1

“Great! So now that you know the plan, strip,” said Aylie, not seeming to be joking.

“You jest right?” questioned Griem, leaning back in her chair.

“Absolutely not, I never tell a lie.

“But you’re a thief.”

“And that means I cannot be an honest one? The tax collectors trick the commoners everyday behind the mask of a smile. At least I have the gall to fuck you in your house and leave a note afterwards. It’s called courtesy my girl.”

“I don’t see the difference. Someone gets fucked either way.

“Aye,” said Aylie, standing up and pulling a thin sword out of fucking nowhere, “it’s about who. Now come on, get on your feet and take off your armor.”

Griem eyed the naked girl balancing the rapier on the middle of her palm. She stood up, removing the cloak up through her head and unlatching the grey light chest piece she had on.

“Stop ogling me!” Yelled Griem moments later.

She shied away, cheeks red after removing all her gear, left wearing only her ivory chemise. She crossed her legs and pulled down on the hem of her chemise, she was in pure embarrassment.

Aylie did not turn her gaze, but instead licked her lips and lingered on Griem. She really is a perverted thief.

“Here,” said Aylie, throwing the dagger back at Griem, “elbows up, hand close, and back bent to the waist.”

Griem started to move with hesitance, trying not to pressure her injured leg heavily. She began to grimace when she slouched her back, feeling the weight on her injury.

Aylie must have noticed because she came up to her and kicked hard into her bandaged thigh.

“Ow! What the hell was that?”

“You aren’t used to pain, are you?” questioned Aylie, disgust washing over her face when looking down on the fallen Griem.

“If I didn’t feel pain I wouldn’t be considered human.”

“I never said you shouldn’t feel pain,” said Aylie with an annoyed tone, “but if you are used to it.”

Aylie outstretched her hand, but pulled it back before Griem could grab ahold of it.

“That matters not, I just won’t get hit.”

“Like how you managed to not take a bolt to the leg? It matters completely if you are fighting for your life. A wound only hurts for some time, but dying is an embarrassment. You’re exactly like your foolish father.”

Griem flared her nostrils, gripping her fallen dagger and throwing it directly to Aylie. She tilted her head only slightly, allowing the blade to graze her cheek. Blood dripped down from the cut that reached to her ear.

Griem’s eyes widened, surprised to see blood spilled onto the floor.

“Why didn’t you dodge it,” whispered Griem, “I’ve seen you dodge all my other attempts, you could’ve easily avoided bleeding.”

Aylie looked at her with a raised eyebrow, before shrugging her shoulders and taking hold of the lodged dagger in the wall.

“Hey tha-”

“Not yours. At least not anymore. You have lost your weapon and your enemy is still standing, what do you plan to do?”

Aylie ran the dagger down the sword, a high-pitched clinking filling the air as she repeated it four more times. Griem struggled back up. Putting both fists up in an improvised fighter stance.

“Who do you plan to fight like that? Some kid around the corner begging for change? And even then, he’ll manage to steal your purse and walk away twenty silver richer.”

Griem held firm, not wanting to be swayed by some stranger she didn’t even know. Her father always said, ‘improvise what you don’t know and master what you do.’ and she wasn’t going to let some perverse barbarian speak ill of her father.

With a forward body punch to Aylie, she lunged forward and shifted weight onto her healthy leg. Aylie bent backwards, bringing the rapier to the back of her head and the dagger to her throat, the tip slightly piercing her skin. Aylie retracted her blades and irritably clinked them together once more. Annoying bastard really.

“Do not fear pain,” said Aylie in a serious tone, tilting her chin up. “Fear death.”

Griem furrowed her brow and flared her nostrils again. Just where did she learn to fight? Griem punched at Aylie haphazardly, each time being scraped by the blades in Aylie’s hand. She continued on anyways, stinging from the cuts all around her body. She started to pant heavily, feeling her stamina whittling away.

Aylie stood tall in front of the weary Griem, seemingly unphased as if she never moved. With a single thrust, Aylie’s rapier moved straight at Griem. She shut her eyes tight, trembling in fear, or was it shock?

Griem felt a chilly breeze on her torso. A tingling sensation she couldn’t quite pinpoint. Was this the feeling of death?

She opened her eyes, tilting her head down to where she felt the chilliness. Her face grew hot, noticing the strap of her left shoulder cut, dangling, close to exposing her chest bare. Griem brought her hands up to cover herself while the despicable person in front of her laughed loudly in a nasally tone.

“If it was anyone else, they’d have fallen in love on the spot. We’ll continue again in the morning,” said Aylie, brushing past her before stopping to click her tongue. “Oh, and no need to wash up, I already did that for you.”

Griem stood still with her cheeks flushed, not knowing which words to say. Aylie opened the night stand and slipped on a lengthy blue cloak over her bare body. She laced up short leather boots and opened the door to another room. Looks like it wasn’t a hut after all.

She dropped to the floor when she heard the click of the door shut close, leaving her alone in the room.

“Just what in the hell is wrong with me.” she whispered, cupping her face in her palms, “I need to find a way out of here.”

2

Two weeks passed, each day having Griem practice hand to hand combat from dusk till dawn. They practiced on rooftops and over bridges of water, being soaked as a consequence to the loser. Granted, it was always Griem.

This time the two practiced in the garden of the small house they lived in. Not a giant rose garden, but one large enough to have a simple spar between thieves.

