"Are you certain you wish to do this?" Erik asked.

Christine stood before him in the dim lantern light. "I'm certain," she replied, although she was not absolutely sure she was ready. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest. "I've never done anything like this before," she admitted, feeling stupid for stating the obvious.

Erik smiled at her, "Think of it as a dance." He stepped towards her, graceful as a cat. "Two partners, moving together as one," he purred. Never in a thousand years did he imagine he would be saying these words to her. "I don't wish to hurt you. Do you promise to tell me if I do?"

Christine timidly shook her head yes. "I promise."

"Come closer to me," Erik said in a low voice.

Christine walked toward him, unsure of what might come next. "What do I do first?"

Erik said, "Just stand there. I will show you." He walked through the straw on the barn floor until he was behind her then placed his strong hand on her shoulder. "Now, should an attacker come from behind, there are many different approaches you can take to defend yourself."

Christine nodded her head, "Show me."

"If someone grabs you at the shoulder, I want you to reach across with your opposite hand and grip my wrist."

"Like this?" Christine asked, gripping his hand over her collarbone.

"Yes. Now hold it tightly and don't let go. Turn quickly in that same direction and with your other arm, drive your elbow into their stomach as you turn."

Christine followed his instruction slowly, not actually striking Erik in the torso, but touching her elbow to his waist. "Here?"

"A little higher," he corrected, placing her elbow where it needed to go. "You want to bruise the muscles and drive the breath from their lungs. Don't let go of my hand either. After you deliver the blow to the stomach, use both hands on the wrist. As you turn keep a firm grip and twist the hand back and up. If you can, grip a single finger and wrench is back up, then down across their forearm. It will dislocate or break."

Christine made a grimace.

"Not pleasant but it's effective," Erik agreed. "Should your attacker grab you with both arms like this," he demonstrated wrapping both his arms tightly around her chest, "what do you have free to use as your defense?"

Christine thought about it. "My head. My hands but not my arms, and my legs and feet."

"Very good," he breathed into her ear. "You can butt your head back into their face, breaking their nose which will cause them to lose their ability to see. If you cannot bring your head directly back, use your feet to kick backwards at the instep or the kneecap. If you are not able to do either of those, you still have your hands, if not your arms."

He released her again and she turned toward him. "What are the most painfully vulnerable places on the body to pinch?"

Christine thought and said, "The tender thin skinned areas like the forearms and neck?"

"Almost correct. If you are able to grab and tear flesh with your fingertips the places are here: The neck where it meets the shoulder, the breasts, the underarms, the groin, and the inner thigh. All locations are easy to grip and incredibly painful."

"What if I am attacked from the front?"

"That is not likely since they will not want to let you know they are coming after you. First you are to try and run, but if running away is not possible, I want you to remember the pinching areas."

"Why not try to punch them?" Christine asked.

Amused Erik said, "Punch me as hard as you can."

Christine was horrified, "What?"

"You heard me. I promise you I won't be hurt by it. Now punch me."

Christine skeptically looked at him, then balled up her fist incredulously and swung back her arm then let it fly in a wide arc toward Erik. It connected with his chest, almost at his shoulder. She winced and shook her hand out afterward. He simply glanced down where her fist connected.

"If you are going to punch, never tuck your thumb inside your fist. That is a sure way to get it broken. Secondly, if you do throw a punch, a direct jab is more effective than a round house and you should aim for their eyes. At least then even if it's not strong you may temporarily blind them." Erik smiled at her, "I am not sexist when I say this, but a punch from a woman is far less effective and unless it is delivered with precision and tremendous force, you are more likely to anger your assailant than you are to disarm him."

Christine was embarrassed at her lack of strength then thought for a moment and agreed with him.

"Is your hand alright?" Erik asked.

"I'm fine. Let's continue."

"Good. If your hands are free, remember the areas to pinch but there are other things you can do that are far more damaging and gruesome."

Christine groaned, not really wanting to hear about them.

"Give me your hand," he instructed.

She put her hand into his and he placed it on his face.

"With your thumb, hook it just under the jawbone, and with your middle finger, you will gouge into the eye socket."

Christine wrenched her hand back, "That's horrible!"

Erik sighed, "Christine, you wanted me to teach you."

She hung her head, resigned. "I know. Its just horrible and I hope I never have to use these techniques."

"That makes two of us," Erik replied. "That last move will give you control of their head. Anytime you can, control their head. Another simpler move is to place a finger or knuckle underneath the nostrils against the cartilage and push up and back. It's painful and their head will automatically tilt away from it giving you the opportunity to get away."

He had her demonstrate to him that she understood just how and where to grip the face.

