"Hello there. I'm Prince Arrius of the North, and you might be?"
"Is there something I would want from you? Why are you approaching me when I'm relaxing?"
There is no way this kid is serious right now. Another royal is standing in front of him, trying to greet him, and he's blowing me off like I'm nothing. This must have been what his father was talking about regarding his other responsibilities, Arrius thought to himself.
"You would think you would stand up and greet the person speaking to you, or were you raised with no manners?" Arrius spoke with an annoyed tone.
"Listen, kid. Arrus, Arros, whatever your name is, I don't quite care. You're in my castle at the moment, and as far as I'm concerned, I don't have to answer to anyone who dares speak to me while I'm relaxing."
"You're stuck with me, whether you like it or not. And while I'm a guest in your kingdom, you do realize that most of the things I say here go unchallenged? Nothing can happen to me while I'm away. Remember, I'm the firstborn son of my kingdom, and you're the second." Arrius knew what he was saying was rude and outright uncalled for, but he didn't care. He wasn't going to let some kid he didn't even know disrespect him.
In a swift movement, Niles jumped up and stared at Arrius in the eyes. "You and I are going to the training grounds. I won't argue with you, but I'll prove I'm better than you," the Mardon prince said with a pissed look on his face.
"No need to say it twice. Just lead the way."
"Before you do this, my prince, please realize that this isn't the best start for your time here. I must warn you of this before you make your decision. You'll be living with him for quite some time; it's best not to get off on the wrong foot," Ser Ferick said with a concerned look in his eyes.
"I know, trust me. But what type of prince—no, what type of man would I be if I backed away from a fight? How could I truly call myself a man? Who's honorable enough to take my rightful seat as king one day?" Ser Ferick could see the determination in his eyes.
"You are too prideful, my young prince. Sometimes you must know when to place your bets. But I respect your decision, and that's why I'm allowing you to do this."
"Thank you, Ser. Truly, thank you." With that, the boys and the rest of the servants and knights headed down to the training ground, where some guards were already training, as well as other lords.
"What blade shall we be using for this fight? We can go real steel if you aren't too weak, Arros."
"It's Arrius. I'll make sure you remember it by the time we're done, and I'm fine with whatever blade we use. Your pick; it is your 'kingdom' after all, right, second son?" Arrius said with a condescending tone in his voice.
Prince Niles started walking over very fast to Arrius when a man stepped in between them.
"There shall be no real steel today, my princes. What would I explain to the king, as well as your mother, the queen in the North, if you both lost a limb or finger today? Instead, we shall use dull blades. They aren't sharp enough to cut, but they do hurt a lot more than a wooden sword," a tall, muscular man with dark brown short hair said, wearing the crest of a flower on his chest.
"Uncle, we are both men. I feel as if we should both be able to choose a real blade if we want to."
"Niles, when you are on my training ground, I make the rules. So pick dull blades or wooden swords."
While Niles and his uncle were still arguing, Arrius called Ferick over to ask him a question.
"Who is that man? The prince called him 'uncle.' Is that the king's brother?"
"That's actually Lord Antos of House Winmor. No, he is the queen's brother. He is the captain of the Rose Helms. They are the guards of the castle, and he is quite renowned for his sword fighting and has won many tournaments."
"Thank you. I was just curious is all. I wasn't introduced yet, but he seemed to know who I was already."
"Yes, he is informed on everyone and everything that goes on within the castle immediately."
With a nod, Arrius turned back to Niles and the commander, who had finished their quick scuffle. Antos was handing out the swords to the young princes.
Getting into their stances, they prepared for the other to attack. As they stood with blades up, Niles asked, "Arrvos, do you truly think you can beat me? I'm going to let you know this is going to hurt, and I'm going to show you why you're not going to speak to me that way next time."
Niles contuing to mess up Arrius name wasn't sitting right with him. "No matter the outcome of this fight, it'll never change—you'll always be the secondborn."
With no hesitation, Niles charged headfirst with some of the most speed Arrius had ever seen, giving barely any time for Arrius to react. He still had time to block the slash.
"That's all you got? I expected more from you," Arrius said, knowing damn well that was the fastest he'd seen someone move.
"You want more? Because I can give some more if you'd like?"
Slashing away Niles's sword, Arrius now went for a slash himself—not to Niles's chest, but at his legs. Moving as fast as possible, Niles was still able to deflect the slash, and a big clang of metal rang out all around.
Continuing the duel, Arrius and Niles went back and forth for what felt like hours, returning slash after slash without fail. Neither of the two young boys seemed to be giving up.
"Ser Ferick, is it? I'm Antos of House Winmor, commander of the Rose Helms. It's a pleasure to meet you; I've heard so much."
"The honor is all mine, my lord. I've heard amazing things about you as well."
"How does your prince fare with the sword, Ser?"
"Arrius and I have trained since he was young, starting from the age of four. He doesn't care much for it, though, but he is one of the most natural talents I have ever seen. He's almost as good as the legendary Marcus at that age, many have said. But for the most part, he ignores it. He's more focused on becoming a better man to one day rule the North; that's what matters to him, he says. I will say the prince has two other brothers who are almost as good as him but half the age, but I can't imagine they'll pass him anytime soon, if ever, if Arrius continues his craft."
"I see. So the Caines are quite blessed with their sons then. I'd say the same for my nephews, but truly, only one of them has cared for the sword, and I think you can see that's Niles. But truly, he's never had anyone who has been able to keep up with him for this long. It's quite impressive."
As the battle raged on, Arrius and Niles were both gassed; they sweated through their shirts, but neither had given up, nor would they soon.
"You can always yield, Northern. There is no shame in admitting someone is stronger than you."
"It won't and shall not happen. Trust me on that, second."
Slashing and swinging, the boys were parrying and blocking each attack. Finally, a swing over the top from Niles went for Arrius's side while Arrius came up from the floor, swinging the side of his sword toward Niles's jaw.
In a split second, both boys were on the floor, lying next to each other.
Spitting up blood, Niles said, "Not half bad, Arrbos."
"It's Arrius. Just Arrius."