HONOR BOUND (The Spare Heir) Read Online Free

back to see that Gregorio was watching him.  “ He’s testing me.  Great!  No pressure !”
    Jorem turned back to the swords.  “ The trainees used sticks at first, but I don’t see any sticks sooo, the next best thing would be .” Reaching out he grasped the hilt of one of the wooden swords.  It was heavier than it looked for being made of wood. The edges and the point had been blunted.  As he drew the sword from the rack, Jorem saw that it was a bit longer than his own sword and that it had numerous dents and scrapes along the blade.  The grip was darkened from the sweat of the many hands that had held it.
    When Jorem turned back to the room he saw Gregorio give him a slight nod.  He almost dropped the sword when the weapons master barked, “Pair up!  Jeseph, I want you to work with Jorem.  Basic defense moves and evasion.  Light contact and focus on stance and sword positions.”  With that the weapons master began moving from pair to pair, giving instructions as he went.
    A young guardsman approached Jorem, his tunic coloring marking him as a palace guard.  The guard gave Jorem a deep formal bow then stood stiffly erect.  “Your Highness, I am Sir Jeseph, son of Lord Andrew.  I am to show you the basic moves for defense against an armed opponent.”
    What followed for the next half mark was Sir Jeseph explaining a variety of stances, movements and terms that left Jorem more confused than anything.  It might have been less confusing if Jeseph hadn’t begun and ended every sentence with “Your Highness,” “Prince” or “Sire.”  With grim determination Jorem did his best to keep everything sorted out in his mind, though he quickly lost track of which terms belonged to which moves.
    Next, Jeseph began instructing Jorem on how to position his body and sword for each of the stances.  To everyone else in the arena it was most likely very amusing.  Each time Jeseph used a royal honorific, Jorem would grit his teeth.  Each time Jorem’s uncooperative body would refuse to move as instructed, Jeseph looked confused and perplexed.
    “Let’s try feint and evade,” Jeseph said with a little bit of exasperation in his voice.  “Hold your sword in the guard position.  A little higher Your Highness.  Sire, if you could turn the sword slightly so that the edge is toward me.  Very good, Your Highness.  Now then Sire, take one step forward then two steps back.  As you step back allow the tip of your sword to move slightly away from your body.”
    Dutifully Jorem took one step forward, focused on moving his sword point away from himself, stepped back onto his own foot and fell backward with a thump onto his posterior.  Jeseph looked shocked.  “Your Highness, are you alright?  This is totally my fault.  I am so sorry.  Are you injured?”
    Jorem looked up to see Jeseph wringing his hands, his eyes wide and an expression of pure panic on his face.  Without thinking Jorem retorted, “So, it’s your fault that I am a complete klutz.  And all this time I thought it was me.”
    With that Jorem began to laugh and every time he looked up and saw the bewildered face of Jeseph he laughed harder.  What Jorem had said slowly began to sink in and Jeseph’s expression changed from complete shock to one of amusement.  Soon both boys were laughing.
    “Is there a problem here?”  The weapons master’s voice cut though their mirth instantly.
    “I’m sorry sir.  I tripped and fell.  I fear I may have injured my pride,” Jorem said.  Jeseph’s face turned red with the effort of trying not to laugh.
    “More practice, less foolery!”  Gregorio shook his head, turned and moved to another pair of guardsmen.
    Picking himself up off of the floor, Jorem stood squarely in front of Jeseph.  “Jeseph, my name is Jorem, not Prince, not Sire, and certainly not Your Highness.  The rumors that I’m sure you’ve heard that I am a bit clumsy are at least partly true.  My mind and my body don’t