Chapter 3

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Mergol sat in a rocking chair beside the fireplace. A painting of an old woman knitting hung above the mantelpiece and the healer’s stare flitted between the picture and the real life. Mrs Worth sat opposite him in her own chair, bundles of wool at her feet. In, and out, in, and out; the motion of the needle was almost hypnotic. Mergol had thought over the problem of young Sebastian for quite some time. He had nominated him for the Battle of Larion for a reason, and he wasn’t prepared to just let the boy turn away opportunity like that. However, his mother was not a question with a clear answer and even with his well-seasoned mind, Mergol could not think of any solution but to step in himself and babysit the old woman. It was a tedious job and he had begun to find it easier simply to ignore Mrs Worth and her ramblings. He made sure she ate and slept, but other than that he tried his best to pretend he was somewhere else; on a beach in a tropical island usually. Sebastian had been reluctant at first to surrender the care of his mother to a man he barely knew. But Mergol was trained in reading people and persuading them based on what he read, so in the end it wasn’t difficult to make the young man agree. Now, he was beginning to regret making the offer at all. And for once, he felt a little sympathy, finally realising what it must be like for Sebastian, a bright, talented boy, to sit here day in and day out, watching a person who’d really been dead for two years.

 

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“Up up up up!” came the screech. Five o’clock in the morning. There was usually no need for Sebastian to get up before eight at home, so the wake up call came as quite a shock to his system. Abigail, however, was apparently quite the early bird. He felt her breath in his ear, and his eyes snapped open with a start.

“Rise and shine, Seb,” she encouraged.

“Oi, just because Kerry called me that one time, doesn’t mean you can start!” Sebastian screamed at her. She withdrew a little with a wounded expression.

“Just trying to be nice,” she mumbled, walking away.

“I am so not a morning person!” decided Sebastian.

 

First thing, they were handed out a list, detailing what would be taught and trained each week. Octavia scanned hers and shrugged. She was an optimistic person, and she wasn’t going to let a little piece of paper get her worked up. Around her, other people were having very different reactions. Celeste was throwing a tantrum, shrieking at anyone who would listen about ‘unfair workload’ and ‘pointless trainings’. Abigail was fighting to look calm and sure of herself in front of everyone, but Octavia sensed it was a sham. Benjamin was pretty easy-going, so he read through the list with a casual attitude. Kerry was clearly stressed out. Sebastian looked unhappy, irritated, like this was somehow the fault of somebody else. Ed looked about ready to pack his bags. Gregory tried to hide it, but he was obviously panicked. Lillian’s expression was impossible to read, as usual. The brothers, Jeremiah and Patrick, looked surprisingly confident, like they had it in the bag. The oldest of the group, Abraham, at thirty-five, seemed decidedly confused. Sixteen-year-old Marcus, the youngest, wore perhaps the strangest face of all, appearing as if he couldn’t care less about any of it.

 

Week 1: Swordsmanship, archery and horsemanship.

Week 2: Battle tactics, laws of the Kingdom, economics and terminology.

Week 3: Mind control, techniques and power.

Week 4: Mind control, techniques and power.

Week 5: Working with and against the elements.

Week 6: Strategy, logistics and problem-solving.

Week 7: Axes, spears, throwing knives and clubs.

Week 8: Defence.

Week 9: Fitness, exercise and health.

Week 10: Potential enemies.

Week 11: Conclusion.

 

“Now,” said Instructor Hodges, interrupting their thoughts, “training will begin. Today we are starting off with swordsmanship, after which we will move on to archery. Then there will be a short break for lunch, then we go over to the stables. I will be taking you for your first session, as one of the most reputable single combat warriors in Larion. You will address me as ‘sir’ or ‘Instructor Hodges’. I will not respond to ‘hodgy podgy’, ‘hey you’ or any other variation of my title, for that matter. All of you should bear in mind that I have the ways and means to punish you… severely for any wrongdoing.” Hodges was a middle-aged man, with a thick bushy beard and a wisp of a moustache. His eyes, dark and sharp, constantly swept around the room, taking in everything and everyone.

 

Lunge, parry, sidestep, slash. Kerry wasn’t exactly a natural with a sword. She tried to remember the names of the different attack and defence moves and develop a sequence, but she soon realised that swordsmanship is not about terminology. It’s a hell of a lot more than that. She was in the middle of a practice duel with Octavia, who seemed to have some natural ability. She looked perfectly at ease with a sword in her hand, moving fluidly and winning nearly every fight. Kerry, on the other hand, was jerking around, waving the sword about like a magic wand.

