Chapter 7
Sword stood outside in the castle courtyard. A morning fog lingered over the grass, the sun having barely arisen. The cool, damp air helped awaken him. He took a deep breath, lungs expanding, and exhaled audibly through his helmet. He rolled his right shoulder before glancing off into the distance. In the morning fog, barely visible, a familiar green-hued silhouette faced him.
Blade faced Sword in the early light, eyes straining to make out his figure against the fog. The fog was a hindrance, but in terms of training Blade reasoned it was actually a good thing. They almost always trained during sunny days, as that's how Dreamland's borderline tropical weather was, and if the day's weather held any rain it usually came in late afternoon after their training was over. The fog would force them to act differently.
Sword raised his hand and waved, sharply bringing it down at his side afterwards. That was the signal that he was ready to begin. Blade stood upright, squared his shoulders, and repeated the gesture to his comrade. He then withdrew his weapon slowly from its sheath, the metal glinting in the morning sun, and held it against his side. He crouched, bracing himself.
Sword dipped his head in a visible nod. He then disappeared.
Blade looked around wildly, squinting as he peered into the morning mist. Sword was always good at sneaky entrances into their battles, and the fog only made him even better at it. He knew that his friend was coming to get him, and that they were to engage in a mock battle. They both had to be very careful, and neither took their drills lightly. The armored men used real weapons, rather than wooden or blunted blades, because Meta Knight believed that using weapons that acted and weighed differently would not prepare a soldier for how their weapon would behave in a real battle. This meant that even with the best intentions, their training was still very dangerous.
Blade heard the light "ssh" of grass, wet from morning dew, crushing under feet. He quickly turned and hopped out of the way, just as Sword charged in from behind him. Blade turned and answered with a counterattack of his own, turning the flat of his blade to hit Sword in the back.
Sword got clipped, but turned around and brought the flat of his blade up towards his opponent. Blade brought up his arm at an angle to have Sword's weapon hit his spaulder, the two pieces of metal meeting with an echoing clang.
Meta Knight watched the two warriors fight from a short distance away, eyes glowing blue. He was proud of their progress. Under his guidance, Sword and Blade had come a long way from when he first met them. He would soon be testing his own mettle against an opponent; but unlike on past days, it would not be Kirby this time. He stood quietly with his gaze drifting upwards, the morning fog clouds gently undulating around the bottom of his cape.
From the gates of Dedede's castle, a winged shape obscured by the morning fog flew towards the three. Shieldmaiden arrived and folded her white wings, landing a distance away from the fighting warriors.
"Good morning, Sir Meta Knight" Shieldmaiden stated with a respectful bow. She walked over until she was standing next to him, holding her spear and shield as she watched Sword and Blade.
"Training with real weapons." She muttered, chuckling lightly. "Just like the old masters back in the war. I thought so."
She turned to Meta Knight, eyeing him curiously.
"Shall we?"
Meta Knight gave a single nod in response, throwing his cape aside. He reached for Galaxia, the golden blade glinting radiantly in the morning light. He wanted to test her skill; he could tell that she was younger and probably less experienced than he was, and he wanted to see what she could do before proceeding with a regimen. He did his best to keep himself distant, cold, even more than usual. His stomach began to feel a bit light and fluttery again, the feeling rolling over him like the fog the two stood in, and this time he couldn't blame it on Kawasaki's cooking.
"I understand that you utilize both your spear and shield." Meta Knight spoke softly. "Let's see your offensive skills first."
"Yes, Sir" Shieldmaiden responded, taking wing to land a few feet away in preparation for their battle.
Shieldmaiden felt anxiety beginning to well within her, her chest tightening and her body language fidgety as she stood before him; she was about to be tested by a great Star Warrior, a veteran. She knew her skills wouldn't come close to his. Her hidden face burned at the thought of looking like a newly minted soldier in front of him, flailing her weapons around clumsily as he calmly dominated her. However, she knew to swallow her pride. The best way for a warrior to learn, besides in battle itself, was to gain experience from the teachings of others.
Meta Knight bowed to her and proceeded to walk a short distance away, his sword out and cape flowing behind him. He then stopped, turned, and nodded to her. He raised his free arm and brought it down in the air in the same way Sword and Blade did.
"Prepare yourself!" Meta Knight called out into the fog.
Shieldmaiden nodded and mimicked his hand gesture, flaring her wings and adopting a battle-ready pose. She crouched low first, tense. Neither so much as twitched for a few seconds; in the dim foggy light, she could see little besides a cloaked silhouette with two bright yellow pinpoints. The female Star Warrior then charged, shield out, rushing forward in an attempt to bash him. Meta Knight saw the telegraphed move and turned, jumping out of the way as she rushed forward. Shieldmaiden paused and turned, holding up her shield just as Meta Knight delivered a blow from Galaxia. The clang of metal on metal rang loudly through the misty courtyard, the sound loud enough to scare the birds out of nearby trees.
Shieldmaiden then thrust forward with a shield bash, forcing Meta Knight to hold his sword horizontally to somewhat deflect the blow. He stumbled back and hopped out of the way, turning to attack her from a different angle.
