8 A New Start

Alex went to bed that day with the explicit instructions to the other four to wake up early. They were all working now and there'd be no slacking, he'd said.

Alex, Robin, Felicia, Evelyn, and Liana were having to bunk together again, in that small room. Herm promised that Lis would clean the other room that had been locked all this time, and the two boys could have it. Lis had looked a bit surprised at the announcement but had said nothing.

Alex woke up with a start. He'd been dreaming of being back home again, lying on his BMW's hood with Felicia, looking up at the starry night when suddenly his girlfriend had been jerked into the darkness. The first thing he saw was her face, fast asleep. His breathing slowed a bit as he realized it was a nightmare; that in reality, she was right here next to him. Her body warm.

He reached out his hand and gently touched her cheek. She snuggled a bit in his hand and lightly opened her eyes.

"What I wouldn't give to wake up to this everyday for the rest of my life..." Alex whispered.

She smiled and kissed his hand, and half closed her eyes to go to sleep again.

"Hey, wake up." Alex said, laughing. "Come on, you can do it."

"Do I have to?" she moaned.

"What're you doing? When me and Robin shift over to the other room, you're the one I'm counting on to get the two girls up. You can't join them!"

Felicia laughed and sat up, leaning on her arm, and looked down at Alex, grinning at her. "I love you." she whispered. Alex slowly sat up, his face a few inches from hers. "I love you too." he answered, and kissed her. It was a tender moment; a gentle kiss stolen before the world started waking up...before life threw today's troubles at them.

When they broke apart, Felicia looked around at her sleeping companions. "Is this weird?" she asked Alex.

He looked at her quizzically. "Weird that I'm sharing a bed with my girl in a house with no other beds?"

She laughed. "No, I mean...the others are right there."

"Hahahaha, you're talking as if we're having se-"

Alex stopped himself for a second. "All we're doing is sleeping together, in the literal sense, because we have no other choice. Would you rather I go sleep with Rob?"

"I'd rather you not leave me at all. That you'd just sit here and hold me." she whispered.

Alex grinned, making her heart flutter. "I would if I could." he answered. "Now, get the others up, we've got work today."

Even though the Fegg couple insisted that they owed him, Alex still felt like he was indebted to them everyday for their kindness. As a result, he didn't want to give them any more inconvenience.

After breakfast, the girls went to the kitchen with Lis to experiment on different bakery products while Alex and Robin went to Herm's outdoor workshop. He was waiting for them, ready to begin their lessons.

"Ok, boys, let's begin your journey into the world of smithing, eh?" said Herm, jovially.

Alex and Robin nodded.

"Instead of starting you two off with simple menial stuff, I'm gonna throw you in the deep end with bladesmithing. You'll find that it's easy to learn this stuff, but hard to master." said Herm, grabbing a long steel billet. "Lemme show you, how it's done."

And Herm attacked the billet with such vigor and energy, it astonished the two boys. But soon they understood what Herm meant by it being easy to understand, hard to master. It wasn't rocket science to forge blades. What you needed was the energy to keep hitting it with the hammer and the patience to wait for the metal to turn red hot in the forge so it becomes ductile. However, to forge a good blade you needed precision. You need finesse . All that hard work only gave you a skeleton of the sword; it was after that that you needed to work on sharpening the blade and polishing it.

However, Herm soon had Alex and Robin trying to forge their own blades. The blacksmith had said he didn't want a sword from them, just the base of it. After all, he was the master and that was his job. The apprentice's job was to give him an acceptable foundation to work with.

It was long and tedious work. The heat from the forge felt like it grew more intense by each passing minute. Soon, Alex and Robin were drenched in sweat, as they hammered away. Herm watched them, musingly, as he smoked a pipe, giving instructions here and there.

As afternoon approached, finally both the boys had a couple pieces of metal that may pass swords in looks only. Nonetheless, they were proud of it. Even Herm was delighted. "You boys have got some talent! All this in a day's work?"

Alex grinned and wiped his wet forehead with his sleeve. "It was simple, really. However, the real work begins after this, right?"

"Still a lot of work left?" asked Robin, panting slightly.

"A hell of a lot." said Herm. "But you two did good today. Come on, we're done for now."

The blacksmith and his two apprentices walked into the house and were immediately greeted by a pleasant smell of baking dough. Robin walked on ahead, through the hall and into the corridor. As he turned into the kitchen he came face to face with a flustered Eve. She was red in her cheeks with the heat of the miniature 'oven' that they were using to bake their confectioneries. The two of them surveyed each other for a second. "You look like shit." both of them said at the same time.

"Well, I have been actually working, so I am excused that look." said Robin flumping down on one of the chairs.

