It was early the next morning when Iris felt a nudge on her shoulder -very early the next morning. The touch did hardly anything to rouse her. She kept her eyes shut tight, blissfully unaware that someone was trying to wake her. Another nudge came, this time harder than before. This one woke Iris... to an extent. She kept her eyes tightly shut, but through the haze of exhaustion, she listened. She listened for any sort of sound that indicated it was time to get up. There was no sound, save for the crickets.
Something pinched her cheek moments after. Her eyes opened with a start, looking around the room for the source. The first thing she saw was the window of the barracks. It hadn't dawned yet. It was still dark outside. Now, Iris sat up, her eyes zipping around the room -finding the answer she sought almost immediately.
Kayde was standing five feet from her, with his hands patiently clasped together. He was waiting on her.
Iris was more than startled at his sudden appearance. "How did you get in here?" she mouthed. Now, she scanned the rest of the room and found that no one else was awake -no one else had any inkling at all that Kayde had entered at all. That thought almost sent chills through her. All of these well-seasoned soldiers and none of them had been able to catch the guardian. Iris shook it off and mouthed a second question. "What time is it?"
Kayde raised his eyebrow, but didn't offer much of a reply. He brought one finger to his lips as a reminder and used his free hand to gesture for her to follow him. He whirled away and exited the cabin just as quietly as he'd entered. Iris decided then that he was very much like a cat, in every sense of the word: a sort of serene predator.
She stood from her bed, careful to not make her own noise. Being extra mindful of her steps, she made her way through the door, which was thankfully still cracked. The distance was a short one, but it sure didn't feel like it. Especially because she had to walk slow. Speed was not suited to stealth when donned in chainmail armor.
She got to the door after what felt like ages and then turned around to her fellow soldiers once more. No one had stirred, thank the gods. She walked outside, shutting the door softly behind her.
Kayde waited on her right outside. She offered a small wave in his direction, a sort of hey, I'm out... I did it. He just nodded in return and then, after a few long moments of eye contact, he bolted out into a run. Iris was left figuratively in the dust, confused on why he'd just started running. After a few moments, she took off after him. Oh, how the chainmail encumbered her. Still, she caught up just enough to see him.
Green eyes turned a shoulder to face her, and Kayde slowed to her pace. Otherwise, he didn't stop running. He led her into a grove of trees without a word. Iris immediately recognized this place as where she'd first entered the training camp. Were they leaving? She couldn't figure out for the life of her what was going on.
"What are we doing?" she said through gasps once she'd decided no one would hear her. "Why are we running?"
"We're exercising," Kayde answered simply. His voice was clear and unbroken, completely unfazed by the running. Iris noticed at that moment that his legs were doing most of the work. His chest and belly stayed steady as he glided smoothly over the ground. The only other detectible movements were his arms, which moved back and forth like steady pendulums, and his hair that whipped in a curtain of glistening black behind him.
She must have looked like a caveman right now, plodding clumsily about in her father's chainmail armor. "Exercising?" she huffed, not used to running with all the extra weight. "It's the middle of the night, Kayde." Her words were enunciated one-by-one by the thudding of her feet.
He ignored that for a minute. "Try keeping your torso straight, girl. It will help." Then, he pointedly said. "And it is not quite the middle of the night. It is about three hours until dawn. Likely, these will be the only hours I have to train you, Ingred." He used her new name. "Your father sent me here to keep you safe, but I can't quite do that. I can, however, watch over you the best I can and teach you how to keep yourself safe. So here we are. Now, run until you can't go any longer and then run a little further, girl."
"And... when... I'm done?" Iris got out, trying to take his advice on her running technique.
"Then, we stop and recuperate," he answered. "You'll take another fruit and then, I'll help you with your daggers for a while. Now, shh, girl, talking will get you out of breath. We'll speak when we're done."
-----
"Pull out your daggers." His instructions were simple and to the point.
