Chapter 21.6- The Seadragon's Roar

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“Again” She growled as she pushed herself to her feet.

“That was the seventh time. You should be tired” I said.

“I can do this all day” She said, taking the rudimentary stance I’d taught her at the beginning. Scarily enough, she looked like she could. Where the fuck had she got all that stamina from? I wasn’t tired— far from it— but I was a well trained Knight in the making who had spent years basically doing naught but fighting. A noble lady with no exposure to manual labour or tasks of any sort should be gasping for air after five duels like this, not looking like prime Captain America after seven.

“Okay, come again” I said, and took my own stance.

She stabbed the blade straight at me. I slapped it to the side, perhaps a bit harsher than I should from the wince in her face and the harsh sound the training blades made as they clashed.

“Top right” I warned before bringing down my blade in a straight slash. She blocked it with her own and instead of easing up like I usually did, I broke through her guard in a matter of seconds. It didn’t matter that I held my sword in one hand and she used hers with both. The strength gap was just that large.

She could not twist her blade in time to force the contact to end, and so mine was at her neck in a matter of seconds.

“Again”

“You should get some rest.”

“No. You’re just trying to get rid of me so you can get back to your exploring. I’m your sister, Laenor, you should be happy to spend time with me. What happened to the little boy who used to toddle after me like a lost puppy?” Why did it sound like she was genuinely hurt? Of course this wasn’t what I wanted to be spending my time doing. Still, the look in her eyes did enough to tug on my heartstrings.

“First of all, I never toddled after you. Any accounts to the contrary are untrue. Secondly, you’re right. I’m sorry. I can look around the castle later. Let’s keep going” She brightened in such a way that I felt my spirits lift even. Had her smile always been so beautiful?

“Good. And if you teach me enough we can look around the castle a bit before dinner”

“What qualifies as enough to you?” I asked suspiciously.

“Enough for me to land a hit”

“Then we’ll be here for years” I laughed even as she growled and ran at me. This could be fun, I just had to stop treating it like a chore.