Always Walk Forward

by Billy Wong

  "Thank you for your generosity, but I'm not sure if you would call us actors..."

  Sam grinned. "That just makes me all the more curious, then."

  She entered the audience chamber. On the brightly lit stage, men and women pranced around, ran and jumped while holding hands. Dancers! She didn't necessarily see a story in the movements, though that might be due to having failed to catch it in her lateness, but it impressed her how the six men and six women coordinated their actions so that each pair mirrored the next almost perfectly. The choreography made what she and the others did with Drea seem easy in comparison. Paying more attention at first to the art than the artists, it took her a moment to she recognize one of the younger male dancers as none other than Vincent. He looked to have on eye makeup, and his dark hair was slick with oil. As he lifted his diminutive ponytailed female partner with one arm and twirled deftly with her balanced on it, Sam clapped in admiration. She wouldn't have expected him to excel in this kind of physical performance given his tendency to complain about Drea working him too hard. Then again he had passable talent for fighting, so maybe she just underestimated him.

  It was probably the wrong time to clap. Vincent glanced at the unexpected sound, then his eyes bulged and he lost his composure. As his balance failed the woman slipped off his arm with a yelp and splattered herself upon the floor. "What the hell you dumb kid?" she snapped, kicking angrily at his calves. Members of the audience laughed.

  Sam winced in embarrassment, both for them and herself as people followed Vincent's gaze to her. He turned to ask his partner, "You alright?"

  "No, you bruised my tailbone! You need to learn to keep your second head under control, little boy. She's not even pretty, how did you get distracted looking at that?" Sam felt a tad self conscious, though she didn't know if it was the worn, patched up clothing, her dirtiness or her marks of battle.

  "That's not it," Vincent said, "she's my friend. Sorry about dropping you. I'll give you a day of my pay to make it up to you, okay?"

  The woman's frown softened. "Well if it's your friend and you haven't seen her for a long time, that's different. Go talk to her, and I don't need your money."

  She limped off stage, the hurt tailbone apparently not an exaggeration, and having lost his partner he followed. The dance resumed with respectable smoothness. A couple minutes later, Vincent walked up to Sam's seat. "Should we talk outside?" he asked. "We're seriously distracting from the performance."

  "Are you allowed to leave right now?"

  "Yeah, the coordinator gave me permission. It's not like I'd be doing anything to help the show right now backstage."

  Sam watched the male dancers toss the women into the air, spin to another spot and catch them there. She was amused by an image flashing through her head of the opposite, but that would take a Cordy or Drea to pull off. "I wouldn't mind watching a little more of the show, but suppose I can do that later after we discuss more pressing matters."

  They relocated to the street, where she hugged him. "I'm so glad to see you again. For a while, I thought I might never..." Tears welled up in her eyes at the memory of her seemingly endless stay in that cell stinking with her own waste and vomit, and she blinked them back.

  "I'm glad to see you too. You feel thin." Though she thought she might come off vain doing it, she couldn't resist the temptation. She took off her jacket, rolled up her sleeves and flexed. His eyes grew big. "Wow. Those are muscles."

  "Yeah. I've lost some weight, which I might want to put back on, but I'm stronger too. I'm a whole new me, better than ever before." And I don't even need Drugamor.

  "That's good. So what's going on, is Eli doing well?" Vincent's voice took on a sad tone. "I assume he's decided to join the Paladins..."

  "Actually no, he wants to leave them." She glowered. "But unfortunately and aggravatingly, they won't let him."

  He balled his fists in anger. "You mean he wasn't with them voluntarily after all?"

  "He was. It's just that when he changed his mind, they refused to honor their promises and forced him to stay, imprisoning me when I tried to take him away."

  "Damn, I wish we could've known they weren't to be trusted. So what happened to you, did they finally let you go or did somebody free you?"

  "I escaped. But Eli had already been sent off to the Lord Paladin by then, so we'll have to make another trip to rescue him. Or if you don't want to, you don't have to come."

