22 Visi

After the training session the princess went straight to her father's study room. She walked with large steps towards the royal wing still wearing her training gear.

It was the end of the afternoon, in the studies she found the king at his desk writing a document and to the side near a bookshelf the queen was reading one of the books. She was sitting very comfortable wearing one of her dresses, even reading she was elegantly positioned and with a majesty of her own.

The queen's appearance at that position was very similar to the princess herself, as an older version of her daughter just a few differences like wavier hair, anyone could easily see how they were related as mother and daughter.

The princess stormed inside the study room, but despite her hurry and eagerness the royalty elegance she always displayed never left her.

- "Father!" Spoke the princess to the surprise of the king and queen who immediately looked at her.

- "I request a master swordsman contract to be opened" Said the princess once she caught their attention.

The king widened his eyes and smiled to his daughter while the queen kept watching, very interested as if already guessing where the conversation would lead to.

- "I was under the impression you didn't want any more teachers" The king said looking at the queen, silently inquiring if she knew anything about that. It was not normal for the princess who was so self-dependent to request a teacher. But he thought that the recent events might have created the need for an improved sword education.

- "Well, in any case Bhalrom just asked the guards to search for candidates in the city, Kasius is also getting a new teacher as well, and perhaps whoever is chosen will be able to help you as well." Completed the king in a very happy mood.

The queen was suspicious and kept listening, watching her daughter's displeased reaction by that proposition, the queen was waiting eagerly for her daughter's reply.

- "I already have one chosen, he already agreed to help me. I'm just communicating so the preparations can be made" Answered the princess in a serious tone.

Doubt and concern filled the king's mind – "You already have one?"

The queen began to smile to herself as she had figured out what happened. But the king continued before she could say anything.

- "Who is this master? No one visited the castle… there is… only" The king's voice began to vanish as he realized who she was talking about. There was only one option.

- "You can't possibly mean that the boy is a master swordsman… I agree he is very good… but still, to be a master, that can't be right" Said the king in disbelief and concerned that the boy was becoming a topic too common on all his discussions. But before he could continue his speech the queen intervene in the conversation with a gesture, signaling him that she had an idea of what happened

The queen interjected

- "You lost…" spoke the queen realizing that the daughter's behavior could only be from the outcome of a fight, a second duel with the boy. The king looked surprised to his wife and then turned to the princess. Both the king and the queen watched Riou's duels with the princess and the prince. He was clearly good enough to win against her… but to call him a master would be too much of a stretch, that both of them agreed on.

The princess nodded calmly in agreement…

- "How did you lose?" Asked the queen… Knowing the princess' skill, the queen ranked her highly at the advanced grade, and at that level even a master could have a bit of trouble to win against her. The main difference between the two ranks was that the master had a better understanding of the techniques, speed and precision, so measuring the time it took the queen could roughly estimate the gap in the ability between the princess and the boy.

The princess went quiet for a moment, she averted the gaze from her mother looking to the sides and to the ground… clearly embarrassed.

- "When he was serious, I lost… instantly" said the princess between pauses.

Both parents didn't understand what she meant by that…

- "What do you mean?" asked the king

- "If it was a real fight, I'd be dead before I even knew what happened… that's why I want him as my teacher, I never saw anyone as good as him." said the princess with a serious face trying to convince them she was speaking the truth.

The king squinted his eyes… he knew his daughter was not the lying kind… but that was just too absurd.

Noticing he was about to deny Eileen's request… the queen interjected – "Elrik…" said the queen in a calm manner.

- "What's the problem? Let the girl practice with the boy… if she thinks she can get better training with him, let her."

- "Hanna, she is not asking for a practice partner… she is requesting a Master… someone that would stay on the castle to train her" Said the king very seriously - "But that boy is not one to sit around, you saw how he mentioned the incursion on the Deadwind trail, he wants to go there and this daughter of yours will want to follow him… that's what she is requesting and that boy has a talent to draw danger towards him" – said the king in an angered manner.

