Time went by and Penny tried to bring the knife as close she could but it was always the air that swiped the little knife with, “Don’t use just your hand,” Damien said, studying her movements, “A person capable of fighting will fight even in dresses so don’t give me reasons. Is that all you got?”
She swung her hands, moving her legs forward in the left and right direction. She had tried but she was getting tired. She tried attacking his arm but the man kept moving further and further away and she paused for a moment to say,
“You didn’t give me any tips on how to do it. Do you think I was born with it?”
“You won’t get it,” he deadpanned stopping his steps too, “Would you ask the witch hunter the same question on how to attack him if he attacked you by surprise?”
“I will be sure to blow a kiss to distract him.”
“Oh? What a brave woman you are. Using your womanly features to persuade him. I wouldn’t say it would be a bad idea. Time’s up. My turn to attack,” It took Penny some time to understand what he meant until he raised his hand, the nails growing from being short to sharp.
“You must be joking,” she whispered, her eyes turning wide.
“Scared?”
“DAMIEN!” Penny screeched when his hand came close to her face.
He chuckled, “I am holding back. I have my hands and you have your knife.”
He never told her that he would be attacking her. This felt like a crash course of learning something which she was supposed to do in a day. Seeing him not retrace his nails or hand away, she gulped. Damien was serious,
“Please go easy on me, Master. This is your future wife,” she rephrased his own lines to see him smile before he gave her a nod.
And suddenly his hand moved towards where she wasn’t ready yet. Damien knew that Penny knew he wouldn’t hurt her which meant it would not be an effective way to get her to defend herself. His fingers ran through her long sleeve which tore, “Keep standing there and we can design your dress for my eyes to look at,” the next attack Penny had dodged. Good girl, thought Damien in his mind.
As he promised, he held back his attacks but at the same time, he didn’t go easy on her. When Elliot had brought up the matter to him, Damien knew that Penny had to learn how to fight. If she had to protect herself from the black witches, the hunters or any other creature who would come at her.
Her mother had left her alive in the forest and only tried to instill fear in Penny, keeping her alive only for the sake of the massacre but next time wouldn’t be the same if they were to meet again. The black witch was not only insane but vengeful, she would strike and that day Penny had to be ready to face her.
Penny ran to the forest, finding it easier to dodge and take a breath of air by hiding behind the trees. This went on for a while until one of her foot got stuck in the raised root of a tree that had been covered by the loose snow. Before she could fall flat and hurt her leg, Damien had caught hold of her hand and pulled her back to him.
“Caught you,” he whispered in her ear with her heart thundering in her chest and adrenaline coursing through her veins as she heaved for air.
“Yay,” Penny’s replied back in a shaky voice, “I am tired. Can we do this tomorrow?” she asked not minding his hands around her, feeling him placed his chin on her shoulder.
“Tired already?” he kissed the back of her ear.
“Where was this love when you were chasing me?” She muttered but she was too close for him to not be able to hear her.
“Missing my love? Let me squish you to death,” he declared andtightened his hold around her, “Still mad?”
“I wasn’t mad,” she replied him back as he released her to turn her around so that he could look at her, “I was just…” she pressed her lips, “Just upset over turning to a black witch. To be someone like my mother and then I realize there is good even in the flock of bad.”
Damien knew exactly whom she was speaking about, “Bathsheba,” he said that had her nodding her head.
“And there is bad even in good. I think it was just the idea of turning to something which we have been trying to fight and get rid of,” and she had gone on to touch the book hoping to make things right where it could have only turned bad for her.
“I know you want to help but let Alex do this little part and decide what’s written in the other books. He reads fast so give him some time,” he placed his hands on her waist. Looking into her eyes which hadn’t returned back to normal, “You know I was thinking. If you were to have these eyes forever, we can turn you to a decent spy.”
“Wonder how that will go,” she said, willingly moving forward and he pulled her close to him so that he could hug her completely in his arms.
“You would do wonderfully. I will train you myself,” he promised her.
Penny smiled, “Have you trained others before? Or am I your first disciple,” his arms felt warm and she got herself closer to him and heard him answer,
“I have had some fair share of students. All of them turned out to be the worst, useless, coconut head councilmen. Kreme was the only one who could withstand the work I gave him.”
Hearing this, she pulled away from his embrace, “How did I do?” no matter how much Damien had made her work today, he had done it for her own sake and she was looking for some sort of praise, fishing it from him.
“You did more than I expected,” this made Penny smile wide like she had achieved something big and she heard Damien tell her, “Smile as much as you want now, you can prepare for the punishment that will come later tonight,” the look in his eyes had turned darker as he said it, something playful yet dangerous that scared yet excited her at the same time.
