The Boy and The Man, Offer R [ereader for textbooks .txt] 📗

Boy's right hand. He felt grateful to the goddess of fortune for having persuaded him to train the previous evening. It'd seemed useless at the time, but was no proving to be immensely valuable. His confidence and the crowd's enthusiasm were to thank as well. The duel set off with an upper right-hand strike delivered by the prince. The Boy staged a timely block, and the two swords clanked to the excitement of the buzzing audience.

'Good', thought The Boy. 'The prince has started gently.'

Two steps back, another block on the left side, and then came The Boy's turn to launch an offensive. He delivered a low left side swing first, then another from the opposite side. He relished being blocked, relished the vibration as the swords clanked together, relished his perfect coordination with the prince, and most of all he relished the fact that he still held the hilt firmly and was in full control of his sword.

In such a fashion a plausible and greatly entertaining make-believe duel played out at the center of the arena, and the people were ecstatic. The Boy thought of his parents in the stands and wished he could see them, but they were swallowed in the masses and didn't stand out from any of the thousands of avid spectators.

First the prince attacked, then The Boy. Left, right, up, down; a thrust, an extravagant parrying move; a grunt of frustration, a n exclamation of exhilaration. It was the perfect show, and the accord between the two recent strangers put that of the members of the King's guard to shame. Their delight of the occasion grew and the predetermined sequence was drawing to an end, which meant that glory and success were near. They'd performed it to the letter, but a boy's appetite is always difficult to satisfy once he's gotten a taste of something delicious. And so The Boy wasn't yet prepared to lay down his sword and admit defeat, as would soon be the move required of him according to the sequence.

'I'm matched against the prince', The Boy thought proudly.

'I'm matched against the finest young swordsman in town', the prince thought spiritedly.

"Let's continue", The Boy said to the prince between two clanks of their swords. There was no need to lower his voice, as they were at least twenty yards away from the nearest member of the audience, and there was no way he could be heard over the constant buzz.

"What? If you're joking then I appreciate the humor, and on this occasion I salute your performance", the prince replied, parrying a thrust and striking hard from above, knowing The Boy was good for a firm block. "Well done, my friend! Like I promised, you will have fallen in favor with the royal family after today, and will be rewarded handsomely for your loyalty."

"What is this humor you speak of?" The Boy corrected, the excitement of the performance prevailing over the temptation of the prince's promise. "Let's continue! We can use our signs to coordinate. I'm not ready to admit defeat just yet." The prince began to protest, but The Boy had already signaled that he was about to strike twice from the right side. The swords clanked twice, and then were locked in an X shape that couldn't be broken until one of the sides relented. After swords, eyes locked as well and each boy assessed his rival's condition. They were both exhausted and both had sore arms, but The Boy was doing a better job hiding it. He looked almost fresh, which infused the prince with concern.

"Please, boy", the prince mumbled entreatingly. "I'm terribly weary. I need my victory."

"You will have to take it yourself", The Boy responded defiantly. The prince thought that his rival was simply enjoying their duel and wished to prolong it before surrendering, so he declared 'right, left, thrust' and delivered three corresponding strikes. What he didn't know was that The Boy had had a sudden change of heart. He was so overwhelmed by the crowd's frenzy and by the thrill of the fight that he was no longer loyal to his prince and instead wanted to make victory his own. But he forgot that excessive enthusiasm causes boys, as well as grown men, to lose sight of reality. His practice and confidence enabled him to hold the sword comfortable and put on a fine charade, but he was in no position to defeat the prince.

The Boy's stroke of fortune was over for the day, and soon his sword was knocked out of his weak hand by a furious strike from the prince. Its clinking noise as it hit the ground was drowned by a deep 'oh' from the crowd. The prince pointed the edge of his sword at The Boy's chest, and the boy conceded his defeat with a bow. Believing that The Boy had finally decided to give way, the prince bowed back and mouthed 'thank you' as the audience burst into a flurry of applause. It was a grand finale to a glorious duel and a wonderful afternoon that even made the king stand on his feet and cheer. The gallant prince was crowned the finest young swordsman in the kingdom, and The Boy was cheered for his tenacity and the brave fight he'd put on. The visitors from the south were every bit as proud as the aristocrats in the audience, and the most excited person in the whole arena was The Boy's mother.

