The Long Road to Ruin Ch. 07

She nodded again as she felt the tears well in her eyes. She hadn't thought of it that way. Yet a part of her still screamed for revenge. "I will stop when those people who deserve it have paid," she gritted out as her eyes snapped up to meet Hatori's.

He sighed heavily, hoping his words would eventually sink in. "I'm very sad to see that your young life has made you so full of hate already. I hope that one day you will see the truth in my words, and I pray it won't be too late for you then."

Shiloh lowered her eyes once more, his words fresh in her mind. Part of her screamed to get even with the Dhorn for causing her so much pain. Another part cried out to repay Vico for all he'd done to her. She wondered if her need to get even was steering her down a wrong path.

Hatori took note of her turmoil. "I believe that is enough talk for now. Tell me, do you have a name?"

"Shiloh."

He nodded. "We shall continue later, Shiloh. I should see to my customers. And perhaps you'd like to think about what we have discussed."

Shiloh spent the rest of the day washing dishes and helping serve the customers. By the time evening fell, she had begun to feel exhausted.

"Well, well, it seems our last customer has left us for the day. Taka! Please go downstairs and prepare everything. Our special guest and I will join you shortly." Hatori instructed and motioned to Shiloh to follow.

"That would be most kind, Master Hatori." Shiloh realized how much of a privilege that she was here and should act like she had some common sense.

Hatori inclined his head. "Taka is my student. He has to study hard, yet he never complains. He shows some good talent. Now let us go downstairs."

Shiloh followed Hatori into the basement of the tea shop. It had been turned into a fighting ring. She eyed it warily.

Hatori cleared his throat, gaining her attention. "First, I will give you a weapon to train with. Choose wisely, but beware: These weapons are real, and we will always use real weapons for your training. You cannot learn how to fight when you don't have to fear getting hurt."

Shiloh looked over the rack of weapons, the likes of some she had never seen before. She picked up a few and tried them out, gauging how they felt in her hands. "I'm not so strong; therefore, this short sword will do nicely."

"Very well, there you are." He extended his hand to her and ushered her further into the room. "Now, what I want you to do first is practice with the dummy over there. It's not so easy to hit as it seems. Come back to me when you've landed ten blows on it."

"I shall!" Shiloh beamed, and moved to stand in front of the practice dummy. She gripped the short sword in her hands, testing the feel of its weight. It didn't feel too heavy for her nor too light. She focused on the combat form before her, and her mind flickered through a series of images until it came to rest on one particular image.

She swung with all her might, envisioning that blasted Vico standing before her. The blade sliced through thin air, missing the dummy by mere inches. She growled in frustration and tried again to no avail. What am I doing wrong? She thought to herself.

"Focus, girl, focus." A voice from the sidelines. "Harness your fury and direct it into your strike. You are far too easy to read. You are projecting your aggression and if you were facing a real opponent, he would be able to guess your next move just by reading your body language. Now try again."

Shiloh sucked in a deep breath and stood before the dummy. She tried her best to follow Hatori's words and swung her short sword. To her surprise, she landed a solid blow against it. The impact of the strike rattled her momentarily, but she recovered quickly.

"One!" Hatori called out, beginning his count. Shiloh swung again, hitting the dummy, causing a chip of wood to fly off. "Two!"

It took several more minutes and many cries of frustration before Hatori had counted to "Ten!"

Shiloh sucked down a deep breath as she walked over to him. "Perseverance, my child. Stick with it and you will garner the results you want. You did well. That was no easy task." Hatori told her.

"Thank you," Shiloh replied, favoring her wrist.

"What you will practice next is dodging your opponent's blows. Knowing how to hit is only useful as long as you are alive, so we'll put you in combat with Taka now. I will stand by and count down from ten to one. Taka will attack you, and your task is to dodge his blows and survive." "And if I don't survive...?"

"He won't kill you. You should pay attention anyway; his blows will hurt you for real." Hatori nodded. "Ready? Fight!"

Shiloh and Taka faced each other, and the stare down began. She approached him cautiously as he moved in on her. She dodged and parried his blows, though often he caught her in the midsection, knocking the breath from her lungs. She did her best to evade him and found herself knocked to the ground more often than not. Yet she forced herself to focus on him, learning his pattern of attack and soon figured out when to avoid his most brutal blows. She could hear Hatori's count getting lower and lower.

