The next morning, Cat awoke later than she usually did. She and Angeline had stayed up late into the night talking and laughing. Despite her fatigue Cat felt happy. She didn't really want to get out of bed and practice but she forced herself up and started slowly. As soon as Cat finished the breakfast that Mara brought her, she headed towards the courts. She was excited about class, Angeline would be there and there was sure to be some adventure. When Orn arrived at the courts, Cat was practicing hits on once of the beams that surrounded the open court.
"You ready for class?" Asked Orn as he grabbed two staffs from the wall.
"You bet," Cat grabbed the staff that Orn tossed her. They faced off and Cat twirled the staff as she waited for Orn to attack. He leapt forward and brought his staff to her side in a strike, she blocked and countered. Their blows became heavier and fiercer as the sun rose in the sky. They only stopped when the pages started coming in.
Teacher and student weren't even breathing hard, though they had been fighting for half an hour.
Angeline walked in with prince Marcus and his friends. She waved to Cat who nodded in return. Marcus mouthed something at her but she ignored him. She and Angeline had put a slug in his bed, Cat almost smiled at the memory but she didn't want Marcus to think the smile was for him.
Nothing eventful happened during either of the classes. After they were over Cat thought of heading to the city, but decided against it when she thought of all the practice she had been neglecting. In the Shang compound, practice was almost all Cat did. They had lessons, but the main focus of Cat's existence was fighting.
She found a very secluded practice court where she could practice as loudly and energetically as she wanted. For the first time since coming to the palace she used the full extent of her fighting prowess. She kicked and struck the punching bag hanging from the ceiling. She ducked and spun, moving with a natural grace that shocked the big man standing by the door. Cat had moved herself away from the bag and started running towards it. She leaped into the air when she was three feet away. She shot her foot out and slammed into the bag so hard it hit the opposite wall. Cat kept going and was still at it when the big man left the court.
Lord Roul walked slowly away from the court. The girl, Cat, was very deadly indeed. He had seen many a fighter in his day and none was like this girl. "She's so accursed fast," he muttered to himself. He made his way to his office and sat down. He knew that the prince and the girl hadn't been getting along. This was not good at all. The girl was going places and if she and the prince were at odds, the prince would lose a very powerful alliance, and with the way things were with the Yamani's, a very powerful Shang enemy could be deadly. Roul sighed and stared at the fire, maybe he could help, at tonight's ball, yes that would be the perfect place. He smiled craftily and called in his servant, Orn had to be alerted after all, you can't meddle without help.