Chapter 5: S-word lessons

This was the sixth year of her new life in this world. Of course, this world wasn’t too different from her past one. There are a multitude of differences, but at the same time there were a multitude of similarities.

Such as the fact that there is a rather large mountain range connecting Britannia and France. There was an island chain that looked like the Philippines and Hawaii had a love child they left abandoned on the side of the rode near the west coast of France. Italy had a weird finger thing sticking out of its knee.

There were a multitude of similarities too of course. Such as Ireland always getting bullied by England. Germany was mostly the same actually. Oh, and there was no rivalry between England and France, or Francia as it was called in this world.

Right now, she was playing in the garden of her good friend’s, home and manor, Slyvia. Or, she would have called it playing if she had the mind of a child. She wanted to know sword play; in case someone catnapped her again.

That led down a rabbit hole of her asking her father, then her father asking the mayor, then the mayor asking the baron. She had never actually met the baron. He had to move to Dublin so as to manage the Barony better.

But his daughter put in a good word for her so now his marshal was teaching her how to move a sword. Standing a good 25ft way was Slyvia. She kept her back straight while in the presence of this man. A teacup in her hand, she called out tenderly.

“Aisling are you OK?” she asked.

Aisling of course looked back to her and then was smote on the side of her head by the Marshal. She looked back at him and walked back to the starting spot. Every single time she was struck, she was to start over again.

She showed up her stance that had now been forged into her and prepped her sword arms. She held the weighted stick in her hands and looked for a place to attack from. Her instructor was the Marshal and knight of the Baron.

He was a rather strait-laced man. He had no time for fanciness. He had no time for unreliable sword styles either. Her sword was simply a cool looking stick that had weights cored into it.

And he had made a game out of this training, on how many times she was going to try and hit him in the groin. That’s why the author said she would probably think this a game.

Every single time she tried to go for his crotch he would slap the side of her head. Of course, she knew it was wrong to go for it; but it would be too funny to see. She cracked her neck and probed froward, putting her foot forward and then the back one. Keeping her head protected with the sword, she walked forward.

He then attacked. She parried the blow by flicking her blade the moment before his blade hit. This failed to push him back and he hit her blade. She tilted her sword to absorb the blow and his sword slid off.

She then whipped her blade up and nearly struck him. But he moved his guard in place and flicked the point of her sword away. He then moved the point of his sword back at her. She ducked and swept his feet. He kicked the sword away and smooshed her head into the dirt. That ended the match.

He got off of her head and went over to the table at the other end of yard. He picked up a pitcher of water and poured himself a glass of water. She got back up and Sylvia handed her a glass of water as well.

It seemed that she was rather worried for her as Aisling had been utterly beaten. She had a long way to go in the sword play world. If she went for a different type of parry, then she would have won. But video games had told her that that was a way to parry blades.

…

Later that day, Chloe Woodcutter was cooking in the woodcutter family kitchen. It was a rather long day as she had to go with her second youngest child to her sword…play… practice…

She didn’t like her little girl doing sword tricks. It wasn’t lady like. Sure, she could use the skills to get out of a couple tough situations but at most she would kill the criminal trying to do something to her little baby girl.

She also didn’t like the way the marshal looked at her friend Sylvia. She was a good girl. Sure, she was growing into her adult body now at age 14, but to look at her like that. It didn’t sit well with her. That was the main reason the girl was here, with the woodcutter family for dinner.

Chloe looked back to her pot of stew and nodded her head. It was supposed to be a really old recipe that Aisling found, but she knew that the girl had come up with it herself. The mother didn’t mind the young girl keeping secrets. She had some of her own.

She leaned back and a soft crack could be heard from her back. The girls seemed shocked by the fact that their mother had a bad back and looked over to her. She smiled at them and told them to be ready as it was nearly done.

Sylvia looked awkward as she shifted in her seat. This was the first time she had been here, and it seemed like she was nervous. As Chloe picked up a stack of bowls from the cupboard she looked back at the girls.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Aisling and her sister seemed to be ready and eager for some stew while Sylvia seemed to be still nervous. Chloe called out to her.

“Don’t be so nervous, you are my little girl’s best friend. Treat this house as your house,” she told the young girl.

This seemed to make the girl calm. But she now seemed to be confused after realizing something.

“Why am I here again? I don’t mean to sound impolite but why? Aisling’s and Alise’s birthday was yesterday, so why?” she asked.

“Because it is Kaelin’s birthday and he has no friends, so we invited you. But he is currently enjoying time with his girlfriend,” she told Sylvia.

Sylvia blushed at this. She realized what that meant. Aisling looked at her and giggled. Alise looked at the girl with confused eyes and then at Aisling, her older sister. To tell you all the truth Alise was also a reincarnation. But she had died at such a young age that it all would have seemed like a dream to the younger child.

