a hint of excitement as her instructor and guard got up and walked over, only for it to dwindle as she passed Feuer. Opening her hand, Shevana offered to help Reese up.

“Reese Bronwyn, I’m Shevana, Feuer’s personal guard and improvised sword instructor, I guess. You seem to have some skill with a blade.”

Reese tried to smile as he stood, but in truth, his stomach and face still kind of hurt. “Yeah, I wasn’t lying, my dad made me train a lot. It, was kind of painful honestly.”

“Good training usually is. Tell me what do you think of my student?”

Reese took Feuer in for a moment as the elf girl glared at him. Remembering their spar he said what Shevana likely already knew, “I mean, she’s fast, and her swings have power behind them. She knows how to move a sword too, but…” He was hesitant to finish.

“Go on.” Shevana encouraged.

“She’s very impulsive and full of openings. If she had held back even a little and studied me more, I don’t think I would have gotten both hits in.”

“Shevana, are we going to spar again or are we done for the day?” Feuer seemed to ignore the advice she was given and wanted to focus on her guard instead.

“Reese gave you some good advice. Advice I’ve been trying to get into you for a while now… I think you should try sparing with him again.” Shevana looked to Reese, to see if he was still interested.

Thinking about it for a moment, he nodded in approval, “I mean, I’m up for it. So long as you don’t punch me in the face again.” It also seemed like a good way to make inroads with the rather aggressive girl.

In response, Feuer lowered her sword, “So we’re done for the day then.” With that, she wandered back into the keep, Shevana following her.

With a shrug the knight could only say, “Sorry Reese, she’s just impulsive.”

“I’ve noticed.” He tried to laugh about it, but in truth, he was worried.

After the two left the court yard, Reese found a bench to sit on and sketched some more notes in his journal. Teaching the ‘Fire Princess’ was not going to be easy. What did his family get him into?

He had hoped the walk around the castle grounds and the sparing would clear his head, instead it just gave him more to think about as he head back to his room, where he would stare at his clock for several minutes, lost in thought.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

As he watched his clock tick forward. It seemed to be keeping the time well, even better than he had hoped. It was about 30 minutes to six, it was near the equinox so it should be fairly close to the rest of the city. The skipping and stuttering were random, but that meant he could account for it as a natural variance. In simple terms, he could adjust the pendulum on the oscillator to make it a little more accurate. It would never be perfect though, and would drift each day, but small enough that it would be fine, for now anyway.

Another knock at the door roused him from his day dreaming and once more again it was the tailor. Who had returned with the suit he was to wear for dinner. What was once a simple servant’s clothes were much more. Specifically, they were now frilly and with subtle colored accents. The colors were trimmed with red, blue and gold. Reese didn’t know it at the time, but these were the colors of his own family, the Bronwyn house. It wasn't the fanciest outfit he had ever seen, but it would likely be near the top of the list.

“I believe these will fit you well sir. I took the liberty of dressing it up a bit as well. Wouldn’t want people to think you were merely a servant.” The ice skinned tailor proclaimed.

As he tried the clothes on, he was surprised at just how well they all fit. It was frillier and more poufy than he liked though. He preferred function over form, but he had to admit it looked nice at least. The mirror in his room was quite large, large enough to get a full view of himself.

In truth, Reese never actually looked at himself in-depth since he arrived in this world. Mirrors weren’t rare per-say, but being expensive they weren’t the most common either, and the ones at his old house were much smaller. Even when he gazed at himself at the lake back in Wollseeth it was faded and distorted by the ripples. This was the first time he truly saw himself. He looked a surprising amount like Fortus. Though, that shouldn’t have been considered unusual. Still, it suddenly felt like a shock. His old features were gone entirely, erased. When he thought about himself, his own face and body, this wasn't it.

Perhaps sensing his sudden agitation, and concern the tailor asked, “Are the wears ok sir?” With a slight hint of both annoyance and concern in his own voice.

Of course, the clothes were fine, it was the skin he was wearing that suddenly felt a bit off. But, no that wasn’t right. He’d been like this for over 10 years now, even if he was just realizing it. His face was a mixture of his father’s and his mother’s from this world, he could even see subtle hints of his sisters. All good people, even Nemi, in her own way. This is who he was now, it wasn’t anything bad, just different.

Forcing a smile, he turned back to the tailor, “I think this is fine. Thank you.”

The man gave a light smile and bow before leaving, as Reese considered himself for another moment.

With a bittersweet smile and shake of his head, “It’s fine.” He whispered, to himself. He grabbed one of his smaller notebooks, and felt around for a pocket to place it in. There wasn’t really a spot for it, maybe he could ask the tailor to fix that latter. Shoving it in the shirt itself, it seemed almost invisible. He considered leaving the book in his room, but just couldn’t do that. He had no idea what this would be like, and needed something as a back up to do if he was stuck at the table for hours on end. “It’s fine”, he mused again to himself again and made his way to the first floor, toward the dinning and banquet hall.

