Another two days passed. May hadn't come back yet. It almost had been a full week again, and (F/n) wished that she could call out to her and let her know that her search was over. She no longer needed to put herself in danger for the moment. To keep herself from worrying, though, she focused on their new company. Keiran did the same but for other reasons as well. So far, Edwin displayed no romantic feelings towards (F/n), and he wanted it to stay that way.

So when (F/n) suggested that he train the two of them how to fight, it accomplished two goals. They'd know how to defend themselves better, and Keiran could keep an eye on Edwin. Keiran would like to think that (F/n) would never need fighting practice and that she only needed to rely on him, but that was too ideal for their situation. As much as he hated it, she'd have to endure battle, so she might as well be prepared for the inevitable, whatever the extent of it may be.

He was somewhat reluctant in training Edwin, but he hadn't tried to kill them yet, and he did require the training. Not training Edwin was essentially sentencing the male to death for what lay ahead of them. And at that point, he might as well just kill Edwin himself. So, he followed (F/n)'s request of him, and he imagined that Edwin wasn't opposed to (F/n) requesting the training for both of them either.

Naturally, though, it was going to take time, and he'd have to speed up their training. He had years, and he didn't know when (F/n) would want to start moving. They hadn't discussed it yet; they were waiting for May to return. Theoretically, they might have almost a year since they were going to wait that long originally, but he wasn't certain of that. The longer they waited, the harder it might be to take back Credel as Kendra and Felin grew more influential with their new statuses. Then again if they botched their relationship with the royal court because of their desire for power, they might make things easier with time for them.

It was uncertain. But with May's talent of hearing rumors, they might gain insight into how Credel was faring once she returned to the forge. For now, though, he put aside his smithing talents and focused on his fighting ones. Was he the best knight? No. But, he also wasn't the worst, and he was their only option until May arrived. She could train them in the art of stealth.

Keiran wondered what their plan would be. Would it be to gather followers and take back the kingdom? Where would they get such people, though, and how long would it take before people started noticing something coming together? Or, would it be better to take the stealth option, and as a small group, sneak into Credel and try to convince those they needed to in order to take back the throne? Each plan came with their own risks, and from their position seemed unlikely to go well. But, he knew that when he rescued (F/n).

Of course, they could live out their lives and sail off the island of Anigour to ... Well, he didn't know. But, that didn't matter. That wasn't the plan. (F/n) wanted to take back her kingdom; she didn't want it to be turned into something vile by the hands of those who betrayed her.

Breaking out of his thoughts at the sound metal against metal, he looked at his two trainees and saw that their current practice was going well. But, they were both amateurs, and so facing each other wasn't too much of a challenge; however, it was a good start. And, they were helping him keep his fighting abilities intact through him training them. Currently, they both had their metal rods stopped by their opponent's.

Keiran didn't want them to start with swords, daggers, etc. He'd rather one of them not get stabbed or cut. And if Edwin hurt (F/n), albeit accidentally, he wouldn't be able to forgive his fellow magic user. Rather, things probably would end poorly for him. So, he opted with metal rods of the same size and length that Edwin formed out of the steel available in the forge.

Now if hit with one hard enough, it certainly could cause damage, but at least, it wouldn't necessarily be fatal. Not to mention the rods were hollow, so they wouldn't hit as hard. Yes, he could've used wood as an option, but he was no carver nor were any of them. Not to mention that he wanted them to get used to the feel of metal in their hands. Once they proved themselves with the current rods, they'd upgrade to heavier ones, ones that weren't hollow.

Watching them now, he saw them each push back on the other as they tried to overpower each other. (F/n) put up an impressive struggle as her metal feet were planted firmly in the ground and gave her an added advantage. But, neither were making progress. He was about to step in to give advice when he watched as Edwin pulled back before he attacked again. Metal hit metal. This time, they scraped against each other. (F/n) used the momentum to drag her weapon across his even faster before she pulled it away and came back down on him, but she wasn't fast enough, and they both blocked the other once more. To him, though, their movements were slow, but they'd get faster with time.

