Outlander

Here is the next section for you all. As before feedback is appreciated. Sorry but no fun stuff yet 😉 definitely the next section!

Chapter 6

I tried my best not to stare but to see everything as we rolled through the city. I did get quite a few stares of my own. I looked down and realized I was still in the clothes I had been wearing when I jumped into the SWAT van. The silk looking black wicking t-shirt with the words POLICE across my chest and upper back must have confused many people. After about an hour, we pulled through a seven-foot stone wall surrounding an exceptionally large mansion.

While I hopped down from the seat of my wagon, several servants swarmed the carriage. Two unhooked and led the horses towards a stable while others started to unload the luggage on top. Shalyndria stepped out and greeted them. The long teal dress she wore stole my breath away. She saw the look on my face and giggled as Milla led her into the manor behind Terrance. Bob and Hank followed them while I investigated the back to see if anything needed to come inside right this second.

As I was doing this, I heard a voice behind me. "We will bring it all in, sir. The lady has prepared a room for you." I turned and saw a man with a faded warrior's build, salt and pepper hair, and wearing a three-piece suit.

"Thank you. My name is Shaun. The only things that need to be brought in are the padlocked hard cases." I replied as I indicated which black cases I was referring to.

"My name is Winston and I am the Butler here." The older man responded. I extended my hand for a shake, but he just looked at it puzzled momentarily before turning back toward the house. I grabbed my rifle and heading inside the main house.

I was awestruck at the lavish foyer I found myself in. "So, this is how royalty lives. Kansas is long gone Dorothy, hello Oz."

"Why do you insist on talking to yourself?" Milla called out from my right as she walked up.

"Old habit I guess." I chuckled. "I didn't let people get close before. Guess I forget I have friends sometimes." I shrugged.

"Well please try not to, it makes us worry. I will lead you to your room, Winston already knows which one to bring your things to." She chastised me before walking up the ornate staircase on our left.

As we walked, I reminded her, "I'll need a comprehensive tour soon if I'm to do my job. My experience as an infiltrator in Force Recon might show vulnerabilities you might not have thought of."

"The princess will go over all that after dinner I am sure," she finished and stopped before a closed mahogany door. "This is your room, a maid will be tasked with cleaning and making sure your needs are met within reason," she pushed it open as she talked. Inside I found a nice double size bed with a dark red comforter and pristine white pillows, a desk under the window held an oil lamp as well as a quill and ink well, and a wardrobe against the opposite wall stood open and empty. Next to it against the wall was a small square table with two simple chairs and a candle for meals and entertaining. At the foot of the bed was a large wicker basket. "Put any dirty clothes in the basket and leave it in the hall. Your maid will tend to it for you putting them away once you show her where they go. Now if you would follow me, Terrance wanted a word," she called over her shoulder as she exited the room and walked back the way we had come.

I took one last look at my room, then did as she asked. I heard a squeal of happiness, "Petra! I missed you so much. How are you?" Milla's excited voice floated up to me as I walked back down the stairs.

A musical voice with a mischievous hint to it followed, "You brat Milla. Why did I have to find out y'all were back from that asshat Dereck? You should have said something in your last letter." I turned toward the voices when I exited the staircase and was struck dumb once again.

"Why me," floated through my head and out my mouth unbidden.

Upon hearing my voice, they both turned and Milla doubled over laughing. I couldn't take my eyes from her friend though. Standing there in armor I recognized from the gate guards was a beautiful vision. Her shiny dark brown, almost black, fur looked smooth as silk. Her small muzzle and tiny ears tugged at my memory, but I couldn't remember what she reminded me of. Her sky-blue eyes held an air of mischief. Milla walked up and hit the reset button on the back of my head while still laughing. "Shaun, this an old friend of ours, Petarina Lontra. She is a Lieutenant in the city guard and a water mage on par with the princess in terms of power and skill. She also serves the guard as their Blademaster, teaching new recruits and helping others hone their abilities with swords and other blades. Petra, this is Shaun Kaughman. He is an excellent warrior using weapons I've never seen nor heard of before, he is also an Outlander and True Mage." Petra's eyes shot up in shock at that, but Milla continued before she could comment. "He has earned Shalyndria and Terrance's trust, accepting a position in Shalyndria's personal guard." Milla introduced us.

