Rembrandt laughed. “C’mon kid, you can do better than that.”

Theo glared up at him from the dirt, stumbling back up to his feet. His headband had come loose from the fall, skewed and twisting his hair. He pulled it off with his free hand and tossed it to the ground.

“Okay.” he said, motioning with his rapier that he was ready for another go.

The two circled each other, darting in and out with testing jabs of their swords. Rembrandt was nearly twice the boy’s age as well as size, but that didn’t seem to give Theo any advantage in the way of agility. He was quick on his feet. Were this a real fight it’d be over in seconds.

In between stabs and swipes, Rembrandt spoke calmly. “The trick… is to stay a step ahead of your opponent. Anticipate their actions—” he ducked aside as Theo lunged at him, “—And respond accordingly.” He swung back, disarming the boy effortlessly.

Theo’s rapier clattered to the stone pathway. Rembrandt relaxed his pose. The boy sighed, and turned to retrieve his weapon.