Chapter 7: Training of a dainty lady
"Try to at least hit the target. It would be great if you would be able to " commented Jonathan.
"You mean that you think I can't hit that target?!" asked Joanna with an insulted tone.
"I never meant that! But you know, you're a beginner so even if using your "gun" as you call it is easy, that doesn't mean using a bow is easy too. Just do your best" answered Jon.
"Okay then…Let's see if a dainty lady like me can hit the target the first time" commented Joanna with a sarcastic tone.
Joanna slowly aimed the target. Jon noticed how Joanna aimed…like an expert…like she already used those kind of weapons before. Joanna finally shot an arrow. The archer was amazed to see where the arrow was now. It was almost bull's eye. His eyes grew wide as he looked at the target.
"Ah shit…I don't even suceed doing a bull's eye!" exclaimed Joanna.
"…You already used a bow…don't you?" asked Jon with the same wide eyes.
"Well I never really used a bow like this before but I already used a crossbow…a weapon used in my own world that is inspired of these kind of bows.
"I…see…Then it explains everything" commented Jon as he regained his composure.
"Now I guess you won't be able to call me a dainty lady anymore" replied Joanna with a smile.
"Err…I guess you should begin your sword training…I don't think I can teach you much how to use a bow after all" responded Jonathan.
"I'm sure I could improve"
"Yeah but…You should learn how to defend yourself with the most common weapons first and only after you will specialize yourself in a particular weapon"
"Oh! I see…You're afraid that if you help me, I'll improve so much that I'll be better than you! Haha!"
Jonathan looked at her with a displeased gaze.
"Who do you think you are to pretend you could beat me so easily?! Anyway I don't see the point to become rivals…We're supposed to help each other, not harm each other" retorted Jon.
"…Yeah…maybe you're right. I'm sorry"
"It's alright"
"No it's not! I'm always speaking to you like I was speaking to the other Jonathan I knew but… you're not him! You might think I'm dainty but you always give me help when I need some and…"
"The Jonathan from your world wouldn't have helped you if you were in danger?"
"…I…I guess he would"
"Then you should stop to always bash him. Maybe that he isn't as bad as you think he is" commented Jonathan.
"But…"
"You should also stop thinking that I'm so different from him…I'm sure it's not the case"
"Why are you telling me this?" asked Joanna.
"Because sometimes…I really don't see any difference between you and the Joanna from this world" replied Jon.
Joanna just froze as she heard his comment. She didn't knew how she would react if she had a husband who died and that after she meets someone who's exactly the same…Would she love this person? Joanna prefered to not answer this question. Maybe that he was right…They were supposed to be in a parallel universe after all…
"Hey Jo…"
"Yes?"
"You and this Jonathan…do you hate yourself that much?"
"Why this question?"
"Because I officially never hated Joanna…"
"Well…I guess I never truly hated him…he just annoys me a bit…"
"…Then that would make sense…" mumbled Jonathan to himself.
"What?!"
"Nothing…just talking to myself a bit…"
Joanna looked at him curiously. "If it makes sense" like he said…that would mean…Wait a minute…Would it mean that at first the Jonathan she knew and her would annoy each other and after fall in each other arms?
"No way!" exclaimed Joanna
……………………………………………………
After a long sword training, Jon thought it was the best for them to stop (and also because he was bored to always lose… although he pretended that he let her win because she was a beginner).
"I guess you should ask Velvet for some other clothes" suggested Jonathan.
"Yeah, these are really sweaty…where can I find her?" asked Joanna.
"I'm sure she is on the 2nd floor to her appartments. Try knocking the 3rd floor to your right" answered Jon.
"Okay then…see you later…"
"Goodbye"
Joanna quickly went upstairs and knocked to the 3rd floor. But it wasn't Velvet who answered. It was a man who looked slightly like Jonathan.
"Wow! What does a chick like you is doing here?" asked the man with a grin.
The only answer he received was a slap behind the head coming from his wife. Velvet stood behind him with an angry look.
"You jerk! Even married you drool over tons of woman! Oh…hi Joanna" said Velvet who calmed down as she saw who was the person who knocked to their door.
"…Hi"
"Oh please come in" asked Velvet politely.
Joanna entered the room and noticed how it was little. Was it supposed to be their home or something? It seems that Velvet read her mind.
"No…I'm not living here"
"How…how did you know what I was thinking ?!" asked Joanna.
"I can easily guess what you're thinking about. You make the same kind of faces as my sister" answered Velvet.
"Oh...I see" replied Joanna who tried to avoid Velvet's gaze. She was seriously bored to always be compared to this Joanna Darkness.
"Did you come for any reason in particular?" asked Velvet who tried to change the subject.
"Yes…well, I come because since it seems that I'll have to stay here for a while, I'll probably need new clothes and…stuff like that" answered Joanna with uneasiness.
"Oh…hahaha! Of course! I'll help you. Just follow me" replied cheerfully Velvet.
"…Okay"
Velvet brought her in another room. Then Joanna noticed there was a third room where at least 10 children were playing and/or fighting. Joanna wasn't sure…
"Err…Are they all…"
"No, only two of those children are mine. Because I recently had my second children, I stopped fighting for Lord Carrington to take care of her…Then Carrington asked me to take care of those 8 other children…they're all children from different women warrior working for him…but these children are older and can be more of their own. It was the best way for the women who wished to continue to work for Lord Carrington to fight again" explained Velvet.
"And…you're able to take care of all those children…plus your daughter that is a new born at the same time?!" asked Joanna.
