Untitled - Chapter 21 - The Soldier - Seg.1

{segment 1 of chapter 21 - Garn}1

I walk beside Avi in companionable silence as we head back to the lift. Once the doors close behind us I ask, “Where to now? Home?”2

“Home,” she laughs, as if I’ve made a joke. Stepping forward, she presses the button to go to the Outdoor Stadium on the top floor. 3

I’m beginning to get a bad feeling about this. “Are you going to make my job difficult for me?”4

Avi looks amused. “Not intentionally.”5

“So then, what are we doing here? Will you tell me now?” I raise an eyebrow.6

She simply smiles at me as the lift doors open and daylight touches her face. “Shall we?”7

I give her a baffled smile in return and follow her out into the stadium. Well, what’s the worst that could happen? Guess I just don’t like not knowing things. 8

The arena is even larger than the stadium a few floors beneath us. It spans the entire surface area of the building’s roof, and it currently must have at least three hundred soldiers practicing unarmed combat or doing some other drill or exercise. The seats on the grandstands surrounding the grounds are all empty though and there haven’t been many public audiences for a long time. The roof is also usually closed in case of rain, so I guess we’re going to have good weather today.9

“It’s so huge,” Avi murmurs. “It’s beautiful, in a weird way.” I frown slightly and look around the stadium again, trying to see what she sees. I have too many unpleasant memories of training facilities to find them beautiful, but I do like coming here, since they feel like home. “Come on,” Avi prompts, leading me into the throng. The air is filled with the voices of soldiers, training and talking. I’m amazed no one has noticed a woman here yet, but everyone seems to be focusing on whatever they’re doing. Still, it won’t be long until someone sees her, and then... I have no idea how they’ll all react. The thought makes me acutely aware of everything around me; my mind is preparing for a fight. Moving past a tall dark-haired man who is shouting something to a comrade, Avi soon finds an empty space and turns to me. “I want you to fight me.”10

I frown. “What?”11

“You need to train, right? I’ll be your partner.”12

What? Has she forgotten who she is? “Sure,” I say, “but... Don’t you think you’ll draw a little attention to yourself?” What is she thinking?13

“So let them see that their Empress isn’t a pushover,” she shrugs.14

I study her carefully, observing how small she is and therefore how breakable. She shifts her weight to one side and moves her shoulders back slightly under my scrutiny, staring right back at me with defiance. I’m still sceptical. “You want to show them that you’re not a pushover... by fighting me?”15

“Hey, you’ve never opposed me,” she defends. “You’d be surprised by how strong I am.”16

“Avi... Your Highness,” I correct. “I can’t fight you. You’re my Empress. I’m supposed to prevent harm from coming to you; not cause it.”17

“I’m not just your Empress, I’m your friend,” she persists, stepping toward me. “And I’m not made of glass.”18

“It doesn’t matter; it wouldn’t be right.” She’s not giving up, I observe grimly. The stadium seems to have got a little quieter where we stand, and I sense a few sets of eyes turning to us. I keep my eyes firmly on Avi—this could be becoming serious.19

“I don’t see how this is such a big deal,” she says.20

She’s not giving up. “Look at it this way,” I suggest. “The Government would be outraged by this. For one thing, I’d lose my job. Perhaps I’d get imprisoned. But for another thing, I’d probably never be allowed near you for the rest of my life. Is that what you want?” The words sound strange in my mouth.21

She takes a step back, understanding finally showing on her face. “You wouldn’t be blamed,” she replies. “I’d make sure of it.”22

“Could you?” I ask, raising my eyebrows doubtfully.23

She studies me for a moment before crossing her arms and setting her face. No. Not that. “Garn, as your Empress, I order you to train with me.” No!24

She’s going to play that card a lot from now on, I think with exasperation. Whose idea was it to take her to the City and make her Empress anyway? ...Ah yes. 25

For a minute I don’t reply; I simply stand there, staring at her with a blank expression as if that might buy me time or persuade her to take back her order. I don’t like this strange feeling of helplessness that I’ve been getting more and more since meeting this insane woman. As her subject, I can’t hurt her. As her friend, I can’t hurt her. As a man, I can’t hurt her. Why is she doing this to me? I stop to think for a moment. I have no choice but to say yes. So I... I’ll just have to figure out how to do this without letting any harm come to her.26

“Yes, Highness,” I concede, bowing to her. The silence has become stunned whispering, and a small circle of spectators has subsequently formed around us.27

The woman smiles. “First one on the ground loses. Don’t go easy on me,” she warns. Well, I wasn’t going to let her take me out. 28

As she readies herself for attack, I firmly fix the thought of defence in my mind. For someone who’s been trained to kill as quickly and efficiently as possible since childhood, this could be a challenge. Ugh. Some idiotic part of me is happily anticipating such an opportunity. Focus, I remind myself. I’m dimly aware that our audience is gathering around us along with the silence.29

Avi is watching me from a few metres away, studying my body language carefully without making any movement. I hope she doesn’t think I’m going to attack her. She’ll be waiting a long time.30

Suddenly I understand the strange light in her eyes and have to make a conscious effort not to show any expression. She’s looking forward to this! 31

The woman shrugs out of her black coat and leaves it on the ground behind her. 32

“Are you ready, Garn?” she asks.33

Well, if she’s going to enjoy this, I’m not going to keep worrying. “Always, Highness.”34

Before the words have even left my mouth, she suddenly rushes forward and aims to attack my left side. But I see it coming as if in slow-motion. Her eyes don’t move from where she’s supposedly attacking, but she’s leaning slightly further to right than she needs to—she’s over-compensating, which means she’s really going to attack from the opposite side. Ha. As if I couldn’t predict that she wouldn’t make a straightforward assault. She’s seen me fight and knows she can’t overcome me with simple strength. 35

As my mind finishes this analysis, time surges back into speed. Avi lets out a cry and pulls her fist back, rushing toward me only to duck down beneath my own attempt to stop where she would have attacked. She doesn’t attack my right. She spins around behind me, but by now I understand. I turn from the opposite side to meet her, easily grasping her arms and flipping her in the air, letting go while being sure that she’ll roll upon impact with the ground.36

Hitting the stadium floor, she somehow rolls to her feet with a light step for balance, as if nothing has ever happened. I can’t help but smile a little. “You know me too well.” Clever Avi, she knew I would expect a feigned attack and made it look like she was going to do so when she had a different idea altogether.37

She gives me a dry look. “Yes, but you sure figured it out quickly when I didn’t do what you expected.”38

“You aren’t hurt, are you? Highness?” I quickly add, remembering her rank.39

Avi rolls her eyes. “No, you set my fall to be adequately painless. Shall I try again?”40

“Whenever you’re ready,” I reply, my right foot shifting back slightly in instinctive preparation. I’ve almost forgotten the audience surrounding us completely. I really have to try to suppress the feeling of enjoyment I’m getting from this.41

Exhaling sharply, Avi shakes her hands once by her sides as if to steel herself. “Right.” She runs at me again.42