On the second week of training, Sir Karyk leveled up his program for Red. They still started their training early at dawn, with two to three rounds of each drill, then by mid-day, they shifted to freestyle sparring.
"Attack me, Princess." Sir Karyk instructed Red. He kept his hands by his side, and sword on its sheath. In other words, he was unarmed, yet he told Red to surge forward and to apply all the earlier lessons she had learned thus far.
Red obliged willingly. "Hayyahh!" That was her battle cry. In all seriousness, she jabbed with her wooden sword, stepped forward, swung left, then right.
She ran and attacked, ran and attacked, but Sir Karyk just dodged her advances with sidesteps – a minimum effort on his part. All of her advances left her panting hard while Sir Karyk was as still and cool as a rock.
"How do you do that?" In between pants, she wheezed the words out. "Am I really too predictable?"
"Yes, and you're too slow." Sir Karyk leaned his back on a huge tree not far from the center of the clearing where they were practicing. It looked so much like an oak tree. "In this level, Princess, your goal is to hit me just once. Anywhere on my body."
Days and days swept by but her progress was slim next to none. She's getting dispirited. Every night, her girls pampered her with aromatherapy and massages every after her strenuous training. It helped in calming her nerves, but it did not do anything to lift her broken spirit up.
While Sir Karyk was left untouched, she, on the other hand, suffered from sore muscles all over. Red always gave her best swing, best jab, best speed every time she attacked Sir Karyk. Still, it was so apparent that her best was lacking.
One night, on the fourth day of the second week of training, she sauntered towards a nearby brook which ran along the south side of Aempleforth, from Martslock town – the farthest town in the east – to the western side of the kingdom where the palace resided.
No one was there when she arrived. 'Perfect timing.'
She told the girls not to let anyone go there since she wanted to dip herself in the freshwaters. They warned her to be careful, but they concurred nonetheless.
The truth was, she wasn't planning to take a dip in the waters. She just wanted a most-deserved alone time.
She sat along the soft banks. Her only company was the ginormous moon in full which shone above her like an eternal source of courage and hope. Red felt warmth from the moon's elegant silver light.
She curled and hugged her legs. Red was still wearing her combat attire from the day's training.
Heart weary and heavy with distress, she wept alone under the silver blanket of the moonlight. 'I'm so tired. My muscles have not even recovered from the past days' challenges yet I need to carry on like my body is not enduring any soreness or ache. I always give out my best, but my best isn't getting me anywhere. Am I too weak? When will I learn magic?'
'I went here to meet my father, but it has been what, two weeks since I left and still no signs of my father. Is this a joke?'
She bawled her eyes out and wailed like an infant. She bet that her lungs had gotten an exercise of a lifetime.
"You're red." She heard a voice of a boy but did not see anyone.
"Yes, I am. You are? Show yourself." She wiped her tears on her face with the back of her left hand while her right hand swung her wooden sword and slowly rotated in place, closely searching for the source of the voice.
With a thud, and leaves floating all around him, a lad of around eighteen landed from one of the nearby trees' branches.
"You're all red." He repeated, his index finger pointing on his own face, indicating that he was pertaining to her tear-stricken face.
"Oh. Pffftt… Hahaha." After crying too hard, Red burst into a fit of boisterous laughter. The lad must have thought her crazy.
"What's so funny? How can you laugh when you were just crying moments ago?" The lad probed, a funny, quizzical expression on his face. Red would admit that the boy had some striking features on him. He, too, had a wooden sword attached to his waistband. His hair was silky straight black, and his eyes were of grayish shade. His face looked gentle. He looked kind. Like that of a shepherd in fables.
But Red felt like she had already seen him somewhere.
"I thought you know my name." Red retorted after her fit of laughter had subsided. "That's also my name. Red. You are?" She added. The lad was tall. His height must have exceeded six feet.
"My name is Bynarr." They shook hands. He added, "Are you training to become a squire? I am too."
"By the way, have we met before?" Red could not take her curiosity so she shot the question while ignoring his query on the side.
"Hmmm, I am not so sure. I'm pretty popular everywhere. Hahahaha! Just kidding!" His laugh thundered through the silence of the night.
"Hahaha! Your humor is something else." Red rode on while scratching her temple. Then it hit her. "Aha! You're the boy who stole the apples!" She pointed at him as well, and for a moment there, she felt like the most accomplished detective.
"Uhh, it might be me. I didn't eat all the apples, though. I shared it with everyone." He confessed, scratching the back of his head.
"We paid for it," Red informed him curtly.
"Pardon?"
"Our group paid for it. Why did you steal it?"
He rubbed his face with his right palm. "The apple trees grew on land which was not owned by anyone. It is considered stealing? There's a poor family down the road. The children of that household were hungry but the parents weren't home yet. I knew the place where the apple trees thrive so well so I went there and picked some fruits. It should be for everyone. Those adults sometimes get greedy – they want to own everything that has value!"
Red fell silent for a while as she digested his explanation. She might be a bit naïve and childlike, but she's not gullible. Somehow, she could trust her gutfeel in identifying if people were lying to her. Still, she asked, "Are you telling the truth?"
"Of course! You can call me a thief, then, by your standards, but I'm not a liar!" The lad passionately defended himself.
"Okay, okay!"
"Well, we paid for the apples, and since it's for a good cause, then let's put it behind us. Do you want to be friends? I'm new here. I don't have friends yet."
"Sure." He clicked his tongue and sent a wink in her direction. "Do you need a sparring partner as well?" He pointed at her wooden sword.
"Yes!"
"Alright! Then you earned yourself a friend and a sparring partner!"
"Hahaha! Cool!" Red gave him a thumbs up.
"By the way, may I ask," Bynarr's tone turned serious. "Why are you crying? What's the problem?"
"Oh, that? Sorry, you saw me in such a state. Things are just too heavy to carry sometimes. But it will be alright eventually. I just got tired in the middle of the journey."
"Woohh, heavy stuff, huh. If you need a friend, just call me. You're not alone anymore." He stretched his thin lips into a reassuring warm smile. His tone, soft, trying to pacify a weary soul.
Red's cheeks felt quite warm hearing his emotionally touching remarks. She bet it turned pinkish too. 'I'm not alone anymore. I have gained a friend in this world. Cool.'