Coffeh's G/t Short Stories

The Veiled Price -Tales From Immers Prologue (#51. Drink)

"Stop. That is not nearly enough."

Audwin laid on his knees on the floor, gasping for breath as if he had drowned, the sword he was previously holding fell a good distance away from him. He had barely processed what his father had said when the baron lowered his sword and started walking away from the exhausted child.

"Had you been stronger or fiercer, I might have given you another chance. But this already proves your incompetence. I am not going to waste my time testing you any longer."

"Father, wait!"

Audwin scrambled back up and lunged towards Hartmann, who had turned his back against his son. The child gripped the fabric of his father's shirt and buried his head deep in it, as if the man would turn invisible, never to be seen again.

"Please! I will get better! I can try again! I'll do another strike and-"

Hartmann wasted no time with the desperate pleas and yanked Audwin's hands from his shirt. His grip around his son's wrists tightened, cold and distant eyes scrutinizing his tearful ones. He shoved Audwin away and walked to the door as his child stumbled in recoil.

"It would be wise to keep your mouth shut."

With that, he slammed the door closed, the sound ringing inside Audwin's ears as the sharp words cut through his chest. He hiccupped and rubbed his face in his hands in a desperate attempt to stop his tears. Yet, an ember of resolve, remnants of a dream still not buried, burned within him.

He was only eight. He could still become strong.

____________________________

"Is that all you can do, Audwin?"

His older brother teased between thrusts and parries of their swords. The teenager's lungs begged for air, but his eyes remained steady.

"You haven't gotten me yet."

Audwin feigned an overhead strike in order to kick his brother in the middle and gain advantage, but Benedictus had a bright intellect and saw through his strategy. Going along Audwin's plan at first, he pretended to raise his sword only to aim it towards his younger brother's raised foot, colliding his blade with it in a swift motion. In a matter of seconds, Benedictus charged and knocked Audwin's sword from his hand. It fell with a large clank to the ground. Not enough. I am still not strong enough, He thought as his expression fell.

He glanced at his father, who had briefly stopped by to watch the sparring match between the brothers. Audwin held his breath as he looked at the stern and disappointed face across the room. 7 years after that last testing day, baron Hartmann barely regarded Audwin and his sister's presence. The eldest son, Benedictus, occupied all that was left of the aged lord's energy. The distant memory left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Audwin knew what his father wanted. Stability for the kingdom the land of Immers is part of. Acknowledgement of his merits by the king, the expansion of the state, or simply to make it strong and powerful. All those reasons spat out of the tenacious man's mouth one time or another. He valued military strength for that exact reason, since providing armies to the king was the best way to get recognition as a baron. In the end, despite everything, the young lord admired his father's goal. He longed to realize that dream alongside him and his brother, leading armies side by side with them, the sweet and rewarding feeling of honor overflowing his senses. And yet...

He cut his train of thought when Hartmann rose from his seat and left the sparring room without a word.

His chances slipped away by each second. So many years went by, but he never won one match, never disarmed that swift, dexterous blade from his brother's grasp. Audwin looked down in dejection, but Benedictus's firm hands on his shoulder awoke him from his stupor.