The queen smiled… - "So if she agrees to not follow him into dangerous situations you agree to her request? You agree as well Eileen?" – Said the queen putting the king in a position to accept the offer.

The girl promptly nodded.

The king sighed… he knew better than to argue with his wife - "For the elements… he is just a kid… we will be a joke if word of this gets out" Said the king, but when he looked at his resolved daughter and wife, he knew they wouldn't budge. But he would not let the name Strongheart become a reason for jokes.

- "I will not grant him the title of master… he will not hold an official seal for being your teacher, and for everyone else's concern he is just a servant of yours. He will be paid accordingly, and you will be allowed to train and follow him at will, only if no danger is involved, is that clear?"

The princess showed a displeased expression, she clearly did not like the proposition. For her, Riou was a master swordsman and should be acknowledged as such. But before saying anything she realized that the proposition was advantageous to her and to the boy, he'd get paid and she was allowed to train under him in secrecy, so she decided not to push it further.

- "Yes father" – Said the princess in her normal tone.

The king sighed once more… and looking at the queen he said – "You know what you are doing supporting this?" as the queen just smiled he moved to his desk and from a drawer he pulled a badge and a small pouch.

Walking towards Eileen he added – "Take this badge, it's the royal seal, it will identify you as an officer of the kingdom and give you authority in case of need. It will also cover any expenses you might have, show it to the merchants and they will understand" The king continued after handing over the crest – "Give this pouch to the boy as payment." The bag gave a metallic sound when it moved to the princess hands, it was full of coins. The badge was well detailed, carved in metal. A lion covered by the purple banner.

The princess nodded, her eyes glimmered with anxiety. The king saw that, despite all his anger he couldn't help but smile… as a father he wanted to see his child happy.

Eileen thanked both her parents and left the study room. The king and queen were left looking at each other.

- "Elrik, you knew from the beginning when Eileen chose the path of the north, before being a princess she is a warrior, you know she is entitled to her choices…" Said the queen in a calm manner.

- "I know… But what I don't understand is why you support her to pursue this boy… he is too young and we don't know anything about him, he is a commoner, Hanna" said the king starting to exalt himself once again

- "You know better than that Elrik, I know you do. And I'm just following Eileen`s wishes, or do you not trust your daughter's judgement?" asked the queen

The king went silent for a moment.

- "I don't know… I don't like where this is going… I admit the boy is… different… but to go to such extents to support Eileen and him…" Said the king worried.

The queen stood up and went to the direction of the king…

- "Elrik, if she was not from the north you would have had her married years ago to some old fool or one of their spoiled children, just because of your politics… she would have left the castle years ago and be miserable elsewhere… you know that she chose the North Rites to fight for her freedom because she couldn't stand that thought" Hanna said in a sad tone before continuing

- "I know that the boy is young… but she already recognized his strength I can see him growing on her… besides that even that old fool supports him, and that should count for something… you better than anyone should know how he hardly takes a liking to anyone."

The queen approached her husband even more, putting her hand over his shoulder and looking into his face – "Did you notice how different she is acting since that boy showed up?"

The king had to agree, it was a long time since the last time she was this happy.

- "She may not realize it, but that boy has a great effect on her already"

Hanna smiled to the king with a hint of concern in her eyes – "She is already 18 years old. How long do you want to wait for her to find someone? I'm afraid if we let this boy go now she will become a virgin priestess at the temple of elements."

The king couldn't help but wonder if that would not be a better outcome…

Outside the study room, in the corridors of the castle, Eileen wished to go straight to Riou's room to tell him the news… She was already walking towards the guest rooms wing when she noticed it was already dark outside, and she was still wearing the same clothes from this morning… she needed a bath, usually that would not stop her, but that time was different.

Stopping her feet, she turned around and returned to her room, "Tomorrow, early in the morning I will talk to him" she thought going back to her room.

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Riou woke up the next morning with plans to go to the city… Looking outside the window he saw some workers gathering stones and wood, "Could it be they are gathering material for the bath house already?" He dressed himself in his commoner clothes and decided to go there to investigate.

