After that day, I could see Greg without any problem. Whatever power the banishment ritual had exercised over him, it was gone now. Soon enough, the week passed and I had another day off. Since coming here, I hadn’t had a chance to do anything fun around the castle, but I was planning to remedy that.

I woke up that morning excited for the day. As soon as I’d eaten breakfast, I rushed off to the Wardrobe and skimmed through the costumes until I found something that I liked. It was a shorter dress, with brown leggings and boots. It was made for some of the outdoor activities that would damage a prettier dress.

I took it back to my room and put it on. When I was done, I braided my hair to keep it out of my face and I turned around to view my empty room. “How do I look?” I asked.

“Historically inaccurate,” said Greg. He appeared before me, his arms crossed over his barrel-like chest. “But fair enough to not be mistaken for the bean nighe.”

“A bean what?” I asked.

He furrowed his eyebrows. “You don’t have a word for it in this wretched English tongue. It’s a hideous old hag, like a banshee.”

I frowned at him. “So I look nice enough to not be mistaken for a hideous old hag? Thanks Greg, you know just what to say to a girl.”

He gave me a wide smile as he rubbed his bearded chin. “I do, don’t I?” he said, sounding smug.

I rolled my eyes as I walked through him and headed out the door. Greg followed me as I made my way through the castle to the door that led out to the north field. Stepping outside, I squinted in the bright sunlight. It was warm today and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I smiled.

The field before me had been divided into several sections for different activities. Tents dotted the field, providing relief and shade for the guests. From where I stood, I could see that the sword fighting arena was closest to me, and beyond that was archery. On the far side of the field was a corral of horses, and it looked like one horseback riding party was just returning. The whole setup was crawling with people that were headed to different activities. With everyone dressed up, it looked like a renaissance fair. I just stood there and watched for a moment, soaking it in. This was why I’d wanted to work here and at last, I was getting to enjoy it.

With a sense of surety, I walked over to the sword fighting tent first. Out of all the things here, this is what appealed to me most. Stepping into the tent, I saw a middle-aged man sitting on a stool, fanning himself with one of the hotel’s brochures. When he noticed me, he jumped up and smiled.

“How can I help you today miss?”

I returned his smile. Excitement was welling up within me as I looked around at the racks of swords. Greg had left my side to view them as well. “I’ve never done any sword fighting before,” I admitted, “and I’m not here with anybody or anything, but I was wondering if I could take one and just practice for a little bit, to get the hang of it.”

“Certainly,” the man said as he walked over to the rack. Instead of going for any of the cool looking metal swords, he handed me a wooden one. “There are a few straw dummies placed around the arena if you would like to practice using those. As soon as you are done, just return your sword here.” He reached behind him and grabbed a flyer from the table he’d been sitting at. “If you are interested, they hold a class here every day at 11:00 and another at 3:00. The flyer also lists the classes held for the other activities.”

“Thank you,” I said as I accepted the flyer. It was just a few minutes past noon. I’d already missed the first class, but maybe I’d still be around for the second. As I walked through the opposite end of the tent into the arena, I realized that I didn’t have a pocket for the flyer. I wasn’t going to hold onto this piece of paper the whole time, but I didn’t want to litter either. Setting my sword down, I folded the paper in half a few times, then stuck it in my bra. Greg gave me a disgusted look so I stuck my tongue out at him.

Picking the sword back up, I looked around the arena. It wasn’t anything too fancy, just a fenced off area with beaten down grass and a few practice dummies. There were a couple of people sparring on one end, but it didn’t look like they were any good, they were just having fun. That was a relief. I would feel like an idiot if I was the only one who didn’t know what they were doing.

“Alright,” I muttered as I stepped up to a dummy, “Greg, tell me what to do.”

He raised a bushy eyebrow at me. “What?”

“You can swordfight,” I said. “Teach me how.”

“I can’t teach you how to swordfight,” he snorted, “I haven’t done it in years—in centuries!”

“Oh come on,” I said, still keeping my voice barely above a whisper. “You mean to tell me that you don’t remember anything?” I gave him a flat stare. “Dude, you possess a sword, you have to remember. You have to miss it at least a little.”

His gaze turned into a glare. “I got killed in a swordfight,” he growled, “I’m not sure that I miss it at all.”

“Aha!” I cried out, “You were killed in a swordfight! You’ve only ever said that you were stabbed!” I grinned at him. “I’m learning a little bit more about you each day.”

Turning away from him, I shrugged. “I guess that explains why you’re too much of a coward to teach me. It’s okay, I understand. I’m sure your feelings are still very frail. I’ll bet that just seeing sword fighting makes you want to cry.”

He reappeared in front of me. His expression was irate. “I perceive what you are doing,” he said, “but still, I must clear my name. I am no coward. I will teach you what I can.”

“Yes!” I said, pumping my fist into the air, “thank you Greg!”

“Thanks winna feed the cat,” he grumbled.

I gave him a questioning glance. “Now it’s my turn to not understand what you’re saying.” Gripping the hilt of my wooden sword, I turned to face the standing dummy in front of me. “Okay, what do I do first?”

Shaking his head, he drifted to my side. “Widen your stance and plant both feet firmly. If your weight is not balanced, your opponent can knock you off your feet and kill you.”

“Is that what happened?” I asked. Crouching down lower, I tried to mimic his pose. “Did you get pushed over and stabbed?”

He frowned at me. “Do you want me to teach you or not?”

