DISCLAIMER: The characters do not belong to me…they are all the creation of the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Edward, Jasper, and Emmett train Bella in fighting and self-defense.
Training 4
Emmett, Jasper, and Bella were waiting for me to say or do something. We were once again in the little clearing we'd chosen for Bella's training sessions. Bella and I had talked about yesterday's session and had reached a compromise regarding her training; she would put everything she had into the sessions, and I would continue to work on backing down and not being so overprotective of her. I was determined to keep my word to her.
I took a deep breath and looked up at our brothers. "I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you yesterday, Emmett and Jasper," I told them. "I was out of line."
"We understand," Jasper said.
"Yeah, you were just upset. Picky got hurt for the first and second time," Emmett replied. "You should really spread your injuries out more, Picky. Give poor Edward a break!"
"Ha, ha," Bella said, sarcastically.
"Anyway," I said, waving my hand. "I just wanted to apologize. I asked you both to help me and I wasn't exactly being…"
"Trusting?" Jasper offered.
"Relaxed?" Emmett questioned with a wink.
"Yeah, I guess both of words will work," I chuckled.
Bella gave me a small hug, trying to comfort me.
"Edward, you've been working on controlling your temper for over a century and you still haven't mastered it. No one expects you to manage it while watching your wife fight," Jasper said.
"Yeah! I'm shocked you haven't tossed one of us into a tree yet," Emmett chuckled.
"Believe me, the thought has crossed my mind more than once," I sighed.
"It's cool," Emmett said, patting me on the shoulder. "We get it. We'd probably feel the same way if it were our wives."
"Why don't we see just how true that really is?" Rosalie asked, stepping out from the trees.
"Yeah!" Alice giggled, following right behind Rose. "Let's!"
"Ladies, while we appreciate the gesture, we can train Picky on our own," Emmett said.
"We didn't ask you for your permission, Emmett," Rosalie said with a smirk.
"Besides, this is Bella's training, so she gets to decide," Alice remarked with a grin.
"Bella, this is your call," I told her.
"Only if you don't mind, Edward," Bella replied, giving me a big smile.
How could I possibly say 'no' to her? She'd already managed to get me to agree to her compromise and to train today. And Rose had helped me to train Emmett when he was new to this life.
"That's fine with me," I said. "Just be aware that as much as I'm working on it, my temper is still an issue at times."
"We know," Alice chirped. "Bella told us this morning about her shoulder getting hurt yesterday." Alice lifted Bella's arm and rotated it. "But as you can see, she's all better!"
"Edward, we can slow back down and not use so much force," Jasper offered.
"No," Bella stated. "Edward and I had a long talk yesterday. We're going to keep going with my training and we're going to do it correctly."
"Yeah!" Alice cried, clapping her hands together. "Let's do kicking today!"
"Alice, I don't know about that," I told her. "We're still working on keeping Bella standing during punching."
"Kicking today, Edward," Alice commanded.
"Kicking it is," Bella giggled.
"Fine," I half-heartedly agreed.
"Me first!" Alice sang, bouncing over to Bella.
"Bella, you'll use the same fighting stance that you have been using," I explained. "You've already proven you can kick because of Demetri. So go ahead and start kicking. When Jasper and I see an area where you need help, we'll interrupt."
"Alright," Bella replied.
"This is going to be fun!" Alice chirped.
"Ready, Bella?" I asked.
She nodded her head.
"Alice, we've been letting Bella make the first attack to make her more comfortable," I told our sister.
"That's fine," Alice said.
Rose, Emmett, Jasper, and I moved away and sat down to the far left of Alice and Bella.
"Whenever you're ready, Bella," I told her.
Bella looked like she was going to try a kick, but then she stood up straight again.
"What's wrong?" I asked her, wondering if she was having second thoughts.
"Nothing's wrong, silly vampire," she laughed. "I just thought it might make things easier if we got rid of our shoes. Then we won't have to worry about shoe prints on me. I'm sure Em remembers what happened the last time I had a print on me."
