The strange girl

Two weeks had passed since Gullit felt sick and everyday since then boy had trained his body to the absolute limit everyday.

Even asking a castle servant -Cynthia- to wake him up early everyday so he could catch more hours to train. It became easy to find him, in the courtyard doing cardio, muscle training or practicing his sword. If he wasn't doing any of that he would go to sir Brimgard and ask for advice when it came to his swordplay.

This routine happened so much that he became very popular very quickly within the castle.

Rumors spread of the morning chick who ran in the courtyard when everyone else was asleep.

It was on a day like that when Gullit was doing his usual twenty laps when he noticed someone staring at him in the shadow. She was sitting against the wall wearing a white dress with a loaf of bread and ham in her hand. Chomping on it as she stared blankly at the boy.

It was Sheila, she had brown hair and green eyes so unlike the boys she took all of Lord Folian's features. Icaran had brown hair but had striking blue eyes from his mother.

Renard had also green eyes but took his mothers blond hair.

Sheila was one year older than Gullit at fourteen, but she looked older. She was taller than him and her features as a woman already seemed developed with rounded breast and wide hips. She was a chubby girl but only to the point where her face was round in a cute fashion.

Gullit kept running, ignoring the girl no matter how awkward her eyes were on his back. He believed that at some moment she would leave.

And she did, to do whatever she had to do, then she came back. She always came back and sat in the same place where she always sat and stared at him like it didn't matter.

In the three weeks that Gullit stayed at the castle he never talked to the girl. He had no idea how to. She was almost excactly like a princess he heard about in the many stories he was told by his mom. That and the fact that he never talked to a female except his mom and aunt made the idea of introducing himself to the girl very scary.

As the days passed the staring didn't stop, it actually worsened. She now also came to watch him practice with the boys. He felt the unbearable pain of embarrassment as she watched him get chopped up by Icaran during their sparring sessions.

"Oooh have you seen how much Sheila has been watching our training lately?" Renard said with a teasing voice, "But of course I did brother, our sister has to see the strength of her future husband you know!"

Icaran followed up. Both of were poking Tim with their fingers.

Tim lowered his head, hiding that he was blushing, "Leave me alone." He said with his face as red as a tomato, he swatted the boys away like flies and tried to continue his training.

'That's right! Tim and Sheila are engaged.' Gullit thought as he looked at the girl. He knew that she was staring at him, a part of him was flattered but the another was afraid as to what could happen. He didn't want people to have the wrong idea.

It was the next day when when Gullit was halfway done with his laps that he saw Sheila sit at her usual spot. After an hour of building up the courage to speak to her he slowly approached her with wobbly feet.

She watched him blandly as he got closer, their eyes not meeting as Gullit's were darting all over the place. Then he stood face to face with her. They stood there for a minute before Sheila finished her piece of bread and said, "wut!?" In an uninterested tone.

Gullit said something but it came out squeaky. He had to repeat himself after Sheila lifted a curious eyebrow.

"Sheila… I know that you keep staring at me and." Gullit gulped, "I think that it will give people the wrong idea if they find out what you're doing."

Sheila raised her other eyebrow but not in a curious way but more in a 'he's actually saying this to me way.'

She sighed, "after all this time these are the first words speak to me, strange." Gullit blushed, feeling confronted by that awkward fact.

Sheila then stubbornly said, "No, I will continue my watch of you, please continue your training." She then waved her hand as if to blow him away back to his training.

Gullit stayed, "Sheila, you're engaged to Tim, people talk a lot."

"If they do I will simply tell them they're wrong," she said, taking another bite bread. Her teeth were unnaturally white. Gullit stood there flabbergasted, he actually had no idea how to respond to this girl, his plan of action had stopped right there.

Defeated, he dragged himself back to the courtyard. He started practicing his sword slashes as those were the assignments that Sir Brimgard had given him.

See, during his sparing sessions with Icarian sir Brimgard had kept a keen eye on Gullit. Later telling Gullit on what could focus on so he could improve his swordsmanship.

First few things were very obvious: the boy hadn't mastered the basics, and he was also very lightweight, so his defense was very weak which he also had to improve.

So there Gullit was in the middle of the courtyard. Downward, horizontal and diagonal strike over and over again until his arms were burning. Then he would retread, standing in defensive positions before he would attack again.

Infront of him he saw Icaran, how could he not? In the three weeks that Gullit had been there he had not once even touched Icaran with his blade.

The boy was too fast too touch and what followed after were a dozen painful strikes to his body in a split second. In no world did did he see himself beating Icaran.

"In no world will you beat Icaran fighting like that." Sheila said, she had a blank expression. That what she just said hurt Gullit's heart like it was a stab wound. He turned to her, slow, hiding tears behind the dams that were his eyelids.

"Why do you say that?" He asked. It was completely out of no where and kinda uncalled for.

Sheila her head was hanging in head hand,"Because, both of my brothers are freaks of nature."

"Of course I know that's why I'm training so hard." Gullit said in a hushed scream.

"No you don't know," she sighed, "Do you know what the tournament de lepee is?"

The tournament the lepee, of causes he knew what it was. Although he could never attend one of the fights due to distance and money. He understood that it was one of the most prestigious events concerning sword fighting.

It was made for men from ages fourteen to sixteen who wanted to show their talent to their lords.

The latest one was held just a few months ago.

"Yes of course, what of it?" Gullit asked.

"In the last tournament Renard came in first place and Icarian came in third." Sheila said, Gullit noticed a smirk of pride and in her eyes he could see that she didn't lie. There was a certainty in the way she spoke.

The image of Renard and Icaran became way scarier than it was before. He thought that the gap between them as swordsmen was way smaller. Thinking that they just had the privilege of a tutor longer than he had.

But they were real athletes.

"But I thought that you had to be at least fourteen to attend the lepee." Gullit said.

"Actually that's just a myth. Everyone can attend, it's just the fifteen year olds who make it past the masses most of the time."

Sheila said, she bore a sly smile as she said, "Renard will be seventeen next year so he won't be attending. And since Icaran is growing so fast I guess he will be the next reigning champion… oh well."

She shrugged.

"Then how will I beat them, sir Brimgard said that I have to practice the basics, but you said that will never work."

"I mean you can practice the basics, the basics are always important I guess. But like I said, one on one swords-fights are their bread and butter.

You won't beat them at their own game. The only way you can hope to stand a chance is to make their game, your game."