Stealing Perfection

Chapter 17

"When you strike at your opponent, you're going to want to hit them in a weak spot. For practicing, just motion where you would hit me." 

"I don't know  where your weak spot is, though." The corners of Red's eyes crinkle as he smiles. 

"Figure it out." He is standing light on his feet but positioned at an angle that would be useless to attack. His posture is strong, back arched and chin tilted high. He is wielding his sword in both hands but favoring his right side. It is peculiar that he is holding the sword on his right side, because I look closely to see that his right side is higher than his left. 

I grip the sword tightly in my hands, and make a slow arc from my left side to his right. 

He lifts his sword slightly, and it clinks against mine. 

"Good eye," he praises, a smile forming again. "Didn't take you long to figure that out. Although you're not going to have time to observe your enemies weak points in a real sword fight, you might get some time to circle around them to gain the advantage of finding their flaws. Just hope they don't find your flaws." 

I nod and let every word sink in. It is a lot to learn, but it is also fun. Not necessarily practical.

"A real hand-to-hand combat fight won't allow you to have access to any sharp or necessarily dangerous weapons, just the objects in the room around you. But Grant will be helping you with that later on in the week after you've got the hang of sword fighting.

"Ready to fight for real?" He smiles at the horrified look that comes to my face. "No maiming, I won't hurt you." 

"Are you sure?" He chuckles, and it bounce throughout the spacious room. 

"You might have a few scratches on you by the end, but I promise you won't be in any real pain." He sets his sword down and walks to the side of the room. In a bin are padded black things. 

When Red tosses me two, I catch them. They look like sleeves. 

"Just slip them on your arms. I won't try to hit you anywhere else." The mischievous look in his eyes contradict that, and a chill runs through my spine. Red wouldn't hurt me, would he?  

The sword feels slightly heavy in my hands so I make sure to hold it as steadily as I can. I mask my face with confidence, even though I know I will be chopped into tiny pieces. I switch the weight on my feet and rest there for a minute before leaning back on my right leg. It feels natural, and then I realize it might be a disadvantage to me by favoring one side over the other. 

I clear my mind of all the negative and hesitant thoughts and ready myself. Red does the same, and I can't help but to give a little smirk before our swords collide and the chinking of metal against metal fills my ears. 

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I wipe the invisible sweat off my forehead once more before entering the main room. A few people are here but I know that everyone is long gone and in bed sleeping. The clock reads 12:37 am and I almost have to remind myself that it is useless to yawn, that I could stay awake for days. 

My body pulls itself next to Gemma on the couch. She smiles at me and I quickly return it without thinking twice.

"Hey, look at you." I grin at her new appearance. "You're almost perfect."

"Almost as perfect as you," she replies with a small smile. Her cheekbones and jaw line look more defined and her eyes are brighter and alert. 

"So what was it like?" I ask.

"Well, they wished me a happy birthday the second I walked in the door." She rolls her eyes. "They were far too cheery. I think you might just want to turn around when you get there."