All Around You (Troyler AU)

Chapter 24: The Innkeeper

Troye's P.O.V

"Okay on my count," Tyler yelled as he straightened the pell again. "Three...two...one... strike!"

I lurched my arms forward and hit the wooden pell again with the broadsword. Tyler quickly jumped back, out of my way as I collected myself. "Not bad, not bad. Remember to keep your stance firm- feet planted. And the hit should really be coming from the side as opposed to the front, does that make sense?"

"Yeah," I panted with a nod. I adjusted my grip on the sword's handle and plantly my feet on the ground. "Count me down again."

"Okay, take a deep breath. Ready? Three...two...one...strike!"

I swung my arms from the side and slammed the sword into the wooden pell. My eyes nearly closed on instict but, from experience, I remembered to never close my eyes when practicing swordfighting again. The last time I did, I nearly decapitated Tyler altogether. Tyler clapped excitedly as I set the tip of the sword into the ground and pushed my hair out of my eyes.

"That was a good one! You nearly knocked a few splinters off!"

It had been about a week since Tyler had agreed to teach me the art of swordfighting. You see, my tutor wanted to make up for all of the time we had lost while my father and brother were away, and he suggested that we double my curriculum and our lesson plan. I begged him not to, but he was relentless. So, after a long time spent bargaining, we came to the agreement that I could skip two lessons a week to go off with Tyler- if he was planning on helping me in some other field of education. Naturally, with Tyler being a knight and all, I came to the idea that he could train me in swordfighting.

It wasn't the most exciting subject to learn. In fact, it was a lot more difficult than I had planned for. After years of watching the knights train, you think I'd know a little more about their practices rather than "They hit each other with swords". There was so much more to take into accont! Stances, types of weapons, battle strategies, armor, the list goes on! Tyler teased me mercilessly when he found out I couldn't tell a gauntlet from a plackart, but he taught me right.

I had to hand it to Tyler, there was definitely an improvement in my swordsmanship within the one week interval he'd been training me in. By this time, I had my very own armor that fit me exclusively, and I was able to put it on easily and list the names of each piece. I'd been learning different battle tactics and types of weaponry, mostly the vocabulary of everything. Now we had gotten into the actual battle. Today, he was teaching me the proper way to strike with a broadsword.

"Can I try the longsword next?" I asked eagerly. Tyler rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"What, that one isn't enough for you?" He replied as he reached for the weapons rack.

"No, it's no match for me. I'm a real macho guy, Tyler."

Tyler stared at me before laughing bluntly. I stuck my tongue out at him as he took my sword. "Pft, okay, sure you are, Troye."

"I am!"

"Here, we'll try that one next time, okay? Want to take a break?"

"I thought you'd never ask," I said happily.

We walked to a nearby tree and began to strip off the heavy pieces of armor. Tyler tossed everything haphazardly to the side, while I kept all of my pieces in a neat pile, so I could remember which ones were mine. Tyler grabbed the lute I had set by the side of the tree and gave it a few experimental strums, making himself wince. I laughed softly at his attempt and held out my hand until he gave the lute to me.