Chapter 3
A gentle nudge on Kiki’s arm has her groaning as she squints against the light. “Qumi,” a familiar voice says. In a sleepy haze she looks up, not sure what is being said. Nyssa is standing over her, foot lifting again to nudge against her arm. “Stop,” Kiki grumbles, scooting away a little. “Qumi,” she says again, sharp eyes assessing her. “I don’t know what that means,” she grumbles, pulling slightly at the chains on her wrists.
Nyssa’s eyes catch the chains before she gives her a warning look as she crouches down and unlocks them. The moment Nyssa’s hands grab the chains Kiki jerks back, remembering the position she’d been in yesterday. Her heart pounded as she looked at Nyssa who looked back at her with calm authority. “You can’t follow orders if you’re chained like this,” the woman said matter of factly. For a split second Kiki thought that might actually be easier for her, somehow feeling more vulnerable if Nyssa were to take the chains away, but Nyssa’s calculated look made her realize this was not her choice to make. Sharp unyielding eyes told her she wouldn’t like either option anyway, making her shrink away a little but not daring to pull at the chains again. In fact, just Nyssa’s eyes made it very clear this was not a gift but merely a means to an end.
The click of the lock sounds as the chains fall to the floor, harshly rattling against it. Only then did Kiki realize how immobile her hands had been. She couldn’t help a relieved sigh leaving her as she rubs her sore wrists. She’d been chained up for who knows how long and the joints felt stiff and sore as she moved them around. Still she couldn’t help but feel an extra layer of vulnerability as she looked up at Nyssa. The woman was standing over her again, clearly waiting for something but refusing to say it in a way Kiki understood. The silence was deliberate as the woman was seeing what Kiki’s next move would be. It felt suffocating that she didn’t know what to do, feeling like she could only do the wrong thing. “Qumi,” Nyssa says again, a bit more force behind the words causing Kiki to flinch involuntarily.
“I don’t know what that means,” she grumbles once again, glaring at the woman as she leans back against the wall. Before Kiki even fully finishes the sentence Nyssa’s hand shoots out and she gets hoisted to her feet by the collar of her shirt. Nyssa is in her space and she looks at the woman with big surprised eyes as she presses herself against the wall to create some semblance of space. “Qumi,” Nyssa says slowly, “means get up.”
Kiki clears her throat, her sleep forgotten as she’s held up by her shirt, Nyssa only inches away from her face. She was sure the woman could feel her heart beating quickly with how close she was, Nyssa’s hand pushed against her chest. “Noted,” she says, her voice wavering and frowning a little at the harsh way the woman explained the word. Nyssa nods as she lets go of her shirt and turns around to walk away. “Ittabi’ini,” she says over her shoulder.
Not wanting a repeat of the previous interaction, Kiki guessed the word meant either stay or come. Considering the chains were taken off, she guessed come. With quick strides she follows the woman. Being a good few inches shorter than the woman has her almost running to keep up with Nyssa’s long strides. “So so Itabini means come,” she asks once she caught up with the woman a bit more. Nyssa gave the barest inclination of her head. “It’s pronounced Ittabi’ini, it means follow me,” she states. “That’s what I said? Itabini,” Kiki mumbled, brows knitting together at the correction.
Nyssa suddenly halts and turns to her, making Kiki walk into her before sheepishly taking a few small steps back, her ears burning as she looked at the woman who was raising an eyebrow at her. “I’m gonna say it slower this time and you’re gonna repeat after me,” she states. “Ittabi’ini,” she repeats. Kiki’s minds is still playing catchup with the sudden halt and when she doesn’t immediately repeat the woman the woman raises an eyebrow.
“Oh, Itta bi ini,” she says, more a question than a statement. Nyssa grumbles something in Arabic, her eyes sharp with annoyance as she turns away again and walks. Kiki blinks before quickly striding after the woman. “I hope you’re better at physical training,” Nyssa says, her words sharp. “I did exactly what you said,” Kiki protests indignantly.
She’s barely said the words before a quick swat at the back of her head has her head snap forward. It wasn’t painful but the unexpectedness of it has Kiki trip over her own feet, unable to do anything as the floor rushed toward her face. Hands catch the back of her shirt before she hits the floor, pulling her back up before releasing her again. Eyes wide Kiki stumbled a little to regain her balance, realizing that she would have probably face planted if it weren’t for Nyssa. Her hands tremble slightly as she balls them into fists. Frustration bubbles up inside her as she digs her nails into her skin. Her eyes are quick to snap to Nyssa’s as she opens her mouth to say something but she manages to hold her tongue just in time as Nyssa’s eyes narrow at her. “I told you yesterday to not go against me. That goes for talking back too, Al-Nasheeta,” the woman says matter of factly. “So you hit me,” she indignantly asked. “Don’t be dramatic, you’ll endure much worse here. Be glad I am patient, you would have had it much worse with the trainers.”
