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The Thief Who Only Borrows (DontxBlinkk)

Cain felt the thrill of the hunt as soon as the person darted away, the knight knowing he had caught someone red handed. Whether it was the thief they were all looking for or not was yet to be answered, but the probability was high. The person was quite fast though, Cain having to close the gap between buildings by jumping the gap, and while the landing brought a wince from his wounds it didn't stop him. The knight moved to the edge of the roof just in time to see the thief running away. The knight didn't jump down immediately, instead he followed, jumping the gaps between the roofs for as long as he could, keeping a vantage point on the thief and following her. She was quick but Cain was not going to be outdone, even if he had to be a bit careless jumping between buildings. None of the patrols seemed to be aware yet but part of Cain was excited about that fact, the man realizing he had no time to look for someone to alert as the thief dodged into an alleyway a few buildings away. Cain made his move quickly and jumped down, knowing that moving from roof to roof was pointless if he couldn't see the target anyways. So he moved through the streets after that, closing the last bit of distance on the ground, hoping the thief hadn't had some elegant escape planned and hoping she was still inside the alley.

Cain was trying to be quiet and careful, knowing he was out of his element compared to his prey. Not only was the thief someone who knew the city, made evident by the previous jobs, but whoever it was had an advantage, the advantage of going into the alleyway first. There was nothing to prove the person was still there but it was possible, and in such close quarters using a sword was out of the question, the knight would be limited weapon wise and already at a clear disadvantage. So he continued barely making a sound, moving slowly and looking around, passing through the alley, looking for any signs of the thief, even if it was something to prove the person was gone. As he searched Cain was sure of one thing, the thief wasn't stupid, she had managed to avoid the patrols well enough and to avoid being caught easily by Cain himself, he wasn't going to underestimate his adversary, he couldn't afford to when he had a job to do. At least one other thing was true, that the thief had yet to return the stolen object, or at least it was unlikely if Cain had caught her before the act, that meant he still had a chance, that the hunt for the robber was just beginning.
 
Arianna's breathing had slowed to a normal speed, although her pulse was still quick, proving to herself she was still quite nervous with what was going on. Never before had she felt the rush now running through her body and it was easy to say that she was enjoying it. There wasn't a life or death aspect to it like other hunts would have, but there was certainly a risk of danger of not only being caught but even running close to the knight. If she got close enough, the chances of being recognized rose, driving her into a slight panic at just the thought. The thoughts were quickly ripped away as soon as she heard the crunching of his boots against the ground of the alley. Her entire body tensed, listening as he moved closer to her position. Arianna shifted up onto her feet, remaining in a crouching position until he got close enough to risk catching her.

In an instant, the thief was up on her feet, jumping onto the crate beside Cain, using it to launch herself off back onto the ground in a quick sprint. Avoiding her siblings was far different than avoiding a professional knight, but the basics were the same; avoid and run. She had done the avoiding, or so she hoped, by catching him off guard, and ran out to the opening, pausing for a short moment to see how Cain reacted to her small stunt. Arianna could only spend a minute checking for a response before she had to move to leave the man behind, but at the same time, she felt the need to check and see how her surprise had worked.
 
Cain walked down the alley for some time wondering if perhaps he had missed the thief, lost the person in the streets he hadn't been familiar with in some time. It was an annoying thought but at the same time he didn't give up hope, something in his urging him to continue forward and keep his eyes open. That was why when the thief finally did make his move that it didn't completely catch him off guard. In fact Cain's reflexes were so quick that his fingers managed to brush the thief's arm, not enough to get a hold on the person but enough to bring a smirk to the knight's face. He was going to catch this thief, he had to, no matter how long it took, this person wasn't going to get away from him. So he took off after her, the thief moving fast, particularly in the smaller areas which were harder for him to maneuver in. He pushed his way through the alley though, moving out of the opening not too long after the thief and following as best he could. It took him a minute to realize that he couldn't quite keep up, his armor, injuries, and the thief natural speed all making an increasingly large gap between them.

When Cain finally accepted he wasn't going to catch the thief he cursed under his breath, not giving up but knowing if he continued to simply chase the person that he would get nowhere and perhaps only give an opening to be exploited. So the knight stopped, watching where the thief went as best he could but then quickly heading back in the direction of the previous robbery. His best bet was to hope the thief would be coming back, though he couldn't help but take out a little of his rage for being outran on a box on his way to the shop that had been robbed previously. When he arrived he took a different approach, finding the patrol closest to him and telling them to be on their guard. With that done he went and made a risky bet, moving to the exact spot the item had been stolen from and keeping out of sight. He had no other options, he couldn't guess the next target, Cain had to hope the thief's prior action of returning each item would continue, and that his rash action hadn't messed it up. The commander was pissed though, gritting his teeth as he thought about how he had lost the suspect, if only he wasn't so damn slow or hurt, if only he hadn't been so weak. He couldn't focus on that, he had to focus on catching the culprit.
 
It didn't take long for Arianna to outrun the knight, giving her a chance to breath again. She slowed to a light jog before leaning over, placing her hands on her knees long enough to get a good breath of air, removing her scarf from blocking the lower portion of her face. While the race was fun, it wasn't until now that the woman began to think of Cain's injuries. There was a moment when she felt horrible about actually outrunning him. After spending a full day of walking and dealing with her random outbursts, she could only guess how tired he would have been, and now to have him running after her certainly wasn't helping his injuries. Arianna would have to remember to bring along some medicine for him the next morning. Speaking of which, the princess stood up, glancing in the area around her before starting through the alleys to get to her second target.

The herbal shop was far closer to the castle than her other spots, but far out of range of the knights who would be watching the first small shop. As always, Arianna entered through a window, cutting through the back room into the main store. She lit a small candle and carried it, in a holder, towards the front counter, picking out several natural medicines to place in the bottom of her bag. It didn't take long for her to gather what she wanted and continued to set up a small shrine of sorts, placing several candles, which she quickly lit, around the plate. If she couldn't return the goods to the proper shop, the next best place was her new target. When the knights came to look at the evidence, it would be returned to the owner. Arianna didn't waste more time and left the same way she had come, relocking the store room and closing the window behind her. Several knights on patrol passed by the small opening, forcing the thief to freeze before she carefully left the enclosure, heading back towards the passage at the castle.

