Misplaced Princess Redux (Closed for FireyIce)

[FireyIce]

Though he was heading back down the stairs, he heard what Dusty had said. One of the perks of living in a wide open area was that the sounds usually traveled pretty well. He turned around and headed back up, walking behind Dusty as she was packing. Dom wrapped his arms around her waist.

“In all my time knowing you, I’ve never heard you say so many ‘what if’s’ before. You have nothing to worry about,” Dom tried to reassure her. “You don’t need to worry about getting kicked out. The first two weeks are you just learning the basics. And don’t worry if you fall down, you’ll get back up, I’ll make sure of it,” He stated as he began to rub her shoulders slightly.

He let go of Dusty, hoping that his little speech helped as he leaned his head on her shoulder. “When you get done today, come back at 5 and watch my class. Then you’ll not have any worries about doing anything bad, embarrassing, foolish, alright?”

 

[Opensesame54321]

Surrounded by uncertainty, Dom returned to her, his arms wrapping around her, pulling her back against him.

In all my time knowing you, I’ve never heard you say so many ‘what if’s’ before. You have nothing to worry about. You don’t need to worry about getting kicked out. The first two weeks are you just learning the basics. And don’t worry if you fall down, you’ll get back up, I’ll make sure of it

As if to rub away her stress and doubt, his hands found her shoulders and rubbed them as if to sooth before resting his head against them.

When you get done today, come back at 5 and watch my class. Then you’ll not have any worries about doing anything bad, embarrassing, foolish, alright?

She nodded. The doubt was still there, but she still had to try. With shoulders up, she would press forward. If she made a fool of herself, she would be the grandest fool that they had ever had.

"I'm ready, Honey." She paused. "Or should I call you Dom at the Golden Claw. All that fraternization bit. By the way, what is it called? A studio? A gym? I'm afraid the only Asian word I know is 'bonsai'. And I'm not sure what it means but it's a pretty word."

 

[FireyIce]

It took a moment before he moved his head off of her shoulder. Once he did, Dom took her hand and began to hold it as they started to head out of the apartment. “It’s technically a dojo, but pretty much a gym. That’s what most of the people call it anyways,” He mentioned as they got into the car. “As far as what to call me, try to use Dom, Salvatore…Master,” Dom mentioned with a slight smile, making sure he knew it was a sexual reference, “Though the last suggestion might be better at bedtime?” Dom suggested with a slightly raised brow. “Pretty much try not to use any pet names when others are around. Though, some of the people know we’re a couple so it won’t be a problem if you mess up.”

The drive was just as normal for him as it ever was. During the drive he pointed out the easiest way to get there from the apartment and what she should be on the lookout for. Once they arrived, Dom handed her the keys as they went in. “Technically the car is labeled as a company car so kind of make sure you don’t damage it or anything later, alright babe?” Dom said with a slight peck on the cheek before they met the receptionist again. “Laura, please make sure Dusty gets taken care of,” he said as he headed over to where the offices were. He knew it was going to be a busy day and was looking forward to later that night when Dusty would be coming back.

 

[Opensesame54321]

Even though Dom had tried to calm her down before they left the apartment, she was still nervous not knowing just what to expect. The drive over to the dojo (what kind of word was that?) was nerve-wracking though she tried to play it cool. She suspected that he knew her a lot better than she thought that he did. After all, he had been keeping an eye on her for how long?

"No pet names. Got it. I can't call you 'Studmuffin', or 'Sex Machine' at the gym." She grinned, trying to lighten her mood. Then he gave her the car keys when they reached the gym, telling her it was basically a company car. Wonderful. Not to put any more stress on her. Thought the way he called her babe sounded more natural than before. That was a positive.

Laura, the receptionist, was very nice. The woman led the way back into the dressing rooms, showing Dusty where to change and how to stash away her street clothes. The woman was nice, though she did ask a few personal questions which let Dusty know that the woman found Dom attractive.

"Master Salvatore is such a nice person. How long have you been seeing each other?" She recognized it as a general way of gathering information.

"Yes he is. We've known each other for some time." Dusty was purposely ambiguous in her answers and she thanked Laura for her help as the girl, once Dusty had changed, showed her around the place before leading her to her class. Dusty' stomach was full of butterflies.

