Slave Unbound

Chapter 11: Learning the Footwork

"Keep your shield higher, aiest'ja." Colja reminded Leita again, his tone still even and patient, despite that he'd had to repeat this advice over a dozen times already in the last few hours. "You are also still not pivoting your feet correctly."

Grimacing, Leita took a moment to lift each foot and give it a shake, as though to limber them. The apparent subtlety of proper footwork had been giving her quite a bit of trouble. According to the aljin, mastering how to properly plant and pivot one's feet, as well as putting them in just the right places, made a very significant difference in effective swordplay. It seemed to make it harder to fight, to her, since more than half her focus was on trying to remain aware of where her feet were and how she was moving them.

For days, she'd been trying to get her steps right, sure each time that she'd managed to finally get it, only to be told that she hadn't. The worst part was that she couldn't ever figure out what it was she'd gotten wrong. At least, with her feet.

Her issues with the shield never being high enough stemmed from Colja pointing out that she was significantly shorter than most gladiators, even other female ones. That meant her shield needed to have more elevation to it than might seem natural. With so much of her mind on trying to put her feet in the right places, her shield arm simply kept drifting back down to a more comfortable angle.

"Again." Colja said with a nod. "From the beginning."

Taking a couple steps backward, Leita took a breath to center herself and went into the routine of movements again. She'd spent the first day of practice learning the various pieces of the routine, a series of standard combat maneuvers. The exact order of the various moves Colja changed each day, both to keep her on her toes and to help her learn how to switch easily from action to action. She didn't have much trouble with performing the moves in the correct orders each day, but she'd yet to go through a full set without Colja finding something to nit-pick or correct.

Frustrating as it felt to her, he seemed to remain placidly at ease, seeming never daunted by her failures. His endless patience was perhaps one of the only reasons she'd managed to keep from giving up hope of ever mastering these things. Still, so much for being a natural at combat.

Shifting through the various maneuvers, concentrating on both where she was placing her feet and where her arms were, Leita fought off an imaginary army of attackers, sweeping back and forth, sword moving crisply. The whole of it took just under three minutes, Colja quietly walking circles around her as she went, inspecting her every move. Once she was finished, she waited for his critique.

"You are still dropping your shield down too much when you swing." He said after a moment. "And you are still not—"

"pivoting my feet correctly." She finished for him with a sigh. "Should I start again?" She asked wearily.

"Actually, it would seem you may take a moment, aiest'ja. Rest and drink some water." The aljin replied calmly, looking over to where a servant had come out of the house and was now standing to one side of the pitch, waiting expectantly. He gestured towards a wooden bench, on which rested a small jug of clean water and a towel. "The Mistress tasked me with meeting the guard for a bunkroom inspection. It would seem they are ready for me. It should not take long." With that, he gave her a small bow before striding off towards the waiting man.

Leita obeyed, actually glad for a moment to sit down and collect herself. Grabbing up the towel, she wiped away the gathered sweat from her face, running a corner around the inside of her new collar. It was a solid steel band, with a leather backing, joined together at the back of her neck by the house blacksmith. The flesh beneath the place where he'd sealed it was still tender from the heat of the molten metal that he'd used to connect it together.