What she wasn't expecting though, was to be seen. One of the newer knights, who had been stuck on patrol at the outer limits of the castle, spotted the dark figure as Arianna slid back into the castle. Without a moment of hesitation, he sprinted towards the main target where he knew Cain was set up. He asked one of the other knights where the commander was, but he quickly sent him back to his post, refusing to listen to him at that very moment, doubting it really was anything important. After all, it was Andrew's first night on patrol. The shadows were just playing tricks on his eyes.
 
Cain waited patiently but found himself realizing nothing was going to happen, the thief was obviously too intelligent to come back to the store and without another lead there was not much he could do. The knight stuck around his position for a long while though, watching the store and surrounding areas for several hours before finally giving up. Feeling rather crestfallen, his first night not exactly being what he had expected, he headed back to the barracks for a debrief, needing to hear what the guards had seen or heard. It was as he expected though, none of them had caught anything suspicious, though many of them seemed rather surprised and impressed when Cain told them of his run in to the thief. In fact, while he never got a great look at the thief, he was all the more convinced it was a she, and brought that up to them as well. It made it seem like a successful night to most of the others in the barracks, they believed if Cain could get so close on his first patrol that it would be solved quickly. Cain knew better, the predator side of him knowing that he was facing another predator, not some simple prey.

By the time he finished explaining the knight realized how tired he was, the injuries and change in pace placing a toll on the man. Before he could excuse himself and leave, wanting to get some things done before he slept, he was confronted by a young guard. The story he heard was unbelievable and while Cain would have to think it over, the young man not sounding terribly convinced he had seen something real, it was a troubling idea as there were very few that were in the castle, or had access, who could do such a thing. The worst part was that it put many knights under suspicion as well, something he didn't find terribly pleasing. Cain would have to consider all of that as he continued the hunt, though as long as he actually caught the thief it would all be fine. It was easier said than done though, after the chase he had been involved in he knew it wouldn't be simple, he would have to be craftier or just plain lucky in order to catch the criminal.

Cain was feeling a bit angry at the moment though and while he wasn't rude he simply thanked the guard Andrew for his information and left, frustrated and ready to get the minimal amount of sleep before he would need to be up for the next morning. unfortunately there was still more to do as he arrived back to his room, first of which was to toss his gear off and slip into something to wear for the night, of course before putting on new clothes he had to take care of his wounds, using some of the medicine he had purchased and hoping it would do the trick, the jumping and running he had done giving him quite the painful aftereffect. With the medicine applied and his clothing all back on he went ahead and took the rest of his medicine, the draft to help with nightmares, something he desperately hoped would work, the little sleep he would be getting would be much better without the dreadful memories clouding his mind. Regardless, the adrenaline from the night had worn and his body felt quite heavy, the knight was unable to keep himself awake long, at first sitting on the bed and trying to mull over the day, though to little avail, and before long being passed out on the bed. Apparently the draft for his nightmares being a sedative of sorts as well, not only seeking to soothe his mind but help him get to sleep and stay asleep.
 
As Arianna returned to her room, nearly getting caught by one of the late night guards, she was swiftly greeted, or scolded, by Isabelle. The girl began to run through a large list of things that went wrong that day, including loosing her in the city. She continued to talk as the thief changed into her far more comfortable clothing while she had the chance to relax. Soon enough, the woman stopped and decided it was time for her to leave. Isabelle did her final bits of helping before giving the princess a deep bow and left the room. Arianna knew she had done something wrong if her friend was bowing to her; she only did that the most sarcastic times. But at least she didn't mention anything about Cain. if any rumours were being passed around, Isabelle would have been certain to tell the blonde as soon as she could. That gave Arianna some hope that if they kept their meetings a secret, the two of them had a chance to have private moments, even if for just a small bit of time.

She wasn't awake for very long. The princess's adventure through the streets was plenty for her for one day. It didn't take long for her to fall into a deep sleep, curling into a loose ball under the sheets.

------X------

The sun rose early the next day, signalling yet another nice day for the city. When Isabelle entered the room, she saw exactly what she had thought would be there; Arianna still sleeping, although she had remained still for the most part over the night. There was another struggle to wake her, but eventually she did get up and got ready for the day. It took a reminder of visiting the knights to get her moving, as she knew her brother must have been waiting for her to leave the castle. Isabelle insisted on coming along today, at least for the morning, and Arianna agreed just so she could leave her room. Isabelle was good at threatening her with things like not allowing her to leave, or better yet coming up with some brilliant idea to do something with her mother. Arianna hated that more than anything.

Instead of joining her parents for breakfast, Arianna met up with her brother and sister outside of the kitchen before quickly going inside to grab a few pieces of fresh fruit to eat on their way outside. Zachary was bouncing on his way out to the training grounds while Celia was cheerful in her own way. She quickly spotted Christoph in the group of knights and, with a sweet smile, crossed the open space to her 'champion'. Zachary took the chance to greet the men, wishing them all a good morning with a small cheerful tone in his voice. Arianna on the other hand, waited off to the side, allowing her siblings a chance to show off while she watched them and the group in front of her. She wanted to know what they were talking about before she approached them and was caught off guard. There was a chance they would be talking about the thieving incident last night, or that the conversation would have ended when the royals arrived. Either way, Arianna doubted she was too interested in the polite greetings they were about to pass around. No, she would rather wait for Cain...
 
