Lionheart

Swordplay

"I did it, I finally did it!" exclaimed Linley as he laughed heavily, he could not seem control his emotions as he kept on shouting "I did it."

Maud looked happy as well, He smiled as he looked at Linley and said "You have done well Linley, now go home and take a good rest". Linley could not agree more, although he wanted to learn more spells and keep practiced, he was exhausted.

He agreed to Maud and went home, he could not control his joy as he rushed towards hi house, when he reached home, he told Carson about his progress. He was just as joyous as Linley on hearing it. He congratulated Linley on his achievement.

Soon Jean served them dinner, they chatted about Linley as they ate. Linley descriptively explained of how he discovered magic. Later as night fell, they all went to sleep.

The next day when Linley woke up, he could not wait for him to start training, he desperately waited for noon, he wanted to practice on his own, but Maud had restricted him from doing so as magic is dangerous, and without proper supervision Linley could end up killing himself.

He unable to find any way to kill time, he went to his favorite spot, the old tree in their farm and lay himself there. As he lay there, he could feel the soft grass as he lay on it, he could feel the cold wind as it blew over his face, he soon fell into a deep sleep.

As he slept, he dreamt, he had his usual dream, the elf , the lion everything was the same , as the elf removed her hand and started to go towards the lion when Linley said hesitating "Thank You", as he said so the elf turned around , and gave a beautiful smile, Linley smiled back in return and soon he woke up.

As he woke up he saw that it was time for his training, so he rushed as fast as his legs could carry him, towards the river. When he reached there, he saw Maud sitting under the tree, his usual spot , he was holding two sticks in his hand which he placed down when he saw Linley.

"What are these for?" inquired Linley out of curiosity, "They are for training" said Maud. Linley was confused, he said "H..ow are we gonna train with these, I mean they are sticks " Maud looked at Linley and said "It depends on how you see them", he touched one stick and suddenly it started moving.

Linley stood beside him gazing incessantly as the stick changed shape and became a wooden sword "How did you do that teacher?" Maud did not answer but instead he took another stick and did the same with it. Linley looked at him as he used magic carefully, just as a blade smith uses a hammer.

When he finished, he threw a wooden sword towards Linley and said "Today we are going to train with swords" .Linley was excited he grabbed the sword .

Maud explained him several stances of how to use a two handed sword, Linley learned quick and soon had a proper stance , just out of curiosity he asked Maud "Who decides our weapon , teacher" Maud laughed and said "That's a surprise Linley", Linley gazed at him , he tried to coax him into telling him but he did not budge.

Later they both stood in stance and Maud said "I know you well Linley and I think the sword suits you well" Linley smiled and said "Okay then let us begin", Linley lunged forward and tried to strike at Maud's chest. To his surprise Maud was as quick as lightning, he swayed to the left and slashed at Linley's knee, making Linley fall.

As he fell down, he felt Maud's sword pointing at his neck. Maud smiled and said "You are dead", Linley got up and engaged again, this time he aimed at Maud's right leg but as he begin to slash, Maud jumped and evaded the attack as fast as he could and hit Linley on the chest and said "Dead".

"Think before you act Linley" Linley took stance and this time , neither of them engaged but just circled around staring at each other, Linley constantly kept thinking of ways to land even a single blow on Maud, Suddenly Linley lunged forward , Maud saw and backed away and to his surprise Linley ducked and slashed towards him .

Although the move was really something, it was still unable to do any damage , Maud simply jumped an landed on Linley's arm and placed his sword on his neck saying "Dead". He held out a hand to help Linley get up , Linley held his hand and stood up .

"Very good, You are learning fast" Linley smiled and said "Again" Maud smiled and then they took positions again and engaged. They battled for a few hours, Linley got bruised and cut at several places but that did not stop him, he smiled and engaged again.

When they were done, Maud tended to some of Linley's wounds and they walked home together, both looked satisfied with Linley's progress as they walked .

Even as they walked, Linley kept asking Maud about ways to use the sword and Maud explained him using words. As they reached home , Linley was as happy as ever , he saw Carson enter the room , he sat beside Linley and said "So , what did you learn today Linley", Linley replied in a sound filled with excitement ,

"Swordplay".