“Would you care to explain,” began Maria carefully, “why that skirt is as damaged as it is? I do the laundry in the house. I do repairs as needed. Many, if not most, of those repairs were made by someone other than myself. Good quality sewing, I admit, and for that I compliment you. I just want to know why that skirt has seen so much abuse? The last time I saw it damaged was those weeks ago when you fell out of a tree. Yet here we stand much later, and the dress is much worse for the wear. Would you care to explain?”
Dawn stared at her feet. No, she didn’t want to explain. Most of those rips and tears were from various landing that didn’t go so well as well as a few cases where she flew too close to trees and almost got hung up in them. Apparently, Father hadn’t said a word about the wings, and she was loathe to do so herself. “Just an active girl, I guess. You know, running through the woods and briars and brambles.”
“Then why the need to repair them in secret? And, more importantly, why are you avoiding eye contact now? That isn’t like you, Dawn. Is there something here we need to talk about?”
“Um.” Oh yeah! That was eloquent. Think harder Dawn! Her mind raced as she tried to think of what to say. Maria was no fool and she wanted a real answer. She started to get dizzy as she fought for the right thing to say. “I’ve not gotten hurt myself or anything. I’m just a bit clumsy running around and didn’t want to saddle you with more repairs just because of me,” she finally blurted.
“I’ve seen you around the house. I’ve seen you dance. You are quite nimble on your feet. Clumsy is one of the last words I would use to describe you. I’m only worried about your safety, Dawn, so I’ll make a deal with you.”
Dawn held her breath as she waited for it.
“You stop making your own repairs. You come show me and tell me when your clothes are damaged and we’ll talk about it then. You hide the repairs or lie to me about them, and you are grounded for a week. Are we clear?”
Dawn nodded quickly, “Yes, ma’am.” Dawn’s head was still spinning. She had dodged the question one more time, but it was going to be harder and harder each time she messed up while trying to fly.
Maria’s face broke into a broad smile, “Okay then. That is that. Go on out to the field with Father and the twins. The rest of us will catch up in a bit to watch the fun.”
Dawn smiled back and hugged Maria, “I’m so sorry Second Mother. I just don’t know what to say. Really! I just… well…”
Maria kissed Dawn gently on her forehead. “Dawn, if you ever need to talk about anything, I am here. I don’t want to force anything on you. But I want to make sure you are safe. Now go! Have fun!”
“Thank you.” Dawn smiled sheepishly as she grabbed the water jugs. “See you at the field!”
Dawn fought to catch her breath. She was overheated, tired, sore and having a field day. It was hard to breathe inside the protective mask and oh, did it make her ears itch the way they were folded! But there was her target: April, whose jaguar-like rosettes taunted Dawn as April steadied her staff and prepared for another charge, and Dawn wasn’t going to make it easy in her!
April sprang forward, striking waist high on Dawn, who deftly parried the strike with her wooden sword and tried to push the attack up and over while she made a shoulder roll forward to close the distance. April quickly choked up on her staff and reversed the spin in an effort to catch Dawn mid-course. Almost too late Dawn saw the reverse coming at her and she threw an off-hand shot to try and block it. With such a weak grip, the shot hit hard enough to knock the sword out of Dawn’s hand, but rather than fight through the pain and try and recover the blade she tucked again and dexterously rolled and ended up behind April.
“Tag!” Dawn blared as she lightly touched April from behind.
“No fair, you lost your weapon to do that,” panted a very tired April.
“We could just call it a draw then,” Dawn grinned as she fought for air.
“That, I can take. Oh! I’m getting tired; you must be burning up in that armor,” observed April.
Dawn nodded as she peeled the helmet off. Fresh air!
“Okay, that is enough for April, and you too May,” interjected Maria from the shade of the trees. “In fact, it would be best if you two called it quits for about the next eight to ten months.”
April giggled as she petted her belly lightly. “Five months to go,” she beamed.
