Redeemed

Ch. 45

The following day, we arrived at one of the training camps for new recruits in order to stock up on supplies and build morale.

"Thea, Shay, I want you two to instruct those fighters," Merium told us, motioning to five new soldiers standing at attention. "Be gentle. They have only arrived the other day, and for most of them, the closest they've come to a weapon was a plow."

We saluted, grabbed training swords, and headed over. Finally, I would get to have a little combat! Of course, this wasn't the same as going against the Dragon's forces, but it was better than organizing supplies or repairing buildings like I had to do in the other missions.

"Should we start with the sword or the bow?" I asked Shay. She paused before answering. Since our little spat yesterday, there had been tension between us, which I knew was partly my fault. However, couldn't she see that I could handle myself and that I needed space?

"Let's start with the sword. It will be a good indication of how well they can focus before moving on to the bow."

A peace offering. I nodded as I came to a stop in front of the soldiers, hands on my hips, surveying the new recruits. They all looked like they had barely begun their manhood, and some of them could not even grow a proper beard yet. Yikes. I hope they knew what they had signed up for.

"My name is Thea, and this is Shay." Shay waved, a small smile on her face. "We will be getting you started on how to wield a sword and a bow."

"Wait, we're going to be trained by two women?" One of the soldiers broke attention, taking a step forward. "Seriously? Where is the Prince? I thought he'd be the one to instruct us." Nervous tittering broke out among the rest of the recruits as they lost the ability to focus. Great start.

I glanced over at Shay, who looked shocked by the boy's outburst, and rolled my eyes. Looks like this was on me.

"Quiet!" I barked, striding forward. The chatter immediately stopped, though the one who had spoken out still wore a haughty expression. "You, what's your name?"

"Quill, ma'am," he said, a cocky grin on his face. Oh, I was going to enjoy this. I walked over and handed him a training sword.

"Take up your stance, Quill." The boy's smirk vanished, and he hesitated. "Come on, now, don't tell me you're afraid you'll lose."

"With all due respect, ma'am," the boy said, still refusing to address me by my name, "I don't much like to embarrass others of the opposite gender."

"I don't believe that for a second," I replied, preparing my stance. "Now come at me!"

With a shrug, the boy charged. I could tell right away that he had never been properly instructed on how to hold a sword as his grip and balance were all wrong. Before he even began his swing, I stepped forward, elbowed him in the chest, and knocked the sword out of his hand. He clutched his chest, wincing.

"Is that all you can do? Pathetic."

The boy picked up his sword. "I was going easy on you."

"Then maybe you would like to try again. This time, though, don't charge me. Unless you are going up against a coward, that tactic puts you in a vulnerable position."

To his credit, Quill followed my advice, attacking me with a downward slash. I easily blocked it, and he switched to a different attack. "Good agility. Now loosen your grip a little. You should feel relaxed, as if you were swinging a big stick. Good. Make sure when you swing, you don't just use your arm muscles. Put your shoulder into the blow." As we danced around each other, I kept yelling out instructions until I saw an improvement. Where once there was disdain on Quill's face, there was now fierce determination and, dare I say it, respect. I let him back me up a few steps, parrying his strikes, before deciding my point had been made. With a flourish that Nourse had taught me, I disarmed him, sending his sword flying.