Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart Read Free Page A

ended with food, drink, and song. But of the sword there was little training. All of the trainees were happy and content—or almost all.

    Three weeks later, Dalton once again joined Brynn on the roadway to the haven training camp.
    “So what do you think of Sir Dornan?” Dalton asked.
    Brynn shrugged. “He’s certainly wise and experienced, and what he says is interesting. I’d say we’re fortunate to have him.”
    “Yes, I suppose you’re right,” Dalton replied. “Everyone seems to like him, but the training seems…”
    “Seems what?” Brynn prompted.
    “Easy—or at least easier than before.”
    “What’s so bad about that?” Brynn asked. “Who says it has to be hard? Besides,” she said with a smile, “it’s sure a lot more fun.”
    Dalton smiled back. “I guess you’re right.”
    When they arrived, Sir Dornan was talking with a few of the younger trainees, and they all burst into laughter as he finished a quip. Soon they were all gathered about to begin their training.
    Before Sir Dornan could address the trainees, Koen stepped forward.
    “Sir Dornan, when do we begin seriously training with the sword?” he asked bluntly. “After all, we are knights, and that is perhaps the most important part of being a knight.”
    Dalton had noticed that Koen and Carliss both had become increasingly agitated with the training at the camp over the past week. Some of the trainees even began to tease them for being too stiff.
    Dornan looked slightly perturbed and glared at Koen.
    “Now that’s an interesting thought,” Dornan said whimsically. “How can you be a knight when you haven’t completed your training, let alone had any experience? Seems a bit backward, don’t you think? I myself trained for years before becoming a knight. Only then did I join the Knights of the Prince.”
    “But Sir Orland says that the ways of the Prince are different,” Koen replied. “The Prince changed the order of the kingdom, so that we become knights as soon as we choose to follow Him; then we begin our training.”
    “Yes, well, the ways of the Prince have often been misrepresented in many instances. Wouldn’t you agree?” Dornan said.
    “Perhaps, but we have been given the example of Sir Gavenaugh and the Prince Himself on such things,” Koen rebutted.
    “Were you there?” Dornan asked with a wry smile. “Did you see this with your own eyes or hear it with your own ears?”
    Koen’s face turned red. “Well, no…but—”
    “Listen, I am fully committed to all that the Prince taught,” Dornan interrupted. “But life as a Knight of the Prince just isn’t as simple as you seem to want to make it. You need to understand that the kingdom is vast and its people varied in how they will receive such new teachings. We must be creative in how we present the Prince and adjust our methods to accommodate the widely varying cultures that exist out there. I know; I’ve been there.”
    “But Sir Orland says that the Code—”
    “I don’t even know who this Orland fellow is. And as for the Code, it is clearly a guide, not a mandate. Besides, it was given so long ago—even before the Prince—that it is an antiquated document by now. Forcing the rest of the kingdom to live under such an archaic doctrine would never work. Our King is much more universal than that.”
    Koen scratched his head and looked exasperated.
    “That is quite enough on that for today,” Dornan said. “We shall postpone talk of the Code till tomorrow. I grow weary of your badgering, and you are quite the badger,” Dornan teased.
    “Yes, lighten up, Badger,” one of the other trainees said. “Let us get to our training, for there’s meat to be eaten and drink to be drunk.”
    “What training?” Carliss glared at the other trainee.
    The assembly of young men and women fell silent. They looked at Sir Dornan. His nostrils flared and his jaw clenched. He then smiled condescendingly at Carliss and Koen.
    “Very well,” he said to Koen.