Enslaved

Chapter 23

Kaida was staring at where Valik was sleeping on the couch when she heard footsteps come up behind her and stop. She turned and looked over her right shoulder in between her wings to see Kajeel standing there, looking slightly haggard and frustrated but awake.

"It's nice to see you got some rest, Kaida." He said in a hushed tone, trying to not wake Valik. "Is there anything I can do for you before breakfast?"

She thought about what he asked and found herself nodding and standing up, turning to face him. She remembered the absolute terror of the sword point being held to her heart and how she had been able to do nothing against what they wanted her to do and what they'd done to Valik. Ryuu's words filtered through her brain, how he would always be around to protect her. But what if she didn't need protecting? Her mother's words swam around her brain with Ryuu's, begging her to be strong. Kajeel's eyes held surprise at her movement but a smile played at the corners of his mouth.

"Can you teach me how to defend myself?" She found herself asking and she glanced at Valik before looking back to Kajeel, steeling her resolve. "I can't let my friends get hurt again because of my weakness. I want to be stronger."

She didn't know when the confidence had arrived or where it came from but her heart felt lighter than it had since that day it had gone dormant all those years ago. Kajeel stared at her before blinking and smiling wide, his tired expression lighting up.

"Of course!" His voice was excited but still hushed. "We can start now, actually."

She blinked in surprise but followed him through the living room and out the front door onto the grounds where the sun had risen just enough for the first rays of daylight to touch the grass and send the dewdrops sparkling like rainbows. She took a deep breath of the fresh, crisp morning air and felt it fill her lungs, clearing away any of the lingering fear from the attack that had clung to her despite Ryuu's promise and her nap. Kajeel turned around and faced her once they were about ten feet away from the porch of the large cabin and crossed his arms, his wings shuffling on his back as he looked her over.

"Okay so let's start with advantages you have. You're absolutely tiny, Kaida. " Kajeel said, his tone straight to the point. "You can dunk under swings and kicks or just pretend you're weak and people would buy that. However, your wings are slightly taller than you, which could throw you off your balance if you try to move too fast without taking them into consideration. If you use your wings to your advantage though, you could have two weapons on you at all times. And this is all without even mentioning flying."

Kaida frowned at that, her mind whirling.

"What do you mean by 'weapons'?" She asked, opening and refolding her wings across her back, her muscles still a bit sore from trying to fly yesterday. "Like hitting people with them?"

Kajeel nodded, grinning grimly.

"Now you're getting it." He praised, then raised his fists, placing his feet slightly apart and crouching, his wings outstretched just slightly, the scales catching the sun and glittering cheerfully. "Let's start by dodging. Start!"

He lunged at Kaida and swung his right fist in a wide arch for her head, the muscles in his bicep standing out as his fist flew for her face. Kaida's eyes widened and she instinctively ducked, pulling in her wings in tight to her body and curling her body tight in on itself. She peeked through her arms that covered her head just in time to see a foot coming at her full speed. This time she yelped and flared open her wings, down flapping the way she had seen Ryuu do on the stage yesterday to take off and her body jerked upwards roughly, all of her sore muscles reactivating and yanking her body upward.

She tucked her legs up to her body and the foot just barely skimmed her extra-long pant leg, rustling the fabric with the wind of how fast it had been swung. She dropped back to the ground and looked up through a knot of blonde hair to see one of Kajeel's wings shoot towards her in a black wall of glittering scales. Her thoughts were going a thousand miles an hour and she was breathing hard as she folded her wings in as tight as they would go and turned slightly just in time to watch the wing shoot out not an inch in front of her and jerk back to Kajeel. She whipped to face him, her hair all over the place, and found him smiling, not even slightly out of breath.

"Good!" He praised, his eyes lit up like the sun. "That was great!"

She was crouched slightly with her wings folded so tight they ached, all of her muscles telling her to sit down and go back to sleep. She frowned at him in disbelief, standing up straight and loosening her wings back into a comfortable position.

"I didn't do anything at all." She replied, still slightly out of breath. "How was that great?"

Kajeel smiled wider, his teeth reflecting the sun.

"You didn't get hit once, Kaida!" Kajeel boomed, his voice sending a few nearby birds into the air. "That's impressive. Especially for your first practice."

She frowned at him, pulling the side of her lip up as well in a confused and thoughtful expression.

"Are you going to teach me or am I going to learn through near-death experiences that you call 'training'?"

Kajeel's face darkened immediately and his gaze shot to the skies, doing a short perimeter check before going back to her. He crouched again and raised his fists, staring into her eyes and she realized that he thought she had referenced the attack last night and she winced.

"Copy me."

She did so cautiously, moving her feet for a second until she felt she was sturdy enough to not fall over from a strong gust of wind before she looked back to Kajeel. He nodded and raised his fists so his arms were in front of his face and his fists were eye level.

"This is a block." He said, his voice less exuberant now. "If somebody aims at your face and you can't dodge, do this automatically, okay? Make sure that your stance is grounded when you take this position or you will be shoved over by the force of the blow."

He lowered his arms and she nodded. He then opened a wing and arched it so it covered one whole side of his body.

"If you are fighting two on one or you can't see out of one eye or something else happens along those lines, shield one side of your body like this." He switched wings and sides for an example. "It works either way. Just be cautious if there are blades involved."

She nodded again and curved her wings to mimic him, sweat sliding down her face from the dodging earlier and the steadily rising temperature. She looked back up and he nodded to her again.

"You already know how to duck and jump using your wings and your side dodge was very impressive." His voice held some appraisal below the business. "However, when you landed your wings were out for a long period of time. The number one rule that all dragon hybrids follow is simple: protect your wings. Without your wings you cannot fly, you cannot shield, you cannot escape; you are stuck. Our wings are our most powerful weapon, which means that you would be extremely vulnerable without them. Do not let anything happen to your wings, do you understand that Kaida?"

She nodded vigorously, folding her wings into her back comfortably but tight. Suddenly, Kajeel gave a rather cruel smile and crouched again, fists out.

"Attack me." He said. "Try to land a hit."

She frowned, taking an involuntary step back.

"N-no." She stammered, caught off guard by the words. "I can't."

Kajeel shook his head, not budging.

"Attack me." He said again, eyes steely. "There's no use defending unless you can retaliate. We are going to spar every single day before breakfast until you are as good as all of the guards, capeesh? Whether or not you like it, you are a part of the rebellion now Kaida. I don't know what the Emperor wants with you but you are not going to let him take you again without a fight."

She blinked in surprise before the sound of cracking whips and cries of tortured hybrids echoed through her head and she shuddered, lowering herself into the stance she had just learned and bringing her mismatched eyes up to Kajeel's, watching as a satisfied smirk spread across his face.

"That's it, Kaida." He said. "Don't let yourself be easy bait. Fight to be alive; fight to be free."