She took another moment to finish gagging at the gods-awful fruit she'd had to eat before heeding the instruction. She pulled out her new weapons as gracefully as she could manage from their makeshift sheaths and waited. With a satisfied nod, Kayde lifted up the bottom of his black robes to reveal two daggers sheathed on his calves.
Iris looked awestruck. "You've mastered more than one weapon?"
Kayde pulled them from their holders and gave them a twirl. "They're not my calling, per se, but I'm decent." The answer was honest. "First lesson. You'll want to bend at the knees. You're calling now is speed -so this stance," he used two hands around her hips to gently position her correctly, "is the one that's going to give you the most leverage -to give you the ability to move and jump around." She felt a hand press in on her mid-back, sending her spine forward in a sort of crouch.
Kayde seemed satisfied with his work. "The key to being good at daggers is being aware of your opponent. Being a rogue is as much of a mind game as it is a physical game. You have to watch your opponent's posture and eyes -how they're standing and where they're looking." He paused. "In general, your swordsmen and your warriors that fight with two-handed weapons are easier to figure out. They're all might. They depend on their armor to keep them safe." He paced in front of her. "Fighting another rogue is different... especially a seasoned one. You'll need to train your reflexes and be ready for anything."
"What about the archers?" she asked, already overwhelmed.
Kayde shrugged. "Be mindful of your surroundings. In battle, try not to stay out in the open." He offered a sort of half-smile. "Get close and you have them. In short, don't get shot." He said it like it was that simple.
"Well, I'm as ready as I'll ever be," she grunted.
"Try not to get overworked over everything," Kayde said. "You'll improve with practice and time. I'll go easy on you for now. Baby steps."
It was hard to see in the shadowy grove, but Iris tried her best. She mainly watched his eyes. Staring directly into them, she watched him glance to the left. By the time she readied herself to move to the right, he had already banged her shoulder with the flat side one of his daggers.
"You must watch and react."
"I was. I saw you look to the left. I was about to move when I saw you look." Iris was more than a little indignant.
"In combat, Iris, you must watch your opponent's eyes and also react reflexively. If they look a certain way, move the other direction immediately. They will not give you time to prepare your tumble. In time, you will not give them time to jump from your attempts, will you, girl?" Iris did not answer.
"Again," Kayde instructed.
"Wait," Iris whispered, a new horror souring her stomach, "what if they look a certain way to fool me?"
"Then, as I said, you must react. If you can teach yourself to really hone in on your enemies, you will get the chance to escape from any attack they may try. After all, they have to move their arm to strike you. Eventually, their motives will become clear. As for now, you are learning the basics. Now..." he paused, "...again."
This time was different. Iris took Kayde's criticism in stride. She watched his eyes, and this time, they flickered to the right. Then, uncomfortably, she zipped to the left. She had dodged his attack, even though she hadn't seen it coming until his dagger had already whizzed by her. He removed his hand quickly and was still in his offensive stance. She was no longer watching his eyes, thinking the exercise was over. His other dagger slammed into her armor.
"Well..." he began, "very good on the first attack. As for the second, I will tell you when to stop watching me. Spar with me until I say otherwise." This time she nodded, finding comfort that she was at least able to dodge the first one.
In Kayde's next exercise, Iris narrowed her eyes. For a moment, she hoped she could, in a sense, pierce him with her gaze. He looked to the left and she zipped to the right. She continued watching his eyes, which then looked to her chest guard. In a sort of panic, she quickly bent backwards, watching both of his daggers sail over her. Her back popped at this point, sending her through a considerable dose of pain, but she still somehow managed to pull herself back up to face him. She wanted to curse.
Kayde did not halt the assault. She dodged to the left... then to the right. After a few attacks, she even jumped to avoid an assault on her knees. After a while of going through the same exercise... her armor failed her. Kayde's attacks were growing faster and the chainmail wasn't lenient enough to her body.
He stopped the exercise upon impacting her.