  "You escaped on your own?" At her nod, he said, "It must've been tough finding your way back. I can feel, uh, I guess an air of experience around you too."

  She examined her scuffed up, callused hands, much rougher than before her time in captivity even though she'd trained and fought before. "I've had a lot of practice using the skills Drea showed us."

  "Anyway, of course I'll come. I've known him even longer than you, how could I abandon him when he's in trouble? Besides," he added with a wink, "when else might I get a chance to use the combat training Lady Cordy's giving me? Since we last saw each other, I've learned to use a sword with my shield."

  "She's been teaching you to fight? Maybe you won't have fallen much behind me after all. I'm feeling better about our chances already. By the way, there is something I meant to ask you first, but forgot. Why are you still here? It's been months, I would've expected you to have returned to the playhouse long ago."

  "Cordy hasn't had a chance to escort me back."

  Sam recoiled. "That can't be the reason! You mean to tell me there were no convoys to our city at all and she was the only one who could take you?"

  After a moment, he laughed. "All right, that wasn't it. I was worried about you and Eli, so I couldn't bring myself to leave, hoping for you to come back and confirm that both of you were fine first. As you didn't and I feared the worst, I remained determined to see your return, but didn't want to continue burdening Cordy and her father as an unpaid guest. So I found a job in a somewhat similar line of work to our old one, and began earning my keep."

  "Huh. If Cordy had suspicions about what was going on and I didn't appear after so long, I wish she would've come by to check on us."

  "She wanted to, but she had already gotten in trouble for her 'interaction' with the Paladins and it is a long trip there. We thought you might have joined them too, but I had almost convinced her we should go check before you just showed up."

  She exhaled. "I suppose she can't be blamed too much then."

  "So what now?"

  "Commandant Talben said Cordy would be back in a few hours. Until then, I suppose there might be time for one more show depending on how long they are."

  They went back into the theatre, where Sam watched Vincent perform in the following show. His partner returned too, and though she winced occasionally due to the preceding accident, there were no noticeable slip ups this time. Vincent really was graceful, Sam thought, gliding around the stage like he had wheels on his feet. With only a few months of training, huh? He might have found his true talent. Sam wasn't sure where her own was yet, though she had certainly improved at fighting. Was it her calling to be a warrior, and if so would being a mere city guard squander her potential compared to joining the Guardian Knights? Maybe she shouldn't put too much stock in defeating Leland, who had been beating her handily before he fell victim to her trick. On the other hand, she'd still won despite him having much more experience, and given her own lack of seasoning she was probably far from reaching her own peak yet.

  After the show, Vincent informed his employer that he would be leaving and might not come back. They parted without animosity, the understanding having always been that this was a temporary arrangement, and he and Sam headed to the Talben manor. Because the commandant said his daughter should be back any moment now, they waited in the lobby. A little over ten minutes later, Cordy entered and grinned at their sight. She walked towards them while studying Sam's face.

  "Glad to see you alive," she said. "Let me guess, the Paladins are holding Eli against his will and you need help
again?"

  Sam's jaw hung open. "How did you know that?"

  "Lucky guess? If there's anything to be said about Lady Cordy, it's that she's insightful."

  She had a lot of more obvious traits than being insightful... "You suspected the Paladins were up to no good, didn't you? If that's so, why did you just leave us there with them?"

  Cordy pouted. "Don't look at me like that! Your naive friend's to blame. Him saying he was there voluntarily tied my hands, as I couldn't justify taking more time away from my duties to stay and watch over the two of you, and even got me in trouble because it painted our assault on their base as reckless. So if you fault anyone, fault him."

  "Blaming the victim?" Vincent asked.

  "Victims don't get a free pass when they foolishly let themselves get duped. Although, his age and inexperience do mitigate that somewhat—but it's still not me you should be giving a hard time."

  "The Paladins definitely bear the vast bulk of the blame," Sam agreed. "Though you could maybe have given us a sterner warning or tried to convince Eli he was making the wrong choice."

