10: Snake
“How long have you been under my care, Jack?”
“Three years, master.”
“And in those three years, how many times have you successfully beaten me?”
“At least twice, I think?”
“Hmm, I thought it was more than that.”
Jack frowned and adjusted their grip on the sword in their hand. “Any particular reason you’re bringing this up now, master?”
Their master’s eyes sparkled in amusement. “No need to be so sulky, Jack. I’m just trying to decide if you’ve performed well enough to move on to the next phase of your training or not.”
“And,” Jack asked, straining now against the master’s counterattack, “have you decided?”
“Not yet,” the master replied, spinning away suddenly. Jack stumbled forward, off balance, but managed to recover quickly enough to bring their blade up and deflect away the master’s next attack. “I’m leaning towards a ‘yes,’ if that helps motivate you.”
Jack’s eyes flashed as their blade flickered in a serpentine pattern, seeking an opening. The master countered most of the blows, but began to give ground at the sheer force of the onslaught. After four steps back, Jack saw their opening and took it. The master’s sword went spinning into the air as Jack’s blade found the master’s throat. The master held up her hand, signaling the fight was over.
“A little bit,” Jack said.
The master smiled widely. “Good, you seem to have gotten good enough with the sword. Now we must move on to mastering how to move unseen and silent, so you never have to use it.”
“I thought I was already pretty good at that part,” Jack groused. “Isn’t that how we met in the first place?”
“You can always be better,” the master replied in the tone she reserved specifically for letting Jack know when they were being foolish. “You snuck up on me once, but when you’re through you’ll be able to sneak up on me at will. You’ll become as silent as a snake in the grass, and twice as deadly.”
“You never did say just what all this is for,” Jack observed.
“Some skills will always have a place in the world,” the master replied, “although beyond ensuring their continued existence, I try not to use them.”