Dawn was amazed, she had never seen the twins give up on something so easily. She had half expected April to argue the point with Maria. She had also never seen April with such an honestly happy laugh either. For all their antics, it seemed both were looking forward to motherhood.
“Dawn, go ahead and down armor and cool off for a bit,” suggested Llewellyn.
Dawn nodded and started to undo the buckles that held the rest of the padded armor in place. Heather ran out to her and quickly started helping as well. Dawn was pretty sure she could unbuckle faster without ‘help’ but it was good fun watching Heather try, plus it meant she could just stand there and soak up the air!
“You had very good speed,” began Llewellyn, “but with a staff or any pole weapon, April had a lot of power and leverage. It is that added leverage that let her fire the reverse so quickly. If she had been using a long sword, where the grip is much smaller, she wouldn’t have had the leverage to pull that off.”
“Yes, Dad! Oh, is she fast!” panted Dawn.
“You should see how fast she is when she isn’t pregnant.”
The twins giggled; Llewellyn pretended he didn’t hear them.
“Your reaction was very good. Had you parried closer to the hilt, it would not have put such a shock to hand. If the weapon had been shorter, it would have been easier,” he observed. “Once you cool down and get a lot to drink, we’ll address the weapon size game.”
“Live Steel again?” asked Dawn with anticipation.
“Yes indeed. But first: water!”
Finally clear of the armor, Dawn needed no further prodding and attacked the water bottle with much gusto.
“Part fish is she?” joked Ivy.
Dawn laughed heartily. That turned out to be a bad move as water shot out of her nose with no small amount of pain.
“Now she wishes she was a fish,” joked Llewellyn. “You okay?”
Dawn squirmed as she drained the water from her sinuses. “Yeah, Father. Scared me more than it hurt.”
“Is the creek still shallow and slow?” asked Llewellyn to Maria.
“Yes, quite calm down there. Swimming next?”
“I was more thinking Dawn might want to wade in the water to cool off a bit faster.”
That did sound like a good idea and she quickly trundled down to the ford and dipped her feet in the cool water. The pads and her paws instantly felt better and her ankles echoed the thanks. She had half a mind to sit in the water but didn’t want to mess up her dress.
“Go ahead and sit in it. Clothes dry easily enough,” called Maria.
She must have been reading her mind! Dawn nodded and slowly sank into the water. Oh! It was cold! But it felt wonderful. She sat in the water with her back against the bank and just watched the water bugs play on the surface.
Llewellyn sat down behind her, patting the water with his feet, but staying dry for the most part.
“Ready for Live Steel again? You are doing quite well at it. Surprisingly well in fact. I do find it humorous that you got much better right after we had Gavin over for supper that time.”
Dawn grinned sheepishly.
“Live Steel is first and foremost a game of confidence,” continued Llewellyn. “As you become more confident, it feeds back in a circle and works for you better. It isn’t just confidence with a sword, but rather self-confidence as a whole.”
“So you are telling me that as Gavin and I are becoming a steady thing, the Live Steel somehow knows that?” she half joked.
Llewellyn laughed, “Not so much on the details, but confidence breeds confidence. The trick is to understand yo
ur limits: there is a fine line between strongly confident and over-confident.” He yawned and soaked up the day before continuing, “So long as you know your limits, and you know your own demons, Live Steel can do amazing things. The fun part is that the sword play is almost superfluous.”
That caught Dawn off guard, “But Live Steel is a sword or other weapon. Why wouldn’t swordplay be important?”
“The swordplay is there to teach confidence as well as to train the body to move. But when it comes down to the meat of it all, a Live Steel sword is just a talisman for a far, far more impressive weapon system.”
“What do mean just a talisman? It seemed like a pretty sincere sword to me!”
“That is just it. Could a sword cut through a rifle? No, a sword couldn’t. Live Steel quite obviously can, but the manifestation of a sword is just a talisman. Something for your mind and body to grasp and try to control.”