 

[FireyIce]

There was a small wave to Dusty as he made his way over to the staff part of the building. Once there, he checked in for the day, got changed and started to prepare for his first class.

As he awaited his pupil’s to arrive, he reflected on the many times he messed up and fell down. He knew it would be a lot of work, but he was sure that Dusty would do just fine. He watched as several students came in and greeted him. Though they were very promising students, they weren’t as much of the entertainment that his last class of the day would end up bringing him.

As the day progressed, Dom wandered to the meditation room before his last class. The room was very simple and quiet. He had recommended years ago that it be soundproof and, since it was only available to the staff, there were no cameras. He had a little over an hour, so he decided to make use of the time and, as he had done so many times before, opened a way to go into The Void.

When he stepped through, he looked around, noticing everything that had been in place for so long. He knew he had limited time and did a quick check to see if there were any signs of anyone being around here. He didn’t notice any new footprints or tracks, nor did he notice any new bodies or anything that would be a sign that anyone had been around. After seeing how much time had passed, he headed back to the dojo, specifically the meditation room.

Dom left the room and headed to his last class of the day. He relished in the idea of saving the best for last and his last group hardly ever disappointed. Once he was in the room, he greeted some of the people that wanted to sit in, or was invited to sit in, on his class. It wasn’t too uncommon for something like this to happen, especially with new students that had just started out. He had seen it work as a good motivator in the past and he was hoping that Dusty would find it to be as well. Dom noticed is was getting close to 5 as his last students were showing up.

 

[Opensesame54321]

She may have been considered royality by some, but she fell just like all the other commoners. Something about it being important to know how to fall safely. So fall she did. She didn't have trouble falling. She did that naturally and really didn't need help with it. She was taught the rules of the place, about bowing and showing respect. Some of it was common sense stuff, other bits of it was traditional.

She did meet some new people. One person, a guy called Paul, seemed to usually wind up near her on the mats. He seemed nice enough, and before Dom she would probably have turned on the charm, but...not now. Now was all business. Dusty had thought that she was to have a private trainer, instead of being just one of a large group. Maybe that was to come later. Once she was finished, she made her way back to the dressing rooms, quickly changing before scooping up her dirty stuff and bag and heading for the car.

It's always a little strange driving a different car for the first time. She was a good driver, but each car has its own idiosyncrasies - brakes stop quick or slow, positive steering or not, rearrange the rear view mirrors, pull the seat up, etc. As she finished the adjusting, she looked up to see Paul smiling at her as he stood by the car. She smiled back and he took that as an opening to come to the car. She rolled down the window.

"You know, this space is reserved for instructors." He pointed to the sign on the side of the building.

"I know." She nodded. A frown crossed his face.

"You're an instructor?"

"No, but my boyfriend is." She assured him. The frown disappeared but the smile didn't return. He seemed to be weighing his options.

"Oh." His answer was rather weak but she smiled at him, ignoring the glances from other students passing by them. She recognized most of them from her class.

"Look, I'm sorry but I need to go run errands. I'll see you in class next time." She smiled at him and backed the car out before heading home. She kept a firm watch on her rear view mirrors to make sure that she was not followed. That encounter with the assassin had made her a bit more wary.

Back at the apartment she managed to get most of her stuff put away. The last thing she put out was a picture of her Mom and Dad on the dresser. They may not have given birth to her, but they were the only parents that she had known, and she loved them dearly.

A glance at the clock told her that there was just enough time to get back for Dom's last class. The drive to the dojo was uneventful and she parked in the same parking spot that Dom had when they arrived that morning. Asking Laura where Dom's class was, she was directed to the door. At two minutes before five, she stepped in.

 

[FireyIce]

The class consisted of 4 males and 2 females. All of them were at least black belts and had spent the last year working with Dominic. He headed over to the door, checking to see if anyone else was coming before closing it. “Good evening, class!” he stated as he went to his normal position in the center, near the back.

“Good evening,” they replied in a loud unified response. All six of them had stood straight up, looking as if they were soldiers. The way Dom had trained them; they could easily pass for that.