"All you've been doing is hit stuff. I've been making art in this damned temperature. You-"

Alex held up a hand to stop them both. "Let's just sit outside so I can escape the heat." Herm nodded and led the way onto their porch. There, the blacksmith surveyed his small farmland. "I'll teach you farm work tomorrow. You'll find it's even easier than bladesmithing, just even harder." Robin stifled a groan while Alex nodded.

As the three men stood in the breeze, Lis walked in behind them holding out a tray of confectioneries. Herm turned around and glowed at her. "Holy Mother, I didn't know you could cook all that!"

Lis smiled. "It's not me really, it's the girls. They are the ones with real talent. The way they cook. I've never seen anything like it."

"Hahahaha, I'm not surprised one bit." laughed Herm.

"Here, try some bread. It's the best I've ever tasted." said Lis handing out a piece. Herm heartily chomped down on it and exclaimed with joy. "I don't believe even the Empress is served better bread than this!" As the three devoured the small samples of different bakery items, Felicia, Eve, and Liana walked out, trying to fan themselves with their hands.

"I can deal with a lot of things, but that heat is gonna kill me." said Liana, collapsing on the porch stair beside Alex. He patted her shoulder. "But all that hard work paid off; this is some of the most amazing cooking you three have ever done!"

The three girls blushed a bit. "It's just that you were hungry." said Felicia, shyly smiling. "Come on, we can have our lunch now." she added. All of them voted to stay out in the open for the meal again, and as the girls brought the food out, Alex announced: "I'm gonna have a light lunch."

"Why's that?" asked Herm.

"Because I want you to teach me sword fighting." replied Alex, simply. Herm blinked. "Sword fighting?"

"Yes."

Herm scrutinized Alex for a moment. He reminded him of a certain someone, except Alex proved himself to be infinitely better at every turn. "Fine." he answered out loud.

After lunch, as the women sat by the porch to relax, Herm fetched a small sack from the house and then had Robin and Alex accompany him a bit further away from the cabin, and stopped just before the farmland began. He threw the sack down on the ground, and drew out four wooden swords. "So, we don't hurt each other." he explained. He handed one each to Alex and Robin, took one himself and stood facing the two.

"Why do you want to learn swordsmanship?" the blacksmith asked, suddenly grim. He stared right into Alex's eyes, trying to discern what he was thinking. What his values were.

"Because I wanna be able to protect my family. Watching that fight the other day, I realized how hopeless I am. If someone were to threaten them, if the time came when I have to do something, I want to be able to actually do it." answered Alex, staring straight back at Herm.

"And why do you want me to teach you?"

"Because you're the best of the best, I hear. I may not be familiar with this world, but I can imagine being one of the Royal Guard Captains is no joke."

Herm nodded, breaking off the stare. "Never forget those two reasons." he said. "For me to teach you properly, and for you to learn properly, remember those two."

Alex nodded.

"And I guess I'll just carry the swords around." said Robin, grinning.

Herm turned to him. "I know you like to pretend that you don't care, kid. But I've seen it in you. You care for your folk deeply. You must remember that feeling. The only way a man can fight longer than possible...faster than possible, is by having something to hold on to."

Robin's face turned serious. "I know." he said. "And I'm gonna work hard. Harder than ever. Whatever happens, I'll also protect my 'folk'." Alex grinned to himself. "All it took was to be stranded in another world and away from the earshot of the girls for Robin to finally mouth his emotions." he thought.

"So, since neither of you has any sword fighting experience, we're-" began Herm, but Robin cut him off. "Actually, I do." he said.

Herm looked shocked. "You...you do?" he asked.

"Robin has fencing classes in school." explained Alex.

Herm looked pleasantly surprised. "Really?" he asked. "I may have been wrong about your world; they don't make boys into wimps." Robin grinned. "My swords were different though; fencing there has a different meaning."

"How different?"

"Well...they were thin and light. The metal was elastic-ish. It would bend if you swung it too hard." answered Robin. The blacksmith's face fell. "I take it back. Your world does make you into wimps."

"It sounds worse than it is." said Alex, grinning. "Point is, he has experience on stances and thrusting and all that."

"You used to fence too?" asked Herm.

"No, no."

Before Herm could say anything, Robin stepped in. "He may not have used swords, but he's used to fighting. Boxing, karate, jiu jitsu; Alex is a mixed martial artist. He was the School Boxing Champion and the Karate Champion in high school. In college too, he's been undefeated."

Herm raised his eyebrows. "I have no idea what you just said."

"You don't have fighting styles here?" asked Robin.

"We do have martial arts, but they're about powering up your body through magic."

"Magic?" laughed Robin. "Nothing magical about what he does. It's all a physical build up through the years. What I meant was, Alex is really good at fist fighting. Nobody has every beaten him. He wasn't known as The Champ for no reason."

"Ohh." Now Herm looked interested. "So you know how to fight, huh?" he asked Alex.

"A bit, yes." Alex answered.

