Erik sat in Shi’s wingback armchair, he had always liked this chair, its scuffed and worn leather was something he had become accustomed to over the years, and he sank deeply into it, the springs long since stretched so sinking was the only way you could sit in it. Shi handed him a small glass of Rakka which he sipped whilst staring at the fireplace, there was no need for a fire in the heat of a Malinese summer but he still appreciated the finely wrought iron work and the colourful patterned tiles that framed it. It was relaxing, and Erik needed that right now.
“Wake up Erik,” Shi said, half in jest, “this is all getting a bit serious.”
“Aye, I know,” Erik said, shaking himself from his reverie and focusing again on Shi, sat tensley on the edge of the other armchair fiddling with his own glass of Rakka.
“Our little apprentice is coming to the attention of people who he’d be better off never knew he existed,” Shi said.
“Well stopping an assassination and clearing the name of the main suspect in another will do that,” Erik said.
“A lot of people are very angry at him,” Shi said.
“Let them be angry,” Erik said, “it was a disgrace they tried to hang one of our own out to dry.”
“I’ve no argument there,” Shi said, “but the twelfth doesn’t like to be thwarted and you know not even the Captain-General can rein in Deneu when he’s on the warpath.”
“Speaking of war,” Erik said, “the Parasian scumbag is royally pissed as they say. Making all sorts of accusations about a cover up now.”
“He’s all bluster, for now,” Shi said, “if Paras was going to attack he would have left the city already. No, they're probably calculating it’s better he stays here mouthing off, destabilising the government and putting them in a better position to attack next spring.”
“I’m not sure whether to take that as good news or not,” Erik said.
“It’s neither, no doubt to some extent Lancel will succeed, but it gives us more time to prepare for war, Lancel can’t understand organisations operating independently without executive power directing them, that’s his mistake. The Captain-General will have time to get us on a proper war footing by the spring.”
“Still it’s grim, I’d hoped I’d not see a war in my lifetime,” Erik said, “and to think it all stems from that missing princess bride.”
“Sometimes one falling pebble can start the landslide,” Shi said solemnly.
“Well regardless, what do we do about Neesh?” Erik said.
“What we have been doing ever since you realised he was something potentially exceptional, bury him in anonymity,” Shi said.
“Will that still work, he’s got a laurel already and with this latest incident there’s not an officer of the militia who doesn’t know his name,” Erik said.
“They know he’s brave and loyal to his friends,” Shi said, “hardly negative qualities in a knight. We just need to make sure it stays at that, that he sinks quickly back out of mind, before the twelfth decide they need to make an intervention.”
“How do we do that?” Erik asked.
“I’ve spoken to Absolem,” Shi said, “I’m pulling him out most of his training at the fifteenth and we’ll train him here.”
“How did you get Absolem to agree to that?”
“It wasn’t hard,” Shi said, “with war on the horizon it was easy to argue I need him here picking up the skills essential to the fourteenth’s role, after all the fifteenth can’t give him that, and besides, he’s already better at mathematics than any of the instructors and I think that was starting to worry Absolem.”
“What about his combat training?” Erik asked.
“He’s handy enough with a bow and well that was the other thing I needed to speak to you about,” Shi said with a smile.
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I stared in disbelief, Sir Erik in a matter of seconds had reduced the training dummy I had so painstakingly constructed into a pile of kindling. His swordwork was so fast I could barely follow his blade and somehow I was meant to be sparring with him. I glanced nervously at the infirmary windows thinking I’d be getting acquainted with them imminently. It had been a week since Sir Steven had sat me down in our common room and told me about the need to change my training regime. I now was only going to the fifteenth once a week so my overall fitness and strength progression could be monitored; everything else I was going to do at the fourteenth under a more focused training plan that would hone me into what the fourteenth needed me to be - so cartography lessons with Sir Satou twice a week, Sir Oran had me with his squads up on the walls learning how to calculate the trajectory of a stone launched from a trebuchet once a week, Sir Loos had given Sir Steven a series of carpentry exercises so I’d have enough skill to do useful field engineering and the rest of the time I was with my squad mates, doing our routine duties around Northgate whilst Sir Flynn had taken it upon himself to start mentoring me about how to be a scout for the Militia. Sir Oran had decided he was personally going to supervise my training with bows and crossbows, which had led to me being gifted two very cool weapons - a composite shortbow, which had nearly the power of a longbow except I could actually draw the weapon, and a repeating crossbow, which whilst not very powerful or accurate, let me quickly fire dozens of bolts.