Kiki falters at that statement. Her eyes widened and breath catching in her throat at the implication of it as her mind flashed back to the moment Nyssa killed the man in the warehouse. If Nyssa considered herself patient she wasn’t eager to meet the others here. There’s a beat of silence as Nyssa lets her process the words. “Much worse,” she eventually questions, biting her lip to fight the anxiety bubbling in her chest. Nyssa just looks at her intently before turning away again and starting to walk at the same infuriatingly quick pace. “What do you mean by much worse,” Kiki asked as she once again caught up with the woman. “Do you ever stop talking?” “I thought you liked my spirit,” Kiki quipped back, voice full of bravado and tone sharp before she caught herself. Her breath caught in her throat at the realization of what she just did and her muscles tensed automatically as she prepared herself for another swat against the back of her head.
“Not that much,” Nyssa dryly replied before abruptly turning into a different room. Kiki exhaled shakily, digging her nails into her hands to ground herself. No swat had come but the room Nyssa had turned into felt much more menacing. Kiki faltered at the threshold of the room they arrived at. It was big with racks of weapons lining the walls, thin mats adorning the floors and reeking of sweat. There were stains everywhere and Kiki didn’t dare guess what they were from. A wave of nausea overtook her as she felt her body go rigid. Whatever happened in this room would not be good for her, she could get that much out of it.
“Are you gonna come in or wait until the other recruits and trainers arrive and join them,” Nyssa asks her, raising her eyebrow again in that annoying way she seemed to do when she knew she was the one in power. Which honestly was always it seemed. She almost wondered how long it would take for the expression to become a permanent fixture on the woman’s face.
Hesitantly she shuffled inside, unsure what Nyssa expected of her and feeling her body protest every move. Her chest felt tight and everything felt too hot as she slowly made her way over to Nyssa, stopping just out of reach. Nyssa’s sharp eyes regarded her, gliding over her body like a piece of meat.
“You’re nervous,” she states matter of factly. “No,” Kiki replied, just a little too quick and defensive for it to be true. “You will see you won’t like me very much if you keep lying,” Nyssa said, still in a neutral tone but with a hint of a threat to it. Kiki swallowed, trying to get her mouth to feel less dry as she opted to nod instead of answer verbally.
She was half expecting a scolding for not using words but Nyssa seemed satisfied enough as she walked to a square of mats to the right side of the room and beckoned her closer. Hesitantly Kiki once again walked toward the woman, stopping just out of reach again. “We’re gonna spar. Show me what you can do, I will hold back this time,” the woman stated, not bothering to say any more as she got into a fighting stance.
Kiki, having never actually fought before, clumsily mirrored the woman’s stance. Her hands were slightly raised, feet about shoulder width apart as she stood on the balls of her feet. It felt awkward as she shifted a little. She made her hands into fists as she raised them just slightly higher. “Thumbs on the outside or you’ll break them,” Nyssa instructed, showing her own hands to Kiki. “Right,” Kiki mumbled, adjusting her fists so her thumbs were on the outside. A flash of relief surged through her when she realized Nyssa would not let her figure out everything on her own.
“Abda, begin,” Nyssa said when she seemed satisfied with Kiki’s stance. She filed the word away for later, glad that the woman had decided to give both translations instead of making her figure it out.
Kiki started moving around a little on her feet, seeing if Nyssa would make the first move, but when the woman patiently kept waiting she realized it was up to her. Her first strike was clumsy and she almost fell when Nyssa easily sidestepped it. “Don’t throw your entire body into it, keeping your balance is more important than hitting your goal,” Nyssa instructed. She huffed a little, annoyed at how bad she seemed at this before getting back into a fighting stance. “Thumbs,” Nyssa said before she could strike again. “Sorry,” Kikk mumbled as she adjusted her thumbs to the outside of her fists again. “Don’t be sorry, just remember next time or suffer the consequences when I stop reminding you eventually,” the woman said, her voice kinder than it had been which made Kiki wonder if the threat was an empty one or very real.
“Abda,” Nyssa said again when Kiki stood still a little while longer. Her next strike was more deliberate, making sure she didn’t lose her footing as Nyssa easily sidestepped the strike again. There was no compliment or kind word for the improvement but the approving flicker in the woman’s eyes was enough for Kiki to know she was on the right path. “Again,” Nyssa said. “Don’t stop after one hit, keep going until I feel you to stop.”
