It Started With a Sword

Chapter 2

As Scott talked with Lyla, an idea formed in his head. “Hold on, you said you want to learn sword fighting? I could teach you.”

Lyla’s eyes widened, and smiled in surprise. “Seriously? You’d do that?” She stood up, clapped her hands together, and spun around, still smiling.

“Yeah, if you do one thing,” Scott replied, smiling as he watched her. “Help me with my archery.”

Lyla stopped, standing still in front of Scott. She blinked twice at him, tilting her head slightly to the side. “Teach you archery? But you’re a prince, why would you need help with that?”

“In Pantera, archery is for girls, sword fighting is for boys. So I’ve learned just a bit of archery, enough to be decent at it, but was mostly trained in the sword. Therefore, I’m not very good at archery, and want to be better but no one will teach me,” Scott sighed.

“I’ll do it! This will be so fun!” Lyla cheered, smiling even wider. “When do we start?”

Shaking his head, Scott chuckled before answering her. “Well, it’s still raining, so…what about now?”

Lyla’s face lit up with a smile that was quickly replaced with a frown. “But I don’t have a sword. I’ll have to somehow get one from the armory, which will be next to impossible.” She sighed. “Dad wouldn’t let me get a sword of my own. And I highly doubt the guards would allow me to, either.”

Scott thought about what Lyla said for a moment, then shrugged. “I have an extra sword, you can use that if you want. I don’t really need two, anyways.”

Lyla stared at him, wide eyed. “Seriously?! You’d give one of your good swords to a girl?”

Scott shrugged again. “Why not? You’re not gonna stab me with it, are you?” he replied teasingly, grinning.

Lyla laughed, her eyes sparkling. “How could you possibly figure out my plan? I thought it was foolproof,” she joked.

“Hah,” Scott said as he smiled and rolled his eyes. “But seriously, we’re friends, right? So of course you can use my sword. I trust you enough not to break it.”

“Thanks,” Lyla said sarcastically, smiling back at Scott. “I’ll try my hardest.”

He noticed that she didn’t acknowledge his comment about being friends, but brushed it aside. “It’s with my stuff, in my room. Do you wanna go get it now? Well, I guess I should ask, is it still raining? Is it possible to go and get it without getting wet?”

“Oh, you don’t know about the tunnels, do you?” Lyla asked, shaking her head. “Actually, not many people do. C’mon this way.” She stood up, straightened up her tunic, picked up a lantern, and walked away. Slightly confused, Scott stood up as well and followed her out of the room. She led him down a hallway, through a door, and down yet another corridor, where an old, dusty crate sat in an empty corner. Lyla shined the lantern on the crate. “Scott, can you move that?” she asked, motioning to it.

Scott shrugged, walking over to the crate and bracing himself to push it to one side. “It’s…light,” he said after almost falling over while moving it.

“It’s empty,” Lyla giggled as she watched him. He just rolled his eyes and dusted off his hands, then looked down at the floor. Where the crate had sat, there was a wooden trap door. Lyla grabbed the handle on the door, opening it to reveal a dark staircase that led deep into the ground.

Scott swallowed. “We’re going down there? It looks, um, old.”

“That’s because it is,” Lyla replied, raising her eyebrows at him. “Alydarian soldiers used it to get to the stables quicker from the castle. There’s also an old training area down there, but sadly no weapons. Come on, let’s go. Shut the door when you come through.” With one last smile, she stepped down into the secret staircase.

Scott stared for a few seconds at the place where Lyla had disappeared into, then stepped down the first stair. He could sort of see her lantern shining below him, the sight of which gave him enough nerve to grasp the handle of the trapdoor and pull it shut behind him as he descended into the shadows.

“Phew,” he said once he reached the bottom. “Glad that’s over.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet, Scott,” Lyla replied, shining the lantern near her face. “Are you scared?”

“Hah, of course not. It’s just that, in Pantera we don’t have creepy staircases and even creepier tunnels that lead to random places under the palace. That’s all,” he tried to explain, shrugging.

Lyla just nodded. “Mmmhmm,” she mumbled, turning to walk down the shadowy tunnel before them.

Not wanting to be left in the dark, Scott ran after her, slowing only when he was walking right beside her. They walked in silence for a while, Scott looking nervously behind him as if something was going to appear and terrify them. Every time he did so, Lyla snorted and rolled her eyes at him. That did not make him feel any better about the gloomy tunnel.

The tenth time he looked behind them, Lyla stopped and turned to look at him. “Okay, Scott, seriously, there’s nothing to be afraid of. You don’t have to keep looking behind you every five seconds. I pass through here pretty much every day. If I can handle it, I’m sure a prince like you can.”

This is kind of ridiculous, Scott thought to himself as he took a deep breath. He squared his shoulders and said, “Alright then, Princess Lyla. Lead the way, fair maiden.”

She glared at him, a ghost of a smile appearing on her face. “Don’t call me ‘fair maiden,’” she said, deliberately pronouncing each word. With a toss of her hair, she turned around and continued walking. Scott just shrugged and followed her.

After a while Lyla stopped again. “Look up ahead. Does it look different at all?”

Scott squinted, peering at the space in front of him. “It’s a bit lighter, maybe?”

“Yes. We’re right under the kitchen, and a few feet ahead there is a staircase that leads into a closet. There’s no trapdoor, but no one knows the closet is even there,” she explained, moving towards the staircase.

“Except for you,” Scott replied. “And now me.”

“Yes, Scott,” Lyla laughed. “Except for us.”

They walked up the staircase and into a large closet, where there were several sets of armor and a few leather practice tunics. “I think this used to be part of the armory,” Lyla said, blowing out her lantern and setting it on a nearby shelf. “That is, before they redid the castle. Alright, let’s go get that sword or whatever we need,” she finished before Scott could say anything.

Scott led her down a hall and to the base of a staircase, where Lyla stopped and put a hand to her forehead. “Goodness, Scott, I almost forgot! If Mother or anyone else sees me in this, I’ll get quite a lecture. Can you wait a quick moment, please?” Once again, she took off before he could say anything, running back down the hall they had come from.

Sighing, Scott sat down on the stairs to wait for her to return. 

There's chapter 2! I'm just gonna go ahead and keep posting the whole story today :)

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