Shieldmaiden watched Meta Knight move, never taking her eyes off of the veteran for a second. She turned and deflected another blow from him successfully. She then held her spear high, preparing to go on the offensive. Her piercing jabs were dodged by Meta Knight, one after the other. Meta Knight smirked beneath the mask, sensing an opportunity as Shieldmaiden let her defense down. He had fought multiple spear-wielding warriors before; he knew that the range of the spear was its strength, and that if he could get past it his sword would then have the upper hand. He dodged a flurry of blows before one glanced off of his mask. Shieldmaiden hesitated for a second as her spear bounced uselessly off of the sturdy metal disc. Meta Knight's eyes flashed, sensing the time to strike, and he quickly weaved into closer melee range past the point of Shieldmaiden's spear. Shieldmaiden held up her shield in response, but she could do nothing but defend without retaliating in return as Meta Knight was close enough to attack past the point of her long spear. It was over. Meta Knight delivered blow after blow onto her shield and armor, careful to hit her with nowhere near his full strength, until she wilted under the assault.
"Enough", Meta Knight said, his deep voice echoing through the courtyard. He sheathed Galaxia and held out his gloved hand, eyes glowing blue.
"Not bad."
Shieldmaiden took his hand and stood up, weaving slightly. Her armor was visibly dented, her wing feathers ruffled and out of place, and her eyes were visibly dimmer than earlier. She managed a shaky salute in response.
"Thank you, Sir."
Meta Knight wrapped himself up in his cape. Despite their training session, he looked as fresh as he did before the battle.
"If I may", he began, "Your shield defense is excellent. Your offense, however..." He paused for a moment to consider his words, not wanting to sound too harsh. "I was able to bypass your spear. In the battlefield, that would give a swordsman every single advantage over you. You'd be in big trouble."
Shieldmaiden dipped her head, humbled. She knew she didn't have a chance against someone so much more experienced.
"I noticed that as well, Sir", Shieldmaiden replied, her professionally neutral tone hiding her disappointment. She had never had someone slip through her guard so effortlessly, and it shook her – had Meta Knight been a real enemy, he could have killed her.
"Is there anything I could have done better?"
"Hmm..." Meta Knight pondered aloud. " I believe if your spear were held differently, a swordsman would have a harder time passing through. You can not effectively be defensive with your shield while going on the offense at the same time; your spear should double as your defense while attacking, keeping shorter-ranged melee at bay. Your weapon of choice's biggest asset, by far, is its range."
Meta Knight's eyes tinted green. "Let me see how you hold your spear."
Shieldmaiden, weary but doing her best not to make it obvious, sank into a pose with her spear held out as if she were preparing for an attack.
"Now jab." Meta Knight continued.
Shieldmaiden did as she was told, jabbing forward with the spear as if attacking an invisible target.
"Thrust", he commanded.
Shieldmaiden thrust her spear. Meta Knight noted the angle, eyes glowing green as he analyzed her motions.
"I see..." Meta Knight said. He held his gloved hand open, palm up.
"May I take your spear?"
"Certainly", Shieldmaiden replied as she handed it to him.
Meta Knight then held it in a near-perfect pose. He, like most Star Warriors, had been given brief training drills with a variety of weapons before even being given the choice of choosing one. Back then he loathed every minute of mace, spear, and axe training and longed to return to the sword. Now, however, he was grateful for it – not only did it allow him to train others, but it also allowed him to think about the strengths and weaknesses of his opponent's weapons while facing them in battle. Having demonstrated the proper technique, he handed the spear back to Shieldmaiden.
"Now you try", he said in an encouraging tone.
Shieldmaiden held it in her best imitation of his pose as possible, but Meta Knight could see that it was still a bit off.
"Ah...it's more like this", he said patiently, walking close to her.
Meta Knight stood behind her, hand clasping over hers, as he gently maneuvered her pose into a corrected position. His masked body bumped against hers, the two pressed together, and he was then suddenly aware of how close they were to each other. His gloved hands began to sweat, his heart feeling like it paused for a beat before it began to hammer. His mannerisms went from the fluid movement of an experienced battle trainer to awkward, jerky. The few brief seconds he held the pose felt as if they stretched on for longer.
Meta Knight quickly jumped back as if stung by a bee, his cape wrapped as tightly around him as he could. Underneath the folds of his cape and the disc-shaped mask, his blue face had gone red from a sudden blush.
"Much better", he managed to say as Shieldmaiden kept the position he showed her and jabbed her spear at the air with precision.
Shieldmaiden had noticed how odd that brief moment was. She turned to look him in the eye, her face completely expressionless underneath her armor. They locked eyes for a second. Meta Knight then looked away, casting his gaze downwards.
"I believe this concludes our training session", he said quietly.
"Indeed", Shieldmaiden agreed, bowing deeply to him. "Thank you for the practice session, as well as for perfecting my technique."
Meta Knight nodded in response. "You're welcome."
Shieldmaiden spread her wings and flicked their tips. She then turned slightly, looking at her comrade and tutor out of the corner of her eye as she prepared to take off.
"Tomorrow then, Sir?"
Meta Knight nearly choked, just thinking about having to deal with such emotions again. His expression, concealed behind his mask, remained blank as he gave her a brief nod.
"Tomorrow."
Meta Knight watched her leave, the detached facade cast by his expressionless armor hiding his turbulent mixture of emotion. He felt very much annoyed with himself, feeling thoroughly unprofessional, yet he couldn't help but ruminate on what just took place. Wordlessly he walked past Sword and Blade, who had since concluded their own battle, and headed back towards the castle with his cape wrapped around him.