When Cain finally woke up it was surreal, he had managed a full night sleep without any of the nightmares he had been plagued with for so long. In fact his dreams had been rather pleasant, not that he remembered them in great detail but just waking with a good feeling was a start to getting back to normal. Above that he was refreshed, a feeling he had long since forgotten and one he had definitely missed. He would have to be sure and thank Cecil, the man would be getting his business for sure and more so his thanks. It wasn't all good news though, the knight had overslept and while he had only been asleep another hour or so it was enough to make him feel behind. Truthfully he needed it and that fact was obvious, so much so that none of the other knights has tried to wake their commander, leaving him to sleep and recover. Cain disliked sleeping so long though and he quickly got out of bed, quickly reapplying the medication for his wounds. Contrary to the day before he didn't suit up in his armor, the pain from yesterday and his lack of speed not being helped by the heavy armor, and while it was risky for a knight not to wear his gear it wasn't unheard of. So he grabbed his weapons and headed out of his room, smoothing his hair down as he went towards the training grounds.

Cain had a 'just woke up' look going on as he arrived on the training grounds and while it worked for him, even being a bit attractive on him, it was something the others hadn't seen in awhile. Most of the knights were actually pleased to see a less rigid Cain, even if few would admit it, the others were more indifferent or hadn't ever seen the imperfect side of him. The knight wasn't concerned about such things and while it was mostly due to him not realizing it, it was also because of his incredible mood. To not have to spend the night tossing and turning to the bad memories was a godsend. To make his day better he soon saw Arianna, the woman being off to the side and directly in his path to the knights, giving him reason to stop and chat with her before addressing anyone else, and nobody interrupted as he walked over to her, the knights going about their business and thinking nothing of it. "Princess, good morning. I am glad to see you decided to join us." He gave a slight smile, having to keep most of his facade up to ensure nobody thought it strange, but the smile was genuine even if subtle and his voice had trace amounts of emotion as one would if they were happy to see a friend. No doubt it was going to be a good day for Cain, even if he still had a thief to deal with.
 
Arianna turned when she heard Cain's voice and smiled, first as a polite greeting, but as she got a look at him, it became more sincere. It looked as if Cain was a completely new person that day, thanks to a good night's rest she expected. Whatever Cecil had given him looked as if it worked wonders on the man. "Good morning, commander," she greeted, giving the man a small, greeting bow. It didn't last long, as the princess wasn't quite done looking at the man's new, most likely temporary, style, although she would never admit it out loud. "Is it proper to guess you slept well?" She didn't really need to ask; she already knew the answer. "More importantly..." Her voice dropped in volume as she spoke privately to the man. "Ready to accept your punishment?" She did her absolute best to keep her face either neutral or cheery, but the tone in her voice said something completely different. Her feelings about the man's current look slipped into her voice, but after her comment, she dropped the feeling her words held.

Zachary was busy attempting to convince one of the knights that he should be allowed to fight when Cain came over to the princess. It took him a few minutes to realize the man was there, but as soon as he noticed him, the prince wasted no time in calling him over. "Arianna, let the commander go! He needs to convince Girard I should be able to learn a bit."

Arianna smiled as she looked over and held up her first finger. "We'll be right over," she assured him, dropping her hand to turn back to Cain.
 
Just hearing Arianna's voice increased Cain's spirits further, over all making him feel quite ready for whatever this new day could throw at him. "I did sleep well, better than I have in years." Years was the truth, not that he had nightmares for that long, but he had never been one to wake up with a refreshed feeling, not with all the responsibility on his shoulders. It seemed Cecil was far to kind, giving him a medication that not only eliminated his nightmares but also helped him sleep soundly for the night, it was one hell of a combination that Cain had desperately needed. Of course Cain's improved mood caused him to notice more subtle things as well, his mind being able to focus more clearly without the nightmares weighing it down. What he noticed was a tone, one that came from the princess and sent chills down his spine. When she mentioned his punishment her face was cheery, to an outside observer it would look like normal conversation, but the voice, it had other things in mind. It disappeared as if never there afterwards and Cain said nothing but a part of him reacted and he couldn't help but play along internally, shooting her a rather confident look, he was not going to be outdone by the princess.

The young prince made for a good distraction, allowing their conversation to end without a real answer, though he was ready for the 'punishment' whenever it came. "Let's not keep the man waiting." He spoke with a small grin, turning and walking towards the prince, still not giving her an answer. "So, you want to learn a little something do you?" He asked as he approached, his voice and the look on his face being very different from the day before and everyone seemed to notice it. Of course nobody had really got the full story, many believed he was just tired after a long ride or another simple reason, very few people had any idea of the real reason Cain's mood was so dark, and even out of those who did few knew the exact story behind it. He still had some recovery to go, and while the nightmares were gone the memories remained, but being able to push the thoughts away, to sleep without being plagued, it was enough for the time being. Besides, the knight needed to focus on the eager young prince and be careful of his beautiful older sister's plotting.

As the knight stood next to the prince he quickly began to nod, pointing at Girard almost accusingly, though it was more playful than serious. "He won't let me, I am hoping you can convince him otherwise." Cain looked over to Girard and then back to the prince with a small, almost mischievous half-smile, "I don't see any harm in you learning a few things, in fact..." He stopped and turned around, looking at the two princesses and specifically stopping his gaze on Arianna, "Perhaps we could hold a workshop for all of you. You could learn a couple of things, Christoph can give you some lessons, and we can have little miss perfect get her hands a bit dirty." It had been a long time since Cain had spoken in such a way, turning to the prince and each princess and giving them an almost challenging look, all of the knights giving small laughs of agreement as well. He was sure he would get at least two of them to jump for joy at the proposition, the challenging glance was more for Arianna than the others. His energy, and daring for teasing Arianna, were more like his days as a young knight than his recent attitude, but what could he say, a good night sleep had done wonders for his mood and it was certainly showing itself.
 
"This is on you then, Cain," Girard commented, not too enthusiastic about teaching the royals. He'd leave that to Cain, if the man was so set on teaching them.