“Calm down,” instructed Octavia, smiling. “Take it easy. Now, find the open spot and lunge… Good, that’s good.” Kerry smiled back, feeling her confidence beginning to grow as she parried each of her opponent’s strokes. Then she dropped her sword. It just slipped through her fingers, and was on the floor. Octavia’s weapon almost stabbed her in the chest when the resistance was unexpectedly taken away. Unfortunately, Instructor Hodges witnessed this event and approached the pair.

“You, with the black eyes, you’re terrible,” he said abruptly. “Blondie’s not so bad. Blondie, you go over there and duel with the one who says nothing. Black Eyes, you’ll go with Other Blondie. She’s almost as bad as you.” And that was how it happened that Kerry and Celeste were facing each other with swords in their hands.

 

Sebastian was good with a sword. It was his ‘thing’. But being beaten by Marcus certainly made him realise he would need to work a lot harder to maintain that talent. The opponents he had faced back in Hansville had all been pretty ordinary, so he had grown cocky and over-confident. He was now realising that he had stopped developing his skills and as a result, a sixteen-year-old could’ve killed him, had it been a real life battle. Marcus stepped forward and stabbed. Sebastian dodged the attack and retaliated with a downward arc across Marcus’ body, his blade banging against the other boy’s shield. Marcus’ next manoeuvre caught Sebastian off guard. The boy feigned a lunge at the neck, and as Sebastian brought his shield up to protect himself, the charging sword swerved off course at the last minute, cutting down lower towards the chest. It was by a stroke of luck that Sebastian was able to deflect the blow.

 

“You don’t like me, do you?” asked Celeste, swinging her shield up to jam Kerry’s sword. Kerry tried her best to look blank: it didn’t quite work.

“What? Of course I like you, what are you talking about?” she replied, voice shaking.

Celeste smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s ok, you don’t have to lie. I know you don’t like me. Can I just ask why, though?” Why? Kerry screamed inside her head, fighting the urge to say it aloud. Because you’re a spoilt little brat! You’re rude, and mean, and you always complain. B***h!

“Well,” she said slowly, “I guess we just got off to the wrong start, Celeste.”

“Seriously, it’s fine. I don’t like you either. In fact, I kind of hate you,” admitted the other girl. About twenty years old, Celeste was your typical blonde-haired, blue-eyed porcelain doll who marries the prince and lives happily ever after. And she drove Kerry absolutely insane.

“Ok then.” Kerry channelled all her anger into the sword as she lunged forward, pinning her opponent with her blade, the tip just millimetres away from Celeste’s stomach. How she felt like plunging the weapon straight through and watching the blood spurt… And now she felt like throwing up. Kerry was a peaceful person; she rarely held grudges or spoke out of turn. It was in her nature to be more accepting and civil than most other people, but she just could not stand this little b***h in front of her.

“I hope you realise, Black Eyes, that this will be one of your only training sessions with a sword before the competition, and there are men and women out there who can and will hack you to pieces if you don’t improve any time soon,” taunted Inspector Hodges, having crept up behind Kerry.

 

Octavia was starving. As they made their way to the castle’s archery field, her usual patience was gone as she prayed lunch time was close. They had spent about three hours on swordsmanship and if archery was the same length, she’d probably keel over before they made it back to the dining hall. Octavia was hardly overweight, but she had a chubby sort of figure and had no intention of giving that up because of some stupid timetable. She needed to eat.

 

As the group arrived at the archery field, their new instructor, a stocky little woman, called them up in groups of four. Prince Gregory was among the first group. He was looking forward to showing off his skill in archery, after the public humiliation that had been the previous training session. While the instructor explained the basics for those who were new to the concept, Gregory tested the bowstring of the weapon in front of him and examined the arrows. Pretty poor quality, but they would do. Of course, during the challenges he would be allowed to use his own bow and quiver, which were custom-made by Castle Larion’s weapons master. Best in the Kingdom.

“Nock your arrows,” came the familiar call. The four: Marcus, Lillian, Gregory and Jeremiah, obeyed the order. “Draw, aim and fire at your will.” Gregory drew the bowstring right back until the arrow feather bushed against his cheek. When he released, the arrow went shooting ahead with a satisfying twang, and the Prince watched it bury itself in the target. Bullseye. He was suddenly aware of someone standing behind him: Kerry, the girl from the little town who was always hanging around the boy with oily hair.

“That was amazing,” she grinned. Gregory sighed and nocked another arrow. He found it annoying when people offered him compliments in some feeble attempt to make him feel good. It didn’t work, and it was stupid. The only person he really wanted praise from was his father, and since that was never going to happen…

“Thanks,” he replied in a bored tone. The girl sensed his attitude and withdrew a little, but still watched as the second arrow thudded into the centre of the target.

