The Doll walked towards the training grounds alongside Malina and Lila for the second time today, attempting to push the events from her class here earlier to the back of her mind for now. After Icar broke Richard's arm, Richard was sent to the healer while Icar was sent to the headmaster. What remained of class ended up being canceled, something that would typically annoy The Doll but she was not fond of swordplay, and Cecilia had vanished.
After class ended The Doll kept an eye out for Cecilia, but with Malina immediately latching back onto her, launching into a dedicated search wasn't possible. Taking advantage of the four hours she had before private lessons The Doll talked to Malina and Lila about keeping her inability to use magic a secret from everybody, even the king. A prospect that, to The Doll’s surprise, even Malina went along with, seemingly unbothered by lying to her own father. Though from what The Doll has gathered, Malina and the king seemed to have a strenuous relationship.
It wasn't as though Malina's relationship with her father was The Doll’s business.
The Doll also took this chance to fully inform the two of her meeting with The Strings last night and how it had gone. Malina and Lila didn't say anything further about her actions, but The Doll could see the worry in their eyes despite her promise to never do it again. The Doll told them about how The Strings had been silent ever since this meeting, telling them it was likely no longer necessary to engage in pointless small talk to keep it at bay.
Wanting to change the subject from her method of contacting The Strings The Doll told the two about the more important matter of the strings on her wrist. Malina still couldn't see them for reasons neither The Doll nor Lila could figure out. The Doll told them both about how the strings had lashed out against The Dolls will and attacked the headmaster. Lila seemed particularly intrigued by the strings after hearing this but not wanting her to get hurt The Doll stopped her from doing any form of investigations into it.
A tight pull from Malina on The Doll's hand ripped her from her thoughts. Paying attention to the world around her The Doll saw that the three of them had reached the dueling ground.
Malina pulled The Doll's hand up alongside hers for a long stretch as she yawned. With her tired voice Malina said, "We're here, Dollie.” Following this, Malina fell back onto Lila in mock exhaustion as if expecting Lila to catch her.
Rather than catching her, Lila looked up in shock and flinched away, causing Malina to fall atop her and subsequently pulling The Doll down alongside her. Lila let out a yelp of pain likely caused by crashing into the hard dirt of the dueling grounds and the combined force of Malina and Lila falling atop her. Fortunately for The Doll, Malina's slim body cushioned her fall as her vision was quickly obscured by darkness.
When The Doll landed on Malina's body, she felt that strange feeling pop up again and attempted to suppress it by pushing her head further into Malina's body. The Doll remained still for a while as she heard Malina ask, “Are you okay, Shyla?” Followed by Malina’s signature giggles.
In response, Lila said in a clearly panicked voice, "N—No, I'm fine, Lady Regius? I—I'm sorry I should have caught you; please forgive me.” The Doll felt shifting beneath her, presumably from Lila moving around to attempt sitting up.
The Doll felt the shifting stop as Malina put pressure down on Lila to stop her from moving. "It's fine, Shyla; I’ve told you not to apologize so much.” Malina said, completely dismissing Lila’s concern with another yawn.
Lila began to formulate a response, but the sounds of her attempts were interrupted by a much louder and more commanding voice: “I expect more professionalism from my students. Especially ones of such noble standing as yourselves.” Quickly looking up, The Doll saw Jilkan standing over the three of them with a look of clear disapproval. “I expected better from you, Ashencroft, but I'll have to make do.” The Doll felt a wave of shame wash over her from Jilkan’s words of disappointment.
The Doll opened her mouth to reply, but Jilkan put his hand up to stop her from speaking and said, “Just follow me; we have to go somewhere more private.” Jilkan turned around after saying this, clearly intending to waste no time with discussion.
Slowly The Doll stood up off of Malina, not letting go of her hand as she did so. Once on her feet The Doll pulled Malina's hand up to assist her in standing. When Malina got up, she fell onto The Doll, an action that she suspected was likely purposeful. It also caused that hot feeling to rise up once again.