“We do have some guests with us today. There are a few new students that I invited to see how the journey, as long as it may be at times, may be beneficial with them,” he began by saying in a calmer tone. “Also, there are a few individuals that need some motivation to give them that little extra push to make them that much better.” Once he finished talking to his students he wandered around to the side and addressed the crowd. “When my students hit this kind of level, I don’t have them address me as master, sensei, or anything like that. I want them to be seen as equals as part of their hard work.”

A few strolls later, Dom was back to where he was before. “Class, we have a new opportunity for us, which I would like to take advantage of. In a few months there will be a doubles tournament and I feel this is the time for you to be taken out of your comfort zone. So,” he began to say, “I would like to start in our next class with having pair versus pair. I know that this seems strange with only three groups, which is why I will be advancing two individuals to join this class specifically. Not only will you have to think about what your opponent is going to do, you must now begin to think of what your partner and the other opponent will do as well,” Dom said as he made a brief glace over at Dusty. With what he was saying it was universal enough to where the words weren’t directly aimed at her.

“In celebration of this news, I think today will be very interesting. Our class will be a bit shorter, though the reward worth it. All of you will go get a weapon and it will be a six-on-one sparring match with nothing being held back, not until the last person submits.” There was a bit of talking that broke the moment of silence as the students went to go get their weapons. “These weapons are made from a sort of material which will have an impact as the real ones, just not as deadly,” Dom stated to everyone in the room.

He walked towards the center of the room as the six gathered around him, forming a loosely made circle. “Try to think about what your fellow students will do, try to anticipate everything you can. Once you tap out, you’re done. There is no shame in doing so. And, sometimes, you need to fight dirty,” Dom said as he cracked his fingers, showing he was still unarmed. “Let us begin,” He added as he took his stance.

To his surprise, one of his students, Michael, backed away and tapped out on the mat immediately before walking over to the side of the room. To everyone in the room, Dom didn’t change any of his facial expression as he saw that. He did note it as he placed his hand in his pocket and got out a small amount of dirt and threw it at one of his students. What ensured from that consisted of a lot of non-stop fighting. Over the course of time, he took the student that had the dirt thrown towards them, grabbed them, and pushed them into someone else.

There were times that he allowed himself to get hit to feign being injured. Once there was an established pattern, he would break it and counter-attack. It took time, but slowly each one had begun to tap out. As the numbers went from five to four to three, the intensity wasn’t lost. In fact, Dom made it that much more challenging.

In a quick move, he slid over and tripped one of the girls. As he caught her, he grabbed her wrist and began using her as both a shield and controlling her weapon. There were a few instances where the situation was humorous like that, though it wasn’t Dom’s intention.

Slowly, but surely, the rest of the class had tapped out. Once that was done, he walked over to Michael, “Why did you tap out first?” Dom stated in a firm and harsh tone. It was loud enough to where everyone was dead silent.

“I knew we didn’t stand a chance,” was the simple reply. “We were already set up for failure.”

Once Dom heard the words, there was a fury in his eyes that he didn’t show that often. He walked over to one of the students and took their weapon, a long stick. “If you favor the odds so much, let’s go,” He said as he walked back to the middle of the room, twirling the stick.

Before Michael could even get into his starting stance, Dom had already swung his stick at him. It was blocked, as expected. There was a rapid succession of clashes as the speed and intensity seemed to be a lot faster. There was no doubt he knew that Dusty probably knew he was holding back from what he could do. As they continued to spar, he made sure that there was a clash that allowed him to push Michael away. Once that happened, he broke the stick, as if it were nothing, on his legs and used the two smaller ones to inflict more hits.

At the end of the match, there was no doubt that Michael was on the floor. Even the most inexperienced students could tell that Dom had been holding back earlier. “Sometimes you need to learn to fail in order to learn how not to fail,” he stated as he tossed his weapons to the ground. There is an old saying by the Chinese philosopher Confucius stating that our glory isn’t in falling, but in rising every time we fall. Class,” he said as he watched them line back up. “I will let you know in a few days who you will be working with. Other than that, get cleaned up. We do have a massage company that will tend to your bodies for 15 minutes each. They are professional and so are you, remember that. Dismissed!” He told them as he watched them walk away.

As he got closer to his “guests” he inquired, “I hope you enjoyed watching my class today and I hope it helped you find the motivation that you need.”

