Amin woke me up at dawn. My training would begin early every morning until I passed the test given to me. Amin said, “Ye won’ get ye test ‘till af’er yer first week o’ trainin.’” Today was my first day of training, and to be honest, I was nervous. I headed to the quarterdeck, which is where Amin would train me. I had left early so that I would arrive before Amin--and I did arrive early, but Amin was already waiting for me. It made me wonder how long he’d been here and why he’d want to arrive early in the first place.
“Mornin’, Laddie,” Amin greeted cheerfully. I never understood how people could be so cheerful in the morning.
“Mornin,’” my simple reply was laced with laziness.
“Ye will start with a dull sword. Wouldn’ want ye to hurt yerself,” Amin said mockingly, and as I took the sword from him, I noticed a glint of mischievousness in his eyes. I instantly regretted agreeing to training with him from that one look alone. He was up to no good, and I wasn’t eager to find out what it was.
“Normally, we’d start with ye physical trainin,’ but I suppose ye get enough of that from carryin’ ballasts. So, firs’ yer guard. If ye can’t guard, yer dead fer sure.” He moved and stood with his sword centered in front of his body and the point positioned to aim at my head. “This be called ‘middle guard.’”
I copied his stance, but judging by his facial expression, he wasn’t very pleased. He walked over to me while saying, “Yer stance is sloppy. Ye must stand up straight,” He began fixing my stance as he spoke, “Keep ye arm straight; have a firm grip on ye sword.”
I felt his judgemental gaze slide over my body as he studied the way he’d positioned me. I didn’t dare move, or even breathe, as he decided the verdict. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw his lips curve ever so slightly into a small smirk. I finally moved to stand normally once he began speaking again: “Good. Yer posture is a main key to fightin’. If ye posture be sloppy, yer attacks be sloppy.”
From that, we moved on to attacks. “Firs’ ye will learn ‘attack-fro’-inaction.’ It be a simple, unplanned attack. It starts fro’ a basically still position, but ye mus’ be quick.” Amin showed me the technique in a quick, flawless motion. I attempted to copy him, but it was a much sloppier and slower version of what he had done. He broke it down into steps and showed me how to perform the “attack-from-inaction” in seemingly slow motion. When I could finally do it in a decently appearing manner, he told me we were finished for the day, “Keep practicin’ what I showed ye today. We start again in the morrow.”
I set to my daily chores now that I was finished with training for the day. Since training had started, my daily schedule had been slightly shaken up. Training was first thing in the morning, and Captain Latro took on the job of waking up the crew. After I finished my training, I set to cleaning the main deck.
It was well into the afternoon by the time I finished cleaning the deck. Normally at this time I would follow Amin around, but I chose to practice what he’d taught me earlier that morning. I practiced until nightfall.
That night, I found myself gazing up at the stars and wondering how I’d managed to flip my life around in such an extreme way. I’d been but a simple girl taking orders from her master. Now I was a pirate taking orders from her captain and on the run from many different men who’d wished her dead. I let out a stress-filled sigh while thinking of how different things would’ve been had I never chose to run.
~
“Attack-fro’-preparation is a planned attack. Example o’ an attack-fro’-preparation be cut-o’er. A cut-o’er be alterin’ the attack by passin’ yer blade o’er the enemy’s point.” I stared at him blankly. He groaned in frustration when he realized I wasn’t understanding what he was talking about. He told me to stay put and exited the quarterdeck.
Amin returned a while later with a fellow crewmate following behind. I recognized the man as Delmer. He was a quiet, older man and was short and plump in a way that reminded me of a stork.
“Delmer, attack me,” Amin commanded, after he stopped and turned to face Delmer.
“Aye, Sir.” Delmer attacked Amin. Amin blocked Delmer’s blade, but Delmer continued to move forward and had the point of his sword just in front of Amin’s face. The two stood like that for a moment before separating.
“What Delmer did is the cut-o’er. Do ye understand?” Amin asked me.
“Aye, very well now.”
“Good.”
Amin taught me a few small things such as footing to make moving easier and easier ways to swing a sword. He told me it was important to stay in shape; I must be able to move quickly and silently. He also told me that I must be able to think quickly and be able to predict my opponent's next move.
After training, thoughts of all the things he told me were swirling relentlessly in my mind. My thoughts traveled in circles, thinking of a reason why he was so persistent that I remember those things. It was all I thought about! I would soon learn why he was so insistent that I didn’t forget those factors.
~
The next morning I felt something was off about that day. With this feeling in mind, something kept nagging me in my head that I might not want to go to training today. Somedays I wish I would have listened to that nagging.
“Ahoy, Laddie!” Amin called out when he noticed me standing quite a ways away from him.
“Mornin’,” was my simple greeting as I walked his way.
“Trainin’ be a tad different today,” as soon as he said that, I felt my heartbeat speed up slightly and my palms began to sweat.
“Aye, and why’s that?” I dreaded the answer to that question.
“Today will be yer test,” Amin said as a cynical smirk spread across his face.
I was across from Amin and stood in the middle-guard position. He mimicked my stance before yelling, “Begin.” He was quick to come at me. He was fast, and I barely blocked his attack. He swung his sword in an attempt to cut my arm, but I was quick to move my body and position my sword between the two of us. He swung once more, this time aiming for my leg. I quickly moved slightly to the side and positioned my sword downward, but I didn’t expect him to react so quickly. Before I could move from my previous position, Amin moved his sword towards my face. I felt a thin line of blood seep out of the cut that was now on my cheek.
“Looks like ye be havin’ more trainin’ with me, aye?” Amin said with a smug look on his face.
In response I stood and walked away while mumbling under my breath. I knew I should’ve trusted my gut, and to this day, I occasionally regret going through with that training. In the end, that failure would save my life.
