Secrets in the Wolf King's Castle

Practice Makes

“You have to anticipate your opponent’s moves,” Lyria called out from the sidelines of the practice arena where Annicke and Weston were sparring.

From beside her, Wyatt laughed. He had his feet up and was peeling an orange in a leisurely manner, enjoying the amusement of watching his younger siblings learn to spar. “Come now, Weston, she’s quite literally your twin! You should be able to anticipate her next move, for the Goddess’s sake! You can usually tell me exactly what she’s thinking even when she’s half the castle away!”

“It’s–” Weston huffed as he dodged blow after blow from his sister, “different–” he was having trouble speaking, so wrapped up in trying not to get hit, “when– I– am– fighting!” He said the last word with emphasis, and suddenly he kicked off his left foot, jumping into the air and managing to catch Annicke off guard.

Annicke let out a surprised little breath of air as she fell. She wasn’t hurt, of course, just taken off guard. Baiden whooped excitedly from his spot next to Lyria, his pockets bulging with freshly made candy from Ruthlie. Lyria pretended not to notice his blatant disregard for her rules, ruffling his hair affectionately.

“That’s it, Weston!” Wyatt called. Annicke rolled to one side, then jumped to her feet, barely managing to catch Weston’s arm as it swung toward her face.

“Hey!” Lyria called out reproachfully, “be careful!”

“Sorry, Mother,” Weston grunted as Annicke struck him in the side. Lyria laughed. Truthfully, she could tell Annicke was having a great time. More than that, it was so unusual for Weston to become interested in a combat lesson that Lyria did not want to do much to discourage him. Weston shared all of his father’s bookishness, but none of fighting spirit.

“It’s nice to see him getting into it,” Wyatt commented in a low voice, nodding at Weston as he circled Annicke, looking for a weakness.

“I was just thinking that,” Lyria replied. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

“You know,” Wyatt said, “this may sound silly, but I think he’s just self-conscious.”

“Self-conscious?”

“Sure. He’s always been such a serious child, so prone to overthinking. You and Father are both fighters of near mythical proportions. We all grew up hearing the tales of all the things you have both done.”

“Ah,” Lyria waved a hand modestly. “You shouldn’t listen to those. Oftentimes even I am surprised to hear of the things I have done!”

Wyatt laughed. “I know that now, but growing up, well,” he paused, looking over at his younger siblings. “You and father cast a long shadow. Everyone expects us to be as good as you are, or better.” He sighed. “Annicke and I both excel at combat, if I do say so myself. I suppose that Weston probably thought that he was better off being the son who excelled as a scholar.”

“Hmmm,” Lyria muttered. “What I am hearing is that I did not impress my academic feats upon you well enough!”

Wyatt laughed again. He offered Lyria a wedge of the orange he was holding, and she took one. He offered the same to Baiden, but the young pup merely gave his older brother a sly smile and pulled more candy out from a pocket.

“I think he wants to learn more about fighting,” Wyatt said. “I just think he is afraid to disappoint you.”

“He never could,” Lyria said. Her voice was quiet as she watched her two children sparring more vigorously. Annicke was still clearly the stronger of the two, and she was able to gain the upper hand that way. But Weston was clearly the more strategic thinker. He watched Annicke move with a careful eye. His every move had the tenor of calculation behind it.

Still, Lyria knew from experience that strategy could only take a wolf so far. Indeed, that was how she had won her mate’s heart, in a way, in a sparring match between the many wolves vying for his attention. They’d all been competent fighters, but Lyria didn’t just strategize. She felt the battle. She felt it in her very blood. She often felt that she didn’t move in a battle, the battle moved her.

“Enough,” she called out. The twins both stopped, slightly out of breath, to turn and look at her. Weston leaned, not entirely subtly, on his knees. Lyria fought to keep the flicker of a smile off her face.

“You’re both talented,” she said, taking special care to look at Weston as she spoke. She didn’t miss the spark of pride that flashed through his eyes at her words. “Annicke, you have a certain natural strength that will serve you well. Weston, it’s clear you understand the theory of how to fight. You think your moves through. That’s important.”

The twins exchanged secret little smiles, and Annicke gave Weston an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

“But,” Lyria said, “these qualities alone won’t carry you to victory.” She gestured to Annicke, who took a cautious step forward. “Annicke,” Lyria directed all her attention at the young wolf. “Can you tell me what your biggest mistake was?”

“Uh… I didn’t guard my left side?”

“A mistake, but no, not your biggest mistake,” Lyria smiled at her. “You let him get in your head!” Lyria squared up. “Here, come at me,” she told her daughter.

“What? I can’t… I mean, you’re much bigger than me!”

“Fights aren’t always fair,” Lyria replied. “Come on.”

Tentatively, Annicke moved toward Lyria. Without a moment’s hesitation, Lyroa pounced, using her daughter’s hesitation to pick her up and pin her to the ground, gently, but firmly. Lyria held her daughter down and said, “see, it wasn’t even that hard to get into your head, and once I did, you had no power.”

She stood, and let her daughter get up. Annicke brushed her dress off to shake away the dirt.

“The most important thing, children,” Lyria said, as she walked back to the sidelines, “is that you have to believe you can win.”

“But I can’t! Not against you!”

Lyria shrugged. “If you think that way, you’ll always be right about it. But that will be your fault, no one else’s.” She turned around to face Weston and Annicke once more, the two pups staring at each other with obvious confusion. “Try again.”