Shiloh bobbed and weaved, sidestepping Taka and getting in a blow of her own as he left his right side exposed for a moment. A small hiss escaped his lips, but it didn't slow him down. He charged into her harder this time and knocked her off her feet. Shiloh rolled to the side and flipped her to her feet. The maneuver clearly surprised him and with a tumble to the left, she brought her blade up to his neck, smacking him with the blunt edge. Taka's eyes narrowed and he quickly put her on the defensive by landing a foot in her midsection once more. Shiloh staggered back and tumbled to the right, blocking his next blow by making a successful parry with her blade.

And the fight continued on. Shiloh wasn't sure how much she had left in her. Her energy was lagging and she began to feel sluggish. As she marshaled her reserves and prayed for a second wind, she hoped it would all be over soon. Shiloh focused her fury at Taka.

She hissed as she took another blow. And yet another. Duck! Evade! Turn. Thrust. Again. That's good. Now turn, full circle. Side step, evade. A Circle kick! No -- misstep and be hit by that left hook. Now jump! That's it. Parry and strike. No, no, keep moving -- to stop is to be hit. Good, now roll. Keep moving ... Rise! Hip in, bend over, parry, duck. Evade! Evade! Evade! That's good!

Taka pressed his advantage. He knew he had her on the defensive again. Shiloh's mind screamed. Don't stand there, move! This fight is not over, it's only just begun.

Easy, easy, remember to focus. There, that's better. And now for the parry. Small steps, quickly. Good. Embrace the warrior within. Better now? Care to speed up? O.K, let's do it. -- See, it's not hard.

Look out for that hook! Ouch, that stung ... Keep moving, what else? Almost there ... Great! Now strike! And again! One more. Ha! You did it! Now turn. Head down. What's with those hips? Forgot you have them? Then move them, damn it! You've work to do!

Shiloh's inner thoughts guided her through and she felt a sense of pride within herself as she dodged a circle kick from Taka that meant to knock her down.

"Stop! Fight's Over!" Hatori called out as Taka backed off and allowed Shiloh some room to breathe. She panted heavily, gasping and sucking in air. She was sure he had bruised a few of her ribs. She favored the stitch aching in her side. "Well done, girl. That was no easy task."

Shiloh limped over to him and nodded at him. "Thank you, but that hurt!"

He inclined his head, "I recommend that you rest now and gather your strength. Your final task will be difficult."

Shiloh sat down along the wall and began to calm her breathing, slowly inhaling and exhaling. Though her curiosity was peaked over what her final task might be, she forced herself to clear her mind and concentrate only on the task at hand. Survival, she thought. No, no... More than that. Triumph. And a sense of accomplishment.

"Now, we will test your skill by letting you fight a real opponent." Hatori turned to her as she stood up. Taka opened a door and allowed a four legged wolf looking creature to emerge. "This is a worg, a magical beast. It will attack you. I want you to fight back, and win."

Shiloh cautiously circled the worg as it lunged at her. She let out a squeak as it came close to biting her and dodged to the side. She backed off and readied her blade to strike. She pressed her attack, nicking the beast in the side. It growled and lunged again, its teeth grazing her thigh. She swung her blade with all her might and connected with the beast's ribcage. Her blade sank into its flesh and it gave a yelping howl. Shiloh quickly pulled the sword out and stabbed it again, causing it to fall to the floor. She grabbed it and drew her weapon across the throat of the creature, slicing it open.

With a cry of victory, Shiloh stared at her blade, watched as the blood dripped down the shaft and grinned wickedly. It felt good as the blade pierced the black fur of the beast.

"You've done well, girl." Hatori bowed to her. Shiloh repeated his motion as she turned back to him.

"Whew, yes. That was difficult."

He nodded. "You have passed my lesson. I will tell Master Nathan so. Also, you've been pleasant and modest to deal with, thus I will give you something which will hopefully keep you safe in the future."

"Thank you very much, Master Hatori!"

"It is a suit of armor. It won't likely fit, so best bring it to Igor the Smith. You can find him in his shop in Northern Betancuria. He will make it fit your size."

"Thank you!"

"Be well, girl. Don't forget what you have learned here." Hatori led Shiloh back up to the shop above and ushered her out. She was amazed that it was almost full dark. It hadn't seemed like that much time had passed. Stretching her weary muscles, she quickly headed back to the Bear Pit. As she dashed up the stairs, she ran into Caron once more. She smiled as she danced around him.

