Yuai smacked his knuckles with a wooden sword and Thranduil yelped.
"Concentrate!" Yuai scolded and his dark eyes flashed.
Thranduil rubbed his knuckles against his thigh and raised his wooden sword, forcing his eyes away from the new day dawning outside the windows. A hawk sat in one of the birch trees, running its beak though its feathers. One red tail feather floated to the ground.
Yuai thrust at him again and force ripped through his sword into his arm as Thranduil blocked. His stiff braid kept scratching his back as he kept one arm behind him and used his sword arm to parry Yuai's blade. The wood cracked together, and each hit made Thranduil's arm stiffer and his hand raw.
Breakfast seemed to have dissolved in his stomach hours ago, though he knew a full hour had not yet passed. Yuai drove him in circles around the room until his knees ached.
"Your feet should carry you with grace," Yuai said. "You must bend like a willow tree and let your senses guide you. Have trust in your feet."
His feet did not slip on the floor, but Thranduil missed the imperfections of the forest ground as his stiff muscles ached in protest to bending like a willow tree. His eyes strayed to the window in an attempt to distract him.
Yuai lowered his sword. "Prince or no prince, I will give you a first-hand taste of a birch branch if you do not focus yourself!"
Thranduil's blue eyes snapped to his teacher and he glared. "I do not like being threatened."
"You are here to learn, Thranduil," Yuai answered. "Learn to defend yourself."
Thranduil gritted his teeth and hurled himself at Yuai. His arms stopped hurting as he slammed his sword against Yuai's, driving Oropher's ghost from his mind with each knock of their blades. His chest began to beg for breath, and he paused, leaning on his sword and holding up a hand to halt Yuai.
Yuai raised his golden eyebrows. "An hour has passed. Bring the same energy with you tomorrow and we will accomplish something."
Thranduil nodded and exhaled a slow breath. Yuai said, "Anger is not a good weapon."
"Neither is threatening people," Thranduil retorted.
Yuai tilted his head. "Perhaps not. But if you do not focus tomorrow, I will shut the curtains."
Thranduil grinned and stuck his sword into the rack by the door. "Consider me forewarned."
Yuai strode away and Kryn entered the room. She gestured for Thranduil to keep the leather guards he wore on his arms and legs on and pressed a bow into his hands. The wood was smooth and curved into a gentle crescent moon. Thranduil twanged the string. He swung the quiver Kryn handed him over his back and felt the smooth ends of the arrows brush his ears.
Kryn pointed to the round targets at the end of the room. "I will demonstrate. Bowmanship is about imagining the arrow to be a part of your body. Follow it in your mind's eye and, as easily as picking up a mug, you will hit your mark."
Kryn nocked an arrow to her longbow, drew back, and released. The shaft whistled to hit the center of one target. She gestured for Thranduil to try.
Thranduil loaded his bow and struggled to lift the weapon and keep the arrow steady. His first shot flew wild, but Kryn's hands on his shoulders guided his next attempt. He lifted the bow until his arm was straight and pulled the string to his cheek. The shaft hit the center rim of Kryn's target.
"It takes constant practice," Kryn said.
Thranduil's arms screamed at the end of the hour but he knew the next day would bring more pain. After waxing his bowstring and storing the bow on its hooks next to his leather arm and leg guards, he walked to the library, relieved for once to sink down in his chair and rest his elbows on the desk.
Thranduil joined Harune for lunch with blisters on his palm and ink on his fingertips. The family room he and Harune shared had a stone fireplace opposite the door, swept clean for the summer ahead, and the room possessed a balcony, where he could glimpse the river. Standing on the balcony, his first glimpse of the palace gardens was at his left.
Past a sofa and the armchairs around a small table, Thranduil flopped into his seat at the square dining table and hoped he had enough strength left to lift a glass.
"How was your day?" Harune inquired, smiling at him over a basket of toast.
"Long," Thranduil answered. "But at least Yuai and Kryn are good teachers."
"After Tayan and Amber, you can be assured I took time to find people I trust to teach you," Harune said. "When we are done eating, I will give you a massage. And after that, you are free."
Thranduil yawned. "I might take a nap."
"Good. I have some business in the linen cupboards. It seems several of the seamstresses are not mending properly."
As Thranduil chomped on a piece of toast, he asked, "What about cooking?"
Harune shook a finger. "We start tomorrow. Meet me in the kitchens for lunch. You will be nice and hungry."
Thranduil stretched in his chair. "I will try not to feed us burned toast and eggs."
He left Harune to clear the table when the meal ended and lay down on the cool leather sofa. By the time Harune uncapped the tin of salve to massage him, he was asleep with a pillow tucked under his neck.
A short and vaguely uneventful chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! These elves will be a part of Thranduil's life for a long time to come . . .
Next Chapter: Thranduil meets Hyrondal.