The table was comically large for the five people currently sitting at it. Fuhen was not present yet, and he guessed the furthest seat and the head of the table was hers. Beeson and Sneacta sat near the head of the table as well, flanking the sides. Following them were two of their daughters, and several more empty seats away, was another girl who looked familiar, yet very different.

Now, where was he supposed to sit? There were several chairs setup up, with placements too. Perhaps more would be joining them?

“Reese, please sit across from my daughter, Feuer.” Beeson pointed to a chair across from the girl that at first glance was almost unrecognizable from earlier.

As he sat down across from the girl, he couldn’t help but think how much the outfit changed her appearance and how almost regal she looked. Her dress was much like her older sisters, fluffy and frilly with the same colors. Her hair had been let down with it’s natural dark red, almost purple curls accentuating it all. Like a cold fire, waiting for a spark to light it. The whole getup seemed, Ostentatious for just a dinner. Then again, this probably wasn’t just dinner to everyone else.

Thinking back to his books, he tried to remember anything about eating, customs, things of note. Even what fork and spoon to use and at what time could prove valuable in showing he wasn’t just ‘inept’ to use Fuhen’s earlier words. He wished he had a copy of Oleson's book, surly this must have been in there.

Feuer for all her fire, sat quietly across from him unwilling to engage in any kind of eye contact or acknowledgement of his existence.

Any attempts Reese made to talk to her were dismissed with at most an eye roll or more often just simple silence. The more he thought about it, all, the girl reminded him of Nemi. Hating him for no reason he could identify. Which didn't mean there wasn't one, just not one he could see.

There was no food yet, only wine and water on the table, and he wasn't ready to drink wine yet. Not that there were laws against it in this era. To be fair, he wasn’t a drinker in his prior life either. Well, aside from that one point. But, that was literally a lifetime ago.

No conversation, no food, no drink, just silence masked by white noise of other's conversations. For a moment, his mind drifted to the notebook in shirt, at least that would be something to do.

Yet, as he reached for it and began to pull it out, Feuer finally said something to him.

"What are you doing?" She looked almost shocked and deeply concerned.

"Well, there's no food, nothing I want to drink and no conversation. I'm bored so I was going to work on some things in my notebook."

For a moment Feuer looked at him like he had an extra head. "You. Can't. Do. That." She punctuated each word, as if he was about to break some grave rule that would end both of them.

"Ok, I don't see why." With that he left the book tucked away. "Could you explain?"

"I thought you were supposed to be my tutor too. How do you not know this?" She mocked.

"I've never been in a situation like this, and my books never covered anything about books at the table. Trying things and making mistakes is how we learn. Unless you’d like to explain?"

Again, she stared at him before shaking her head. "It's considered very rude, and my grandmother has some important guests coming. You'd embarrass her, and she doesn't deserve that."

Reese still didn't understand the finer points but was willing to accept the situation as it was. Boredom for the next few hours. Maybe now Feuer would at least be willing to talk to him a bit?

"Ok, I'll leave my notebook tucked away. Are you at least willing to talk now."

Again, she grew silent.

He would try one more time, "You seem to have a lot of respect for your grandmother. I don't think it's forced either. Do you two have a close relationship."

More silence. Sighing Reese reached back in his shirt for his notebook.

"Ok, fine I'll talk to you a little bit." She huffed. "Yes, I have a close relationship with my grandmother. She's always looked out for me. That's why I want you to treat her with respect, and not read whatever book you have in there… bookworm." Her face squinted as she thought of a proper insult, but 'bookworm' was the best she could come up with in the moment.

She may have been intelligent, in her own way, but her wit when it came to insults was duller than her wooden sword.

It seemed like a good chance to add to the conversation and ignore the insult. "I never met my grandparents. I'm not even sure they're alive."

Feuer looked as if she didn't really understand, "But do you have a family name? You have to have a family. Isn't Fortus your father?"

"I do, Bronwyn. And he is, I just don't know my grandparents. My father has tried to distance himself from the rest of the family. Honestly, I'm not even sure why I'm here. While I have confidence in my teaching skills, I won’t lie, I am new. And about the other matter… It's not like we have much to offer the Vallhorn. And it's not like we even like each other." He laughed a little at that last part.

At the end of the table, Beeson smiled at the noise. Thankful that the two seemed to be tolerating each other at the very least.

"So you didn't chose to be here either." Feuer continued to glare at him, but with an expression that seemed softer and more curious, but still deeply cautious like someone scorned, and not just once. For someone so young, it did seem concerning.

"No, not really. I was happy back in Wollseeth with my teaching, and my experiments. It's only been two days, but I already miss my family and I know it's going to get worse. I'd miss my friends too, only they left before I did. I get this is just part of life, but it sucks."

