I waited patiently for Mr. Pendragon’s return to the Cathedral. Prior to leaving, his orders had been for me to train one of the new recruits, a girl named Kalysta Kokinos. Apparently, she was a legacy, the child of a former Chosen. Most of us were. It wasn’t exactly easy to recruit people who weren’t already directly involved with the Order. The ordeal of training her proved to be more effort than it was worth; she was stubborn.


    I sidestepped as she came in with an overhead swing of her training staff. I swatted her in the back with my wooden sword as she passed.


    “Don’t put all your weight behind the blow. Maintain your balance.” I swiped at her left leg and she yelped like a child. The blow never actually connected, but she whined none the less.


    “You’re moving too fast.” Kalysta complained. A horizontal swing came in at my head, but her hands were too far down the staff. I brought up my shield and the staff clattered to the floor. I wheeled on her and put my sword against her neck.


    “Tagged. Reset.” I must have said it fifty-seven times. I realized I was clenching my jaw in frustration. Teaching the basics of combat is easy enough if the student is receptive. I had the feeling that Kalysta was not the type of girl that did sports for recreation. Looking her over, she wasn’t even dressed properly. She had not come to the Cathedral prepared for what we do. I would have to address my concerns with Mr. Pendragon later.


    Kalysta made a spectacle of going to pick up the wooden staff. She sauntered off, swaying her hips. She circled around the staff till she was facing me and bent over. I noticed her low-cut shirt and then...


    “Tag. Reset.” She sneered.


    The ball of my ankle stung from her low sweep.


    Kalysta giggled as she backed up, swinging the staff in many impressive arcs. Perhaps my assumptions were wrong. She knew how to use every weapon in her arsenal, it would seem.


    “You getting tired yet, Erik?” She teased. I attempted to calm myself as I felt my teeth grind. I tried to pass off the red on my cheeks as exhaustion. She was beginning to get on my nerves.


    “Lucky shot. It won’t happen again.” I drove forward with a thrust and she sucked in her stomach to avoid the hit by barely an inch. Her staff connected with my sword, and then with my shield as I brought it forward for a bash. I watched, amazed, as she twirled her staff and then herself. She became a swirl of long scarlet hair. Her body moved like a dancer; exotic, mesmerizing, elegant.


    I became confused with all the distractions. Training with the others never flustered me this much.


    She blocked one slash, two slash, and a low sweep of my sword. I found myself overextend and…


    THWACK.


    I hit the training room floor and winced as my teeth clattered together. I saw two… no, three of her. I reached up to my forehead and wiped away blood.


    “Good shot.” I groaned.


    “Oh my god, are you ok?” I heard her staff clatter as she rushed over. This close, there is just one of her again and my vision begins to settle. Her hair falls over me when she leans over, tickling my face.


    “I’ve survived much worse.” I told her, silently praising the Gods for the padded floor, and that I didn''t bite my own tongue off.


    “You’re bleeding.” She whined. I waved her back as I sat up and wiped more blood from my face.


    “Nothing that won’t heal.” I stood up and almost fell over. I was losing more blood than I thought I was. I guess she actually knew what she was doing. Mentally scolding myself, I felt a mix of emotions about the whole scenario. Definitely more effort than it was worth.


    Kalysta caught me as I fell back towards the floor. Her arms were strong and muscular. I felt safe. I shook my head to clear my vision and the new feeling of vulnerability. I hate letting myself get emotional. I tried to move away from her, but her tight grip on me insisted I stay.


    “Should I take you to the healing pools?” Her voice was ringing in my ear. I shook my head and pointed to the medic station just off the training room. She sighed at my stubbornness. I realized that her and I had that in common.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Kalysta pushed open the door with her foot and heaved me into a chair; no easy task as I’m about six foot three and two hundred and sixty pounds of mostly muscle. She moved for the gauze and bandages.


    “Staple gun.” I said, taking my hand away from my head and snapping my fingers in the approximate direction of the tool. The gash was deep, but it would heal if I could get it closed. She gathered alcohol swabs and gauze, cleaning the wound. She cringed when she grabbed up the staple gun.


    “I don’t think I can do this.” She said turning it over in her hands. “I’m sorry Erik.” She offered it to me. I grabbed her hand instead.


