Lady Moon, Sha'tan #1

Chapter 5 Jan

Jan was standing on the edge of the training grounds, supervising his Unit’s fencing class. He was quite pleased with the skills of these new recruits, until Edina Sand’s arrival. He winced when his gaze fell on her; she was holding her sword as if it was a venomous snake, and her attempts at practising the katas were pathetic. He had tried correcting her moves, but every time she had jumped away from him as if he was some sort of hairy spider. How she could be Ethan Sand’s daughter was beyond him. He sighed. She must have got her mother’s genetics. She was gorgeous though, even in her less than flattering uniform.

He smiled. He had been concerned about the others’ reaction at the start, she really had “Bully me” written all over her. But when asked whether she was related to Commander Sand, she had rolled her eyes, saying in an exasperated voice:

“You mean my SO overprotective first cousin! She even said she would kill anybody annoying me, I can’t believe it!”

Jan chuckled interiorly. The clever little weasel! Nobody without a death wish would dare getting on the wrong side of Dana, AKA The Wrath, him included.

His sister had started her training with Dana, and had been telling him all about her debuts in the army. From what she said, Dana had been badly bullied by a girl named Nathalie and her gang, being called names and mocked all day long. She had ignored it for a while, until they imagined to steal her towel and clothes while she was showering in the baths, leaving her alone, dripping wet and naked in the Ladies’ changing rooms. Dana had managed to borrow a towel from the Men’s and get back to her dorm, only to find the culprits waiting and laughing at her. Jan’s sister was there, although she swore she was not part of the gang. According to her, Dana’s cream-coloured skin started to glow while she fetched some clothes from her locker. Once dressed, she had walked to Nathalie with a nasty smile, and said softly:

“You know sweetheart, it’s very silly of you to forget the first rule of good bullying…”

The other had stared at her with a blank face. Next second she was down facing the floor, Dana towering over her, holding her right arm up in her back.

“It goes, never attack anyone stronger and meaner than yourself. Now, as it seems that you have some sort of memory loss, I’ll give you a little reminder…”

On this she had twisted the girl’s arm, dislocating her shoulder. Then, leaving her victim sobbing on the floor, she had faced the petrified onlookers, adding with a scowl:

“Falling from a bunk bed, how clumsy can you be? By the way, no other candidate for Bully of the year? Really? Well then, if you will excuse me…”

Dana had left, without another glance at the bunch of terrified girls behind.

Jan found the tale hard to believe when he eventually met her. She had a short fuse all right, but she was cool and friendly, with a wicked sense of humour. He couldn’t picture her as a cold, twisted killer. Until he saw it for himself. 

It was about two years ago, Dana had just been made Commander. A crowd was gathering in the front yard to listen to General Andersen, who was going to address them for the opening of the mid-summer festival. Dana was there, busy talking with Kate. She was coming straight from fencing, her two swords still tied in her back, under her sun coat. A hundred feet away, a group of seasoned soldier was caught in a seemingly heated argument, their voices growing louder by the minute. The most vehement one was a tall and bulky man, emphasizing his point  with angry hands. At some stage he turned around, his gaze falling on Dana, wearing her distinctive uniform. He started shouting at her:

“You there, yes you, the skinny bitch. Who did you fuck to become a Commander, miss yellow skin? Twenty years in the army and I’m not even Lieutenant, how come they promoted a little twig like you?”