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The disdain her proposal caused made her almost chuckle and she could almost mouth along with his following protest.
“I don’t fight with the fairer sex. Again, thank you but I am not interested in your help.”
Behind Cedric, she could see Warchief approach who was frowning and preparing himself to say something. Only to stop as they locked eyes. Something in her face must have told him not to interfere, as he stopped his approach and slinked away to stand at the side. He smiled expectantly at her as if he was waiting for her to start the show.
She smiled in response before turning back to her reluctant student who had turned away and was starting to walk off. Before he could, she used the same trick as before to make him buckle. Unlike Firon, Cedric hadn’t been guarded and ended up falling flat onto his face, losing his practice sword in the progress. She used the toe of her boot to throw the piece of wood up in the air and grab it. Once in hand, she pressed its point into the middle of his back.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but war does not care about your morals or thoughts. Now stand up and face me. I don’t ask twice.”
His back was trembling as she removed the sword. Cedric hurriedly stood and turned to her, his face twisted in anger. Good. It meant that her actions had their intended effect. Taking a note out of Warchief’s book, she smiled smugly at him while throwing the practice sword to his feet. Knowing it would only infuriate him even more.
At a glance, she could see that others had started to join Warchief and were gathering in a big circle around the two of them. It seems like she would start teaching today.
“Let this be your first lesson. Never expect anyone to fight fair. On the battlefield morals don’t exist, only instincts and the will to survive. Now let’s do this again Cedric. Attack me, and I will show you how to properly avoid your opponent while keeping the upper hand.”
One of the men walked up to her, to offer his sword but she gently pushed it away.
“I need no weapon to wipe the floor with someone like him.”
Lidea spoke loud enough so all would hear. Knowing the humiliation would only anger her opponent more. Pride was a funny thing that could cause the reasonable to make costly mistakes. It paid for them to learn quickly not to let their enemy control their emotions.
Looking at Cedric, his anger had turned to rage and she could practically see him spitting fire. Who knows in this group, he might actually start doing so.
“That’s it, I will teach you!”
To her disappointment, the only spitting he did, was the normal wet kind as he rushed toward her. Probably thinking he could simply overpower her with brute force. She had to actively remind herself not to smile too gleefully as she waited for the perfect moment to do a simple sidestep. As he rushed passed her, Lidea took hold of the wrist holding his sword and twisted it backward. His momentum caused his shoulder to be strained and he yelped in pain as he dropped the sword to the ground.
Now that he was disarmed, she let go of his arm and he stumbled forward. Only just avoiding falling again. She stepped back and created space between them, before widening her stance.
He turned to glare at her with mutiny in his eyes as he nursed the shoulder she had nearly dislocated. Although angry, he seemed to be more cautious and in control than he had been.
I knew that he was a fast learner.
“I thought you would teach me?”
This time she let herself smile before she turned to the crowd. Speaking to them as well as Cedric.
“Lesson number two, never let your opponent control the fight. That doesn’t mean only physical but also emotional. Anger can be useful, can make you stronger, or make you feel less pain. But when it takes away your reasoning, you are acting like nothing more than a dumb animal. Don’t give your opponent that power over you.”
Turning back to Cedric, she could see that he had already picked up his weapon and was gingerly moving his shoulder around to assess the possible damage. While doing so, he kept an eye on her, preventing Lidea from attacking him again. A smart but in this situation unnecessary precaution. She didn’t intend to attack him first, as it wasn’t the point of what she was trying to teach him. Anyway, she didn’t even have a weapon, putting her at a major disadvantage. So she waited.
Soon enough, he approached her again. Slower and less confident this time. He was looking at her as if she was a wild horse ready to kick him. A thought that made her chuckle and caused him to frown but she didn’t get the chance to say anything as he swiped sidewards toward her waist.
Too high to jump, too low to easily duck under. She could have stepped out of reach and it would have been great to avoid being hit, but wouldn’t bring any benefit to her. Instead, she leaped forward. Shock registered on his face, as she came to stand less than a hand width away from his face. That moment of surprise was enough for her to knock away his sword arm and grab hold of his neck.
“You were trying to reach me from too far away, opening yourself up for a counterattack. It is a risky move, as you could have easily grabbed hold of me and ended the fight there and then. But most people do not expect you to come closer when they are swinging a weapon at you. So you take advantage of their surprise to go for a vulnerable area. The eyes, the chin, the throat, or the groin are all good options.”