"I have news concerning my lessons," she blurted out.

He stopped what he was doing. "So tell me?"

"Well, I've passed two more since I told you about Chella's lesson."

"You never did finish telling me how that turned out. I know you said you had to fool the bodyguard's upstairs. Were they fooled by your disguise?"

"Of course they were. I passed the lesson. They did not know it was me."

"Good job then. I am happy for you. What others have you passed?"

She bounced around him gleefully. "Well, I passed lesson number four."

"Lesson four, huh? And what was that about?" Caron looked at her curiously, though in his mind he could still see her poised naked beneath him. He shook himself in order to get his mind back on the topic at hand.

"I had to go to South Betancuria and meet with a woman named Joanna." Shiloh began. Caron nodded at her, knowing who she was talking about. "She told me that her son also worked for Master Nathan, and that he had to steal something from someone here in the city. And my task was to help him!"

"So I take it you two had to break into a house?"

"No, not really. The target was a bard named Pia who was lodging at the Lion's Head Inn..." Shiloh relayed to him.

Caron flashed a look at her, rather puzzled. "Pia? She works for Nathan, too."

"Well at the time I did not know that. Joanna told me that my task was to distract Pia so her son could rob her."

Caron chuckled. "I see. So they set up the whole thing."

"Uh huh."

"Heh, sounds like Joanna went through a lot of trouble for your lesson. Tell me, what happened then?"

"I was supposed to drink a couple of glasses of wine with Pia, then go up to her room with her. And Lenton, that's Joanna's son, was supposed to wait for us and rob Pia as soon as we appeared."

"Okay?"

"He never showed up."

"Ouch! So it was up to you to perform the theft?" Caron's eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Yes, I planned to get Pia drunk so I could steal those papers I had to acquire." Shiloh smirked in return.

"And did that work?"

"Uhm yes, kinda, sort of," she giggled.

He flashed a curious look at her. "Do tell!"

"This is where it gets a bit embarrassing. Once we were in her room, she started kissing me....."

"Oh!" Caron smiled at her. "Can't say that I blame her? You have that effect on people, Shiloh."

"I'll have to show you the lingerie I was wearing at the time," Shiloh teased him.

"Awwww...just hearing that melts my heart." Caron groaned, remembering full well her beautiful naked body. A giggle slipped from her lips as she watched the bulge in his pants swell and press against the fabric of his breeches. "And then?"

"What do you think, Caron? What would you have done?" Shiloh pressed herself against him, stroking his arms.

"Damn...you slept with her, huh? Lucky Pia!" Caron cleared his throat as he backed away.

"You know what it's like to be in her shoes, Caron. Wouldn't you consider yourself fairly lucky? It was really nice being with Pia and just as nice being with you. You know I'll never tell you no. You may take me to bed any time you wanted to. I could not deny you after what I felt earlier."

Caron backed away from her a few steps more. "We have to talk about that, Shiloh. Vico came back here after you left. He spoke to Trissa for a while and blew up again."

"So what, Caron! I told him it's none of his business." Shiloh shot back, angered at Vico's interference.

"I told him as much and told him I didn't appreciate him following us into that cellar."

"And?"

"He wasn't very happy and cussed and threatened me again."

"How dare he!" Shiloh clenched her fists. "He threatened you again!"

Caron shrugged it off. "As you can see, Shiloh, I'm not that easily intimidated. He's just a big bully."

"An asshole if you ask me!"

Caron chuckled and gave her a serious look. "Tell me something, Shiloh. Is it true that you and he?"

"Hrm, Caron?" She closed in on him and ran her fingers up his arm.

"Have you really slept with him, too? I mean, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

"That asshole said that?" Shiloh blinked incredulously.

Caron shrugged. "He hinted at it."

"How nice of Vico!"

Caron looked at her expectantly and Shiloh sighed deeply. She rested her head against the upper part of his chest. "I did not SLEEP with him...willingly. He...he...forced himself upon me. He...raped...me."

"What?!"

"I have gotten over it. It's been quite a while since that night."

"I am so sorry to hear that, Shiloh." His eyes filled with a look of compassion causing Shiloh to fidget and study her feet. She didn't want his pity.

"You don't think any less of me now, do you?"

"Oh no! How could I? I'm sorry for the remarks I've made, and for touching you..." Caron soothed her as he looked her deeply in the eyes.