I was about to reply but there were two guys, probably around my same age, who were walking by. I didn’t want them to think I was talking to myself. Greg noticed the teenagers as well and gave me a smug look. He loved it when I couldn’t respond with a sarcastic comment.

“Now hold the sword,” he continued, turning his attention away from the teenagers, “but don’t clench it so tightly. If you do, any hit the sword takes will jar your arm. Of course, don’t hold it too loose either, unless you desire it to be knocked from your grip. Hold it gently and firmly. Swing it around a bit and get used to its weight.”

I furrowed my eyebrows and moved the sword around.

“Aye,” Greg said with a nod, “just so.”

Casually, I swung the blade right through Greg, slicing his midsection in half. He shook his head at me. As I was trying to get a hang of the sword’s weight, I noticed that the guys behind Greg weren’t sparring anymore. They were just talking as they milled around the arena. I swung the sword again, hitting the dummy this time. They were close enough that I could hear what they were saying.

“—well obviously. Skill has a lot to do with it, but in a fight, size matters too. The bigger someone is, the better they’ll be. It’s just a fact.”

The second guy cut in. “I don’t know. I think that if someone’s really good, they can totally take down someone bigger than them.”

“Okay, but like look at her.”

I glanced up. Was the first kid talking about me now? I was the only other person on this side of the arena. Shaking my head, I took another swing at the dummy.

“She’s tiny,” the first guy continued. “Even if she was the best swordfighter in the world, she still wouldn’t be able to beat a big tall guy. She wouldn’t even be able to reach his shoulder! Height is against her and plus, a girl is nowhere near as strong as a guy.”

My ears were burning. I had to find out for sure. Turning around, I glanced at the two guys. “Excuse me?” I asked.

“Oh, sorry,” one of them said. He was tall and gangly. His face was covered in acne. “I was just trying to prove a point to my friend. I didn’t know you could hear us. No offense.”

I narrowed my eyes. No offense indeed. “Are you saying that because I’m short and a girl, I wouldn’t be able to kick your butt in a sword fight?”

The tall guy looked down at me and laughed. “Uh, yeah,” he said, as if he were stating the obvious, “that is what I’m saying.”

His friend looked incredulous. “Trev, are you seriously picking a fight with a girl right now?”

“No,” I interrupted, shooting a glance at the friend. “A girl is picking a fight with an idiot.”

The first guy, Trev, looked disgusted. “What the crap is your problem?” he asked, his cocky smile disappearing. “Why don’t you mind your own business? I was just having a conversation.”

“And I was just making an observation,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “Do you want to put your little theory to the test? We could have a match right here in five minutes.”

“What?” Trev asked, “No!”

I pouted my lips. “Are you scared that I really am going to kick your butt?”

He was getting angry now, but he covered it up with another laugh. “You know what midget? Fine, five minutes!” With that, he turned around and stalked off.

“I’ll readily admit it,” muttered Greg, appearing beside me, “you are gifted in manipulating people.” He gave me a shrewd look. “Your temper’s got the better of you, however. What are you going to do when you fight that youth? All you know how to do is stand there and hold a sword.”

“That’s why you’re going to help me,” I whispered, my voice barely containing my excitement. “You’re going to possess me Greg, and you’re totally going to beat that jerk!”

His transparent brown eyes widened in surprise. “Nay,” he said firmly, “I am not. You may not want to hear it, but I’m afraid the boy was right. Men are stronger than women.”

“In a wrestling match maybe!” I retorted. “But even that’s an unfair generalization. I’ve seen some pretty wimpy guys and some absolutely terrifying women. That’s all beside the point though! Why won’t you help me?”

He sighed. “The boy was also right about you being—” He gave me an uncertain glance.

I glared at him. “Say it,” I muttered. “Say it, I dare you.”

“Short,” Greg said. “You are extremely short, and that can be a decided disadvantage.”

It was all I could do to keep from yelling in frustration. “Do you know how many people think that short people are magically incapable of being regular human beings?” I asked. “Do you know how many short jokes I had to face on a daily basis in high school?” My voice was rising unintentionally. “Do you have any idea what it’s like down here?”

Greg’s face was expressionless as he stared down at me. My eyes widened. “Hold on,” I muttered. Taking a step back, I looked him up and down. I could see his face clearly, along with his shoulders and most of his torso, but down at his legs his image grew hazy. His feet were completely nonexistent.

“You always look like that,” I said, suspicion sneaking into my tone, “only half-materialized. Make your whole body appear.”

Greg looked offended. “What? Why?”

“Just do it real quick,” I said, “I want to see something.”

Folding his arms, Greg let out a long sigh and his image began to solidify. He was still a bit transparent, like he always was, but now his whole form was visible. He was floating a solid foot above the ground.

“Make your feet touch the grass!” I said, almost yelling. I think a few people glanced warily in my direction. I needed to keep it down.

Greg did so and I quickly moved to stand next to him.

“Aha!” I cried. “You’re barely taller than me!” My eyes got wide as a mischievous smile lit my face. “Is that how you died? I bet it is! I bet you were shorter than your opponent, they pushed you over, and then they got you!”

“I was stabbed!” yelled Greg, rising up off the ground. “What more do you want from me woman?”

“I want to know how,” I pleaded, “and I want you to help me win this fight! For short people everywhere!”

Greg let out a weary sigh and rubbed his eyes. “Fine,” he said with a heavy breath, “I will help you, but let it be just this once.”

“Just this once it is,” I said, my smile vanishing as I concentrated. Squaring my shoulders, I stood up straight. “Okay, I think I’m ready.”