With my wits back under my command, I was able to give a proper greeting despite my spiraling thought processes, "It is a pleasure Lt. Lontra. Milla exaggerates of course. But I'm glad I was able to help them when I did." As she took my offered handshake in her small paw-like hand I felt the small sharp claws at the ends of her fingers in our grip.

"Nice to meet you as well Shaun, but unless necessary please call me Petra. Any friend of this brat cat and her princess is a friend of mine." She teased with a fond smile and look to Milla.

When we ended the handshake, Milla interjected, "Shalyndria is in her study, follow me Petra if you would." She led Petra away. As they walked, she turned to me, "He is in the study on your right Shaun." I waved and entered the door.

As I closed the door, I heard Petra ask for every detail Milla could give her about me. My friend was sitting behind a desk looking at some papers when I turned from the door. "Good, have a seat, Shaun. We have a few things to discuss." He gestured to a chair in front of the desk. While he finished shuffling the papers, I sat down in one of the two chairs sitting in front of his desk and took in the room. It was a small study with books covering the wall behind him. Two posh sofas sitting around an ornate coffee table filled the rest of the space in the room. A clinking thud got my attention. Sitting on the desk in front of me was a small leather bag. "Here is the 5 gold as agreed. Another 5 gold was added as a bonus from me. You did a good job out there, I'm incredibly happy you accepted the job. Hank told me about how you dispatched that bandit. I have to ask what made you disregard your other weapons for a blade?" Terrance asked with a solemn tone. His questioning gaze made me nervous as I thought over why I had made those decisions.

As I went back over the thoughts I had at the time, my reasons became clear. After a few moments, I responded, "The weapons I have are similar to an extremely powerful bow and arrow, once released, the projectile does not care what or who it hits. I dropped the M4 because I couldn't be sure Hank wouldn't accidentally be hit instead of the bandit." He seemed to mull over my reasoning for a few moments.

Terrance pulled out a paper before continuing, "Now, I will be your direct superior. The pay is 10 gold per lunar cycle, paid at the start. Your first cycle's pay is in the bag as well. Petra will be your partner. Technically you are both of equal rank, however, I expect you to follow her lead when necessary. Your duties, for now, will be close protection of the princess. Outside of the Manor, you are to be within arms reach of her at all times. The times you cannot be in the room due to secrecy or confidentiality reasons, you will be right outside the door," were his orders.

From the tone of his voice, I knew he was in commander mode. My brain flipped a switch and I entered military mode myself. "Yes sir. What are my duties around the manor?" Was my response.

He continued, "Training, some perimeter patrols, and close protection whenever she has a visitor. If it is a scheduled visit, I expect you at her back no less than an hour before the appointment, while unscheduled visits will be handled by whoever is available out of yourself, me, Petra, Hank, or Bob." He paused for a moment to wet his whistle from a goblet of red wine sitting on his left. "If there are no scheduled trips or visits and you're not on the training and patrol roster, the time is your own. I will do my best to ensure you have one day completely free every week for rest and any shopping you need to do. You don't start until the day after tomorrow, so, tomorrow Petra will take you to get armor, clothes, weapons, and other necessities. Between now and dinner tonight, Petra will be training and testing you to find out what you need to work on and covering the etiquette and social norms that will be expected of you."

Terrance then slid a paper my way along with a quill and inkwell, "This is just the formal contract for your employment. Go ahead and read through it, then sign the bottom." I hadn't had the chance to check if I could read the language yet, just then I was struck dumb by an epiphany, how was I carrying on a conversation? As I went back over my conversation here, I was able to make out the strange words we both were speaking. I decided to not think about it and see if could read as well.

As I looked over the contract, the words started to make sense, like I was learning to read at a super accelerated pace. By the time I had read to the bottom of the contract, it felt like I had been reading this language all my life. I signed where he had indicated and slid the contract back over to the Captain. He checked my signature, nodded, and put it away in his desk. We talked about some of the etiquettes I would need while we waited for Petra and Milla to join us.

