Don't Forget to Dream (18 page)

“
Don
’
t worry Rhyla, I shall take it easy on you. We shall
just start with the basic forms.
Start
slowly and build up your strength and speed,
”
the master at arms said as he drew a practice blade and shield.
“
Shall we,
”
he said indicating the open floor. Rhyla glanced back to Lady Emelia for confirmation.

“
Go on my dear. I shall just wait over here.
”

Rhyla placed the scabbard on the open space on the rack and tested the weight and balance of the blade. She looked to the master at arms, drew a deep breath and crossed to meet him. Standing five paces from him Rhyla took the starting stance her father had ingrained in her.

Looking her ove
r.
Master Thomas nodded approvingly,
“
Good, a nice stable stance .A
very good starting point and not too heavy
.
”
He took up a similar stance opposite her.
“
Let
’
s see how you can move. Follow my steps and keep your guard.
”
He stepped forward and Rhyla ste
pped back.
He
took two steps back and Rhyla followed. Back and forth they danced for several minutes, Rhyla kept her distance and bala
nce throughout, her steps light;
ready for any sudden changes.
“
Very good.
Now we shall see how you parry. I will take it
slowly.
As
I attac
k just parry when you are ready; whatever comes naturally;
don
’
t force it. I want to know what you can do rather than what you
think I want you to do.
”

Rhyla nodded and focused on his right arm, alert, as her father had taught her, for any movement that could forewarn her of the form of
an
attack to come. He started with two long quick strides towards her ending in a simple direct attack on her open left side. She quickly deflected the blow as she retreated and regained her defensive stance. Master Thomas nodded approvingly and continued into the next attack. Again and again he retreated and attacked up and down the length of the hall. It didn
’
t take long for Rhyla to
feel the ache in limbs no longer accustomed to such efforts. Seein
g her tiring Master Thomas called
a halt to their activities.

“
You are doing very well Rhyla. Your skills are well rounded and strong in technique if not in absolute strength.
”
As the master at arms paused
,
Rhyla opened her mouth to explain but he continued on before she could raise a defence.
“
It is by no means a criticism Rhyla. You have not been training and I would never expect you to have the absolute strength of the average man in
the guard. But
for a
lass
of eighteen
summers I am very impressed. We shall work on your strength, stamina and skill over the coming weeks.
”

“
Thank you Master Thomas,
”
she said surprised and
immensely pleased at his praise.
She
knew she had to make up for her lack in physical strength by improving her speed and agility. She glanced at Lady E
melia to see a broad, proud grin spread across her face.
Rhyla smiled a little self consciously in return.

“
I think it best if we keep our sessions private for now. We should be able to meet most mornings here in the weapons hall,
”
he said and Lady Emelia nodded her agreement.

Rhyla cou
ld barely contain her excitement.
The
thrill she felt at
once again physic
ally working and at a skill,
made her feel so close to her father. She had never shied away from hard work and had started to feel constricted by the confines and formality of her current day to day work. The tasks
Rhyla carried out in
the women
’
s hall were
hardly the life she had been used to on the farm. She knew that the physical effort required to train with a blade would offer a divergence she was in desperate need of.

“
I would be greatly honoured to be instructed by you Master Thomas. I won
’
t let you down,
”
she promised. For a moment she looked down at her skirts and a thoughtful frown crossed her face.

“
What is it Rhyla?
”
Master Thomas asked at her expression.

She looked slightly embarrassed to speak up but knew she could not effectively train so attired.
“
It is my dress Master. I am at risk of tripping in the folds of such a skirt.
”

Master Thomas and Lady Emelia exchanged a brief thoughtful glance before the lady rose to cross the hall to join them.

“
I believe we can find a suitable set of leather trousers, jerkin and more appropriate boots as well
,
before your next session,
”
the lady said casually.

“
Oh thank you my
lady. That
would be wonderful.
”

“
No my dear, it is a pleasure seeing you work at something you clearly love as much as my books. But remember you will be
usually attired as you are now.
Surely
some practice in skirts will be pr
actical. Perhaps a riding dress would suffice.
" Rhyla could only thank her mistress once again as she placed the blade in its scabbard on the rack and bid Master Thomas goodbye for the day.

The following morning foun
d Rhyla in the weapons hall wearing black
leather trousers and jerkin over a cream blouse. The boots Lady Emelia had found for her were the lady
’
s ol
d riding boots;
black with a brown band around the top and
with
thick leather souls. Rhyla hesitated in accepting them but could not argue that Lady Emelia was ever going to go riding again at her age. Master Thomas put her through the basic warm up exercises again and instantly saw the freedom of move
ment her new attire allowed her.
It
also enabled him to correct leg placement that the folds of material hid from view.