When Riou opened his door and stepped to go out, a surprise. Wide crystal blue eyes were the first thing he saw. Long shiny blond hair with white shades where light reflected, neatly tied into a ponytail with some bangs covering the side of her face leaving a beautiful style and following the flow of the face. An elegant figure, with well-rounded feminine attributes forming a very appealing hourglass body. She was wearing a set of pristine new training gear tightly fit to her body. A heavy white cloth type armor, ideal for movement and with well-placed leather protection on the shoulders, forearms, chest and thighs. The pants followed the color of the leather but were also made of the same heavy weaved cloth.

His eyes were wide open and for a moment he forgot to breath, paralyzed at the unexpected sight.

- "Where are you going?" Asked a clear feminine voice.

It took a moment for Riou to be able to answer.

- "Outside… they are gathering materials and I think it's for the bath house… I wanted to check it out" Answered the boy still recovering from the surprise.

- "Very well, I will accompany you as we have something to discuss." Said the princess calmly

Riou nodded in agreement and they began to walk towards the garden.

- "My father did not accept my request of a master, completely… " Said Eileen normally. – "It was under the condition that I do not involve myself in dangerous situations and that the master should be considered a servant of mine so others do not discover his status"

- "That's very unusual, why so much secrecy?" asked the curious boy

- "Because my father is afraid of what other lords would think if he accepted a 15 year old boy as a master swordsman…" Said the princess smiling waiting anxiously for the boy's reaction.

Riou stopped when he heard it… he looked directly to the princess…- "Yesterday… that talk about a master… you were already planning this… " he realized while looking at the seemingly unaware princess' face.

- "Eileen, you can't be serious… I've never been a teacher before… I don't even know if I can teach you anything…" He said trying to get out of the situation.

Eileen smiled softly and replied – "I meant it when I said you were the best I have seen using the sword… and I'm sure if we train I will be able to get stronger." She began to walk again, and so did Riou, they still were going outside to see about the bath house. – "I'm sorry I didn't get you a title or an official teacher position, also you would be considered a servant as well… which reminds me…" She stopped for a moment getting the pouch and the royal crest to show the boy. – "This is the royal crest my father gave me, it recognizes me as an official of the royal family… And for you, this." She gave the boy the pouch with the money – "This is your payment for the time being."

Riou took the money bag, it was heavy, and he estimated that hundreds of coins should be inside the small pouch. "Luckily Max showed me how to handle these coins… and by the quantity inside, this is a small fortune… they aren't petty with the teachers…" thought Riou.

He sighed, putting the bag away strapping it to his belt… - "Very well… if this is what you really want… just don't get your hope up too high, as I already said, I never taught anyone before…" He said trying to excuse his lack of ability in the matter. But the princess was not worried.

They continued walking towards the garden.

- "Say Eileen, how does this teaching stuff usually work?" – Asked the boy as they were reaching the garden.

- "Usually for the lords, a master is called to the castle and remains there training the student for a few years… on special cases the student accompanies the master on his travels." Answered the princess.

Riou getting preoccupied quickly replied – "But Eileen, I can't stay on the castle that long… I have… things to do…" said the boy not informing exactly what his plans were.

Eileen shook her head – "And that's why I told you about the special cases… we will train as long as it is) possible, all you have to do is agree with the conditions of course."

Riou pondered for a moment - "I don't see a problem with the conditions but…" Before he could finish Eileen already interjected – "It's settled then…" and quickly went in the direction of the stones. They approached the group of men handling the stones in the yard.

Riou quickly understood that nothing would change her mind… "She knows the risks…" he thought to himself finally agreeing to the proposition.

A robust man with a red hair and beard approached the princess and the boy, he was as tall as Viktor and was using a uniform with shades of brown and blue, seemed to be made of the most sturdy cloth. He reminded Riou of construction site employees.

