Reclaiming England. (Nano Novel 2016)

Chapter Six: Heart to Heart

       

  Arthur huffed angrily, crossing his arms and glaring at his older brother, Kay.

  "I told you. I don't want to fight with you!" he snapped.

  "But you're going to be my squire when I become a knight. You have to practice."

  "You are no fun to fight with. You don't like losing. And you know I'm already better than you."

  Kay sighed, leaning against the wall. He was five years older than Arthur – his younger foster brother, though they didn't know they weren't related. He was already beginning to train as a knight, and was a squire for one of the older knights. It wouldn't be long before he was knighted, and young Arthur – only twelve years old – would become his squire.

   "You are not better than me," Kay snapped. "You cheat."

  "I do not!" Arthur shouted. "Why don't we see? Father will know. He can tell us."

   "Father is hunting. Besides, he won't want to judge a foolish boy who wants to make himself seem better than he is."

"Well, I don't care. I don't want to fight you unless you're willing to let me win fairly," Arthur crossed his arms and glared at his brother. "Why don't you go and fight some of the other squires if you're so eager for a fight."

   "But I want to practice with you Arthur," Kay said. He hesitated, then scowled. "Fine. I'm sure someone else will want to watch. Then we can see who really is the better at sword play."

   Arthur's face light up, the prospect of a fair fight a appealing to him.

   "Okay! Thank you, Brother," he added, before darting off to find the wooden swords they used to practice sparing.

   "You are welcome, Brother," Kay muttered, watching him go.

  Callum stormed into the house, slamming the door behind him. Maria and Lance were on the floor in front of the fire – which was burning cheerfully – playing a board game, and Katrina was watching them as she read a book.

  "What's wrong?" she asked, flicking the book closed and keeping a finger in her place.

   "Mattimaio," Callum said, flopping onto the coach beside her. "Apparently he can't afford us to leave. We don't even do much around here! Why can't he let us go, we might help bring the Rebels together and then we can actually do something useful against Kingsly, instead of sitting around poking him with a stick occasionally!" He threw his arms in the air and let out a huff of air.

   "Hey, calm down, fireball," Katrina said, replacing her finger with a bookmark. "We don't need his permission, do we?" she added.

   Callum shrugged.

  "I fear we do," he said quietly.

  "What's he gonna do?" Maria spoke up, pushing herself into a sitting position. "Not let us fight anymore? I'm gonna fight no matter what he says."

  "Me too!" Lance added, moving his piece up the board.

  "It's not that. We need documents, reasons for us travelling – you know no one can travel without telling the Americans. We need ID, none of us have them. We need money!"

  "I can help with that," Katrina said quietly. "I have a... contact. He can get what you need."

   Callum turned to her, frowning.