Chapter 7: 1-6

If I really stretch I can just barely see outside the castle in some areas.  I found that out just a bit ago while I was working on my vision.  That's definitely progress.  I don't have a lot better to do except practice that at the moment since Jolene is studying with a tutor and there's nothing particularly exciting happening here in the throne room.  I used to think there are audiences and all sorts of business going on all the time in a throne room but there are days like this fairly often.  I don't think this kingdom is very large and that probably helps.  If it were a larger kingdom that was swarming with nobles and had diplomats and other important visitors from countries all over the place then it would probably be a lot harder to have calm days like this.

I think the king should go do some training with me, honestly, but he's kind of fallen off on doing that as often as the years go by.  I still appreciate him as my first wielder since he hasn't really stopped purely for his own reasons but because having children has made him busier so I won't blame him.  It gives me a chance to work on myself, too.  

Over the past year I've been working hard on being able to do the pinpoint distance empathy thing.  I did manage to get it to work on Jolene in her sleep and after doing it several times just to make sure I wasn't tricking myself into only believing it was working I realized just how drained I felt.  So I pushed myself into a routine where I try to work on my vision whenever I can and then take a day off to relax after eight days so that I can send good feelings to Jolene in her sleep on the ninth night.  Although I not only have to strain my focus a bit, which working on my vision has helped with, but I have to push the empathy pretty hard, too.  I haven't figured out if it's a distance thing or just a lack of practice.  It's not like Jolene ever sleeps here in the throne room for me to test that so I'm going on the assumption that it's both.  I'd practice the empathy thing more but I feel that my vision is the more important thing to work on.

Jolene has been getting really good at her polearm usage if my opinion as a current novice counts for anything.  I'd like to assume that the guards and soldiers she trains with are at least reasonably proficient so that when she beats them it shows just how good she actually is now.  It'd be rather disheartening to find out someday that everyone is a complete novice and Jolene only had more talent than a talentless kingdom.  I can't believe that's the case without wallowing in despair so I'm going to stick with my thought that Jolene is amazing.  Her sword skills, however, are...well...they're okay, I guess.  If she keeps at it then she'll probably be a match for some of the less experienced soldiers.  The only thing about it that bothers me is the deal with the king and how it might get her to wielding me sooner or later depending on her skill level.

I've also decided to keep a bit of an eye on the younger princess, Yalbila, to see what if I can understand her intentions better.  She has seemed to soften up on Jolene a bit since she came to visit me.  I'm thinking of her at the moment because it looks like she's coming to visit the king while he has a break.  I guess she's done with her lessons for now or something.  There she is at the door now so let's see what she wants while I rest from working on my vision.

"Father?  Is this a bad time?"

"Hm?  No, we seem to have a slow day today."

"Okay.  I wanted to ask about Jolene."

"What about her?"

"She's going to the academy next year, right?  I've been thinking about it and wanted to know if that was really necessary."

"I don't see why it wouldn't be.  Why the sudden interest in your sister's business?"

"Well, that place only teaches women how to be good wives and mothers and how to do tea parties, right?  I just don't feel like that's what she's suited for.  I've been thinking about it for a while but I couldn't find a chance to talk about it."

"I see.  I don't disagree with your opinion but she is still technically a princess and has to learn those kinds of things.  There's also the social aspect to pay attention to.  I admit that I gave up on trying to give her a proper social debut but she'll still have to go out in public someday and Jared will most likely end up marrying her off to someone somewhere for political reasons even if I don't."

"I see.  I thought she might be spared from that and become an army commander or general or something once your sword got passed on to her..."

"*sigh* Like I said, even if I don't then Jared most likely will.  I also think that being born a princess was a terrible waste for her abilities but she was born a princess and therefore has duties no matter how much any of us might wish otherwise.  As far as being a general or commander, well, with the kind of peace we currently have, and hopefully continue to have, the position would be little more than a decoration and would only hurt her feelings and reputation."

"I don't think that's entirely true, Father.  If my information is correct then we'll likely be engaged in war within the next ten years at most."

"Your information, huh?  I know you're smart but where is this information coming from, exactly?"

"Father!  It's rude to ask a lady for her secrets!"

"Is that how it is?"

"That's how it is, Father."

"I'll keep it in mind, then.  Is that good enough for you?"

"I just want what's best, Father."

I can't really figure out why the youngest princess is suddenly trying to help Jolene so much, either.  I do believe her about the war thing, though.  I've already been suspicious of so many things that I can see within the castle walls as it is.  A small kingdom like this has also won a single, small war once over a decade ago and somehow hasn't had any other major conflicts even on the political stand.  I understand that there's a little backing from some other countries here and there but to have no conflicts at all just doesn't seem likely.  Even in my past life there were conflicts of some sort almost all the time so the supreme peace alone has been bothering me.  I was starting to think that maybe it was just an oddity of being in a different world but now that the young genius is saying that war is coming I can accept that easily.