"Okay, then, show me." said Herm dropping his wooden sword on the ground and walking up to Alex. He stopped about three feet away from him. "Show me." the blacksmith repeated.

"You mean...?" asked Alex, doubtfully.

"Yes. Hit me." answered Herm with determination.

"I can't just hit you like that, you'd get hurt." said Alex, shocked.

"Hurt?" asked Herm, half crossly and half laughing. "Boy, I've fought in wars. I've killed men. Some kid hitting me won't 'hurt' me."

Alex raised his fist, and mentally aimed to punch right through Herm's face. He breathed in, slightly drew his fist back a bit more, but suddenly let the air out, and lowered his hand. "I can't hit you like that."

Herm scoffed. "Okay then, I'll hit you. Show me what you can do about it." Saying so, Herm pulled back and punched right at his apprentice. Instinct kicked in; Alex saw that punch coming in, and his body started moving on his own. He sidestepped, grabbed Herm's wrist, grabbed his collar, and flung him over his hip, slamming him onto the ground.

Herm didn't even realize what had happened, when suddenly he was lying on the soil. He got up, a bit confused. "Fighting style, huh?" he asked Alex, laughing.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. But I want you to actually hit me, not immobilize me." Herm said. "Again!"

Herm tried to punch again, this time, Alex ducked, and went in for a one-two combination on the blacksmith's abdomen. As he doubled back in pain, Alex stood up and using that momentum punched him straight in the jaw. Herm, who was bent over, spun around as the blow caught him, clutching his jaw. "Great Maddos, you can hit!" he exclaimed.

"I'm so sorry! I got carried away, I should've-" began Alex, but Herm stopped him. "Don't. I asked you to do it, and you did it."

"I'm sorry too." said Robin, a little guiltily. "Apparently, I shouldn't have told you about Alex's fighting history."

Herm stood straight again and laughed his booming laugh. "Nonsense! I may be getting on in years, but I can still take a hit."

Alex laughed. "You're right. Not many men in their prime would've still been standing after that." Robin grinned. "Nice pat on the back, eh?" Alex winked at him.

"Anyway, now you, Robin. Show me your sword fighting stance." said Herm, picking his wooden sword back up again.

* * *

"Did...Did he just hit Mr.Fegg?" asked Felicia, in disbelief. She, Eve, Liana, and Lis had been observing all the antics that Herm and the boys were getting up to from the porch. Lis chuckled. "Only after Herm asked him to."

"But-"

"Ah, don't worry. I don't know about your world's men, but here, they're always doing stuff like this. Bunch of children." said Lis, disapprovingly laughing.

"Nope." said Liana. "Men are exactly like this back home too. Especially overprotective brothers." The women burst out laughing. They gathered up the leftovers, and went inside.

As the evening set, Herm and Robin came into the house. But Alex's figure could be seen swinging the wooden sword long after everyone had gone to bed.

* * *

The next morning dawned early much to the dislike of Alex. He was feeling sore today, and when he woke up he didn't even have his girlfriend to look at. Lis had cleaned up the locked room, declining the girls' offer to help her. When Robin had stepped into the room, it looked no different from the other rooms. There was nothing there to give away to whom it might have belonged. Or if it did, Robin could not see it. The only thing different was that it had a much softer bed on which he had promptly collapsed and fallen asleep.

Alex rubbed his joints on the mattress and blinked in the sunlight. Using a lot of determination, he made himself get up and ignore his aching muscle. What was I thinking over straining myself like that last night? He walked to the window and took a deep breath of the refreshing, almost liquid air. It was turning out to a really good morning 'kick' for him. He grinned, and turned his back on the view to put some clothes on.

After breakfast, the women got busy with experimenting with different confectioneries again, while the blacksmith, Alex, and Robin went back to the workshop. Today, however, Herm told them they had to observe while he polished, sharpened, and furnished the two pieces of metals they'd made yesterday into swords.

"Enchanted weapons have their spells and magic applied to them at this stage." said Herm, as he sanded one of the blades. "Unless the enchant is supposed to be more powerful, more permanent; then the enchanting begins at the stage you two were doing yesterday. Or, magical metals may be used, and then it is enchanted through all the steps to create a truly stunning and powerful weapon." He looked up at Robin and Alex, and saw both staring at him in disbelief.

"There are magical weapons?" asked Robin. Herm laughed.

"Do you know how to make enchanted weapons?" asked Alex.

"No, no. I only know that they exist. I have no idea on how to forge those weapons."

"Ah....that's too bad." said Robin, trying to sound positive. "I would've liked to have some enchanted weapon. Maybe a fire sword or something." The other two just laughed at him and resumed their work.

After the smithing lesson was over, Alex and Robin were taken to the farmland and taught the basics of farming. It wasn't complicated at all; just fifth grade 'science' of soil, watering, etc. However, doing all the work in practicality was the main problem Robin had with the farm work. He hated the manual labor it required.

