The World As We Know It

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Come, my lady!"

I huffed, struggling to keep pace with Nali. Damn my short legs. I didn't have a chance in hell of keeping up with this woman. Across the lawn, Alexandra sat prettily in the shade of large tree, encouraging me with her sweet voice. Groaning, I chased after Nali. I was already regretting this.

"My lady, try to keep up!" the Amazon called out.

With the absence of my protective Demon, I had decided that I wanted to learn how to fight. I thought it was clever at the time. One of my maids was a powerful Amazon, and there was plenty of time to learn after I got out of class. Nali was even thrilled when I asked her. What could go wrong? Well, me. My illness did not mesh well with the strict exercise routine Nali had me on, but I didn't want to complain. Patient and kind, the Amazon let me go at my pace, bumping up the difficulty slowly. She never said a cruel word or jape about how slow I was or laughed when I could barely pick up a practice sword. Instead, she simply tailored my lessons to fight my weak body. Alexandra would sit on the sidelines to cheer me on, her face bright with joy when I succeeded at something new. On the other hand, Lacey would scrutinize my every move. Her role was not to support, but rather to prevent. Her sharp eyes would pick up on every twisted ankle and pulled muscle, and would end the lesson if she deemed necessary. It had happened less and less over the month, but I knew she was still watching.

I reached Nali, gasping for breath. She beamed down at me, a practice sword in her hand.

"Let us try again, my lady!"

Grunting, I lifted the other sword off the ground. It had become significantly easier over time, but I could still barely move it to deflect the Amazon's attacks. Gripping the hilt with two hands, I got into the stance Nali drilled into my head. Left foot out a little, legs apart just enough to keep me from getting pushed over. The Amazon put a hand on my shoulder, gently shaking me. When I didn't fall over, she nodded with a grunt.

"Good, good. Now, you are not holding a two-handed sword. It goes in one hand. Grasp it like this. Good. Trying swinging it."

God, this damn thing was heavy.

"Good. Now, let us practice and build up the muscles in your arm."

We started slowly, Nali using barely any force behind her blows. I was still struggling to bring my sword up to meet hers, but at least I was making contact now. My small improvement did not miss my teacher and she praised me loudly between strikes.

"Much better! Bring your arm up more! Good! Good!"

Alexandra cheered from under her tree, and even Lacey cracked a smile. Had I really made that much improvement?

"Taylor!"

Damion's voice rang out across the lawn. Distracted, I turned to find him, my arm partially up to block my teacher's attack. Responding a moment too late, Nali's sword cracked against my arm, causing me to yelp.

"Oh! My lady!"

Nali dropped her sword and gently checked my arms for broken bones. Lacey was immediately beside us, with the Mage not far behind her.

"I'm fine! It just stings!"

It wasn't the first bruise Nali had left on me, but there had been a few mishaps than ended in broken bones due to her overwhelming strength. Sighing with relief, the Amazon released my arm.