The Wandering Mage (Sequel To The Last Mage)

Chapter 10

 "We have to be getting close." Celene complained once again. Normally Cedric would have been annoyed at this, but she certainly had the right to whine. They had to be walking for at least for days straight, now going onto their fifth, and were both getting quite crabby.

 'What I wouldn't give to have Hion with me.' The boy thought wistfully. 'It would surely save time, and help with the pain in my feet.'

 However, even as he thought this, Cedric couldn't deny that he was having fun. This had been what he wanted for the longest time, to go on an adventure and explore a new place. It beat being stuck in a stuffy, old castle all day. It was even better having a companion travelling with him this time. Having someone to talk to, laugh with and just be around made the journey more fun.

 "What are you smiling at?" Celene inquired as she looked over at him, seeing his happy expression. The mage laughed and shook his head.

 "It's nothing. I am just happy to be exploring again." He replied. "Usually I am holed up somewhere inside, and I don't get to go out as much as I used to."

 "That's a shame. Personally I like to spend time outside." She tilted her head. "At least I think I do. It seems better than spending time in the walls of a stuffy fort, or castle."

 Cedric laughed awkwardly and rubbed his head. "Y- yeah, right. That certainly would be boring." He looked around, trying to change to steer the conversation away from castles, and anything related to them. "Celene, I've been meaning to ask you something. That dagger on your belt, do you know how to properly wield it?"

 "W- what? Of course I do." Celene said defensively, and her face reddened. "How could you even ask me that?"

 "Well... you didn't use it when you were getting attacked, and with your memory loss maybe you forgot. I just figured I would ask. I apologize."

 A moment of silence passed, and then...

 "I don't."

 Cedric stopped and turned to the girl. "What?"

 "I don't know how to fight."

 "Has no one ever taught you how?"

 Celene stared at him. "Erm, no memory, or did you forget?"

The mage now felt his face go red. "O- of course not. Just maybe you would remember that... out of... everything else." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, if we're going to be travelling together, things are bound to be dangerous, so why don't I teach you how to wield a blade?"

 "I... that would be great Cedric." Celene began. "Hopefully I'll never have need of the skill, but I suppose it would be nice to know."

 "Great." The boy looked around and saw two sticks laying on the ground. He picked them up and handed one to Celene. "We'll use these as training swords. Using a sword is a bit different than wielding a dagger, but the basics should still apply."

 "Okay. So how should we start?" Celene asked.

 "I'll tell you. First, keep your feet flat on the ground, making sure to maintain your balance. Point your blade at your opponents throat and keep your elbows bent to help keep your arms from tiring." As he talked, Celene made sure to do exactly as he said. "Keep yourself relaxed. Try not to tense up so much. Your body should be balanced, so make sure your feet are spread apart." Cedric smiled as he remembered the teachings from Xavier, and how he was trained. "Your elbows should be close- keep your weapon pointed at me- and still bent. Now, as we move into the fight, remain calm, make your strikes count, don't be too dramatic or flashy, and make sure to have a strong defense. Are you ready?"

 "No, but I doubt a real opponent would ask that so go on." The girl answered.

 Cedric nodded, and suddenly charged, swinging his stick down in an arc. Celene held out her weapon ti block, but it was knocked from her hands and sent flying across the ground.

 "No, no." Cedric shook his head as Celene went to retrieve her weapon. "I told you to keep your weapon close. Put your sword in a position so that it runs from the bottom of your torso to the top of your head."

 "Like this?" She asked, shifting her stance so that she did what she was told.

 "Yes, exactly like that. Now just relax and we can resume."

 Celene took a breath and nodded at Cedric to continue. He returned the gesture then ran at her, swinging his stick towards her side. Celene responded by raising her weapon, skidding back a few feet but successfully guarding the attack. He didn't let up and spun to attack her other side, but again she blocked it. Time to take it up a notch. This tome Cedric stabbed forwards, taking the girl off guard and hitting her in the chest. She tumbled back and fell down on her rear. However she quickly recovered and swung her stick, striking the boy hard across the face. He stumbled back, but then walked back towards her.

 "I can honestly say I didn't expect you to recover so fast." Cedric said he rubbed his cheek. Luckily that wasn't a real sword, or he'd be dead!

 "Oh come on, you let me get that hit in and we both know it." Celene countered, but still blushed at the compliment.

 "Eh, maybe, maybe not. Still, you did well and caught on very quick. Maybe you did know how to fight, and that was just your body responding with what it knew."

 "Perhaps that could be it. Either way I feel as though I've learned so much, even though that fight barely lasted five minutes."

 "You can learn a lot from just watching a fight, even if it's a quick one. Hopefully you remember what I taught you if you ever need to fight someone."

 Celene tilted her head. "We're done already? Shouldn't I be taught more than just that?"

 "Don't worry, I'll keep training you on our way to Vyron. For now though, we should try to focus on magical combat, if you can use it."

 The girl perked up at hearing this. "M- magic, really?! Of course I want to be able to use it. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

 "Heh. Well alright, let's try this." Cedric grinned at her enthusiasm. "First off, close your eyes and focus inside of you, searching for an energy of sorts." Celene did as he said, then after a moment, nodded. "Okay, that's a good sign. Now, we will start with a simple flame spell to get it started. This is one of the easiest spells to do, but it is also very strong. So, repeat after me. Unda flammas."

 Celene held out her hands, eyes still closed, and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could a gout of flames shot out of her hands towards Cedric, who reacted and jumped out of the way, rolling across the ground. He propped himself up on his knee and looked at the girl, who simply covered her mouth in shock.

 "C- Celene." Cedric stuttered. "You're a mage."

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