"You can also hook your finger and tear through the cheek flesh just like a fish. Your tiny fingers will go right through the skin and between the tendons and muscle."

Erik released her hand back to her. She pulled at the bandage covering her palm. Erik saw her wince as the wound pulled open a little. He impulsively took her hand again and placed a kiss into her palm. "I'm so sorry Christine," he said delicately.

"It's alright," she said, not wishing to let on how much it throbbed painfully.

Erik eyed her skeptically then continued, "Do you want to learn more?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now for the next stage, I need to prepare you for the possibility that your initial defense will not work." He looked at her apologetically. "You won't like this."

"Just tell me what to do Erik. It's necessary."

Erik nodded and said, "Lie down."

He was right. She didn't like where this was going.

"I won't be rough with you I promise," he said softly.

She reluctantly knelt to the floorboards and lay in the hay, waiting for the instruction to continue. Erik saw her lying there and hated himself for putting her through this on the same day she was attacked in reality, even if it was a farce. He got down on his knees beside her, unsure of how he could continue without scaring her.

His voice stuck in his throat when he continued the instruction, "Should your attacker manage to trip you and get you down in this position," he cleared his throat, "there are a few ways to free yourself from their grasp."

"I managed to get away today, but I still don't know if it was luck," she said in a trembling voice.

"You won't always be so lucky. I suspect he was drunk and a bit uncoordinated when he…" he didn't finish the sentence. "To show you what to do, I need to… that is…"

"Erik, just do what you must," she said, "I'm not afraid of you hurting me." She sounded braver than she felt and she steeled herself against the panic she felt rising from putting herself in such a position willingly.

"Alright," he said. "I need to kneel between your legs for this."

Christine hesitated then complied, parting her legs for him to sit there, feeling flush at the thought of him lying on top of her once more. Her memories of earlier that morning with him on the beach had been nearly obliterated by the drama of the afternoon. Why did he have to be there again but this time teaching her how to avoid such a contact?

Erik crept over her right leg to kneel between them, taking care not to pull her skirt. He cleared his throat, "Now, when someone gets you down like this, you will feel vulnerable and trapped. They will only be able to effectively have control of half your body. Either they will pin your arms, or your legs to hold you still. If you can manage to get one leg free, you will be able to knock them off you."

"How can I do that? I can barely move," Christine said.

"This is going to be very unseemly of you to do, but I want you to kick your right leg up high and cross it over in front of my body."

Christine tried but couldn't due to Erik's knee pinning her skirt to the ground. "I can't Erik. My skirt is in the way."

"Oh," he forgot to mention, "Chances are, if they have you down like this, your skirts won't be in the way anymore." He felt outraged at the thought and clenched his jaw tightly to control his emotions. He moved so she could free her skirt and lift it higher up her thigh. He fought himself to not look the flash of creamy white skin just above her stockings. He had to stay focused if he was going to help her.

"Alright, now raise your leg and shift it in front of me so your calf is resting on my right shoulder at the neck." He helped her move her leg into place so the back of her knee was against the crook of his neck. "Now just straighten your leg and press down."

Christine did as he told her and was surprised to see Erik go flying to the side under her limb. She sat up quickly, "Are you alright?"

Erik laughed and sat up, brushing hay off his shirt. "I'm fine, Christine. That was excellent."

"It was so easy, it took almost no effort at all," she said in amazement.

"That's the point. You don't need to be very strong to fend off an attack," he beamed at her.

"What else is there? What if I can't use my legs?"

Erik tried his best not to look anywhere but her face. Her hair was spread around her face and her skirts were bunched up at her waist. She looked so inviting he nearly forgot what they were trying to do there.

"Lie down again and I will show you."

She did as she was told, again lying back on the ground to stare up at the cobwebbed rafters. Erik took his place between her legs once again. He took a deep breath and continued, "To show you this, I need to get a little closer."

Christine said, "Alright. What do I need to do?"

"Give me your wrists," Erik said. He took them in his hands and said, "To immobilize you against defense, they will try to keep your hands away from any position in which you could defend yourself or use them to break free." He leaned over her, pressing down on top of her and pinning her wrists above her head on the ground. He tried not to think the lustful thoughts that dared to creep into his mind at that moment, but with the length of his body along hers, it was difficult not to.

Christine's heart raced as she felt Erik lower his body on top of hers. He kept his chest and head raised up, but his hips pressed down firmly on top of hers. She feared she would panic at the contact given that only hours before she had been very close this very same position. Surprisingly she could only think of Erik at the moment and the way he had kissed her on the beach.

Erik kept going with the instruction, "To free yourself from such a grasp requires little strength but great speed for it to work. I want you to quickly move your arms in an arc along the ground to stretch out to the sides."

