RR Fencing Practice

In Fencing Practice, Jezal is a cocky douche, but totally loses all confidence when he meets West's sister. Think you're ready? Then join Rocky as she reads The Blade Itself.


Time for the second chapter for today! I'm going to try to do two again tomorrow, and then see about doing one per day after that-- with my days that I work off. It's hard to read a book "one chapter every two or three days" because there's no strict schedule, so if I don't actually do it, who cares? I might be able to make myself more disciplined for my 2-3 day plan if more people were following this, but alas.

I liked this chapter. It made me laugh. It starts off with Jezal practice fighting West, which he loses terribly because he gets over confident and has poor balance on his back legs. While his trainer Lord Varuz is sitting there chewing him out for all the things he did wrong in the battle, Jezal briefly wonders about what would happen if he just gave up fencing and never touched a steel again, which he has apparently thought about a lot. But that would make his father sad, and he'd probably lose his allowance, and blah blah blah. Basically this was a GIANT father's-will-forced-onto-his-son moment. Usually, this has the son hating his life more and more until he snaps and chooses his own path, and then the father loves the son anyway. Basically that's how I've seen this set up go in every book/movie/show I've ever seen, except one (The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson. Fantastic twist, there). So I'm interested to see how this becomes more of a problem, and what Jezal does with his apparent disinterest in fencing. Stop he stop being a spoiled brat and and accept that he'd rather do something he loves and make it on his own instead of pleasing his father?

To sum up, I'm super interested in this one little part of the story (seriously, it was not even a full paragraph) because this is remarkably similar to a problem I'm facing now. And I want to see him follow whatever path he does, then see how happy it makes him. That way I can learn something and consider my options better. This is a good character conflict; a lot of people can relate to it. Good move, Abercrombie.

Alrighty. So Jezal is walking back to camp with West who has his sister in town and he was going to show her around. Yes, was. He instead gets orders to go to a meeting, and pawns his sister off on Jezal. The entire time back to camp, Jezal is being an extra-douche. He's just acting really superior and obnoxious. He thinks himself better than the messenger who came to talk to West, he thinks himself above West's family (though not West himself, since he proved himself by being an awesome fencer and joining the King's Army), he just basically thinks he's better than all the "common folk". And there's a guy who dropped a paper and is now chasing it around in the wind that Jezal just watches with amusement. Now, I suppose that's not the worst thing, but the paper blows right past his feet and Jezal just watches as this guy runs past, bent over, trying to get it. Blarg. When West gets the paper and gives it to the guy, Jezal is actually upset that his fun was just ruined. Man. What a douche.

A little later, as he's going to West's house to pick up his sister, he's literally just sitting there thinking to himself, "Don't let her be too ugly. Or dumb." He'd hate to have his day ruined that way, being seen in public with someone unattractive. He stops just outside his house (or actually it's more of an apartment) to eavesdrop on the two of them arguing, and she's got a deepish voice, so he almost just turns around and makes up some excuse for why he couldn't be there, but since someone's coming up the stairs, he can't get around without being seen. So he just embraces the fact that he's going to have to spend the day with someone short, fat, and inappropriate for a female (she's witty and swore while talking to her brother, which is only how boys are supposed to be).

All of his doucheyness makes it particularly delightful that when she opens the door, he thinks she's gorgeous. She definitely has unconventional looks-- she's not thin, her skin is darkened from the sun, her eyes aren't blue-- but he doesn't even care. She's most certainly not fat, and he can't remember why girls are supposed to be pale upon seeing her, and her eyes are dark and bright. He loses all his charm and it's kinda fantastic. West is just kinda sitting here watching him be totally intimidated by his sister, and it's hilarious. Jezal tries frantically to think of clever things to say, which is not really working out for him, and he just generally thinks it's funny to see Jezal and Ardee (the sister) together. Haha, right before he leaves to his meeting, he tells them not to do anything he wouldn't, and Ardee just--

"'That would seem to allow virtually everything,' she said, catching Jezal's eye. He was amazed to feel himself blushing like a little girl, and he coughed and looked down at his shoes.
West rolled his eyes, 'Mercy,' he said, as the door clicked shut."

Haha. It made me laugh out loud. They spend most of the rest of the chapter walking around as Jezal tries to show her the city, but she already knows everything about it. She's not being obnoxious about it, though, and she stands close to him, which isn't something Jezal is objecting too, but he thinks it would be super awkward and bad if West saw them so close together. He tries telling her a couple times that they should act more like friends here and less like a couple, but she just keeps talking about all the different things they're seeing and doesn't really let him get in on the conversation a lot.

Then randomly Glokta comes up. Ardee knows him because apparently Glokta and West were quite close, which totally makes sense. I mean, they were only having a legit conversation about it the night that Glokta kidnapped Teufel. The two of them used to be really close friends, and Glokta came to visit West and his family one summer. Jezal is super awkward the entire time Glokta is there talking to Ardee, and the chapter ends pretty quick after he leaves.

Abercrombie does a cool parallel between fencing West and showing Ardee around. He references how Jezal was off balance for both of those and in the end of the chapter, Jezal straight up thinks about how he feels like he lost a fencing war twice today, and that Ardee was a tougher component than her brother. Fantastic. I feel like I'm falling into a trap, though. I just love how much Jezal was thrown off by Ardee, and I hope she sticks around and we see more of her. But I'm pretty positive that's what Abercrombie wants me to feel. Which means I'm worried I'm walking straight into his trap, and he's going to do something terrible with Ardee and Jezal D: Oh dear.

Good chapter, though. I'm intrigued that we keep seeing Glokta pop up in Jezal's chapters. It allows up to get a different perspective on him, because we've only seen him in his own head or with this prisoners-to-be, and so seeing him out among peers and normal people gives a really interesting view of Glokta. He's so friendly. It's odd, but good I think.

Oh! And I totally forgot! While Ardee and Jezal were looking at statues, they totally saw one of the Magus that Logen is trying to find! Whaaat. Now that I read in this chapter, actually, I think Jezal mentioned it back in his chapter. He runs past them, and if I'm remembering correctly, he though the Magus was dead. Hm... Interesting...

For the hundredth time he entertained the notion of giving it up and never holding a steel again. But what would people say?