"Do I ever," Emmett chuckled. "I don't think I've ever made it to Canada that quickly before or since."
I grunted, remembering that day vividly. It was the first time I'd ever heard Emmett call Bella a 'Picky Eater'. She'd gotten me to calm down about the name, but then when I had lifted her shirt and found his boot print on her side, I'd chased him to Canada and back, wanting to remove his arms and beat him with them. Esme and Jasper met up with us and stopped us, though. Esme had scolded Emmett and me all the way back to the house. She'd even called Carlisle on us.
I shook my head slightly, clearing away my thoughts. I needed to focus on my wife right now. Bella pulled off her socks and sneakers, tossing them to me. I caught them and set them on the ground. Alice gracefully slipped out of her sandals and handed them to Jasper to hold. I noticed Emmett pulling at the strings of his boots.
"What are you doing?" I asked him.
"It's 'Kick a Picky Day', Edward! Did you really think I would pass this up?" Emmett laughed.
"Emmett, be nice!" Bella warned, scowling at him.
"I was just joking," Emmett said, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender.
"Emmett, behave or you won't get within two feet of me for a month," Rosalie told him.
"Everyone calm down. Let's let Bella and Alice actually get some kicks in," Jasper said.
"Alice, can you not use your gift for the first few kicks?" Bella asked.
"I'm not going to use it at all today," Alice replied. "I'm saving it for a future session."
"Gee, thanks," Bella said, rolling her eyes.
"I could reconsider," Alice cautioned.
"No need," Bella chuckled. "You know I love you, Alice."
"Shut up and kick me, Bella," Alice laughed. 'Edward, give me just a few minutes before you interrupt.'
Bella kicked, aiming for Alice's right shin. Alice easily moved out of the way. It was easy to see that she didn't really have to, though. Bella wasn't standing close enough to Alice, and she hadn't put any force behind her kick.
"Edward, we may have to explain how to kick first. Bella's feeling very unsure of herself," Jasper whispered.
"Alice wants me to wait," I told him, feeling apprehensive. I wasn't sure what Alice had planned since she was blocking me, but I had promised Bella, and that was the only reason I was allowing Alice to have her moment.
"Not bad form, Bella," Alice said. "If you had been in striking distance, you might have landed that. You had your heel set perfectly for hitting my shin. But I must say, you don't seem all that interested in kicking me. Maybe I should threaten you with some shopping."
"I am no longer afraid of shopping with you, Alice," Bella chuckled. "I just still don't like it."
"I never said you were going shopping with me!" Alice laughed wickedly. "I'll make you go lingerie shopping with Edward!"
"I'm not scared of that," Bella croaked. The widening of her golden eyes and her weak tone, called her on her lie.
We all chuckled quietly. Even without the tell-tale signs, everyone knew Bella was lying. They were well aware that I used that particular shopping threat to get Bella to do her homework. It was hard to keep things like that private in a house full of vampires with super hearing.
"Good! Then you won't mind a little bet," Alice goaded. "If you land one, solitary, single, little kick on me, you can go home and enjoy your night anyway you want. But if you don't, you have to go to the mall with Edward. And you know I will know if you don't go shopping."
"I'll only take that bet if Edward and Jasper can explain kicking to me first. I'm not really sure what I'm doing," Bella said.
"Of course, Bella. They can even show you an example," Alice replied. I had a feeling our sister had already seen this, especially since she was continuing to block me.
Jasper and I stood up and walked over to Bella. She gave me a timid smile and I could see her nervousness in her golden eyes. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly, wanting to reassure her.
"Bella, there are a couple of key things you need to understand about a kick," Jasper explained. "The first is that a kick does more damage than a punch. Secondly, a kick makes it harder to maintain your core balance. And third, it's easier to pull off a kick if you have your enemy distracted by the punches you're throwing."
"Punching and kicking at the same time?" Bella asked. "Are you insane? Do you want me to fall down?" She pulled her hand from mine and placed both of her little hands on her hips, glaring at Jasper and me.