“When you gated, brought me back after the kartivald attack, I saw a huge number of weapons and things surrounding us. They are all part of the Live Steel, yes?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes. Those are old mental cues for aspects of Live Steel. I don’t need them anymore. When you are in touch with it you can seamlessly swap from one weapon to another without thinking.”
“Thus your earlier comment on ‘the weapon size game.’”
“Exactly!” Llewellyn smiled broadly, “Girls are such better students when it comes to Live Steel. They more quickly grasp things and don’t try to rely on brute force and the artificial shape of the weapon at hand. A good fight is like a good song: you set the tempo and dynamics and go with the flow. You change speeds and instruments as needed to round out the piece, but you always remember to keep it fluid. When someone else is playing a different song, you need to get them to play your piece, or you need to merge the two pieces. So long as you are the composer of the song, you control the outcome.”
Dawn laughed, “I never expected a musical metaphor from you. But I guess it does make sense.” She paused to think, “Okay, just how many girls have you trained?”
Llewellyn laughed, “Honestly, you make number four!” He smiled and then quickly changed the subject, “So, you plan on having Gavin over more often?”
Dawn smiled and shrugged, “Well, if I can.”
Llewellyn stretched and laid back on the river bank, “Oh how fast they grow up.”
Chapter 15
Dawn watched Maria as she cooked breakfast, her thoughts were racing. She had rehearsed the question a dozen times, and it seemed so simple a request, until now. “Um… Maria?”
“Yes, dear?”
“Can I get a new dress for the dance this weekend? I have a lot of very nice outfits and I’m thankful for all of them but…”
Maria laughed as she cut Dawn short. She composed herself before calling down the hall to Ivy, “Did you catch that? She wants to get a new dress, just for the dance.”
Dawn would have rolled her eyes, but didn’t want to do anything to tarnish her hopes. It had been almost two months since the last dance and she was eager to go this time.
Ivy blinked absentmindedly as she poked her head into the kitchen, “My little Dawn actually wants to go to the dance? Call the doctor and check her temperature; something’s wrong.”
Dawn cocked an eye, “So is that a ‘yes’ or ‘no’?”
Ivy laughed and hugged Dawn lightly, “Of course you can. We are all going this time and there is no reason not to make the most out of it. Oh, that is, of course, if you can tear yourself away from swordplay with Father.”
Dawn beamed, ignoring the last comment, “So can we go in today? It may take a day or two for alterations.”
“Today? And risk watching sword practice in town?” asked Maria.
“Well, that just means we need to go sooner rather than later,” replied Dawn.
“Hmmm. I guess so,” sighed Maria melodramatically, “I’ll just have to struggle and carry Lily all that way.”
“I’ll carry her for you,” blurted Dawn.
Maria laughed, “That won’t be necessary, sunshine. Just pulling your tail. We can head out right after breakfast.”
Dawn beamed as she plowed through breakfast and helped put away the dishes. After what seemed like an eternity, they were back on the path to town. Heather once again all but orbited them, her energy knowing no bounds. Maria carefully carried Lily in a sling across her chest, pausing occasionally to tend to her charge. All the while, Dawn skipped and laughed. By the time they had reached town, Dawn was positively giddy with anticipation.
“I need to make a quick trip to Market Street. Go ahead to the seamstress and I’ll meet you there shortly,” said Maria.
“How does a white dress sound? It would make for sharp contrasts,” Dawn asked.
Maria thought a bit and nodded, “I think you would do well in white. Just make sure they know it’s for dancing and not just a day dress. They’ll make sure it has deeper pleats.”
Dawn nodded and gave Maria a quick hug as she quickly turned and headed off on her quest for a new dress, skipping all the way.
She quickly made it to the shop but just as she started to enter that girl came out. It was the fifteen-year-old who had been so snotty at the dance and later had broken her umbrella. The girl gave Dawn a quick look over and snorted, “Come for a nice dress and a makeover I take it. You’ll need more than that to put some color in your face. Don’t bother with Gavin; in the long run, he is all mine.”
Oh, that annoying girl! Dawn was torn between running and hiding and sending her claws against the girl’s face.
