Carliene Stark

II Chapter 43

Carliene

When I made it into the Princesse's Courtyard that evening Ser Vortimer was already there, working on his sword with a whetstone and oilcloth. Our tourney swords leaned against the wall behind him.

"Lady Carliene" he greeted, sitting up straight when he noticed me approach. "I was beginning to think you would not come" he admitted. 

I glanced at the high walls around us and the fading light in the sky up ahead. "Am I that late?" I mumbled as he rose and placed his sword back into its sheath. 

"No but by the way you were ignoring me all day I was beginning to fear you'd grown tired of me" he stated amused.

I gave him a frown, but could feel my face betray me as it filled with heat. "No one can know, remember?" I stated a little annoyed. 

He raised a brow and picked up the padded vest. "Yes but you didn't so much as look at me" he pointed out, while walking towards me to hand it to me. 

I could not hold eye contact. "I was afraid someone might find out" I admitted sheepishly. 

When he came to stand before me he leaned down slightly to urge me to meet his gaze. "You haven't done this before have you?" he pondered still amused.
I tore the vest from his grip and shot him a frustrated glare. "Done what?"

His gaze travelled between my eyes. "Been secretly involved with someone" 

I turned away and shrugged into the padded vest. Was it that obvious? "So what if I haven't?" I asked a little defensively as he sauntered back to the bench to pick up our swords. 

"Oh nothing, it is just a little surprising is all" he shrugged throwing the padded gloves my way. I crouched slightly to be bale to catch them before I tossed them right back. They hit his left shoulder and fell to the floor. "Usually, highborn ladies such as yourself have an array of suitors and it is not uncommon for young girls to experiment with one or the other" he talked on as he gave me a confused frown. 

I raised my hands and wiggled my fingers, showing off my new riding gloves shortly. Surely they were far too fine to be used in training, but I felt I would do much better with them. "You don't have to explain to me the way the world works, Ser" I assured.

"My apologies, princess, it won't happen again" he assured and held out one of the swords so the pommel was facing me. 

"And don't call me that" I reached for the sword with such confidence that I nearly stumbled when he pulled it away. 

He tilted his head with a smirk. "What? Princess" 

I gave him the most disappointed look and placed my hands on my hips. "Why must you vex me so?" I snapped angrily. 

He had to chuckle. "Because you make it too easy" he seemed to be having genuine fun with this. "And I like it when formalities are dropped"

"Maybe I should find myself a different teacher" I suggested.

He lightly tossed the sword my way this time and I was glad that it was a blunted one otherwise I would have lost a few fingers while trying to catch it. "You only get that privilege when you manage to defeat me" he decided, swinging his blade a few times and taking his stance. 

"Alright, I'll take your word for it" I muttered to myself, gripping my weapon properly and mirroring his stance. Our blades met in a crescendo of rings of steel on steel. I noticed that I was much quicker than before, which I attributed to a better grip due to my new gloves. Also I made fewer mistakes, leaving fewer openings in my defence. It wasn't so much that my flaws were causing me to lose anymore, but rather the strength that left my arms after a few rounds. My muscles soon burned and my slashes and parries became sloppy, while the knight could go on unhindered. Of course he could, he did nothing else all day.