---
I decided to rewrite the whole story, so if you have read my old chapters, everything has changed, and you may want to start from here. enjoy.
---
Mornings and nights came and went, and both Kain and Thalen found or were found by the old knight. Each time Kain's eyes shut at night and his muscles throbbed with pain, all he could see was armour and swords. His body had grown and then some; he had finally reached a head with Thalen.
The cold morning sun shone down on two boys clashing sticks as if they were swords. With each step, their leather boots kicked morning dew into the air and trampled flowers under them.
Other children surrounded them, cheering and shouting on as they swatted their sticks at each other. Despite his youth, the largest of the two was handsome with blue eyes that seemed to sparkle in the light. His hair was as white as his opponent's was black.
A girl an age with them stood in the crowd of children watching. The white-haired boy swung down hard at his opponent's head, only for the stick to snap on his. The black-haired boy whipped his stomach, leaving a welt under the rough, wet rags he wore.
"Playing at knights again, are we?" A man in full plate armour lumbered his way up the hill.
"No more than you", the white-haired boy rubbed his stomach.
The knight chuckled as he finally crested the hill. His armour was covered with old scars and draped with a blue rag sewn together with blue thread. The sword on his hip tapped against his leg with each step.
"Ser Thalen, your sword", he kicked the twig and laughed.
"How else are we supposed to train?" Thalen pouted and crossed his arms.
"You all live in a tiny village that I would be surprised to find on a map, you have no reason to train unless it's to hunt", the knight popped a red berry into his mouth.
His beard was stained red, and his plackart only just fit around his stomach, yet he was more of a knight than anyone else could claim in their village.
"And Ser Kain", The old knight turned to the black haired boy with a smile.
Kain stared unblinkingly into the old man's eyes. His eyes looked like pits of ice-cold water, and to see the man react felt just the same.
"You two should come by mine, and I'll show you how to use a real sword" his red stained hand ruffled Thalens hair.
The black haired boy stood motionless in front of the stick for some time before dropping his own into the wet grass and following as the others, led by Thalen, they all left the knight on top of the hill and ventured into the woods. The forest would be dead silent if not for the children darting through trees and bushes. They marched and marched until the few at the front froze.
A sinkhole bigger than their entire village and then some swallowed the clearing. Around its rim, countless plants wilted and died leaving piles upon piles of rotten plant life. Thalen broke free from the sight and calmly approached the edge. His boots squelched through the mulch that circled the hole.
"Throw a rock", one of the older children inched closer, barely looking down into the depths.
Thalen rummaged through the thick layer of rotten leaves and plucked a large pebble covered in mud. A giant spider climbed onto Thalen's hand. He leaned down, allowing it to scuttle through the filth and away from the crowd of children. He stood back up and threw the rock with both hands into the void, no clattering of the rock hitting the sides of the hole or the bottom. They all stood around for some time, and no noise came from the chasm.
It was a dark thing; no light reached the bottom despite the sun hanging almost directly over it. Soon enough, they grew bored and returned back to the hill and down it to a tiny village. On one side was rolling plains, and on the other a clear water bog.
"Kain", the girl grabbed hold of the black haired boy's arm and tugged on it whilst pointing to the swamp.
He walked with her in silence, the ponytail keeping that dark hair out of his face, swept side to side as they walked alongside each other. His leather boots filled with water as he stepped into the crystal clear water. The girl jumped onto his back, he jolted forward, catching himself from falling in.
"Siena, be more careful" Kain's voice was monotone and flat.
"Just carry me already", hers was soft and washed over him like warm waves of calm.
They trudged past the corpse of some animal, sat half submerged in mud. Kain's ice blue eyes stared for half a second before continuing through the bog. He wades through deeper and deeper water until they reach a small island. A tiny white spot in a field of mud and water. Countless white flowers surrounded a clearing in the middle where the two children lay playing in the grass.
"Will you visit Ser Othrick?" She rolled a white flower between index and thumb.
"I am too old to be dreaming about saving princesses and slaying monsters" Kain's cold eyes watched on intently as the white rose spiralled back and forth.
"You always wanted to be like your father", She dropped the rose and crept closer to him.
"My father can hardly be considered a knight", He scoffed at her.
"Then what will you do?" A hand laid on his knee.
Two birds flittered through the sky, diving and swooping about each other. Kain watched them fly together and back down to Siena. Her face was spotted with freckles, her hair a light brown.
"I want to marry you", He gulped as he looked into her emerald eyes.
She smiled a big smile and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"I would like that", her long, pale fingers interlocked with his rough ones.
They sat alone and unbothered for some time before Thalen emerged from the village and stood on the edge of the swamp.
"Kain Ser Othrick wants you!" he cupped his mouth with both hands and yelled out to them.
Both Kain and Siena scattered and began to wade through the water. She climbed onto his back and squealed as a splash of cold water hit her when Kain's foot slipped in the mud. He chuckled, and she hit him on the back.
"You two alright?" Thalen smirks at them.
"What does the old man want?" Kain ignores him.
"To show you how to swing a sword", Thalen gives Siena a polite smile as she climbs down from Kain's back onto the dry ground.
"I know how my father showed me the basics," he scowled.
Thalen rolled his eyes and walked off. Kain caught up with him. They passed through two houses and walked into the street. Women crowded around the well with buckets and clothes, gossiping amongst themselves. The old knight stood outside his house, holding a helm in his right hand and a cluster of wooden swords and shields.
"Come on, the lads", he threw a sword and shield each at their feet and strapped on his helmet.
In his back garden was a log stuck in the ground and a large patch of dirt that had been worn down by use. Leaning against the log was a much larger wooden sword, his gauntleted hand wrapped around the hilt, and in a sudden burst of energy, he brought it above his head and down onto Thalen.
Thalen brought his shield up to meet the old knights and only just managed to block it, yet his hands shook violently. Kain swung at Othrick, but the old man stepped aside and kicked his legs out from under him. The ground slapped him so hard the air rushed out of his lungs. Thalen struggled to keep the old knight's sword at bay, yet a smile was growing on his lips. Kain climbed back onto his two feet and swung again, this time hitting the unsuspecting knights back. He spun around so fast Kain could not react and was sent flying by a sword strike directly into his ribs.
Clutching his ribs, Kain struggled to stand once more. He held himself up with his sword and lunged forward, barging into the knight's back. He falls to the floor in a clatter of metal and a puff of dust.
"So are we your squires now?" Thalen smiled down at the man.
"Aye, I suppose you are", he groaned as he got up.
"Then I suppose we should get swords and armour" Kain looked up at the old man with a face like stone.
"If you have the coin to get one, then go get one", he ruffled Kain's black hair.
The day turned to night before they stopped training, sweat poured off the both of them and each time Kain placed one foot in front of the other, his legs felt as if they would burst.
"I'll see you tomorrow", Thalen stumbles back home on his own, leaving Kain alone.
When his olive fingers gripped the handle of his front door, the muscles in his arm quivered at the effort to turn it. The house was quiet, the only noises that filled it were the creaking of old wooden floor boards and Kain's laboured breathing.
'Father must still be hunting' was his last thought before falling into bed.