slightly overweight boy named Clayton said rubbing his stomach and smiling.
“I just want to go to bed and sleep for a week,” said Brandon , the smallest of the group.
“I know what you mean,” Thomas added. “I’ve never worked so hard in my life. My muscles ache, and…”
“Dinner ain’t gonna serve itself!” Chris yelled at the group of boys as they were about to be seated.
“Yeah, get in the kitchen and bring us our food, boys!” another of the older boys joined in.
The group of boys looked at each other and sighed. They pushed their chairs in and headed for the kitchen doors. Thomas thought he saw tears in young Brandon’s eyes. The scrawny boy nearly collapsed walking up the long flights of stairs today. He cried out in pain many times, but he kept pushing forward. Thomas could tell from his clothing and manner that this boy was also an orphan. Giving up was not an option since this would be his only chance at bettering himself.
The boys made the plates and served the older boys then sat down to eat for themselves. Clayton had no reserves about digging in to his food. In fact, he ate with such veracity that the other three boys and some of the older boys stared. Thomas slowly picked at his food, Brandon took a few bites and laid his head on the table and was soon snoring. The last boy, Jonah, sat quietly and ate. Jonah had said much all day. He appeared to be a commoner, not an orphan and not rich either. He was the tallest among them and seemed to be quite athletic. Thomas just couldn’t make out if he was shy or maybe thought himself above the rest of them.
“I guess we’ll be doing dishes too, huh?” Thomas joked to Jonah, but the boy just glanced in his direction and gave a half-hearted smile. He looked over at Clayton who was pilfering food from the sleeping Brandon’s plate.
While doing the dishes, Thomas day dreamed about all the times he would help his mother do the dishes. He tried to imagine that’s where he was right now. He blocked out the other boys’ chatter and imagined he was at home, helping his mother, making sure she was ok. His mind had been running rampant all day long. He longed to be back home but he knew that somehow this place was better. Thomas let one tear drop go and that was it. He handed a plate to Brandon and grabbed another dirty one and blocked everything else from his mind.
Back in the bunkhouse for good, the boys fell into their beds fully clothed and drifted off to sleep. Thomas fell asleep thinking of his unknown best friend, Grady. He wondered if was enduring the same training or if Grady had somehow lucked out being chosen by a mage. He pondered his friend, the training, the whole wonderful strangeness of this world and was soon fast asleep.
The next morning was similar to the first except the boys were no longer complaining of the early wake up call or even the cold. Instead, the boys slowly crept from their beds moaning and complaining about their sore muscles.
“I have muscles hurting where I never knew I had muscles,” Clayton groaned. “I can’t take filling up those tubs again.” He quieted suddenly when Braddock shot him a disapproving look. He gave a heavy sigh, dropped his eyes to the floor, and fell into line in the walkway between the bunks.
“I’m sure you are all hurting and sore. Yesterday’s training, I’m sure, worked muscles that have never been used before,” Braddock shouted as he paced up and down the walkway. “You will not get a break from the hard work. The more you whine,” he glanced over at Clayton, “the harder you will work.” He marched back and forth glaring at each young boy. “Meet me in the courtyard in five minutes. Now the fun is really going to begin.”
The boys gathered again in the courtyard around a pile of dirty and broken weapons. Braddock walked up and grabbed a couple of the old weapons and hoisted them up so all the boys could see them. He lifted one, “This is a short sword. It is good for fighting in tight places or somebody with a small build. It is a very effective piercing weapon,” he said as he made a forward thrusting motion with the sword. He tossed the short sword to Brandon who caught the sword half by the hilt and half by the blade. He winced as blood dripped from a small wound on his hand.
“This is a long sword. It is your more commonly used sword for open arena combat. You can pierce,” he jabbed forward again. “You can slash,” all the boys cringed as they heard the whistle of the sword and felt the rush or air as Braddock brought the sword around in a wide arc. “Most of the knights use swords just like this one.” All the boys seemed to take more of an interest in the long sword after he made that comment. Every boy that comes to the academy has dreams of becoming a knight in the Great King Halfred’s service. Most would like to think it was from loyalty to the king but Braddock knew it was from the adulation of the Knights themselves. All young boys would stand and gaze silently at the Knights during parades and such. After the parade, many mothers tended to wounds that came about by young boys jousting, sword fighting, other knightly games.
He tossed the long sword to Thomas. The weight of the weapon surprised him and nearly knocked him over. He regained his stance somewhat embarrassed and spun the sword around twice in front of him and slammed the blade into the ground as he rested his hand on the hilt. The boys’ smile disappeared as their eyes opened wide and stared Thomas in amazement. Braddock seemed amazed, “Nice work, young Thomas. Very nice indeed.”
Thomas stood proud thanking God that they did not know the truth. Many nights were spent in the trailer park with his sweetheart Maggie. She was a year younger than Thomas and the prettiest thing he had ever seen. She never knew how much he cared about her and they weren’t technically boyfriend and girlfriend but he spent nearly every evening at her house so he could spend time with her and be away from his father. Since Maggie someday dreamed of becoming a cheerleader, Thomas spent many hours watching her wave pom-poms and twirling a baton. She even taught him to twirl a baton, which otherwise was embarrassing, seemed to be serving him quite well at the moment.
Next, Braddock lofted a very large sword with a long, wide blade. “This is a bastard sword. Only a large man of great strength can effectively wield a weapon such as this. Because of the length and weight of the blade, it is not as effective at piercing, however, no other weapon is as effective when it come to slashing or even plain ol’ bludgeoning.” He emphasized his point by swinging the bastard sword back and forth in wide calculated arcs causing all the boys to take a few steps backwards.
He stopped the sword display and tossed the large sword towards Brandon. He scrambled to catch it but the sword knocked him off balance and he fell backwards. The boys started to giggle but were immediately silenced. Brandon regained his hold on the hilt of the great sword and made his way to his feet.
“These are the weapons we will learn first. These are the basics and most readily available during any battle. After we learn these, we’ll move onto some more exotic and specialized weapons. First, let’s practice our stance and the correct way to hold the sword. Everybody grab a short sword and spread out.”