Curse - Septiplier

2: Sword Fighting

Mark's POV

I had grown more and more comfortable with the sword in my hands every second that I used it. It had been years since I forged this weapon with my bare hands, and now it was the only thing that I preferred to use. While in training as a soldier, something I had also been for several years, they gave us swords of their own for practice, but I loathed them. They were heavy, hard to handle, old, and they have been worn down and no longer cut or sliced like they should. I preferred the satisfaction of hitting and tearing my target dummy apart, as did anyone here, and it remained oddly satisfying.

I'd been a soldier for as long as I was old enough. I'd worked my way up as a younger kid, and now I was a stop below the General who stood not too far away from me. He was watching us, and I knew that he had a special eye on me. It was no secret that my swordsmanship skills were beyond incredible, and I'd proven it through the training that I was currently enduring as well as on the battlefield itself. With our neighboring kingdom constantly ready to fight us, it's difficult to avoid training or take a day off. Soldiers were especially aware of their movements and what they were doing, so we were always on guard and constantly training, and the General especially kept me moving because he knew that if we were attacked he wanted me on the front line.

I swung my sword forward, delivering a rough attack on the dummy that stood in front of me. I nearly cut through the thick wooden pole that it hung on, and I made a mental note to keep myself under tabs. I didn't need to be breaking equipment, I learned my lesson from doing that once already. I ended up running drills the entire day, which I didn't mind because I hardly ever had anything better to do, but I did have things I did regularly in the town in the evening, so it made moving a bit sore to get there. I often found myself in the town, helping the less fortunate families and visiting my own as my mother made dinner for all the homeless and starving folk. Unfortunately, our kingdom was not thriving well under the threat of war, and it was my job to help bring it back. My pay cut went to my family, and we usually spent it on helping others.

My thoughts came back to reality as I realized the King was now among us, King Jordan, and his eyes were narrowed at us all, searching for the General as he walked across the battlefield. We all got down onto a knee, bowing for him as he passed when he waved at us good naturedly to get back to work. I was just close enough to the pair to hear the King sigh in frustration and disappointment and the General question what was happening. The General had been the King's advisor for a long time, and although they didn't always agree, they always tried to hear the other one out. It didn't surprise me that he was stressed enough to have sought out the General during the day, and despite my humble nature I couldn't avoid hearing their conversation.

"The prince refused." King Jordan said, and the General gave him a sympathetic glance. The King sighed, throwing his hands into the air as he took up place beside the General, watching us all hacking away at one another or at the dummies for practice. "I don't know what is with that boy, he simply didn't want to. I explained it to him, and he took off and disappeared for a few hours before coming home and completely ignoring me."

"Sounds like a normal teenager to me." The General said, amused, and the King looked at him in a warning matter, but couldn't shake the General's smile. The General, a middle sized man with large furrowed eyebrows and a glare cold enough to freeze hell, smiled a lot more than you'd expect him to, and he helped keep everyone in high spirits. "He reminds me of another rapscallion who was once his age and fighting for freedom." King Jordan sighed again, shaking his head as the General chuckled.

"But he's 18. I was married away at 18, and that was that. I didn't fight it because I knew that it was my destiny. There's just something different about that boy, and I can't put my finger on it!" I had never really talked to the prince in person, but he always seemed so kind from afar. Even last night when I was walking home from practice, I found him in town feeding the homeless as my mother usually did, and it took me by surprise. I avoided him though, not wanting to remind him that his duties are to the same kingdom I served, and I wondered what he would be like. Was he always this kind?