It was about ten minutes after everyone else had left that he started to walk down the hall with Dusty, his hand holder hers. “So, what did you think?” he inquired as they made their way to the car.

 

[Opensesame54321]

Watching Dom work was exciting. As she understood it, these students were very advanced. Just watching them standing there, they were nothing like the class that she had taken earlier. She was sitting a bit gingerly with the other observers. Her butt was sore from having fallen on it so much, and when she went to the bathroom, she had found a big bruise on her hip from one fall. After a couple more classes, she would have a nice collection of bruises.

She watched them circle him to begin. Suddenly, before they could even really begin, one of the young men left the circle. She knew Dom. He was not happy, though suddenly they attacked him. Sometimes the action went so fast that she could not keep up with it. She would never be like this. Never. She could gracefully seduce a man, or walk across a floor, but fight someone? She could be too easily overpowered. Damn, she was dead meat.

Finally, it was whittled down to just two. But she could tell that he was holding back. After all, she had seen him actually kill. Had seen him fight to the death. This was like dancing, pretty and almost scripted. What she had seen him do was brutal. Dirty. Nothing pretty about it. Oh, she really didn't blame him. He was saving her life. But the two were different, in her eyes. And she really wondered if any of these students could actually ever do what Dom had done.

A winner was called and then Dom turned to the man that had backed out. The student's reason angered Dom. The room was dead silent and she suspected that she was not the only one aware of it. In fact, the room seemed to collectively be holding their breath.

The sticks seemed to be flying fast and furious, the staccato sound of them rapidly hitting each other the only sounds other than the grunt and yells that the student Michael made. Dom was silent but she could tell that he was still holding back. And when he broke the stick against his thigh, there were gasps from the spectators.

Of course Michael ended up on the floor, breathing heavy. Dom was cold and still, not even sweating from his exertions.

Sometimes you need to learn to fail in order to learn how not to fail. There is an old saying by the Chinese philosopher Confucius stating that our glory isn’t in falling, but in rising every time we fall. Class, I will let you know in a few days who you will be working with. Other than that, get cleaned up. We do have a massage company that will tend to your bodies for 15 minutes each. They are professional and so are you, remember that. Dismissed!”

This was a different side of Don. She knew that he was trying to encourage her and she knew that some of those words that he said were aimed at her, but she really felt hopeless in this self defense stuff.

After he had changed, he met up with her outside the classroom. Taking her hand, they headed for the car. So, what did you think?

"I think that you're a great instructor. I think that this is hard work. I don't know how I will ever to do anything like that." She was a bit apprehensive to say more. She knew that he wanted her to think positively, and after her class today, she was far from thinking positively. So she tried changing the subject. "And I think that I'm starving. What's for supper?"

 

[FireyIce]

As they walked out to the car, he listened to Dusty explain her thoughts, though they were brief. He could hear the worry in her voice. Once outside, he turned around and locked the door before heading to the car. “You don’t need to worry about being that good. You need to worry about just fending off individuals, if you need to,” Dom commented. “Some people need to have strength, but not always physically. It will be hard work and you will learn, though the main thing is you need to be strong mentally.”

He opened the door for her before walking around to his side. As he got in, he finished up his thought. “Think of this as both a confidence boost and a way to practice discipline. Those are the two qualities you will need most,” Dom explained as the engine roared to life.

“As for dinner, I say we get something to go and take it home with us,” Dom suggested thinking that Dusty was probably tired from the day she had. “Name a place and I’ll pick it up for us.” He waited patiently before shifting the car into drive and heading to get the food.

 

[Opensesame54321]

"I must be the most unsure, indecisive princess there ever was. It is still hard to think of myself as one, despite all these things that have been happening." She shook her head, more to herself than to him. After all, she knew what he said to be true. Still, she had to fight to keep from giggling when she thought of herself as Princess Dusty. And just what could her real name have been.

Her mind had been wandering and she almost missed his talk about something to eat.

"Oh, I don't care. Mexican? Italian? Whatever you want."

So, confidence and discipline were two things that she needed. She retreated into herself, staring out the window without seeing, listening without hearing. She didn't see how being knocked down to the floor for an hour would be a confidence builder. She grew quiet, trying to think through the class today, comparing it to the class that she had just watched. They were nothing alike. The class she had just watched was professional. Her class? When she was little, her parents had given her a set of Weebles. The egg-shaped figures would weave back and forth but because of their shape and their heavy bottoms they always popped back up. In fact, her Mom would often recite to her, Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.. They had been like a class of Weebles. Except they all fell down. Over and over and over.

