Marco looked at Shade, his face filled with memories. "This was hidden during the bonfires. I’ve kept it safe all these years. I knew, someday, you’d give us a prince. I am honored to now pass this along to your son."
Marco bent down and handed Lorenzo the sword. "May you grow to be the warrior that will make your padre proud."
Lorenzo's eyes glistened as he looked at the sword his father once carried as a boy. He stepped forward to take the sword from Marco. "I’ll make you and my father proud, Marco. You’ll help train me, and we’ll rule here together."
He was wondering now if he must wait until he was ten. He was a prince, after all. Maybe he should get started even younger.
Shade embraced Marco in a bear hug. "How will I ever repay you, brother?"
Marco released the hug, clearing his own throat, and spoke gruffly. "You can repay me," he looked down at Lorenzo, "by making him the King you are."
Shade looked down at his son. "Well, little warrior, you have had a great night, so I suggest we head back to Castello. I promised your madre I would not keep you here the entire night."
Lorenzo was bubbling over with excitement over the gift of a real sword, and Shade could only imagine bel’s reaction. As they walked outside, he lifted Lorenzo on his shoulders as they took the long stroll back to Castello. "So, I guess this means you are a real warrior now, a real weapon in your hands. I practiced a lot with that sword. Tell me your thoughts, son."
Lorenzo clung to the sword, holding it against his chest. "I like Alfie, Daddy. He’s going to be a great warrior, I can tell. These warriors will depend on me, won't they? Do you think I should train more with Marcello and Skelk? Do you think I should move here earlier?"
Shade chuckled to himself, the seed has been planted. "Lorenzo, I think Alfie will be a great warrior too. They will need you to lead them in time, show them how to be great warriors. You are young still, with much to learn before you join the camp. You lead by example. If you won’t fight and lead yourself, how can you expect them to follow?"
Shade kept walking, letting that information sink in. "You know, Lorenzo, your madre and I made a deal. She wanted you to be able to have a childhood, to play without carrying the burden of responsibility you must eventually assume. I want you to grow up to be a great warrior, learn all you can, become a master and king. We have compromised, to give you a world where you get to do both. But your madre loves you so much, it is hard for her to let go of her little boy. She is not ready for the day when her child becomes a man and leaves her. She fears you will not need her, but we both know that will never happen, si?"
Lorenzo shook his head as he sat atop his father's shoulder. “I'll always need Mommy! I love her, and we have to protect her, right, Daddy? And Sophia too. That's what we do."
Shade beamed with pride. "Damn straight, little warrior. You have to do your studies. Prepare for the day when you move to the camp. But listen to me." He pulled Lorenzo from his shoulders, as the boy clung to the sword. "This is not a toy sword. It is a weapon and it can kill. This is no game, Lorenzo. This sword is not for play. This is for training."
Shade slid his hand along the hilt. "My padre had this made for me. I used to dream of slaying dragons just like you. That is why the hilt is made like a dragon. The dragon’s long tail wraps around your hand to protect it."
Taking his hand, they walked the rest of the distance to Castello. Shade paused before going in. "I know you really like Alfie. He is about the same age as Marco was when I first came to the camp. Perhaps you could write to him. Enzo can help you with that. Then, when you move here to live, you will already have a brother. What do you think?"
Lorenzo nodded. "Yep. I can do that. And I can visit him when we come here, right? Maybe we can practice together."
"You get good with that sword, and you can do that when we come to visit. I will train you personally. Now, let us get inside to your madre. She will be fretting over both of us."
Once Shade opened the door, Lorenzo took off like his ass was on fire and he could only imagine the look on Kate’s face when she saw the sword.
Lorenzo ran up the wide marble staircase that led to the second floor. He knew his mother remained sequestered in the master bedroom, with Emma and Theresa always close by. He came to a halt in front of the closed bedroom door. He’d been instructed to never enter his parents’ bedroom when the door was closed. He tapped at the door as he heard his father's footsteps on the marble staircase behind him.
Emma opened the door and gave him a big smile. “Lorenzo! To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit today?"
Lorenzo held up the sword. "Is my mommy here? I have to show her something."
Emma stepped back from the door, swinging it open for Lorenzo to enter, just as her master appeared behind him. She nodded her head in deference to him. Lorenzo ran for the massive bed where his mother was resting, sitting up in the bed with pillows at her back.
"Mommy, look! Look what Marco gave me. A sword. A real one. It was Daddy's sword when he trained here. I'm going to train extra hard, so I can come here too, and learn from Marco. I met Alfie today, and he showed me his bed in the bunkers."
Kate locked eyes with Shade over the top of their son’s head as he carried the real sword in the air. She was less than pleased to see the child with a real weapon. “Lorenzo, be careful with that. It’s not a toy."
Lorenzo climbed up on the bed, pushing the sword ahead of him. "I know, Mommy. It’s real. I'm a warrior and I have to learn to use it properly."
Kate gave Shade a stern look and asked him in her head, “What were you thinking?”
Shade didn’t back down, their son was warrior. “Marco gave it to him. He kept my sword from childhood to give to my son. He is born to be a warrior. It is in his blood. I will train him myself.”
He focused his attention on Lorenzo. "Lorenzo, you need to hold your weapon properly so as not to injure anyone by mistake. No swords in the house, only on the training field. I know you are excited, but let’s put the sword away for now. We can use it when we get back to Bel Rosso. Training begins then, si?"
Lorenzo reluctantly surrendered the sword to his father. “Okay, Daddy. But as soon as we get home, okay? And you'll tell Marcello too, right? So, he knows I can train with my real sword."
Kate hadn’t acknowledged her son's enthusiasm for the sword that had been passed down now from father to son. She’d always known the day would come when Lorenzo would have to step into his legacy, but she’d hoped to delay it as long as possible. She ran her hand through the child’s tangled locks, so much like his father’s. "There will be time to train, Lorenzo. Right now, we have to get ready for your sister. She’ll be arriving any day now. Aren't you excited?"
As Shade removed the sword from the bed, Lorenzo proceeded to jump across the wide mattress like it was a trampoline, returning quickly to the antics of a four-year-old, and forgetting the burdens of being a warrior. "Yep. I'm excited. Nita said there will be a big party and lots of people will come."
Shade placed the sword inside a chest of drawers. As he turned, he saw his little warrior reverting to his child’s play, full of energy. "Lorenzo, please stop jumping on the bed, you will jiggle your sister out if you keep that up. I think it is time you go with Theresa, get your bath, and get some sleep. I need to spend some time alone with Madre, si? Give her your kisses and love. And if I were you, I would thank her for letting you join the warriors this night as well."