12. A Sense of Pride

Sedgar was a man of principle, but he was also a man of shrewdness. After confessing my respect for him, he pulled a number of tricks to see how far he could push me. For the most part they were petty, such as stealing my fork and tampering with the saddle Zed had given me to fix, but they were only the tip of the iceberg.

In actuality, he was only easing me into the annoyance that was Vyland.

Since Vyland moved into the same dormitory as us, matters were never quite the same. His roommates were unruly as well, but for some reason despite their similar temperament Vyland didn't get along with them. I didn't ask whether Vyland asked to stay with us or whether Sedgar offered – it seemed to happen overnight and without first consulting me.

Vyland took to the lower bunk, saying that he would probably break the top one, and often he and Sedgar would have late conversations to burn what felt like an endless supply of energy. He had asked me outright why I still slept on the floor, but I had rolled my eyes and deemed it unnecessary to answer.

I regarded Vyland's invasion as another of Sedgar's life lessons, one of tolerance and patience. Even with his excessive and mostly pointless chatter, I needed to remain calm. It was an incredibly cruel lesson and one I thought would be impossible to pass, however failure was not an option.

On the third night since Vyland took residence in our room, I realised that Vyland was incapable of being quiet, even when he was asleep. It aggravated me slightly how I still had to put up with him in the early hours, but I chose to ignore him that night, swiftly getting dressed and heading out for my usual lonely training.

Vyland growled slightly as I crouched beside him the next night. Perhaps it was a combination of both Vyland's and Sedgar's mischief that made me want to engage. Perhaps it was because I knew that neither of them would remember in the morning that compelled me to be a little adventurous.

"The bears. The bears are coming."

Sedgar's choice of conversation had a tendency of being bizarre, a lecture or otherwise dangerously heavy, but the dream world of Vyland was something else entirely.

"We have to protect the mustard."

A part of me wondered why I was listening to this. Was sleep talking contagious? If I stayed around for too long, would I end up talking such drivel? "The mustard?"

Vyland made a noise of affirmation.

"The mustard has to fight for itself. Leave it." I cast a wary glance at Sedgar. If he woke up now and knew what I was doing…

"We have to protect the mustard," Vyland repeated sleepily. "The bears…they're coming."

I sighed. Talking in his sleep was even more painful than it was during the day. I had to remain composed in the face of idiocy. "How are you going to stop them?" There was no reply, so I repeated the question a little louder.

Vyland's shoulders shifted noisily as he rearranged his blanket. "Valour," he mumbled simply.

I exhaled sharply in surprise, partly because he said something that make sense and partly because of his honesty. Even though he didn't know what he was talking about, he was speaking from the heart. He had the makings down to the core, leaving nothing but pure allegiance.

Vyland was a blundering fool, but with the right training he would make a fine soldier.

When they found me in the grounds taking on the duo Jason and Kyle, I was in no mood to stop. I dismissed the duo and told Vyland to spar with me. Vyland himself was a bit put off by it, asking if I was feeling all right, but Sedgar encouraged it and said he would offer us guidance from an outsider's perspective.

Vyland knew I had trained for several hours beforehand, so he wrongly assumed he had the upper hand. He hadn't expected me to be quite so brutal, disarming him of Sedgar's borrowed sword with ease in his bullish attempts to strike me. I had learnt a lot from other people, and it was my turn to impart some of my tactics onto him. He was a loose cannon, that I couldn't change, but maybe I could train him so his brute force would hit first time on the battlefield.

It was a strange sensation, teaching someone. I had learnt through experience and watching, but Vyland could never be as observant as me. I had no experience in teaching methods, yet as I barked at Vyland to relax his hand or watch his footwork, I knew what I was doing. For someone who had never held a sword before, he had a lot to learn.

It felt odd commanding Vyland and he too wasn't receptive at first, but after a while he listened to me. Each time I disarmed him or his face hit the ground, he picked himself back up and didn't give up. His front steadily got dirtier and his arm grew slacker, but he persisted because I told him to maintain concentration. His focus seemed to have a direct impact on his mouth, and his silence was a welcome by-product.