He clapped and signaled them to stop for the moment. Both drew their attention away from each other and looked over. "You're doing well and getting good at defensive moves. But, it'll need improvement along with your offensive attacks." He gave an encouraging smile to (F/n) when she huffed quietly. Yes, she knew that she wouldn't be a master of battle in a couple of days, but she hadn't fully realized how tiring training to fight was on the body and mind due to the level of focus it needed.

"I want you both to train more on your own before you two face each other again. You need to be faster. If someone even a little more advanced than you met you, you would be too slow." He crossed his arms. "You're working with different weapons than you normally would right now, but that'll be part of the process, adaptation. You lose your main weapon, and you best know how to pick up another and fight with it just the same. Or, your life could be forfeit."

"I know," Edwin sighed out. He brushed back some of his orange, wavy locks. "We'd be dead if we had a real fight right now." Keiran nodded.

"Well, we can only get better," (F/n) said encouragingly. "We have a lot of catching up to do, but we'll get there eventually." She glanced at Keiran for reassurance.

"Yes, you will, and you do have time. But, I must be honest," he frowned a little, "it normally takes years. Do you wish to wait that long, (F/n)?"

She set down the rod against the nearby wall, and her own frown touched her lips. "No, I don't. But, we might not have a choice unless we want to throw ourselves to death. Then again, we might not have the luxury of waiting that long. If Kendra and Felin start making things horrible for my people, I don't think that I can stand by and wait while they suffer." She huffed. "That sounds foolish, though, because what good can I do if I die?"

"I think that the odds are against us one way or another," Edwin admitted, taking a seat and catching his breath. "We're four against a whole kingdom right now. And if we wait too long, it may be harder to convince the people to accept you as their ruler. Why did you take so long? Where were you? Or, why bring her on when we like our current rulers? Why endanger what we have now?" He met (F/n)'s gaze. "People might not want change if time settles them down into contentment regardless of whatever their new rulers do. Or, they might be boiling for a revolution if things are terrible because of the new rulers. It's hard to say without knowing what's happening in Credel."

"Perhaps, our best next move then is to gain intel." She looked at them both. "We can train while we gather information." She seated herself shortly after. "But, that'll mean that we'll need to keep sending May out there." A rough sigh parted from her lips. "I know that May will be fine with it, but I feel like she's doing all the work. I want to help more."

"(F/n), you training is helping. We'll need to leave this forge at one point or another, and if you're not able to defend yourself, that makes taking back your kingdom all the harder," Keiran truthfully said. He also hated the idea of her wandering around by herself to gather information. "If it does make you feel better, May can stay some days here and train both of you, as well as me, on how we can improve our stealth and our ears. Then, maybe, we can go out in groups to gather information with a set time on when to be back at the forge."

Liking the idea, (F/n) nodded. "Agreed, but that'll take time. Like all of this." She chuckled sadly. "Patience definitely is making itself known in this matter."

"But, it does help," Edwin chimed in. "I waited, and I got my freedom in return."

A small smile touched (F/n)'s lips. "Yeah, you did." She looked to Keiran. "I guess what would make me feel better is if we give May a time limit on how long she's out there for."

"Yes, that is a wise idea. Then, we'll have a better idea of knowing if something is wrong," Keiran remarked, hoping that nothing went wrong with this trip May was on. But, she always came back. She was resourceful and intelligent as well as an expert of the shadows. But, things could happen. Like with Edwin and him passing through the illusion to see the reality behind it. It showed that others could as well, and Keiran always knew that, but he hoped that it wouldn't happen anytime soon given how long it took for it to happen this time. Something could've occurred while May was by herself, but, again, she never had mentioned anything to him.

He couldn't dwell on worry, though. So, he broke out of his thoughts on the matter and looked back to (F/n) and Edwin. "Well, let's focus back on training. I want both of you to grab your weapon and practice by yourself. Grab some water first if you need it. After this round, we'll wrap up for today." Both trainees nodded before both grabbed a drink and went back to training.