It was mid-August. Well, Lance thought it was mid-August. It was hot and humid enough for it. He’d lost track of the days. He had ditched his shirt a while ago. He was sweating too much for it. He circled Lonnie with his shield raised, trying to keep the man from flanking him. They both had thick wooden dowels for practice swords and both were eying each other warily. Lance had more than one long bruise forming on his arms and back, along with the ones from previous days. Lonnie had one across his chest. Lance hated to think it was the only hit he’d score on the man on this day in particular.
“Focus.” Lonnie said. “You’re getting aggravated. Concentrate on defense. Worry about attack when you can. You can’t win a fight if you’re dead. Don’t get impatient.”
Lance didn’t reply. He just tried to drop every thought in his head and watch. It had taken him longer than he cared to admit to learn that trick. The sun was starting to sink lower now and it had been a while since either of them had scored a hit. He’d-
He’d become distracted again, and Lonnie noticed it. The old man rushed forward to attack. Lance blanked his mind and blocked. He managed to block every blow the learned old knight threw at him. He smashed Lonnie’s sword aside with his shield and took a swing at the man, but Lonnie blocked it, which gave him a chance to swing at Lance’s head. Instead of blocking, Lance dropped on his back and rolled backwards coming up on his feet. He raised his shield.
Lonnie smiled and lowered his arms.
“That was good! I was wondering when you’d realize you didn’t have to stand there and take this shit.”
Lance grinned. He walked over to an open train car and set his shield and practice sword down in exchange for a towel. He was drenched. As he looked around, he realized how late it must be.
“Can I stay one more night, Lonnie? I didn’t realize what time it was.”
“Sure kid. I’ll cook, you do the dishes. We do one more round though.” The old man said. He saw Lonnie turn and stop, looking at something toward the entrance.
“I don’t think that’s a visitor for me.” The old man said.
Lance walked up beside him and stared. It was a girl. She was Latina, had curly hair pulled into a ponytail, and he knew exactly who it was. Aurora. She was the girl from the other 10th. . .well, 11th grade class now. She was looking around as she walked in. He realized he hadn’t actually seen her since right after Lawless. Lonnie nudged him in the ribs.
“Shirt?” He said, and Lance suddenly felt embarrassed. He ran over and pulled his shirt back on and then walked back. He looked at Lonnie, who was shaking his head.
“May as well take a break. I’m kinda tired anyway. Youth is wasted on the young.” The old man said before sitting on a stack of tires.
Lance jogged to meet Aurora as she passed the office. They were in a cleared out spot between three train cars. It was a sort of box car canyon as it were where they did their practice.
“Hey!” he said as he came to a stop. “How are you? I haven’t seen you in a while.”
Aurora stopped and took him in. It made him nervous.
“Well, school started and no one’s seen you. I had to ask your parents where you were.” She said, head tilting.
“Oh. Right. School.” He’d completely forgotten. “I guess I’m taking a year off. Or something. I’ve been wrapped up in this.”
“Finally doing the knight thing, huh?” she asked. He grinned.
“Yeah. You know me. Single minded.”
An awkward silence fell. Lance put his hands in his pockets.
“I should have let someone know, I guess.” Was all he could think of to say.
She shrugged.
“I guess. You don’t really owe anyone an explanation. It’s not like any of us tried to join your resistance thing when Lawless was around.” Aurora said, looking around the yard.
That was true. Well, Aurora had seemed interested, but he’d been asking a lot of her. Of everyone, really.
“It was kind of a dumb idea, I guess. A bunch of kids trying to fight a knight? And that guy would have murdered us, for sure. Probably. You were better off not humoring me.”
“Still,” She said, looking at the ground, “a lot of the guys were taking bets on if you’d challenge Lawless yourself.”
He winced. He’d thought about it. He’d be dead, but he’d thought about it.
“I woulda gotten killed.” He said, shoulders hunched. Fantasize about it as much as he would, that didn’t change the truth. He’d had no idea what he was doing.
“That was the front runner in the betting pool.” She didn’t seem like she had wanted to admit that.
