Trials Chapter 6: Training

                Kiri was strange. Ramsey had never been more conflicted about any one woman in his entire life. Not even his teacher! That really meant something. Even now Kiri was tending to his injuries. Injuries she had just inflicted on him. She slowly applied more green cream over his many shallow cuts all the while grinning and giggling like a child playing with a new toy. Soon she was finished and he found himself pressed against her as she raised him into the air and spun around in a tight embrace. She held him at arms-length and her eyes seemed less intense than before. Once again Ramsey’s natural reaction to such treatment became known causing her to drop him as she attempted to stifle her laughter. She then disappeared into the back of the cave. He was growing more confused by the minute.

                “What is with this chick?” Ramsey thought “One moment she’s beating the shit out of me the next she’s hopping around like a schoolgirl.” Kiri soon returned fully clothed in leathers that were by far the most modest garments he had ever seen her in. She handed him his uniform which to his surprise was clean. The blood in vomit had been completely washed of and for the most part it was like new except for the right arm whose sleeve was completely missing from where he had been trampled. As Ramsey dressed himself he couldn’t help but notice Kiri who was busy shuffling between the front and back of the cave retrieving different items and loading them into a large sack. He assumed their time in the cave had ended and soon they would be off to who knows where. For a moment he remembered his mission to track down the pillagers of Squall harbor. Did that even matter anymore? What would he do if he found them? Looking at Kiri he believed that with her at his side the task could be reduced to a triviality. Unfortunately he didn’t make the rules anymore she had more than proved that. He doubted she would even care. Once she was done she took the bag over her shoulder and stepped towards the cave entrance. She stopped looking over at him and gesturing for him to follow. He cautiously stepped towards the edge terrified at the drop. They must have been hundreds of feet in the air. The view was breathtaking, you could see the whole forest which went off for miles vanishing into the horizon. When he squinted he could even make out the clearing where they had first met. She placed her free hand on his shoulder and looked at him expectantly. Ramsey paused staring back at her. He shook his head. Did she really think he would jump? Her face hardened but he wouldn’t relent. She may have power over him but he would not jump to his death for anyone. Noting this she sighed and in a flash she moved her arm forward and he was pushed over the edge.

                It took a moment to register everything that had happened. Ramsey had been sent into the forest on a suicide mission. Soon after he encountered a strange and alluring woman who saved him from a death he had already accepted. He was tied up, tortured, and completely emasculated before her and when all was done he had been forced to submit to her will only to pushed by her hands toward his imminent demise. His life was some cruel joke. Ramsey turned over and saw the fast approaching earth. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the end. The landing was far softer than he had expected. He open his eyes to find himself buried in an exceptionally large pile of leaves. As he dug himself out he could hear Kiri’s trademark yell and he saw her magnificent descent. She landed with far more grace and ease than he; grabbing a low hanging branch with her hand vaulting off another be form spinning in midair and landing in front of him, all while still carrying that large assumedly heavy sack on her shoulder.

                “Show off.” Ramsey muttered. She responded almost braggingly in her language while politely offering a hand which he readily took. He was jerked out roughly by her strength and let onto the ground. She then reached into the sack and threw him his sword which had been cleaned. He strapped it to his side and followed as she beckoned him with her staff. The travel was hard for Ramsey. He wasn’t out of shape but keeping up with Kiri was workout in and of itself. She easily bounded from the branch to branch above him forcing him to run just to keep her in eyeshot. After running at a brisk pace for a straight thirty minutes she faded out of view and he increased his speed bursting through the brush and into a clearing next to a large freshwater lake. He looked around and found her kneeling by the water. He slumped down next to her taking in precious sips of water. He leaned pack using this break to catch his breath. He looked over at her in amazement. She wasn’t sweating or stretching. She wasn’t even out of breath! She started digging through her pack once again and retrieved another blade this one significantly larger than his own. She then grabbed Ramsey by the scruff of his neck in lead him towards the center of the clearing. She raised her sword at him urging him to do the same. Ramsey was worried. Was she really expecting another fight? What else did she have to prove? He raised his weapon in his same clumsy stance and she looked at him disappointed. He was getting used to that. She approached him leaning in close from behind. She started readjusting his stance moving his shoulders and spreading his legs more. It felt awkward especially with her so close. She clearly had no respect for his personal space even gripping his buttocks in order to get him to stand up straighter. When she was done she returned to her position and swung her sword in slow horizontal arc. Ramsey blocked this but compromised his stance to do so. She stopped and immediately started resetting his stance once more. Ramsey was becoming embarrassed by all this.

“I don’t need to be taught how to fight.” He said in annoyed tone. To this Kiri responded by quickly striking his sword disarming him then stepping forward sliding a foot between his legs and sweeping them leaving him on his back his sword landing in the ground inches from his face. Ramsey picked himself up and glared at her for a moment. She grinned back smugly. He could feel his face turning red.

“Fine.” He grumbled and she began adjusting his position once more.

For five days it continued like this all the while Ramsey could feel himself becoming more subservient. He was giving little food and seldom had any breaks. Kiri proved to be a far harsher instructor than even the sergeants back at the academy. Every break in his guard, every missed swing was returned with pain and often ended with him on his back. It didn’t stop at sword training either she had him running and swimming and training in hand to hand. Soon his mind was in full military mode. Keep your head down and follow orders. He only had one question. What was all this for? He had to admit he was learning. Soon he was blocking most of her attacks although he was sure she was going easy on him. The last training session ended and she had only struck him seven times. A new record! He collapsed on the ground in exhaustion. Kiri sat down next to him and started quietly running her fingers through his dark hair. It was weird. No matter how cruel she was during training she would completely change when it was over. She became gentler and almost motherly in her treatment of him. She laid down next to him and they both looked up at the night sky. She reached her hand toward it trying in vain to grasp the moon. She started to speak in her language but it was lost on Ramsey he was busy with thoughts of his own. Could he trust Kiri? Was she friend? Was she enemy? What was the purpose of the mark on his chest? It was a sign of ownership but it seemed to mean more to her. He didn’t have the answers. He found that those were in short supply these days. He felt her hand rest on his heart. It seemed to burn whenever she touched it. They saw a red comet shoot through the night sky and they both went to sleep.