Cursed mage

Hydrangea and Jessica find us researching things. I had a bunch of magic texts, but could not find any real answers to my issues. I don't know why I keep looking. Ryan focused on monsters. "Hey. Time for lesson one." Hydrangea waits for the three of us to be behind her. Then we're walking to the courtyard again. I wonder which skill we'll work on first. Won't be battle a Sworenyx. Still don't have any real answers as to how.

I hate the idea I'm stuck as bait.

Jessica grabs my arm and denies me following the other two. "Hey... Um..." She's quiet.

"What's wrong?" I glance back. Hydrangea should be easy enough to find. She won't be far.

"The eagle wings..." She points at my pin. "The king's final exam... The..." She exhales and straightens herself. Her voice doesn't increase in volume though. She's still very quiet. "Are you the crown prince?"

I blink. It was supposed to be forever before anyone knew what the pin meant. I grunt and cross my arms. "How'd you find out?" I glare at her.

"I received a congratulatory letter from my family. It said the crown prince enrolled on the same day as me. But... We were the nobles." She motions to our group.

I look to where Hydrangea went. "We should go." I pause before walking off. "Tell no one. I'm just Thomas, remember."

"I can guess why you were so insistent on that now." Jessica walks faster than me. She knows the truth. Who I am. Who I'm related to. What it means for me to be here.

Letting that go is near impossible, but I squash it to be as small as I can manage so I can focus on our lesson.

Hydrangea glowers at me when I finally see the sun. "If I say lesson, you do not spend time chatting."

"Sorry, Your Knightship." I bow my head.

Hydrangea motions to a table where a bunch of scabbards are. "Pick yours. Until you earn a specifically created one, you get a copy."

I grab one at random. They look all the same. Jessica still take a moment to pick. Ryan does like I do. Whatever one is closest.

Once we are back in line with our new weapon, Hydrangea pulls her from her scabbard. She clearly has a specially made one. Even if they were 'measuring' us for a proper sword, it wouldn't be ready for quite some time. This will be ours until we prove we deserve better. "For now, I want you to swing the sword in each of the eight strikes at least one hundred times. The more, the better. You can attempt asking for the next lesson on swords once you reached the minimums."

"What's the next lesson?" Jessica asks already starting. I do the same, but I won't question.

"Slicing with a dull blade. After a hundred strikes, there is a chance you can cut paper with your dull weapon. Once you succeed with that, you'll be taught how to sharpen your blade. It will be rare to truly rely on yourself for sharpening, but circumstances can lead to you needing the knowledge. The first sharpening of you weapon will be made by you."

I think of that. This sword was never fully sharpened then. It was made to be dull. "The swordsmith who makes these swords probably look forward to teaching us how to care for it."

"Yes. Do not waste time with the strikes. You will have another lesson after lunch is handled. Someone will always be watching you." She motions to the various zones where a knight is about. Those here are probably marked to teaching. "No one starts with a brawl. We'll get there soon."

"Sparring not brawl." Jessica says.

"That too." Hydrangea offers us a smile before walking off. Maybe to get paper.

"How many strikes will we manage before not having the strength?" Ryan huffs out. "Vicious. I won't manage a hundred of each type of strike today."

"Take breaks. I'm going to go for a water bottle when I need to. Break a touch before you think you're done. That way you can return to it after five minutes. If you push pass your boundaries, returning will take longer."

"Aye, aye." Ryan continues his swings.

"Do you know all eight strikes?" Jessica asks. Hydrangea showed us all eight. Given they follow the directions, I would be hard pressed not to be able to repeat. "You can ask if you forget. I've done this before."

"Not with this sword."

"No. I'm learning this sword. I probably don't need more than a hundred strikes. May not even need that many. I would suggest at least three hundred for both of you."

"Or a hundred in a row." I say. I'm aware of what the knights can do.

"In a row?" Ryan stops his strike to look at me. I nod while continuing. Ryan sighs and goes back to task. "That sounds... Like what is expected out of a knight."

"Yup." Jessica is aware. Her family are knights.

Swinging a sword in the exact same direction for so many times... My muscles scream at me. This is only step one, too. I remind myself that swords are easier than my cursed magic. Everything is easier than my cursed magic. I stop at fifty. "That's a lot." And only in one direction. I need to build muscle on long with everything else. I look at Ryan. He has already been breaking. Jessica is still at it. I would assume she'll break between different swing types.

Eight hundred swings before going on to the next lesson with swords. Slicing a piece of paper with a dull blade sounds absurd. It's only the beginning lesson! As Jessica said even a dull blade and slice things. She should manage the next step easily enough. I won't.

I tuck my sword away and head for the kitchens. I should've thought water bottle before.

"Grab me one too!" Jessica calls out.

"You'll owe me then." I can grab water for both of them.