After Cain's confidant, yet challenging, looks, Arianna couldn't turn this down. Her brother was excited, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet like any young boy would. His dreams were coming true; he was going to train with the knights. But the princesses had a bigger choice to make. Both the girls exchanged looked, almost expecting the other to say something, most likely each thinking the other would turn the offer down. But the younger, strawberry blonde girl spoke first. Her voice was much softer than Arianna's, simply from lack of experience in the outside world and a gentler nature, but in the end, the two certainly sounded like sisters. She was literally the perfect princess, shorter than most males, or even women her size with the brightest blue eyes imaginable and long, silky hair, which was partly tied back by a dark purple ribbon. There was no question why Christoph liked being around her. Celia was a gentle soul, there was no denying that. But her words, for the first time in her life, seemed to go against her character.

"We never know when we'll need the protection..." Her voice slowly faded off, her eyes turning from her sister to Cain. "The knights won't always be right behind us to protect us." Zachary broke into a grin and Arianna smiled in return. She nodded in agreement. "Our father couldn't argue with that logic," she agreed, setting her hand on her sister's shoulder gently. "We can't practice in these though. Let's see what else we can find." She held up a finger go Cain, nudging her sister forward slightly. "Warm up. We'll be back soon." Zachary let out a soft cheer as his sister walked back into the palace.

While Arianna knew they could never get away with wearing what would be ideal to train in, she knew a long dress certainly wouldn't do the trick. The royals had several sets of riding clothing which would work perfectly for a temporary outfit. She returned to her room after suggesting such a thing to her sister and quickly began to change, while Isabelle carefully laid her clothing out on the bed, in case she would need a quick change in the near future. This dress was shorter than her last, only coming down to her knees, while a pair of black pants covered the lower half of her body. She slipped her boots back on and adjusted everything to fit against her before Isabelle braided her hair, folding it up into a loose bun to keep it out of the way. Taking the same path back, she picked up her sister, who was wearing an outfit much like hers, and the two returned to the field.

Zachary was watching the knights run through their warm ups closely, waiting for his sisters to arrive before they could being their work together. He had just about as much knowledge about what was going on as the two women did, but he was far more eager to learn. The two women rejoined their brother, resting against the wooden fence of the training ring, watching the same scene their brother was so into viewing.
 
Cain knew it was on him, he was sure it could land him in some hot water, especially since he was including the princesses but he found himself not really caring. Besides, each of the three royal family members wanted to participate, not to mention Girard was one of the few who didn't want to get involved at least in some way, even if it as just watching. As the princesses went to prepare for their lessons the knights, all quite excited about what would be going on that day, got into position to warm up. The main part of a knights warm up routine was simple moving around, not running but going through the basic movements, swinging their weapons and performing the more basic moves, the stuff they would be teaching the royals. It was harder than it looked as well, swinging a sword so many times taking its toll, though for the veteran knights it wasn't anything difficult. When the knights had gone through their movements and moved around a bit they all stopped, eyes going first to the royals and then to Cain, curious about how he would go about the unusual morning training.

The commander quickly moved from the group of knights and over towards the royals, looking over at them all, though he paid particular attention to Arianna. The princess was most certainly still giving off a royal air but the change in outfit did her justice, the woman looking amazing in the more battle appropriate attire. Cain was sure she would have done well as a warrior or in the real world if she had been born into a different life, though in her current world, being a princess, she was doing fine as well. He didn't linger for too long, not wanting it to be noticeable, and quickly motioned for them to rise, "Come now, before we begin out fun for the day you all need to pick out a sword, get one that suits you." With that he began walking away, heading straight for the area in which they kept racks of swords for training purposes, many knights not using their own swords for the constant practice. There were many different blades on the racks, from longer and heavier weapons to lighter and more easily wielded swords, even an assortment of shields and other weapons if one so chose. They were all plain but that couldn't be helped, most weapons were unless you had the money to afford otherwise, which none of the knights did. Some like Cain had higher quality but none had anything ornamental.

As Cain stood next to the swords he was joined by a few of the more interested knights, particularly his trainee and Christoph, both of which stood closer to Cain, his trainee seeming captivated by the royals, and Christoph focused on Celia. They made it obvious, and while Cain was probably as captivated by Arianna, despite his obliviousness, he didn't show it as easily, or at least if he did he hadn't noticed it yet, even if others had. "I can choose if you can't find something that feels comfortable." As he waited some of the other knights began their regular training, still interested but wanting to get moving and figuring they would be able to see plenty while they practiced, not needing to all gawk and make the guests nervous.
 
Celia didn't seem to mind the attention as the trio moved to the rack of blades. She seemed to study the weapons, thinking of which would suit her the best, but settled on turning towards Christoph, asking for a small suggestion or advice on what she should use. The man didn't hesitate to join her, giving his own recommendations as to what she could possibly use, while at the same time showing exactly what he knew to his newly returned commander. There wasn't much time for the two men to speak to each other before Cain left, as Christoph was still a new, unknown solider, but now that he had a position in the kingdom, he felt he had the ability to show off and would use it to the best of his ability. Especially when the younger princess was around. There was no question that he was trying to impress her.

Zachary on the other hand, didn't seem to notice. The young male quickly gawked over the blades, silently admiring their make and beauty before he picked one out of the line up that would fit him well. It was shorter than the rest, but then again, so was the prince, and looked worn, but held a good bit of experience, most likely being passed down from a past knight who had used it to it's limit in a real battle. It was simple, with a wrapped wooden handle and firm steel blade and fit the prince's hand perfectly. He turned back to Cain with a smile, his eyes lighting up, giving him a childish shine in his eyes far younger than the fifteen-year-old typically had.

The eldest didn't need help and made that clear by her immediate choice in weapon. She took one of the few thick bladed rapiers on the rack, lifting it with ease. Its blade looked to be just as strong as any other sword there, but the hand was slightly more ornate with a silver basket handle instead of a simple handle and guard. Arianna had handled a sword in the past, but only for a short time. A prince in a neighbouring kingdom had taken her out to a training field for a few hours during their courting period. He taught her the most basic of steps, which her father allowed simply because they were actually spending time with each other. It was a well known rumour to those who listened to such a thing, that there was a good chance there would be a marriage a year or two later, but the prince had passed only months after. Arianna recognized the sword style right away and didn't bother to question herself. Soon enough, Celia had picked her own choice and turned around to the knights with a sweet smile.
 