"No, don't be. It's okay. You couldn't have known. I like the way you've always treated me. You've always made me feel special." Shiloh replied, staring up into his eyes.

"I really cannot believe it..." Caron shook his head. "I mean, I was suspecting that something awful had happened to you, but not that it had been Vico. And he's got the nerve to tell ME to stay away from you."

"From everything I've been through so far with him, I've come to realize that it is so typical of him. I think he regards me as his possession. It's probably because he had me first, you know. I feel like he's obsessed with me. Maybe I should speak to Master Nathan."

"I'm not sure if that'd help much." He placed his hand on her shoulder and looked straight at her. "Shiloh...please, if I have ever done anything that made you uncomfortable, tell me. Okay? I was trying to lift your spirits with my actions, but I can see now that you probably do not want any of that for a while..."

Shiloh shook her head. "Caron, if I didn't want that, I would not have gone with you into the sewers. I am over what happened with Vico, but he will not continue to try to make my choices for me. I like you more than words can express and I do not appreciate everyone else making these decisions for me."

Caron smiled at her, pulling her into his arms and hugging her tightly. He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. Shiloh let out a soft sigh. "You won't stay away from me, will you?"

"I honestly don't think I could, Shiloh. It's not often that a guy like me attracts someone like you," he grinned, winking at her. "And just for the record, I wish they had picked me to be your victim."

"I think I'd have like that better," Shiloh agreed as she stroked his arms.

"So I guess you aren't going to share any details, huh?" He laughed, his eyes twinkling.

"I will tell you it was quite the experience. I can honestly say I can handle delicate situations. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. It was so different than being with a man. She was all soft and sweet. There was a definite difference," Shiloh told him.

That devil may care grin crossed his handsome face. "You are a tease. Oh if only I could have been a fly on that wall. Of course I wouldn't have been able to stop myself from joining in. Two beautiful ladies at once...would take a strong man to resist and I am just not made of steel!"

Shiloh giggled, "Well there is one part of you that is made of steel!"

He chuckled, "You have that effect!"

Another laugh escaped her lips. Her eyes twinkled at him.

"You are so beautiful, Shiloh." Caron extended his hand and cupped her face. He gently stroked her face. "What other news do you have?"

"Well I received some training in arms from Hatori. He runs a tea shop a few blocks from here."

Caron nodded. "Yeah, I know him. Odd guy, isn't he?"

She shrugged. "We didn't talk much, though he did lecture me somewhat on the difference of defending myself versus being a cold blooded killer."

"Heh, well, a guy who drinks nothing but tea is more than suspect to me. Plus, I've never seen him around with a girl. Who can say what he and his scholar's do in that cellar of his?"

"Ewwww..." The mental picture Shiloh's mind conjured caused her to shudder.

Caron laughed, "Yes, you're right. We probably don't want to know." He waggled his eyebrows and grinned at her mischievously. "I am glad to hear he trained you. Perhaps we can spar."

"I would like that, but you'll have to take it easy on me because I still have a lot left to learn."

"Ah well, I certainly wouldn't mind having a little romp with you every now and then."

"I wouldn't mind that, either. In fact I think it can be arranged. And afterwards you could soothe my aching muscles. I wouldn't mind a massage from your wonderful hands."

"I could do that." Caron hugged her again, holding her against him for a few long minutes. He stifled a groan. He knew he should try to get his mind off what had happened between them in the cellar, but he could not. She had felt far too good. So he forced himself to think of something else. "Any other news on your lessons?"

"No, those are the only ones I've completed. You could help me with something, though. I was wondering if you could teach me how to be stealthy and more about picking locks."

"I'd be glad to help. What do you need to know?" He pulled away and stepped toward one of the crates. "Hey, actually, I may have something that will help you."

From one of the smaller crates he pulled out a thick heavy black cloak. "This will help you blend in with the shadows."

At another crate, he pulled out a set of lock picks. "These are essentials for picking locks. You'll use the skeletal key and the different sized picks for opening locks. It isn't that much more difficult than using a needle and twine. Remember what I told you before. It's the same technique. You insert the skeletal key and one of the lock picks. You'll manipulate it until you hear the tumblers click and presto, you are all done. You'll want to be very careful when breaking into any house. The Dhorn have been known to kill thieves on sight. And I'd hate for that to happen to you."