However, currently I was in a melee arms training session with Sir Erik and feeling very nervous. I had never seen such a display of swordsmanship. Considering the skills of Alex and Dene already put me in awe, seeing Sir Erik, who wasn’t just on a whole other level compared to them - he was in a completely different building standing on the roof cackling - left me completely blown away. Then there was me, yes I was improving with the sword and spear but I was realistic enough to know that my skills, such as they were, only put me at the bare minimum of competence expected of someone carrying a sword in the first place. I was probably more skilled than an untrained thug with a shortsword, which was a good thing, as though I had been noticeably getting more muscular (I had taken, whilst bathing, to spending probably a bit too much time enjoying seeing the definition in my arms and legs and the taught firmness of my abdomen in the bathroom mirror). However, I was also under no illusions that my strength was still much less than the other knight apprentices, let alone a knight at the peak of his physical prowess like Sir Erik.
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So whilst the first hour of training with the dummy had been ok, I felt that Sir Erik actually was a good and useful teacher, even if his casual attitude grated on me, but then he had demonstrated his own implementation of the pattern he had just taught me and announced it was time for sparring.
“Now we won’t go as fast as I just demonstrated,” Sir Erik said, “just practice the form and get used to adapting it to an opponent."
"Ok I guess," I said, this was going to be a disaster.
"En garde," he said, could he be anymore cheesy, as he brandished his sword.
I raised my sword in acknowledgement and before I knew it I was flat on my back trying not to howl as he'd stabbed me right in my left boob. Now I know I was basically flat, and I had my leather armour on, but it still hurt like hell. Plus, I hadn't even seen him move - so much for slowing down. I reluctantly got back onto my feet, we went again. This time, probably by dumb luck, I got my sword to parry his, which just led to my sword flying out of my hand. On and on we went, it was like being back at my first few weeks of training. I felt useless and humiliated. Everytime I got to my feet it was with less and less motivation. There was no way I could even block his strikes let alone make an attack of my own, it was pointless. Clearly if I ever was on the battlefield I'd be dead within minutes. Who was I kidding I'd never make it as a knight, I was a spoiled princess who'd caused a lot more trouble than she was worth.
That's not what's written on your character sheet.
Ok, what the hell was that? Was that my system? Or had I started hallucinating. I probably had picked up a concussion. Systems didn't talk to you, they reported what was happening and showed you options for the development of your skills and class. Nothing more, nothing less. Come to think of it though I'd always thought that maybe my system was a bit weird, or defective more likely, it wasn't any one massive thing but I was pretty sure other people's systems didn't provide sarcastic little descriptions of skills and items. Or possibly talk directly to you?
No, that was bog standard madness surely? Wasn't it? Against my better judgement I thought about what the system had said to me. My character sheet said scout, that was what I was, that was what had felt right from the moment my class set had changed. That was me. I wasn't a princess. I was better than that. I was useful. I'd saved my sister's life. I'd proven my friend was innocent. Ok I might not be the best swordsman, I might never be a good swordsman, but I would be a knight of the Malin militia.
With new resolve I got to my feet and prepared myself for Sir Erik's next strike. And the next, and the dozens after that as we spent all afternoon repeating and repeating the same sequence of events. Finally, as the sun was setting in the sky Sir Erik finally sheathed his sword.
"Well done," Sir Erik said.
"Well done, I never even came close to being able to defend myself let alone attack," I said, the man was clearly insane. At least that made two of us.
"That wasn't the point of today," Sir Erik said.
