Eliuteria

Chapter 13

Ro was gone the next morning when Tau walked into the room and tossed me some clothes to change into. I grinned upon looking at the loose-fitted pants he's given me. They were huge, I figured they probably belonged to him or Ro but it didn't matter. I couldn't remember the last time I wore something other than a dress. There were no rules against wearing pants but in the paestra, we were given dresses only and did not have any way of obtaining pants. I quickly slipped them on and pulled the drawstring tight tying it into a bow around my hips and cuffed the bottom so they weren't too long.

Tau was waiting alone in the same room where he'd shown me the daggers the night before. On top of the tile I'd seen yesterday was a thick, black mat. I wondered where Ro had gone and was tempted to ask but held my tongue.

"We'll get you something that fits," Tau said with a smirk at the oversized clothes. "We start with hand-to-hand combat. Come stand here." I did as he instructed. He gave several more instructions on how to stand and then informed me, "I'm going to attack. Defend yourself."

He was going to attack me? At the expression on my face, his grin turned devious, and he promised, "I'll go easy on you."

As he said he would, Tau acted as my attacker and I was supposed to defend myself. He would come at me and instruct me to counter in different ways and though I tried, I didn't understand most of the instructions. It did not take long for me to regret wishing for a more rigorous training. I would have gladly allowed him to lecture me on the correct way to hold a dagger if it meant taking a break. Tau was a patient teacher, but he was strict. He may have thought he was taking it easy on me, but there was nothing easy about being thrown to the ground consistently for hours.

Ro returned from wherever he'd been and joined us in the training room. I couldn't tell if he was upset with me or not and I didn't have much time to think about it. He offered input and encouragement occasionally but otherwise observed quietly. After ending up tossed on my backed, the wind knocked out of me five or six times, Tau finally paused to show me exactly what he meant for me to do. Tau and Ro went through the motions slowly, modeling what they wanted me to do several times. It was the closest thing to a break I had. When they were through, I went back to being tossed on the mat like a ragdoll but at least, as Tau pointed out, I was doing the right steps.

When we finished I was sore was in places I didn't know could get sore.

"We won't be able to meet every day, rest for the remainder of today, and tomorrow start your work out," Tau instructed.

He had given me a list of exercises he wanted me to do daily when we weren't able to work together. I had never exercised a day in my life and didn't know many of the things he requested I do, but he didn't laugh at me for the lack of knowledge, rather he seemed to have expected it and spent some time modeling each exercise for me. They would build strength, he promised. Strength I needed if I wanted to be able to take him or any other Morri down.

I sat down the largest breakfast I'd ever eaten and scarfed down the food while Ro coached me on what to tell Juleen. It was on the tip of my mind to demand he answer the questions I'd asked the previous night, but Ro was not acting like everything was okay between us. He was passive and stoic. He didn't smile or tease me. He was to the point with his instructions and didn't attempt to carry a conversation outside of that.

The walk back to the paestra was deafeningly silent. Awkward enough, that when I joined the girls in their daily chores, I was relieved to see Analiese who was brimming with dozens of questions she could hardly contain.

"There are rumors," she said the moment we were alone.

I kept my eyes on the floor as I moved the brush in circles, spreading the soapy water and cleaning any dirt from the floors. I tried to ignore the burning in my arms that were fatigued and sore from the morning workout.