She could feel him swallow under her hand and heard his haggard breathing. Maybe she was enjoying herself a bit too much. She had to remember that these recruits were fresh. Letting go of his throat, she was planning to step back and create distance but she didn’t get the chance. Instead, he grabbed her wrist and spun her towards him, moving his arm to her neck to hold her in a chokehold. He had taken her by surprise but she swiftly recovered. Bending over, she forced him to go with her and then shifted sidewards to put one of her legs behind his. Feeling that she was trying to do something, he strengthened the hold until he was really choking her. She knew that she had to act now and put all her weight into pushing him back so he tripped over her leg and they both fell over. She could hear him groan as he hit his head on the sand, the pain making him lose his grip. Lidea didn’t hesitate to break free and get on her feet. Picking up the sword that had laid forgotten on the ground. She pointed it at his chest, just as he had wanted to get up. He looked disgruntled at the sword as if it had somehow betrayed him and she grinned.
“Well done. The third lesson of today is one that Cedric here demonstrated. Find your opponent's weak spot and use it. My body is smaller and without a weapon, I was at a disadvantage. Grabbing me was the right call. The problem is, that I am very aware of my shortcomings and have worked to overcome them. I wouldn’t be alive if I hadn’t.”
Understanding and some sort of respect showed in Cedric’s brown eyes as he looked at her. He probably already understood his mistake, but Lidea wasn’t someone to pass up on rubbing someone’s nose into it.
“Lesson number four. Never underestimate your opponent. Let me make it abundantly clear. On the battlefield, you don’t have the luxury to protect someone who doesn’t pull their weight.”
Dropping his eyes down, she could see a hint of red on his cheeks. Though his darker skin hid it well.
Pulling back the sword, Lidea was about to ask him if he needed to pass by the healer when she could hear someone clapping off to the side of her.
“Good job for your first day. Though I would prefer it if you don’t damage the recruits.”
She didn’t need to see him to know that he was smiling again. His words dripped with his amusement.
Does this man never have a bad day in his life?
Before the thought even fully formed, memories of his scarred back reminded her that he probably had plenty. Though looking at him, she would have never been able to tell.
Forcing the depressing thoughts off her mind, she smiled back at him before answering.
“I tried keeping him whole, but he made it difficult. I told you, that he was a fast learner.”
He looked past her to Cedric, who was being helped up by one of his comrades.
“So you did. I already knew that you had a good eye.”
Turning towards the group, she saw that most were starting to saunter off. Even though Warchief hadn’t stated that training was over. Some habits were hard to break it seemed.
“You proved yourself. Let’s hope that they finally get the message. Are you alright? He seemed to be losing control at the end there.”
His concern warmed her heart but she waved it off as she looked around for the water bottle Taylor had given her. It took her a moment to realize that Warchief was holding it in his hand. Seemingly unaware that she might want it back.
“Everything is fine, he didn’t do anything that I hadn’t expected. Well, when he suddenly grabbed me. He has good instincts, it will be a joy to work with him after a little attitude adjustment. I am parched though.”
She gave a poignant look at the bottle, and Warchief offered her the bottle without any hesitance. Which was to be expected, as it had been given to her first anyway. Gulping the water thankfully, she emptied the container before her thirst was quenched.
“So shall we go back to the infirmary?”
“We? Don’t you have work to do?”
His smile weakened until a sheepish version of the one he normally had as he rubbed his hand through his hair. The sign of social discomfort looked odd when an overly confident person did it.
“Crystal got mad, so I will be moving in for the time being. I was planning to discuss housing with you soon anyway. If you are planning to stay here for longer, then it would be nicer for you to live in one of the houses instead of staying at the infirmary. I’m not kicking you out, but I wanted to lay that offer on the table.”
It was no wonder that the healer had forced him to live under her supervision. She hoped Crystal would be able to help him recover or at least manage his symptoms better. Although she didn’t mind sharing, her thought immediately went to her family's house.
“Is anyone living at the house of Chasseur? The one with the boar symbol?”
Thinking that they could walk while talking, she started walking towards the hill with a slight reluctance. How she wished the exercise field had been on the same level as the infirmary.
As they started walking up the slope, she felt her tremble. A fact that didn’t go unnoticed.
“I know that you are fine. But tell me if you need a break.”
Lidea nodded, though she knew better. In no way was she going to need a break for climbing up a hill. The man next to her sighed deeply, giving her the impression that he had read her mind.
“I know which house you are talking about. There is nobody so it is yours for the taking. But I’m curious, why did you mention that one?”
“My grandfather from my mother's side is a Chasseur. I suppose if I have to live anywhere, it feels right to live there? It sounds foolish when I say it out loud.”
For a moment melancholy showed through the façade he kept up so obviously and she wondered what words had triggered his memories. Family?
“It doesn’t sound stupid at all. Well, it is yours for the taking.”
“Thank you, Warchief.”
98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQbDyPH3hn
For those that have been reading. Some changes will happen going forward. I will be editing some of the chapters (especially titles) next sunday. Going forward I will be dropping title names as I'm bad at predicting where the chapter will go :')98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKTf0bt7vj
All the contents stay the same and the chapter numbers will stay consistent, so you should be able to still know where you left of. Thank you for the understanding^^
