Justify The Thrill: A Rock And A Hard Place
Nobles Prologue
Exempt From Sanity
1
The young prince walked to the practice courts flanked by two of the king's guards. Even his practice hose and tunic were the deep red and blue of the crown, and spotless and new, despite their existence being put in place to collect dirt and blood. The guards stopped as they reached the entrance. The weapons master was waiting patiently as three other young boys also trailed into the room.
There was a lanky blonde dressed all in yellow and two dark haired boys, the smaller of the two dressed all in blues and the large broad one in a regal brown. They were all late, as was usual. One might expect the weapons master to allow them some slack as it was their first day of training since the previous spring. The four boys knew better. They would be there an extra hour and receive chores on top of that. Even the prince would not escape punishment.
"Highness," the larger of the two dark-haired boys greeted the prince with a quick, careless bow.
"Morning," the prince replied.
"If you are done with your hollow greetings then perhaps we may begin our lesson," the weapons master lectured. He did not bother to bow to the young prince. He nodded toward a pile of staffs, a useful weapon. Each boy fetched one and stood in line at attention.
"I am sorry to hear of your loss, highness," the weapons master allowed the prince, "Your mother was a great queen."
"She was," the prince agreed. His mother had died during childbirth little more than a week before. The queen and the young princess both perished in the tragic day.
The weapons master raised his voice once more, "Ten laps! Hold the staff over your head, arms straight! Yes, Dutchy, that means you!"
He continued yelling, critiquing every misstep or movement that displeased him. He pushed them to run faster and harder with each lap. After ten laps were completed they would run ten more and still ten more after that, until he was satisfied. He knew as well as any how a months rest could slacken a well-trained body.
After that they would review what they had learned the year before. None of them would remember every block, attack, and counter. None would remember where his hands went and every exact movement and placement. Muscles remembered these movements after many years of practice. This time was far away for the four young nobles. They would accomplish little before the end of their practice that day, even with an extra hour tacked on.
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A/N: There, the noble's prologue. I'm sorry it took so long. We seem to have had no time to write in the past few months. College essays are a bitch. Another chapter should be posted very quickly as we are basically just editing some of the old chapters for the next few. There may be noticeable differences eventually though. Thanks for the reviews. Keep up the feedback! Anyway, off to work on that.
Forever,
Exempt From Sanity
12/27/04