His determination was about the one thing I could commend him for. I was in no rush to admit that though as I continued to criticise Vyland.

Soldiers, Jason and Kyle included, started to fringe the outskirts, watching me push Vyland to the absolute limits. I may have sparred with them all at one point, I couldn't remember. I always sparred in silence; no one ever knew what I was thinking and many probably hadn't heard me speak the way I was now. Sedgar, despite his comment earlier, had nothing to contribute and he too watched the one-sided match in earnest.

"You seem to be a natural, Wolf."

It was a sight that I had long forgotten about, but I moved with the crowd as we saluted Prince Hardin in unison. I gave Vyland a pointed look, and he too realised what he was meant to do. How many months ago had that been me?

And, like the time before, Prince Hardin was not pleased with the sight. He sighed heavily as he made his way through the parting crowd to us. "It's wonderful to see you in good health, Trent. I hope Wolf's treating you well."

Vyland grinned, wasting no time in taking the prince's outstretched hand. "I'm honoured you remember me, sir. The name's Vyland now."

"I apologise if I brought up any bad memories," Prince Hardin said courteously.

"Not at all," Vyland was quick to answer before casing a sideways glance at me. "It's really tough getting Wolf to like me, but I like to think I'm getting there. One day I'll get a smile out of him."

Prince Hardin gave a hearty laugh, and once again I seemed to be the humour point. "Let me know when you do. As far as I know, even Sedgar hasn't managed that."

Vyland gave a devious grin before he made to ruffle my hair. I could see him coming though, so I stepped to one side and elbowed him away from the prince. A few soldiers on the side-lines snickered as Vyland stumbled to regain his balance, and I inwardly found pleasure in watching the sight too.

The prince looked past both of us towards Sedgar. "Do you mind if I borrow Wolf for the day?"

I looked across at Sedgar as I sheathed my sword. Prince Hardin didn't need to ask for Sedgar to relieve me; I could do what I wanted, and Sedgar held me in as much regard as I did him. I looked into Sedgar's deep green eyes and I knew he had caught onto my train of thought. "Go easy on him," I said.

By some miracle, Sedgar managed to hear and gave a firm nod as he fingered his empty scabbard.

I followed Prince Hardin out, and I could feel the others watching me as I did. I waited until I could hear the clashing of swords again before raising the question. "Why do you need me?"

Prince Hardin turned his head and waved a hand for me to walk beside him. "I still remember the first time I met you. You were a nervous wreck then, and you certainly weren't as lively as you are now. You've come a long way since then, much further than I expected. I hope you realise that as well."

I blinked slowly, keeping my gaze straight ahead. I had long grown used to the daunting corridors of the castle. If he said I was doing well, that was all the guidance I needed.

"I am so very proud of you, Wolf," Prince Hardin continued. "You've had to adjust much more than the others, and you've done a brilliant job. It can't have been easy, but you've taken everything in stride and you've matured splendidly. I always look forward to hearing your progress from Sedgar, all the wonderful things you've accomplished. I soon found myself speaking highly of you to my brother, perhaps more than I should have. He'd like to meet you."

"Meet me?" I recalled back to that strange map of lines and names that Sedgar tried to teach me all that time ago, of the Aurelian Royal Family and how they were interlinked. I couldn't read back then, but I remembered what Sedgar had said. Strictly speaking, Prince Hardin didn't have a brother; he had a half-brother by the name of King Baelis, the very one that governed Aurelis.

Prince Hardin nodded sternly. "He's very mellow, you'll like him. He's too kind for his own good, and that's part of his problem. He may ask you a lot of questions, but if you don't want to answer, he'll understand."

I shook my head slowly as I finally looked up at the prince. I served him, and I will show the same respect to his brother. It didn't matter whether I'd like him or not; I belonged to the Royal Family. "I have nothing to hide."

Prince Hardin laughed as he brought a hand to his temple. "I know you don't, but it's only human if you want to keep one or two secrets. If everyone was as honest as you, the continent would be a very different place."


A/N: I pretty much made Vyland a butt monkey in this. It was good getting all four of them in, so it's good practice trying to distinguish the personalities here as well as how they all interact with one another.