Ah, if she could only be a Weeble.

 

[FireyIce]

“I wouldn’t know,” Dom said flatly as he continued to drive. “My experience with royalty is very limited. And even then, there was no logical reason to question whatever they said to do.”

Shortly after hearing her responses to food, he looked over and saw her looking out the window. Though he believed that having her sit in on his class would be a good motivator, Dom started to realize that it may not have been the best idea. Without saying anything, he pulled into a drive thru and ordered a pizza.

After a few moments, the food had been ordered and they were heading back to the apartment. Not much was being said. “What are you thinking about?” he inquired to Dusty as they closed in closer to the building they now shared.

On the plus side, the silence gave him time to think of a way to cheer her up. There were many times where he thought he had good ideas, and every once in a blue moon, he figured out some ideas were just train wrecks waiting to happen. With what was going on in his mind, he wasn’t sure which one would be winning as he pulled into his parking spot and escorted Dusty up to their apartment with their dinner for the night.

 

[Opensesame54321]

She was wondering just where she stood in all this. There was no way that she would ever be that good. Granted, she had only had one class, but she sucked at it. She could tell by the way the others in the class looked at her. The teacher was what she thought they called, inscrutable. She could tell she sucked at it by the big bruise on her hip that occasionally made itself known by the seatbelt in the car. She could just imagine the conversation that would happen between Master Young and Dom when the man told him that his girlfriend was not Golden Claw material.

She really never heard Dom's question to her, nor did she notice what food he had picked up for them to eat. She just went through the motions, following wherever he led her. She still hadn't gotten it through her head that she needed to keep her wits about her.

Once in the apartment, she automatically set the table. She was tired and suddenly really not hungry. But Dom had gone to the trouble of getting the food and she would eat it.

"What do you want to drink?"

 

[FireyIce]

“Water will work,” Dom said as he watched Dusty set the table. He wasn’t entirely sure what was wrong, though he figured it was best not to ask. As the table was set, he put the pizza down and opened it.

The next few moments were somewhat awkward since they were eating in silence. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, though usually such treatment would be the result of a fight or something similar. It wasn’t until they were almost done when he asked, “What’s on your mind, princess?” He had been good about not mentioning that she was royalty, though he figured this would at least spark somewhat of a conversation.

While he was waiting for a response, he began to think on how to help cheer her up. He wasn’t sure, though he began to think that she wouldn’t even be in the mood for sex with how distant he thought she was feeling at this time. One idea did cross his mind and he was hoping that it wouldn’t have to come to pass.

 

[Opensesame54321]

The meal was quiet and she welcomed it. She didn't want to be a complainer or a Negative Nellie and thought it best to just keep her mouth shut. Plus, he had just paid for these classes with a huge chunk of gold that had to be worth thousands of dollars. She had to make good on this - she couldn't waste this time and money on being half assed about the whole thing.

What’s on your mind, princess?

She almost didn't hear the question and she started. "Oh, uh, nothing much. Dom, I'm really tired. If you don't mind, I'm going on to bed. Don't worry about waking me when you come to bed." She gave him a quick kiss before heading upstairs to the bedroom area.

As she changed for bed, she checked her left hip in the mirror. An area about the size of a grapefruit was sore and bruised. She couldn't understand why it was bruised. She fell on the mat, just like everyone else. Maybe... She looked at her left hand. Very faintly, she could see light bruises on her fingers. How stupid could she be? She must have fallen on her own fist and bruised her hip that way. Making a fist, she put it against the spot on her hip. Pretty close to a match. What a dope! She did it to herself.

She heard him cleaning up downstairs and felt bad for not offering to clean up the kitchen. Though in a way, she was not lying. She was tired. She crawled into bed and turned away from Dom's side of the bed. Maybe tomorrow would be better. She didn't even know if she had another class tomorrow.

 

[FireyIce]

Dom could tell that something was off, though he decided to heed her advice. The meal was simple and short, not requiring a lot of cleaning up. He listened to Dusty as she mentioned that she was tired and wanted to go to bed. “That’s not a problem,” he said as he returned her kiss. He watched as she headed upstairs to get ready for bed.

