King Manfred sucked in a deep breath and entered his living quarters, a cozy space he shared with his wife, Queen Katherine, who much preferred to be called Kate. Their lavish bed divided the room in half between them, so on one side was Kate's delicate but large desk, with plenty of quills, ink, and parchment for the frequent writing she had to do. On a series of wall pegs above the desk hung Kate's bow and a quiver of arrows, relics from a time of war for Monterayne and youth for her highness.

Then on the other side stood Manfred's desk, much smaller in size, but very sturdy in appearance. Their bookshelf stood to one side of the desk, and on the wall above it, he displayed his handsome sword, a lengthy weapon with a blade riddled with nicks and scratches from years of war and terror. To Manfred, it represented a simpler time, but also a tumultuous one.

He paused before stooping down to pull out an oak chest from underneath the bed. Manfred laid it on top, undid the brass clasps, and laid Dustin's sword inside with a deep sigh. He stepped back and eyed the pristine blade, which Dustin admittedly had maintained very well. A little ray of sunshine shot through the nearby window lattice and gleamed on the metal, highlighting its cleanliness.

Manfred's mind churned as he stared at the confiscated weapon. He further pondered his decision to deprive his son of his sword in order to teach him a lesson on responsibility. He wasn't having doubts; he was well assured he hadn't erred, but rather, he wondered if Dustin would learn the intended lesson through this, or only come to resent his father for it.

Dustin had already been rather outspoken about Manfred's insistence on not poking the lion that was the Innutukian Empire as king, even though he'd been at the forefront of Monterayne's fight against the beast as a younger man. Dustin had made it clear he saw that as a deplorable contradiction inn his father's character. And now, Manfred wondered if Dustin would interpret his taking the sword away as a symbolic action indicative of his entire character.

"Having second thoughts?" a feminine voice called from the doorway, followed by the gentle thud of the door shutting.

Manfred immediately recognized the voice as Kate's, so he turned to embrace her and leave a kiss on her rosy lips. She was no longer the young maiden he had originally fallen in love with, but nonetheless, she was a woman who aged well. Sure, her silky brown hair had faded somewhat and become interspersed with a gray strand here and there, and her lovely green eyes no longer sparkled quite as much as they once had, but at her core, she was still the same woman Manfred loved. Her kind smile hadn't aged a bit, and neither had her charming personality and strong character.

"No," Manfred finally replied, "no second thoughts, just...I hope I'm wrong about Dustin."

"How so?"

"He inherited your hard head." Manfred remarked with an understated smile, "He's a selective learner."

"You think he'll persist despite your discipline?"

"I do. What do you think?"

Kate smiled sweetly and reached up to lay a hand on her husband's broad shoulder. "What I think is that he inherited your dedication to personal convictions."

"How so?"

"Well, when you come to a conclusion on something, I've observed you always have good reason to do so, so budging you from there after the fact is a monumental task. Now, whether Dustin has the same good reasons for his convictions as you do for yours or not, I believe he shares that same stubbornness."

Manfred slowly nodded. "I guess I can see what you mean. As heir to the throne, he most certainly should have a healthy firmness about his beliefs. My point of contention is that those beliefs are flawed in his case, and wrongful actions spring from that root."

"Oh, certainly. He hasn't had years of war and leadership to temper him as you have."

"I was never quite so boisterous as our son is, even in my youth." Manfred said with a smile that was as affectionate as it was humorous.

"That's certainly true. He takes after me in that regard." Kate paused a moment in thought and bit her lip before looking up suddenly. "May I suggest a different approach with him?"

"Of course."

"I believe it will be more productive, instead of mere deprivation and rebuke, to provide Dustin a legitimate avenue to pursue his interests. You have been attempting to dissuade him from swordsmanship for months now, to no avail. Perhaps it's time to consider once more, the possibility of providing him proper instruction."

"Look at how he is with us, Kate." Manfred countered, "He refuses to give heed to his parents' counsel, so how do you think he'll do any better with a tutor?"

"I know this is counterintuitive, and frankly, sinful on his part, but I have seen many a child who will not learn a lesson from their parents until someone outside the home reaffirms it unprompted. I'm sure you have found that to be the case in your own experience. I know I have."

