The next day began in much the same way as the previous. Zell was more confident on his feet, and even managed to pressure Nin a few times by crossing inside her reach. His small successes were always bought with painful reminders of just how outclassed he was by the extremely talented and well trained girl. One lesson was particularly painful.

Zell timed his penetrating step just as Nin executed one of her devilish thrusts. For the first time he correctly read the roll of her shoulder and slight turn in her elbow. He parried her weapon high and to the side as he stepped in and quickly moved to pivot. In his excitement he failed to notice the subtle shift in Nin’s stance as she stepped into him. Her left knee bumped his right inner thigh hard just above the knee at the exact moment he was shifting his weight forward. He stumbled, and the hilt of Nin’s training sword knocked him hard right between the shoulderblades, sending him sprawling face first to the dirt.

“That thrust was bait! You knew how I was going to come in the whole time, didn’t you?” He groaned, rubbing his newly bruised inner thigh where her bony knee had thudded. “Damn. I thought I had finally started to figure it out.” He lamented.

“Yes I baited you. Yes you fell for it. Then again I never would have needed to use that feint on the fighter you were yesterday.” Nin replied as she took a seat on the large stump used to split wood.

Zell took a moment to think about it and immediately felt a rush of excitement. He practically leaped to his feet and assumed his fighting stance.

“Too slow!” A voice sounded behind him - Agitha’s voice. Before Zell could turn, the sole of her worn boot kicked him hard on the rump and he flew forward in a dive which turned into a tumbling somersault.

“Hey nice roll, did you teach him that?” Agitha asked Nin.

“No.” Zell interjected defiantly. “I just happen to have plenty of experience getting knocked to the ground, thank you very much.” He regained his feet and walked back to where Agitha stood grinning happily.

“I’d love to stay and slap you around some more but I have a meeting with an old colleague today. I’m taking Merc with me. I’ll be back around dinner, don’t disgrace yourself too much!” Agitha whistled and Merc stood up from where he had been relaxing in the shade nearby and trotted to her side.

Zell watched them round the corner and wondered who she was meeting but quickly dismissed it as Nin gave him a nudge in the back with her weapon.

As the session wore on, Zell finally at long last began to feel the elusive rhythm of battle. He surrendered his feet to his subconscious and they moved without him even thinking. He still took many hard slashes and thrusts but thanks to improved footwork he was able to minimize the damage of many of the hits he did take.

The time between resets increased and the exchanges became a little less one sided. Zell had still not managed a single hit but he found himself able to at least attempt a few of his own attacks, uncoordinated though they were. Nin was a great teacher, slowly raising the intensity to keep him perpetually struggling but not quite overwhelmed.

The session ended in typical fashion, with Zell staring at the sky after a brutal combination of attacks left him battered and thoroughly defeated. Nin once again excused herself to clean up and procure ingredients for dinner service, leaving Zell to do as he pleased.

He vowed to land a hit on Nin if it killed him. To do so he needed to speed up his strikes. He decided the basic thrust was probably his best bet. He took a few minutes to center himself and set the motions for his exercise. Step forward, thrust and pivot, retreat, thrust and pivot. He slowly built the compound movement a step at a time, then repeated it in halting steps until each one felt perfect. Then he began blending the movements together into a single slow but cohesive pattern.

As his body memorized the movement, Zell allowed his mind to once again drift to his mental kingdom where high adventure, romance, and wonder awaited him. This trance was becoming easier and easier to enter lately. Soon his body was executing the steps and thrusts with beautiful precision. His weight moved and shifted always in balance, his breath was even and aided the flow of his movements.

“That is so strange. He really doesn’t get bored of doing the same thing thousands of times.” Rin remarked to her mother, looking through the window as she folded clean rags.

“Strange maybe, but it seems to be effective. He’s almost moving like a fighter now.” Birna replied.

“What’re you two lookin’ at out there?” Kel asked curiously as he dropped an armload of rags onto Rin’s folding pile.

“Bait has been stepping and thrusting in that EXACT same pattern for over an hour.” Rin explained. “He doesn’t get tired or bored. It’s just so strange.” She concluded

“It may be strange but that kid’s gonna be a real monster someday. There’s an old saying: ‘Fear not the one that has trained ten thousand ways to cut one time. Fear the one that has trained one way to cut ten thousand times.’ Seems like Bait lives that philosophy without even trying. Scary scary!” He said as he shook his head and ducked out of the kitchen.