"Relax," Jasper said, giving her some calm. "You don't have to land the punches. Just the motion of your arms will be enough to distract your enemy from your intention to pull a kick. Now, you want to be aware of the length of your leg and the closeness of your opponent. You want to make sure that if you hold your leg out completely straight, your ankle will meet up with your enemy's thigh. That's what we mean when we say 'striking distance'."
"The best place to aim for is the thigh muscle, just below the hip. It will hurt the most and quite possibly cause your opponent to lose his balance," I explained.
Alice cleared her throat loudly.
"Or her balance," I added.
"Thank you," Alice chirped.
I shook my head at her before turning my focus back to Bella. "You want to put your foot back on the ground as soon as you finish the kick to protect your own balance," I said.
"How do I block?" Bella asked. I smiled proudly at her, glad that she was being cautious.
"Excellent question, Bella," Jasper said. "You can block using your forearms, or you can attempt to grab the enemy's leg and push them off-balance. If you grab a leg, make sure you push and let go. You don't want to get dragged down with him or her. Does all of that make sense?"
"Yes," Bella replied.
"Okay. We'll show you one time, so make sure you're watching," Jasper instructed.
"Who's the kicker?" I chuckled, looking at my brother.
"You go ahead. Just remember my kindness later on," Jasper joked.
"Where do you want it?" I asked.
"Eddie, stop talking dirty to Jasper and kick him already!" Emmett yelled.
"What did you just say?" Rose asked loudly. "You volunteer to let Edward kick you! Emmett, that's so sweet."
"But I –" Emmett stopped his rebuttal at the sight of Rose's glare. He got up and walked over to me, muttering with his mouth and his mind. 'Damn. Why am I always the one to get picked on?'
"Are you kidding me?" I yelled at him.
"Just shut up and kick me," Emmett growled, as he turned to face me.
I gave my brother exactly what he had asked for. I turned sideways and when I kicked, I made sure the front part of my foot hooked around his leg and connected with the back of his kneecap. Emmett yelped and started hopping around on one leg.
"Damn it, Edward. Did you really have to kick me that hard?" Emmett bellowed.
"You know what, Em? You guys moved so fast, I totally missed it. Can you please do it again?" Bella asked sweetly.
I stared at her, trying to discern from her facial features whether she was being honest or not. She just stood there, looking like the perfect angel she was. I was going to have to ask her about this later on.
"Emmett, would you mind?" I asked.
"How about I kick you this time, instead?" Emmett snapped.
"That won't work," Bella announced. "Since I fight like Edward, it would be easier for me to understand the movements if he is the kicker."
If she was playing with our brother…God, every time I thought I couldn't love her more, she found some new way to amaze and entice me. I really hoped she was messing with Emmett.
"Fine. But I'm only doing this because I love you, Picky," Emmett said, wagging a finger at her.
"Thank you, Em. I love you, too," Bella replied.
Emmett and I faced each other again. This time, I decided I would show Bella what her shin kick would have looked like if she had landed it. I brought my leg up, and my heel down against Emmett's left shin. He immediately started jumping around and cursing under his breath while trying to hold his shin.
"Damn it, Edward! If you had kicked any harder, my shin would be broken, you ass," Emmett snarled.
"But I didn't and it isn't," I reminded him.
"I think I'm ready now," Bella announced.
Emmett and I moved away and sat down next to Rose and Jasper again. Bella got back into her stance while Alice stood there, patiently waiting and smiling.
"You know, for being such a little thing, Alice sure is scary when she smiles that way," Emmett commented.
"Ready, Bella?" Alice asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Bella replied.
She attempted to kick Alice in the thigh, but Alice easily blocked it, swatting Bella's foot away with the back of her hand. Bella stumbled a little, but quickly recovered and got back into the proper stance. Alice was already following through with a kick, though, and Bella was unable to block it. It landed right at her knee, causing her leg to buckle and for her to drop down onto that knee.
Jasper put his hand on my shoulder as I went to get up. "Edward, she's not feeling any pain. Relax," he told me.
