The Knight's Hunter

Chapter 21

I didn't want to have a lesson with Zero.

Nuh-uh.

Nada.

No.

But the solid texture of the sword in my hands served as a reminder that you didn't always get what you wanted.

"Let's begin," Zero moved in a flurry of action, his pale skin and hair twisting as he lunged at me, his sword darting across to strike my side.

Cling.

I stepped to the side in a hurry, swinging my sword around to knock aside his, which proved ineffective as Zero withdrew his sword quickly, before lunging again, this time, twisting the sword around in an overly fast motion as he advanced once again.

Clang-clunk.

My sword rang as it fell to the ground, the metal blade glimmering dully in the morning light. Zero and I stood in one of the Association's training grounds, which was simply a grassy field surrounded by low fences, and a weapons rack that was accessible from all the other training fields around us.

"Have you ever used a sword before?" Zero sounded exasperated. It was the third time I had lost in a matter of seconds - in a row.

"Yes," I tried to defend my wounded pride as best as I could.

"Really?" Zero didn't look like he believed me. "So why are you just waving it around?"

"I'm trying," I snapped. "But it's heavy and cumbersome."

"That's the lightest one-handed sword I could find you," Zero replied, stabbing his own sword into the ground. "Unless you want to fight with a rapier, but you're too clumsy for that."

"Thanks," I held onto my tattered pride as best as I could. "Actually, why is a vampire getting trained to become a hunter?"

"You're completely defenseless otherwise," Zero retorted. "And who said anything about you becoming a hunter? You're still a vampire."

Says you, I wanted to reply, but I kept it in. Instead, I picked up my sword, ready to continue.

"Keep your movements minimal," Zero copied my stance, crouching low. "When you try to swing the sword, the handle moves first, before the tip, because it's obviously closer to the hand. You want to minimise movement, so block with the blade, and bring your arm across when necessary, keeping the blade close to your body, but not that close."

I followed his instructions, holding my arms out, unaccustomed to the unusual weight.

"Try rotating the sword, but keep the tip of the sword fixed in place. Do that for a few minutes."

I obeyed, the sword shaking slightly as I tried to keep the tip still.

~~~

That night, I sat on my bed, staring at the window. A dark purple curtain covered it, transparent so it allowed the moonlight to seep through. The folds in the material sent streams of dancing light on the floorboards, gleaming hesitantly.

Time to begin.

Scrambling off the bed, I arranged myself on the floor gingerly, careful of the new bruises I had acquired. One on my thigh pressed a little too hard against the floor and I winced, leaning slightly to the other side in my cross-legged position.

Closing my eyes, I pictured the moonlight seeping through. I imagined the cold white beams seeping through the curtain, then through me. I was an invisible veil, a sculpture of glass.