“Like this,” said Aylie, wearing a black crop top that matched well with her tanned skin, “bend the leg out, not towards your body. You’ll need to be able to move at a moment’s notice.”

Griem dripped beads of sweat under the sweltering sun in her new attire given by Aylie. An unlaced white Tudor shirt with a generous gap in the front partnered with pants cut above the knees.

Aylie was forcing her to lean on the injured leg instead of letting up pressure, causing tremendous amounts of pain through her body. Griem gritted her teeth, eventually being able to at least tolerate to the point of it not being unbearable.

“Let’s try again.”

[drafting, rewrite later]

Aylie lunged forward at her swiftly. Griem knew what she had to do, she knew what had to be done, but she just couldn’t move. Aylie punched Griem hard in the stomach, knocking the air out of her lungs and forcing her to double back.

“I said duck!”

“I know, I know,” heaved Griem, staggering back up. “I just can’t seem to process fast enough.”

“It’s not about processing, it’s about moving. I told you this. Now again, assume your stance,”

Griem moved her leg backwards, planting them together. Her toes pointing opposite of Aylie and her palm held up into the air. She bent her knee backwards and exhaled quietly. She nodded her head to Aylie slowly, finally ready. Aylie lunged once more, aiming for her head. Griem instead of dodging, brought her arms together and blocked the punch. However, still staggering backwards.

“Were you educated? I said dodge you ditz.”

“This was my first instinct. You said to move right? So I moved, you are not the almighty where you also choose the direction of my body.”

Aylie’s patience grew irritated, storming inside the house. Is she that upset? Aylie came out moments later, holding the blades in her hand. She clinked them together and stood parallel to Griem.

“Very well, what will your answer be to these blades?” said Aylie, completely serious, “will you block or dodge? Let’s see.”

Griem entered the same evasion stance, nodding her head to her. Aylie slashed with her rapier and Griem brought her arms back up swiftly, blocking the blade with her skin. A cut formed but Aylie did not let up, alternating slashes between the rapier and dagger. Shallow cuts mind you, not enough to leave a lasting scar but was still stung like boiling water on the skin.

“Will...you...quit...blocking!” she yelled, dropping the blades onto the ground, “You absolute idiot! Do you prefer to be cut is that it? Because if that’s what you want then by all means have at it. This training would have been an absolute waste.”

Griem’s head was looking down, her long blue hair overshadowing her face from both sides. She was littered in cuts from head to toe. Her shirt torn revealing small glimpses of her cut skin underneath. Blood trickled down her arms and face, like beads of sweat bathed in the dark red color.

Aylie looked at her, unfurrowing her brow and feeling the effects of what she just did. Griem clenched her fist and gritted her jaw, holding her palms back out and assuming the evasion stance.

“Again.” said Griem in a hushed tone, “One last time.”

Aylie picked up blades on the floor, hesitant to make the first move. Griem nodded to her and she sighed. Lunging at her once more, she blocked the dagger but bent backwards to dodge the incoming slash of the rapier. The two smiled at each other, and Aylie lunged again. This time Griem ducked from the slash of the dagger and did a cartwheel backwards to dodge the slash from the sword.

“Perfect.”

3

Griem came out of the washroom in new fresh clothes and her light-blue hair in a high pony-tail. Her hair, still dripping from the bath. Donning a soft white tunic and loose breeches, she was the most comfortable she has been in a while.

She walked into the main room, consisting of one bed, a large rectangular table, and lots of chests lined up against the walls. Leaning on the two back legs of the chair beside the table was Aylie in her casual wear, an olive green nightgown with no pants underneath. Her brazen attitude was somewhat alluring to Griem, if it was a good or bad thing she didn’t know.

“Ah, you’re done,” said Aylie, leaning her chair back down, “Come here, let us review the plans once more.”

Griem turned away from Aylie and patted down her clothes to make it straight along with feeling the warmth in her cheeks. She spun back around and pulled up a seat beside her perverted counterpart, nodding her head.

“I’ll give the signal for when to move.” said Aylie, unfolding a map onto the table, “you scout here on the side of the auction house, I’ll take the northern point facing the entrance.”

“How do you suppose we get inside?”

Aylie grinned, leaning towards Griem, close enough for Griem to smell the scent of lavender in her hair. Her stare lingering into Aylie’s eyes before retreating back into her seat with a dagger in hand. She stabbed into the map to Griem’s surprise, on the roof of the auction house.

“Just below the roof is a concave window, I need you to retrieve the parcel inside without being seen.”

“A parcel? In front of the bloody auction house? The entrance will be swarming with people down below, there’s no way I can accomplish such an impossible task.”

“You very much can, and you very much will. You’re petite enough to where the people looking at you wouldn’t even know what you are. Also take this,” said Aylie, picking up a satchel from behind her and placing it onto the table.

Griem pulled the strings on the side, opening up the bag. Inside laid rope with a claw attached to the end.

“What’s this?” asked Griem, “Some sort of weapon?”

“It’s called a grapple hook, it’s only a prototype so use it sparingly.”

“Wait, you are giving this to me? For what?”

“With only two weeks of proper training, you’ll need all the help you could get. Now come on, maybe this night you’ll finally snuggle up with me.”

Griem stood up and walked into her room before Aylie could even finish her sentence. She made sure to lock the chain and lodge a chair underneath the doorknob. Finally, she can get away from that perverted demon.