The sky was a dull gray, and the air smelled of smoke and ash. Dominant was in the midst of a ruined city, blood pooling around his feet. The ground shook with each step he took, the rubble shifting beneath his weight. Buildings were burning, their frames collapsing in on themselves. People ran, screaming and crying, desperate to find safety.
Dominant couldn’t tell what was happening, or why, but he felt a sense of dread and desperation. He didn’t know where he was going, or what he was running from. He didn’t know if there was any hope of escape.
He ran, his legs burning with fatigue, his chest tight, and his heart racing. Then there was a knock at the door. “Dominant..” a soft voice called, followed by the sound of the door opening. “Dominant?” the voice repeated, and the sound of the door closing woke him.
Dominant blinked, the images of the city still burned into his mind. He could still smell the smoke, and feel the heat of the flames. His body was tense, his muscles ached, and his heart was still racing. He couldn’t remember ever having such a vivid dream before.
“Are you awake?” Mila whispered, her voice so meek and timid that Dominant couldn’t imagine the woman being the same girl he’d spoken with in the dining room. The room was dark but he could see her clearly, and he could hear her breathing.
She held a tray of food, but she placed it down on the table then hurried over to the bed.
Tear streaks stained her cheeks and her uniform was disheveled as though she had been struggling with someone. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but something told him to keep his silence. Her breathing was ragged, and her body trembled with each breath.
Dominant waited for several moments, but she didn’t speak. Her eyes stared into his, trembling, holding back a wave of tears and emotions that threatened to break through at any moment.
He wanted to reach out and hold her, to comfort her, but he wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to do. He didn’t know her well enough to know what she needed, and he was afraid of making the wrong move. When she broke eye contact, letting her gaze fall to her hands, he decided it didn’t matter. He leaned forward and took her in his arms, pressing her head against his chest.
He held her tight, gently rubbing the back of her head and pretending he didn’t notice the way she shivered. She cried quietly, her tears soaking his shirt.
After several minutes, she calmed down enough to speak. “I don’t want to marry him.”
Dominant was confused, but his reply came out strong. “Then don’t.”
“It’s not that simple,” she said, wiping away tears, but not pulling away from him. Her words were like a hammer driving a nail into his heart. Each heavy breath she took was another strike.
He tried to stay in the moment, but the longer he held her, the more his thoughts blurred between reality and conjured images of the ruined city from his dream, but in more detail, something Dominant didn’t think was possible.
There was a small house and the body of a man lying prone in front of it. A young boy at his side sniffled over the familiar man… the man from the gallery. Were these his memories? Was he somehow related to Mila? It felt odd, like he was seeing something that he shouldn’t be seeing. He tried to focus, but the images blurred, and he was left with nothing but the sound of Mila’s quiet sobs.
“I’m here, if you ever—”
Mila pushed herself free of his grasp and stood abruptly. Swallowing the last of her emotions, she smiled and straightened her dress. “I’m fine, and sorry to intrude. It’s just…you remind me of home, and…well, it doesn’t matter.” She paused for a moment, her expression becoming serious. “I know we haven’t known each other long, but we’re friends and I owe you an apology. The reason I stopped bringing your meals was because I was told to avoid you. I’m sure you can guess why. So please don’t mention that I was here.” With a sigh she added, “and forget what just happened. It was a mistake.”
Dominant nodded, but he wasn’t sure how much of what just happened he could forget. The images of the destroyed city and Mila’s crying face would be impossible to forget, and the feelings that came with those memories would not be easy to ignore. But he would try, at least for now. “I won’t say anything, but I will remember this, and when this is all over, we should talk more.”
Mila smiled, but it was a sad smile, and she left the room without saying another word.
Dominant listened to her soft steps as they faded down the hall.
Dominant felt a twinge of regret and guilt, but he couldn’t place why. He wasn’t responsible for whatever evils Talent subjected her to, and he couldn’t help her even if he’d wanted to. He lay back in his bed, his thoughts turning to the images of the ruined city. What did it mean? Why was he having these visions?
The only thing he was sure of was that he wasn’t getting back to sleep any time soon and his training with Sandra would be in an hour. With a sigh, Dominant rose from his bed and got dressed. He wasn’t looking forward to facing Sandra, but it would at least give him something to do other than sit and think.
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When Dominant arrived at the training room, Sandra was already there. She had a long, thin sword strapped to her waist and was wearing a pair of black pants and a white shirt. She turned as he entered, and he could see the sword was the same one she’d used the day before.
“Good morning, Dominant,” she said with a smile. “Are you ready to begin?”
Dominant shrugged. “I suppose so. What are we doing today?”