    “They had a name for women like you where I am from. The ancient Norse called them Shieldmaidens; warrior women who would fight alongside men as equals. I am impressed with your skills in battle and I feel like I might have misjudged you. However, if you are strong enough to split a man’s skull, you should also be strong enough to own up to the consequences. Which in this case, would be stapling my head closed before I bleed out.” I sighed heavily as I felt my head spin.


    “There will come a time, working for the Order, that you will face more challenging obstacles with deeper consequences than just this.”


    I moved her hand up to my head with the stapler and helped her press it against the open wound. It stung and the pain threatened to take my consciousness.


    “You will do this for me, yes?” I looked at her with a stern glare, but my eyes were pleading.


    Kalysta just stared at me for a long time, absorbing my words and thinking. She reminded me of an image of beauty; a painting I once saw of Aphrodite. I steadied my breathing with a loud exhale to fill the silence. I did not like the emotions she evoked in me.


    The first staple hurt more than the wound. And then the second, third, fourth…fifth…


    Once she got the hang of it, she became a natural. I would almost assume she might have had some skill in nursing, but my assumptions about her had all been wrong thus far.


    Around when she had finished, Mr. Pendragon peeked his head around the corner of the medical room.


    “I thought I heard people in here. How is training going?” He smiled at me knowingly. I stiffened at his presence and tried to stand. He waved at me to sit.


    “Don’t get up. I see Kalysta is fitting right in.” He smiled at the girl as he came around the corner and leaned against the wall. She smiled back at him and it occurred to me that perhaps they knew each other prior to her coming to the Cathedral.


    “Sir, I’d like to talk with you in private when you have a moment.” My head was spinning and he could see it on my face.


    “You’re likely concussed. Kalysta will stay with you for a while and make sure you don’t pass out. We can talk later. I actually have somewhere I have to be.” He looked absently at the door.


    “Understood.” I replied like a solider. Kalysta nodded that she would stay.


    “How are you finding things here?” Mr. Pendragon turned to focus on Kalysta. She shrugged and smiled softly.


    “Its not as comfortable as my Auntie’s place, but it will do. I really had no idea what to expect when I saw an abandoned Cathedral in downtown Toronto. But I kind of like the hidden bunker feel of the place. The dorms are big, the Rec Room is nice and the food isn’t awful.” She flicked her wrist in my direction absently. “Erik is okay too, I guess.” She smiled at me playfully.


    I was unsure what to make of the girl. I realized I had no idea what to expect from her.


    Mr. Pendragon chuckled and stood, satisfied that I would be in capable hands.


    “Can I ask where you are headed next Sir?” I tried to look up at him but the fluorescent lights hurt my eyes.


    “I have to go see an old friend.” He said, almost sadly, before leaving the room. There was a vacancy in his eyes in that moment, and I wondered what burden he was carrying.


    As the head of the Toronto Branch of the Order of Vigilance, many duties fell to Mr. Pendragon, and I felt guilty that I was not in a position for some of those burdens to be delegated to me. I again, tried to stand and Kalysta put her hand on my shoulder.


    "You should probably stay put." She gave me one of her silly smiles, trying to be playful.


    "Why are you here?" I asked, clutching my head. I realized from the startled look on her face that my question had come off way more aggressive then intended. She stare at the door, with the same vacancy that Mr. Pendragon had left with. She sat down on the bed next to my chair and seemed to deflate.


    "My mother was a Chosen. She used to be close with Anders. He used to check in on me a lot when I was growing up. My Auntie told me he was just a family friend. Last year, Anders explained the Order to me and what he and my mother did. He explained how her role here got her..." She trailed off, before seeming to gain her composure.


    Kalysta stood up and quickly changed her demeanor and I realized that she carried much more on her shoulder than she let on. I felt bad for her.


    "I asked Anders if I could join the team and learn about the hidden world that the Order protects. He told me I had to wait till I finished high school, and then I could make the decision after working here for a summer. But I''ve already made up my mind. I want to do what my mother did. I want to help people." She smiled again, but this time I could tell that it was mostly to cope.


    "That''s very noble of you. I can respect that." I grunted through the pain of my throbbing head. "Where did you learn to fight?"


    "Anders mostly. I did fencing and archery clubs in high school. He said you were the team leader and that I should make a good first impression." She motioned to my head and chuckled.


    "Consider your impression made." I sighed, but couldn''t help but laugh a bit myself. "Welcome to the Order of Vigilance, Kalysta."