As we finished up, there was a knock on the door behind me, Terrance called for them to enter. Once Milla and Petra closed the door behind them, Petra took the chair next to me while Milla went to stand behind her fiancé. Once the two newcomers were settled, Terrance turned to my new partner, "Did the princess tell you what was decided Petra?"

"Yes, I'll take good care of the yokel. We will start in the armory to see if any of the weapons there speak to him. After that we will be in the training yard, I'll start with unarmed, followed by weapons, and finishing with bows before moving on to see what he can do with magic." She responded with a small smile.

Terrance nodded along, obviously pleased with her report, "That sounds like a plan, however, there will be no need for archery. The weapons he has makes our most powerful bows seem like toddlers throwing rocks in both speed and range from what he has told me. I have seen them punch through heavy armor like it was paper firsthand, so I believe his claims." The surprised look on her face when he told her this was adorable.

"You two are dismissed. Dinner will be at seven bells. So, you have a couple of hours to get acquainted and Shaun tested." Was Terrance's command. We stood and I saluted. He waved us off as Milla took my seat. I walked out with Petra to get my ass kicked by the beautiful woman.

Chapter 7

"I need to drop something in my room quick," I told the guard at my side. I figured my sidearm would be enough for now. As we walked up the stairs, I asked a question that had been bugging me, "What kind of animal are you Petra?"

"River otter," was her reply. I jumped when something smacked my ass hard. I looked over to see the mischievous grin on her face and the tail swinging quickly back and forth. "Nice ass," was her only remark as we continued up the stairs.

When we entered my room, I noticed all the weapon cases were stacked at the foot of the bed. Petra seemed intrigued by them but chose not to ask. I grabbed a rifle case and opened it to store the M4 I'd been carrying. "What are those," asked Petra as she took note of the other three M4s in the case.

Still in military mode from the meeting, "Colt M4 fully automatic carbine chambered in 5.56 caliber. The primary weapon of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps." She looked puzzled as I stopped and reset myself. "Sorry, that kinda just came out on reflex. Back home I was a Marine for my country before becoming something like a city guard and these are some of the weapons, I used in both."

"We should get moving, we need to at least get all the testing done, training can wait until after shopping tomorrow, but the testing needs to be complete. Our first stop will be the armory, it's back downstairs and outback by the training field. Now follow me." She motioned for me to follow as she walked out of my room. After I finished locking the case, I followed Petra down the stairs and back outside.

As we walked the halls toward the back of the house, I decided to make small talk, "I'm curious how you know everyone. I'm sure Shalyndria told you how I met everyone, even the embarrassing parts," I started off the conversation with.

With a small sad smile, she started, "Well I grew up in a small village just outside the capitol. As is tradition, when I turned 15 the mayor tested me with an espial orb as you were tested. I was given two choices to learn to control my magic, either the mage academy of the Royal guard. I chose the guard and spent 2 years learning and honing my skills. I took my place in the ranks 3 years before our princess was born." I froze at this tidbit of information. I knew Shalyndria was only 19 from our previous talks, doing the math in my head, I was shocked to realize Petra was 40 years old!

After going a few yards down the hall, she realized I wasn't beside her anymore and looked back. I asked the question burning through my brain, "How old are you Petra? I'm 25, and I'm hoping my math is off or I misheard you. I'd guess you at around my age."

Chuckling, she replied, "I was born on the 13

th

day of the 8

th

lunar cycle of year 298 of the current era. I am 40 years old as of last month, and I'll take the compliment with a grain of salt since you have no idea how to tell the age of a beast-man." She laughed with that musical quality while I caught up and we continued out the door into the training yard. We entered the armory and I was awestruck. Every bladed and blunt weapon I could think of, and a few I'd never even imagined, lined the walls with wooden counterparts for training beneath them.