- "You must be Riou… I'm Templeton, an earth mage specialist and I was put in charge of this construction. Bhalrom mentioned you, you are the lad that requested a fancy bath house… I must admit that's not a usual request in these parts" He said looking at the boy with a big smile on his face.

When Riou heard the words earth mage specialist he thought to himself "So they use magic to help with construction… that's how they were able to construct such a great castle with so little technology."

- "So… he told me you will give the specifications… how do you want this bath house of yours?" added the red bearded man.

Riou was impressed, a day later and preparations were already on the way. "They are fast… perhaps it was because the prince's life was on the line."

Riou looked at the ground and remembered that there was water deep below the rocks… he would just need a way to pump it up and heat it enough to create a pleasant bath.

- "Well… what about a square shaped hole here covered with rocks to hold the water, with flat walls to lean in and a step in the middle of the wall, so a person can sit on it and the water can reach the chest" said the boy showing the water level on his chest.

- "Make it big so more people can use it at the same time…also we need a wooden floor with some small holes – so the water poured on top of it can run off. Make a side room for changing clothes… also outside we need a metal storage to heat the water …" Riou stopped when he looked at Templeton, he seemed to be unable to follow his ideas…

Eileen listened to the boy with attention, she noticed that he had no trouble to come up with his ideas, as if the things he talked about were very common from where he came from.

- "Do you have something to write on?" asked the boy… the robust man nodded and went to get something on top of the rocks… it was a big parchment with a wooden pen and ink.

Riou grabbed it and began to design it to the best of his ability. He designed the changing rooms, the walls and the bath area. He drew a place for the people to wash out the dirt before going in the water and on the outside he developed a pump and heat mechanism. For the pump all they needed was to find water deep below and set up a pipe to it. The heat mechanism looked like an old oven made of metal and stones to be fueled by wood, it had copper tubes connected to it to heat some of the water before it was sent to the bath. It was instanced in a way that one could control the head by the amount of cold and heated water it was released inside, a really clever contraption that allowed a lot of water to be heated simultaneously and constantly delivered, so it would be usable in the summer and winter.

Templeton was amazed looking at the boys design… the Princess also looked with interest, she never saw anything like that before. And what really caught their attention was that he designed it in such speed that he looked like an old man showing his years of experience in his profession.

- "Is this enough?" Said the boy showing a very detailed design.

Templeton scratched his beard… - "The worst part will be the metal working… it will take a while to craft, but the rest can be completed without delay"

Riou nodded – "I was already going to see a blacksmith, I will ask if he can help us with those items as well" Templeton nodded in agreement.

He turned towards Eileen – "I will go fetch new weapons and order all the bath house metalworking needs. After that our training can begin" – said the boy informing the princess he would be going to the city.

The princess nodded – "Let's go then." She said demonstrating her intention to go as well. He just shrugged, acknowledging – "Suit yourself" And both of them went towards the castle`s entrance.

The guards there at the sight of the princess approaching were taken aback, they didn't receive notice that she would be leaving the castle and an escort was not ready.

They approached to inquire the princess' needs but anticipating their actions she brought up the royal crest. At the very moment they saw it, all of them gave passage immediately, respectfully holding their weapons. Riou just watched amazed with the response the guards had.

Riou opened the door of the carriage for the princess… She entered and he quickly followed.

- "To the city my good man!" he said in a loud tone for the coachman

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The city was full of people going about their business as usual, it was peak hour in the morning and noon quickly approaching. Riou and Eileen made their way towards the market district without much trouble. "Good. Nobody seems to have recognized her as the princess, and the few that had the guts to look directly at her, did so just because of her looks" thought the boy as he watched men and women glancing at her with desire and jealousy.

The princess walked normally with her elegant posture, it was the first time in her life she walked without a proper escort in the streets, and despite her cold and closed expression Riou knew she was happily enjoying it by the way she sneakily glanced at the street stores and people`s interactions.