  Cordy looked at her feet. "You're right. I suppose I was too annoyed at seemingly having gone there for naught to think of that."

  "Anyway, there's nothing to be done about the past. Me and Vincent were hoping we could use your help again."

  "Is Eli still at the base?"

  Vincent shook his head grimly. "No, apparently they've sent him on his way to the Lord Paladin."

  "The Lord Paladin..." she muttered. "This gets ever more interesting. I wonder what that self-important bastard could personally want with him. Anyway, I'm eager to help and kick Paladin rear again if Daddy will agree."

  Sam said, "Your father seemed ready to give aid, though there might be things you'll want to talk over with him. If Eli's been sent to the Lord Paladin, would I be right to assume he's probably being taken towards the capital?"

  "It's most likely—the capital, or someplace near it. It'll take us a month and then some to get there, if we move fast."

  "That's a long time. They had already sent him off when I escaped, so it might be a good thing for them to have a decently long trip giving us a chance to catch up." Even if they couldn't quite catch them on the road, at least they might reach wherever Eli had been taken in time before anything bad happened.

  "Yeah, hopefully. It's already dark, so I'll speak with Daddy and then we can be off tomorrow."

  Sam kind of wanted to go now and not wait for morning, but supposed traveling by night would only make them have to rest during the day anyway. "All right. If Vincent is staying here now, I guess I'll share his room?"

  "That's fine. One thing though, before you go." Cordy smiled. "I sense you've improved since we last met. I'd like to test your new skills."

  "Er... I bet you're still a lot better than me."

  "I'm sure. Still, I'd like to see how you've progressed."

  They faced one another at the center of the lobby, Cordy holding her halberd one-handed as before. "Show her what you've got, Sam!" Vincent said.

  Cordy licked her lips. "I hope you put up a fight this time."

  "I'll try my best!" Sam charged. They exchanged lightning blows, the speed of which made her realize how much Cordy had held back before. She probably still held back, but perhaps not quite as much. Sam felt proud just to keep up as much as she did. She couldn't get anywhere close to hitting the knight, but she wasn't completely on the defensive, yet. She increased her offensive output, and Cordy effortlessly adjusted her pace to match her. Maybe if Sam did something to surprise her, she could create a chance, just a chance of getting the upper hand. She parried a halberd slash, stepped in with a kick Cordy avoided easily. In the middle of throwing the kick, she switched to a one-handed grip on her axe. She swung a backhanded punch Cordy leaned away from, followed up with the axe. The knight ducked and slapped her forearm with the flat of her halberd as it passed, a move that could have maimed her if done with the edge. Sam thought to yield, but then opted against it. She didn't think Cordy wanted the match to end yet.

  They traded more strikes and counters, Sam ever two steps behind, taking touch after touch that might have killed or crippled her in a real fight. She didn't know why Cordy didn't declare herself the winner already instead of prolonging this. She hadn't dragged it out so long before. "You're doing good," Vincent said trying to encourage Sam, but she was beginning to feel foolish. She certainly would have lost already in an actual battle, yet grew determined to land at least one good hit in this aggravatingly one-sided sparring session. Fighting more measuredly as she waited for an opportunity, she intercepted a thrust from Cordy with a downward swing, knocking the halberd towards the ground. She leapt into the air, putting all her hopes in a flying kick at Cordy's face. Her foe caught her by the ankle and sidestepped while pulling forward. She cried out as she landed in an unintended split on the floor, recalling her painful groin injury from before, but she was flexible enough now that it didn't hurt. Still, she couldn't move fast enough to keep Cordy from touching her halberd to the back of her neck.

  "Nice move. I'm pleased to get something creative like that out of you. You've no doubt gotten better, but could still do with some improvements."

  "You don't say?" Sam said, disappointed at how totally her gambit had been shut down. "I do have rather limited training and experience."

  "Oh, I'm not faulting you. If anything, you exceed expectations. I'm just saying I see some easy changes you could make to be even better." She winked. "So on our way to the capital, I'll train you."

