1Em woke the next morning to a loud knocking at her door. She threw a pillow at the door and rolled over to try to go back to sleep. Ellebere entered anyway, shining a light in her eyes.
"Rise and shine."
Em groaned. "What, are we going to be late for an important breakfast meeting or something?" She thought Ellebere was being far to cheerful for first thing in the morning.
"No," He said, "Training first, breakfast later." Em sat up to glare at him. Ellebere laughed. "If you want to be my squire, you are going to have to improve your fighting skills." She sat up and pulled her hair back with one hand.
"Shoo, If you want me to show up for training, then you have to leave so I can get dressed." Ellebere didn't shoo. She looked up at him. "How's your back?" She asked. Ellebere rolled his shoulders.
"I'm a little stiff, but I'll be fine. I heal quickly." He sighed. "I'll be out side."
Ellebere hadn't been kidding when he said her room was plain. It contained a bed, a chest, and a mirror. She dug through the chest, coming up with a black t-shirt and a pair of dark brown pants. Her tennis shoes had disappeared, replaced by soft soled leather boots. She rolled her eyes. "Interfering faeries." She muttered under her breath. She raised her voice. "If anyone's listening, I'd really appreciate it if y'all wouldn't touch my stuff. For crying out loud, the tennis shoes were more practical."
"We were only trying to help." Said a soft voice from behind her. She whipped around to find the speaker, but there was no one there.
Ten minutes later, she found her self facing off against Ellebere in a windswept meadow. She wasn't really sure where they were, having simply left the hill through another tunnel, but she doubted they were in New Jersey.
Ellebere tossed her a staff. "Let's see what you can do before I give you any pointers." He swung his own staff experimentally. Em smirked. He didn't know that she already knew how to use a staff. She closed her eyes, running through the first pattern drill in her head. High block, low block, Strike... The wind was distracting, she had never practiced outside before. Mid block, duck...
When she finished the pattern and opened her eyes, Ellebere was looking at her oddly.
"You okay?" Em grinned.
"I'm fine, you ready?" Ellebere nodded, then attacked, hoping to catch her by surprise. Em blocked high and quickly reversed the swing, striking low. Ellebere's knee buckled but he didn't fall. As she shifted for another swing, Ellebere used the opening she had left and struck under her elbow, raping her sharply in the ribs. Emelda doubled over, crouching down at the same time to avoid a high swing. She returned with a barage of attacks, most low, which Ellebere blocked easily. Pressing hard, she forced him to retreat across the field. At the same instant, Emelda took a high swing and Ellebere tripped over a root, missing the block. He landed flat on his back in the grass, the tip of Emelda's staff at her throat. She backed off and let him sit up. Ellebere gingerly touched his split lip.
"You've done this before, haven't you?" Emelda opened her mouth to speak, and thunder rolled across the sky. The wind picked up, blowing the leaves about. Ellebere shook his head and grabed Emelda's arm, dragging her back under the hill.