The difference in reaction was quite something from each of the royals, first was Celia who seemed more interested in Christoph's opinion than what felt comfortable. It didn't surprise Cain one bit and luckily it seemed the knight knew what he was talking about, helping her get a blade that would fit her. So the knight left that up to the other knight, confidence that all would be well. He turned his attention to the other two, especially the seemingly over-excited prince. Cain could understand though and he simply smiled back at the young boy when he showed his weapon of choice. It was a bit worn but it was the right size and the weight would be fine so it would do nicely, even if it wouldn't look that great. It was a surprising choice for someone of nobility, he had expected the prince to go for one of the nicer looking blades on the racks, seeing that the boy was truly interested in a good fit was a nice start. With that being taken care of, the knight not having to do anything, he turned to Arianna to find out she had more surprises yet. Out of all of them she seemed to know best what she wanted, a trait that didn't surprise him even if he knowledge of weapons did. Arianna had picked a thick rapier, a great weapon choice for someone smaller or a women, mainly due to its light weight and surprising strength.

"Well then, it seems everyone has a weapon which means we can move on to the fun stuff." With that Cain looked out on what the knights were currently doing. Many were participating in partner exercises and others were sparing, but what he wanted to run through, at least as first, was something suited for trainees. So he walked over into one of the more empty open areas and called Christoph over, wanting to show them how to do it using another knight at first and then they could all partner up. It would work perfectly, the three royals and himself, Christoph, and his new trainee. "Alright, we will start with a few basic things, first is your grip. You want your hand to wrap firmly around the hilt at a point where balance feels best, but you want to be careful not to grip it too tight, firm but with a bit of freedom so the recoil doesn't effect you too much." He was giving them something to think about, if he saw problems with their grip later he would correct it, but for the time being he didn't want to be so thorough that it became boring, he had never liked dull step by step instruction.

So with that done he drew his blade and turned to Christoph, addressing the onlookers as he got into his own rather lax stance. "Alright, we will be going over a few basic moves." The knights did a little showing, clashing their blades together in quite a quick manner, showing how to block in order to get the most effective riposte. They also showed the proper lunge technique, a few standard attack methods such as side sweeps and slashing stances, and then they had a little full speed demonstration of what combining it all looked like. Christoph was a fine warrior but Cain was still better and with his new pain and muscle medication he was faster than the day before, a complete victory even if it was only training. When it was over the two knights turned to those standing closest to them, even if they were not the only ones watching. "So, are you all ready to give it a shot?" The trainee Caleb nodded quickly, not sure who he would be training with but not really caring as long as he got to put what he had learned from watching Cain to the test. Of course Christoph went right for Celia, and while he didn't much care, Caleb turned to the prince and in a rather nervous manner asked if he would want to practice together, though the boy would understand if the prince would prefer Cain.
 
Zachary needed a bit more help than he thought he would, as he was constantly gripping the handle too hard, giving himself no chance of throwing a good swing. That was quickly corrected with a bit of help from the knights training them and he regained his enthusiasm about the situation. The princesses needed only a slight bit of help, Celia more than her sister, but soon enough, it was time for an example. The three of them watched carefully, studying the moves the best they could from their position until Cain to the best of Christoph. That was when things got far more exciting for the royals.

There was no question that the middle-aged two would work with each other. They slipped a few feet away from the group to review what they had learned. Zachary hesitated, looking between the two men before he agreed to work with Caleb. Working with someone closer to his age, although not as experienced, would help both of them; Caleb would still remember all of the basics and have a chance to work with the prince as he remembered them, and Zachary could make some progress with a knight who might possibly take over as commander in the future, as well as getting confidence, seeing that his teacher wasn't that much older than he was. He stepped away as well, his hand gripping the handle hard as they found a clear area to begin.

That left the eldest royal and Cain. Arianna looked directly at the man, raising her eyebrows slightly before stepping back slightly. "I guess I'm in your hands then," she commented. "Work on blocking first?" she suggested. If anything, a princess would need to know how to block an attack before fully taking her opponent on. After all, a princess would never want to harm another being, as the stories went.
 
Cain was not worried about the others after they went off, Celia would be fine with Christoph, and while Caleb wasn't exactly a veteran he knew enough to help Zachary with the basics. What he was worried about was Arianna, he had a feeling he would need to be slightly on guard, she had surprised him enough to cause hesitation and not to underestimate her. It was clear to Cain that she wasn't just a beautiful princess. In fact he was prepared for a small fight, only a fool would think it impossible to make a mistake a lose, and Cain just had a feeling if any of the three royals were going to do such a thing it would be Arianna. "So it seems... I will not go easy on you princess, you better be ready." He said jokingly, spinning his sword much like he had the day before with Christoph, the knight showing off a bit as he got into position. "Blocking practice is fine, just don't forget to try and incorporate a riposte in there, you cannot win a battle with just blocking, unless you want to rely on another to do you attacking." There was a hint of seriousness in his teasing tone, believing even if it only ended up being a single lesson that it should be done right and that Arianna, as well as the others, should learn that a battle will be lost if you do not both defend and attack.

As people noticed the three pairs getting into position to practice they stopped to watch, at least most of them did, eyes being on each individual pair, though a majority were eyeing Cain and Arianna. It was a treat, for all the royals of course, but particularly for Arianna to be doing something so out of character. Cain was still of great interest to everyone there as well so together they attracted some attention. "Alright, here we go..." Cain said after making sure they were far enough away from each other and holding up his sword. He waited to make sure she was ready and then went in, not going as strong as he could have but he was quick. His blows did lack a good deal of his strength and a lack of follow through was present as well, not wanting to mess up and hurt her, but it would be enough to test her ability to block, and see if she could make some attacks back at him. Not only that but the knight had put on a smirk of sorts, trying to poke at Arianna a bit as they had their training session, needing to get it out now before she decided to fulfill her promise of 'punishment'.
 
