Chapter 7
One winter morning, there was a brisk knocking at her door, and Midori quickly changed into her squire uniform and opened the door to admit a tall, red haired man.
The man looked around her room. "Well I see, Squire Midori, you keep a clean quarters...that's good. I'm Owen of Jesslaw, your knight master" Owen held out his hand.
Midori shook it warmly and grinned as Owen put a hand on her shoulder and told her to meet him in the practice courts after they had eaten.
Down in the mess hall, Midori was so excited she could hardly eat. Sheba rolled her eyes and took the bowl of porridge that Midori had been trying to eat, away.
"If you're not going to eat, you might as well go meet him" she told her friend.
Midori nodded and stood, quickly heading to the practice courts.
Once there, she grabbed a practice sword and tacked up her horse. She tried a few practice swings and pretended to be in battle with an imaginary Scanran.
"Take that and that" she whispered, swinging the blade as if in combat. She tugged at the reins of her horse to get Yukiko to turn.
She was so caught up in the make-believe fight that she didn't realize that Owen had rode up to her, practice sword in hand and was now hilt to hilt with her. Midori gasped, and nearly dropped the practice sword. "Sir Owen"
The man laughed "It's just Owen. This is a good thing to practice, trying to stay on the saddle while in battle, you'll use it more often then you will on ground, balancing both of course."
Midori chuckled, "Then Sir—Owen—I challenge you to a duel...on horseback"
"Very well then Midori, I accept with a jolly yes" Owen grinned as Midori dismounted and went to put on padding for herself.
As Owen and Midori began, a pair of ice-blue eyes watched from a distance, a wicked smile on his face. "I have to get rid of her," murmured the boy, crossing his arms over his chest. Turning to his two cronies, the boy sneered and asked one, a tall boy named Victor of Cria, if he had the Gift.
"I do" Victor replied.
"What do you suppose we do?" the other boy asked.
"That's easy boys, when she goes skating with the others tomorrow, you Victor break the ice with your Gift and...We watch the fun" Jarvis smirked and turned away from the green-eyed squire and her knight master.