Chapter 5.6- The Seadragon's Roar

I weaved to the side, trying to move away from his sword’s range. My first stab was caught on his shield as I forced him to finally bring said shield to bear. I danced backwards, avoiding the predictable shield bash before banking to the side suddenly. My sword moved for his back, but he whirled around with speed that belied his size. My sword was sent flying into the air as it came in contact with his, and the next second, his sword was at my throat.

“Yield” I muttered sullenly, moving back to grab hold of the sword where it had landed.

“Nice one. Maybe you’ll succeed in beating me sometime this century” He mocked. I nodded, taking the words and allowing them to run off my back like water on a stone. Manfred had mocked me every second of every day from the second I’d first stepped into this training field so if he wanted to get a rise from me, he had to do much better than that.

—107 AC—

“Who’s this?” I found myself asking as I walked into the training yard and found someone standing next to Manfred. He was shorter than the older knight but that was barely noteworthy. Everyone who wasn’t named Boremund Baratheon was shorter than Manfred. At this point, I was beginning to think he was the old bastard’s bastard son. The lack of last name and the general regard he received from the household were strong signs pointing in that regard.

“This— this is your new sparring partner” Manfred said.

“Getting scared I’ll kick your arse old man?” I asked with a smirk covering my face.

“Even in a century, you’d fail to get that good. No. Ser Ben noticed something that I had failed to consider when we began your training. If you fight only me, then the only thing you’d get good at is fighting me— reading my moves, knowing what to do when I attack. The goal here is for you to be good at fighting. Well, passable. Good might be a stretch considering your talent—“

“Lack thereof, you mean” Ben cut in. Et tu, Brutus? I sent him a betrayed look that he answered with a smirk.

“So every week for the next year, you’ll find yourself faced with a different partner. Some of them will use different weapons, and others will use familiar weapons in unfamiliar ways.” Manfred said, before gesturing for me to take my stance.

I felt hope bloom into being. No more Manfred. I could finally get some wins under my belt, because whether Manfred or Ben admitted it or not, I knew I was good. I had to be.

I rushed straight at my new opponent, and in a matter of seconds, found myself tasting dirt while my head rang like a bell.

“We’re both going to be in for it if you just killed the Lordling” I heard Ben’s voice before drifting off to unconsciousness. Note to self: Don’t get too close to Morningstar wielders, those things swing unpredictably.

A/N: Do you like this timeskip style? There obviously needed to be a timeskip and I think this method works better than just showing up a few years later.