This school that everyone seems to need to go to does sound pointless to me, as well.  I don't think either princess would really need to go there.  Jolene, as Yalbila said, is just not that kind of girl and would likely end up making her social situation worse instead of better in her frustrations of having to be there.  Yalbila, on the other hand, could probably use it to her advantage but I don't think it would change much if she went there or not since she's talented enough to get whatever she might need from that school in other ways.  

I hope Jolene has enough time to grow up a bit more before war comes, though.  I'd like her to wield me if she can even if she isn't ready to be a true wielder yet.  I'd be okay with the king doing it again as well, normally, but he's out of practice and I'm pretty sure that Jolene is even better with a sword than he is at the moment even though she's still not very good.  I'd also say that it's a bad idea for the king to go out since the prince is still too young to rule properly and I doubt he'd be willing to give Jolene the freedom I need her to have if he's in charge.

---

I guess the king had some similar thought as I did because for the first time in a long time he's taking me over to where the guards and soldiers do their training.  It was only a few days ago that the young princess warned him that war would be coming but he apparently believed her more than he let on originally because he's been pushing all sorts of combat readiness on everyone since then.  I'm happy he believed her and even happier that I can finally see some use again, even if it's just in some sparring and training.  I'm being careful to give him the same kind of vision I used to but I can tell that he's not as used to it anymore because he's stumbling a bit here and there.

Hey, wait.  Is that a sheath?  Did someone actually make a sheath for me?  I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad about this, to be honest.  It's nice to know that I'm being considered and it would definitely make it easier to bring me around to places but at the same time I'm not sure if I like the idea of being inside something that I'm not trying to cause damage or pain to.  I don't even know if I'm claustrophobic.  I don't think I am based on my experience of being in a box so many years ago but I also didn't enjoy that experience, either.

I guess I'm going to find out real soon, huh?  Well, here goes nothing.  Hmm.  Okay, I'll say that I'm still not entirely comfortable with this but it's doable.  It's like putting on clothes after decades of being naked, I guess?  I don't like it right now but with time I could get used to it.  It should make sparring a bit easier, too, since now there's less worry that I'll split someone in half by accident.

Okay, king, let's see if you still remember how to use me.  Hm, you're stance isn't looking too stable and you're straining a bit much to keep me level, here.  Ya, we're going to have to start practicing again if you want to use me in an actual fight again.  See, you can barely react to this strike from the guy you're fighting.  Ugh, this stupid sheath has the huge downside that it makes it so much harder to make any corrections to the swings.  I guess my help is mostly just going to be in providing vision while the sheath is on.  I'm not saying I won't keep trying since that's going to be some good practice on my part, just that whatever I do will have minimal impact on the sparring.

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Oh, it looks like Jolene is coming to watch, too.  Well, let's hope the the king knocks off a bit of the rust on his skills in the minute or so he has before she arrives.  I'm helping how I can to try and correct some of these parries and strikes but this sheath...

Looks like the king heard Jolene greeting people as she came in.  He's signaling to his sparring partner that it's time for a break.  It's nice to be able to see through his eyes again after so long.  I can actually see the surprised look on Jolene's face at seeing me and her father here to practice.  It's also the first time I can see her with the same kind of details as most people do since the last time the king came to practice at the same time as she did.  I guess it's been several years, then.

She's grown fairly well, if I do say so myself.  She has her dark brown hair cut to shoulder length to make it easier to fight and there's a sort of determined look in her light brown eyes that can be seen even through the temporary surprise.  Her body seems well-toned considering her age and there's the hint of a swell in the chest area that proves she's developing as a woman as well.  She's wearing a modified training outfit similar to what the guards around are wearing that's been sized to fit her appropriately.  I'd say that most normal men will be falling in love with her at first sight in just a couple more years or so based on the standards of my past life and world.  Her smooth and clear skin make her face shine with a sort of rare beauty that makes it seem like if she ever tried to put on cosmetics then it would only be able to detract from it.

Now I really want her to be my wielder even more and hope she can find some kind of objective that fulfills my conditions to do so.  With that kind of promise to catch attention in the future clearly visible to me it makes it even more likely that we would become famous and start spreading the beginnings of my legends.  I'm getting pretty excited thinking about the future so I'd better reel my emotions in a bit before I accidentally start letting them out or lose control of the vision that I'm sharing.

"Hi, Father.  I didn't know you'd be here."

"Well, I realized that I was out of practice and thought to start getting a work out on occasion again.  It seems you've been doing quite well while I haven't been watching.  Everyone seems to be quite friendly to you around here."

"That's right.  Everyone knows I can beat them now so nobody is mean to me anymore.  Well, except the captain.  Ah.  Not that he's mean to me, just that I can't beat him, yet.  He's really strong and fast."