Christine did as she was told, swinging her arms down and found that while he held onto her wrists, his torso and head lowered closer to hers the farther his arms outstretched to match hers. His face hovered just above hers now.

"My balance is too far forward now and I will have to let go of your wrists to upright myself. Now you head-butt my face with your forehead as hard as you can," Erik breathed.

Christine started to lift her head, but Erik cried out, "No, not really!" Christine was startled at his shout. She laughed, then so did he.

"I thought you were going to actually do it," he confessed. He let go of her wrists and propped himself up on either side of her chest, but did not move to lift himself off her. The proximity to her was difficult to ignore as was the way she looked in the soft flickering light of the hanging lamp above them. A horse whickered in its sleep and pawed at the boards restlessly but there were no other sounds besides their breathing.

Christine stared up at him, knowing she should ask him to move, but could not find her voice to do so. She lay there wanting only to forget all the horrible events of that day and remember only the moments spent with Erik in his embrace. Perhaps, she thought, she was being emotionally needy considering the threat to both their lives.

Erik knew he would go to hell if he took advantage of her position at the moment. His little Christine had had enough intrusion on her person for one day. However, he could not help himself. Not wanting to cause her more pain, he lowered his mouth to hers and gingerly kissed her wounded lip. His kiss was meant to heal the hurt she had endured but he found it was also a balm to his injured pride at failing to protect her.

Christine sighed under his affectionate touch. His kiss was soft and lingering. When he lifted his lips away she felt most of the tension in her mind ease away with them.

"I'm sorry Christine. I should not have kissed you," Erik whispered apologetically.

Christine shook her head, "No, Erik. You should never be sorry for kissing me."

Erik saw the honesty in her eyes as she said this and he bent his head low once more to place a kiss to her forehead. She closed her eyes and exhaled as he did so.

"Do you want to continue?" Erik asked.

Christine thought for a moment and said, "I think we should stop for this evening. You can teach me more tomorrow."

"Alright," Erik said then pushed himself up and helped her to her feet. They both brushed straw from their clothing and Erik pulled a few pieces from her hair. "I can only imagine what Marie's help will say if they see us leaving the stables covered in this stuff," he joked.

She actually laughed at his remark. Then her face grew serious once more. "Erik, I have one more question."

"Hmm?" Erik answered.

"What am I to do if it is as it was today? More than one of them..."

Erik's eyes hardened as he thought of the situation again, "Then you run. Do not even attempt to defend yourself." He went silent again as he contemplated something, then he reached into his coat that was hanging on a small hook hear a stall and pulled a long object out. "I would prefer that you never have to even run from anyone."

He stood before her and said, "If you appear to be an easy target, then that is what you will become. But if you present yourself as a threat, they might think twice about bothering you." He handed her a black leather sheath with thin straps hanging down.

She took it from him and with a hand that shook, unsheathed a long thin single sided blade by its narrow handle. It shimmered and reflected the lantern glow casting a sharp stream of light across Erik's chest. She held it up and inspected it. The blade was only about six inches long and straight, but she knew it could be deadly.

"I have never seen a knife like this before," she admitted to him.

Erik took it back from her and replaced it into the sheath, then motioned for her to hold out her left arm. He rolled her sleeve back carefully.

"When your wounds are healed and your bandages can be removed, it is to be strapped to your forearm like this," and he held it against the back of her arm just between her elbow and wrist along the bone. "It's flat and made to be worn underneath clothing." He loosely strapped it to her arm to demonstrate, being careful not to apply too much pressure to her wounds. He pulled her sleeve down over it. "You will need to practice reaching under your cuff to unclip the safety latch with your finger in order to be quick about it. Feel here at the handle," he directed her to reach into her sleeve for the small snap that held the knife in its sheath. "Do you feel that little notch at the end?"

She nodded her head, feeling her fingernail slide into a groove on the handle.

"Grip that with your finger and slide it out quickly. Be careful not to cut your wrist or palm or to drop it."

She did as she was instructed, going slowly at first. The knife felt foreign in her hand and she held it awkwardly.

"No, Christine. Hold it like this," he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her, and then demonstrated, switching the blade's position in her right hand so the blunt steel edge ran along the back of her arm, rather than forward. "This is not a kitchen knife. You need to hold it like this for two reasons. It will be more effective at downward stabbing and upward slashing and it will also be harder for them to turn it on you or knock it from your hand."

Christine thought it felt strange to hold a weapon like this. It felt good, like she was strong and could protect herself.

Erik said over her shoulder, "I will teach you to use this. God forbid you ever need to."

Christine turned to Erik and looked at him; her protector and her love, her teacher.

"Thank you, Erik," she said.