For an hour each morning they worked together while Lady Emelia looked on. In order to avoid awkward questions Rhyla went to and from the hall with
her dress over the shirt and trousers. They managed to keep the secret for a full ten days before they were discovered.

Rhyla and Master Thomas were practising a series of lunges when suddenly Martin entered f
rom the outside practice ground. H
e was looking for his father.

“
Father
,
are you....
”
his question trailed out as he stepped into the weapons hall and saw its occupants. He stood with his mouth open looking first at Rhyla in her men
’
s attire holding a blade, then with a baffled expression at his father. Rhyla looked from Martin to Master Thomas in bewilderment and no little fear.

Master Thomas stood from his defensive pose.
“
Yes Martin you wanted something,
”
he said casually inclining his head in his son
’
s direction.

After a further moment of confusion Martin closed his mouth and then the door behind him. He crossed the hall with a slight frown about his eyes.
“
I just wanted to discuss some possible changes to the training schedule for some of the men.
”

“
Perhaps we can look at them in an hour, once we are finished here,
”
Master Thomas said turning back to Rhyla who looked very uncomfortable.
“
Actually if you have time you could help us with a session. I can see a lot more if I am not directly participating.
”

Rhyla was dumbfounded and could clearly see the dozens of questions in Martin
’
s eyes as he continued to struggle with what he was seeing. Martin looked arou
nd and saw Lady Emelia watching.
He
bowed briefly in her direction, an automatic response from a life in the Palace. His professionalism and courtesy soon e
merged from behind his confusion.
“
Of course father.
”
He
removed his sword belt and
laid
it by the wall before selecting a training blade and taking his father
’
s place in front of Rhyla.
“
What were you practising?
”

“
Lunging attacks and parries,
”
Master Thomas said.
“
Rhyla
,
you shall attack first.
”
Indicating they take their starting positions
,
he stepped back to give them room.

Rhyla wa
s unsettled by her new opponent.
He
stood a little taller than his father and
was
more heavily muscled due to his youth, but it was not his physical presence that disturbed her. She was comfortable with Lady Emelia and Master Thomas knowing of her unusual skill and training, but for Martin to know would mean that Callu
m would know soon enough.
She
didn
’
t think she could face him if he knew. Martin must
have seen the hesitation in her.
Her
stance was only half hearted.

“
I won
’
t hurt you Rhyla. We shall work at your pace,
”
Martin offered
,
thinking he must
not
intimidate her.

“
It
’
s not that. I have fought men larger than you before,
”
Rhyla said shaking her head.

“
Then what, w
hat is it?
”
Martin asked.

Rhyla looked away to Lady Emelia briefly before
taking a step closer to Martin. S
he glanced to Master Thomas and back before she could speak.
“
I don
’
t want everyone to know,
”
she said softly, emphasising everyone.

Martin and his father exchanged a look and both nodded in understanding.

“
I will keep you
r
secret Rhyla,
”
Martin said reassuringly.

Chapter 7

Completing a full fortnight of training with Master Thomas, and the added dimens
ion of sparring with Martin, Rhyla flowed
through her days with a new enthusiasm and excitement that was soon noticed by those around her. She received more than a few comments on her livelier demeanour as she went about her tasks. One morning as she was stretching out sore and tired muscles
,
Elsie went as far as to insinuate she had taken a lover. Rhyla
’
s harsh retort quickly squashed any notion of such behaviour before the rumours could begin. But her enlightened mood did not last long. The arrival of a messenger from Gayndar had Princess Sophia and her ladies, Lady Elizabeth and Lady Caroline, gossipin
g intensely in the women's hall.  T
heir new topic of conversation caused Rhyla a burning, wrenching pain to her heart as she listened in silence.

The messenger brought the usual greeting and trade negotiations that constantly flowed back and forth between Calvadia and Gayndar but there was a personal note within the package for Queen Aletta. Queen Monique of Gayndar was closer in age to Lady Emelia than to Queen Aletta but the two ruling ladies kept up a regular correspondence of their own rather than rely on their husbands. A simple line in Queen Monique
’
s most recent letter had told of her granddaughter Princess Annabel approaching marriageable age but as she was their youngest granddaughter no arrangements had yet been made.

In the subtleties of courtly correspondences such a line was the first stage in the negotiations for a royal marriage and there was only
one eligible Prince in Calvadia, Prince Callum.
Although Queen Aletta spoke only briefly of it, Princess Sophia and her ladies spent days talking of everything they had ever heard about Princess Annabel, her sisters and to whom they were married. She was young, only fourteen or fifte
en years old by their reckoning.
They
knew little of her appearance as none had seen her since she was very young but her family were generally considered handsome if not true beauties.
The
ladies surmised endlessly on the young princess
’
skills with music and singing or whether she could dance and embroider beautifully.