"Well…it's not that hard. And my husband is helping me… he doesn't have anything else to do" answered Velvet.
"What is his job?" asked Joanna.
"He is a doctor…But he doesn't have a lot of client. Most of the sick and injured people prefer Sarah, another better and more experienced doctor"
"Hey! That's not true!" exclaimed Nathaniel with an indignant tone.
"Don't worry…I was just kidding" replied Velvet with a grin.
"You better" retorted Nathaniel with a low voice
"Anyway…let's find some nice clothes for you" said Velvet as she opened a huge closet.
20 minutes later
"Err…do you have something else than…dresses?" asked Joanna with a desperate tone.
"Too bad…you're not at the good place to have clothes for men…"
"But…so…women here are always wearing dress?!"
"Yes…except for women warriors when they're fighting of course" replied Velvet.
"I…see…well thanks again. I guess I don't have any choice but to acclimatize to this habit" commented Joanna.
"You're welcome…oh, it's true! I almost forgot. I also need to find you a special dress"
"A special dress?"
"Yes. Today we're Saturday…and it's the day Carrington organize a big dinner with all the people working for him. You'll need a dress to go there"
"Okay then…show me what you have"
5 minutes later
"Oh, this one looks nice" commented Joanna.
"Then take it with you, I'm sure you will look nice with it on you" replied Velvet with a smile.
During the dinner
"Oh! Joanna! I guess I should say that this dress look nice on you because you really look like a woman! How surprising!" exclaimed Jonathan with a grin (and expecting to receive a slap or anything)
"Thanks" Joanna whispered who haven't noticed the bad pun
"Err…are you alright?" asked Jonathan.
"I'm curious to see how you would feel if you couldn't breath" murmured Joanna.
"What do you…ah…I see…You're wearing a corset…right?" asked Jon with a grin
"…yes…"
"Don't worry…after a few hours, you'll feel better"
"How could you know? I'm sure you never wore this" retorted Joanna in a whisper.
"Well…errr…the reason why I can make this comment isn't of your concern" replied Jon.
After dinner
After a very generous dinner, Joanna discreetly stood up went outside to desperately search for air.
"Damnit, I can't handle this stupid dress. Next time, I'll just dress like a guy…no matter how the people will look at me" said Joanna to herself.
For some reason, Joanna felt like she wasn't alone…like an evil aura was watching over her.
"Ha! I'm looking forward to that day! It will really be funny" retorted Jonathan who came out from nowhere.
Joanna sighed. There he was…the evil aura… It seems that he lost his kind of bad mood from the training…
"What are you doing here…" asked Joanna with a bored tone.
"Well, I was scared to let you go alone outside. With all the food you ate and the corset you have, I thought that you went outside to explode and destroy the marvellous castle" answered Jonathan with a big grin.
"Instead of saying these kind of pathetic jokes, you should bring me to the room Carrington assigned me to sleep in. I'm tired of all this" retorted Joanna with an annoyed tone.
"Already?! Come on! There are plenty of people left who want to ask you tons of question about your world"
"I don't give a damn about them! I just want to rest! I just want to be alone! I just want to forget about this fucking thing happening to me for at least a few hours!" exclaimed Joanna.
"O-okay. I understand…I guess you are really tired after all…it has been a long day…I don't know which room Carrington gave you but we just have to search for Velvet…I think that she know where it is" replied Jonathan with a more serious tone.
Jonathan walked in the direction of the door but noticed Joanna wasn't following him.
"Are…you coming?"
"No, there's no air in that dinning room. Go search for her and tell her I'm right here" answered coldly Joanna.
"No problem"
Joanna looked at Jonathan enter the castle. Then for the first time since she arrived to this weird world, she looked at the stars. She never saw so much stars. The world she was coming from was so polluted that only the biggest stars could be seen…when she was lucky. But now…there was thousands…no wait…millions of them. She suddenly heard footsteps coming in her direction.
"The stars are wonderful aren't they" commented Joanna to the person who was coming.
There wasn't any response.
"Velvet? Jonathan?"
Then the first thing she noticed is that the stars suddenly disapeard to be replaced by an universe of shadow.
………………………………………………
Jonathan quickly found Velvet. As they went outside, they were very surprised to see who was in front of them. A few knights from Lady De Vries' domain were in front of them. And the leader stood in the middle, holding an unconscious Joanna in his arms. In front of them stood General Easton.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! END OF CHAPTER 7 !!!!!!!
A/N: I must say that I'm really not nice. I'm the first one to cry like a baby when any author make a cliffanger but I'm the first one to end her chapter like that!!! Well…at least ME, I UPDATE MY STORIES!!! (no offense to the lazier author) So evil I am!! I would need to auto-send Jeffrey after me to auto-punish me. I know this chapter wasn't the most interesting but just wait to next chapter HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! I'm already looking forward to write it! Anyway, let's get on the review-answering section :)
Viewtiful John: Okay, I shall spare you from the evil cold. Like requested, Velvet showed up! But she will have a more active role next chapter…I'll let you see by yourself ;) Thanks for your review!
TetraLink17: I'm glad you liked last chapter :) Now's YOUR turn to update soon, haha! (I know I'm evil) Anyway thank you for reviewing.
Peachrocks: Well…good thing you liked last chapter and thanks for your review and blah blah blah…(:-D)
Now you shall all review and update your stories (for the pd authors) or I'll have to revive an old friend of I (evil grin) A clue…his initials are J-F-G BWAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!