Moving Objects

Chapter 17

"Again."

Lissa rolled her eyes at me but thrust her fist out into the air, executing a punch. I watched her do the same with her other hand. Dimitri stood against the wall in a relaxed position. While he was here because he was being paid to be here, he didn't overstep. He pointed things out when necessary but let me teach Lissa. I could see why he enjoyed teaching me so much. It was actually fulfilling teaching Lissa how to protect herself.

I could tell she was getting tired, but I knew she had a little bit more in her, so I let her stop doing the punches and had her do sets of lines. Not as many as I would do, but enough to let her cool down and then did some stretching with her. Two weeks in and she wasn't doing too bad. For a Moroi she was shaping up well. It was also nice to see that the working out was burning off some of the darkness that was lurking inside her.

"I don't know...how you did this...all day for the last year," Lissa said between pants as she stretched her legs. I snickered at her as I sat down with my legs out in a v-formation, pulling myself so my legs were straight out to the sides and started to stretch.

"Well, have you seen who I was doing it with?" I joked jerking my head towards Dimitri. Lissa snorted a laugh and nodded her head. I looked up and winked at him as he threw a halfhearted look.

"How are you able to do that? I wish I was that flexible," Lissa grumbled. I rolled my eyes and rocked backward, bending and stretching my legs in front of me to work out the muscles. I stood up and gestured for her to follow me. I sat down face the wall and laid back before scooting my butt to rest against it with my legs resting upright against the wall. I slowly let my legs come down at the sides, making a v against the wall.

"If you do this for twenty minutes a day it will help. Gravity works against your legs, plus if you read or something while doing it time flies. That mixed with some stretches should help you achieve that. If you want, we can work so flexibility into your plan."

Lissa looked at me like I was ridiculous, but she looked to Dimitri and he gave her a nod. It seemed stupid, but it did help. Lissa may have it easier than me though, her Moroi genetics may help her gain more flexibility.

"Can I ask a crazy favour?"

"What's up?" I asked standing up.

Lissa looked from me to Dimitri and then back to me. "Can I watch you two spar?"

I raised my brows, surprised at her request but I had no issues with it.

"Well, how 'bout it, Comrade. Want to show her how it's done?"

Dimitri rolled his eyes and took his duster off before meeting me on the mats. I grabbed two sets of wraps from the storage room and tossed on to him before directing Lissa where to stand. I tightened my ponytail and put on the wraps. I made my way to the mats and gave Dimitri a cheeky grin before getting into a stance. Dimitri got into a stance and waited for me to start, but I wasn't playing his game, I waited him out. He made his move, but I already knew what move he would make. I ducked under his arm and landed a blow to his lower ribs, dancing out of his reach when he spun around. I wasn't fast enough and he swept a leg out, knocking me down. I rolled out of the way before he could grab me, and I jumped to my feet. I gave him a sly look and struck at him with a punch kick combination to which he gripped on my arm and pulled me off balance. I righted myself quickly and we continued the dance. I forgot how easy it was to lose myself in sparring with Dimitri. It was almost like coming to complete calmness inside myself.

I danced away from him and went to knock him down, but he beat me to hit with a hit just a little too high. I stumbled down and his fist rested over my chest, declaring the match over. The moment I was declared "dead", the Guardian side of Dimitri left and the kindhearted boyfriend took over. His hands cupped my face gently as he examined my head.