Adeya wiped sweat from her forehead. Bits of her hair had escaped her ponytail, and stuck to the damp on her face and neck. She sat on the rim of the sparring square, looking towards the central stair. She sighed.
Behind her the Blades of Avanna, all with wooden swords in hand and spaced out in a grid, took a breather under the mid-afternoon arclight. Their guffaws and chatter filled the air as a cold breeze coming off the mountain gave Adeya a shiver.
“Well done on your drills, princess,” said Gennen as he approached.
She started to smile.
“You almost kept up and fumbled only fifteen of the forms,” called Odallyan from the ranks. Wynne, Inen, and several others chuckled.
Her smile vanished though she pretended to ignore them.
“Gennen?” She looked up at the little man. “I saw Kyen do a disarm once. He said he’d teach me how to do it, but I was wondering if you would?”
“A disarm?” Gennen’s eyebrows rose. His pipe puffed like a miniature chimney.
“He somehow traded places with the man attacking him, just by grabbing his arm.”
He waved his own pipe smoke out of his face. “No, that’s too advanced for you. Not yet. Come!”
“But—”
“Come!”
Adeya stood as he entered the sparring square.
“Drills mean nothing if you can’t use them in combat,” he said. “Today, you begin sparring—practice fighting, princess!”
She stepped over the rim. “Will I spar…Oh.” Her question died when Inen entered from the opposite side. He stood easily two heads taller than the princess and twice as wide. The muscles on his forceps and biceps bulged when he crossed his arms, waggling the wooden sword. It looked like switching cane in his massive hands.
“You will spar Inen.” Gennen sat himself on a block.
Adeya paled. “But Inen is so—Couldn’t I spar someone else? Like Wynne?”
Gennen chuckled and took his pipe from his mouth. “Inen is the only Blade I trust to go easy on you.”
She looked back at Inen, and he stared her down. Hints of blue lightened his pewter-colored eyes, but his face seemed a stern mask with the nasty scars across his cheek and forehead.
“Go easy?” She swallowed. Raising her wooden sword, she crouched on guard. Inen moved in kind, a giant mirror of the princess, all in muscle.
“Get to it, princess. We don’t have all day,” said Gennen.
Drawing in an unsteady breath, she tightened her grip on her sword, dug in her toes and charged. She swung at him, but he blocked it and attacked back with three rapid strikes. Adeya cried out and stumbled backwards, struggling to catch the blows with her wooden sword. The first two she deflected, but the third caught her in the hip. She staggered sideways and landed in a heap outside the sparring ring.
Adeya lifted her head from the dust.
Chuckles from Wynne, Oda, and the other Blades floated over.
“Get to work!” Gennen snapped at them.
The noise of wood swords clacking together answered him.
Inen, without lowering his sword, backed away to his starting place.
“Again, princess,” said Gennen. “And stop swinging wide! You’re leaving yourself vulnerable!”
Gripping her practice sword, she pushed herself up and stepped back into the sparring square.
Again, Inen waited. Again, Adeya made the first move. She thrusted. Inen turned it aside with his weapon then sliced up. She winced sideways as the sword whistled past her. Staggering a little, she tried to regain her balance but Inen was already on her, stabbing for her gut. She lifted her sword to deflect it. But Inen’s move was a feint. His blade whipped in from the side without warning and smacked her across the upper arm. The blow landed hard enough to throw her around and send her stumbling face-first into the dirt.
“Hold!” cried Gennen.
Inen stood down as the blademaster hopped off his block.
Wincing and holding her shoulder, Adeya struggled back to her feet to meet him. Her sword dangled limp in her hand.
“You’re bouncing around like a hunted snow hare.” Gennen growled around the stem of his pipe. “Look at yourself.”
She gazed down her arms, bruised, dust sticking to her sweaty face along with her hair.
“You’re not seeing! Look at yourself!” He snapped.
Adeya held up her hands, one open-palmed, the other gripping the practice sword. Her brows furrowed together. Her fingers were trembling. Her breathing—shallow little gasps—quivered through her body.
“The battle isn’t just out here.” Gennen swept out a hand that included Inen and the sparring ring. Turning, he popped his palm against Adeya’s forehead hard enough to make her flinch. “It’s in here.”
She rubbed the spot with her fingers, frowning.
“If you can’t calm the battle in there, no amount of skill will save you from the battle out here,” he said. Then stepping back, he cried, “Try again!”
Adeya gripped the hilt of her practice sword with both hands. Closing her eyes, she drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. As she did, the tremble running through her calmed. She opened her eyes and launched herself at Inen, this time with a slash aimed for his legs. He stepped out of range only to lunge back in with a forehead strike. She sidestepped, slashing out for his shoulder, but he flicked the sweep of her sword aside and whipped his around to strike.
She grabbed his sword wrist. Wrenching his arm, she tried to take a step around him, tried to force him forward. Inen’s shoulder jerked out, but Adeya’s move lacked leverage. He dropped his weight under her twist, swung around and slammed his hilt into Adeya’s face. She crumpled to the dirt.
“Hold!” Gennen hopped off his block again.
Inen backed away, flexing his shoulder a little.
Adeya sat up holding her head.
“Better,” Gennen glowered. “For a wool-eared blockhead! Didn’t you hear what I said? That disarm is too advanced for you. I thought you listened better than that, princess!”
Adeya shook her head and looked at him struggling a little to focus. That didn’t diminish her scowl. “I want to know how to disarm, Gennen.”
The blademaster puffed at his pipe; his pale-eyed gaze bored into her.
Struggling upright, she staggered backwards a few steps but caught herself. She met his pale gaze with her bright, aquamarine one. “The disarm, Gennen, please?”
He snatched her sword arm by the wrist. “Grip like this. When you twist, throw your whole body into it. Duck under his arm, not around it.”
Adeya nodded.
“Practice on Inen. Inen? Where—come here, Inen!”
The giant warrior hung back, still rubbing his shoulder.
Adeya stepped forward when a distant wailing made the three of them look up. The other Blades paused their practicing.
“Fiends!” shouted Wynne.