Ivy's Tangle (Legend of the White Sword - Book 1)

Chapter 10 (Part 1) - New Beginnings

We didn't become instant besties after that night, but the next morning when I passed her on the stairs, Ivy said, "Good morning, Jack." and gave me an honest-to-goodness smile. Every rude thing she'd said to that point was erased by her smile. I couldn't help smiling afterwards, and Mr. Ryan asked if I felt OK. If you're thinking Jack's a sucker for a cute girl—it's probably true. I considered telling Mr. Ryan about Ivy and the animals in the forest, but I didn't want to get her in trouble. Besides, she'd agreed not to go out alone again, and I figured that was good enough.

There were no other opportunities to try blacksmithing again before Mr. Smith left. It was disappointing, and I considered how I might convince Gran to let me use the smithy on my own. Books and the internet couldn't replace a proper teacher like Mr. Smith, but lots of other people had taught themselves. I can tell you from experience, that if you pay attention, and follow the directions, you can learn almost anything from books. Although, they have to be good books, written by people who know their stuff. I decided blacksmithing would be a new hobby. Everything (minus Gran's permission) was already in place, and I planned to start with simple tools, at least for a few weeks, before moving onto samurai swords.

On the evening of the day Mr. Smith left, Mr. Ryan mixed things up and took the lesson outside. To that point we'd trained in the gymnasium (not including our daily run) and getting out of the slightly stinky room, and into the fresh air, was wonderful.

Mr. Ryan told me to meet him out back after dinner. He stood waiting beside two long, black plastic rifle cases, and I wondered if he was adding shooting to our diverse repertoire. Mr. Ryan was already limbering up, and I realised that he'd lost weight since I'd first met him. His belly had shrunk, and there was a definition to his jaw that hadn't existed before. The change had been so gradual that I hadn't noticed.

"Are we shooting?" I asked. I'd learned about guns and marksmanship at military school.

"No," Mr. Ryan said with a chuckle. "I don't think your grandmother would go for us shooting in her backyard." He kicked one of the plastic cases at his feet. "These aren't guns."

"Those are rifle cases aren't they?"

"Yeah, I figured they'd do for our purposes, and they were available."

"What's in them then?"

"Something I commissioned Mr. Smith to make for us. Why don't you have a look?"

I squatted, flipped the latches on the nearest case, and opened it, excited to see what it might contain. Inside the case lay a broadsword. The sword had a leather wrapped handle (long enough for two hands), a simple acorn pommel, and a cross guard, made from an unadorned piece of bar stock. The straight blade was almost three feet long, ending in a rounded point. It was rectangular in cross-section rather than tapered to the edges. That sword wouldn't cut butter, let alone slay dragons. I picked it up, discovering it was also heavy.

"Are these practice swords?" I asked.

"More like weight training," Mr. Ryan said. "From now on, you'll be doing the sword forms with that. Next week, we'll start sparring with the bamboo swords and the kendo armour. Assuming... you're still keen?"

I found it hard to imagine doing a single kata with the heavy blade, but I smiled anyway. We were sparring next week! Visions of my high flying swashbuckling danced in front of me. Sweet!

"Bring it on," I said.

"We'll add other things to the cases as we go. It seemed silly to make scabbards for these sword-shaped clubs. Even so, I expect you to treat it as if it was a real sword, the same as the other practice blades. Bad habits lead to bad cuts and missing fingers. Let's start the first kata."