Chapter 4The Horizon Threshold
“You broke his nose with the pommel of your sword?”, Natalie shouted, banging her hand on the table laughing out loud. This resulted in many shocked looks from the other patrons in Bacchus’ Barrel. Robert, who had joined them again tonight, was chuckling, trying to not look too amused. While Walter glowered at them from behind the bar, losing his patience hollering, “Nat. Keep it down, this is a civilised and peaceful environment!”
Cara mostly was sinking deeper and deeper into her chair, trying to vanish completely, if not from the face of the earth at the very least out of sight.
“It was self-defence…”, Cara mumbled, hiding her face behind the glass of red wine which she pretended to drink.
“I’m proud of you”, Natalie beamed. “You did everything right. You maintained your defence and in the end mostly reflected the force of your attacker against himself.”
“It was a bit excessive though”, Cara said, bubbling through the wine.
Natalie’s expression lost its joviality. “Cara, that little shit crawler attacked you with a sharp. You were within your rights to kill him right back. Not that you should have… The point is, he got what he deserved and he got away lightly.”
“He might even learn a lesson”, Robert added. He was still slouched over his chair, sipping his wine.
“No, he won’t”, Natalie said, grabbing her own glass of wine with her knuckles turning white as she did so. Robert sighed at her mishandling of her glass.
“I know the type”, Natalie continued, “he is all ego with little to no substance. Yeah, he could learn a lesson and it would help him to grow into a human being. But it’s easier to ignore that he’s a shit-weasel and keep pretending that he is a”, Natalie lowered her voice by an octave, pounding her chest while she continued, ”Big. Strong. Maaaan.”
Robert snorted. “You are probably right”, he said toasting to them, “to those of feeble mind and shrivelled soul.”
Cara raised her glass. It took Natalie a moment to join them.
“Hope dies last I guess…”, she said.
As the night continued, Cara first started to relax and then to enjoy herself. She kept feeling guilty for breaking the bullie´s nose. She at least should have called him an ambulance or something. But then she would have had to stay there. That would have probably led to the involvement of the church militia. Not really a problem. Her attacker had used a prohibited weapon in cold blood. But how would that have reflected on her new master? Who she would have kept waiting. Her original plan was to go to the bar in a hurry, tell the others and then come back. But both Natalie and Robert had told her not to bother.
That didn’t really work, for the thought kept bothering her for the rest of the night.
“Cara?”, Natalie’s voice, “Hellooo? Is there any intelligent life between those ears?”
“What?”, Cara said, focusing back on the present. Natalie was waving her hand in front of her face.
“It lives!”, Natalie said. “Cara, so nice of you to join us as we are planning your future. I thought that you’d like a word, but maybe I was mistaken.” She turned to Robert. “In that case we need to find her someone else, someone who can change her nappies and keep her fed.”
Robert looked at Cara with knitted brow and nodded slowly. “You might be right there.”
“What?”, Cara said. “No, I was just thinking about… things. But I’m listening now!”
Natalie was about to say something, when Robert stopped her by placing his hand over hers. “Nat, she is listening now, don’t make her regret paying attention.”
Natalie sighed. “You’re no fun.” Then, her gaze slowly moving on the hand on hers, she added, “also, soon you will be missing your favourite hand.”
Robert’s smile wavered a bit but held its position with iron determination. He pulled his hand back, slowly, avoiding any sudden movements.
“That’s much better”, Natalie said, now looking at Robert directly, now again smiling, but it was a smile that was only in the corners of her mouth but nowhere else.
“But back to you, Cara,” she said, her gaze shifting over to Cara, while Natalie breathed in slowly, marshalling what every bits and pieces of warmth she found inside of her, press ganging them and marching them onto her face.
“So… I,” she said slowly her voice slightly exaggerated, one of her hands pointing towards herself, “am going to be busy for a day or three, trying to find us a ship that will take us to the the Confederated Cities of Rhineland North. With a bit of luck we might even continue on directly towards the Cologne-Bonn Confederation. While I am busy, I can’t train you. So a good friend and a great master has kindly volunteered to take care of you.”
Cara looked at Robert.
“Not him”, she looked at Robert and just shook her head. “Wrong style, he will just teach you things that would just confuse you more. Also, while Robert is a rather decent master, he is horrible with novices.”
“Guilty as charged”, he said shrugging. “There are so many basics, that I take for granted. Whenever I work with newbies we both end up confused.”
“Who…”, Cara said.
“Me”, said Walter, who was somehow now standing next to their table. He smiled.
“Lesson one, a good entrance is very important.”
“I can’t thank you enough, Walter.”, Natalie said.
“Nah, I haven’t done this in a long time. And if there is one thing that I miss from the martial arts world, then it’s the training.”, Walter smiled. None of her new friends were great at projecting warmth; that Walter was the one who was best at it, came as surprise to Cara.
“Cara”, Natalie said, her voice grave. “If I had the time I’d join you. Grand Master Walter Balogh Rayne is one of the best fighters I have ever known and”, her voice went from serious to an almost whisper, “he was born and lived during the final ages of the great Union.”
Walter’s smile did not lose any of its warmth but he looked at Natalie with a measure of sadness. “I keep telling you, Nat, that the Union fell because it was everything but great. And I’m not a master, much less a grand one”, he shook his head, his smiling expression relaxing.
“But I have trained many, many people in the art of force and motion”, again he glanced at Natalie, before focusing all his attention on Cara. “I only teach people who want to be taught.”
“I want. I totally want”, Cara said while nodding vigorously.
Walter laughed. “Who can say no to so much enthusiasm. Tonight you will rest, and I would suggest you go to sleep early. As in contrast to these creatures”, he gestured towards Natalie and Robert, “I actually get up early.”
“I will set my alarm clock accordingly. Will 6:00 o’clock be early enough?”
Everyone looked at Cara in utter shock, even Walter’s smile was gone.
“I said early, not in the middle of the night. We will get up at nine, eat a light breakfast and start training at 10.”
Cara just nodded.
“And now…”, Walter said, waiting until he had everyone’s attention again. “Hurry up, I want to close the shop. I have an early morning tomorrow.” He wriggled his eyebrows at Cara.
Half an hour later they were out of the bar and went their ways. Cara walked towards her home until the other two were out of sight. She then changed her course, walking back the way she walked to her training hall. She went to the spot where she had left the bully on the sidewalk. The spot were she had left him was empty apart from a pool of blood. A trail of blood leading away into the night.
‘At least he could walk back home’, Cara thought. There was a hospital not far from here but it was in the opposite direction to the one where the trail of blood went.
While her mind felt better her heart still held fast to her guilt.
She shivered, pulled her coat closer to her body as she turned around and walked back home.
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