“I see. So that’s how it is.” Rin watched Zell with a new perspective. Her father was a bit goofy, but he was insightful and very learned in the art of battle.

Another hour passed, and Nin returned from the market with two slaughtered lambs each hanging from opposite ends of a sturdy pole slung across her strong shoulders. She raised her voice at Zell as she passed him on her way in the back door.

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“Bait! Meat’s here, prep starts in twenty minutes.” She stopped to make sure he had heard her through his odd trance.

“Aye Coach!” Zell slipped his training sword into his belt as he answered. He looked at the ground, noticing the small question mark shaped trench he had dug with his feet during his practice.

“Guess no need to walk Merc today, so I can just rinse off and change clothes.” Zell said to himself as he pulled his shirt over his head. He had less new welts today but yesterday’s bruises were still extremely tender.

As he scrubbed his skin, he felt an odd vibration in his chest, like a bumble bee was trapped in there. It stopped after a moment and he dismissed it as a trick of his imagination.

“Good morning Chef!” Zell greeted Birna a few minutes later as he entered the kitchen, rolling up his sleeves as he went. “Ohh great, lamb!” He added rubbing his hands together in excitement.

“Good morning.” She replied with a smile of her own. Something about his attitude did wonders for her mood. “Go ahead and get started on the onions, carrots, and celery.”

“Aye Chef. Roasting them with the lamb?” Zell guessed.

“Correct. I left examples of each on your station. I want yours to look exactly like mine. After that we’ll work together breaking down the lambs.” Birna replied as she busily removed some fragrant herbs from their stems into a small mortar and pestle along with several other spices, including a few very rare peppercorns. The resulting smell as she ground the blend together was enough to make Zell’s mouth water.

The vegetables were soon cut, tossed in a bit of rendered lamb fat, salted and left to rest. Birna handed Zell a freshly honed butcher knife.

“Legs, racks, and chops tonight. The rest will be minced for the sausage special tomorrow.” She instructed.

“We have two lambs and two knives, how about a race?” Zell proposed, ready to show off his skills once more. “The boar was just a warmup. I’ll show you what I can do when I get serious!” He smiled confidently and crossed his arms as he spoke.

“Oh ho? Don’t go begging for mercy when I crush you!” Birna retorted, cracking her knuckles. “What’s the wager?”

“If I win, you have to make me a batch of plum pudding from my favorite fruit stand. The expensive one.” Zell announced.

“Very well. And if I win, you have to scrape the meat off of both lamb heads to make my favorite dish: mead braised lamb cheeks with ogre’s horn mushroom sauce. It’s practically impossible for a weakling chef like you to pull off and you’ll acknowledge me as your master in the kitchen forevermore!” Birna concluded with a wicked laugh.

“Aye Chef!” Zell hefted the butcher knife, already tasting the delicious plum pudding in his mind.

Twenty minutes later, Zell was scraping cheek meat from lamb heads in defeat.

“Think about this next time you decide to underestimate the master of the house.” Birna crowed. “You’d better get all that meat off there, and don’t forget the mushrooms from the produce stand. The expensive one!” She concluded in triumph.

“Aye Chef.” The defeated Zell mumbled into his collar. It had been a close battle but that woman was on a completely different level with a knife.

He finished removing all the meat from the lamb heads and put it in a pot of cold apple blossom mead with several bruised garlic cloves to marinate. He made sure that everything was caught up enough for him to excuse himself to go buy the rest of the ingredients. He had lost that battle but if she acknowledged his execution of her favorite dish then not all would be lost.

The ogre’s horn mushrooms were expensive and took his last thirty copper just to buy the two he needed. They were finger shaped and frilly black things that smelled like feet. Zell knew the smell and appearance was deceptive. These imparted powerful flavor and depth if used properly and Zell knew just how to do it thanks to his father’s instruction.

“Alright!” Zell said when he returned. It was time for a little redemption.

