"I'm here to see the Captain"
The words barely managed to come out of my mouth.
The gate creaks open
"Oh, Hello Rain."
"Hi," I wave, running off towards the training ground.
Voices and grunts grew louder the closer I got to the training grounds.
"WHY DO YOU TRAIN?"
"FOR THE EMPIRE, FOR THE PEOPLE, FOR OUR CHILDREN YET TO COME!"
The trainees shout in unison
"WHO DO YOU SERVE?"
"THE EMPEROR!"
"AND WHY DO YOU SERVE THE EMPEROR?"
TO BE HIS BLADES, DELIVER HIS WILL! "
Raising his fist, Captain Harlan bellows
"FOR CIDRA!"
"FOR CIDRA!"
I feel Goosebumps worming onto my skin.
At ease!
The trainees break off the formation on Captain Harlan's command.
It is then that he notices me.
"Heh!" He snickers, "Now you show up whelp!"
"I...I wa-"
"I'll hear none of it!"
My heart sinks,
"Get in formation! Whelp." He yells, then turns to face the trainees,
"Due to our tardy guest, a hundred laps around the barracks"
The trainees grumble, locking eyes onto me, shit eating frowns plastered onto their faces.
"NOW!"
I follow, tugging behind the line.
The first twenty laps were quite easy- my confidence shot up the roof.
I passed a few trainees a while back- flashing a smug smile.
Ironically, they remained unfazed, even dishing out a look of pity on my way.
By the thirtieth lap, my muscles started complaining, halfway through, the guys I had passed a while back caught up to me.
Not even breaking a sweat, whilst I was drenched to the bone.
They humph as the pass me by.
"You thought you had it figured out, huh ?"
Captain Harlan laughs by the stand
Incensed, I put more effort, closing the distance, to the finish line.
I beam a smug smile at the Captain...who snickers and yells
"Forty down! Sixty more to go!"
[Oh God!]
With the way things are going, It would be a miracle to finish them all.
I grunt, shutting out all senses, getting in sync with my running rhythm.
Plunged within the tempo, my senses dulled, becoming a blur.
A step after the next
"Fifty eight more to go!"
[What? Only two laps!]
And here I thought I was close to finishing it all.
The tempo is interrupted
My steps come to a crawl, I was barely making any distance.
"You think this is a joke kid?"
I look back at the Captain, my eyes pleading.
I paid dearly for that mistake, my feet misstepped, coiling together and sent me flying.
" Ten extra laps for you Boi! Since its all a joke to you."
His words hit me like a freight train.
[Seriously!!]
~~
(Captain Harlan's Pov)
The kid is actually doing better than I expected.
I know his type, he wont make it through the last lap, though.
The distance between him and my trainees enlarged, considerably.
The kid doesn't give up though- eyeing me, pleading.
He stumbles and falls face first.
"Heh" a snicker escapes my lips.
Just to get on his nerves, I yell
"Ten extra laps for you Boi! Since its all a joke to you."
A laugh, watching his miserable state.
I expected him to quit there and then, but to my surprise, the kid prevailed- for the next four laps before collapsing.
The trainees, guffaw as the overlap him, a stare from me got them in line- what a lack of discipline.
The next few laps?
They were torture- the kid ran, staying upright through sheer will alone.
I eye the trainees, finishing their last lap.
They assemble before me.
As for the kid?
Still running- a miserable attempt at that.
"Pair up!"
"Grab a sword and shield"
The trainees promptly do as commanded,
"Spar!"
"Keep in mind, the losers get toilet duty!"
A smile tugs at my lips, nothing motivates these 'greenhorns'
More than a full week of cleaning chamber pots.
Taking the vantage view of the whole training square, I fish out a scroll from my breast armour.
A frown plasters my visage, I trace my fingers against scroll's seal- that bastards seal- the baron of Winterhold.
Unsealing it, I skim through- a call to arms, like always.
This bastard and his misguided goals, as if I would send him more of my fledgling soldiers, heh!
The Reech was no place for man.
It was too bad that I was allowing his recruitment drivel within the outpost- farm kids who had no idea what they just signed up for.
Blinded by the promise of glory and wealth.
What is it with nobles and their conquest?
Sighing, I throw the letter to my feet, amongst the growing pile- of similar requests.
Damn him.
"Sir!"
I look up, its the kid.
Have you finished your laps?
"Yes sir!"
"In addition to the extra ten?"
The kid gulps, giving me a shit eating look
"Yes sir!"
"What are you doing here then? Scram. That's it for the day!"
Disbelief plasters on the kid's face.
[What do you mean done for the day?!]
I scream internally.
My fingers curl, forming a fist.
"Want to fight me kid?"
I snicker in response
The Captain gets to his feet,
"BOYS, A WHELP FANCIES HIMSELF A WARRIOR!"
He bellows, "He wants to fight ME!"
~Laughter~
The Captain grabs a pair of wooden daggers and throws them at my feet.
"En Guarde!" He yells
I bend to pick up the daggers, only for a boot to connect with my ribs!
"I. Said. En guarde! " he shouts
Rage flares, erupting from my core.
I yell as I dive fist first, thrashing and throwing, hitting nothing but empty air.
"Lesson 1," A karate chop lands on my clavicle, "Never lose your temper."
I squirm in pain, rolling on the ground.
I reach for the wooden daggers, a boot fills my vision.
[Not again!]
I slide to the side, dodging the boot.
"Nice!" The Captain remarks
"En guard!" He yells,
That word got me sliding a few steps back, keeping my stance grounded.
The Captain scans my stance, he copies it, then shifts to a better one.
I emulate his subtle guidance
"Better" He mutters, "Come at me!"
I lunge forward, feinting a right step- his arm swings to the right.
I shift to the left, smug at my coming success.
I lash out my left arm, leaning forward.
The blow almost connects- almost.
What I get in return is a knee I never saw coming.
I clutch my chest, reeling from the blow.
"Again!"
I made an attempt, one after the other, getting punished for every mistake I made, every movement I overlooked.
"That's enough." The captain commands, I halt, stopping my attempts.
"You are a quick learner kid, " he smirks, "Its a shame our paths differ."
He sighs, "Nevertheless, I will help you however I can,"
"You catch up quite fast, but beyond that? Just innate and instinctive brawl.!"
"Get in line! A lesson is in order."
I walk, standing amongst the trainees
The captain proceeds to a wooden dummy, a wooden sword and shied in hand.
He proceeds to show some moves, slashing and retreating behind the shield.8
"To your dummies!"
Everyone stands before a dummy, attempting the moves.
"You! Come here"
He commands me,
Before the dummy, he drops the shield and grabs another wooden sword.
"The one shown wouldn't work for your fighting style"
[Really genius? Heh!]
I keep my thoughts to myself.
He holds the swords, akin to the way one would hold dual daggers.
He swings the right, reverse gripped and slow, across the neck and up again swiping the dummy's chest.
He then swipes the left sword, slashing the neck inwards and back outwards.
"Watch closely"
He swings, repeating the attacks, but now in rapid succession.
My eyes widen in awe.
The attacks flowed from the first to the next, layering into a rapid, and devious barrage.
"Practice this, I will show you another," "Once you layer them seamlessly."
I give him a pleased nod, getting in stance.
The swings, I execute them slow, just like he showed, again and again.
Until my muscles protest, I stop to catch my breath, replaying the sequence in my mind.
Then go at it again.
The cycle repeats again and again.