All in all, this situation confused her. For she saw a multitude of futures for her older sister and Sylvia. She saw them arguing, making love, and other things that would get any YouTube video demonetized.

…

The two love birds giggled as they walked down the pathway to their little, secret cave. Kaelin held his girlfriend’s hand in his. He had finally got her to go out with him. Sarah was very happy. She didn’t realize up until now that he would be so devoted to her.

He got her anything she wished. He worked hard for her. If she wanted a rose from the baron’s garden, done. If she wished for a chicken for her family’s hen house, done.

As they walked down the well-beaten path, he noticed something. Or more likely, someone. It was his little sister, Aisling. It seemed that she had followed them here, and somehow gotten in front of them.

As soon as the two of them got to her Aisling walked right up to them and hugged her brother. It was her birthday gift to him. Of course, a hug isn’t the best present for one’s birthday but… He already had everything he needed in his life, so this was the next best thing.

“I love you Kaelin. I just wanted to give you a hug because I couldn’t think of anything to get you for your birthday. We already had dinner, but mother is making the flapjack cake you like later. You better come home after you’re done making me a couple of nieces or nephews,” she told Kaelin, shocking him.

Let’s leave that right there. Right at the Insinuating line. The Athur doesn’t want to continue because of writers’ block in this scene so we’re moving on.

As Aisling walked away from the two of them, she had a thought.

‘I wonder what my relationship with Sylvia will be in the future. Will we still be friends? Will she accept my growing feelings for her? Will these feelings have faded into nothing? And finally, will Sarah stop looking at me with that strange gaze?’

She looked back and saw Sarah now leading Kaelin into the cave. It seemed like she would be the one with pants in that relationship. Or maybe only whenever the pants were off. God the author needs to get his head out of the gutter.

She walked back to where her little sister was standing and grabbed her hand. Alise only tilted her head at this as she was pulled back to the road. They started to walk back home. It was only about 15 minutes of walking back home.

After about a minute of walking down the road and multiple hand waves to passersby, however, the spell Aisling made for her wore off. At first, nothing happened. But a small image arrived in her mind.

It was a sword.

As soon as it came to the front of her mind, a dam broke in her head. Images of her sister’s life flashed through her head. Death, pain, misery. It all filed into her mind. Alise dropped to the ground. She gripped her head. She screamed into the sky.

SO…

MUCH…

PAIN…

Aisling didn’t know what to do so she simply cast her spell once more. It went away. All the pain she felt in that instant was gone. All the suffering was gone in that instant.

But the images were still playing in her mind. Her sister being beaten by some large mass of flesh. Bloody hands, torn limbs, spilling guts, loss of family, they all flashed. In that moment Alise was dumbstruck.

Even in her past visions nothing as much as this had passed through her head. And then something else passed through her mind, a man. He looked like that hunter she had seen in her dreams; he had been chasing down her sister. But he was different.

Brown hair, blue eyes, a set of scars running across his cheek. He stood in a battlefield. As he stood, he took in a deep breath; then she saw him mouth something she wouldn’t forget, “for my war goddess”.

The man stood with a back that was ramrod straight. His plate armor gleamed in the light of the setting sun. piles of corpses being burned in his periphery. He pulled his morning star from the ground it had been lodged in.

She didn’t know who this was. She didn’t know the circumstances. She only knew that this was certain. Pain and misery awaited her sister. Mother was nowhere to be found. Father was burning with the others.

And her sister…

Was falling from the s…

She was snapped out of her vision. Aisling was hugging her little sister. She didn’t know how long she had been stuck like that. She didn’t know how long she had been crying either.

She touched her hand to the side of her face; a tear was running down her cheek. She saw many things in that instant. Many of which a girl of her age should not witness. Though she was reincarnated, she wasn’t the age in either life where a girl had to worry of a life like this.

The tears began to flow. First it would be considered a drizzle, then a downpour, finally a typhoon. If only her sister was born a decade earlier. If only then she wouldn’t have to deal with this pain.

She hugged her older sister close. It seemed to her that she could fall out of reach at any moment. Only time could tell her if this was to be fate. Only time could tell her that her family would be alright. Her older sister picked her up and carried her home, tears still rolling down her face.

As they got home, mother and father ran up to them. She could tell by the looks on their faces that they hadn’t expected her to start crying from her night terrors in the middle of the day.

“Mother, Father, you open the door to our room; I have to set her down somewhere,” she asked.

In response her father grabbed the both of them in his arms and carried them to his and their mother’s room. he kicked the slightly ajar door open and plopped down on his bed.

He sat against the wall, cooing the little girl till she fell asleep. Aisling was shocked by this. Her father knew what to do at that moment. Her father had the power in his heart to help her little sister fall asleep while she cried from the terror and sadness of whatever she saw.

He was a ma- no he was a father. A real father that cares for his children. A real father who sees his children as truly precious. As pure as gold was his heart. At that thought, she too, fell asleep.