"You're a horrible instructor," Arianna mocked softly, sliding back into the stance she was taught so long ago. It was a bit awkward at first, but she slowly got used to it again to make sure she was ready when Cain came at her. "We need a place to start at least," she commented, noting the tone he was using. She wasn't about to snap at the man about how she knew such a thing, since the man was simply teasing her and her idea of a lesson. She felt the eyes settle on her, attempting to brush them off as she knew there was no way they would stop watching. A princess learning such a thing from a knight was a rare sight and they weren't about to give it up for anything.

Arianna tensed slightly as Cain fell into his stance and, with a bit of warning, Arianna was ready for his move. She blocked the attack, thanks to the lack of strength the knight had used, and dropped her sword enough to bring another attack in at the man. As with every practice, there was the chance of hurting the other person and Arianna had no calibration set. She did her best to hold the new attack back, but in the end, it wound up being a sloppy hit, but a hit in the end. Arianna pulled back, knowing it was a horrible touch, but she doubted people expected any more from her at that point.
 
Cain could be one hell of a teacher, mainly because he believed in teaching people based on their own skills and abilities instead of trying to conform them to a specific style. Of course that meant learning what a person was good at and he still wasn't sure how to instruct Arianna, hell she had already broken the knights usual mold by picking a rapier. Some people probably thought she had picked the sword for its looks, the slightly ornate design making it fancier than the other blades, but he knew better, her odd choice was nice, even if it would take him a bit more time to figure out how exactly to coach her. He was certainly not going to have to start from the beginning, that was evident when his first attack was blocked and countered. Sure Cain wasn't going with his full power but it didn't mean he was slowing his reflexes. Even then she managed to get a sloppy hit in, the knight blocking the attack but still getting nicked by it, a scratch really but it was still enough to tear his shirt a bit since he wasn't wearing his armor.

Arianna pulled back after that and whether she realized it or not that was the correct move, if she had tried to push the attack he would have been able to knock her off balance, by pulling back she kept the slight advantage, like a fencing match. "It seems I will have to be more careful." Cain was still wearing a smirk and the onlookers were drawn in after seeing him take a hit, but he wasn't concerned with those watching. In that moment, after her hit and before he made the next move several thoughts went through his mind, the first being that he couldn't afford to be careless and the second was how captivating Arianna was. Cain wasn't the only one finding the warrior princess to be something else, many of the knights had a new respect for their princess in that moment, even if it wasn't a true fight and even if it was part luck it was still impressive as none of them had imagined it. Cain wasn't going to be thrown off or stop their practice because of that, the other royals were still involved with their practice and the knights would eventually go back to their own training. "Alright Princess, do it again." With that he launched another attack, same power level as before, still quick but he changed nothing, save being prepared to block a riposte after being nicked by her last. He would continue doing it until she showed that she had it down, or at least for a small bit, practice was repetition, the really fun stuff like sparring came after repeating it a good number of times.
 
There was no way in any world here that the princess actually wanted to hurt her temporary instructor, but if a small nick was all that came out of her sloppy attack, she was pleased. She kept a neutral expression on her face against Cain's own smirk while the man came at her again. She was careful to push his blade out of the way, pushing the tip towards the ground as she made a quick side step and brought her blade up to his under arm, lightly trailing the tip past and up to the top of his shoulders, just tugging at the fabric of his shirt before she slid away. This time, she didn't drop her guard, hoping the man would continue his attacks. She didn't dare try to throw one after another in fear of falling off balance which would not only give Cain the edge but embarrass the hell out of herself. She was just fine with embarrassing others, but when it came to herself, she great greatly frustrated and even angered at times. She didn't want to loose her cool around the knights this early in her, possibly temporary, training.
 
Arianna's speed was quite incredible, her natural speed and the weapon she was using making her difficult to deal with. Cain didn't mind it and his increase in concentration helped in avoiding another nick on his body, because he didn't need to be all scratched up for practice. One thing was for sure though, after practice was all over he was going to have to change shirts, it was once again torn and while it wasn't as bad as the last one it was still a tear. He didn't drop his movements, he wasn't going to let her keep preparing before every trade off and he soon launched another attack her way, not even attempting to hit her or even get her back for tearing his clothing, but he was putting on the pressure and not making it easy. That was the thing, he wanted to teach her and he didn't exactly like being hit, but he wouldn't hit her back even if it was frustrating. It wasn't because she was a woman, it wasn't even because she was royalty, he just didn't want to and it wasn't really necessary for training, not with someone who wouldn't be fighting every single day if at all. He wouldn't have been opposed to pushing her around a bit, maybe even some slight embarrassment by getting her weapon on the ground or something like that, though he didn't put much effort into making such a thing happen.

They continued for awhile, over time many of the onlookers went back to their own training but some stayed and watched. As time went Cain's clothing took a bit more abuse, without the armor it was a bit loose and found itself being torn by the rapier on occasion. Other than that it just because a usual knight exercise, attacker and defender didn't matter and they traded attacks and blocks. That went on for some time until Cain was satisfied, it hadn't been a fluke, and while he wasn't sure she would be able to handle him if he attacked at full power, he was convinced she had the movements of the blocking and riposte down. So with the last block Cain did he went a bit harder than usual to bring her to a stop and stepped back with a nod of his head, "Very nice, a natural I believe." He was serious and as he looked to some of the other groups he could see they had practiced that particular technique much longer and harder than the other pairs, Cain and Arianna almost sparring at one point since they didn't stop after every movement. Cain looked back to Arianna and stretched a bit, looking down at his clothing and letting out a small huff, "You could have been kinder to my shirt though, it isn't expensive but it was one of my most comfortable shirts." He shook his head and acted for a moment as if grieving before meeting his eyes with hers, "Have to move on I suppose. Was there anything else you really wanted to give a shot? Perhaps a lunge, it suits your weapon, or maybe you want to give disarming a shot... Or maybe some practice through doing?" Cain was still in his good mood and left their next act up to Arianna, enjoying himself and hoping she was as well.
 