  Hearing that, Sam didn't feel any more negativity towards Cordy. She smiled widely, quite appreciating the offer. "Thanks. I'd be honored to be your student."

  "You don't think I'm too young to be a teacher?"

  "Well, given how I've seen you fight and how old man Leland reacted to the prospect of fighting you, I'd lean toward no. Besides, just sparring with someone as skilled as you should have much value."

  Cordy giggled. "I was kidding. I actually have some experience teaching others, and am not too incompetent. Right, Vincent?""

  He nodded. "I've certainly improved under your tutelage. Being the quick learner you are, Sam, I wager you'll make even faster progress."

  "I look forward to it." She shook hands with Cordy, the older girl's firm grip reassuring.

  Cordy left to discuss plans with her father, while Vincent guided Sam to the bright, clean guest room where he stayed. There was only one bed, but it was big enough for both of them. Sam took off her heavy pack, a relief after having it on for most of her waking hours for many days, and they talked while waiting for the maids to prepare dinner. "You think we'll finally get Eli back after all these tries?" Vincent asked.

  "Well, it'll technically only be our second try. But we'll have made quite a few trips from place to place." Journeying with Drea, then Cordy and Giorg, then all by herself... at this point, travel was getting pretty tiresome.

  "Yeah, that's what I mean. So, you think so?" He hung his head. "Going to the enemy's headquarters where Eli will likely be taken if we can't catch up earlier, we'd face heavy opposition. If we can't save him after all we've been through, I don't know if I..."

  Things had seemed to be looking up for them lately, but she had to acknowledge the possibility of failure as very real. Strong as Cordy was and as much as Sam and Vincent had grown, they still faced a large and powerful organization in the Paladins and their resolve to free Eli seemed poised to bring them in direct conflict with the Lord Paladin himself. Sam patted his back. "Don't worry. The Guardian Knights also have their presence in the capital, and I gather Cordy has plenty of sway there. If we do end up going against the Paladins in their main base, I doubt it'll just be the three of us."

  "You're probably right. Still, I wish Giorg was with us. Especially since his wing must be healed by now, he could be great for scouting ahead or maybe even stealing Eli away from his captors' clutches before the rest of us got there."

  S
he could see that. "But we don't even know where to find him, or if he'd want or be available to help again. We'll have to make do with our feet."

  "I know it wouldn't be practical to go search for him now, just thinking aloud."

  Sam chuckled. "I have similar thoughts about Drea. It's funny to imagine her and Cordy being at each other's throats, if she was around."

  Vincent frowned thoughtfully. "Is that what you think they are, rivals?"

  "Rivals or some kind of antagonistic relationship I'd guess, based on her not wanting us to mention her. Plus she did hint at a dark past, and Cordy and her father are both some manner of authority figures. I suppose we'll ask her when we get back to the playhouse, if she's still there."

  "And if we make it back."

  "Then that's another reason for us to succeed." She winked. "I can hardly go to my grave not knowing the story behind our mysterious Duchess of Crushed Dreams."

  After consulting with her father, Cordy confirmed they would leave tomorrow. They ate a hearty dinner of ribs, chicken, bread and soup with wine, then headed with bulging bellies to bed. Sam woke once in the night to find her arms wrapped around Vincent. Though a little unnerved for a moment, she figured it to be more yearning for a long-missed friend than attraction and went back to sleep in the same position.

  When they exited their room next morning ready to depart, they found Cordy waiting for them in the hall. She handed them each something like a garment made of unusually stiff, hard material, which Sam realized were chain shirts. "Put those on."

  "Armor?" Sam asked, examining the one she had received. It felt fairly heavy, and looked like it might be a tad tight up top and loose around the waist. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I've never worn armor before, not for an extended time anyway."

  "Me neither," Vincent said.

  Cordy took on a flustered expression. "Both of you agreed for me to train you as warriors, right? So part of that will be training you to wear armor. Don't worry, it won't slow you down much if you don't let it."