12 THE 6TH ACCOUNT: MUSICIANS' TALES AND TUNES 1

.SWORD TRAINING.

"No. Not like that," Jacob told me and then laughed.

I groaned. This was the hundredth time he corrected me and then laughed! I would not be upset if he teaches me correctly just like how Lowen taught me. But instead he showed me how to do one thing once and expected me to be able to do it right away! And when I get it wrong, he laughs at me! The nerve of this man!

I sighed deeply and convinced myself to be patient. I changed my stance and copied how I remembered him doing it and raised my sword again. He laughed one more time. THAT'S IT!

"What am I doing wrong now?" I asked.

"Everything!" Jacob cried out. Tears were coming out of his face. He held his stomach as he bellowed in laughter.

"Maybe if you teach me right, I would get it right!" I raised my voice.

"I am teaching it to you correctly. You are just doing it wrong," he reasoned still laughing.

"How am I doing it wrong?" I asked. I am getting more and more frustrated that I want to stab him with the sword I'm holding.

"First off, your stance is weak," he said then poked my legs with the sheath of his sword. "Next, you have to hold your sword firmly," he continued as he hit my sword with his to show me how weak my hold is. My sword dropped. "And lastly…" he looked at me playfully from head to toe. "... holding a sword does not suit you. It does not look right. It's funny!" he said then winked at me. Then, laughed again.

It is very clear that Jacob is not taking me seriously. I am now very much offended. "AHHHH!!! YOU ARE SO AGGRAVATING! OF COURSE, I WON'T LOOK RIGHT JUST YET BECAUSE I AM STILL LEARNING! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP LAUGHING AT ME!" I screamed at him.

The musicians, Puma, Wabi, and Laurel, who were passing by, jumped in surprise after hearing me yell. After whispering something to each other, they eagerly walked to our direction right away.

"Everything alright here?" Laurel asked in curiosity. I know right away that these musicians were up to something.

Jacob stopped laughing and looked at my angry face. He crossed his arms and smirked, "You dare raise your voice at your teacher?"

I crossed my arms as well. "My teacher is not doing a great job. So, maybe my screams could give him a wake up call on how an ineffective teacher he is!" I said and stepped forward.

Jacob arched his brows and stepped forward as well. "Really now? If my student is very disrespectful, of course she is not going to learn," he said then smirked to challenge me.

I scoffed and took another step forward again, "When did I disrespect you? I just yelled because you kept on laughing at me. YOU ARE THE ONE DISRESPECTING ME!" I said and jabbed my pointer finger to his chest. They were hard as rock! I felt my cheeks flushed instantly.

Seeing me blushed, Jacob leaned over towards me so we could see each other eye to eye. "I disrespected you?" he asked and squinted. "Oh you would know if I did.." he said knowingly and grinned at me playfully. My imaginations went wild as it inferred to what he was implying. My cheeks became warmer. My mind went blank again and I could not think of a sharp retort.

The musicians were looking at the both of us back and forth and because I could not respond to Jacob right away, Laurel took our attention by singing, "Disrespect, oh disrespect… Why oh why thee bother me?"

Jacob and I furrowed our brows at the same time and looked at Laurel. Laurel beamed at us. "Let me tell you about a story of a boy and a girl who were VERY disrespectful to each other."

"Laurel, we're busy here," Jacob replied.

"Indulge me Captain, Miss. This is my original tale," Laurel insisted.

Jacob stood up straight. "Very well, go ahead," he said.

Laurel looked at me, "Miss?"

I sighed. "Anything to distract me from this aggravation is very much appreciated," I replied and eyed at Jacob. He chuckled.

"Very well, please sit down," Puma and Wabi directed us towards the wooden chests.

Then, their performance began. Laurel narrated the story as Puma and Wabi acted them out in much exaggeration.