Arianna seemed to be enjoying herself as the man continued to spar with her. It didn't take long until she was breathing slightly harder than normal, but she was certainly keeping up with the level the knight was putting out. She knew quite well that Cain was holding back more than he probably ever did, but it was giving her a chance to get some hits and practical training in. With each cut of his shirt, Arianna drew back slightly, trying to hold herself back, yet still knowing she had to make the hits to make them count. Luckily, Cain was being careful enough not to leave any scars on her own body, although she felt or saw were the hits would touch her if the man were to go through with his attacks. By the end of it all, there were quite a few holes in the man's shirt and Arianna was quite proud of her blade work; both in the small skill change as well as the small peaks beneath the man's shirt. As she felt the more powerful push from the man, the princess took the hint and pulled back with not only her weapon, but her entire body.

She smiled innocently at Cain's comment about a natural talent. Silently, she thanked the previous prince before taking a moment to look over her younger siblings. They both seemed to be enjoying themselves as they learned from their temporary mentors, although they weren't anywhere near the sparing point like Cain and Arianna had been in. The princess didn't bother to keep watching and slowly turned back to the knight. "I could buy you another," she suggested innocently, tipping her head slightly to take a look over the man's ripped shirt. She locked eyes with the man though as he suggested their next step in her training. "Disarming." That was the next best thing to defeating and blocking attacks. She was fully prepared to take on the next step, following along as the knight taught her exactly what to do.

After another few minutes and bouts of practice, Celia began to tire of training, and quickly told Christoph. The two of them broke off, returning the practice weapon and walked towards her sister, taking a moment to watch the two run through their final bits of training.
 
Cain's shirt being tattered didn't bother him that much, it was comfortable but he would probably have been purchasing new clothing before long anyways, all that he had being quite old. What had bothered him to some degree was the hints of his other injuries that showed as the clothing became more and more tattered, as he didn't want people to see the really bad stuff. He wasn't covered in scars either though, and while he was still worried about it, he had been fortunate enough to show off more of his untarnished athletic body than the other sections that could have been shown. Arianna choice made matters easier for Cain, disarming technique not having the risk of his shirt becoming more tattered. Not only was it a choice Cain found appealing, it was something that Arianna seemed to have a knack for, the princess once again impressing the knight. He didn't stop with disarming techniques either, he wanted to at least give the princess a taste of the other ways she could go about defending herself, and he taught her based on what he had seen thus far, going with a lunge and also teaching her where she should hit someone for the most effective strikes.

By the end Cain had some confidence that she would be able to defend herself, not that she could be the most effective fighter, nor did she had the stamina for long bouts, but she had a few tricks to help her out. Of course the most powerful advantage the princess has was that nobody would assume she could do anything, much less actually disarm or riposte a blow, that would be her greatest weapon. When they finished going through what he thought necessary he stopped, once again putting a tad more force behind one of his blocks in order to tell her it was time to stop. He quickly took a deep breath, the veteran knight not being winded but with his injuries he found the training session to be more trouble than he had anticipated. Luckily he had enough stamina to fall back on, and pride didn't allow him to show his soreness, so he simply nodded and shot Arianna a smile. "Impressive Princess, I did not think it would come so easily to you, it doesn't to most."

She was truly amazing but Cain couldn't stand there all day, so instead he turned to Christoph, "How did she do?" He asked with a grin, wondering if Christoph had actually taught her anything or if they had just messed around. He nodded and gave a short, "She did fine." He didn't want to act as smitten as he was when Cain was addressing him, even if it was impossible to hide it entirely. Then he went over to the Prince and Caleb, the two stopping when he came over, Zachary looking a tad winded but his trainee looked just fine, the advice on cardio he had given the day before apparently not needed, or at least already being taken care of. He nodded to his trainee before looking over at Zachary, remembering that, while he had drawn the other two in, that Zachary was the one it had originally been for, even if he had a suspicion Arianna enjoyed it just as much. "So Young Prince, how was it?" He wanted to ensure that they had all enjoyed it and possibly extend an invitation to future training, assuming the king didn't ask him not to do it again personally or that they wanted to. Not that he was rushing them to finish but the knights would only be training a bit longer before they all left to attend to duties and to eat, and generally only those still in training spent considerable hours on the field.
 
Arianna followed Cain's teachings and commands as she learned more than she expected from the man. The biggest problem would be if the two of them met in the streets again and she needed to use what she had learned. That would certainly get her caught, since it would be a sudden change in the thief's style. But the princess had a feeling that if things went as she thought they would, she wouldn't have to deal with the knight again. Her new idea would hopefully work and keep the guards guessing, as they would never know where she's strike next. Perhaps that would help to lead them off her trail.

Either way, when the knight began to slow to a stop, Arianna went with him, already feeling her muscles ache from the lack of use. Between the night before and the short training that morning, it was more movement than she was used to on a normal basis and she was quickly growing tired. Luckily, her sister had stopped as well so she didn't feel as bad about stopping so soon. Not that the knights would care. She imagined she had impressed them more than they thought she ever would. When Cain turned to Christoph, Arianna tugged her sister away, returning the weapon to the rack before the two returned to the small training opening.

Zachary, although tired and slightly out of breath, was quite pleased. He didn't seem to be phased by Caleb's ability to train longer than himself, but when Cain approached, the prince smiled once again. "It was fun," he told the man happily. "I really enjoyed it. My father told me he'd bring me out here soon, but he--"

"Zachary." Arianna's scolding voice cut the boy off into a quick silence. He glanced at his sisters before turning back to the younger knight.

