Dust and Steel

The first time Karl touched a sword, it wasn’t his.

It never was.

He stood behind the wooden fence, fingers gripping the rough edges as splinters dug into his skin.

On the other side, boys his age laughed as they swung polished blades under the watchful eye of a knight clad in shining steel.

“Again!” the knight barked.

Steel clashed. Clean. Controlled. Powerful.

Karl mimicked the motion with an invisible sword, his hands moving through the air like he belonged there.

He didn’t.

“Oi. Stable boy.”

The voice snapped him back.

A guard stood a few feet away, arms crossed, already irritated.

“You planning to fight air all day or get back to work?”

Kael lowered his hands slowly. “Just watching.”

“Then watch from farther away. Nobles don’t like being stared at.”

Nobles.

The word sat heavy in his chest.

On the other side of the fence, boys trained to become knights.

Sons of lords.

Sons of warriors.

Boys who had never carried buckets of water until their arms burned or slept beside horses to keep warm in winter.

Boys who were allowed to dream.

Karl turned away from the yard, the sound of clashing steel fading behind him. The stables smelled of hay and sweat, familiar and suffocating.

“Late again,” old Marron muttered without looking up.

“I was working,” Karl replied.

“Watching isn’t working.”

Karl said nothing. He grabbed a brush and began tending to the nearest horse, his movements automatic.

After a moment, Marion glanced at him. “You were at the training yard again.”

Karl didn’t deny it.

“You’ll get yourself beaten one day.”

“Maybe,” Karl said quietly. “But I’ll see it.”

“See what?”

Karl paused, his hand resting against the horse’s neck.

“…how it feels to hold a real sword.”

That night, when the castle fell silent and even the guards grew lazy, Karl returned.

The training yard stood empty, bathed in pale moonlight.

The weapons rack was still there.

Unwatched.

Unprotected.

For a long moment, he just stared.

Then slowly… he stepped forward.

His fingers trembled as they wrapped around the hilt of a real sword.

Heavy.

Cold.

Real.

Karl lifted it, the weight pulling at his arm, unfamiliar yet right.

He swung.

Awkward. Unbalanced.

Again.

Better.

Again.

Steel cut through the quiet night air.

For the first time in his life, Karl wasn’t a stable boy.

He was something else.

Something dangerous.

Something impossible.

A voice echoed from the shadows.

“You hold it like you’re afraid it might disappear.”

Karl froze.

He turned slowly.

A man stood at the edge of the yard, half-hidden in darkness. Not dressed like a guard. Not dressed like a noble.

But the way he stood…

…was enough.

“You’re going to get yourself killed,” the stranger said.

Karl tightened his grip on the sword.

“Maybe,” he replied.

The man stepped forward, just enough for the moonlight to catch the scar across his face.

“…or maybe,” the stranger said, studying him carefully,

“you’ll become something this kingdom has never seen.”

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***