The shop door opened again and out stepped the Lady Mayor. She beamed as she walked and came up behind the evil, evil girl. “Kate, I see you are making new friends!” she said with sincerity.
“Yes, Mother, we were just talking and comparing notes on boys,” Kate said evenly.
“Oh, my little darling, growing up so fast,” the mayor said ruffling Kate’s hair. “Dawn, do give your father our best wishes. We are terribly grateful for all he is doing for us. How is little Lily doing?”
Dawn did her best to be formal and polite, “Thank you, ma’am. He will be glad to hear that. Lily is doing quite well. Her eyes opened a few weeks ago, brilliant blue. Maria has her here in town; they are down on Market Street.”
The Lady Mayor brightened at that, “Oh, here in town? Good! Come, Kate, let’s go see little Lily.”
Kate rolled her eyes and did her best, “Yes, Mother,” before the pair headed off toward the marketplace.
Dawn stood there dejected. Oh, she wished she had done something, but what? Suddenly Dawn’s fur stood on end as she felt a presence behind her. She fought to maintain control, but whatever was back there was creeping her out, so she bit her lip and slowly turned to face the newest menace.
It was Gwen, grinning as always. Dawn all but laughed. Gwen was so silly, but so honest and sincere. She was the most infectious bundle of joy around, short of little Heather. “Hello, Gwen. Glad to see you again.” Then she glared in the direction of the departing Kate, “‘If I’m so plain of face and Gavin prefers me, what does that say about you?’ That is what I should have said. But no, I didn’t say anything!” Dawn sighed, “What should I do, Gwen?”
Gwen beamed back at Dawn and took her hand and spun her back around facing the dress shop.
“Good answer,” said Dawn, starting to smile. “Let’s go see what they can do for me.”
The pair entered the shop and an attendant soon came over to them, “Good morning, Dawn. Good morning, Gwen. What can we do for you two today?” Her voice was warm and sincere. Dawn needed that. Most people were nice, but it only takes a few to ruin a day.
Dawn bobbed and replied smiling, “Well, I’m here for a new dress. Something for the dance this weekend.”
“Ah! That should be fun. Were you thinking of something layered and formal or something flowing and fun?”
“Flowing, please. Something that takes well to turns
and twirls.”
The attendant thought for a bit, “Hmm, I think I know something that should do well for you. Come here and I’ll show you a few designs. Have you thought about color?”
“Well, I was thinking about bright white, but…”
“Ah, that would be an excellent choice for contrast; it would frame your face and make your hands and feet seem to float on the dance floor,” she offered.
“Do you really think so?” Dawn was starting to get a little apprehensive.
The attendant nodded firmly and smiled. Dawn turned and cast a glance at Gwen who nodded and smiled back. Suddenly Gwen produced a brilliant white anklet band with silver bells and said, in an almost musical tone, “Match!”
Dawn blinked a bit. She wasn’t sure, but she thought that was the first time she had ever heard Gwen say anything. The attendant, unfazed, smiled and took the beautiful anklet. “Oh, that is a nice satin white. How does white polished cotton with satin trim sound?”
Dawn nodded absentmindedly, “If you think so.”
“Well let’s get started and get you fit, so it will be ready in time. It does look like you’ve blossomed a bit since you were last here.”
Dawn beamed at the observation. She was really enjoying being the big sister of the family for a change. She quickly tried on several dresses of various styles while the attendant made measurements and kept notes. Finally they found one that suited her fancy, so they shifted their attention to choice of fabrics. Dawn never realized there could be so many possible variants of something as simple as white. There were several different weaves, weights, nap and polish to choose from. Fortunately, Maria soon arrived and helped sort it all out.
As they left the store, Gwen carried Lily while Maria led the merry band down the street to visit the vendors selling a wonderful variety of piping hot foodstuffs. A quick snack for all did them well.
“Isn’t that Gavin?” suddenly asked Maria.
Sure enough, Gavin was walking up the street toward them.
“Gavin!” called Dawn, all but beaming.
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