Chapter 7.

The week passed by as quickly and fleetingly as a hummingbird fluttering past Robyn's eyes. He let out a sigh and put on the elegant cloak that laid folded on the table, untouched for a exactly seven days.

Hobie's ears were nervously twitching and the rabbit brushed his nose with his paw every now and then. Penelope wasn't in the secret room merely because she had to practice flying. Her father had been coming more and more often to check on her progress. Robyn suspected that this was because Hugo wanted his daughter to be so busy that she wouldn't have time to "associate with lowly humans."

The adolescent finished dressing himself by dexterously tying the two strings into a bow and drawing the hood up.

"Do you have your dagger?" Hobie scanned his friend with his eyes up and down to confirm Robyn was thoroughly armed for his short trip outside.

"Yes, here," Robyn bent down and patted his right boot.

"What about the matches?" Hobie's nose quivered and the rabbit anxiously prodded his paws together.

"Yes, I have them in my pocket," Robyn climbed down the ladder with one hand grasping the wood and the other holding the candle holder.

"Remember, two o' clock!" Hobie called after the adolescent as his foot thumped against the floor.

"I know, I know," Robyn sighed and smiled exasperatedly. The blond wasn't planning on doing anything rash, especially since he knew how concerned Hobie was for him.

"Oh, and Robyn?"

"Yes?"

"Try to have fun, will you?" despite how nervous Hobie was, the rabbit still managed to crack a smile at Robyn.

"I'll try Hobie," the adolescent laughed. He turned around and his cloak swished. Soon, Robyn melted into the darkness. All that was visible was the bobbing light of the candle that refused to dim.

Robyn was proud to say that he had managed to make it to the meadow in one piece. He hadn't encountered any mice nor any nosy folks on the way. The meadow was just as pleasant as it was the week before, the only difference was the hazardous ditch pit filled with thorns was filled up and packed with dirt. Robyn walked under the leafy branches of an oak tree which graciously offered shade. He breathed in deeply, allow the fresh, sweet morning air fill his lungs.

Suddenly, a peal of the bells clanged loudly and reverberated through the originally peaceful morning air. The adolescent gasped and covered his ears. A flock of nearby birds squawked in alarm and took off into the air in a flurry of frightened screeches and feathers. After the bells finished their deafening tune, the loudest bell tolled. Each ring was equally loud and lengthy. Robyn cringed and counted the number of times the bell rang. Ten times. I guess I'm on time. As for the prince...

Robyn let his back rest against the rough bark of the oak tree and he crossed his arms. He spent ten minutes idly staring at the sky and the fluffy clouds that hovered from above. Soon, Robyn's legs started to feel stiff. Five more minutes passed, and Robyn let out an irritated sigh. The adolescent slowly rose to his feet. I'm going to wait for five more minutes... If the prince doesn't show up... I guess I'll just have to leave won't I?

Robyn decided that a more enjoyable way to pass time would be practicing dueling an invisible opponent with his dagger. Over the past week, Robyn had taught himself how to execute some moves by reading the book on weaponry. He pulled the wooden sheathe out of his boot. Robyn felt his hands tingle slightly when he unsheathed the dagger with a satisfying shing. Although Robyn had read about how to wield a sword (he couldn't find any sections in the book that explained how to wield a dagger), he hadn't had the chance to actually practice. Butterflies frantically fluttered in his stomach.

The blond carefully set the ornately decorated sheathe by the broad trunk of the oak tree and walked to the center of the meadow. He set up his stance and made sure that his feet were correctly spread apart and his shoulders were completely relaxed. Robyn exhaled and stared ahead of himself attentively. He imagined his opponent who was an averagely tall man with a similar weapon. The man smirked cockily at Robyn who narrowed his eyes.

"En garde!" an imaginary bystander shouted.

Robyn wasn't sure whether he was parrying correctly nor if his counter attacks were effective, but he continued to furiously attack his nonexistent opponent. Time flew by and Robyn became increasingly engaged. It became harder and harder to breathe, but Robyn still continued to slash at the air with unwavering determination.

"Sorry I'm late," an apologetic voice disrupted Robyn's focus and dissipated the adolescent's figments of imagination. The man and the judge vanished into thin air.

Robyn let out a startled yelp and fell on his bum. The dagger landed on ground matted with lush grass with a soft thump.

Robyn looked up and saw Stefan trying to hold in his laughter. He felt his face flush pink.

"Wh-when did you get here?" Robyn fumbled for his dagger. Stefan offered a hand and Robyn took it. The prince hoisted him up with little difficultly. Robyn reasoned this was either because he was either extremely light or the prince was incredibly strong. Maybe it was a little of both.

"A few minutes ago," Stefan laughed. Robyn didn't dare to look the prince in the eye. He was too embarrassed that the prince had caught him waving his dagger in the air like a madman.

"Your technique is... interesting," Stefan grinned. Robyn felt his face turn rosy red.

"Ye-yeah I know, I'm pretty bad," Robyn laughed awkwardly.

"No! I mean sorry, I didn't mean interesting in a bad way. I just found it fascinating how your technique you use for wielding the dagger is rather old fashioned, not to mention it's supposed to be used for a sword."

"Ah, I see," Robyn gave a small nod and fiddled with the strings of his cloak.

"Who taught you?" Stefan looked down at the mousy adolescent with curiosity.

"Actually... I taught myself, by reading," Robyn murmured. He swore he was going to die of embarrassment. Luckily Stefan didn't mock him like he thought he would. Instead, an impressed smile graced the prince's impeccable face.

"Say, would you like me to teach you?" the prince offered and turned to Robyn with a large grin.

"Would you really? I don't want to burden you," Robyn tried to hide his excitement, but the prince's smile grew wider when he saw the hope shining in Robyn's blue eyes. The aquamarine ocean in Robyn's eyes was sparkling, Stefan felt its invisible waters drawing him in.

"Burden? Why of course not! It's the least I can do for making you wait so long," Stefan cleared his throat and quickly averted his eyes from Robyn's. The prince proceeded with his lesson.

Author's Note-February 16, 2015

Like most of the chapters I had to do some research. Today I did some research for the next chapter and I looked up "how to fight with a dagger"... I ended up "learning" how to with my ballpoint pen. Honestly I felt like if one of my parents walked in on me they would stare at me strangely before slowly backing out the door and shutting it behind them. I wouldn't blame them, seeing your child watching a buff military man instructing him/her how to use a dagger in a YouTube video can be pretty unsettling... I swear, I never thought that "small knives" could inflict a lot of damage but *shudder*, those weapons are more dangerous than they appear to be. Sorry for the short chapter, I'll try to make the next one longer!

Farewell for now,

-Haelan