"Then what was the point, to humiliate me?" I said.
"No, the point was to see if you really have the resolve that you will need to take the path you've set yourself upon," Sir Erik said, "because plenty don't and are still competent knights. However, the Militia's future commanders need to be something else, a cut above what's expected even of a knight. Sir Shi and I saw that potential in you but we didn't know if you had the resolve to walk that path. Now I know."
I was gobsmacked, what was he talking about? A future commander. Simply being a knight was enough for me. Simply being here now was enough for me even. I harboured no ambitions to be an officer or a captain, in fact I could think of few things potentially more dangerous for me than to try to be.
"You think I'm mad?" Sir Erik laughed, "you wear a laurel on your collar. I was twenty six before I wore the copper laurel. You are fourteen, most apprentices fail their first attempt, most are sixteen before they are successful, in fact most candidates never come close to making the grade. You speak most of the languages of the continent and are better at maths than the fifteenth's instructors. Do you not see Neesh you are exceptional? How some country boy from a backwater like Trieste became so, well that's a story I hope you'll one day share with me, but in the meantime it's my responsibility as a commander to nurture that potential and grow it so you become the knight that I think you can be."
"I'm not exceptional," I said, "I've just got lucky a few times "
"We could all say that Neesh. Fortune presents us with both opportunities and challenges, it's what we do in the face of them that makes the man."
With that he dismissed me and left me to ponder what he had said as I walked back to the barrack house to wash and change.
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Later that evening, I was sat in the square, that really was the Leaping Hare, more so than the actual building bearing it's name, having received Sir Steven's permission, with Fig, Alex and Dene. It was the first time I'd seen them all together since Fig had been released from custody and my training regime had changed. We had all had a few drinks by now but we were weirdly subdued, all of us staring into our beers more than we were talking to each other. Finally Fig raised his head and coughed to get our attention.
"Thanks," he said quietly, "you guys really came through for me. I honestly thought it was the gallows for me when they arrested me. I didn't even expect anyone to even notice I was gone. But you guys did and you got me out. No one has ever done something like that for me before." His eyes were wet and by the time he had finished speaking I couldn't help but put my arm around his shoulder and pull him into a hug.
"Anytime buddy," Alex said.
"You'd do the same for one of us," Dene said.
"Thanks, I'm serious though I've never had this before, my parents, they didn't really care for me. My father was always away on business and even when he was at home I seldom saw him. My mother was only concerned with my older brother, the golden child. I was just an inconvenience to her. And my brother? Well you know I said that I got this class because I was in to many fights as a child. They were all with him. He's ten years older than I am and I don't know what I did but he hates me. Ever since I can remember he never missed an opportunity to beat me. I had to learn how to defend myself as honestly if I hadn't I would probably have been dead long ago."
"What about your parents?" I said shocked, "Surely they should have done something, even if you weren't their favourite?"
"My father was never around to see it, or the aftermath, and my mother didn't care," Fig said.
"Gods, that's rough," Dene said.
"Tell me about it," Fig said.
"Well fuck them," Alex said, he was loud anyway but now he was so loud people sitting around were staring, "seriously fuck them. Fig you are worth more than any of them. I'm proud to call you my friend. In fact, I'm proud to call all of you my brothers. Brothers in arms, yes, but more than that, brothers in spirit. Before I met you three I'd never had a friend, at least not one who was a friend for my own sake rather than my uncle's name. And I know we've only known each other a few months but honestly I've never been more certain of anything in my life that the three of us were meant to find each other. I'll always have your backs, no matter what happens."
"Cheers to that," I said, raising my glass.
"Brothers to the end," Dene said.
"To my dying breath," Fig said, as he completed the toast.
I smiled at the other three and knew then that what Alex had said was true. There was a bond between us stronger than steel. I knew right then that one day I would share my secrets with these three young men. Not tonight, maybe not even in the next few years, but one day I'd tell them the truth and I knew that whenever that day came they'd accept me. For we were brothers even if I was a girl.