Chapter 6

 

There didn't exist better friends in the whole kingdom than The Boy and the prince. The prince was true to his promise to reward The Boy handsomely for his cooperation during the duel, and The Boy took full advantage of the opportunity. He enjoyed the prince's company, and even more so found great appeal in the goods and presents that were gifted to him every time he visited the palace. Most of all, however, he relished the newfound respect he was accorded thanks to his association with the prince. There were few in the kingdom who didn't recognize his face, and none of them were people of importance. Those who didn't regard him with awe whenever they were fortunate enough to cross paths with him were almost as few. And this wasn't limited only to youngsters, but even the distinguished men that his father worked for.

And what greater blessing can a poor boy ask for than such a sudden turn of fortune? The Boy didn't forget God, as he did many of his friends, and thanked him many times for his lot. And God rewarded The Boy's faithfulness with ever growing affinity from the royal family.

Boy and prince, both being single children, became as brothers to each other. At first The Boy would make the journey through the forest on a daily basis to meet his friend, but eventually he was assigned his own plush bedroom in the prince's quarters. His home became the palace, and he would occasionally visit his parents in the south, always bearing gifts of food or expensive decorations for the house. If his parents were saddened by their only son's absence they didn't show it, for they only wanted what was best for him. And boys are never as considerate as parents, and so The Boy's principal concern was also what was best for him. He had the life of a prince, though not quite since he was never fully accepted by the king and the queen as their own son. He was too poor and too ill-mannered for it.

There were only two things the brothers didn't share. One was the journey through the forest, which The Boy never even suggested the prince join him in, as it was too disgraceful for the prince of the kingdom to be seen south of the forest. The second was anything that had to do with swords. Their friendship and more importantly their honor relied on a lie known only to them, this lie being the duel that had first brought them together. They were wise enough to avoid the subject as one should avoid the edge of a sword, and so they never held swords in the same room. Of course The Boy had also his own secret to keep even from his best friend, and so he never dared to duel or even hold his sword in the presence of anyone else. When the prince offered to ask Mr. Musashi to train The Boy, our hero refused under the pretense that he liked to train alone. He wished he could really train and become a true swordsman, but he was too afraid that if anyone knew his secret he would lose his place in the palace and the prince's affection. So train alone he did, but with no proper guidance his progress was slight and slow.

But these two restrictions were not serious impediments to the brother's relationship or to The Boy's blossoming. He was educated by the kingdom's greatest minds along with the prince, learned the rules of etiquette, wore only a gentleman's clothes, and basically was able to get rid of his identity as a poor boy. He earned the king's respect in degrees, and eventually was considered a half-prince in the eyes of the people.

Things were truly boding well for The Boy as you can see, and there was more, much more, still to come. On his 16th birthday, after The Boy had grown taller than the prince and as robust as a fierce soldier, the king took advantage of the grand banquet thrown in The Boy's honor to make a dramatic declaration. The King was tall and imposing in physique, and had his royal cape and crown on, as tradition had him do in all formal events. But even without these everyone would silence at the sound of his voice.

"Hear, hear! As you all know, Captain Marcus, the head of my Guard, is due to retire within the space of one month from today. Lieutenant Vargas will be joining him, and the two will continue their loyal duty to me within the territory of the palace. I believe there to be no time more suitable than the present to declare the new heirs to these prestigious positions. Ladies and gentlemen, beginning thirty days from this very evening, the King's Guard will be commanded by my son, your prince, and his Lieutenant shall be the fine boy whose seventeenth year we celebrate today. Let's raise our glasses and fill them with fine wine for the health and courage of these two young men. To you, son! And to you, my dear boy!"

The clinking of glasses was followed by a lively round of applause and a single giant grin that started with the king at the head of the table and spread all the way to the queen at the other end. The King's Guard was a symbolic unit charged with safeguarding the king as well as maintaining order in the whole kingdom. Since the kingdom was at peace and on very friendly terms with its neighbors, there was no regular army and so the Guard was to safeguard the kingdom's borders as well. Rarely were the members of the Guard required to engage in battle or any violent affair, but it wasn't unheard of. It was customary for the king's elder son to be appointed Captainof the Guard when he came of age, but for a young man of only 17 as our prince this appointment was a token of the king's appreciation and high esteem. As for the position of Lieutenant, it was normally filled by a senior member of the Guard and so The Boy's appointment was truly sensational. Even more so considering the fact that he was the first member of the Guard ever to have come from the south of the woods.

The merriment of that unforgettable evening grew even stronger after the king's declaration, and none of the four score guests was gayer than the two brothers. They could now