Lady Moon, Sha'tan #1

Chapter 5 Jan

Dana shrugged dismissively:

“If you have a problem with that, soldier, you can complain to General Andersen or the Council. They made the decision, not me!”

But the man was too far gone to listen to reason, and his friends were howling encouragements:

“You think you are so good, so much better than me he? You should be in your mate’s bed with your legs opened, doing your duty, that’s your place!”

A faint glow was showing on Dana’s skin then, but she turned away from him.

“Whatever.”, she said, ignoring him.

The man’s face was flushed with anger, and he lost it:

“I challenge you to a duel, and if I win I’ll have you on your back, where you slut truly belong!”

Pulling his sword out, he warped towards her, pushing a few astonished recruits forcefully out of the way.

Hearing the commotion, Dana swiftly pivoted on the ball of her feet, unsheathing her blades in one fluid move. She parried just in time, then warped away at incredible speed, stopping fifteen feet behind him, where she waited for him to face her. Glowing brightly, she began to walk, head tilted forward, swords down on her sides, scowling. She was the image of Death, beyond scary. She increased her speed until all they could see was a blur, surrounding her opponent. It lasted only a few seconds before she stopped, just behind the man, who was still standing despite bleeding profusely from hundreds of cuts. Dana lifted her swords and slashed cleanly the  tendons at his ankles, dropping him to his knees. Suddenly she was in front of him, leaning on her swords, smiling playfully.

“I think you should apologize.”

Her voice was smooth, controlled.

He spat in the dirt at her feet.

“And what if I don’t?”

She grinned widely.

“You asked me if I thought I was better than you? Well I am. Firstly because I don’t fence like a drunk gorilla, and secondly because I think before acting. You see, you forgot that the offender cannot call a duel, and that the other party must accept the terms. What you did was assault against a virgin warrior, and now I have the right to kill you at will. Care to reconsider?”

His face dropped in terror, he hadn’t thought of that. Usually duels were ending at first blood, or when one of the fighters was disarmed.

“I-I apologize”, he stuttered.

“That’s a good boy”, she answered sardonically, patronizing him.

And then, she went away.

Everyone in the yard kept staring at the messy scene for a while, petrified. The whole thing had only lasted a few minutes, but the raw violence of it had made quite an impression. Jan could still play it vividly in his mind. The soldier got what he deserved though, and Dana was not blamed. But she could easily have disarmed him, rather than bleeding him dry and maiming him. And she had seemed to enjoy it.

Jan was not afraid of her , he didn’t plan to test her limits, and one really had to go the extra mile for her to loose it that much. But no one else ever tried to insult her after that.

Jan suddenly snapped out of his daydreaming, noticing a recruit sitting on the ground, bleeding from a deep cut in his thigh. Eddi was kneeling beside him, crying hysterically.

“I am so sorry, I didn’t want to do that, I’m so sorry…”

“What the hell happened?!”

His voice boomed, making Eddi jump and cry even more.

Sophie, his eldest recruit, answered for her:

“Edina was behind in the katas, Andrew barely touched her back turning and she hit him.”

“It was just a stupid reflex, I never meant to harm him!”

Jan had heard enough.

“Edina, in my office. Sophie, compress the gash. Cara, go and get the medics. The others are dismissed. NOW!”

Jan waited until Andrew was safely on his way to the infirmary to be stitched, and proceeded to his office. He was not worried. The bleeding had stopped, and the boy should be fully healed in a day or so. He was lucky to be a White Sha’tan.

Jan could hear Eddi’s sobs long before he reached the door. He paused. What was he going to tell her? Although he was really angry at her, he could still see how distressed she was. He knew he was to blame too. If he hadn’t been distracted, he could have prevented the accident. But he had to do something or more were going to happen. And he would be responsible for it.

Opening the door, he saw Eddi sitting in the nearest armchair. She was holding her knees to her chest, face down, and was rocking back and forth. Her shoulders were shaking, and he felt sorry for her. Spontaneously, he moved closer, crouching beside her, and put a comforting hand on her back. She yelped, pushing away from him, until she found herself pressed against the opposite wall. Jan frowned:

“What’s wrong with you girl! What do you think I am, a pervert?”

“So-sorry, I don’t like people touching me…”

“Well, you need to get over it and fast. Your classmates will have to touch you for training, and I have no other way to correct your moves. How do you plan to handle that?”

“ I don’t know…”. Here she was, crying again. Jan rolled his eyes. He was torn between the need to slap her or protect her. He decided for the latter. Slapping females around was really not his style, especially when they were that beautiful.

“Don’t move”, he said, walking slowly towards her.

“Wh-what are you gonna do?” She sounded terrified.

“I’m going to hug you. Nothing more. Just try and relax.”

Eddy’s jaw dropped. She was petrified. Jan pulled her to him carefully, closing his arms lightly on her. She was stiff as a board, hyperventilating. He breathed deeply, slowly, keeping very still. It took a while, but she began to relax into it, letting her head rest on his chest. Her body heat started sinking into him, her pleasant scent tickling his nostrils. Jan tried distracting his mind with thoughts of cold showers and disastrous events, hoping that his body would not react. Not that he was attracted to her anyway, he was perfectly happy with Kate, but he was no saint, and he didn’t want to test her reaction to an accidental bulge in his trousers.

He held her for a few more uneasy minutes, before letting her go.

“You see, it wasn’t that difficult. I don’t know what happened to you, but not all men are bad. I want you to remember that and calm down next time I have to be close to you, can you do that?”

“I’ll try”, she said with a weak smile.

“Let’s shake on that then. Now you should go and get something to eat, and rest. See you tomorrow.”

He watched her leave, wondering what could have traumatised her like that. He hoped he would get her trust, or the next two years would be very long indeed.