Kiki took a deep breath, anxious butterflies in her stomach as she once again striked. Nyssa blocked this time instead of stepping away catching Kiki off guard a little as she actually hit Nyssa instead of air. “Most people expect to hit something when they strike,” Nyssa said dryly, raising her eyebrows at Kiki’s stumble. “I don’t think they should when facing you,” she huffed before striking again, Nyssa easily blocking. The smirk tugging at the edge of Nyssa’s lips made Kiki grumble something unintelligible as she frowned at the woman.
“You’re annoyingly good at this,” she remarked as she hit air once again before sending a kick Nyssa’s way. Nyssa caught her leg easily, holding it in place as she raised an eyebrow at Kiki’s small jumps to keep balance on her one foot. “And you have sloppy footwork which we’re gonna work on until you’re as ‘annoyingly’ good as me,” the woman quipped. Before Kiki could think of a reply her legs were swept from under her in a flurry of motion landing her on her back with the wind knocked out of her. She coughed and gasped for air as blinks rapidly against the pain, the soft mat not doing much to cushion her head snapping back against it.
“Try to breathe slow, it’ll pass quicker,” Nyssa said, watching her from her place on the mat. Slowly Kiki dragged a breath into her lungs which were still trying to spasm. As she exhaled for a few seconds and kept to this deeper breathing pattern she noticed it helping, sending a grateful look Nyssa’s way as she finally caught her breath.
“You’re not as bad as you seem,” she eventually rasped out.
Nyssa nodded evenly at the statement before stepping back a little. “Qumi,” she only said in reply. For a moment Kiki only blinked up at her, knowing the word was familiar but not quite placing it. When Nyssa took a somewhat threading step forward, clearly intending to ‘help’ her do it if she didn’t do it on her own, Kiki scrambled away. “I’m getting up! I’m getting up,” she said as she quickly got to her feet. “Good. Now ista’id, prepare yourself. You’re defending this time.”
Kiki could feel the blood drain from her face as she lifted her arms preparing to defend herself. She could already tells this was gonna end very bad for her with Nyssa’s hands on approach. “You’re not gonna hurt me right,” she asked, her voice wavering slightly. “That depends on how well you defend yourself,” the woman replied evenly. “Abda.”
Kiki swallowed, lifting her hands a little higher as her fists shook slightly in front of her. The first jab hit her in her ribs, a flurry of movement and sharp pain that made her cry out and stumble back. It wouldn’t be more than a bruise but the woman had hit her right between two ribs and it hurt more than she thought possible. The next jab hit her arm. Then her collarbone. Then her arm again. The movements were so quick she didn’t have time to think about them before they hit her. Her mind was a whirlwind of pain and agitation as blow after blow came at her. Some she managed to block but most would leave painful bruises. Even then she realized that Nyssa was holding back. The woman’s movements were slow and deliberate, just slow enough that she could technically block but quick enough to keep her on her toes. Every time she stumbled Nyssa would wait a beat longer before the next blow came. Even through her frustration and pain she recognized that Nyssa was not hurting her just to hurt her. Every blow was a lesson, whether it was in blocking, pain or discipline she hadn’t quite deciphered yet.
When Nyssa swung at her face the woman was a little slower, allowing Kiki to block but not quite good enough as the brunt of the force still hit her in the face, splitting her lip just enough that she could taste some blood. “Focus,” Nyssa snapped at her. Kiki raised her arms again, body shaking from a combination of pain and adrenaline as she looked Nyssa in the eyes. She didn’t look unnecessarily cruel but the bruises on Kiki’s body told another story.
The next blow was a little bit slower again and in a rush of adrenaline Kiki scrambled away, avoiding at least part of the blow. “Watch your footwork, you’ll trip if you keep that up,” Nyssa told her, leaving what would happen if she tripped up to imagination. A shiver ran down her spine as her brain surfaced the image of Nyssa impaling a man on her sword.
A blow hit her head hard as Kiki was distracted by the memory, leaving her sprawled on the mat. She blinked rapidly at the pain on her face as her breath hitches slightly. Nyssa crouched down in front of her, a displeased frown adorning the woman’s face as she carefully took Kiki’s chin and moved her head around. Kiki winced at the sudden contact and movement but didn’t fight Nyssa as the woman gently probed at the quickly forming bruise that was gonna cause a black eye very soon. She could feel her eye starting to swell as Nyssa help up a finger in front of her face. Instinctively she let her eyes follow the finger’s movement as Nyssa’s other hand held her face still.
With a satisfied hum the woman let go of her face and stood back up. “No concussion. Let this be a lesson to always stay focussed on the task at hand.” Kiki didn’t know how to respond to that as she licked her split lip nervously. She looked up at Nyssa with big weary eyes, still catching her breath from the fight.
“Qumi, the other recruits will arrive soon with the masters. Showing weakness will get you killed,” Nyssa commanded, her tone softening just a tad. “You’re sloppy but you learn quickly. Next time you’ll be faster.”