Third Day: Just the Start
"It is a pleasure to meet you both," the princess bowed towards her new instructors, who looked unimpressed with the petite figure in front of them. "I am Princess Ahim de Famille. I hope I may master your techniques to a degree of what you showed yesterday."
"Right..." Luka put her hands on her hip, while inspecting Ahim from top to bottom.
"Is there something wrong, Ms. Luka?" Ahim asked with a bright smile on her face.
"Ms. Luka?" Luka looked momentarily surprised, but she recovered quickly. "No, I'm good, thanks.
Clapping her hands, she looked at Joe. "So you know who we are, obviously," Luka said, pointing at herself and Joe. "Here's how it's going to work, I'm going to take the morning classes, when the sun is still shining and visibility is all clear. Joe's going to take the afternoon session, because..." Luka thought hard, "Why are you taking the afternoons?"
"Because it'll give me more time to prepare for today's session," said Joe as he walked away.
"Don't forget lunch!" Luka called after him. Joe responded with a casual wave before retreating into the castle.
Luka turned towards Ahim, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. "Now... where were we?"
A shriek of fear was heard throughout the courtyard as Ahim fell to the ground from the recoil of the pistol. Beside her stood Luka, shaking her head at the dismal display of physical strength that Ahim had shown her so far.
"Not like that," she told Ahim. "Plant your foot firmly into the ground first. Not just your heel."
Ahim nodded, "I will try again."
Picking herself up from the ground, she brushed the dust from the folds of her dress. Luka clicked her tongue softly in disapproval.
"Ms. Luka," Ahim asked politely. "Is there something wrong?"
Luka pointed to her outfit, "As much as I love your fashion taste, it's not suitable for what we're doing."
"I see," Ahim nodded, "Forgive me. I was not sure of what to wear."
Taken aback, Luka tried again, "Maybe you should try wearing something like this," she advised Ahim, displaying her own, more practical outfit. "It would help you out when it comes to your swordsmanship lesson with Joe this afternoon."
"I will try to find appropriate clothes for tomorrow," Ahim promised. She walked over to a wooden table that was being attended to by one of the servants. Placing the used pistol onto the table, she took another pre-loaded pistol. Returning to Luka, she took her stance once again.
"Step one, plant your first firmly onto the ground," Luka told her.
Ahim did as she said, ensuring that her feet were in a comfortable position. "It has been done."
"Next step, lift and aim your pistol," Luka said, watching her carefully. After Ahim gave her confirmation, she moved onto the last step.
"When you're ready, fire on your own time," Luka instructed her.
Squeezing the trigger, Ahim fell back once more, while the bullet was shot harmlessly into the air. Luka shook her head once more.
"This is going to be a long few days," she whispered to herself.
Loudly, to Ahim, she said, "For tonight, practice."
Ahim watched from the opposite end of the dining table as both Luka and Joe stuffed themselves, devouring an entire table full of food. Luka showed a blatant disregard for her table manners, using her hands, while Joe had used a spoon and fork to shovel large amounts of food into his mouth.
"My, my," Ahim said with an interested smile. "I have never seen anyone eat our food so rapidly."
Luka stopped eating for a second to explain, "We haven't had a decent meal for a long time, or at least, not enough to fill us."
"Is that so?" Ahim laced her fingers delicately. "And where are you and Mr. Joe from, Ms. Luka?"
This time, Luka put her food, "What do you mean, Ahim?"
"It is clear to me," Ahim informed them. "That you two are not one of my subjects who live in my kingdom. You both showed discomfort when Father asked you to swear that oath."
Luka and Joe exchanged glances before Joe nodded.
"You're right," he said, putting down his utensils. "We're not from around here. We're actually pirates."
"Pirates?" Ahim looked slightly surprised. "How is it that you escaped capture?"
"We're not well-known, per se," Luka muttered, ashamedly.
"I see," Ahim poured herself some tea and sipped it quietly for a few moments.
"Well," Joe said, finally growing impatient of the silence. "Are you going to arrest us?"
"No, I do not think so," Ahim told them to their disbelief. "I believe that I still need you to teach me how to defend myself."
"And after?"
Ahim smiled at them, "Then you are free to go. After all, you have done nothing wrong."
Joe looked confused, while Luka just stared at the princess in confusion.
"By the way," Ahim called forth a servant who was waiting outside of the dining hall. "Would these clothes be suitable for your lesson, Mr. Joe?"
Luka and Joe looked at the pair of garments that Ahim had somehow procured from the castle.
"More suitable than your current dress, yes," answered Luka, drily.
"Excellent," Ahim said, appearing not to have heard Luka's tone. "I shall get changed and meet you in the courtyard in twenty minutes," she told Joe. "I look forward to our lesson, Mr. Joe."
"Of course, Princess Ahim," Joe replied.
Luka looked over at Joe, taken aback with his use of a respectful honorific, while Ahim's face also turned surprised, tinged with slight confusion.
"Twenty minutes, Mr. Joe," she repeated as she walked out of the room.
Behind her, Joe gulped down the rest of his drink, placing the tankard back onto the table, his face not revealing anything to Luka's curious stares.
