“My leg feels fine; I need to be out there so I can learn to fight with them!” Noble pleaded. “Both Biblen and Belbriv ordered me to keep you in this bed until Biblen returns and I intend to do just that,” Vaylen answered.
“But he could be back four years from now!”
“I told him you wouldn’t get up and you’re not going to, now I’m done arguing with you.”
“Stubborn,” he mumbled.
“You and I both. Besides, maybe this is part of your training,”
Noble looked at her in disbelief.
“What would you know about training? I thought you only knew medicine.
Vaylen nodded her head back and forth.
“I do, but I’ve had my fair share of fighting as well, young man.” The giant smiled.
“I feel like there’s a story you want to tell me…” he assumed.
“Well if you want me to,” She said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
***
“Before Kizben died, the giants of Dule married women from all four countries. But the women of Dule, instead of being betrothed to the men of the four countries, married men from Dule’s sister country- Zodon. I was a young giant then but I was madly in love with Waylor; I always called him ‘Waylor the Wonderful,’”- she chuckled- “Anyway, Waylor was four years older than I was and we would always run off together into the woods and pretend we were great warriors. We would make swords out of wood or I would transform a few things into the best bow and arrows a child could wish to have for play. We would spend hours in those woods, Waylor and I.”
Vaylen ran her hand across the blanket, looking down.
“As we became teenagers, the childhood play ceased but the art of fighting didn’t. It was unnatural for a girl to want a real weapon for her birthday, but I asked for a bow and arrows when I turned sixteen. And I got them too! Whenever you were entrusted with a weapon, your parents always prayed that you would never have to use it.”
Vaylen stopped and Noble only wondered what was going through her mind.
“So we practiced our fighting in the forest; I would practice shooting and Waylor mastered the sword. When Kizben was killed, every country fought for themselves and their lives. Waylor and the Zodon giants fought to their last man.”
Vaylen paused and drew in a deep breath.
“Those few that survived scattered and went into hiding. No one has seen or heard from them since the war.”
“What happened to Waylor?”
Vaylen shrugged her shoulders.
“I don’t know. I assumed he had been killed but I don’t know. I don’t know who all survived or if they tried to repopulate or what happened to them.”
“Did you fight in the battle?”
“Oh of course I did!” She said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Biblen saved my life. That is how we met. After that, Biblen and I went into testing medicines together for different cures. That’s when I fell in love again,”
“That’s a sad love story,”
“What’s so sad about it? I married Biblen because we fell in love.”
“But don’t you still love Waylor and wonder what happened to him? I mean, you both had love before you met,”
“I know Biblen loved Jubilee. He knows Waylor and I loved each other too. But times and people have changed and we both are in love with one another, no matter what the past carried.”
Noble nodded, agreeing with her.
“I think you should get some rest now,” she advised and stood up to leave.
“But when can I learn to fight?” he asked.
“Patience, Noble. You could be learning right now, remember?” She said with a smile and closed the door behind her.
“Learning it how?”
Noble didn’t believe it. He lay there, completely confused and thought about everything that had happened and everything he hoped wouldn’t happen in the future.
***
“Keep your sword up. Stop flailing around, boy!” Bregbon ordered to Jon, who was swinging a sword around.
“But I thought this was what you said to do,” Jon whipped the sword back around. “I’ll be killing falfreys at least,” he spun around and their swords hit one another.
Bregbon twisted around and struck Jon’s blade with force, knocking it out of his hand.
“You’ll be lucky if that’s all you kill, son. You can’t just swing the blade around; you have to concentrate. ‘Concentrate and penetrate’ I always say,” Bregbon explained, taking a stance. “Now do as I do. Spread your feet apart and grip the handle tight.”
Jon picked up his sword and followed Bregbon’s instructions.
“Now, this provides a strong stance,”
The giant pivoted to the right and swung his sword in two arches, one to the left, the other to the right before jabbing his sword in the air at an inward motion, spun around on his heel and struck it in the ground downward. Jon could only imagine how Bregbon was in a real battle.
“Now do as I have done,”
***
“Patience, sweetheart. This stuff takes more than a day to learn.” Raiblic tried to encourage Caro, who stood with her arms folded and her face scrunched in anger.
“Take your time; I just want you to get a feel for the knives today,”
“My mother always told me it wasn’t safe to play with knives and daggers,” Caro said, angrily.
“Well it’s a good thing we aren’t playing with them then, right? “ Raiblic said, taking a knife off of a wooden bench. “Times have changed. We’re not fighting over who has the best looks or the best houses anymore, deary. We’re fighting for our lives.”
Raiblic flung the knife effortlessly and it sank into the middle of the target. Caro liked him; he had to be no older than thirty and had the kindness of a lamb but the fierceness of a lion. He was a gentle giant, but then again all of them seemed to be that way. How any of them could act so calm when they knew that Akaidish could attack their country at any given second was beyond Caro’s knowledge.
“Just take your time, be patient with it. Wherever your hand is when you let go of the blade is the direction which it strikes. Concentrate on that target,” Raiblic pointed to the one he had just thrown his knife at, which was about fifty feet away.
“How am I supposed to focus and do what you just did during a battle?” she asked.
“That is another lesson for another time. Even though Akaidish became kind in a matter of hours it doesn’t mean he’s ready to rule the kingdom,”
Caro admired Raiblic’s wisdom and teachings. He smiled at her then winked.
“Keep practicing on the concentration and patience, love. It might surprise you what waiting can actually do.”
