“Better,” Kade said, recapturing his attention. “Now you can move pretty easily from here to a side block. Watch.” He took a few steps back and demonstrated, moving slowly. Florian copied him carefully, doing his best to mirror the movement as he made it.
“Like this?” he asked, but Kade was already stepping closer to him once more, and began adjusting his stance. His hands hovered over him for a moment, then pressed lightly on his hips.
“Shift your center of gravity a bit,” he said, though Florian could barely hear him over the rush of blood now pounding in his ears. “Feel the difference?”
“Y-yeah,” he stammered, and he was sure the tremble in his voice was completely obvious as he spoke.
The rest of the lesson was much the same. Kade modeled each stance for him, gently correcting his posture as he went, and they cycled through each of them over and over until Florian could move between each one without Kade’s assistance.
“We'll go through them a little longer just to be sure you've got the feel for it,” Kade said. “And that will be enough for today, I think.”
“That was easier than I thought it would be,” Florian replied wryly, though he still couldn't quite meet Kade's eyes. Nevertheless, he saw Kade return a small smile.
“It'll only get tougher from here,” he said, sounding almost ominous. “Don't worry.”
That did little to assuage him, but he went through the motions a few more times, doing his best to ensure that his muscles moved the same way and ended up in the correct positions. Kade watched him, but did not move to touch him again. Part of him was glad, and part of him...
He didn't want to think about it. He focused on the movement of his muscles until Kade told him he could leave. Though the light hadn't changed at all in the Moon Garden, when Florian returned to the castle it was well into the evening, and he could smell food being prepared.
The next several days continued with the same routine. Florian started his mornings with Jerah in his study or occasionally in the larger library, essentially taking a crash course in the history and culture of the Veil with some magic lessons interspersed whenever the books became too tedious. Then, he would grab a quick lunch and head out to the courtyard where Kade was always waiting for him.
Once his defensive stances were deemed sufficient, Kade started teaching him more offensive movements—showing him how to position his body and shift his weight to give himself the best leverage with the wooden swords. His guidance continued to be far more gentle than Florian expected, even when he would take defensive stances against Kade’s offensive movements, or vice versa. It was hardly sparring—more like a carefully choreographed, very slow dance—but somehow Florian always expected there to be more force behind his strikes than ever came.
So when Kade told him hardly a week later that they'd start sparring for real, he immediately grew even more anxious than he had been on his first day of training.
“Just going through the motions won't prepare you much for a real fight,” Kade said, raising an eyebrow at what must have been the uncertain expression on his face.
“I know,” Florian agreed, glancing away even as he gave a nod. He almost asked Kade to go easy on him, but decided better of it. Instead, he slowly moved into a ready stance. “Okay.”
A small, now familiar smile played at Kade's lips. “Good attitude,” he said. And before Florian could respond, Kade lunged at him and brought the wooden sword crashing down onto his own.
Thereit was. He knew Kade was strong—knew that he must be an accomplished warrior to act as Jerah's body guard all this time—and he had expected his careful, gentle guidance to fall away at any moment.ThisKade was entirely different, already darting to strike him again before Florian had the chance to swing in retaliation. Each strike shuddered painfully up his arms, and Florian winced as he tried to keep his footing and still block the sudden onslaught. It took every ounce of effort he had in him just to keep the wooden sword from making direct contact with him.
“Come on,” Kade goaded, pulling away just enough for Florian to breathe. He didn't think too hard about it as he leapt toward Kade, swinging the sword in what he could already tell was a sloppy, hurried offensive stance. Kade knocked the sword away easily and used the momentum to swing back down at Florian. He didn't react fast enough, and the wooden sword came down on his shoulder with a painful thud.
“Fuck!” he hissed, instinctively reaching up to grab his shoulder. Kade paused, eyeing him. “That hurt.”
“It would hurt more if it was a real sword,” he remarked, and for the first time true irritation surged through Florian. He scowled, but Kade's face didn't change. “Come on. If this were a real fight, we wouldn't be taking a breather. I'd have taken the opportunity to hit you again already.”
Florian didn't respond, instead moving as quickly and suddenly as he could manage in the vain hope that the sudden attack would find Kade off his guard. But he dodged easily, and when Florian swung up with a second strike, Kade's sword was there, already blocking the way. Kade swung at him a few more times in quick succession, again trapping him in defensive stances without the room or time to get in any strikes of his own.
“You can't move!” Florian exclaimed, frustration overtaking him and magic surging from his words. Instantly, Kade's muscles seized. He winced and twitched, but remained motionless. Quickly, Florian swung his wooden sword up once more, and this time it made a painful-sounding thud against Kade's ribs.
Despite the unpleasant sound and Florian's immediate wince of sympathy, a sharp bark of a laugh escaped Kade between clenched teeth.
“Good,” he forced out, relaxing with a gasp as Florian released the hold on him. “I was hoping you'd use that to your advantage.”
“You alright?” Florian asked nervously, and Kade nodded.
“Totally fine,” he said. “You should try and use your magic whenever you can to keep the upper hand. Like now.” Before Florian could even process the lightning-fast movement, Kade had whirled behind Florian, his free hand seizing Florian's wrist and yanking it behind his back.
“Ah!” Florian yelped, more out of surprise than pain. In just a few fluid, rapid moves, Kade had grappled him. His own sword clattered uselessly to the ground as Kade's other arm wrapped around Florian's torso, as the wooden sword pressed up his chest and shoulder to rest against his throat.
“Come on,” Kade said, his voice low and intimate in Florian's ear. “You need to be able to use your magic just as well.”
Between the physical contact and the closeness of his voice, all Florian could focus on was the sudden heat searing between his legs.
“Drop,” he choked out, but he couldn't focus enough on the magic for it to work; Kade's grip remained just as firm on his wrist, his elbow digging into Florian’s ribs. “D-Drop!”