“We’re going to work on your footwork. Your form is good, but your footwork is terrible. You need to move faster, and more efficiently.” Sandra moved to the center of the room and drew her sword. “Let’s start with the basics. Show me your stance.”
Dominant took a deep breath, then moved to the center of the room. He assumed the stance that he’d been taught, his legs wide apart, his weight evenly distributed. Sandra circled him, inspecting his form. She nodded and said, “Good. Now, I want you to move your right foot forward, and your left foot back. Keep your weight balanced and your movements smooth.”
Dominant did as he was told, slowly sliding his feet closer together. Sandra walked around him again, inspecting his form. She nodded, then said, “Good. Now, do it again, but this time, move your right foot back, and your left foot forward. And remember, keep your weight balanced and your movements smooth.”
Dominant repeated the movement, shifting back to his original position. He did it again, and again, until he’d moved across the room. Sandra followed, watching him closely, and correcting him whenever he made a mistake.
She made him repeat the exercise several times, until she was satisfied with his form.
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She drew her sword. “The next part of this exercise will be simple, don’t get cut and don’t trip. Those are the only rules.”
She stepped back, then lunged forward, swinging her blade at him. Dominant jumped to the side, avoiding the blade, but he stumbled and nearly tripped. Sandra didn’t give him a chance to recover, she swung her blade again, forcing him to jump back. He stumbled, but managed to stay on his feet. He was breathing hard, and his heart was pounding. He hadn’t expected her to attack so soon. He was barely able to keep up with her attacks.
When she lunged again, he twisted and tried to jump away from her blade, but instead his foot caught on hers and he fell forward. He landed on his hands and knees, and she kicked him in the side, sending him sprawling across the floor.
He groaned, rolling over and pushing himself to his feet.
“Why did you fail?” Sandra asked, her voice sharp.
Dominant shook his head. “I tripped.”
Sandra nodded. “Yes. But, why did you fail? Why did you trip?”
Dominant frowned. She’d tripped him, but he knew that wasn’t the answer she wanted.
Sandra sighed impatiently, then demanded, “Again, and this time if you can’t answer, you’ll have to take a penalty for failing.”
Dominant nodded, and they went again. This time he managed to dodge her first two attacks, but the third time, she caught him in the arm. He cried out in pain, and fell to his knees. She kicked him again, sending him sprawling across the floor. Dominant groaned, rolling over and pushing himself to his feet.
Sandra asked, “Why did you fail?”
Dominant looked at her, his arm throbbing with pain. “I don’t know,” he said through gritted teeth.
Sandra shook her head and pointed a stack of weights that hadn’t been there before. “Put one on.”
“That’s going to make going to make this harder,” Dominant protested.
“The penalty is not supposed to make it easy, it is meant to teach you to take the lesson seriously. If you want to succeed, you must learn to do so despite any obstacle.”
Dominant hesitated, but eventually, he did as he was told. He put a weight on his ankle. It wasn’t enough to make him slow, but it was enough to make the exercise more difficult.
“Until now, you’ve been treated like a child, but I told you yesterday, your time is more limited now. So we must accelerate your training.”
Dominant nodded, and they went again. This time he managed to dodge her first three attacks, but the fourth time, she caught him in the leg. He cried out in pain, and fell to the ground.
He tried to ignore the pain as his wound healed and focus on what he’d done wrong. As he replayed the events, he realized that he was out of breath and his movements began to slow and get sloppy after the second dodge. “I’m moving to much,” he answered before Sandra asked her question. “But how am I supposed to dodge a sword without making big movements?”
Sandra smiled. “Well, sometimes you can’t. But you watched me do it yesterday. Draw on those memories for inspiration.” Dominant nodded, and they went again, this time he dodged her first attack by side stepping. She turned the blade and curved it around to cut his other side and he had to duck and roll to avoid it. When he came back to his feet, she was there to meet him, her blade coming down. He raised his arms instinctively and Sandra let her weapon sink into his flesh, but she pulled back without going through bone.
Dominant yelled in pain as he dropped to the floor, unsure whether to clutch his bleeding arms or let them be.
Sandra stepped back, waiting several moments before she asked, “Why did you fail?”
Dominant’s arms still screamed with miserable agony, but the flesh was nearly mended and he felt sure of his answer. “I tried to block a sword, with my arms. But if it were a real fight, I would be dead.”
Sandra shook her head. “Yes, that is true. But your mistake came much before then, do you know it?”
Dominant frowned, thinking back to the fight. He’d done everything he could to avoid her attacks, but he hadn’t been fast enough. He shook his head.
“Grab a weight and let’s go again.”
Dominant sighed, and went again. This time he was a little faster, but she still managed to cut him twice. Each time he fell to the floor, and each time, she asked, “Why did you fail?”