There was a return to silence, only this time Reese didn't try to pull out his notebook to end it. Maybe he should try a glass of wine.

One of the servants walked in with three people and declared in a bold voice, "Announcing the arrival of Fuhen and her guests Capovvile and Tessiu."

Capovvile was a rather heavy-set light skinned human, who’s head might make some one think “cue-ball” with how shiny and round it was. He appeared to be right on the border of middle age, and from the expression on his face, was deeply arrogant.

Tessiu was almost the exact opposite, with the dark ashen skin of a dark elf, long and thick white hair and so thin you might think him malnourished. His smile was far subtler than Capovvile, but still held the same level of pride, though, maybe some of that was earned in his case.

Of course, Fuhen sat at the head of the table. For a quick moment she glanced towards Reese and Feuer, saying nothing.

Capovvile sat in the vacated seat next to Virume and near Beeson, Tessiu sat opposite of him next to Lueismar. Reese studied the seating situation, and wondered if there wasn't some kind of power dynamic involved? If that was the case, what would that mean for him and Feuer who had several empty seats between all of them.

Almost immediately, food began to come from the kitchen. As if it had been prepared a while ago and had been sitting around waiting. The other alternative was that the kitchen was perfect in their timing. For a moment Reese wondered which was true.

Turning his attention back to his unwilling companion, Reese asked, "Feuer, is there any meaning behind where everyone is sitting? It's obvious why Fuhen is at the head, but what about her guest and, us?"

She didn't even look up from the soup as she responded in a flat tone, "What do you think?" It was like she didn’t really care, and maybe she had convinced her self she didn’t.

The heavy human near Fuhen turned his attention towards the middle of the table, "I see a new face at the table. I believe this is Feuer's new fiancé?"

Reese paused midway through sipping at his soup spoon. This wasn’t the direction he was hoping the conversation would go in. He had hoped to just fly under the radar.

Fuhen acknowledge Reese’s presence at the table. "We were planning a formal celebration in a month, but I suppose you can be the first to know. Indeed, he is. Reese Bronwyn, of the family Bronwyn."

Capovvile smirked, "Ah, the family Bronwyn. I'm aware of your house and family young man. They boast quite the army and history."

For a moment there was silence as everyone's eyes staired gazed at him. Waiting for something. Well except for Feuer who was busy sopping the rest of her soup with some bread.

Taking the hint, he joined the conversation. "Yes, they are. My father, Fortus is Knight Commander, and has 30 soldiers and other knights under him."

"I've meet Fortus, he's a good man." Capovvile replied before going back to the meal.

A small weight lifted off Reese as everyone else went back to eating. Well, except for the dark elf at the end of the table.

Perhaps it was a desire to stir things up or legitimate interest, but Tessiu brought up a rumor they had discussed earlier "Tell me Reese, is it true to you fought a Fire Dragon?"

Again, all eyes turned to him, even Feuer's.

"Well… not exactly." Reese spoke in a modest tone, it wasn’t a pleasant conversation for him.

"See I told you Tessiu, only trained Freelancers or the army can take on Dragons." Capovvile dismissively tried to wave off the conversation.

It left an unpleasant taste in Reese's mouth. He could have dropped it there, but no… No, he couldn't.

"It's just not that simple." He interjected.

Again, the table turned to him.

"My Village was attacked by three Fire Dragons, but before I even get to that part, I should mention my father fought twelve earlier in the day…" For the next few minutes, Reese regaled the nobles and aristocrats at the table with his story.

"...So, I didn't actually fight. But I gave the soldiers in the village enough time to move the ballista and bring it down. I still have some minor scares on my chest from the blisters it left. It was, a dumb decision of mine, but also one I don’t regret."

By the end, they were looking at him like he had three heads.

Capovvile coughed slightly as if he forgot how to swallow for a moment, "I… I see… That's quite a story."

The table remained silent for some time. He worried that maybe he had pushed things a bit to far.

"It is quite a story Reese. You've certainly left an impression on the whole table." Beeson tried to bring the table back together.

"Yes, he has.” Fuhen attempted to return to business. “Capovvile, Tessiu I'd like to get back to business, regarding the new sails for all our ships…"

The table's attention turned away from him and back to the various other on goings. Well, everyone's attention but Feuer who continued to glare at Reese.

After dinner, and after everyone had left the table Reese moved to return to his room. Somewhat exhausted from all the pretenses and stress.

Only to be stopped by Feuer, "Was that true?"

"You mean the Dragon attack? Mostly, I left some parts out. There were a couple of soldiers who died fighting, one was badly injured. And Emilie ran around town fighting the fires. But, mostly, yeah."

She continued to glare at him, as if she wasn't sure she should believe his story. Pulling her hand back she punched Reese in the chest, just hard enough to knock the wind out of him but leave no serious damage.

"You're lying." She spoke and walked away.

All Reese could do was hold his chest and think, 'What the hell is wrong with that girl?'