"Once upon a time, there was a boy and a girl who always quarrelled with each other. Every time they see each other, they couldn't help but to lash out and say something bad... like how her hair is always messy and how he smelled like vinegar," Laurel began.

"Why would someone smell like vinegar?" Jacob asked impatiently. "Are you sure your story is going somewhere?"

"I think you're just making it up as you go along," I couldn't help but to agree with Jacob. "Is this meant to be for children?"

"Shhhh…" Wabi answered. "It will get better."

Jacob and I sighed at the same time. We were obviously getting bored.

Laurel cleared his throat and continued, "So the boy and the girl kept fighting and squabbling with each other. Wherever they go and whatever they do, they yell and scream at one another until the WHOLE TOWN knows."

I raised my left eyebrow. The story seemed oddly familiar!

"One day, three warlocks came to visit the town. Guess who they heard right away?" he asked us.

Jacob groaned, "I am getting bored, Laurel."

"Come on Captain.. Please, you can do this. Who did they hear right away?"

Jacob scratched his forehead, "The boy and the girl…" he said then shook his head.

"Exactly!" Laurel beamed.

I sighed. THIS. IS. THE. WORST. STORY. EVER!

But Laurel dismissed our boredom and continued on, "The three warlocks decided to teach the two children a lesson because they were being loud."

Jacob sighed and made the connection, "So does that mean the three of you are going to teach us a lesson because we always banter and we were loud?" he asked.

The three musicians looked at each other knowingly. I knew it. They were really up to something. "No wonder the story was oddly familiar," I couldn't help but to comment.

Jacob smiled at me, "My thoughts exactly." Then, he turned towards the three. "Alright, so what's the ending? Out with it."

I saw Laurel's nostrils flared up as he frowned. He looked down and muttered, "The three warlocks casted a spell on the boy and the girl so they would get stuck to each other until they finally agree and resolve their differences."

Jacob chuckled and began taunting Laurel, "Would you look at that? You did get us stuck on the wooden chests."

I giggled and responded, "Uh-huh and we finally agreed on something."

Jacob smiled at me. "How about that Darling? The story inspired me to teach you sword fighting the proper way," he said with his voice laced with an exaggerated cheeriness.

I had to join in the fun so I matched Jacob's exaggerated cheeriness, "Hmmm… the warlocks' spells work!"

Jacob stood up and offered me his hand just like a gentleman. I accepted the offer and together we walked away.

Wabi yelled, "The story isn't over yet!"

My mood was already brightened so I turned back and answered without thinking, "Let me guess, we lived happily ever after?"

Upon hearing that, I felt Jacob tightened his grip on my hand and spun me around to face him. He caught and held my other hand as well. "Live happily ever after, huh?" he asked and smirked.

I gasped after realizing what I just said. I tried my best to contain my awkwardness and replied with, "I meant the story." I hoped it sounded convincing.

"You said 'we'," Jacob said. Of course he would not be convinced.

"Can we just get back to learning sword fighting?" I tried to divert the topic and tried to pull my hands from his hold.

Jacob chuckled but gripped my hands tighter, "Will that make us live happily ever after?"

I rolled my eyes. "It will make ME live happily ever after," I retorted.

He narrowed his eyes and shook his head, "How about me?"

"What do you mean, how about you?"

"Don't I deserve my happily ever after?"

I widened my eyes at him. I can't believe the sudden change of our conversation. Are we going to have another squabble?

"I guess our spell does not have a permanent effect," Puma said and chuckled. His intent was evident. Now, it's their payback to tease us.

Laurel shrugged, "It's because they did not let us finish the story."

"Oh be quiet! The story was boring," Jacob and I both said at the same time. The musicians laughed together before they shook their heads knowingly and left us.

I looked at Jacob, "Could we please go back to sword fighting?"

Jacob replied, "How could I refuse those pleading eyes?"

I closed my eyes and shook my head. I decided not to answer back.

And that was how I began to learn how to handle the sword and fight properly.