The Thief

6

"Myrddin!" I turned at the sound of my fathers voice. I looked at mama as she smiled at me and nodded for me to go on. I stood up and dust off my pants from the dirt I sat on. I ran to hug papa. He had been working on something in his shop all week. I've barely seen him. He chuckled and I pulled away smiling. "I've got a surprise for you." He took out two wooden swords from behind his back.

"Woah!" I exclaimed.

"Want to know how to wield a sword, my son?" He asked me. I looked up at him with a smiled.

"Would I!" I looked in his sea blue eyes. If papa had been working on these all week, I couldn't let it go to waste. He handed me one of the wooden swords.

"Be careful you two." Mama said before returning to the garden.

"A few bumps and bruises wouldn't kill anyone, woman!" Papa shouted at her with a bright smile of amusement. Mama looked back at us.

"Oh really?" Mama smirked. I covered my mouth from laughing. Mama looked at me and winked. Oh no. Papa better run. She stood and slowly walked towards us.

"Yeah." Papa laughed. Mama grabbed the sword out of my hand and tried to strike papa. He blocked. I couldn't help, but laugh. I love when they get like this. They continued fighting until mama knocked out the sword out of papas hand. I laughed as mama handed me the sword.

"A few bumps and bruises wouldn't kill anyone, isn't that right, papa?" Mama mocked him as she headed into the house to make supper. I looked at papa as he picked up his sword.

"What are you laughing at, boy? I taught your mother how to fight," He smiled which made me laugh harder. "Ready?" I calmed myself and held up my sword. Papa swung his sword and I blocked him. He moved around a bit and I continued to block him. "Come get me, Myrddin!" I tried to strike him, but I tripped on my feet and fell to the ground. Papa helped me up. "You alright?" He asked with worry.

"I'm alright." I said standing up.

"May be that's enough for today." He picked up the swords.

"No, papa!" He turned to me. "Please, I want to learn." He smiled at me and handed me my sword.

"You're a very strong little boy," papa said. "You will grow up to be a great warrior." He ruffled my long hair. I smiled at him.

"Really?" I asked moving my hair out of my eyes. I saw something in his face that I couldn't understand. Guilt? Worry? Sorrow?

"Maybe," He stated. He shook his head and smiled at me. "Now, the trick to winning a fight is being aware of your awareness. If you come across a surprise attack, you must be aware of your surrounding. Use anything to prevent getting beaten. Also, trust you gut."

"My gut?" I asked confused.

"If you get a feeling that something isn't right or feel like you're being watched, that's your gut feeling. You must trust it," He explained. I nodded. "If you fight in a tournament, you are fighting with honor and control, but if you aren't in one and attacked, you have a right to do dishonorable tactics." He stated.

"Don't tell him that," mama said behind me causing me to jump. "Myrddin, you stay honorable even if you aren't in a tournament. Do you hear me?"

"But if he's attacked, showing mercy could only get him into more trouble." Papa told mama.

"You can't take out the honor inside of him." Mama stated. Papa sighed because he knew he wouldn't be able to win that fight.