Twenty minutes later, Joe stepped out into the open sunshine. The sun had just reached its peak. Ahead, he could make out Ahim's figure waiting for him in her new clothes. Clenching his fist around the scabbard of his sword, he steeled himself before he walked towards her.
"Mr. Joe," Ahim greeted him as she saw him walking towards her. "I have arranged for a variety of swords to be brought into the castle. Which one will we start with?"
Joe grunted, "That would be pointless."
Ahim looked a bit hurt, "I am not sure I understand."
Clearing his throat awkwardly, Joe explained, "It's pointless at the moment to attempt to master all these different weapons," he said, gesturing to the different blades on the table. "I doubt you can even lift this broadsword."
Seeing the logic in his words, Ahim nodded.
"It would be better for you to just master one weapon," Joe told her. "Tell me, Ahim, what comes to mind when it comes to violence?"
"I believe that it would better if we did not have to fight as all," she replied in earnest.
Joe carefully studied the princess in front of him, "Explain to me your duties as a princess," he said as he walked towards the table, grazing each blade with the tip of his fingers.
Ahim was confused, "I am not sure I understand."
"What do you do at court?" Joe repeated, his back still facing her.
"At the moment, I am involved in ceremonial purposes. I am not really part any executive decisions," she answered, still wondering why Joe was asking.
Unbeknownst to her, Joe's mouth twitched as he chose her weapon. Turning back to her, he showed it out to her.
"This is what you'll learn to wield," he said as he displayed the sword to her. Unsheathing it, Joe swung it around gently. "For you, I chose the saber. Not only will it be light enough for you to use properly, you may also use it for ceremonial purposes."
Replacing it back into the scabbard, he held it out to her. Seeing her holding it incorrectly, he corrected her. "Not like that," he rebuked her. Indicating the space opposite from the curl guard, he instructed her, "Place your thumb opposite from the curl guard with your index finger opposite your thumb."
"Like this?" Ahim did as she was told, but her grip was still wrong.
"No," Joe reached out and covered her delicate hands with his sturdy hands. Changing the positioning of her thumb to go against the hilt, he firmly closed her grasp. "Like this."
They stood there silently in the middle of the courtyard. Ahim was staring at their hands while Joe's face turned neutral...
BANG!
The sound of gunfire shook them out of their reverie as they heard Luka swear from the other side of the palace.
Letting go of her hands, Joe asked, "Do you get it now?"
"Y-yes, I think I do," Ahim took the scabbard in her free hand and pulled the weapon from its sheath. She allowed herself to marvel in its simplistic design, save for the hilt, which was adorned with an elaborate pommel and complicated twisted wire knuckle-bow.
Joe nodded approvingly, before sliding over beside her. "You want to stand like this," he said, using himself as an example. "Your feet should be at a ninety degree angle with a footstep in between, knees bent, and place all your weight onto your back leg."
Ahim mimicked Joe's stance, while holding her saber at eye-level. Joe shook his head, and lifted his own sword away from his body and just above his hip, while having his other hand at a ready position near his sword arm.
Once more, Ahim copied Joe, creating an elegant duplicate.
"This is called the Terza stance," Joe explained as he began to shuffle forward while keeping the stance. "It's a natural stance, and easily usable to counter many attacks."
Following Joe, Ahim called out to him in curiosity, "Where did you learn these techniques. Did you learn them on your adventures?
"I heard Captain Shiba say that she had never seen your style of fight before. But... You had said they were traditional."
Joe paused, unsure of what to say. Breaking out of her stance, Ahim walked over to him, "Mr. Joe," she said, her eyes meeting his. "Did I ask you something personal?"
"It's nothing," Joe shook himself out of it. "Back to practice."
The sun had started to go down before Joe had decided that Ahim had practiced enough for the day. They had progressed from the Terza stance to the Quarta stance, with decent understanding of both stances. Feeling reasonably pleased with herself, Ahim returned back to her room with her saber still in hand. Closing the door behind her, she pressed herself against it, using it for support as she finally realized that her body had been overwhelmed by the physical activity that she was unused to. In fatigue, she slowly drooped her eyes...
A series of raps on the door caused her to awaken suddenly, Ahim becoming instantly alert.
"Ahim-sama," one of the servants asked from behind the door, "It is nearly time for dinner. Do you need my help changing?"
"I will be fine, thank you," Ahim answered. Placing the saber down in a corner, she held her hands together, remembering the phantom imprint of Joe's hands on hers.
It was a gentle feeling, she decided. Gentle, but firm.
Within the security of her room, Ahim de Famille blushed in the darkness.
Gosh, aren't we starting slowly ;) Or at least, that's what Lisa told me when she was reading this chapter. How ironic, considering the messes I get myself into.
So, we've seen Ahim start, and she can't fire a gun. Poor her :( but at least she's making good progress in Joe's class, right? Using a ceremonial saber :D Yay for all that pomp and circumstance :D
As always, thank you to the readers, new subscribers and favourites, as well as those that reviewed :) And to Pearl and Lisa, of course, for editing :D
Next week's chapter may be a bit late. I'm going to New York City :D going to play this song as soon as I get off the plane :D ( watch?v=XQfw76HldiE)
Please leave a review! :D