The Ghost of a Prince

Chapter 16

The sound of the birds chirping was the only thing Valerie could hear with clarity. She bounced on her heels as Arthur walked back and forth. She was almost sure that if he kept it going for a little longer, he would end up digging a hole.

"You know, you can just admit you didn't prepare a lesson for today." Valerie shrugged, trying to see how fast she could turn Excalibur from a bracelet into a sword.

Arthur stopped in his steps, looking in Valerie's direction. He opened his eyes wide as he lifted a hand. "No, no, no, I got it, I know what I'll teach you today."

Valerie scoffed, leaving Excalibur as a sword in her hand, rising an eyebrow to the former king. "You've only figured that out?"

"In those fencing classes you take, do they teach you how to disarm your opponent?" Arthur questioned.

"No..." Valerie hesitated, tilting her head. Trying to do so would be near impossible with a saber. Not to mention against the rules. Unless Arthur wanted to count the time Michael had irritated her enough for her to pull his saber from his arm.

"You'll teach me how that thing when you hit me with the wood sword? You know the..." Valerie said as she did the motion as if she was twisting her sword around an imaginary one. Her voice laced with excitement.

Arthur nodded with a smile, crossing his arms and standing straight. He looked prouder and more dignified, as if seconds ago he hadn't struggled to figure out what he was going to teach her.

"Exactly that, but bear in mind that that is one of the simplest approaches towards disarming your opponent, I'll teach you at least three different ways to disarm someone, if you learn those they could even be enough for you to create your own." he assured. Valerie nodded, eyes shining bright at the possibility. "Now for the first one, we'll need the wooden swords."

Valerie tensed her mouth. The incident with the play-swords still fresh in her mind. She turned Excalibur back into a bracelet and put any misplaced hair behind her ear. She picked the wooden swords and handed one to Arthur, who waited until she gave him the indication that she was ready to begin.

Valerie took a deep breath getting into position. Arthur stepped towards her with the same speed as usual, his sword aimed at her chest. Valerie put her own sword underneath blocking the attack. She had done it a couple of times already. Every time hasty and on impulse rather than a well-thought strategy.

Arthur stopped. A line formed between his eyebrows. He wasn't pressing as strong as the knights that attacked her usually did. Even then, she had to put some effort for her feet to remain on the same place and not slip on the grass.

"What you must do if you find yourself in a position similar to this one is to use the base as a hook, like this." He pressed the base of his sword under the blade of hers, making sure she had seen the action. "And then grab the blade with your hand, alright? after that you pull." Arthur did so, ripping the sword out of her hand in one go.

Valerie let go of the sword and watched as Arthur had both blades in his hands. Somehow, the idea of grabbing a sword with her bare hands wasn't something she was particularly akin with. The first time she had done she almost got choked to death by a knight in her school and the second one she nearly fell to down a crack in the ground created by an angry goddess which depth she was unaware of.

The scars it caused were still in the inside of her hand. One went across her palm and the others decorated the first articulation that connected her fingers. They were hard to see at first sight. It took Valerie a while to notice them herself.