Jilkans commanding voice caused this feeling to fade immediately as he said, “Hurry up, you three; you’re getting these lessons because you need them.” Quicker than she probably should have The Doll pushed Malina away from her and began walking towards Jilkan, attempting to drag Malina along with her.
The Doll didn't get far as Malina dug her feet into the ground, and she began to speak, “You’re a buz—" Not wanting Malina to finish whatever insult she was undoubtedly going to say The Doll made a big pull on her arm to pull her forward, interrupting her speech.
Malina stumbled forward slightly and looked up at The Doll evidently shocked. Seeing Malina’s shocked reaction caused The Doll to also feel shock rise up in her.
Had she just stopped Malina from speaking?
Physically interrupting the speech of somebody socially above her was such an improper action that The Doll should never do. Doing her best to not let this shock show on her face The Doll simply mouthed the word “please” to Malina. Considering The Doll’s silent word, Malina smirked before reluctantly walking alongside The Doll allowing her to follow Jilkan.
As the two walked, Lila quickly caught up to the two walking by their side. Still flustered, Lila asked Jilkan, “W-Where are we going, sir?” The Doll perked up at Lila’s question, also curious as to where they were going for these lessons.
Without looking back, Jilkan said, "Don't ask questions; just follow me. The three of you are on my personal time.” Lila flinched and turned her gaze downwards when Jilkan said this.
Malina's grip on The Dolls hand tightened, evidently angered by what Jilkan said. The Doll looked over to Malina and shook her head, but Malina just shrugged and leaned in closer to The Doll’s ear, whispering, "Relax, I won't do anything yet.” Reassured by Malina’s words for now The Doll turned towards Lila and put her hand on Lila’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort her silently. Lila looked up to The Doll gratefully as she made this action.
Looking beyond Jilkan The Doll could see that they were headed towards the main academy building, a relatively short walk from the training grounds. Not wanting to question Jilkan like Lila had, The Doll remained silent as the four walked into the academy. Taking an unfamiliar route, to The Doll they walked past the row of classrooms and turned down one of the side corridors on the first floor.
Eventually Jilkan stopped in front of a double door that implied entry to a rather large room with no windows peeking in from the hall. Jilkan’s sudden stop in front of the door caused The Doll and Lila to stop, followed shortly by Malina, who seemed to have not been paying much attention.
Jilkan didn't make any declaration after stopping; instead, he pushed open the door and walked in expecting the three to follow him without question. Seeing no other option The Doll walked in, leading Malina by the hand and followed by a hesitant Lila.
Immediately after stepping into the room The Doll examined her surroundings. To The Doll’s surprise, the room was almost completely empty, plain whiteness across every inch, similar to the healer's office. The only thing occupying the empty room other than the four of them were the windows that let in natural sunlight and a rack of weapons hanging on the wall, a mixture of both wooden and real.
Turning around to three of them, Jilkan said, “This is where I’ll be training the three of you and where you will go by the time all of our lessons start.” The Doll nodded as Jilkan spoke, committing the route the four had taken to her head for the future.
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Rolling her eyes, Malina scoffed and said, "It's a bit plain, isn't it?” The Doll tightened her grip at Malina's rudeness but wasn't shocked considering how she acted.
The Doll began to open her mouth to apologize for Malina’s behavior, but Jilkan spoke first, "It's one of Dreadwood's few unoccupied rooms. If you take a problem with it, you can leave; I don't need to train someone unwilling to learn. Again.” The Doll looked over to Malina after Jilkan said this, worried about what her response would be.
Letting go of The Doll's hand, Malina took a step forward and said, "It's a good thing I didn't intend to learn something as pointless as swordplay.” She then intensified her gaze on Jilkan and added on. "I'm just here to make sure you don't hurt Dollie or Shyla.” The Doll couldn't help but wonder why Malina would be worried about this considering how carefully Jilkan treated all of the students in class despite the intensity of the subject.