He didn’t know. He didn’t care. He was angry and he wanted her to feel his pain. Even if she didn’t heal like he did, when it was turn to strike her, Dominant would not hesitate. It was the only thing keeping him going. He went through three more weights and each time, Sandra asked the same question. He didn’t know what she wanted him to say, and he didn’t care anymore. He just wanted it to end. He gave a random answer until he sarcastically shouted, “I didn’t counter.”
Sandra smiled, “Yes, you can only dodge for so long. Each move must be deliberate and precise. When your opponent attacks you must either dodge or attack. But if you only dodge, you will never win, and eventually your opponent will wear you down until you’re defeated. So, when you’re dodging, make sure you do so in a way that puts you in a position to attack.”
“You couldn’t have just told me that?” Dominant asked, frustrated.
Sandra laughed, “You have a lot to learn, Dominant, and I have limited time to teach you. You need to learn how to think for yourself, and not rely on others to tell you what to do. Besides, if I simply told you the answers they would not stick in your mind so I must lodge them with brutal lessons you will not soon forget.”
Dominant shook his head, and they went again. This time, when Sandra slashed horizontally toward his chest, Dominant ducked under the blade, stepping towards her and slamming his shoulder into her sternum. He didn’t hesitate to follow up with an elbow to the face, but Sandra was quick to block. She countered, slamming her fist into his jaw. He staggered, and she followed up with a thrust of her sword. He twisted, and managed to avoid being impaled, but he took a shallow cut to his arm.
Sandra stepped back, and Dominant clutched his wound. After a moment, Sandra asked, “Why did you fail?”
Dominant sighed. He felt like he was getting better. He had learned something, but it wasn’t enough. He had to learn faster, and he had to learn more. “I didn’t use my environment to my advantage.” He answered. “If I’d taken the fight to the wall, I could have trapped you with her back against the wall, but instead I gave you room to move.”
Sandra nodded. “Good.”
They went again, and this time Dominant was faster, his thoughts darker. Fueled by his desire to return the pain Dominant gave into violent thoughts and let the pleasure of his success fuel a dive deeper into the darkness.
This time, when Sandra slashed at him, Dominant didn’t try to avoid it. He stepped forward and slammed his shoulder into her chest, then slammed his fist into her face. He no longer feared the bite of her blade, but he felt it was time she experience it for herself.
Dominant grabbed Sandra’s wrist, twisting her arm and ripping the sword from her grip. He pushed her back then swungthe blade at her neck. She ducked under the blade and kicked him in the stomach. Dominant stumbled, but recovered quickly, using the momentum to spin and slam the blunt of the blade into the side of Sandra’s face. She staggered and Dominant moved in, grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back, then slamming her into the ground.
He knelt on top of her, holding the blade to her neck.
Sandra looked at him, her eyes wide. “I yield. Well done. You finally learned to think, and you’ve learned to use your environment to your advantage, but also, you stopped holding yourself back.”
Dominant stood, dropping the sword and stepping away from Sandra. His heart was pounding in his chest, but not with fear. He was excited. He felt strong and alive.
Sandra stood up, dusting herself off. Then Dominant noticed the lift black cat prancing out of the courtyard.
He pushed past Sandra, chasing after it and ignoring her when she yelled, “Hey, where are you going?”
He chased the cat out into the garden and into a hedge maze. It moved through the passages without hesitation while Dominant had to check every intersection. He didn’t realize the cat had led him into the center of the maze, until he was there, staring at a giant tree with purple leaves and pink flowers.
The kitten sat beside him, looking up at him curiously as if waiting to see what he would do. Dominant looked around, but there was nothing else to see. He decided to meditate and soon the images of the city returned, but this time, he wasn’t alone. The city was on fire, but the house was not yet damaged.
The man from the gallery wasn’t dead. He was still alive, and he was doing his best to resist the commands of a judge with glowing yellow eyes a cruel grin as he repeated his order. “Burn it. Let your magic go and burn down this whole house.”
The man held a gun, aimed at the judge, but he couldn’t pull the trigger. As his lungs heaved and his body trembled with the pressure of resistance, he made a choice. The man turned the gun on himself, shooting himself in the stomach then his chest. The judge’s eyes dimmed and he cursed. “You damn fool! Who are you saving?”
Dominant’s whole body shook with anger and he opened his eyes to find himself still alone with the kitten. “What’s this tree called?” he asked, but the kitten didn’t reply.
Dominant sighed and left the maze. The cat followed him out and all the way to his room. He opened his door and it slipped inside, curling up on his pillow. Once there she faded into shadow and was gone.