Arriving at the market district they found a commotion in front of the blacksmith where the swords were being made. Making their way through the crowd they could hear their comments

– "Do you believe it?" said a man talking to another one near them – "Do you believe they have created living metal swords in there?"

The other man answered – "Yes! I saw it yesterday when they were testing… the sword bent against a shield… not only did it not break but it bent back to normal shape!" the man spoke excitedly amidst the commotion.

With difficulty they approached the blacksmith's shop entrance, they saw the same old big man Riou taught about how to produce the swords, testing a blade against another one positioned in a wooden bench, the sword was tied horizontally with its edges sideways so the impact would be on the flat part.

The blacksmith pulled his sword up and quickly swang it down towards the sword below, cutting it in half in a single strike to the amazement of the crowd who cheered in chorus.

The blacksmith after the demonstration, showed the sword to the crowd, demonstrating that not even a dent was formed on the blade. "That's a clever way to advertise his products…" thought the boy watching the scene.

Did not take long for the blacksmith to see Riou in the crowd. He quickly waved to the boy and gestured for him to approach. – "Master! Please come in!" Said the blacksmith to the boy's, and everyone else's, surprise. As Riou walked embarrassed in front of the crowd followed by Eileen, and as they entered the shop the blacksmith announced

- "For today the presentation is over! Spread the word and come by tomorrow to see more!" – Closing the door shortly afterwards.

Inside the shop it was a mess… much different than before, Riou noticed failed sword attempts of all sizes and shapes laying around all over the place, all workers there seemed to be working around the clock for the past week.

- "I see you have been busy…" Said Riou looking around.

- "Yes master, we followed your recipe in every detail and even tried to apply some of it to normal metal… and as you said, it did took a while for us to grasp how to work the metal!" Said the courteous blacksmith.

Eileen curiosity was sparked once again hearing that the boy gave instructions for the crafting, her ears turned towards them to listen to their conversation very carefully. "A head blacksmith to call someone master inside his own shop… that's very unusual to the proud blacksmith profession." Thought the princess.

- Riou was not convinced by the change in attitude of the old blacksmith, "He is up to something…" thought the boy suspiciously. - "Were you able to complete all my requests?" He added

The blacksmith smiled proudly and quickly went towards the end of the store to take a wrapped cloth. He brought it and laid it down on a table with all the care in the world.

- "these are my masterpieces" Said the old man unwrapping the cloth.

Inside they could see many swords in their sheaths, the first the blacksmith took was a rapier like sword. He removed it from the protection of the sheath to show a long elegant blade. Thick enough to propitiate a good cutting ability and a thin edge for phenomenal thrusting and piercing. The guard had metal strings detailed as leafs, small roses and thorns, covering beautifully and delicately the handle and offering great protection to the hand. The metal had a soft blue metallic color on the blade and a darker blue shade in the guard, the handle had also a dark blue color on the leather strips which combined perfectly balancing the blue shades used.

- "Those are well crafted details old man, remarkable work" Said the boy pointing at the designs

- "Yes, while in the making, the metal took a form of its own, as if it was alive, I just followed its wishes." Said the blacksmith in an almost solemn tone.

Eileen eyes could not turn away from that rapier… as an adept of the style she couldn't believe in the sword that was in front of her, just by looking at it she could tell that it was far superior than anything she had seen so far.

The blacksmith put it back in its sheath and handed the sword to Riou to take a look. He fetched the next one right away.

It was a longsword with a well detailed cross guard, the metal outlining the guard shined bright in comparison to the dark metal color of the center, the outline seemed as if chromed when compared to it. The pommel had the same dark metallic color as the guard. The handle had a brown shade, and it was made of (in) leather strips neatly placed seamlessly with perfect skill. The blade was long and wide proportionally through the entire length, only thinning up near the end of the blade, Riou could tell it had extremely sharp edges and great cutting power. Near the guard the blade was reinforced and had an extra thickness for almost a palm from the guard into the blade, which gave an extra weight to it and a great balance.

- "This blade can cut through anything…" Said the proud blacksmith putting the sword on the table and taking the next one.