Dom figured that she should have her space and could capitalize on it. Once he finished with cleaning up with their dinner, he decided to go into The Void. This would allow her to have space and him to do some work. He also figured that by the time he got back, she should be asleep. As he went back in, he looked around, going back to his roots with protecting her.

After a few hours of watching, observing, there wasn’t anything new. This allowed him to go back to Earth and get ready for bed. As he came back in, he was correct with Dusty being out. It wasn’t very long after that he was laying next to her, pulling her body closer to his. As he closed his eyes, he thought of what to do to help motivate Dusty for when they woke up in the morning.

 

[Opensesame54321]

She didn't visit the void. For some reason, she actually dreamed. She was a kid again, with everything just like it was when she grew up. Mom was mom and Dad was dad and she was 8 years old and didn't want the go to school.

"But I don't wanna go to school." She wailed at her mother as Captain Crunch filled her spoon, slowly getting soggy.

"Do you want to grow up to be an idiot? Of course not. No daughter of mine is a quitter! You remember that, young lady. As long as you try, that's all I ask."

In the middle of her dream she found her answer. She drifted into that half-awake, half-sleep portion of the night, somehow vaguely aware of Dom coming to bed, climbing in beside her and pulling her up against him. She moaned in her sleep - a soft, gentle sound as she snuggled up to him, her breathing slow and even. She felt safe.

 

[FireyIce]

The rest of the night went by soundly. Dom felt relaxed as he slept, his muscular body felling both the fabric and smoothness on Dusty’s body. With knowing that these arrangements were going to be happening, he had moved his schedule around quite a bit and had a later start at the dojo.

As the daylight broke, he moved the covers over both of their bodies, allowing a chance for more sleep to occur. He thought to himself that it was relaxing, and he should take advantage of this nice opportunity. There was no telling when he was going to get such a nice break when they got back to Thanagran.

It wasn’t until the alarm kicked off close to 10am before he started to let go of Dusty. As he did, he moved his arm and turned it off. “Are you up, princess?” He asked inquisitively while keeping his eyes closed. He gently kissed her neck, trying to wake her from her slumber, wondering if she was in a better mood this morning.

 

[Opensesame54321]

The alarm sounded, but as usual her body tried its darnedest to ignore the noise. Her eyes remained closed. Maybe if she tried real hard, the dream would return and she would be a kid again. Where her biggest worry was how to get out of going to school or if she could eat her cereal before it got soggy. His arm moved. Shit! She was starting to wake up.

Are you up, princess?

Lips on her neck were enticing her and she started to move. Pain shot through her. Every muscle in her body ached. Falling so much yesterday had made her sore. Her left hip really hurt. Trying to ignore his wake up call, she snuggled closer to him, her eyes refusing to open.

"Don't call me 'princess'!" Her voice was croaky, full of sleep and barely audible in the room.

Dusty definitely was not a morning person.

 

[FireyIce]

Dom let out a small chuckle as he heard her response to him calling her princess. Though this was going to be something to get use to, it still had to get done. Waking up was definitely not on her list, and he was beginning to see that he may need to adjust an already flimsy schedule if it was going to be that difficult of a task. Though he wasn’t a fan of it, he figured he would have to resort to extortion to a degree.

“If you get up, I’ll let you play with my wings,” Was the offer that Dom had laid out. He knew it was something special that seemed to intrigue her the other day. As an extra incentive, he had one of them started to come out and brush against her skin. It was only for a quick moment or two that he allowed it to caress and tease her silky, smooth skin. And before there was a coherent response, he had the wing retract back into him.

He began to loosen his grip on her as his arm slowly slithered back towards him from under her body. “You have got a busy day ahead of you,” Dom informed Dusty as he was waking up more himself.

 

[Opensesame54321]

If you get up, I’ll let you play with my wings

Feathers soft as a baby's breath brushed against her skin. It was a fuzzy thought, there and then quickly gone. This waking up so early in the morning was not a favorite thing for her to do. In fact, she was still finding it hard to wake up.

