How My Fresh Start Began (1)

The proud screeching of my neighbor’s rooster woke me at the crack of dawn. I opened the window and took a deep breath. The morning dew hung in the air like fog and had condensed on the windowsill, a reminder that winter had finally passed even if spring weather in these parts was cold enough to demand long sleeves and lit stoves.

As expected, Helian hadn’t returned since our sudden farewell. In the weeks since, I stayed busy to distract myself: keeping up with my sword practice as much as I could without a sparring partner, refining my agenda, and looking after my uncle’s animals while he waited for his broken leg to mend. While I had mostly failed to distract myself, I knew that if I succeeded, I would, at the very least, get to see her again.

As I approached the goats’ pen, a stern voice called out to me. “XXXXX! Good morning!”

“Good morning, Uncle.” I gave him a polite nod. “Your limp is almost gone – is your leg doing better?”

“It hardly hurts at all! I fear Expy and Reci will miss your care and attention, though… are you sure we can’t convince you to stay?”

Uncle’s two goats owed their peculiar names to Helian. She was the only other person in the village who could pronounce them correctly, so poor Exponent and Reciprocal had to settle for nicknames. Not that they seemed to mind.

“I’d really like to, but I promised Papa and Helian that I’d live a vibrant life. I’ve still got dreams, so I’d like to chase after them while I’m still young, if only for a little while. Who knows, maybe I’ll meet someone special and the two of us will come back here to settle down?”

Not that I had time for that. I had more important concerns.

He nodded. “Well, I can understand that. This place will be a little boring now that most of you kids are off to start your big city careers, but it would be a shame to waste all that talent. I still can hardly believe that three little geniuses grew up here in one generation!”

While Uncle was prone to exaggeration, he was right about this. Helian was obviously a world-class talent due to her status as a heroine, but the local kids had all learned a lot from her. Until recently the two of us had spent a lot of time with the baker’s son, Julian, but he moved away to become a librarian thanks to his prodigious talent and hard work. I had to admit that things had gotten boring without him around, even if sparring with Helian and discussing novels over tea was pleasant. In any case, I couldn’t blame him for his lack of interest in bread, so I wished him well.

After some contemplation, I had decided my path forward was to apply to join a knightage. While knighthood was still restricted to members of the nobility, the king’s egalitarian decrees resulted in a policy of universal admission to the knightly orders if the applicant could meet their exacting standards. Thanks to Helian’s patient instruction, my soft skills were nearly on par with hers, and with the sword, I could easily call myself her match.  This all meant I could hope for a comfortable administrative role after distinguishing myself during training and enlisted service.

In any case, I wouldn’t be able to achieve my goals by staying here. I decided to travel to the western county and enlist with Countess Solana’s order. Most other orders were less selective, which meant more competition for a limited admission quota. With any luck, I might be able to catch the attention of the countess – herself a famed swordswoman – and leverage that to sharpen my skills and form connections. I certainly wouldn’t be out of place there, as she made a point of welcoming talented young women to a predominantly male profession. 

It didn’t hurt that she was Helian’s favorite character; I was curious to learn more about her. And most of all, this would put me within striking distance of the novel’s first two villains.

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After strapping my suitcase to the back of the saddle, I went back inside to take a last look around the family home and grab the rest of my things. After making sure I’d emptied the hidden compartment, I took the sword we found in the cave out of the closet and strapped it to my hip, put on the earrings she gave me, and took my cloak off the wobbly coat rack, knocking it over. Let’s pretend that’s not a bad omen and move on.

A carriage ride would be a more convenient way to reach the county, but I decided to take the family horse, so that I’d be able to travel freely in the future. It wouldn’t be a problem to keep her in the stables of a typical knightage – if anything, it should increase my appeal as a candidate.

As the sun rose, I gave Uncle a farewell hug and mounted Rime, setting off for the west.

“Too soon for you, son. Come back in a year or two.”

The knight in charge of recruitment was pacing back and forth in front of the waiting applicants, picking some to dismiss one at a time, seemingly at random.

He drew close and stood, staring at the applicant next to me for an uncomfortable period without speaking, then waved her away. “Work on your confidence and try again.”

The countess’s order could afford to be selective like this because her knights rarely chose to retire and their injury rate during ordinary deployments was low. The war was long since over, so there was no need to recruit warm bodies just to replenish the ranks. They had their pick of the best candidates and plenty of time to train them.

The knight took a few steps back and shouted. “Alright, you punks! Form two lines opposite each other, standing eight paces apart from your neighbors, and await my orders.”

He nodded, seeing how we quickly split up into two groups and rearranged ourselves to ensure every applicant had a partner in the opposing group. “Exactly what I want to see!”