Jilkan didn't back down as Malina got closer, seemingly not intimidated by her in the slightest. “Okay, you can sit over there and watch while I teach students who aren't so childish.” As Jilkan said this, he raised his hand and pointed to a corner.
Malina took another step forward, clenching her fist before leaning back and yawning. “If you hurt them, I won't be in the corner for much longer.” Malina said, turning to walk to the corner. When she walked past, The Doll Malina smiled, causing The Doll to follow Malina's stride as she slumped against the wall, still clearly tired.
Seeing that Malina was now comfortably against the wall The Doll found herself staring at Malina for longer than necessary for reasons she didn't know. Distracting her from her staring, Jilkan clapped, bringing her attention back to him. “Watching you two both in training, I've noticed you struggle with conventional swordplay.” Jilkan said before maneuvering two real weapons held under his arms into his hands. "Fortunately, long swords are not the only form of sword I can teach.” After saying this, Jilkan held two weapons out, blades facing downwards, for The Doll and Lila to grab.
Walking towards the weapons The Doll looked at them confused by their design. Typical longswords from The Doll’s knowledge had a cross-guarded hilt with a blade that was wide and narrowed out towards the top. This weapon had a similar crossguard hilt but with the odd addition of a piece of metal mending around the top of the hilt to the bottom, obscuring Jilkan's hand slightly. The blade of this weapon was vastly different from a traditional longsword, being significantly narrower in size, leading to a much pointer tip of the blade.
Tentatively The Doll reached out to grab the blade, wrapping her hand around its hilt, prompting Jilkan to release his grip on it. Still confused by its design, The Doll stared at the odd blade in her hand while Jilkan spoke, “This is a rapier, a blade hailing in origin from the region of Sundelin; it never was used much outside the region, with the longsowrd being far more popular.” The Doll’s eyes widened in recognition at the name of Sundelin; it was one of the four regions of the realm known for its pleasant weather and plentiful flowers. The region was ruled over by a major noble family, the Blossomins Lineage.
Jilkan’s explanation only confused The Doll more unsure how she could have never heard about this blade. Even if it was unpopular, one of the few things Father made sure The Doll knew was everything he could teach her about major nobles. The Doll brought the sword up slightly, feeling its weight, and tentatively said, “I've never been to Sundelin, but I presume I would have at least heard about this before.” The Doll didn't like revealing her lack of knowledge on matters but figured this would be safe.
His face remaining impassive, Jilkan said, “That’s likely because the sword was never really used by nobility in the region; it was primarily a commoner's weapon meant to resemble a stick initially.” Malina scoffed when Jilkan said this, causing him to narrow his gaze at her for a moment before looking back to The Doll and Lila. “But the history of the weapon is far from important; you've come to learn how to use it, not the history about it.” The Doll was tempted to look at Malina and see her reaction but didn't dare look away from Jilkan when he was teaching them.
To her side The Doll heard Lila quietly mutter, “But I wanted to know the history.” The Doll wondered why Lila would want to know its history if it wasn't relevant to the lesson but paid her statement little mind, focusing on Jilkin.
Jilkan either didn't notice Lilas's statement, or he chose to pay it no mind like The Doll as he commanded, “Both of you take the stance you think is required for this sword.” The wording that Jilkan used confused The Doll but doing what Jilkan said, she brought the sword up in the stance Richard had taught her, pointing it upwards and holding the hilt with both hands.
As The Doll stood there, she found herself only growing further confused, unsure how this narrow blade was meant to clash against traditional swords. Looking over to Lila The Doll saw that she had a much less obscured look of confusion on her face. Deciding to voice both of their confusions The Doll asked, “How are we meant to use this thing?” Lila looked over to The Doll as she asked, seemingly grateful for the question.
Looking as though he were attempting to suppress a smile Jilkan said, "That's not the correct stance.” Feeling her confusion fade slightly The Doll allowed the sword to drop to her side and looked at Jilkan, awaiting further instruction. “The rapier is a sword meant primarily for thrusting using its superior range and thin size to exploit gaps in defense. Because of this, you should take a one-handed stance more like this.” Jilkan shifted his stance, bringing one leg forward and leaning down slightly as he brought one hand out that was meant to be the one that held the sword.
