Bound By Madness

24. First Blooms

Another four days of almost constant training with the bow before I was strong enough to both draw the string back properly and finally hit the target. Not the center like the Jester Assassin could, but at least it wasn't either hitting the wall or, even more embarrassingly, falling short and landing on the ground like I had tried to throw it by hand. When that happened, I turned red quickly from the combined laughter of not just the two jesters in my life these days, but also the laughter of anyone nearby who was watching that day.

On the fifth day, instead of handing me the bow, Cicero walked over with a pair of training daggers in his hands and a smirk on his face.

"Cicero is curious to see if Faith remembers how to dance with a blade now that she is strong enough to begin training with one again. But don't worry, Cicero will hold back. He understands Faith might not be as quick as she used to be," the laughter filling his voice as he spoke would have had me seething if it had been anyone else but him, knowing he was only being playful.

He might be training me as an assassin, but the man was still a jester as well and it was their duty to poke and prod at a person's weak points. How else was a person to realize what they needed to correct, to work on, to improve? Even if it might not be the most enjoyable way to find out about them and far too many took offense to a jester's whims. It was only a true fool who failed to listen and learn and no matter how much I hated the Emperor, even he had a jester in his court to tell him of his shortcomings, many as they were.

Taking one of the daggers from the man before me, I gave a few practice swings and lunges to test its weight and feel in my hand. It was very well-made for a practice blade, better crafted than even my new dagger was, although not quite up to what my old one had been. Ahh, how I missed that blade, having grown to like the feel of it in my grip as I fought off both bandit and predator alike. After facing the dragon and losing it during my escape, I'd been forced to rely on sneaking past enemies.

Suddenly, without even giving a warning, the Jester Assassin was lunging at me with his own practice blade and I could feel Amicus grabbing my wrists and pulling me into a dance that I had a feeling would become very familiar over the next several days. I had no doubt that Cicero would keep the training going even after we finally left this place. The smile on his face was too sharp to expect otherwise. His wild laughter made it clear that he was enjoying himself the whole time.

It felt like we danced for hours, darting about before lunging at any openings we saw, spinning and ducking to avoid what would be potentially lethal attacks in a real fight. If the blades had been sharp, we both would have had several cuts to tend just within the first several minutes. By the time he finally allowed me to stop my part of the dance, I could feel my lungs burning and my limbs tremble from exhaustion. And yet, when I looked up at him from where I had collapsed to the ground as my legs gave out just like during our first dance, I couldn't hold back an excited grin at the satisfied look on his face.

"Cicero sees Faith and Amicus still remember how to dance with Cicero. He looks forward to seeing them dance with him once Faith is fully recovered, but even more, Cicero can't wait to see how Faith dances against her prey. It will truly be a sight for Cicero to behold," he said quietly before giving a bloodthirsty grin as he stood with his back to the watching Companions.

I knew what kind of prey he spoke of and as much as I disliked the thought of killing people simply because someone else demanded it, I felt my heart begin to race at the way the Jester Assassin's eyes looked at that moment. I could almost drown in those honey-brown depths, unable to look away from them as I felt myself grow still. I doubt I even drew a breath until he looked away when one of the men that had taken to watching us began speaking to him.

"I haven't seen anyone wield a dagger quite like that before! Where did you learn to fight like that? I have to say, you both move so fast, it about makes up for how short you are! Just imagine what you could do if you had a longer reach! That would be terrifying, indeed," the man spoke loudly, laughter filling his voice as he drew near.

Pushing myself to my feet, I turn shakily and glared at the man who had continued to walk closer. Between one step and the next, he found himself stopped as I pressed the practice dagger against his neck.

Being tall isn't everything. Speed will get you places quicker than having long arms or legs can. Besides, people rarely bother paying attention to those who are shorter than them. Let alone bother to remember them unless they do something memorable in front of them. And even then, they tend to remember the person simply as 'short' and forget most everything else about them by the time the guards have arrived to question them.

I pulled the dagger away as I stepped back, the laughter of more than just Ellery and Cicero leaving me a bit surprised as I would have thought the man's friends would have been upset. Instead, they laughed at the man as his face turned red before he shook his head and broke into a grin.

"I have no idea what you were saying there, but I know when to accept a point being proven. No, you obviously don't need to be any taller to take down an enemy. In fact, the thought of you having any more reach to add to your speed is downright terrifying, little one. You just stay the height you are, because that is plenty scary enough," he chuckled as he spoke before turning to the small group behind him. "Could you imagine if she was one of us? She'd be the stuff of nightmares. Both of them, in fact, cause he's even quicker. Nice enough to hold back some during the fight, though."

"Oh, Cicero had to hold back. He doesn't want to hurt Faith when she's finally healed enough to practice her deadly dance. He looks forward to when she is ready for Cicero to really go all out, though. He has a feeling it will be quite the sight to see, for any that have the pleasure to watch," the Jester Assassin spoke as he walked up to where I stood, his arm coming up to wrap around my trembling body.

I'd pushed myself hard to move like that when I was already exhausted from practice, but I couldn't stand someone looking down on not just me but also Cicero. The Jester Assassin was so much more than any of these people thought he was, better than any of them and skilled enough to hide it from them. They'd seen how fast he was willing to show him, but I already knew he was far faster than they could ever understand. And even I hadn't seen him at his quickest.

For some reason, the mere thought of ever seeing him go all out in a fight was not nearly as frightening as it was... exciting.