“You really do have a knack for that, you know,” Kerry continued. To her, Gregory seemed sad, and she knew what any boy needed to cheer them up was a good boost of the ego. “Did you see how terrible I was with a sword? The instructor basically told me I’d be eliminated first round if I hadn’t already been hacked to death by one of you.”

“I’m sorry, but I kind of need silence to concentrate,” Gregory told her, with no subtlety whatsoever.

“Of course, sorry.” Kerry walked away and sat down beside Sebastian to watch from a distance. “That boy… he’s so sad,” she said. “He’s just unbelievably… sad. I can see it in his eyes.”

Sebastian laughed, “Probably because his dad hates his guts.”

“That’s not funny, Sebastian. Sometimes, you’re almost as bad as the rest of them.”

 

Lunch was a welcome interruption to the gruelling training the thirteen contestants had endured. Even if it was cold potato pie. Octavia was walking down a narrow hallway leading off from the dining hall to find a mirror, when she turned a corner and found Celeste and Benjamin making out. They were so caught up in it that several seconds passed before they noticed Octavia standing there.

“Oh God, I’m sorry. Uh, carry on,” she said, turning to leave. Benjamin called her back.

“You won’t tell anyone, will you?” he said nervously. “Only, I’ve got a fiancée back home, and it wouldn’t be right, you see.”

“Ben, I expected more of you! I mean, this snob? Really?”- Octavia gestured at Celeste, who turned an expression of detest on her- “But I am an optimist, and I suppose an optimist would give you a chance to make it right with your fiancée, right?” she answered, not exactly sure what she was saying. “They would say that you can work through this… Um, I guess I don’t need to tell anyone. I’m no gossip. But if it happens again, Benjamin, I won’t be impressed. And as for you, Celeste, you’ve been causing trouble since you got here. I don’t want to hear any more complaints about you.”

“You’re not my mother!” Celeste screeched at her.

“And for that I am so, so grateful.” Octavia turned on her heel and walked away.

 

Conversation at the lunch table died away as Instructor Hodges strode in, brandishing a long horsewhip.

“While I would very much like to throttle some of you with this, that form of punishment is against my oaths,” he announced to the room. “So I must disappoint you by saying that this if for the horses, which you are going to be working with this afternoon.” He paused, beady eyes circling the faces around him like flies. “Up!” The men and women responded immediately, some still scrutinising the gnarled hand that held the whip. The group followed their instructor out of the dining hall and through many winding corridors, until they reached the drawbridge stretched over the moat. The guard at the exit point gave Hodges a curt nod and let him through. Over the bridge they scrambled, working to keep up with the back-breaking pace their leader had set. Finally, they were in the outdoors, among paddocks and hills, and the stables were in sight.

 

Sebastian could see animal heads poking out over stall gates, ears pricked at the new arrivals. He also spotted a few horses grazing in a paddock off to the side and smiled. He sensed Kerry beside him, knowing that she would be grinning too. She loved horses, though there wasn’t a lot of opportunity to ride in Hansville, being a town predominantly in the grain industry, not livestock. Hodges again moved to the front and began another speech.

“Obviously, these are the stables, and the bizarre creatures you see inside them are horses. Horses are good-natured animals, they tend to bond strongly with humans and are easily domesticated. However, it takes a bit to train them for riding. That’s what you will be doing here today,” he said in a bored tone, leaning back against a stall door. “If you have never ridden a horse, you are an idiot and you will certainly struggle this week. The animals you see in the paddock over there are yearlings, some a little older. They are completely untrained, so you will be starting from the very beginning with them. Horses are allocated. See how far you can get.”

 

Sebastian’s yearling was a jumpy little fellow. Tall and leggy, with a rich chestnut coat and a white blaze down his nose. As Sebastian approached him, the horse eyed the halter he carried in his hand, and then darted away at full pelt. It was beautiful to see the animal bucking and kicking, mane and tail flying, but Sebastian was all too aware of the fact that some horses were already haltered and being led into training arenas. So he walked up to the yearling again, this time more slowly and with the halter behind his back. The animal now allowed Sebastian to place his hand on its nose and stroke its neck, but as soon as it saw the dreaded halter creeping up, he bolted yet again, almost flattening the boy’s toes.

“I’m going to name you Arrow,” muttered Sebastian to himself, grinning after the fleeing horse. “Not that you resemble any of my arrows from today…” For a third time, he stepped carefully towards Arrow, and stroked his nose gently but firmly. Then, he slid his hand up to the animal’s mane and gently lodged his fingers in there. Hopefully it would at least interrupt Arrow’s escape plans, if only for a second.  Miraculously, the halter was on and buckled up before he galloped off.