A mumbling grumble left her lips as he pulled his arm away. She rolled over and the covers fell away. In her skimpy sleepwear, the bruise on her hip was visible peeking out under the lace, as were a small number of fingerprint bruises on her back.

She tried going back to sleep. Finding the dream was a lost cause but she still tried. No matter where she came from in reality, Earth would always be her home and the parents that she grew up with would always be Mom and Dad.

"Just a couple more minutes, Dom." She was determined to get as much sleep as possible.

 

[FireyIce]

“Very well,” Dom stated as he got out of bed. He noted the bruises on her body and had some concern. Not just for the fact that she fell, but for the fact that someone might think they may have originated from him. He began to think of how to address it to her personal trainer. As he was thinking, he took off his boxers and headed towards the shower.

The water was warm and refreshing as it hit his body. He could feel and hear his bones crack as he stretched out. There was a lot he would be working on today and he wasn’t sure how Dusty was going to react to finding out how much he had planned for her today. It wasn’t going to be intense, though it was going to be time consuming.

As he finished up, he dried off with a towel. As he approached the bed, he let out a small yawn. It didn’t take too long for him to find some clothes to throw on since he had his own locker he could change at in the dojo. “Time to get up,” He told Dusty, this time a bit more sternly. “It’s almost 10:20 and we need to be there by 11. You’ll have time to relax after your session today,” Dom mentioned without wanting to go into too much detail.

With that, he headed down the stairs and began to get some cereal, so he could at least have something to eat before his day started. He waited patiently for Dusty, hoping she wouldn’t be moving too slow.

 

[Opensesame54321]

Time to get up. It’s almost 10:20 and we need to be there by 11. You’ll have time to relax after your session today

Crap. It seemed like he had just gotten out of bed. She rolled over and got out of bed, her muscles complaining. Like the walk of a zombie, she headed for the bathroom. The water in the shower finally started waking her up, especially when she turned it up as hot as she could stand it. It only took several minutes before she was out and drying herself off.

Quickly she dressed, or at least as quickly as she could. Though still half asleep, she headed for the kitchen area, fixing herself some toast. She was glad to know that Dom knew her well enough that she didn't have to keep explaining to him as to why she couldn't talk in the mornings. Maybe she could sleep late on the weekends. One could always hope.

She grabbed a glass of orange juice, figuring that she would probably need the energy. Then she looked up at Dom as he finished.

 

[FireyIce]

Dom looked at Dusty as she made her way down the stairs and made herself some food. They both ate quietly before finishing. Dom had learned not only was Dusty far from a morning person; she was also not very talkative in the morning. He had some experience with having a relationship where the girl wouldn’t even acknowledge any type of existence until at least one cup of coffee was consumed. He was hoping that she wouldn’t be that bad.

Without saying anything, he got up and took care of the dishes quickly before walking over and taking her hand as they headed out to the car. The bright sun made the drive a bit more tedious, though traffic wasn’t bad on the way to the dojo. Before they got out, Dom finally spoke. “I hope you’re in a better mood this morning than you were last night,” He offered.

As they headed inside, he handed the keys to Dusty. When they entered, one of Dom’s students, Yvonne was waiting for them. “Dusty, this is Yvonne. Yvonne, Dusty,” He said as he introduced them to each other. “Yvonne is one of my students and will be your personal trainer on days like today when you don’t have class. As an added bonus, she’s actually from Britain and is here for both school and work. She’s going to work out with you, then you’ll be doing some yoga, she’ll teach you some of the etiquette manners from England, and you will have a massage at the same place that came in yesterday,” Dom said hoping that the workload would be easier than her class yesterday. “Feel free to ask her questions, go at your own pace, do things in whatever order. I’ll get myself home so you won’t need to worry about driving back to get me,” He added as he started to head to his locker. “Yvonne, she’s not a morning person but hopefully you two will have fun and I will see you later.”

With that Dom headed to get changed before showing up for his first class. He was hoping Dusty wouldn’t have a problem with doing some simplistic workout routines and that she would be in a better mood. One of the things he would need to do is see about having Yvonne help her out later in the day.

 

[Opensesame54321]

Taking her hand, they walked out to the car. She was glad for the sunshine - it helped to wake her up and definitely helped her mood. Once they reached the dojo, Dom finally tried to have a conversation with her. Though she wasn't crazy about the topic.

