61 - Ollie And Maddy

Annie made it home safely, making sure no one followed her. When she got in the door, she tossed the bag with the hairpin to Poppy. She seemed delighted with the pin but then started to refuse. Annie had left quickly at Poppy's refusals. She was late in giving lessons to Ollie.

He was in the barn, diligently swinging his sword repeatedly. She had fashioned a wooden sword for him. Ollie was still getting used to the weight. Annie pulled out her package and unwrapped it. She had asked the innkeeper to commission a sword for her.

Looking at the sword, it was very pretty. The blade was pure silver and glimmered under the fire light. The hilt was thick enough for her hand to wrap firmly. She swung it a few times. It was light and easy to swing.

"What's that, Annie?"

She turned to see Ollie staring with wide eyes. Smiling, she showed him the full length. "This is a sword I had commissioned. It's made with a light material of silver. So light, even you can swing it properly."

"Ooooo..."

"When you become a knight, I will get one made just for you," she promised. His awe turned to bitterness.

"I doubt I would be able to become a knight."

"Of course you're going to be a knight!" Annie turned to see his twin, Maddy on the stairs nearby. She had brought her dolls to play. She jumped down from the bottom stair and walked over, her chin high in the air.

Annie smiled at the show. "Hey Maddy. Why are you here?," she asked.

Maddy smiled back. "I wanted to see how good my brother is. If suitors come after me, he's going to need to fight them off," she proudly explained. "I'm very beautiful and many ladies will be jealous of me too."

Ollie rolled his eyes. "Maddy, I'm still going to protect you. Father made me the man of the house. I'm training to protect all you women!" He puffed his chest out arrogantly.

Annie ignored their bickering. She was busy testing her sword. The weight was easy to grasp. The length wasn't too long either and would hang on her belt fine. The sheath it came with was fire resistant. An image of a bird with outstretched wings was emblazoned above the side near the opening painted gold. She rubbed it, satisfied it didn't come off.

"Hey, Annie!" Ollie called to her. "Are we training still?"

Distracted, Annie nodded and put her sword away. "Yeah, we should start. Maddy, are you going to be joining is too?" Annie asked. Maddy sniffed and pointed her nose in the air with disgust.

"I don't want callouses on my fingers. A lady has to have smooth fingers."

"Don't ladies have to embroider? How do you not get callouses from that?" Ollie interjected.

Maddy rolled her eyes and hugged her doll. "It's called a thimble. Of course, you wouldn't know." Annie laughed at the two. Their fighting was cute and she could see how close they were. She wished she had a brother she was close to. A dull pain echoed in her heart.