Birna watched him work from the corner of her eye, surprised that he moved with such surety in the face of a boss class recipe like this. One missed step and the dish would be inedible. It must be braised perfectly to unlock the silky texture of the cheek meat, and the ogre’s horn mushroom sauce must be reduced with the braising stock to just burn off the alcohol without damaging the delicate balance of flavor. Two hours later and just before customers would start arriving, Zell presented his completed dish.

The dark red meat glistened like a treasure against the dark, inky sauce. She could tell just by the smell that he had handled the mushrooms correctly. The moment of truth was judging the flavor and consistency of the lamb cheek itself. Her fork slid into the meat with just its weight alone. She slowly raised the bite to her lips and was overcome with flavor and nostalgia as she took a bite.

She ate the entire plate quickly and sighed happily.

“I still won, but that was one of the best preparations of that dish I’ve had.” She conceded. “You have earned a rematch someday. Now, let’s slay this service.”

“Aye Chef!” Zell replied with renewed confidence. The rest of dinner service went smoothly with Zell supporting Rin and Kel once again. Zell even began to run orders as he caught onto the numbering system for individual tables. Rin noticed the extra support and patted him on the shoulder in thanks as she passed by.

Agitha didn’t end up returning for dinner, and Zell grew curious if not concerned. He soon forgot about it as he was swept up in the activity of the busy night though. It took longer than usual for the happy crowd to clear out, and it was nearly dark when Zell again met Nin out back for the evening lesson.

“Will we be able to do much in the dark like this?” Zell asked.

“It’s not a problem. Rin knows light magic.” Nin replied. As if on cue, Rin walked out of the kitchen still wearing her serving apron.

“Need a light, Ninny?” Rin asked her as she approached, using Nin’s hated nickname from childhood.

“I can still put a knot on your head in the dark, Riniella Lue!” She fired back with Rin’s equally despised full first and middle names.

Zell glanced from one glaring twin to the other in the waning light and wondered if they were about to actually fight. Before anything happened though Birna’s distant voice came from the kitchen.

“What was that?” She asked.

“Nothing mom!” They both replied in unison, the first twin like behavior Zell had seen from them.

“One candle spell... five coppers!” Rin announced. “Well I guess for Bait I can give you one freebie since he had my back tonight.”

She made a simple gesture and spoke a strange word that reminded Zell of the commands Agitha used with Merc. A moment later a tiny hovering light appeared above Nin’s head and began to glow brighter until it was roughly the size of the flame in an oil lamp.

“Should last around forty minutes so make it quick.” Rin called over her shoulder as she walked back inside.

“Wow magic is pretty amazing isn’t it? Can you use it too?” Zell asked Nin.

“Not nearly as well as Rin. I’m better with up close fighting though. I’m always first place and she’s always second in arena tournaments. She inherited strong mana from our grandmother, and I got Dad’s strength.” Nin explained.

“Wonder if i could use magic.” Zell pondered aloud as he assumed his usual fighting stance.

“Dunno. Ask her to show you the candle spell sometime.” Nin shrugged as she drew her wooden blade.

They settled back into the rhythm of sparring and on the very first pass Zell scored his first hit ever. His body executed the move he had grilled into it instinctively. It was grazing, it wouldn’t even leave a mark but nevertheless it shocked them both. Zell’s triumph was short lived as Nin got serious and spent the next half hour punishing him with a nonstop barrage of powerful slashes and thrusts.

Even though he was riddled with new scuffs, welts, and bruises Zell had a permanent smile stamped on his face as he returned to the room to find that Agitha and Merc had returned.

Agitha was face down on her bed still fully clothed except for one boot she had managed to kick off before passing out on top of her covers. Judging by the smell, her ‘former colleague’ had drunk her under the table. Merc was in good spirits and greeted Zell with a bump of his nose.

Zell obliged the dire wolf with an ear scratch before tugging Agitha’s other boot off and helping her under her blanket. He undressed himself and crawled into his own bed, exhaustion finally catching up after the second long day in a row.

His thoughts were playing over the day: the intense sparring, the fun challenge in the kitchen. He was especially intrigued by Rin’s magic spell. He had known of magic for a long time but seeing it in action opened up a whole new universe of possibility.

Tomorrow he didn’t have to help in the restaurant. He decided to ask Rin about magic after the morning sparring session. As he drifted off to the sound of Merc breathing steadily next to him, the bumble bee in his chest started to buzz again...