"So let me get this straight," Sparrow sat up and rested her arms on the table. "Your mother kicked you out of your castle."
"Correct."
She raised an eyebrow at the prince. "And she told you that if you didn't become a more respectable and proper prince you weren't allowed to come back."
He nodded, embarrassed. "I also have to marry a princess."
"Why is that?"
"I don't know!" Reginald sputtered. "It's just how it's done."
Sparrow, who was one step away from arguing, was cut off when the prince blurted, "I'll pay you!"
She blinked. "Well, that changes things. How much?"
"Fifty thousand!
"I'm in," she replied immediately.
Reginald grinned. "Really?"
"Yes, really." She stared at him. "Don't think this is going to be easy. I'm going to train you the same way I was trained."
Reginald looked curious now. "Oh?"
She smiled in a way that suggested violence. "It'll be an interesting experience for you."
"Put your hands up!" Sparrow ordered as she swung down with a large branch. Reginald whimpered and raised his toy sword, only to have it knocked out of his hands and thrown onto his ass. Sparrow had decided early on it would be better to utilize fake weapons until she was sure she wouldn't kill him by accident.
"It's natural," Sparrow's eyes narrowed as she circled him. "To be afraid of getting hurt. However, if you don't want me to break your bones…"
Recognizing that tone of voice, the prince scrambled to his feet and grasped his mock weapon, holding it in front of him with two hands.
"…don't get scared, get angry!"
By some miraculous force of will, the prince held his ground as she brought down her weapon upon his. For the first time all day, the sword hadn't actually left his hands.
She stepped back and refused to smile. It was improvement, but not that much improvement. "Good job," she said. "We're done for today. Pick up this place and then head back to the Inn."
It took a week for Reginald to block at least decently, and when Sparrow noticed he was becoming rather relaxed with their routine, she decided to surprise him to keep his guard up.
"Today," she pointed her Katana to the forest beyond Westcliff. "We're going hiking. Your job is not to fight. Your job is to survive."
The prince flinched as a Balverine howled in the distance. "You'll still be there to help, right?"
"I'll make sure you don't die," she assured, smiling a little as he paled. "But the rest is up to you."
He groaned. "Is this really how you were trained?"
Without a moment's hesitation she nodded. "Yep."
"That's terrible!"
"Yeah, well," Sparrow shrugged and threw an arm around his shoulder as they began their way out of the Camp. "It works."
Not even twenty minutes later, unfortunately, the two were ambushed by bandits. Sparrow stood back and let Reginald take care of it, occasionally shooting her pistol when he became too overwhelmed. She wouldn't get paid if he died, after all.