 

Sebastian ran after his yearling, grabbing hold of the wildly swinging lead rope. After a lot of pulling, while Arrow simply refused to budge, he gave him a healthy whack on the rump and the horse leapt forward with a start. Sebastian was uncomfortably conscious of the fact that he was the last person to tether his horse to the fence in a training arena. Arrow did not appreciate being so securely fastened to one spot. He jumped about and kicked up the ground and made a huge fuss, but when he realised that no one was paying him any attention, he settled down a bit. Sebastian, of course, had absolutely no idea where to begin with training a yearling, but a quick scan of the surrounding arenas told him that he needed to practice leading Arrow calmly. This didn’t go so well. Chestnut legs flew every which way, teeth flashed, ears flipped back, nostrils flared, eyes rolled. The young man halted mid-stride and turned back to face his horse, planting his hands on either side of Arrow’s face.

“Listen, mate, I know this is hard, but I need you to be good for me, ok? I need you to behave yourself for now. I know you don’t want to, but will you do it anyway, please?” He may have been imagining things, but he saw, out of the corner of his eye, an almost imperceptible movement of the horse’s head, as if he were nodding. The thought made him chuckle to himself. But from then on, Arrow at least walked docilely and with a little bit of composure, though his legs still twinged with every stride as if possessed by some sort of jellyfish.

Reviews

[Panda]

So this has been an entertaining read so far. I must admit I skimmed over a few parts, just because the story did not hold my complete attention, but that does not mean it wasn't a good write, everyone is different with different tastes and opinions so do not let what I have said get you down, because you are indeed a talented writer!

I have noticed you have thrown in words like 'mate' and 'oi' in some of the dialogue, so it was a little confusing because the rest of the words were really proper etiquette. I know it is hard to stray from writing perfectly, but if your character does not speak like that, then let it be shown.

Well, I think you have something here! I do hope you continue writing with this story!! Best wishes!! :)

[Addi]

Thank you for taking the time to review :) I'll think about your feedback

[James Hanna-Magill]

Dear Addi

I can only apologise for it taking me so long to get onto chapter 3.

Sometimes life gets in the way!

Reactions on this chapter?

1) You really are starting to draw me in as the story takes off. I am finding it an engaging read;

2) The issues I had with perspective in chapter one have now evaporated. I think you are now playing 'author god, the only one with a perspective. A reasonable approach, in that you are telling us how the characters feel and they aren't directly telling us. I need to re-read chapter one myself again in case I am wrong about this (your mixed perspectievs ther) but it was an initial reaction, which I no longer feel exists here;

3) I continue to like the way your characters interact, the mild flirtation; the early sexual, yet innocent sexual attraction as of cubs in early playing practicing for adult hood;

4) As the fantasy story unfolds and the plot thickens, the fairytale feel starts to grow. The descriptions of people and places are well drawn to the point where on occasions, it seemed like I was reading JK Rowling. Now that is a huge compliment I pay you;

5) I was charmed by the opening pargraph and the reference to the mother left at home, in her dotage and the selfless care of the friend;

5) In this chapter, however much you may have briefly introduced other charachters in the story chapter two, I feel you start to confuse me, perhaps other readers by introducing even more or if you have intoduced them already, we know too little about them for their interractions to make the impression you intend.

I hate raising adverse comment without providing tentaive solutions. Perhaps you should introduce the characters more slowly, or if you wish to introduce them at this speed, dwell a little more on telling us about them.

Addi, you have something definitely worth pursuing here. Editing I hate but it is an essential for any writer. I prefer the initial creation of building something, to keep it banal - I love creating a beautiful garden, but I hate maintaining it; I love cooking but I hate repeating and perfecting the recipe. I want to move onto another dish

Keep at it.

You are doing ever so well. There is a lot of imagination in this book, by which I am now charmed.

I hope to review more very soon.

I hope this helps as inspiration and encouragement to keep going as well as giving you a few pointers where, at least if only in my personal opinion, if it counts, you might improve the writing.

Frustratingly for the writer, others will have their own views which may well differ - it's inevitable as we are all differnt. But then as a writer, you are left standing and jumping up and down on the spot wondering who to believe more.

I never ever read others reviews when I give my own, before or after.

But like me Addi, in Split, you are obliged to.

All the best with this book.

You are now impressing me with your talent for writing a well plotted story.

With my warmest regards as ever

James

[MaidMarian]

I loved this chapter. It blew me away! the only thing that didnt flow very well with your writting was when Kerri called Celeste a b***h. Other than that your flow and story line where solid. Keep posting I cant wait to read what happens next.

[Addi]

Thanks, I will think about the wording there.