Watching Jilkan move, The Doll attempted to mimic his stance with the sword, finding the feeling of holding it with one hand awkward. Furthermore The Doll could already feel her arm beginning to ache from the feeling of holding out the sword with one hand.
Jilkan looked at The Doll and Lila with approving eyes and said, “Good, now remain in that stance.” Listening to what Jilkan said The Doll remained still, holding her exact position while she awaited further instruction.
However, as time passed by, no further instruction would come; instead, Jilkan stared at the two of them with his arms crossed. The Dolls arm continued to ache more and more the longer she held out the sword. To her side The Doll heard Lila, who was struggling seemingly more than The Doll asked, “H-How much longer will we be doing this, sir?” Following this question was the sound of metal clattering to The Doll clearly from Lila dropping the sword.
Jilkan narrowed his eyes at Lila’s question and said, "You're doing this until you can hold the sword for an entire hour, and this will be all the lessons until you can hold the sword for the entire hour.” Lila flinched when he said this but moved to grab the sword that had fallen before Jilkan spoke again, “But don't hurt yourself doing it; wait for your arm to recover and try again.” Jilkan didn't lace his voice with any form of warmness as he said this, showing that this wasn't an act of compassion.
Did Jilkan just say this was all the private lessons would be?
The Doll had to duel Darius in a month, and Jilkan was telling her that lessons would only be this until they could hold the sword for an hour. The Doll needed to learn how to use a sword; it was a matter of preserving the Ashencroft. If she didn't show she could fight, Darius's father would take her out of Dreadwood.
Before The Doll could think better of it, she said, “I need to learn how to use a sword, Jilkan. I only have thirty days before dueling Darius. I don't have the time to waste doing this pointless exercise.” The Dolls eyes widened, realizing what she had done, as she decided to quickly backtrack. “Respectfully, sir, I'm just worried.” The Doll said, feeling the need to show Jilkan respect; even if she disagreed with his methods, he was above her.
Jilkan walked over to The Doll his tall form towering over her as he stood directly in front of her blade the tip touching his clothes. In the back The Doll heard Malina stop leaning against the wall, ready to step in at a moment's notice. Paying the noise no mind Jilkan asked, “How do you intend to wield a sword you can't hold?” The Doll opened her mouth to answer Jilkan’s question, but he didn't allow it, instead asking another, “What happened when you duel Darius and your arm gets tired? Will you let your guard down? If you do that, somebody like Darius will strike without a second thought.” Jilkans gaze shifted after saying this, like he was looking at something other than The Doll. “Somebody who feels the need to fight to prove himself will do anything to do so.” Jilkan's gaze shifted back to The Doll after saying this, waiting for her response.
The Doll clenched her fists, intensifying her grip on the sword she held. The way Jilkan spoke, he acted as though The Doll had nothing to prove, like Darius was the one fighting with something on the line rather than her. The Doll's future was on the line.
The Doll’s perceived status as a major noble.
The Doll’s time at Dreadwood.
Father expectations for The Doll.
Everything it was all resting on The Doll on the fact that she could somehow fight Darius despite her incompetence. Yet Jilkan so confidently acted like Darius was the one who had to prove himself. The strings beneath The Doll's sleeve began to itch in increasing amounts as The Doll’s thought like they wanted her to roll up her sleeve and reveal them to Jilkan.
Jilkan was standing against The Doll’s sword; all it would take was one thrust and she could end his preconceived notions here.
No, what was The Doll thinking?
The Doll should never question somebody above her, much less strike at somebody above her. Jilkan was offering to help her solve a problem that was her fault even after the headmaster informed him she was a failure that couldn't use magic. Jilkan was the one in the right not The Doll’s thoughts she shouldn't question him.
Biting her tongue, The Doll simply nodded.
Yet despite The Doll's agreement with Jilkan.
The itching of the string beneath her sleeve only grew further.