A Curse of the First

•«CHAPTER THREE»• •«FIGHTING»•

Birch was fetching their swords while Fir waited in the fighting garden. He was sitting calmly on the only bench in front of a large clearing.

She came walking back, tossing two swords between her arms.

"Show off." Fir joked, clumsily catching the sword she threw at him.

"Hey, I want to be a knight. I gotta know how to handle swords."

Fir laughed and moved into the clearing, Birch following. He tried to hold the hilt steady as Birch tossed her sword around impatiently.

"Are you ready?" She asked after a minute.

"Almost." He replied, finally getting his hands steady. Birch swung at him, coming quite close to his neck. Fir parried clumsily and his sword fell to the ground. Birch used her sword to drag it over to herself before picking it up.

Instead of throwing the sword back to him she lunged, two swords in her hands. Fir barely got away in time and continued to back up as Birch continued to attack.

"Stop! I don't have a sword!" He cried. Birch sighed and stopped.

"You're a prince. Shouldn't you know how to fight?!" She yelled angrily, throwing the sword at the ground.

Fir shuffled his feet. "No." He admitted. Birch rolled her eyes and stepped forward. She cupped his chin in her hand and locked eyes with him.

His heart fluttered even though Birch was glaring at him.

"I'm gonna teach you how to fight. So Maomd doesn't have a weak king." She added quickly, brushing droplets of rain off her shoulders. "After this storm." She pulled him out of the clearing and they started running towards the castle.

~~~***~~~

Fir sat by his window in his room, Birch sitting across from him. She stood up and walked over to his bookshelf and pulled a grey book out. She walked over to Fir and sat right next to him.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing at fancy gold words carved into the cover.

"Can you not read? It says 'Curses of Maomd' you idiot!" She scowled halfheartedly. Fir smiled, trying to hold back a laugh. He failed and Birch glared at him.

"I swear." She muttered under her breath, opening her book.

"What's it about? Fir asked, leaning over her shoulder. Birch grabbed his hair and pulled on it.

"Stop asking questions!" She hissed. "I can tell you're bored!"

Fir gently plied her fingers away from his hair and shifted off to the side. "Sorry.." Fir muttered. "But you're right! I'm bored! Want to go eat?" He asked, perking back up.

Birch rolled her eyes and sighed. She closed her book and stood up, putting the book on the windowsill. Fir held out his hand for her to help him up but she ignored him, covering her face somewhat.

He sighed and pulled himself up, assuming she was mad. Then he took a minute to brush himself off. Birch rushed over to the door and swung it open, storming out of his room.

Fir fixed his hair as he followed her, wondering what was wrong. Birch stormed down the stairs angrily while Fir had to run just to keep her in his sights.

When they reached the bottom Fir was about to collapse but Birch hadn't broken a sweat. She turned around and put her hand around him, making sure he didn't collapse on the floor.

"Thanks." He muttered, out of breath.

"Don't mention it." She sighed. He smiled at her as they walked to the kitchen. Birch slipped away from him when they reached the kitchen and opened the door for him.

"You don't have to do that." Fir said as she followed him in.

"You're a prince. I'm a guard. It's my job." She pointed out.

"But you're my friend." He sighed. Birch rolled her eyes and muttered something inaudible under her breath.

She walked off to the chef and told them something before walking over to a table and beckoning him over. Fir walked over to her and sat down in a fancy chair. Birch sat across from him.

The chef came over to the table, holding two fine cuts of steak. He set one plate with stake down in front of Fir and did the same for Birch before walking away. "How did you know I loved this?" He exclaimed.

She picked up a fork and looked at him with disappointed disbelief. "I've known you for six years." She reminded him, taking a bite of steak.

"Oh. Right." He laughed, taking a bite of steak as well.

When I first had this idea I thought no one would like it XD