I hope you’re in a better mood this morning than you were last night

"I'm fine this morning. I just didn't feel very good last night." She left it at that, and her tone hopefully let him know that it was really not a subject that she wanted to address.

He handed her the car keys as they were met in the lobby by a very pretty woman. She had soft brown hair and dark brown eyes and smiled at both of them. It was Dom that made the introductions.

Dusty, this is Yvonne. Yvonne, Dusty. Yvonne is one of my students and will be your personal trainer on days like today when you don’t have class. As an added bonus, she’s actually from Britain and is here for both school and work. She’s going to work out with you, then you’ll be doing some yoga, she’ll teach you some of the etiquette manners from England, and you will have a massage at the same place that came in yesterday. Feel free to ask her questions, go at your own pace, do things in whatever order. I’ll get myself home so you won’t need to worry about driving back to get me. Yvonne, she’s not a morning person but hopefully you two will have fun and I will see you later.

And with that, Dom was gone.

"Well, gee, he made me sound like a barrel of fun, didn't he?" Yvonne smiled. Right away, she would have known that the woman was from England by her accent.

"Sometimes, men don't understand, do they?" Yvonne's clipped tones still sounded friendly as the woman escorted her to the changing room.

"Trouble is, I think that I'm starting some time today."

"Well, we'll go easy today. It will mainly give you a chance to stretch out. If anything hurts or is "uncomfortable", just let me know. Once you change, find me in the private room marked 'A' at the end of the hall. They are much smaller than the classrooms."

Alone in the dressing room, she had been right about her period starting. Once she was ready, she found the room marked "A". It was at least half the size of the regular classrooms. When she told Yvonne about starting, the young woman smiled at her.

"If you need a bathroom break, just let me know."

"I have to warn you, I am not very good at self defense."

"Well," Yvonne answered, "you're safe here then. Think of this more like slow dancing. Movements are slower and more graceful. You are slowly stretching your muscles, helping to make you more limber. Plus it will help with your balance."

Dusty discovered that she was quite good at Yoga, and actually enjoyed it. Yvonne was a wonderful teacher - encouraging and easy to understand. Anytime that they took a break, she would talk about England and the differences between there and America. She had noticed Dusty favoring her left side and when asked, Dusty explained about falling on her fist in class the day before.

"You should have told Master Dominick, and you should have told me before we started class. He would have relieved some of the pain and swelling by putting ice on it." Yvonne scolded her.

"I felt stupid that it happened."

"You are learning. Things like this are expected. Even experienced people have accidents. But they cannot be corrected or you cannot get relief from the pain if you do not let him or even your teacher know."

When she came back from a bathroom break, Yvonne had gotten a square plastic pillow and dropped it in a small fabric envelope. "These are kept in the freezer in back. They are filled with something that acts like ice. If you ever need one, just ask for it." She had Dusty put it on her hip as they sat discussing English manners.

Dusty was starting to feel much better about herself, now that she had found something that she was good at and actually comfortable doing.

 

[FireyIce]

Dom’s day was a bit more tedious than Dusty’s. He had two classes to teach today and two students to find out who should be upgraded to a new class. The obvious choice would have been to choose two of the best students from one class, or one from each class. Though many would have agreed with that line of thinking, he had to think more long term. There was no doubt in his future; he would be training, if not just assisting, new soldiers. That made his job a bit more unique. And sometimes that meant having to choose those that are less qualified.

At the beginning of both classes, he did his announcement on what he was looking for. He followed it by letting them know that they would find out in two days time. The plus side is that it seemed to serve as a proper motivator for some of his students. He had the student’s pair off and do some sparring as he walked around, observing, evaluating. Not just some of their stuff, but everything. Between his classes and a few private sessions, he went into The Void as before, and found it to be uneventful. The good thing is that there were no bad things going on.

As the day winded down, he looked at the time. It was almost 8 at night and he started to make his way home. Once he was away from where everyone would be, he slipped through space again, going to the roof of his apartment complex. He did entertain the thought that if it were darker, he would have flown back home. When he got to the stairs, he walked down to his floor, opened the door and headed back to his apartment. Once the door was opened and he was in, he saw Dusty. “How was your day he asked?” Hoping that it was at least better than yesterday.