"Very good, girl," he complimented. "If one thing is for certain, you're very quick. I imagine you'll be quicker still in better armor."
She couldn't help but smile at her success. Kayde tilted his head, and after a moment, pressed three fingers to her lips. "Careful with that, girl. You look incredibly feminine when you smile." His hand dropped. "Now, you're understanding that lesson well enough. Let us move on the next basic, shall we?"
Iris staggered at the suggestion. Did she really have enough experience to just move on?
"Why do you look so doubtful?" he asked her and offered a small smile. "You are doing spectacularly thus far." She looked past him as she thought about what he'd said, focusing her gaze on the trees behind him.
"But... I only have done this for a little while, Kayde. I can't be ready to progress. I've heard that it takes lots of practice to master weapon finesse. Should I not practice more on the training you just gave me before we move on?"
"Unfortunately, time is not on our side for that," Kayde answered. "But you've learned the skill, so now you get to move on to the next. If experience is what you fear, then all you need do is practice alone later." Iris was halfway listening, halfway watching the landscape behind him. Something was moving.
Iris looked horrified. Kayde stepped to her side and then seemed to follow her gaze with his own, finding the source of her terror almost immediately. He said nothing else... he just zipped away, as quick as a rabbit and as quiet as a whisper.
Meanwhile, Iris just stared -stuck in place as five people moved closer in her direction. It took many moments for her to figure out who it was that approached, and when she did, she whirled to tell Kayde to run, but found him already gone -already lost into the trees. Four of them, she didn't recognize... but the one in the middle of them? It was the man who'd registered her. It was the general.
The general noticed her before she could think to flee.
"Who's there?" General Zayn called out into the night. Iris watched with a pounding heart as he and all of his men pulled their swords and cautiously walked towards her. She couldn't talk through her fear. She wanted to run.
She couldn't. They all approached, regarding her with slits for eyes. After a moment, Zayn put out his hand in front of the others and sheathed his sword.
"At ease, men." The general squinted at her, mildly remembering her face. "I think this is one of ours." He addressed her now. "Name?"
"Ingred Gwenneth, sir. You registered me." Iris hoped to the gods that would further jog his memory. It seemed to work well enough. She watched as a faint look of recognition passed over his face.
"Right." He looked to his other men. "Keep patrolling the grounds, both of you. I'll take care of this." They both saluted in response to his command and both Iris and General Zayn watched as they walked off. Iris shuddered at the words 'take care of this'.
"Ingred, care to tell me what you're doing out here?" By the words, Iris figured he hadn't seen Kayde with her. That part was good. What wasn't good was that he looked frustrated. Not mad, thankfully... but still. She was filled with unease, hoping that she wasn't the source of his irritation.
"Practicing, sir." It was an honest answer. "And going for a jog." Now, she sheathed her daggers and offered an awkward salute. That seemed to ease him a bit, and he nodded in acknowledgement.
"Out here?" He raised a brow.
"Yes, sir." What else could she say? Nervously, she added. "I didn't want to wake anyone up at camp. Are these grounds forbidden?" Her brusque voice almost cracked.
General Zayn sighed after a long moment. "Practicing is good. And no, these grounds are not forbidden. Usually." He looked around. "But you need to get back to camp tonight. There's been word of suspicious activity around the camp -possibly a small Token force. Make your way back to the barracks. At once, soldier. Be careful and make haste." He looked around. "Farewell, Ingred."
He retreated to where his men had left him. Iris's eyes popped wide and she took his command without pause. She all but ran, daggers in hand, back to the camp. She worried about Kayde the whole way. She didn't want the Tokens or the Eldians to find him, for that matter. Silently, she said a prayer.
She got back to the rogue barracks quickly. Her entrance back inside the door was quiet, but a few still stirred as she made her way back to her cot and thumped down. After a moment, it didn't matter. Iris looked again through the window and found that it was still dark inside.
After she calmed? She slept.