The boys seemed to be having fun swinging their wooden swords — so much so that they started making more noise than they should.
"Look, Aron, now I can handle my sword with the skill of a true warrior!" Twig laughed loudly.
"Sure, Twig… great knight, great warrior, true warrior… you look like a crazy person swinging that stick up and down. You're still far from even the level of a stable boy," replied Aron.
The smaller of the two shrugged, indifferent to his friend's teasing.
"Ah, so it's you two! I finally found you," said a young, melodic voice.
The boys froze, a shiver running down their spines. But they quickly recognized the voice — it was Jenny, who had appeared in the middle of the forest.
"Oh my gosh, Jenny! You scared us!" exclaimed Aron.
"Whoa, Jenny, what's going on?" said Twig.
Jenny looked guilty and wore a sad expression."Sorry, guys. I didn't mean to scare you."
"Never mind, Jenny. But what are you doing here in the middle of the forest at this hour?" asked Aron.
"Well, I was going to ask you the same question — swinging those sticks in the middle of nowhere. I came to fetch water from the well, at Father's request. Then I heard shouting and laughter… so I came to see what was happening. What are you doing?" said Jenny.
"Ah, we're practicing with our wooden swords," replied Twig.
"Wooden swords? Those sticks in your hands?" asked Jenny, surprised.
"Hey, don't underestimate our swords! We made them ourselves," said Twig proudly.
"Ah, now it makes sense why they look like that. But why are you doing this? What's the point?" asked Jenny.
"Well… we're training with the sword to get stronger and become great knights," Twig replied sincerely.
Jenny raised her eyebrows, surprised by the boy's honesty. Aron, on the other hand, put his hand to his face, clearly embarrassed. He didn't want, in any way, to admit that out loud.
"Ah, Twig, again with this knight story…" said Jenny, laughing. "Ah, it's just you two, boys. But you know, when you told me the story about Xena, I got curious too. Can I practice with you? Or better, play with you? I can play too, right?"
Twig, without thinking much, replied, "Sure, why not? Let's practice together… I mean, play."
But Aron didn't like Twig's answer.
"What do you mean, Twig?" he exclaimed, frowning. "She can't practice with us! It's too dangerous, and she's a girl. Why do you want her to play with swords?"
"Wow, why did you say that, Aron?" Twig retorted, surprised. "Why couldn't your sister play with us?"
Aron's face hardened, visibly irritated."Are you crazy? What if my sister gets hurt? It's way too dangerous! And besides, she's a girl… she shouldn't be handling swords. What are you thinking?"
Twig, surprised by Aron's reaction, realized that his always-gentle friend now seemed harsh and angry.
"Calm down, Aron… I didn't mean to offend. What did I say wrong? Why are you so upset?"
"I'm not upset, I'm angry!" Aron replied, his voice full of concern. "How dare you expose my sister to a situation like this? Don't you know she could get hurt? It's way too dangerous! And please, don't plant ideas in her head so she goes around wanting to swing swords… She could get hurt. Or worse…" He thought of their mother but didn't say it. "She could even die."
As he spoke, Aron's anger slowly gave way to sadness and worry.
Twig remained silent, reflecting."I understand your concern," he said calmly. "I don't want Jenny to get hurt either. But think about it… why should we stop her from doing something she wants? It's not right to take someone's freedom away. And I also think it's okay for her to learn how to handle a sword. What if one day she needs to defend herself and you're not there to protect her… neither you nor I want to see such thing happen, right?"
Aron fell silent, thoughtful. Jenny, meanwhile, watched anxiously, realizing the two boys had started a small argument because of her.
Before she could speak, Aron continued, "You're right… I'm sorry, I overreacted. Jenny, you can play with us. It's fine. I just want to protect you; I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
Jenny's expression softened. Trying to compose herself, she replied with some difficulty, "No, it's okay… if I can't play, then I won't."
With a slight smile, Twig said to Jenny, "Calm down, it's fine. You can play too. Just do it like this."Then he demonstrated the sword movements he had practiced earlier with Aron. With some experience under his belt, he carefully showed Jenny how to move the sword so she could follow along.
Aron, trying to lighten the mood, joined in, "Yeah, Jenny, do it like this," he said, imitating Twig the best he could. The scene of the two boys trying to demonstrate the movements was funny, and Jenny couldn't help but laugh.
"Haha!" she laughed. "Okay, but how do I practice? You both have swords. I don't. What should I use?"
"Oh, that's true… how will she do it? We only have two swords and now there are three of us," Twig remarked.
"Ah, let's improvise a little," suggested Aron. "Since we're here in the forest, we can grab a branch that's big enough for you to practice with. We'll break off some smaller twigs; that should be enough. Tomorrow, if you want, we can tidy it up a bit with a small chopping axe, just like we did with ours."
"Yeah, good idea! Let's see if it works," replied Twig.
With swords lowered, the three moved through the forest, looking for a suitable branch.
"Will this one work?" Jenny pointed.
"No, I think it's too big for you," Aron replied.
"This one is a bit smaller than mine. Maybe it will work?" Twig suggested.
Aron agreed, and the two boys broke the branch, removing the smaller twigs so it would be safer. They then handed the "new equipment" to Jenny.
"Watch, Jenny, see how we do it," Twig said. "Don't try to copy us yet, just watch. When we stop to rest, then you start practicing, and we'll give you tips. Okay?"
Jenny, without hesitation, replied, "Sure! I can watch and learn. Then I just repeat it, right? Okay, let's do it that way."
The three youngsters, who until then seemed like the Three Musketeers, practiced all afternoon until they were exhausted. When they finally stopped playing, for some reason they still kept watching Twig, who, so excited, didn't stop swinging the sword.
"Hey, Twig, come on!" said Aron. "It's getting late and we're tired of swinging swords. Let's go back to the inn; I'm hungry. Maybe we can find something to eat."
"Almost, almost…" Twig thought. "Calm down, guys, I'll finish soon. Then we'll go. I'm hungry too."
[Ding!]A soft metallic sound echoed in his mind.
[Combat Training — Progress: 150 / 150 sword swings]
Twig let out a "phew," ran his hands over his shoulders and forehead, and finally lowered the sword.
"Let's go. I think that's enough for today, right, guys? Maybe we can play again tomorrow."
As they prepared to leave, Jenny remembered, "Wait! We need to get water. My father asked me to. If I don't bring it, I'll get scolded… and if he sees me with you, all three of us will get scolded! So help me carry the water."
The two boys exchanged glances, imagining the scolding they might get from Saul. Without saying a word, they straightened up and nodded, their heads moving up and down like two little chicks trying to peck at a worm.
Jenny smiled, and together, the three headed to the well.
At the well, there were no difficulties. Each pulled two buckets full of water and headed back to the inn.
Twig was tired; he had practiced more than the others with the sword and felt sore arms carrying the buckets.
When they put the buckets in the right place, in the inn's kitchen, they heard Saul grumbling from another room:
"Kids, where are you? Or rather… where have you been? I spent the whole afternoon here and didn't see anyone."
"Working," said Twig."Cutting wood, Dad," added Aron."I went to fetch water, Dad," completed Jenny.
With crossed arms and a serious expression, Saul shrugged."Come on, it's already dark and no guest seems to be coming today. Let's close the doors and rest. I'm not spending on candles or lamp oil. Let's go to bed."
The three climbed silently to their resting room.
Jenny then nudged the two."Hey, I hid some carrots here and a little of what was left from breakfast. Let's eat in the room!"
The two boys, eyes sparkling and hands clasped together, exclaimed, "Wow! Amazing! She's our saint!"