Alice backed off and let Bella get up. They started moving in a small circle. Bella was hesitant to kick again, while Alice was patiently waited for Bella to strike again.
"Maybe we need to get her mad again," Emmett said.
"Like when she punched you, Edward," Rose chuckled.
"Remember the bet, Bella. Land just one kick on me," Alice said.
Bella's lips drew into a thin white line. She attempted a kick to Alice's shin, but Alice laughed as she blocked it. From that point forward, they moved at vampire speed, still turning in small circles. While Alice had blocked all of Bella's attempts, Bella was only averaging one block for every three of Alice's kicks.
We all sat in silence, watching the two of them fight. This was the most evenly matched session Bella had been involved in so far. She was nearly the same height as Alice, they had similar small frames, and Bella was only slightly faster than Alice.
Bella stumbled as Alice landed a kick to her hip. She fell to the ground before she could regain her balance. "Time-out!" Bella called.
"There are no time-outs in a fight, Bella," Alice warned, as she stalked toward her.
I tried to get up to stop Alice, but Emmett and Jasper were both holding me down against the ground. They were going to regret their actions just as soon as I could get free of them.
"Let me go," I snarled at them.
'Relax. Alice has a plan. I swear to you Bella will not be hurt.' Jasper
'Edward, Rose told me I had to help hold you down. Please don't kill me.' Emmett
"I suggest you roll over, jump up, and figure out how to kick before I reach you," Alice told Bella.
Our brothers were barely holding on to me and I was nearly free, but Rose came and sat down on my chest, holding me to the ground.
"Stop your growling and watch. You baby her too much. She'll be fine," Rose hissed. She grabbed my head and turned it, making sure I was watching Alice and Bella. 'You both need to learn that she's capable of more than either of you realize. She just needs the right motivation.'
I watched helplessly as Bella grimaced, pulling herself back onto her feet. Alice tried a spinning round-house kick on Bella, but somehow, my wife caught our sister's leg and pushed her away.
Alice jumped up, smiling brightly. "The boys were right. This does work much better when you're mad. But you better hurry up and kick me. I don't think Edward is particularly enjoying being held down. And they won't release him until you land a kick on me."
Bella let out a frustrated growl as she took up her fighting stance again, waiting for Alice to make a move. When it became clear that Alice wasn't going to, Bella took a step forward. Alice tried to kick her in the hip, but Bella blocked her, using her forearm. Right afterward, Bella quickly kicked at Alice, aiming for her thigh and connected with a loud smacking sound.
Alice stumbled to the side a little, grinning proudly at Bella. "Excellent. Let him up now, guys." 'Edward, we're leaving. See you at the house later.'
Rose got off of me while our brothers released my arms and legs. As soon as I was standing, Bella was crashing into me, squeezing my waist hard enough for it to slightly hurt. I rubbed her back, resting my head on top of hers.
"Are you okay?" she whispered.
"I'm fine. Vampire, remember?" I told her, using her words from my birthday party in an attempt to lighten both of our moods.
She must have realized what I was doing because her reply was the same as mine had been. "I still forget sometimes."
I took a deep breath, trying to reign in my temper. Part of me wanted to comfort Bella, and the other part of me wanted to go after our siblings. I decided to comfort my wife first and then go after our siblings second. "Are you okay, love?"
"I'm trying to be. I understand why they did that."
"Really? Would you mind explaining it to me? I have to be honest, Bella. If you weren't holding me right now, our siblings would be tasting bark and dirt."
"Bark and dirt," Bella snorted.
"I really don't see how this is funny."
"It's not," Bella agreed. "But I want you to leave them to me. I promise that when I'm done with them, they will never pull another stunt like this again."
"They had better damn well be thankful that I'm willing to listen to you right now."
"I am the voice of reason, Edward," she chuckled.
I sighed, letting my body relax against hers. She was not going to allow me to get revenge on our siblings. And if I was honest with myself, I could see things from their point of view, however misguided their tactics may have been. But if they ever tried this again…no amount of pleading from my wife would ever save them from my anger.