Two single edged short swords came up, they both had an arm's length, slightly curved from the middle to the top but not enough to appear as a curved sword, resembling a fang shape. And it was done so meticulously that the point and the handle were aligned. It had good piercing and cutting ability to it with lots of maneuverability. It did not have a proper guard as the long sword, but in its place was a round metal, wide enough to barely protect the first finger from an incoming strike. The metal was bright and the handle was a light shade of gray.

- "The twin fangs you asked for" Said the blacksmith putting it down on the table next to the other sword and reaching for the next one… strangely another one was left, that Riou didn't recall asking for…

The next was no sword, but a dagger, it was small if compared with a sword, almost the size of a forearm its blade was black with a gray metallic shade on the very edge, it was wider near the handle and thinner near the top edge, perfect for piercing attacks, but differently than the two edged swords, this dagger was single edged, designed for cutting power and for piercing thick objects, its point seemed to be extremely sturdy and resistant. The handle was a cross guard similar to the sword but much smaller, it had a metallic gray color similar to the cutting edge and the handle was completely black as the blade.

Lastly the blacksmith pulled out another long sword, very similar to the other one in color and shape. It just was not as heavy since it did not have the reinforced frame.

- "Master, you taught a unique technique to this old blacksmith that greatly increased my wares` value, that by itself is payment enough… but if you don't mind my greedy request I'd like to keep the rest of the living metal ingots you and the magus brought… for that reason I made this extra blade for you to try to balance the scale… I know it's a lot to ask but I'd gladly take that metal in exchange for all this work." Said the blacksmith.

"That's the catch…. The old man wants the metal to resale at a high price as living metal… that's why he was advertising it to the crowd…"

Eileen eyes slightly opened… "He taught the blacksmith a unique technique?" She thought to herself as the mysteries around the boy only grew larger.

- "Well… you know these are the magus property… but I think we can make a deal if you make one more thing for me…" He completed smiling to the blacksmith who got curious by the proposition. Riou handed the rapier to the Princess– "Hold this Eileen, you will be carrying it until we reach the castle"

- "I need a stove with copper tubes attached to it… and some contraptions to work with water" He said before explaining with more detail his needs, he quickly aimed at a piece of parchment from one of the tables, grabbing it with a piece of coal from the fuel of the forge, he used it to design as he did earlier that day.

- "I need this as soon as possible to be delivered to the castle, you can also charge all expenses to the castle as well. Can you do it?"

The old blacksmith looked at the design with interest – "Seems easy enough!" He said nodding in agreement. – "Make good use of the last ingots you have." Said the boy proceeding to take the swords from the table, also he handed the extra steel sword that was made over to Eileen, the rapier was good, but sometimes you needed the extra cutting power.

He noticed that the princess was already wearing the Rapier attached to her belt on the left side, to which she seemed extremely attached already, as he noticed that her hand constantly rested on the sword. Receiving the one sword she quickly strapped it to her right side to carry them both with ease.

Riou picked up the dagger and strapped it to his back, in a horizontal position right on the level of his belt, the handle was quickly accessible to his right hand. The twin blades were strapped to his right back side, one blade on top of the other looking like a single blade. The sword was attached to his belt on the left side… Fully armed they left the blacksmith.

As they stepped outside, it was almost lunch time… after a few steps outside the blacksmith shop Riou heard a very loud growling noise coming from the princess stomach… he looked at her in surprise by the loud sound, she dismissively tried to remain cool, pretending that nothing had happened… with her elegant posture and unchanged expression another growl came out causing her cheeks to blush out of embarrassment as there was no way to deny it this time. But despite all that and aside from the blushing, her facial expression hardly showed her embarrassment. Smirking, Riou said to the princess– "I know a good place nearby with excellent food… are you hungry by any chance?" said the boy in a teasing manner.

The princess nonchalantly nodded to the proposition trying to keep up her pose… she was clearly starving but her etiquette did not allow her to show such inelegant behavior.