He pointed to an applicant at random. “You there, what do you think comes next?”

The young man blinked in confusion, and then announced his guess in a quiet voice, “I suppose we’ll be sparring, sir?”

“That’s right! But next time, I expect a prompt and loud response! Can you all handle that?”

The assembled crowd responded in unison. “Yes sir!”

“I assume you came prepared with real blades suitable for a battlefield, but if you don’t have one, raise your hand and we’ll supply a weapon! This is not a beginners’ session with wooden swords, so if you’re afraid of getting cut, bow out now!” Six of the applicants raised their hands, most of them obviously commoners who couldn’t afford a weapon of their own. Hopefully they had managed to practice sufficiently despite that.

“The commoners gathered here may think you have no chance against a spoiled brat with an heirloom sword and twenty years of instruction under their belt. But as far as I’m concerned, you’re all trash until you prove otherwise! So, show me the results of all your training and determination in these sparring matches. Show me elegance worthy of a knight, stamina to survive on the battlefield, and the strength to overpower any opponent!”

The knight grinned widely as he stared at us. “On my mark, you will begin sparring, and you will continue until one of you has no choice but to yield! I will not accept early surrender. Even if you feel outmatched, I expect you to find your partner’s weaknesses and exploit them. If your weapon breaks, step back and raise your arm and we will supply a new one. If I give you an order during your match, I expect you to follow it without question. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir!” the crowd responded. Nodding in satisfaction, he gave the order. “Begin!”

My sparring partner was a blonde-haired young man, perhaps 20 years of age. His clothes and armor were unassuming but of high quality and obviously brand new – meant to communicate that he should be respected as a noble but didn’t expect special treatment. I could tell he had been training for most of his life – he had the muscle mass to show for it.

I drew Pretense from its sheath and bowed politely. He smiled and bowed in return. “That’s a beautiful sword, miss.”

“Thank you, my lord. I found it in a cave.”

He took a formal stance, holding his pristine short sword in front of him with both hands, so I did likewise. Applicants desperate for attention would start off with something fancy, but that was asking for trouble against an unknown opponent. Better to keep it simple until I understand the situation. As the sound of clashing metal rang out on both sides of us, he took one step forward.

In an instant, his posture shifted, and his blade flung towards my chest loaded with momentum. Blocking would destroy my balance. I recoiled and the tip of his blade bit through the air. He quickly followed with a second strike opposing the first, this time nearly landing upon my shoulder. Each strike would have lightly grazed me, but I still felt the fear of death.

The massive inertia behind his strikes was a liability, though. He may have been able to bring his weight to bear quickly, but each swing was a commitment that was hard to adjust. I had to keep my distance instead of parrying his blows with my thinner frame and lighter weapon.

A third strike followed like lightning, this time sweeping up to strike my chin. I moved to swing beneath it, then hesitated, realizing that this swing was bait – fighting gravity, he could reverse at a moment’s notice to bring it down on my arms. I clenched my fists and pulled back, dragging the rest of my body along.

As expected, at the apex of his swing he shifted his feet to strike down into the void I left behind. As a flash of recognition appeared on his face, I rushed rightward and drove my blade up with all the force I could manage, shaking his grip on his blade and forcing him to backpedal. I followed with a quick thrust, the tip of my blade slicing through the air and nicking his left shoulder, then retreated. He was fast, to be certain, but Helian was faster, so it was no challenge to keep up.

The examiner announced himself from behind me. “Is this a party, young lady? If not, why’re you ballroom dancing? Show me something more interesting.”

I nodded as the two of us returned to our starting positions. “Yes sir.” My sparring partner beckoned me forward with his left hand. “Your turn, miss.”

I gripped my sword tightly with one hand and lunged forward, rotating into a narrow profile. He shifted his weight and ducked under my blade, releasing a one-handed swing aimed at my exposed ankle.

I pulled back and adjusted my stance to retreat. His blade rushed forward, only to be stopped by the steel tip of my boot, which I drove down with all my weight, pulling him forward. At the same time, I reversed my grip and drove my blade between his fingers.

The knight clapped behind me. “That’s more like it! You’d both be corpses by now on a real battlefield, but regardless, I’m quite entertained. While I see to the other applicants, I expect you to practice basic forms until your arms are numb.”

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Countess Solana leaned back in her chair and took a long sip from her teacup. “The fencer with the blue blade… what house is she from? Do you know their swordsmanship instructor?”

The vice commander reached down to the table next to her and flipped through the stack of paperwork. “She’s lowborn. No family name or affiliation.”

The countess grinned and closed her eyes, constructing a picture in her mind. “Fascinating. Send the girl to my office tomorrow. I’ll find a good use for her.”