Chapter 7

Kara and Gwen walked through the town, Gwen had said they were going to the forest so Gwen could teach Kara a few things so she could survive this world

"Morgana and I were friends once" Gwen began "She didn't treat me like most treat their servants, she would always ask me if I was okay and she helped me when I was in trouble, there was this witch hunter that once accused me of being a witch, I was put in chains and brought before the king, but Morgana stood beside me and defended me, without her I would have been executed that day"

Gwen fell silent for a moment, her mind caught up in the memory, her fingers pulling a loose thread on her dress

"From what I saw, it all started when she feared that she actually had magic, she was afraid of what Uther would do to her if he ever found out" she shook her head and her features turned a little disgusted "Then the witch Morgause started poisoning her mind, making her see her friends as enemies, she convinced Morgana to try and poison Uther, I never liked the king myself but I would never have wished harm against him"

The two of them had taken a seat on some boulders by a river, the sound of the water strangely calming to Kara

"Morgana was once one of the kindest people I know, I considered her a close friend…" her words trailed off slightly "I want to believe that kind young woman is still in there somewhere, but her actions speak otherwise… do you think you can save someone who doesn't want to be saved?" Gwen's sad, brown eyes looked up at Kara, they were silently pleading that Kara would say yes, so she could have her friend back

Kara placed a comforting hand on Gwen's arm "In my experience no one is beyond saving and I will do everything in my power to get your friend back" she gave the smaller woman a kind smile

"Thank you Kara" Gwen said, squeezing the blonde's hand, she exhaled and stood "Right we are also here for another reason" she moved over to her leather bag and pulled two long metallic objects from it, Kara's jaw dropped in surprise

"How are you with swords?" Gwen asked, a small smile on her face

"Honestly… I've never held a sword in my life" Kara stood

Gwen's smile widened "My dad was a blacksmith so I grew up around them, not many women are trained in sword fighting, but my dad he thought I should learn where our family has come from" she looked a little sad, Kara knew that look, it was the look of losing a parent, she had seen the same look on her face in the mirror sometimes

"All the men in my family have been blacksmiths, since Camelot was first built, they have provided weapons for the army ever since" she looked up at Kara and saw her hesitancy "Don't worry these are not sharpened, they are used for training"

Kara nodded, taking one from Gwen it was heavy, but she managed to hold it in one hand "To be honest I am much more familiar with hand to hand combat"

"Really?" Gwen asked surprised

"Yer, my sister taught me" Kara said as she was still adjusting to the weight of the sword "She taught me that I had to be fast, seen as most of my attackers would be bigger and slower than I am, relying more on their strength than anything else"

"The same is true with swords, you just have to think about it like as a part of your arm, giving you more reach" Gwen swung the sword through the air "Plus it doesn't take much to incapacitate an opponent, no matter the size, you just have to know where to hit them"

Gwen swung the blade again "Very few wear armour unless they are part of an army, it is heavy and restricts movements" she walked up to Kara, pointing the blade at her neck "The area's to go for are the neck, back of the leg" she then tapped the flat edge against Kara's thigh

"And the arms, anywhere else is likely to be protected, by clothing and their own bones" Gwen walked back around to stand in front of the blonde "But it's best never to get into a fight in the first place, shall we begin?" she asked as she readied her blade

Kara looked down at her own blade, before nodding and copying the stance that Gwen had taken, she did not feel confident at all but she was willing to try anything to get herself back home.

"Ready" she confirmed

"It's always best to have two hands on the hilt, that way you have a better grip to deflect an attack" Gwen swung her blade and it clanged against Kara's making the blonde jump at the noise, the blades were forced back towards her, but she managed to stop them hitting her face.

"See what I mean" Gwen said as she took a small step back "Also you want to brace you stance, one foot ahead of the over and leaning forward slightly, if you lean back, you lose balance and you lose the fight"

Gwen demonstrated and Kara copied, she barely registered that Gwen was already swinging again, she blocked, this time putting more force into deflecting Gwen's attack

"Good" Gwen encourage, then she swung in a different direction and Kara had to think fast as to what position she had to put her sword in, to best repel it, but she wasn't quite fast enough and the dull blade hit her side, she hissed suddenly

"Kara! Are you okay?" Gwen stepped forward to help her, but the blonde waved her off

"I'm okay, just startled me more than anything" she smiled through the pain "It's part of learning right, get knocked down, get back up, let's do it again"