Their Guardian

Chapter 13

"We will run you through the basics first. Then we can start with some easy sparring." Andy said, making direct eye contact with Booker. 

"That's not fair!" He yelled.

"She has no experience with swordsmanship, and you do. It would be cruel of us to throw her into a ring to be a human pin-cushion for you to take your anger out on."

Booker muttered something about favoritism under his breath, already sulking. It earned a kick from Nicky under the table that did not go unnoticed by the rest of them. He just smiled and started to pretend he did nothing wrong. 

The rest of the meal was spent in silence. Noella mostly tried to prepare myself for the rest of day. She hasn't really had to defend herself since her time at the prison, other than the time in the alley. This was going to bring up some bad memories, especially when the first cut is made upon her skin. She was positive they all noticed the shift in her behavior, although they could not know the reasons for it. 

"We are going to start you with a shorter sword, when we believe you have mastered that, we will start you on dual wielding." Andy said getting up to clear her plate. 

They all followed suit, the rest joking around and acting as a family would. Noella kind of just held back, no longer in the mood to be her usually cheerful self. 

Joe and Nicky were the ones to walk her through the basic forms and motions that she would need to know before starting any actual fighting. It took hours before she was able to make them consistently and accurately. They were very patient teachers, always listening to her complaints and adjusting to her size and stature. However, she could tell they weren't used to being instructors, as they would often have to act it out in order to explain it. It was all instinct and muscle memory for them. 

Surprisingly, Booker was also very instructive, stepping in when Joe and Nicky failed to find a constructive explanation. Andy was oddly quiet, she had perched herself on the table and was watching quite intently. Noella was sure she was analyzing her weaknesses, finding new ways to torture her.

"Joe, you are sparring with her. I don't trust Book to go easy on her for the first time." Turning to Noella she whispered "You will do fine, just remember the forms, the rest will come later." Clapping her on the back, she walked out of the ring, perching herself back on the table.

Joe did his best, and while it wasn't necessarily a quick fight, he could have ended it multiple times. He likely kept going to give her some more experience, however, she knew the slow pace was killing him. Afterwards he commented on how well she kept my forms and that extra skill would only come with time. It did little to make her feel better, it felt like a consolation prize. 

With Nicky she felt that she did better, the movements were more fluid, and she actually felt like it wasn't an entirely one-sided fight. He was very patient with her and would often stop in the middle of the match to correct her and adjust her form slightly before resuming where they had left off. Like the other match it was over relatively quickly, despite the prolonging for instruction.

Noella knew that no matter how hard she tried she would not be able to avoid the match she had been dreading all day. Booker looked gleeful, and Noella knew that while he may not fight his hardest, blood would be drawn this match. 

As usual, he was the first to strike, a typical Booker move. Their blades clashed as the power of the swing moved all throughout her body. She swung back at him, which he blocked easily before moving for a well-placed strike to her shoulder. 

Noella barely blocked it moving her body to a more favorable position. He had reach on her, and while she may not be able to win this by her swordsmanship alone, she might be able to outsmart him. After all, his fatal flaw was pride, and he was not expecting much out of her.