Aldrich staggered back as he parried a sword strike from his father. The force almost knocked his own sword out of his hand.

"Focus, Aldrich," Alastair reprimanded, his voice as lofty and condescending as ever. "Your stance is hideously sloppy."

Aldrich bit back a retort and tightened his grip on the iron sword. He studied his father's posture, trying to predict where his next attack would come from.

So far, his father's offence had mostly been comprised of diagonal slashes from the right, which was his dominant hand. Aldrich could tell he wasn't putting much effort into it, and it annoyed him even more. If he parried the next strike, he could try something new. Like a low strike.

The strike came from the left, catching Aldrich completely off guard. His father had switched his sword to his other hand so fast Aldrich barely registered it. He moved his guard just in time to intercept the blade. The screeching sound of metal on metal echoed through the air.

For a split second, Aldrich thought he had actually managed to stop the strike. Then his father put in a bit more force and sent him flying. He landed on the ground with a thud, his sword clanking on the ground beside him. His father walked up and stood over him. Aldrich sighed and prepared himself for the lecture that was coming.

"You're overthinking it, as usual," Alastair began. "Sword fighting is about instinct, not logic. You need to trust your senses more."

"Your reactions are slow, your movements are clumsy, and your technique is flawed. It's unsightly, to say the least. Are you trying to disgrace the de la Rossa family name?"

Aldrich didn't bother trying to interject. This was a regular part of his day. After Alastair was done chastising him, he turned his back to him and began to walk away. "I can barely stand to look at you. Pick yourself up, would you."

His last comment really ticked Aldrich off, he grabbed his sword and lunged at his father. But before he could reach him, he tripped over something and landed square on his jaw. He looked back to a large vine, entangling his left foot.

"Really? I thought you said no virtues!," Aldrich cried out indignantly. "That's not fair."

"That coming from the person who just tried to strike me from behind," Alastair replied. "There's nothing uglier than a sore loser, Aldrich. Honestly..."

And with that, Alastair exited the courtyard back into the Nightshade family manor. Leaving Aldrich on the ground hacking away at the vine with his sword.

×

It had taken close to an hour for Aldrich to cut through the vine with the blunt training sword. Aldrich was almost certain his father had made it extra sturdy just to spite him. Once he got to his room, he took off his hauberk, drew himself a bath, and sank into the water thing to forget all his problems.

After the bath, he dried off and slipped into simple linen shirt and trousers. Much more comfortable than that heavy chainmail. He dropped onto his bed and let out a huge sigh. He was tired of losing to his father.

His eyes slowly drifted to a single rose in a glass vase on a table beside his bed. If only he would just get his gift already. He stretched one arm out towards the rose and started to concentrate really hard. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened. He curled his palm into a fist and slammed it on the bed.

It was one thing to be below average at sword fighting, but to not have a gift either. He was an embarrassment to the family, and his father never forgot to remind him. He lifted his pillow over his face and screamed into it. Then, he closed his eyes and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

×

"Big brother. Quick, wake up." Aldrich's sleep was interrupted by his younger sister. She shook him as hard as she could with her tiny arms.

Aldrich blinked his eyes open as he sat up. "What is it, Aeris?"

Aeris pointed towards the doorway, "Dad is going out. To the royal castle!"

Aldrich wished he could just turn over and go back to sleep. But embarrassment or not, he was still his father's squire. Where he went, Aldrich followed. And he couldn't say he wasn't wondering what could possibly warrant a house call from the King himself.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

He sat up fully and ruffled Aeris' messy dark red hair in thanks for alerting him. She beamed at him before rushing out the way she came on her stubby legs. He changed back into his chainmail and flew out of his room as fast as possible.

He found his father in the stables, his horse already ready to go. "Well, look who finally decided to show up." He commented without looking at Aldrich. With one quick and precise movement, he hoisted himself onto the horse's back and set off in a trot.

Aldrich got his own horse ready as fast as he could. He had to gallop to catch up to his father. They moved through the silent countryside in the direction of the city. The de la Rossa estate was located outside the city walls, when he was little his father had told him that was because they wanted to be closer to nature.

After a while, they arrived at the large city gates. He looked up in awe at the towering structures that were the walls enshrining the great city. No matter how many times he saw them, they never ceased to amaze him. The architecture was impeccable. Whoever had overseen the building of the city was nothing short of a genius.

The guards at the gates saluted his father as they passed through. He replied with a curt nod. From there, it was a short ride to the royal castle, which was right in the middle of the city.

They left their horses to the castle's stable boy and made their way into it.

The castle was even more grand on the inside. But Aldrich didn't have time to admire it this time. Whatever his father had been summoned for, it must have been really urgent because Aldrich had never seen him walk too fast. He almost had to jog to keep up with his long strides.

They stopped briefly in front of the doors leading into the throne room. Alastair looked back at Aldrich. "Wait for me here. And try not to do anything embarrassing while I'm gone, would you."

Then he pushed through the large doors and walked in. In the brief moment the doors were open, Aldrich caught a glimpse of the king himself, sitting on his throne. There was one other person in the room. A broad shouldered man with long and messy brown hair. It was Sir Andrius, the knight commander of the Order of the Wolf. The atmosphere seemed tense, to say the least, then the doors slammed shut once more.

Aldrich waited for about a full minute before he couldn't help himself. He pressed his ear against the doors to try and hear what they were discussing. But the doors were too thick, he could hardly make out anything. He pressed his head against them harder.

"What are you doing?"

Aldrich almost jumped out of his boots. He whipped around to find himself face to face with a girl who seemed around his age. Her sky blue eyes seemed to sparkle as she stared at him in confusion. What really caught Aldrich's eye was her dress, it was unbearably fancy. Which meant she was someone important, which led Aldrich to realise who she was.

He bowed hurriedly, "Your royal highness. I was just, uh, I was..."

She clearly knew what he was doing but didn't stop him from stumbling over his words, trying to make up an explanation. In fact, the slight grin on her face suggested she was enjoying it.

She let out an airy laugh, placing her hand over her mouth. "Relax, no need to get so worked up. I'm only teasing."

She leaned in close, surprising Aldrich. "Truth is, I want to know what's going on as well. But I've got a better way of finding out."

From down the hall, an adult female voice sounded out. "My lady! Please come back, we must return to your violin lessons!"

"Come with me, quickly." She hurried down the corridor opposite to the one the voice had come from.

This was probably a bad idea. This was definitely a bad idea. He took one last look at the doors before following after the Princess.