The Ghost of a Prince

Chapter 10

Valerie was starting to believe that the training in different kinds of weapons wasn't going like Arthur had expected it would. Of course, she wasn't certain of what kind of expectations he had on her. Whenever she asked, he told her he only wanted her to do the very best she could.

However, the fact that he was half-dead was clearer every time Valerie tried to convince her of something out of proportion. Like that horses had gone extinct while he taught her how to throw an axe or how to swing a mace so that she wouldn't hurt herself. He usually stared at her blankly, an eyebrow raised and a face that was trying to mask a smile. It had become her goal to get him to laugh at it and every day she felt closer and further away from her goal, if that was possible.

"Isn't this for like, tournaments and stuff?" Valerie mumbled, picking the lance. Trying to get used to the mental image of her riding a horse and aiming the lance at a knight three times her size and knocking him off. The idea was more amusing than what she would dare to admit to Arthur.

"Well, yes, but we mostly used to drop other knights from their horses." he explained, taking it from her hands and holding it as if he was about to use it, eyebrows knit together in concentration. "If you hold it like this, you can knock the other knight from their horse in battle and keep moving, see?"

"As fun as the mace and the axe were, I don't see much of a use for this." Valerie smiled, taking the lance from his hands. Only to try to imitate the posture he was holding, before playing with it. "No one uses horses in combat anymore, they went extinct, remember?"

Arthur scoffed, "Perhaps you'd prefer to start today's training with a mace, to see if you still remember what you learnt? Or does the bow and arrow suit more to your liking?"

Valerie thought of Phillip when Arthur pointed at the bow and arrow. She could understand why he hadn't suggested the axe. One of the times she had thrown it, it narrowly missed a fairy who began to scold her, so they agreed it would be better if they left the axe for later. She smiled soft, tracing her fingers along the lance. Someone's name was written on it, but it had been scrapped due to the use to the point it was illegible.

"Are you certain we'll have the time to train with all of these?" Valerie rose an eyebrow.

"Of course we will," Arthur smiled, giving the girl a pat in the back with more force than what he intended. "You're the one who needs the training after all, I already did my own,"

"And I'm sure it went wonderfully." She spoke, with mocked enthusiasm. He looked at her with a risen eyebrow and she muttered a quick apology, "I suppose this will do." She picked the spear, leaving the lance in its place. it was lighter and the point had three metalic arrows that looked as if they had been sharpened recently.

"Excellent choice." He smiled. Valerie beamed with pride. "After that, we'll look for something for close contact, but be careful with it, we don't want another accident like the one with the axe." Valerie nodded stern. "Percival was great with this, I'm afraid it was not particularly my forte, but I can teach you the basis."

"Who?" Valerie questioned. eyebrows knit together as she tried to recall the name from any sort of story she might have heard of. Jonathan had read so many fantasy stories that he would probably know about him, or at least have a better inkling on who she was than she did.

"Percival." Arthur repeated, a sad smile in his features, like an adult whenever they talk about their friends from school. "He, Emrys and Lancelot were with me when I first took Excalibur out from the stone, he was better with spears than I was, not that he wasn't a skilled swordsman, of course." he rushed to say, Valerie tilted her head "shall we begin?"