"That's true. But be honest with yourself. Dustin is a stubborn boy, and at some point, he'll undoubtably disagree with his teacher on something. How are we to ensure he doesn't attempt to lord his royal authority over the tutor in some way?"

Kate shrugged. "That will simply be a ground rule we set. In the context of a lesson, they are no longer prince and knight, but rather student and teacher. If he breaches that agreement, we shall discontinue his instruction and confiscate his sword."

"As you wish, your highness." Manfred said with a joking smile, "I'll sit him down tomorrow to discuss the schools of swordsmanship, and when he picks one, I'll seek out a suitable teacher."

"And I shall hope for the best." Kate replied with a pleased grin. She stood up on her toes to kiss Manfred.

****

Dustin spent the early half of the next day avoiding his father as much as possible. And besides a brief encounter with him at breakfast, he'd been successful in that endeavor. Nonetheless, Dustin could always detect a marked difference in the weight distribution on his hips. Many times, he found his hand reaching for the hilt of his sword in an idle moment, only to realize once again that it wasn't there. He could only imagine he now sympathized with veterans missing an arm or a leg.

Worst of all, late in the afternoon, Dustin's efforts to avoid Manfred became a fruitless endeavor, because a messenger still managed to find him in his secret perch outside a blacksmith's shop in the capital. The messenger informed Dustin that Manfred had summoned him to the throne room to speak with him on an important matter. Even though it hadn't been explicitly stated, Dustin knew his father; failure to comply would result in even harsher punishment. With a sigh, he resigned himself to his fate and headed back to the castle.

When Dustin shuffled into the throne room, Manfred dismissed all his guards, and even the court transcriber who normally sat in candle-light off to a corner of the room and notated all proceedings within the chamber. When Manfred ordered the guards standing outside to stand a few paces off from the double doors, Dustin found himself well assured that whatever his father was about to discuss was a truly private matter.

"I am here, father." Dustin said once he'd stepped within a few feet of the throne. "Why have you sought me?"

"I summoned you to discuss a matter of great personal importance to you." Manfred replied slowly, cradling his chin in his hand as he reclined against an armrest of the throne. "I can easily foresee our conversation taking us to a place none but you and I should go."

"How so?"

"That'll become clear in time."

Dustin waited as patiently as he could while Manfred rose from his seat and slowly treaded down the steps leading up to the throne. He folded his hands behind his back and paced over to one of many stately candlesticks lining the violet carpet leading to the seat of Monterayne's power.

"Your mother and I discussed your ambitions, Dustin." Manfred said, "We decided it would be both unwise and unfair to withhold the opportunity from you to become the sort of man you wish to be."

Dustin's green eyes brightened. "You mean I get to have my sword back?"

"We'll get to that." Manfred replied, waving his finger in the air as his pacing caused him to turn his back on his son. "First, I want to hear what you want from life, in your own words."

"You wish to know what I want? Well...all my life, I've heard stories of our illustrious knights and their mighty deeds. Many of them are of feats you yourself performed in the Second War of Reformation. Those inspire me...make me want to become a better man, that I may be remembered by future generations in the same way."

"You seek adventure, excitement, glory. None of our best knights have sought those things."

Dustin raised an eyebrow. "If they didn't seek any of that, then how is it all of them gained it?"

"Do you really think Sir Tom Holt sought glory in his decision to abandon the knightly order and form a band of venerable rogues who admittedly broke many laws in the pursuit of unconventional justice? Do you really think it excited me to slay the father of my own best friend? Do you really think Sir Tao was motivated by a mere desire for adventure?"

"I suppose not. But that changes nothing; I still seek to make a name for myself in like manner."

Manfred spun on his heel and stared Dustin straight in the eye. "In that case, you should also choose your motives in like manner. A good knight does nothing because it pleases himself. He is first and foremost a servant, first to God, then to his king, and lastly, to his people. If you don't start there, you've already erred."

"You mean to tell me every young swordsman who walked through the doors of that knights' hall, came with no intention of actually being a warrior, but only an errand boy who happens to be able to fight? I don't believe you."

"I never said that. Many have become knights for foolish reasons. But if you truly wish to make a name for yourself as an outstanding knight, you have to start from a place of humility. The finest swordsman I ever knew never became distinguished as a legendary Monteraynian knight, because his motives led him astray."