Petra walked over and grabbed a longsword before turning to me, "Grab a longsword, spear, halberd, and one or two others you are already familiar with or that speaks to you then meet me outside. We'll see how good you are when I put you on your cute ass," chuckling as she walked back outside. I grabbed the requested weapons before looking around the room again. I took my time, running my hands over some while checking the heft and feel of others. I was overjoyed when I found a katana and immediately placed its bokken counterpart near the door with the others before looking again. I did one last round before leaving.

Back in a corner covered in dust, I found a pair of kukris with 24-inch blades. I had limited experience with these weapons, but my gut said to take them. I pulled the wooden ones off the wall and walked over to the door. Petra was looking over my selections when I walked up behind her. I admired her taut ass and wondered how her tail worked for a moment before she turned, finding me staring at her ass. A glint of mischief followed the smirk that crossed her face, "Find what you're looking for finally?" She asked as she grabbed the swords and spear from the ground and walked outside.

I grabbed the halberd, following her into a large ring, and laid the weapons next to the others. I unhooked my duty belt and drop legs, placing them on the ground outside the ring, and started to stretch for our sparring. Once I stepped back into the ring, she was suddenly there, throwing a punch at my face. I jumped to the side shocked when she started her instruction, "I was told you mastered three martial arts, lets see if you're as full of shit as I think." The look on her face was serious and mocking. "No magic enhancement either, these tests are your base skills that will tell me what you need to learn and what you need to maintain. Magic enhancements will give you the edge against most enemies, however, if you face someone trained and capable of using enhancement unless you're a match for skill, you will die." Petra then shot forward again with a flurry of strikes.

I used my experience and skill to try and read her movements, but her unfamiliar body-type was hard for me to read. Fortunately, my reflexes were up to the challenge and I was able to just barely block and dodge her strikes. My defense was all I could muster as I started to look for openings and weak spots, I could use to start an attack of my own.

Her stance and guard were near perfect, I then realized I'd have to do something drastic and risky to get an edge here. I had been looking at the center of her chest the entire time as I had been trained to see the whole body and realized a weakness, she never used her feet or knees to attack or defend. Her footwork was superb, but they never left the ground. I took a chance and looked her in the eyes, finding them solely focused on mine I formed a plan.

I dropped to my hands and one knee using a spinning sweep to take both her legs out from under her. I executed an in place rolling ax kick as soon as I felt her feet leave the ground against my calf. Her back hit the ground at the same time as my heel collided with her chest plate hard. I jumped to my feet, settled into my stance, and waited for her to stand. As she got to her feet, I noticed the mocking look was gone from her face while the seriousness seemed deeper. She nodded to me before speaking, "I see your not all talk, that was impressive. One more round before we switch to weapons." I nodded then surged forward myself taking the initiative this time hoping to truly impress her. She was ready however and sidestepped the front kick I had aimed at her midsection. The following muay thai kick with the same leg slipped through impacting her rib area. This time I was on the attack while Petra could only defend. After a few exchanges, I noticed her stamina starting to flag, I capitalized on that. I slid inside her next punch, grabbed the sides of her breastplate, then threw myself back in a sacrifice throw sending her over my head.

I kept hold after pushing her over with my foot and rolled so I was on top of her in a mount position and struck toward her throat. She froze beneath me as she registered my fingers lightly pressed on her throat. I noticed her pupils dilated and her breath quickened slightly when she registered my weight on her. After a moment I stood and offered her a hand up that she took gratefully.

I was puzzled by the new look in her eyes as she reassessed me, "Looks like I'm the one that has more to learn here." The self-deprecating laugh was discordant to my ears.

I responded as we walked over and picked up the wooden longswords, "You're the best I've ever had to fight. The only thing you're lacking is outside the box thinking, throws, and submissions. I'd be happy to teach you what I know." I smiled down at her petite 5'4" form.

We took up our places in the ring a second time. It seems my skill with a katana from years of Iaido training didn't transfer as well to the long sword as I'd hoped. She soundly trounced me, after the third kill shot, she stopped us and had me switch to the spear. I was much better here as my bo staff work transferred much better. I did manage to get a single win out of three before I switched to the halberd. I was better with it than the longsword, however, the forward weight of it threw me for a loop causing me to be beaten all three times.