"Thank you for training me. You were great." He smiled and looked back to Cain. "Can we stay around and watch the rest of you practice then?"
 
Everyone enjoying the training made it worth doing. Of course when Arianna snapped at mention of the King Cain grew a tad curious but he didn't ask, and if any of the other knights noticed they didn't say anything either, maybe even because they were scared of Arianna's wrath after seeing her train. "Well, your father knows he is welcomed here whenever he wishes to come and even if he does not come down here you are always welcomed, this doesn't have to be a one time thing." Cain was sure some of the knights would caution him about that later but he didn't care, he would let Zachary participate. Also, while he wouldn't say it out loud but he knew that Zachary being around would most likely mean Arianna would come around more and that was a reason for the man. Caleb was beaming when Zachary thanked him and he nodded quickly the the Prince, thanking him as well. It was a good experience for the man and he seemed very happy to be doing anything with the young Prince.

"You can stay and watch as long as you wish, even participate further if you so wish, though the ending here will probably be warm downs and some light sparring. I do need to run through some evaluation exercises with Caleb though, he was assigned to me upon my return and I have yet to see what he's made of, you can also join in if you wish." With that he raised him finger as if to ask them to give him a minute, "First I need to grab a new shirt though, your sister did quite a number to this one. So think it over until I get back." With that he took off, shooting Arianna a look as he passed her to head towards his room. He was wondering when she was going to do what she said, his punishment. He was also looking at her for his own pleasure as well, not because of her beauty but he was also still impressed as hell with what she could do. It didn't take him long to get back to his room and grab a new shirt, tossing the tattered one aside and knowing it was not going to be wearable anymore. He did take a minute to apply some more of his medication, just another little bit on a particular injury that felt worse than the others after the training. Then he headed back, ready to finish the last bit of the training and then continue with his day, not sure what he was going to do about lunch but immediately wondering what Arianna was going to be doing for lunch, even as he returned and began the last bits of morning training having her on his mind.
 
The royals seemed excited about staying, some more than others. The prince wasn't about to miss this opportunity since he had made sure he had time to watch the knights. With how things had been going in the palace, Zachary wasn't getting a lot of time for what he wanted to do, so when he had a chance to, he took it and used it to it's full advantage. The prince quickly turned back to Caleb, followed swiftly by turning to the other knights before he approached their training grounds again and waited for them to begin more than just the general warm ups.

On the other hand, Arianna smirked as soon as her eyes met Cain's. She knew exactly what she had done and had meant every cut placed on the man's shirt. While the man was in his room, Arianna took some time to talk to the other knights, being just as polite as she would to any other stranger. A few complimented her on her newly found skills and she gave them all her common response; a smile, nod of her head and a soft "thank you". They all looked pleased to get to speak to the princess and Arianna remained as polite as always to the men around her. Celia was busy with Christoph, talking to a few of the other knights, but it seemed to be Arianna that they were really wanting to talk to. The younger sibling was sweeter that her sister, but Arianna had the skill they were impressed with. But when their commander returned, they seemed to scatter, saying their swift good-byes to the princess to return to their training.

Arianna glanced towards the man as he returned and gave him a slight smile, approaching him as he came closer. "Oh, no prize for beating you then?" she teased, lifting the arm of the man's new shirt between her finger and thumb. She dropped it and glanced up to meet the man's eyes, her teasing smirk turning to a far more genuine one. "You really made my brother's day by allowing him to do this. Thank you."
 
Cain laughed, in good spirits as Arianna kept up so easily, her more playful side almost reserved for him, at least that was the way he felt. "No prize, this time." He said with a small shake of his head, not knowing whether he should encourage her too much, an Arianna with too much confidence would be the end of him. Her more sincere words made him drop the playful tone and give her a normal smile, "Of course, I don't mind having him around and he is welcomed any time, as are you and your sister. Besides, it is a pleasure to have a young man who is passionate and excited about learning, it makes it easy." With that he gave a bow, from an onlookers position it being very respectful, but the look in his eyes showed a sarcasm of sorts, "Now if you will excuse me princess, I have to get back to my very important training." With that he turned around and headed towards the two younger men, both Caleb and Zachary looking just as excited as ever, if not more so as he finally headed their way.

As he approached Cain was just hoping he didn't have another shirt ruined. "Alright you two, we will have to do the evaluations separately, Caleb first." Caleb stepped forward after that, Cain giving him specific instructions on what to do and studying how the knight in training performed. There was also quite a bit of advice, how he should hold his weapon and even what to use with the sword, the young man being perfect for the traditional sword and shield approach to fighting. It went pretty well, the kid wasn't the most talented swordsman but he listened carefully and never made the same mistake twice. Before long he had a small sparring session with Cain and while he didn't come close to hitting the commander he did fairly well. After that it was Zachary's turn, and while Cain wasn't as strict or formal about it he did give the boy some tips after seeing him perform what he had practiced and at the end done a small sparring session with the prince as well. Zachary wasn't a particularly skilled swordsman either but he was eager and obviously enjoyed it.

When the evaluations were completed Cain took charge of ending the entire session, getting all the knights together for a bit of warm downs and chatting with a few of the men about whatever they were having trouble with. It was during that part of the day, when he was more focused on the knights than the royals, that it was revealed just why he was the commander. His combat ability wasn't the only thing that took Cain to the top, nor was it only his charisma, the man truly knew weapons and he was incredibly skilled at catching mistakes and helping others correct them, it made him quite the officer and while his skill as a battlefield leader couldn't be seen in whole it was also displayed as he ordered everyone around. When everyone began to drift away, Cain dismissing them to go eat and attend to duties, he turned back and walked towards the three guests, running his hand through his hair as he addressed them. "Well, don't hold back, how was it? Everything you hoped?" He was speaking in a light tone, wanting to see what they thought, but mostly wanting to strike up conversation to see what Arianna thought, and maybe see what she had planned, finding himself wanting to spend more time with her as he had yesterday, though he wouldn't be surprised if she had other plans or was busy.
 
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