Undecided --- Kaela and Kellin

Lads and Lasses,
Just after the morrow’s sunhigh, the first training for the future Guard of our High Queen Brea will commence. All aged 13 as of this coming summer are welcome. Lasses, be forewarned: the duties shall not be slackened due to your sex. If The Guard is not pleased with your performance, lad or lass, your duties shall be relinquished to a worthy attendant and you shall be removed. We wish you the best of luck.
~ The Court of Bryn

 
Chapter 1 – Kaela
A glint of sunlight reflected off of his sword, nearly blinding me as he lunged forward clumsily. Lucky for me, I don’t need to be able to see to dodge his reckless jabs. The boy lumbers along as if he had a club foot. I roll to the right and bring my sword up to his neck, careful not to draw blood. “Need I let you off easy, child?” I chide.
“Never would I give you the satisfaction,” he growls and leaps backwards.
I chuckle, for I know he would never cut a duel with me short. He would lose too much pride that way. He’d obviously much rather lose it the hard way. I spin my sword in hand and stand en garde. I advance upon my opponent, swiftly cutting the air with my sword, heckling him wordlessly. The frustration in his eyes is easily detectable, and his rigid stance clearly portrays his resentment for me. As I open my mouth to point out his mistakes, he charges forward and cuts at my knees. I leap to the side, a near miss though I would never admit it. I regroup and rush forward as I pull my sword around his legs, knocking out his knees. As he crashes into the ground, I put a foot on his stomach and my blade to his throat. “Should have quit while you had the chance,” I state. I know I’m being cocky and rude, but the victory has exhilarated me.
“Help him up, Kaela. Don’t be mean,” Father says, cutting my gloating short with his curt tone.
I sigh and move to help him up. He rejects my outstretched hand and walks over to our father. “Kellin, compose yourself. One loss means nothing while you still have plenty of fights ahead. Though, if you practiced with us once in a while, you would have a much greater familiarity with your sister’s style,” he lectures.
Kellin sighs and shakes his head. “I suppose,” he grumbles.
“Now, Lad, go congratulate your sister,” Father says sternly.
He sighs again and plods over to me. “You are a worthy opponent,” he mutters, more sarcastically than congratulatory.
“As are you,” I reply, grudgingly.
“That’s better, is it not?” Father smiles. When neither of us replies, he simply shakes his head and says, “Kaela, Lass, fetch me my sword, would you?”
I grin and race into the house. I call hello to Mother and Baby Milo as I whisk by. I grab Father’s sword by the hilt, allow myself a single spin of the blade and, though I wish to spar with it myself, return to the field. I toss him the sword and pick up my own, hoping he wants to fight me. To my dismay, he calls Kellin over instead. “If you’re going to meet The Guard tomorrow, you’d best be fighting more intelligently than that, Lad,” Father states. He’s never angry with our abilities, or lack thereof, rather just voices the facts and helps us improve.
I sit in the grass as they spar; Father helping Kellin with his form as he passively blocks my twin’s weak attacks. I shake my head, wishing it was I who’d be going to the Kingdom tomorrow to meet the Queen and her Guard. I would rather do anything than stay here and take care of a baby while embroidering cloth. Just the thought of that makes me want to vomit.
I find myself wishing that Kellin and I were seven again, before I was told to “sit like a lady” and that sword fighting is for boys. I’m sure Kellin wishes the same, for up until we were about eight he enjoyed sparring with Father and me as much as we did with him. If anything, I feel like Kellin and I should switch bodies. Though he wouldn’t much enjoy babies and embroidery, I would have no problem cutting my auburn hair to appear male till they realized I was just as worthy as the other attendants. It’s so unfair! I stab my sword into the earth and stand up to retreat into the house. As I turn towards the door, Father calls me back. “Grab your sword, Kaela. You two against me,” he challenges.
I accept, my mind clearing of the anger instantly, and tug my sword from the earth. Jogging over, I give my brother a glance. He nods and suddenly it’s just like old times. My brother and I become one slashing entity as we attack our Papa. I trap Father in a vicious duel while Kellin sneaks away to pull the trick that I took him with down earlier. Without knowing what hit him, Father’s face down on the ground, two blades near his neck. We all break into a fit of giggles and flop down on our backs to look at the clouds. After a few moments of comfortable silence, Father says, “Children, I have an announcement.”
We both stiffen, fearing the worst. Someone’s dying. Mother’s having another baby, as if Milo wasn’t enough. He notices our rigidity and chuckles. “It is good news, Lads.”
We let out the collective breath we’d unconsciously been holding and sit up, attentive. “So, there was a note placed upon our doorstep this morning from the Court, as there is every year,” he begins. “But this year there was more than the general information. This year it sees that girls are allowed to join The Guard.”
I jump up and howl, “Really?!”
“Wait, Kaela. I’ve yet to convince your mother that you’re capable of this,” Father warns.
“It’s okay, I can convince her. I promise. Holy Kingdom of Stars this is incredible!” I exclaim.
“Go talk to your mother, Lass, but be calm about it. She doesn’t much want to be left alone with a crying baby, you know, and being too excited about leaving will just make her unhappier.”
“Okay, I’m calm. I promise. May I go inside?”
He nods and I head inside to find Mother, which isn’t very hard considering our house consists of only 3 rooms. I see her splayed across two chairs that Father’s made for our small kitchen. “Mother?” I murmur, in case she is asleep.
She jerks up, slightly startled, and then smiles softly. “Hello, Darling. What’s wrong?” she asks and sits up.
I’m not sure how to start, now that I’m actually having the conversation. “I… I can do this you know. I’m just as strong as Kellin, and you know that,” I say quietly and sit down next to her.
“While that’s true, I’m afraid they won’t treat you the same, Kaela,” she confesses.
“What do you mean, Mother?”
“The men could force you to run errands while they train the boys. They may not let you learn with the other trainees. It is not fair, but it may be true, Darling,” Mother cringes as she sees my face fall.
“But Mother,” I cry, “I can do this. I will make myself better than all of them. I will make it so they cannot bear to lose me. I swear it.” She smiles weakly as I rant. It’s easy to tell that she does not believe me- I’m starting to not believe me. I am racking my brain for anything to convince her when I remember something Emil from across the way told me. “Once we reach the Kingdom, a little after a fortnight people are relinquished from their duties if they do not impress the knights. If The Guard is as you say they will be, I will be back in two weeks time. You will let me go for that long, won’t you Mother? That’s not very long. I’ll leave if I cannot handle it, I promise you!”
I watch as she contemplates my last effort to convince her. A hundred emotions flash through her eyes just before she sighs and says, “If you are not coming back, please write me.”
I jump up and exclaim, “Thank you! Thank you! You will not regret this, Mother. I will be the best knight they have ever seen. Thank you! Thank you!”
I run outside and hug Father from behind, ignoring the fact that he is showing Kellin the correct stance for the thousandth time. He grunts then chuckles. “So, she said no, eh?”
“I have never been more excited,” I holler and toss myself to the ground.
I lay on my back, giggling at the sky and thanking the Kingdom of Stars. Kellin gives up and flops down next to me. “You leave at sunrise tomorrow,” Father says as he heads inside.
I nod, though I’m not paying much attention; my head is too filled with thoughts of swordplay and riding into battle.