Sweating under the winter sun, I took my helmet off, closed my eyes and enjoyed the cool wind against my face.

  “Better. Today was better. But you’re still favoring your right side.” Metal clanked as the big man pulled his helmet off. He took a deep breath, looking at the clouds above. Among the few times I’d seen him content.

  We were wearing training armor. Entirely unlike the armor I’d worn for my coronation, this was not polished and wasn’t remotely sexualized. No breasts, it sported a rotund stomach. We both looked like tiny gorillas with our big bellies. Well, Morry looked more gorilla than me, being so large. And, you know, manly. The bulge, though unattractive, directed attacks away from the vital organs. Function over fashion.

  “Favoring? Like, leaning toward?”

  “Most of your attacks come from your left. You’re using a heavy backhand swing. It leaves your heart vulnerable.”

  “But sometimes you have to strike from that side.”

  “Yes, Princess, sometimes you do.”

  “Alright, alright. I’ll try to temper that.”

  “Don’t be afraid to step past your opponent. You want to choose the engagement. Force the battle on your terms, make them attack or defend to your advantage.”

  “And I do this by stepping past them?”

  “Or into them, yes.”

  “But when I step toward you, you attack.” And he was big and scary, and fudging massive, and I didn’t think I could take that attack. No. I knew I couldn’t.

  “Yes. If you choose when I attack, you have the advantage.”

  “Ok.”

  “It’s going to take practice. Lots and lots of practice.”

  “Who knew sword fighting was this difficult?”

  “Everyone. Everyone knows that, Princess.”

  “Everyone but me.”

  “Spears. I remember telling you that you should train in spears, mainly.”

  “It’s easier to learn how to fight with a spear?”

  “No.”

  “Morry!”

  “It is easier to fight against a swordsman with a spear, though.”

  “Yeah, ok. I’ll do both then. I do have that spear kicking around here somewhere.”

  “It might be about time for you to get a heftier spear. And sword. Are you thinking of having these resized?”

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  I sighed. Yes, second puberty. 3/10, definitely do not recommend. In fact, I’d probably have avoided the first one if I could have. Born straight into adulthood! Maybe I’d understand what to do about these silly power games with the earls and foreign nations, then. Because, as everyone knows, once you reach adulthood, you’re instantly mature.

  “I guess I have to. The armorer can no longer resize my chain. The perseidian one, I mean. So, I’ll give it to the weaponsmith to reforge my sword and spear.” I sighed.

  “It’s good that you’re growing taller and stronger. What’s bothering you?”

  “All kinds of things!”

  “Oh?”

  “Like, wider hips and larger brea-, anyways, it’s annoying. And doesn’t fit my timeline. We have to leave in the spring, so how can they know how big to make the sword? The armor?”

  The big man’s scarred face had a bit of a grin as his eyes traveled up and down my figure. They rested just a little too long on my hips and chest. “You still have a ways to go, I think.”

  “Morry!”

  He put his hand on my shoulder, “Have the weaponsmith make the sword large. That iron is lighter than normal iron, you should take advantage of it and make a sword with a long reach. The spear, too. Needs to be longer and heavier.”

  “Huh. That’s good advice. I’ll see to it. I don’t know, though, I feel kind of guilty. The armorer is so patient. He just resized both my regular chainmail and the formal chainmail I had him build, and built me the plate mail, and this training armor, and already it needs to be resized.”

  “He’ll be patient with the princess, Princess.”

  I looked at him, “Yeah, he will be.”

  “How’s your training with Etienne?”

  “Fine. I mean, ok. I’m getting better at controlling it.”

  “That’s a shame. The furniture makers will be out of work soon.”

  “I mean, I can go blow some up if they need the work . . .”

  “It’s probably best if you stick to whatever the wizard is teaching you to do.”

  “You know, I’ve been thinking. Bechalle was correct. In choosing me. He cut other girls, none of them gave him magic, none of them gained magic. I did, though. Because of his knife. He didn’t get magic because he couldn’t finish cutting me. You tossed him out the window.”

  “One of life’s rare pleasures. And may his afterlife be restless,” he spit on the ground.

  “I just think, well, I wonder how he knew to choose me?”

  “He didn’t. How many girls did he cut before you?”

  My head dropped and I studied my grieves for a moment, the backs first, turning my hands over, and then the palms, “Three. I think, three.”

  “You see? Nothing there, just a chance thing.”

  “Or he was practicing.”

  “Princess, these thoughts, if you follow them, lead to dark places.”

  “Yeah. You’re right about that. But, Morry,” I looked up at the big man, “it didn’t work with those other girls. It did work with me.”

  “I wonder.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Have you ever seen the backside of a wizard? We don’t know how they become so. Maybe they’re made.”

  “I think Etienne would have told me.”

  “I’m not so sure. They’re very careful about guarding their secrets. The grand magister may have taken that knife not to investigate it, but to safeguard it. Or use it for new pupils.”

  “Damn. I hadn’t thought about that.” Why couldn’t I just tell him, ‘Morry, I’m not from here. I’m from another universe. I think that’s why it worked on me.’ But maybe I was being egocentric. The wizards were miserly with their knowledge. None of us had any clue how they trained, what they could do. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

  “I think that if I hadn’t tossed him off the tower, the mages would have killed him.”

  “Yeah. Hey . . .” I rested my gauntleted hand on the big man’s arm. “Etienne’s teachings. They don’t, damnit, they don’t do anything for me. It’s not until after he leaves. I, uh, I practice on my own.”

  “We haven’t had to move more furniture in.”

  “In one of the small rooms. It’s empty, jerk face.” I gave him a playful push, “I’m getting better at controlling the power. But that’s not my point. I don’t think Etienne’s, well, I’m starting to think-”

  “He’s not really training you? Holding you back?”

  “I think it’s different magic. Whatever it is. I don’t think his lessons apply.”

  “You have to be very careful here, Princess.”

  “Yeah.”

  We sat that way in silence for some time, my hand on his arm, staring somewhere.

  Then, spear practice.