13- ACCIO

"Haha, you would have to do better than this if you want to ever match me. This isn't even making me sweat".

"Grr, I'm trying. We'll land at least one hit next time."

"Keep trying. Maybe you will be able to touch more than my clothes by the next year if you keep training hard."

"Oh we are improving are we not? We've been through Uncle Nico's oblivion-grade training this past year."

"Proficiency in sword play is a thing you cultivate over decades not months. Your hard work will bear fruit, but only if you persevere and persist in training hard your skills," Zin very righteously lectured the three knights-in-training, teaching them the virtues of persistence and hard work, completely oblivious of the fact how ridiculous it all sounded coming from his mouth, someone who had attained high achievements in swordsmanship before the age of eight.

And sure enough, "Hah, my lord, as if you of all people can lecture us on hard work, when you were able to rival the sword skills of a full-fledged knight by the age of seven. Additionally, it is not us that are bad at our skills, but that you are much lower in height and nimbler, wearing lighter armor and moving around the field, allowing you to control the pace of battle. Sir Pico has been teaching us sword fighting, but he's much older, and thus never taught us the nimble style. We will master this style also soon enough, and then face you. Until then, my lord," Caiden replied, turning around to leave with Angus and Bjorn, barely suppressing his annoyance at Zin's pretension.

"But Caiden, you must be more respectful to his lordship," Angus nagged in a low voice, worriedly looking over his shoulder to see if Zin had taken any great effect from Caiden's outburst.

"He's right, Angus! His lordship is too conceited. He needs to know that there are a lot of common people out there, and he needs to consider their feelings as well. He could have at least given us some encouragement, seeing that we have worked so hard," the youngest Bjorn complained.

"Yeah we're not sparring with him until we're proficient enough in different sword styles, and then we'll show him what we are made of. Although maybe not as good as him, but still not ones that can be taunted at will…." Caiden trailed off grumbling as he led the other two to train, leaving behind a bewildered Zin and a smirking duo of Selene and Elaine.

"Pardon me, but it somehow escaped me when I was cocky and self-conceited. I just was teaching them, all right?" Zin rolled his eyes, hard kicking a pebble in frustration as he walked towards the hall for breakfast.

"But you were," Selene answered, calming her face. "And put away that stupid smirk, Elaine"

"Hey, you were also smirking just now."

"Yeah I was, and now I'm not. This is a serious matter, and not to be joked. Zin must taught why he isn't able to connect with people his age." Selene retorted forcefully, shutting up Elaine.

"And pray tell me why, your majesty the high empath?" Zin joked.

"This is no joking matter. They are children ranging from ten to twelve years of age, and are learning to be knights. Their families have been serving the Larus family since generations, and two of their fathers have been killed in service of the house Larus, along with your grandfather, while the third's grandfather has grown old in the service of your house. They have the utmost loyalty to your house and yet they can't stand a spar with you without getting angry." Selene began, explaining the problem, in an unusually strict manner.

"I lost you when that was my problem? Maybe they aren't just mature enough to talk to me?"

"That's totally your problem." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "A good leader does not expect from others to grow to his level to understand him or to try to make others see things from his perspective. A good leader, puts himself in others' boots, sees things from others perspective, and tries to explain all his intentions and will adapting it to the people's perspective. This is where you are lacking. This is where you lose followers, and make enemies."

"Ohh come on, he's trying. He's still a child. You can teach this to him once he grows up."

"He is grown up. He was knighted two months ago."

"Oh, you mean that farce? That was just for show. He is still a child of seven, let him as he pleases."

"He needs to learn before he grows up so that he can be brought upright, and additionally, you can only teach when he is young; once he grows up, he can't be corrected..." Selene was arguing.

Zin, however, made his made his way to the dining room for breakfast. Once there, he discovered that he was early for breakfast, since his usual training time was about two hours, and because of him early completing the spar, he was back in nearly half the time. So instead of asking for a quick breakfast, he settled to pass time by training what he had been trying to do in his free time over the past two weeks.

Zin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked intently at a copper coin lying across him on a side table. "Accio coin."

Zin waited. The coin didn't move. He concentrated on it more. Again: "ACCIO coin."

Again no movement. Then again. And again.

By the umpteenth time, Zin felt the coin move, but when he had started getting happy, he noticed that it was in fact his eyes creating a false illusion due to his high concentration and anticipation.

He relaxed, taking a deep breath. He had been getting these false illusions of success a lot since he had started trying to use magic.

Again he started, "Accio coin". Again nothing happened. Again tried. Nothing.

Yet Zin was a stubborn kind. He did mean his words when he talked about persistence and hard work, when he was talking with Caiden and company, although not many knew about his work.

Again, "Accio coin" no movement. "Accio coin" dead as anything.

A deep breath to keep calm and concentrate, "Accio coin" and the coin JUMPED INTO HIS FACE.

"Whoa, yes!" Zin exclaimed, only to look up to see the smirking face of Elaine. He narrowed his eyes, barely suppressing his rage, "why?"

"Stupid, use the basic spell mage's hand or summon using a spell. What were you doing summoning the coin by just concentrating narrowing eyes and exhaling cold sighs?"

"I…."

"I what? Did the three's attitude got to your brains and you're acting all weird so sane people can start keeping distance from you? Or something else? Even a child knows that you need to cast a spell to use magic. And then there's you, someone who has been bombarding my brains with high-level magic theory over the past two months and now is committing such childish mistakes. Tsk, the genius couldn't even bear a single social beating," Elaine tsked in mock disdain, looking at Zin with a look hiding many things including worry.

"I know you are worried that what happened in the morning has had an effect on me, but please, I do not concern myself with dwelling on such things. You may be trying to cheer me up, but I'm not sad or worried at all.

As for what I'm trying to do, I'll explain it to you later, once I have succeeded to some extent, so please, wait until I can tell you. Please believe me, it's something very important." Zin assured, as he felt a warm current in his heart, because he knew that Elaine usually showed her concern by mock-scolding him or making fun of everything about him….

'Hah, effects of wars, losing loved ones and living in constant danger are scary. See, what they make of talented and warm people. One hiding her emotions and worries behind a hard shell as a rough tough person, practically becoming a tsundere and the other sinking into herself, becoming a quiet empath. Well, they took relatively less effect, if you know they actually lost their parents as 8 year old girls and were forced to leave home and were hunted out of their home town when they were only around 14. Alas, but we must all live with our own sorrows.'

"And what's with those eyes of yours, boy? Selene, we're not giving in to any of his demands, whatever eyes he shows," Elaine hurriedly became vigilante noticing the warmth mixed with love in Zin's eyes, as the cook started bringing in the first edible for breakfast.

Zin again rolled his eyes at her lame joke, while starting to pick up his all-time favorite Skyrim delicacy 'SWEETROLLS'.