Knowing Yourself - A Medieval Romance

Chapter 11

Chapter 11  

Em shook her head. “If you keep that up you will wear a path in the carpet,” she chuckled, watching her sister. “I know it is raining out, but surely there is something you can find to do to distract yourself from whatever is eating at you.”

“A sparring practice is what I need,” ground out Kay in frustration. “Unfortunately, my partner seems a bit rounder than usual right now.”

Em patted her abdomen in satisfaction. “I am, and I am very happy to be so,” she agreed. “I can always spar in a few years, once I have begun the family properly.”

Kay turned and headed back down the length of the room again. “If only this cursed rain would let up. It was fine this morning … but look at it now!”

Em smiled fondly at her sister. “If only there were a practice sword in the keep somewhere, so you could work out your frustrations without leaving the building.”

Kay frowned. “The moment I headed into the guard area, one or both of the men would be after me to see what I was up to, and where would that leave me?”

Em shook her head. “I was thinking of a pair of wooden swords, in the basement.”

Kay looked up, her eyes brightening. “Do you think they are still down there?”

Her sister shrugged her shoulders. “There is only one way to find out …”

Kay did not wait for her to finish the thought. She made her way quickly to the door, almost skipping down the stairs, down to the pantry level. Reese was standing in the guard room, talking with Jevan, but she barely saw them as she passed through. She turned left before the workroom, moving to the sturdy wooden door.

With an effort she pushed the massive door open, reaching to the ledge on the right to pull the torch off its hook. She lit it on the storeroom’s main fire, and then returned to the cellar door and made her way down the musty stairs into the large room below. She went from torch to torch, creating a ring of light around the cluttered room.

The basement stretched perhaps the whole length and width of the main hall two floors above it, and the walls were lined with shelves and boxes of supplies. The central area was kept open and well swept. She and her sister had spent many wonderful hours down here playing together, sparring with each other, practicing while their parents held dinners and social gatherings above. It was their secret retreat, their hideaway from the world. And their swords were normally tucked …

Kay dug into the lowest shelf on the back wall, and her heart leapt in delight. The brown sack was still there, the familiar two shapes nestled within. She pulled them out and laid them on a nearby crate. The wooden swords were proportioned for their height, but were in all other ways identical to the practice swords used by the men upstairs. She traced her hands down the blades with a smile. One had a “K” carved into it, the other an “M”. The workmanship was exquisite, and she still remembered clearly when Leland had presented the swords to the sisters several years ago.

She picked up her sword, whirled it around her head for a moment, and a blanket of calm eased over her. This is what she needed. She moved from one guard to another, relishing the security of the sword in her hand, relaxing with the sure sequence of movements. A deflection for a high attack. A counter-cut when both swords were high. The turning thrust. She was safe, she was secure, she was in control. She went through her practice moves and she could feel the tension melting from her shoulders. A twisting leap …

Her foot landed on a loose ball of twine and she stumbled slightly, landing with her sword hard against the outer wall. The noise rang out in a strange, hollow fashion.