“Get up,” she said, hard, stern.
I did. “I’m assuming I failed the test then?” I said dusting myself off, trying not to wince as I moved my right arm.
She chuckled, a bit of a hard edge to it. “Pick up the sword,” she said.
That wasn’t an answer.
“I’m not sure if I can. My hand is half-numb.” I picked up the practice weapon with my left hand and flexed my right hand a few times before gripping it again. The weight of the wooden weapon was almost too much with my injured and weak right arm. I switched to my left. That didn’t feel any better, but it wasn’t any worse.
“Are you left-handed?” she asked.
“Both hands are equal for me.”
She nodded and raised that left brow of hers once again. “Part two of the test: your turn, hit me.”
I could be quick if I needed to be, but I didn’t have any illusions that I was quicker than her.
I swung for her right hip.
Again, her movements were too quick for me to see. I just felt the results: another numb hand as the sword was torn away, another stinging shoulder and…
“Oh!” I gasped. She was right up in my face, her sword rubbing against my neck. The message was clear. I was dead.
“I take it I failed?” I said, a bit disheartened.
She stepped back, dropping the practice sword from my neck. “No.”
I blinked. “But… I… I don’t understand.”
She spoke as she picked up my weapon. “I can teach speed and we can work on strength, but there is one thing I can’t teach, and I wouldn’t train you if you didn’t have it.” She looked at me directly. “Heart, courage.”
Oh?
“You passed the moment you agreed to do the second test. You were in pain and could have run away, tail between your legs, but you didn’t. You stood your ground, knowing it was going to hurt. That takes courage. I’ll teach you.” She grinned. “For one strip a session, in advance.”
I shrugged, and regretted it instantly, given both of my injured shoulders. Reaching for the pouch at my belt I undid the clasp and pulled out five strips handing them over to her. “Here’s the cost for today, plus the next four sessions. I figure we can reassess where I am at that point.”
She hesitated, eyes a bit wide. It was clear she was not wealthy if five strips of silver impressed her. She took them reverently. “Agreed.”
“Is there more to today’s lesson, or just humiliation and pain?”
She laughed. “Did you want more? How do you feel? I pulled those hits, but still…”
Those had beenpulled? That wasn’t her full strength?By Brovos!
But I wanted to impress her. I wasn’t sure why impressing this common woman was suddenly so important, but it was. “I’m good to continue,” I said. “As long as I get armor too.”
Another laugh from her, more of a guffaw, with a bit of a snort. “I like you. Yes, you can have some armor. I’m glad you’re sticking with it. There may be more to you than a skinny nobleman. This way.”
I didn’t know why, but with her raucous laughter and her backhanded compliment about being ‘more than a skinny nobleman,’ she was growing on me. I think it was because no one had ever dared be that forthright with me in my life. More than that, Tisera was giving me exactly what I wanted and needed, a chance to learn combat. This woman fascinated me in a way no other ever had. A growing part of me wanted to be around her, impress her… even if I was going to get hurt…
… a lot.
CHAPTER 5
Dazar
I didn’t recognizethe man in the yard with Dizzy as I returned home from the university. He looked to be a nobleman, given the blond hair and jewel-toned eyes, and it appeared Dizzy was teaching him swordplay. Had she finally found a job? If so, I was happy for her. I knew how much it galled her that I’d had to help pay last month’s taxes.
