Between the Light and the Darknes ~~~Chapter 34 - The End~~~
Astral Faery:
Thanks, everyone for your compliments. And my apologies - I hadn't realized I used the same picture twice! The one where Ileeya is holding up her finger as she's sitting on the bench talking to Tim - duh! I didn't realized I had done that. Actually, I thought I used the same picture twice, twice - the one showing Tim as he's talking to her on the bench - but there is a wee bit of difference evident around his eyes and mouth in those two shots. I have replaced the Ileeya duplicate with another pic. Sigh! I hate it when I think I have the perfect shots, then go to post my story - just to find out I don't have what I thought and have to make do. One of these days I'll get more organized about this. Maybe if I lock all my children in a closet so I can concentrate...lol - just kidding. I'll just auction them off to the highest bidder, instead!:laugh:
vickylougrl:
LOL! Astral I can definately relate and I only have one at home! I am homeschooling my nine year old she has some health issues and being in a festering germy elementary school was really keeping her sick all the time.
not to mention MRSA which will actually kill your kids...ugh!
Since she been home no infections, colds, virus's ecetera...which is wonderfull but being together 24-7 with your kids no matter how much you love them can be a little challenging.
YHsims2003:
ooooooOOHHhh, Shirra just reeks of trouble. haha.
Great chapter, Tim is definitely in love! And i really like the weapons you have them practice with, very cool. Keep up the great writing!
Astral Faery:
Thanks, YH! Your compliments mean a lot. I'm glad you're enjoying the story.
Vicky - yes, I understand. My boys are driving me to the brink of insanity at the very moment. They each have their own issues, and present their own challenges. Sometimes I'm pretty sure I'm not going to survive child rearing.:notsmili:
Astral Faery:
This chapter is a little short. There is kind of a hard jump in time because I'm trying to move the story forward a bit. Thanks for reading - I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 10
The next few days were as routine as Tim had come to expect. Ileeya greeted him as he woke up, he was subjected to a backbreaking day of fieldwork under the scorching sun, followed by a very welcome but too short wash period, and then lunch at the hall.
Now, when he saw Jondak sitting near Ileeya, he wanted to rip his lungs out. The gall of this guy really bothered him. And he always seemed to know his actions bothered Tim. He wore a self satisfied smile while he flirted with her, and made sure to look over to see what Tim thought about it. He had to know at least partly how Tim felt, it must have been evident on his face.
Who did he think he was, anyway? Tim was tempted to tell him to leave so he could sit by Ileeya himself, but he had no claims to her. And he didn't want to make waves. He could get through lunch only because he knew Ileeya would already be waiting in the cell when he got there. He wished she were waiting for him because she wanted to, not because she had to share a cell with him. He also remembered watching Jondak fight the other day, and he didn't want any of that.
Finally, it was time for another practice day. And it was a hot one. The sun beat down mercilessly on them while Ileeya worked with Tim. She was a calm and patient teacher, never losing her temper when Tim made a mistake. Even with his most frequent mistakes, the worst she would do was scowl at him. Tim had to restrain himself from smiling dumbly at her when she talked to him.
Ileeya hit hard and fast. Tim just couldn't believe how well coordinated she was and how she easy she made it all look. But as quick as she was, she still seemed frail, and Tim was afraid to hit too hard. He didn't want to hurt her.
"You're holding back, Tim. You need to stop doing that."
"I'm sorry," he panted, "I just can't hit you. I'm afraid...I was always brought up to never hit women."
With a little persuasion, Ileeya was able to convince Aark into letting a third member train with them. She told Tim it wasn't unusual for her to work with two at once, that way she could get a different vantage point and see where the problems were. Ileeya found someone who was pretty evenly matched with him, but a little better to allow room for Tim to improve. She also had Aark take Tim to the weapons room to change swords. The other one was too heavy and bulky, and the shield only served to slow him down. He didn't argue, because he was sure she knew more than he did about it all.
Gylen, like all the other creatures here, was foreign looking to Tim. He was rather lanky, with dark bronze skin and large pointed ears. His intense caramel colored eyes seemed to see right through him. When he was not scowling, which he did while he sparred with Tim, he had a gentle look to his face. Wise and weathered. It was clear that Gylen had a hard life before he even ended up here, and seemed just as unhappy about being here as Tim did.
Tim was more comfortable fighting Gylen. He wasn't so afraid to strike. He actually wondered why Aark hadn't set him up with Gylen in the first place, seeing how well matched they were. But then again, the reason was simple - Aark probably enjoyed watching Tim get his butt kicked repeatedly.
Two months later, Tim had a couple of slave tournaments under his belt. His first one he didn't feel went very well. He ended up with a fair amount of scratches, scrapes, and bruises, and felt as if he had failed. Ileeya assured him he did well for his first time. The second one went much better, and Tim even managed to create a ranking for himself. It wasn't a great one, but at least he wasn't last. Ileeya was pleased with his progress.
Every other practice session, Ileeya would leave Tim and Gylen to practice their newly learned techniques and go work on her own. Tim took an instant liking to Gylen. Though he never spoke, the two didn't have a hard time understanding each other.
The sword become a comfortable weight in his hand. Tim looked forward to these practice sessions. He was a good student and practiced hard, hoping to create a better standing for himself the next time one of the tournaments rolled around. When he was sparring, time seemed to slip away and he could almost forget he was on a strange world.
After one particularly successful practice session, when he was feeling proud of himself, he couldn't help but ask Ileeya why the guards would give their slaves weapons, and then teach them to fight. Weren't they afraid the slaves would overrun the place and escape? He had tried to keep his tone light, despite how illogical the situation was.
But her mood changed immediately and she assumed a defensive stance.
"Because you'd be ripped to shreds. These weapons are intended for practicing only, and cannot hold up against the sturdier weapons the guards possess. They would have no hesitation to slaughtering the entire slave population - new slaves are acquired quite easily. I highly discourage it. The guards would take a revolt as a sport, eagerly hunting down each and every last one of the prisoners, if they even managed to escape before they found a sword through their chest."
He felt stupid for even suggesting it. He felt like he had been put back in his place, and didn't bring it up again.
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