“Did you take that bet?”He asked and immediately regretted it.
“No!” She said. “GOD, no! Honestly, I wish ANYONE had offered to help you. I thought about it but what was I going to do? Throw my geometry book at him?”
He grinned and she seemed to relax.
“You look, uh, good.” She said. “You’ve been training a lot, I guess?”
He blinked. He looked good? Really? He kept his features friendly and somehow managed not to blush.
“Thanks. And yeah. Aside from Lonnie taking me out into the wilds after mobs I’m pretty much working on strength training and sword work everyday.” He was suddenly uncomfortably aware of how tight his shirts had become.
“Cool.” She said and brushed a strand of curls behind her ear. “I’m sorry I didn’t volunteer to help.”
That was surprising.
“No. You were right not to. I appreciate the sentiment, but things really worked out for the best.”
They both stood there, hands in their pockets for a time. Lance felt an itch between his shoulder blades. He looked back and Lonnie just sat there smirking at him. He suddenly felt like a fool and he wasn’t even sure why.
“Do you want to watch me go a round with Lonnie?” He asked. Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead. “You came all the way out here and I know how long a walk it is.”
Aurora looked at him, then looked behind her to see the sun continuing to sink. Lance figured that was a no as she turned back to him, but she was smiling.
“Sure. I can see what’s kept you busy this whole time, right?” She said, and Lance broke into a big, toothy grin.
“Great! Come on over and you can watch from one of the train cars. That way you won’t get hit or anything.” He turned and started walking back. He wasn’t sure if he should have done something else just then, but he figured it was fine.
As they approached, Lonnie’s grin vanished, but his eyes still twinkled. Lance realized the old man was trying to hide his amusement. The effort was appreciated. Lance vaulted himself up into a train car with one hand, the one with both sides open, and held a hand down to Aurora as she walked up.
“Did you seriously just JUMP into that thing?” She asked, open surprise on her face. He grinned back.
“I forgot to mention the gymnastic stuff we’ve been doing. I’m getting pretty good at tumbling and jumping.” He said as she took his arm and he lifted her into the car easily. He wondered at that. He didn’t think he could have done that two months ago. Not with one hand. He hopped back down and grabbed his stick and shield. Lonnie looked at him as he walked up.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“Shirt?” The old man said.
Lance knew he couldn’t hide the blush this time as he took his shirt off and threw it back onto the lip of the train car. As soon as he did it, he heard Aurora breathe in sharply. , he thought. Jesus. How many do I have from just this week? Twenty? Twenty-five?
As Lance and Lonnie took positions, Lance found it much easier to clear his mind. Aurora gave him one specific something to NOT think about. As soon as Lonnie’s foot shifted to attack, Lance ducked and charged him with the shield. Lance hit Lonnie hard enough to knock him off balance and send his shield arm wide. Lance immediately launched into a series of quick strikes at Lonnie’s vitals. The old knight barely knocked aside the attacks with his practice sword.
That was Lonnie’s biggest pet peeve as a trainer. It didn’t matter what the pulps said, what they did in the movies, what you saw on social media, or how enchanted your blade was. You DID NOT block with the blade. Shields were made for a reason. Blocking with the blade damaged both yours and your opponent’s weapon. It was flashy. Lonnie hated flashy. Him doing so now was a measure of the sudden desperation in his defense.
Just as Lonnie was getting his balance back, Lance saw an opening. He dropped to the ground and swung his leg in a wide arc, knocking Lonnie’s feet out from under him. The former knight cried out as he hit the ground, and Lance spun in with a one handed swing that stopped inches from Lonnie’s skull. Lance let thought return and stared down at his trainer, wide eyed.
Lonnie looked just as shocked as he felt. The old man suddenly started laughing. Not a chuckle but a full on belly laugh. That’s when the clapping started and Lance looked up. Aurora was standing there where he’d left her. Her eye’s were huge and she was grinning. Lance shook his head and dropped his stick to hold a hand out to Lonnie who gladly accepted the help up.
