Chapter 8
Anteros didn't wake during the night. He slept as peacefully as he ever had. He dreamed pleasant dreams of beautiful women. He woke when Alexandra stirred beside him. His hand wasn't on her breast and he placed it there quickly. Alexandra woke and smiled at him.
"Good morning, King Anteros," she said.
From behind him he heard Kyra's voice. "He's not a king anymore. He was king only for the night. Now he is a student that should be getting ready for school. We have work to do too."
The women rose, the morning light exposing their naked bodies to Anteros' eager eyes. As exhausted, as he'd been last night, he'd recovered sufficiently to become aroused. He rose and the women could see that he was beginning to get an erection.
"As much as I am in awe of your stamina, former-king Anteros, there is no time for that now. Go prepare yourself for your class and don't be late. If Diana beats you again there won't be much left of your pretty buttocks," said Alexandra while staring at his genitals.
Anteros was so distracted by his experience last night that he'd nearly forgotten the beating Diana had given him. He reached back and touched his buttocks. It was a bit uncomfortable, but not painful. Still, he did make sure that he was early for his classroom lesson and a full half-hour early for his afternoon class with Diana.
When Diana arrived, Anteros was in his armor and working on his fencing technique.
"It is nice to see a student here early. You seem to have learned your lesson. How do you feel?" she asked.
"I feel fine, Mistress," he answered.
"You aren't sore from yesterday?"
"My buttocks are a bit uncomfortable and my muscles were sore when I woke, but I'm fine now, Mistress," he answered.
"That is how it should be. I wanted punish you, not disable you. It seems that I've done my job well. Don't you agree, Anteros" asked Diana.
"Yes, Mistress. You accomplished what you set out to do."
"I'm glad you think so, Anteros. Perhaps I will make a warrior out of you after all. Let's see what you can do with your sword when you are fresh. Put your sword away and pull that wooden one out of your pack," she instructed.
Diana pulled a wooden sword out of her pack also.
"You are to strike me if you can, Anteros," she said. "Now defend yourself."
Diana attacked with more speed than she had yesterday. Anteros parried several blows and took several swings at his teacher. She parried his also, as he knew she would. Since he was not really trying to strike her, he swung hard. So hard that it took her by surprise. Anteros was not as strong as Xan, but he was a large young man and quite powerful for his age.
Diana recovered and attacked again. Anteros parried and counter attacked. Diana was forced into the awkward position of having to parry the upper half of his sword with the lower portion of her own sword, as near the hilt as possible. By doing this she used leverage to nullify his power. It took more time to parry in this manner and it had the effect of making his attack seem faster.
This is exactly what Anteros was trying to get her to do. Ninsala had taught him well to use his power to intimidate, then surprise his opponent with speed and finesse. He quickly stepped into her and struck her with his shoulder. He tripped her as she stumbled backward. She went down hard and by the time she'd realized what happened, Anteros' was standing on her sword and his wooden blade was on her throat.
Diana had been told that Anteros was good, but she had no idea that he was this good. There was little she could teach him about handling a sword. She wasn't large enough to compete with him at unarmed combat either. She would have to leave that to Xan. She knew immediately that her value as a teacher was going to be in improving his archery skills.
She lay there for a moment then said, "Well done, Anteros. Your skill with a sword is commendable. Perhaps I can better teach you how to use your bow. You can remove your sword from my throat now."
"Yes, Mistress. I hope I didn't hurt you," he said.
Actually he had bruised her behind, but nothing less than a gaping wound or the fracture of a large bone would cause her to think that she was really hurt.
"Of course you didn't, Anteros. Do you take me for a feeble old woman?" she asked impatiently.
"Oh, no, Mistress! I certainly don't think you are old or feeble!" he exclaimed.
"I should think not. Now get your things and come with me."
Diana led him to the archery range. While Ninsala's best weapon was the sword, Diana's skill with a bow was well known. Anteros was nervous about displaying his barely adequate skill to Diana.
She surprised him by being a remarkably patient and effective teacher. In only an hour, she had him shooting better than he ever had in his life. He saw her smiling at his improvement, yet praise was not something that Diana excelled at. Discipline and sarcasm were things that she did excel at.
"You've practiced the bow enough for today, Anteros. I won't be personally instructing you tomorrow so work on what I've taught you today. With a lot of practice, you may be able to shoot a steer from 10 paces. That could be a useful skill if we are hungry."
"Thank you for the lesson, Mistress."
"You don't need to thank me, Anteros. It is my duty to make a warrior out of you. Now if there is nothing else, sprint to the river, swim to the opposite shore and back, and then you may leave."
Anteros was feeling bold and Diana seemed to be in a good mood, for Diana.
"There is one thing, Mistress. Is it true? Is it true that you can fire an arrow from two hundred paces and fire two more towards the target before the first one strikes?"
"Yes, Anteros. It is true, but not the whole truth. I've managed to strike the target with all three arrows, and I always can launch two more before the first one strikes, but I rarely hit it with all three."
"May I see you shoot, Mistress?"
Diana, who was very proud of her skill, was more than willing to show off. She didn't let Anteros know it.
"If that will make you stop pestering me and do as I told you!" she snapped.
