The Hunt

Chapter 22- Stubborn Girl

Cecily stared at the little girl holding a blade. Her feet were spread perfectly shoulder width apart. Her dominant, right shoulder facing the criminal. The saints dagger was pointed towards the hunter.

"Good," Cecily praised. "This is your basic stance. Next up, attacking."

"Your small!" Orion yelled from where he was sitting on the head a few yards away. "Make that-"

"Since your small," the hunter said over the assassin, "you can never attack first. Now you, you have an advantage over most people."

"An advantage?" Alma asked, relaxing just a bit. That earned her a smack on the arm from Cecily.

"The human body is a...collection of weak points. Hit a one and you can weaken an opponent. Hit a few, and you can take them down. Where do you think is the first place you'd go for if you were being attacked by a right handed opponent holding a blade?"

Alma thought for a second. "I'd aim for the joint or inside the collar bone."

"To incapacitate," Cecily nodded, her arms crossing. She'd chosen to wear a shot sleeves shirt for the first time in a long time. She didn't know why, but she wasn't as uncomfortable with her arm as she used to be. "What about to kill?"

Alma looked at her feet, earning herself another smack. "The neck or the stomach would be the easiest. An eye, maybe but it'd be hard to hit with something this small well, you could probably do it pretty fast. I guess in between vertebrae if they're facing the other way and you can get a good shot."

"You don't find that disgusting?" The prince asked from where he was standing besides Orion. "At all?"

Alma resisted the urge to shrug and she was almost afraid to look away from Cecily. "I've preformed surgeries at the age of twelve. I removed my first eye when I was thirteen. It's pretty hard to phase me at this point. Remind me why I have to stand like this for so long."

"So your body remembers the position even if you forget," the hunter answered. "We're starting slow."

"Ok. And why do I have a full audience?"

"Cause this is what it looks like when people get bored."

Orion answered. "I just wanted to make sure she didn't kill you or anything."

Reiko snorted. "Right. We've already established that we trust her, why not just admit that you were worried Cecily would be too rough on the little healer."

"Right, sure. And why are you out here?"

"I'm...just making sure my prince is safe," he retorted.

That earned them both a look from said prince. "Uh-huh. And unlike you two I'm actually bored."

Cecily proceeded to ignore the entourage. "Like I said; never make the first move. You're small, so you can usually get around the initial hit or two. You'll be underestimated at first, so make it count." Cecily looked at the dagger sitting in the saints hands. It was the hunters, originally. Well, it was the princes, but after she touched it, it was hers. "How does that feel in your hands?"

Alma looked at the short dagger with a firm grip. It was pretty, glistening in the sun, which was why Cecily had originally chosen it. "Well, its small enough to fit in my hand. I guess I like it."

The hunter sighed. "Then keep it. It's yours."

Alma nodded her thanks.