“Kid, that was the best I’ve seen you do so far.” Lonnie said as he regained his feet. He hadn’t stopped smiling. “You finally get that clear mind thing down?”
“Uh, yeah. Yeah I did.” Lance said, still in shock.
“Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. I’ll be able to make something outta you.” He looked hopeful.
“You have a lot riding on me, don’t you?” Lance asked him. The old man looked thoughtful.
“I guess I do. There’s not much I can do after renouncing my vows, but maybe if I can help make the next generation better it’ll ease my conscious a bit.” He slapped Lance on the shoulder. “Go help your friend down.”
Lance looked and Aurora did suddenly look very much like she wanted down. He trotted over and she sat in the train car door and waited. He tried not to think about it much as he reached up, grabbed her by the waist and set her feet on the ground. She put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself as he did, and he suddenly remembered he had not put his shirt on. As soon as she was steady, he grabbed it and did so.
“No lie,” She said, “that was pretty impressive.”
“That,” Lonnie said, “is the best your boy here has done so far.”
“Uh, thanks. Both of you.” Lance said. “Everything just kinda clicked that time.”
“Ma’am, what was your name again? Lance here is a uncultured boob and didn’t introduce us earlier.” Lonnie said, smiling. “My name’s Lonnie Mercer, by the way.”
“Aurora.” She said, giving a small wave.
“Well, Aurora, would you like to come back out sometimes and watch? You seem to be the boy’s good luck charm.”
Lance was turned away from Aurora and staring very violent threats at Lonnie about what levels of embarrassment he was willing to take from him. Teacher or not. When he looked back to Aurora, she was smiling.
“Absolutely!” She said. Lance was a bit surprised by her enthusiasm.
“Great.” Lonnie said. He dug around in his pants pocket and pulled out some keys. He tossed them at Lance and he caught them in the air and looked a question at the man.
“It’s getting late and we’re done for the day. I’m going to make some dinner. When you’re friend is ready I want you to drive her home in the van. It’s going to be too dark to walk back into town on these roads. Don’t get pulled over.” And with that, Lonnie walked to the back door of the office and went inside.
“He lets you drive?” Aurora asked, eyes wide again.
“I guess so.” Lance said.
“How long did it take you to get this good with a sword? Did it take the whole time you’ve been here? Did you have practice before?”
Lance motioned for her to follow him. There were now two chairs at the front of the office and he offered one to Aurora and she took it. He reached in the cooler next to his chair and pulled out a water. He held one out to her and she shook her head. He spoke between sips.
“Just since I got here. At first Lonnie just started showing me basics. He didn’t want me getting myself hurt. That changed though. Some hobgoblins showed up near the yard around the end of June and I got to show him I was taking this seriously.”
“Wait, you’ve actually fought monsters already?!” She squeaked. He smiled.
“Yeah.”
“Were you scared?”
“Terrified.” He said. He honestly had been. He didn’t care who knew it. “I understand what Lonnie meant about there being a respect when you have to do this with a sword. You’re right there with them. You see their eyes. You have to face what you’re doing. You SEE the light go out, Aurora.” He just stared blankly for a time.
“Do you think you’ll get used to it?” She asked quietly.
“God, I hope not.” He said. He looked at her and he saw the question on her face. “If I ever get used to this, something inside me has broken. I want to do this. I want to help people. But if I ever get used to killing anything? I need to stop right then and there.”
“The knights don’t talk about that.” She said.
“I don’t think they’re supposed to. It’s supposed to “help people sleep at night”, you know?” He’d done air quotes. “But I don’t know if that’s a good thing. Look at what that kind of thing does to veterans. I think people should know. I think maybe it would help if everyone knew the kind of things knights have to see.”
“It’s really not an adventure, is it?” She said, sounding nervous.
“Lonnie says it can be.” Lance said. “He said there’s plenty of chances to help people and Fantastics in need. There’s beauty out there that the Order gets to see and no one else ever does. Pixies, and unicorns, and phoenixes. A lot of times the good days outnumber the bad.”
“It sounds like it sets you apart.” Aurora said quietly. “Is that what you’re doing? Trying to be apart from people, Lance?”