"I see.  Well, if I remember correctly, he's been the guard captain for along time now and was even when my father was still the king.  I'm a little too out of shape to be a match for you right now, unfortunately, but I would like to see how good you've gotten these days.  If you can give me a good enough show then I might even let you have a quick match against someone with this sword..."

"Got it!"

Wow.  Way to motivate her!  She's more excited than I've seen her for some time.  She's taking a moment to try and decide what weapon to use right now, though.  I can kind of understand her hesitation, here.  She's supposed to be getting better with a sword if she wants to wield me but she knows, at least on some level, that I want her to be better with polearms and so she's worked more on that.  For this time I'd personally think she should grab a sword and just do her very best but then, I'm the prize not the competitor.

It seems like she's finally going to just try her best with a sword like I would have advised.  I'm actually kind of excited to be able to watch this through the king's eyes for once.  It looks like now that she's done her test swings and is warmed up that she's ready.  Hm.  That wasn't the best parry to start things off with but it was still successful.  That's a pretty good counterattack, though.  Mm hm.  She's not in her best shape right now but I'd say she's still doing great.  Oh, that slash was a little bit too far off.  Wow, she just managed to barely stay in the fight.  She was literally one step away from losing right now.  It's a good thing it's just her sword skills, specifically, that aren't up to par while her footwork and body movement are doing fine because if she hadn't taken that one step when she did then it would have been over like that.  Yes!  Jolene wins with a wonderful feint that flowed into a straight stab at the best timing.

So, king, what's the verdict?  Was she good enough to hold me for a bit or are you going to complain that she's doing too much of what I actually need from her instead of what you think I need?  The king is currently thinking and both Jolene and I are waiting with baited breath.  Well, Jolene is but I don't breathe so I guess I'm waiting with baited...thoughts?  I don't know.  I'm only thinking silly things like this because I'm excited that Jolene might got to use me for a little bit.

"Honestly I thought you'd be better than that after all that boasting..."

I suppose that would be true if she had been focusing her training on sword use.  The king moves our vision over to glance at the weapons on the rack nearby and I can clearly see the gisarme there as well as the king.

"*sigh* I can make a few guesses as to why, as well.  It was a good showing that was better than anyone would expect from someone you age, however, so I'll allow it this time."

I'm getting handed to Jolene and I'm so excited that I'm actually having to hold back from shaking and giving myself away.  Jolene grabs my handle and I let her have about double the range and clarity of my vision as the king.  I want to see through her eyes as well but she's closing them for the moment to enjoy my sight more.  That's fair since this isn't something she gets to experience these days like she did when she was younger.  She finally opens her eyes while holding me in front of her as she moves her other hand to take my sheath off.

"Leave that on for now.  I'll have to go back soon, so if you want to try using it in a spar..."

"Right."

Oh well.  She starts looking around at some of the guards who are here for practice as well.  I'm actually slightly disappointed that she hasn't looked at the king yet since I'm kind of curious how he looks these days.  A few people are volunteering to be her partner and I kind of wonder if she could take them all on while wielding me even with her subpar sword skills.  She's only pointing at one guy, though, so it's something I'll have to wait to find out about on some other occasion.

There's a light greeting and we start the fight.  I'm putting my all in adjusting anything that seems a little off as the fight goes on so I'm pretty sure she looks quite impressive at the moment.  This poor guard isn't even able to make a stand against her assault and is barely managing to ward her blows off enough for the match to not be called.  The few strikes he is able to make I help to parry away immediately and Jolene turns it straight into a counterattack.  The fight lasts maybe thirty seconds, not even a quarter of the time of the last fight, before the guy yields right as a rather heavy blow knocks his sword out of his hands and my sheathed blade, with a bit of my support, stops just shy of a strike to his skull.

Jolene turns around and heads back to the king while everyone, including the king, has a speechless look on their face.  I can actually see him now and I have to say that he looks slightly aged now.  I never really got to see him before so I can't do much of a comparison with how he looked any time prior but there are some gray hairs in among the black hair of his goatee, mustache, and short, swept back hair.  His eyes look a lit like Jolene's, or maybe it's the other way around, and I can barely see any muscle.  He does have a bit of a belly, though.  Looking at him now I'm kind of surprised his earlier sparring hadn't winded him as much as it looks like it should have.

Jolene finally releases my handle and holds me out by gripping the sheath for the king to take.  As the king silently reaches out to take me back I let just a tiny bit of pride fly in Jolene's direction.  As the king grabs my handle I can see the look of surprise in Jolene's face.  The king tilts his head a little as he looks back at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, umm.  Nothing, Father.  I just...thought of something...when you took the sword back.  That's all."

"Oh?  What revelation did you happen to come to?"

"That I would have been even better if I could have taken the sheath off?"

"Haha.  Well that does seem kind of obvious in some ways but after a showing like that and having used it in actual battle before, I guess I can somewhat understand."

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