Dustin frowned. "Who was that?"

"Andre Feliz." Manfred said gravely, settling into a somber silence.

Dustin sighed, taking a hesitant step toward Manfred. "Perhaps my motives aren't what they should be, and I'll strive to change that. But I beg you, give me a chance."

"I will. I'll find you a teacher to teach you swordsmanship, but I must warn you, during lessons, you are no longer a prince to said teacher, but a pupil only."

"A necessary compromise."

Manfred nodded. "Good. Now, I'm sure you're well aware there are three schools of swordsmanship among us Monteraynians, correct?"

"Yes. The Raskan, the Halotinian, and the Torlenian."

"Explain to me what practices are embraced by the Halotinian school."

"They...well, they value balance above all." Dustin said thoughtfully, "More so than the later schools, they focus on analyzing the opponent's moves and adapting to that. I feel exquisite form and efficient moves are valued highly in their school as well."

"Essentially, yes. What about the Torlenian?"

"Basically, defend against the opponent's attacks until you spot a prime opportunity to strike a fatal blow."

Manfred chuckled. "A bit incomplete, but that would be the core of the discipline. And the Raskan?"

"Overwhelm the opponent. Throw so many attacks their way that their confusion undoes them. The best defense is an overwhelming offense, after all."

"I think I see your bias, my son. I very much expected this, and that's precisely why I ordered everybody out."

"Why's that?"

"Am I correct in assuming you'd like to pursue the Raskan style?"

Dustin nodded vigorously. "Absolutely! I would love that. Will I be studying with Sir Ohundi?"

"He's an excellent tutor, but no. There's only one man I trust to teach you well, both in swordsmanship itself and building character." Manfred's eyes grew distant, and a faint smile spread over his lips. "Nathan Korynn."

"Wait a second..." Dustin's eyes widened, "Sir Korynn went missing immediately at the end of the Second—"

Manfred held up a hand. "Officially, yes, and that way it will remain."

Dustin scratched his head with a furrowed brow as he watched Manfred walk over to a small chest and pull out a rolled-up sheet of parchment. "So...all these years...?"

"He had his reasons...he'll explain if he wants to." Manfred unrolled the parchment and held it up to Dustin. "This is a map to his abode in the wildlands. Go there and tell him I sent you to be trained."

Attempting to ignore the ridiculousness of the idea Sir Korynn could possibly live in the desert wasteland that was the wildlands, Dustin glanced up at Manfred. "By myself?"

"Bring as few traveling companions as possible. Take two bodyguards along for the journey up to the brink of the wildlands, but have them turn back at the border. And you must not allow any eyes to behold the map besides your own. Only you and I know Nathan's exact location, and by royal order, it will remain that way."

"Understood, father. May I bring Jude along, if he be willing?"

Manfred smiled and laid a hand on Dustin's shoulder. "Of course. He can accompany you to the very end of your journey if you'd like; you should have someone familiar who can watch your back."

"Thank you. And what will my mother be told?"

"As far as she'll know, you simply traveled to Aroria to be taught at the old Holt academy."

With a smirk, Dustin nodded. "As you wish."

"I'll write up a letter tonight for you to bring along and deliver to Nathan when you arrive, and I'll hand your sword back over at that time. However, I should point out your current sword is a bit heavy for Raskan techniques, so see if Nathan can make you a more appropriate weapon. He is a blacksmith, after all."

"It shall be done. Thank you, Father."

Manfred dipped his head in acknowledgement. "I only hope Nathan will be able to beat you into shape like one of his blades."

After sharing a round of laughter and an embrace, the father and son parted ways, and servants trickled back into the throne room, entirely unaware of the secret Manfred and Dustin now shared.

**** 

A/N: I don't know about you, but I'm pretty glad to see this development. If anyone can beat Dustin into shape, I trust Nathan to do it. 😂

(If you enjoyed this chapter, please do vote and comment, or else I'll beat you into shape. 👀)

Anyways, any thoughts on Manfred and Kate's dynamic we got a peek at in the first half? Can you tell they've been together for years at this point? 

And lastly, how're we feeling that we'll be seeing Nathan again? 

Hope you have a great week ahead! I'll continue running on this authorial treadmill, and be back with another update next week. See ya there!