He thought about that. He wasn’t like the other students at school. He wasn’t like the rest of his family. But that didn’t mean he resented any of them. He just wanted to see them all safe. He wanted to help. He wanted to see everything there was in the world. Not just town. He didn’t want to leave them, though. He sighed.
“No. I think it means I have to be separate on some level, but I don’t want to be. I LIKE people, Aurora. I like my folks, weird as they are. My dad gets excited over teeth! Who does that?!” he said, pleadingly. That made her laugh.
“No. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt because of people like Lawless. I want to see the magic out there. But, I don’t want to have to give up being near anyone.”
“Oh good.” Aurora said. “I-” She paused. “I know some folks at school miss you. So many folks moved after Lawless, they combined the two eleventh grade classes down to one.”
Crap, he thought.
“Thank you for coming to check on me.” He said. “Like, I really appreciate it.”
“Like I said, some folks at school miss you.”
He sat there for a time letting what she’d said sink in. He didn’t feel the need to dig into it openly. He just felt happy.
The timed light on the front porch of the building turned on. Lance realized it must be at least eight o’clock. He looked at Aurora.
“I should probably get you home before your parents have a fit or something.” He said.
“Yeah. Thank Lonnie for the ride. Do you actually know how to drive?”
Lance answered as he stretched his back. Maybe he shouldn’t have sat right down.
“Yep. That first couple of weeks here I had to drive Lonnie back from the Lunge a couple of times. He hasn’t drank nearly as much lately though.”
“Probably has something to occupy him now.” Aurora said, smiling.
The drive to Aurora’s house took a few. The van was an old 1980’s Dodge Adventure Van with a mountain silhouette wrap around the whole thing. Aurora had laughed at it, but it had so much personality that she seemed to fall in love with the thing. She asked him more questions about training. Specifically, the bruises. He colored at that.
“It was a bad day starting out.” He said. “It’s been a bad month, honestly. But better to get your knocks in training, than in the field.”
She nodded.
“Why do you think you got better?” She asked.
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. It was dark but he could see her eyes on him.
“I was finally able to focus.” He said. Terry’s troubadour, the Beasley guy, said on social media that Terry was honest to a fault. That was a noble goal. Lance thought that maybe there were limits to what constituted “honesty” though. Not everyone needed to know everything.
“Uh huh.” Aurora said. He knew she was grinning. Boy, they were both drowning in subtext tonight.
A few minutes later, he parked the van in front of her house on the outskirts of what was officially “town”. He turned and suddenly a thought struck him and he grinned.
“Should I get the door for you?” he asked, and she laughed.
“No, thank you. I think I can manage that much at least.” She turned toward him in the bucket seat. “I’m really glad you’re ok out there. Everyone was really worried you’d run away or something after what happened.”
“They were?” He asked. She didn’t say anything for a time. She swallowed.
“I. I was worried you’d run away. I, uh, I missed you.” She said. He just sat there looking at her. Really? he thought.
“Sorry.” Lance said. That wasn’t enough. “I didn’t meant to worry anyone. I thought my parents would have told everyone already. I guess they don’t really want people to know.”
“You’re not going anywhere yet? Like Terry? Running off to find adventures?” she asked.
“No. No, I’ve got years before that. If I ever get to that point. Even then, nothing says I can’t come home.” Once again, he thought back to Terry’s social media. The Errant Apprentice had some strange ideas about what a knight was meant to do.
“Good. Could you pick me up tomorrow? I’d like to watch you train again.” She said.
“I would love to.” He smiled at her.
She leaned across the console between them and kissed him on the cheek.
“Don’t let this town run you off yet.” She said before climbing out of the van, waving at him, and running up to the door.
Lance calmly drove out a little ways beyond town and parked the van. He rolled the windows up, turned on the AC and the radio, and then started whooping like a madman before laughing hysterically. After he was sure he could safely drive again, he headed back to the scrap yard and some store brand meatloaf that Lonnie made them.
One oath to the Light. One mark of the Devil. Zero room for error.
Being good is harder when Hell signs your paychecks.
