Wood rang against wood.
My feet slid over the packed dirt almost on instinct as I shifted into the next motion, my body already moving before my thoughts caught up.
Lightbane's blade came in at an angle, and I turned my wrist just enough to deflect rather than meet it head-on. The impact still shivered up my arm, a dull vibration that settled into my bones, but it was a clean deflection. Good form, especially at our level.
If either of us had put more force into it, the practice swords would've cracked.
I slid back half a step, adjusted my stance - and deliberately let my sword slip from my hand.
Lightbane blinked, then eased off immediately.
I rolled my wrist once. "Let's not break them before the day's over."
We were used to metal, magic, and fists. Armor. Real weight. Real danger. Wooden blades were… fragile, by comparison.
The sporting grounds of Acomet stretched open beneath the afternoon sun, alive with motion and noise. It was only the second day of our first year, and both of us had signed up for the fencing club without much discussion.
Why?
Because we liked it. It really was that simple.
The rest of the club was gathered farther off - almost two dozen girls in total. Some stretched, some chatted; others dueled in pairs. Maren stood among them like she owned the place, which, frankly, she did. Captain of the club, fiery as ever, completely in her element.
This year's new recruits included two girls from my class, Io among them, though I didn't think it was because of me, and two from Lightbane's.
And then there was us.
The only boys.
Which meant that, by default, we were each other's problem.
Lightbane lunged again, slower this time and measured. I parried and felt the familiar resistance of weight against my blade. He under-committed just slightly - just enough that I could've punished him for it.
I didn't. We were both playing around. To be honest, both of us wanted to look good in front of the girls here. We wanted to be seen as competent fighters, but not so good that it was entirely unnatural for boys to be.
Instead, I disengaged and circled, keeping things clean and controlled. We weren't here to win.
We nailed it.
I could feel the attention even without looking. Not hostile. Not unfriendly either. Curious. Appraising.
The girls weren't stupid. They knew boys were usually at a disadvantage here.
Upper-body strength. Endurance. Stamina. Pain tolerance.
They had us beat in all three.
Which was exactly why Maren hadn't paired us with anyone else yet.
"Hold," she called.
We froze instantly, blades raised.
Maren stepped closer, arms crossed, eyes sharp. She looked exactly like she belonged here, confident, proud, fully aware that she could knock most people flat if she decided to.
"You two are better than I expected," she said. "I figured as much for Caleb, seeing as I've trained with him. But you," her gaze shifted to me, "how good are you with a blade, Edward?"
I straightened slightly, resting my sword point-down. I smiled - polite, confident, just a little proud.
"My mother taught me," I said, giving the wooden blade a casual flourish. "She insisted I learn proper fencing before anything else. I trained with her for years."
That part, at least, was true.
Maren studied me closely - posture, grip, shoulder alignment. "Your mother, huh? That explains a lot."
She stepped back and clapped once. "Alright. For now, you two keep sparring together until I'm sure you can handle bouts with the others."
A few girls looked openly disappointed.
Io crossed her arms and scowled.
That girl was obsessed.
We reset our stances.
As our blades crossed again, I leaned in just enough to murmur, "Guess it's just you and me."
"Lucky me," Lightbane muttered back.
We'd already talked through how to handle the girls.
"They're not joining clubs with us," he'd told me that morning.
"Any of them?" I'd asked.
"One at a time."
"Because if they all show up-"
"It wouldn't really be just an after-school activity anymore," he'd finished. "And I don't want us known as the boys with a permanent honor guard."
"I was thinking five clubs," I'd said. "One per weekday."
He'd shot me a look. "Isn't that a bit much?"
"Not really. Not every club meets weekly. Some are biweekly. Some have optional attendance. It sounds busy, but it isn't."
"When did you research this?"
"Last night." I'd tapped my temple. "You don't want to be known for one thing at Acomet. You want to be known for being around."
He'd mulled that over for a moment. "Alright. Which ones?"
"Fencing, obviously," I'd said, counting on my fingers. "And literature."
"Maren's and Jakob's clubs."
"Exactly."
"And the other three?"
I'd shrugged. "Each girl picks one. Different days. No overlap. And then we join that club too. Not both of us - just whichever of us she's attached to. Public. Normal. No clustering. No questions about why three girls are always glued to the same guy."
Lightbane had nodded slowly. "I'll talk to mine."
"They'll complain," I'd said.
"Yeah," he'd replied dryly. "They will."
After some time, Lightbane and I stepped back, lowering our blades as the rest of the club wrapped up their bouts.
Sparring wasn't the only thing we'd do in the club - watching was another. We leaned off to the side, close enough to watch without being in the way, as Maren rotated through sparring pairs.
The girls were pretty good. Some relied on brute strength, others on speed or reach. The usual mistakes.
But none of them were Maren.
She was utterly confident and could beat any other girl here.
Except when she fought Io.
Io didn't seem to like fighting Maren. She had the look of someone who knew that they were better than their opponent, but still, due to the expectation put on them, she did what she needed to.
Their styles weren't at all alike.
Maren was fire and instinct. She stood loose and confident, weight forward, blade angled casually as if daring Io to challenge her.
Io was the opposite - icy and cold.
She held herself perfectly still, blade raised with exact precision, breathing slow and controlled. There was no wasted motion in her stance, no excess tension. Her eyes never left Maren's centerline.
Their blades rang as they clashed, the tempo fast enough that a few of the newer girls lost track entirely.
Maren smiled as she fought, enjoying herself. Io did not. Her expression never changed, even when Maren forced her back half a step. That wasn't fear. It was restraint.
If Io really tried, she could have taken the spot of captain of the fencing club away from Maren.
Then Maren forced a break, laughing breathlessly as she disengaged.
They weren't fighting seriously, and it was still a sight to behold - to anyone but Lightbane and me.
"Enough," she said, raising a hand. "You're very good, Princess. If you fought seriously, I couldn't even rival you."
Io lowered her blade. She was clearly dissatisfied but obedient to her captain.
She glanced our way for half a second before turning away.
That was it for the day. No more club activities.
Lightbane split off toward his own obligations - I wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do - and I headed back to the dorm alone.
I hesitated for a moment before I opened the door. I was expecting the girls to be in my room or arrive the instant I was in it.
I exhaled slowly and then readied myself. I loved them like a parent and a friend. It's awkward to say and hard to put into words because our relationship is so weird.
It's kind of my fault they are the way they are, but damn, sometimes it's exhausting.
I barely closed the door before they were there.
They entered through the window. That it was locked and that we were on the second floor made no difference.
They all looked at me at once.
"Alright," I said, loosening my collar. "Let's talk clubs."
Medea perked up immediately. "We get to choose?"
"One each," I said. "Different days. No overlap. And you don't all join the same one."
Medea tilted her head. "Why?"
"Don't question me."
"I'll be in fencing and literature already, Mondays and Fridays," I continued. "The rest are flexible. Pick something you'd actually attend. Something you like. I'll give you a few days to decide."
"That won't be necessary," Regan said. "We've memorized the schedule for every club and class in Acomet."
I raised an eyebrow. "You did?"
They nodded.
"I want to join the Ajasch team," Regan said. "It's on Tuesdays."
"I want to be in the art club!" Medea said, ears perking up. "Wednesdays!"
Morgan considered longer, eyes narrowing in thought. "Theater club. On Thursdays."
"Theater?" I asked. Morgan didn't seem the kind of girl to step on a stage.
"Yes."
"And that makes three," I said. "Works perfectly."
Medea grinned wide. "And you'll join them too - to be with us? Will you?"
"Yes," I said, ruffling her hair like she was a little child.