But soon, both of the boys were back to sweating profusely as they ploughed the field in the hot sun.

* * *

It was almost evening when everyone: Alex, Felicia, Robin, Liana, and Eve were finally able to sit down and relax. Felicia sat with her head resting on Alex's legs, while Robin, with his eyes closed, was resting on Liana's shoulders. Eve sat observing the four, and enjoying the playful air on her face.

Just then, Lis came from inside the house. "I hate to do this, girls, but we used up all the bowls and plates for baking and now we don't have anything to serve food in. Would you be darlings and fetch the extra ones we have from the barn?"

Felicia, immediately shut her eyes, and ordered: "Lee and E, go do what Mrs. Fegg is telling you to."

"Why can't you do it?" asked Eve.

"Can't you see? I'm sleeping. Now go, come on." Rolling their eyes, Liana and Eve got up.

"Thank you, sweeties." said Lis. "I would've fetched them myself, but I'm not as young as I used to be." she laughed.

"It's literally no problem, Mrs. Fegg." said Liana, with a smile. "Where are the bowls and plates in the barn?"

"They're in a sack on the loft in the barn." said Lis. "You'll easily find them; there's not much up there." Liana nodded. "Come on, Eve, let's go do some work, unlike some lazy people here." Felicia grinned.

The barn was a small structure just on the left of the farmland. It badly needed repairs, but somehow it was still standing. Eve and Liana walked up to it and gingerly opened the door. The sun was still up a little and the barn's many holes in the roof meant it was bright enough for the girls to feel brave as they walked in.

Inside, the barn didn't house many livestock. The Feggs didn't have more than one cow and two goats. It had a high loft circling the entire interior and a huge pile of hay in the corner. "How do we get up there?" asked Eve, looking up.

"The ladder." said Liana, pointing to where the hay was lying. A thin wooden ladder rose up beside the dried grass and created the only physical access to the loft.

"Who's going up there?" asked Eve, apprehensively.

"You!" both of them immediately screamed.

"I said it first." said Liana.

"You did not."

"Please?" beseeched Liana. Eve sighed deeply. "Fine." she said. "Next time though, it's you."

"Okay!" said Liana, cheerfully. "Come on."

The closer they got to the ladder, the more dubious it started to look. The loft was a good twenty five feet above the ground, and the ladder's poor condition did nothing to improve Eve's confidence. "Why couldn't the boys have done this?" she asked indignantly.

"Because Mrs. Fegg thought they were too tired from working in the fields all day. Plus, it's not that much of a big deal. Just climb up a few rungs, grab a sack, climb down. It's a piec-"

Eve eyed Liana narrowly, and she fell silent. "Sorry." she grinned.

Eve sighed again, and stepped on the first rung. As soon as she put her weight on the ladder, it started to wobble. She immediately stepped back down. "It's shaking!" she deplored.

Liana patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll hold it." she said, grabbing the wood.

"If I die, I want you to tell V-" Eve stopped herself in time. "I want you tell Felicia it's all her fault." Liana laughed. "I will." she said.

Taking a deep breath, Eve stepped on the ladder again. It wobbled again, but not as much this time. "Let's end this quickly." she thought to herself. "No looking back." Saying so, she stepped on the next few rungs quickly.

She started making good progress for a few feet. Feeling a bit more confident Eve stepped on the next rung. But as soon she put her entire weight on it, all of a sudden there was an alarming creaking, and the rung snapped in two. She tried to steady herself, but her grip had slipped, and suddenly she realized...she was falling.

Liana, seeing this unfold from just a few feet below, instinctively, stretched out her hands in an effort to catch the falling body. But Eve was too heavy for her, and both of them fell into the pile of hay.

Her head spinning and grass in her hair, Eve tried to refocus her mind in the hay. When she did, she froze for a second. She was lying on top of Liana, both her hands outstretched to hold her upper body up; her hands resting on both of Liana's breasts. Eve saw Liana look down and register this too, but before either of them could laugh or react in any way, the barn door swung open and Alex looked in.

"Hey, Mrs. Fegg told me t-" he stopped abruptly, looking at the two girls in the hay.

All of them stared at each other for a second, and for a second there was dead silence in the entire world.

"Sorry, for intruding!" said Alex, slamming the barn door shut with a bang.

"Hey!" said Eve, getting up. "It's not what you-"

"You just came in at the worst time! It just looked-" protested Liana, getting up too.

"Don't worry about it." came Alex's voice from behind the doors. "Mrs. Fegg told me to tell you she found the spare wooden dishes in the house; you two can come back." There was a pause for a second. "But I'll tell her you both are a bit busy at the moment and will need some time."

The barn door slammed open, and two furious, flushed faces glared at Alex as he grinned widely.