Oathblood

But unusual things happened in their family; Tilden had seen more than enough not to worry about inconsistency in hair and eye color. Shortly after Kethry and Jadrek had wed, Tilden had married a former bodyguard, who, despite her frail appearance, had more than once broken the necks of assassins with her bare hands. Her early training had begun with acrobatics and dance; hence, she had seen to it that her daughters had at least that much in the way of physical schooling.

But Kira had something more than mere training; she was a prodigy, the kind of student every teacher prays to have once in his or her life.

Merili was a graceful dancer and loved the art, was already an accomplished needlewoman, was fascinated with languages and had a strong interest in herbalism. She couldn't have been more unlike Kira, but the bond between them was unbreakable; and where her twin went, there she was. So when the Archduke enrolled Kira in Tarma's school for would-be young warriors, Merili had come along. She worked out in physical exercises with her sister and the rest of Tarma's students, studied nonmagical courses with Kethry's students, and continued other studies with Jadrek, getting as fine an education here as she would with her private tutors. Tilden had already had several marriage offers for her, but Merili had already met the eldest son of the Queen of Jkatha, and the two had formed an early attachment so strong that many suspected it to be a lifebond. What with the Archduke's holdings already lying on the Rethwellan-Jkatha border, and the King of Rethwellan wanting very much to strengthen ties between the two countries, the match seemed an ideal one. So although a formal betrothal had not been announced, it was very, very likely that Prince Albayah would wed Merili as soon as both came of age.

'And I'll go as Merili's bodyguard,' Kira always chimed in, whenever the subject came up.

It seemed to Tarma that there could be no better solution to the Archduke's surfeit of girl-children. There was one older than the twins (already making a name for herself as a scholar) and three younger, one of whom was likely mage-talented, though at the tender age of three it was difficult to say how talented.

And why not? Being a bodyguard certainly runs in the family, Tarma thought, as she watched Kira and Jadrie testing each other in the circle. Jadrie was having some difficulty adjusting herself to an opponent so much smaller than she, but Kira far outstripped anyone else her age, and Tarma didn't trust any of the older (exclusively male) pupils to keep their tempers when a child so very much younger scored a touch on them. They could accept Jadrie scoring points; they could always salve their pride by telling themselves that she'd had the benefit of Tarma's schooling since the cradle. But Kira (supposedly) had no more advantages than they, and that made losing to her triply painful. The current crop of students older than Jadrie were all noble-born -- it would be a lucrative season for the school -- and they found it hard to forget that pride has no place in the training-ring.

:Or outside it,: Warrl added, echoing her thoughts. :But this is their first season with us; after the holidays and a thorough lecture or two from their fathers' Weaponsmasters, they'll come back in a properly humble frame of mind.:

True, Furface, she thought back at him, chuckling to herself. She interviewed the parents of prospective students very carefully, and at holiday time sent home letters of evaluation and instruction timed to reach the parents at about the same time the students did. This year's lot wasn't bad, but the older boys all shared the regrettable certainty that their age and sex meant superiority in the ring over younger, smaller, or female opponents. Tarma's letters of instruction this year carried an admonition about that -- and the caution that underestimating a smaller or female opponent could get them seriously dead if they were permitted to hold onto that delusion.

These were all oldest sons, extremely precious to their families (or they wouldn't be here), and it was unlikely that the parents would ignore Tarma's admonition.

And if they did -- or attempts at correction didn't 'stick' -- there was always the second season to knock some sense into them. They would be here for at least two seasons, and maybe more, and none of Tarma's pupils ever cherished such ridiculous notions past the second season.

She privately felt that it was doing Jadrie good to have a little competition from someone other than her siblings. It was also doing her good to have not one, but two girlfriends. She'd begun showing more interest in things besides fighting and riding, much to Kethry's relief. Tarma was looking forward to having the twins here for at least another three or four years, and so was Jadrie.

She checked Jadrie, who was about to land a blow, with an admonition of 'Jadrie-high.' Jadrie flushed, and signaled for a rest. Kira grounded her point, and Jadrie turned to her teacher.

'Ha'shin, I'm having a lot of trouble with that,' she said, honestly, giving Tarma the Shin'a'in honorific that meant 'teacher.'

'What do you do when your opponent is so much shorter than you are? She's scored five times on me, and I've only managed once!'

'Four-' Kira corrected. 'That rib cut wasn't more than a graze; if these had been real, I wouldn't even have marked your armor, so it hardly counts.'

Jadrie gave her friend a quick glance of gratitude, then turned her attention back to Tarma.

Tarma looked both girls over, and decided that they'd had a good enough bout that she could legitimately give them a rest. Both of them were panting, and Jadrie's face was sweat-streaked. 'Good question, and time for a demonstration,' Tarma told them, then raised her voice. 'Justin, as soon as you're ready to break, I can use you. Demonstration time.'

Justin Twoblade, who was sparring with one of the older boys, waved his free hand in acknowledgment. Three moves later, and the boy was disarmed; as he shook his stinging hand, Justin strolled over to Tarma's ring,