Dawn (12 page)

Oh, that annoying girl!
Dawn was torn between running and hiding and sending her claws against the girl’s face.

The shop door opened again and out stepped the Lady Mayor. She beamed as she walked and came up behind the evil,
evil
girl. “Kate, I see you are making new friends!” she said with sincerity.

“
Yes, Mother, we were just talking and comparing notes on boys,” Kate said evenly.

“
Oh, my little darling, growing up so fast,” the mayor said ruffling Kate’s hair. “Dawn, do give your father our best wishes. We are terribly grateful for all he is doing for us. How is little Lily doing?”

Dawn did her best to be formal and polite, “Thank you, ma’am. He will be glad to hear that. Lily is doing quite well. Her eyes opened a few weeks ago, brilliant blue. Maria has her here in town; they are down on Market Street.”

The Lady Mayor brightened at that, “Oh, here in town? Good! Come, Kate, let’s go see little Lily.”

Kate rolled her eyes and did her best, “Yes, Mother,” before the pair headed off toward the marketplace.

Dawn stood there dejected. Oh, she wished she had done something, but what? Suddenly Dawn’s fur stood on end as she felt a presence behind her. She fought to maintain control, but whatever was back there was creeping her out, so she bit her lip and slowly turned to face the newest menace.

It was Gwen, grinning as always. Dawn all but laughed. Gwen was so silly, but so honest and sincere. She was the most infectious bundle of joy around, short of little Heather. “Hello, Gwen. Glad to see you again.” Then she glared in the direction of the departing Kate, “‘If I’m so plain of face and Gavin prefers me, what does that say about you?’ That is what I
should
have said. But no, I didn’t say anything!” Dawn sighed, “What should I do, Gwen?”

Gwen beamed back at Dawn and took her hand and spun her back around facing the dress shop.

“
Good answer,” said Dawn, starting to smile. “Let’s go see what they can do for me.”

The pair entered the shop and an attendant soon came over to them, “Good morning, Dawn. Good morning, Gwen. What can we do for you two today?” Her voice was warm and sincere. Dawn needed that. Most people were nice, but it only takes a few to ruin a day.

Dawn bobbed and replied smiling, “Well, I’m here for a new dress. Something for the dance this weekend.”

“
Ah! That should be fun. Were you thinking of something layered and formal or something flowing and fun?”

“
Flowing, please. Something that takes well to turns and twirls.”

The attendant thought for a bit, “Hmm, I think I know something that should do well for you. Come here and I’ll show you a few designs. Have you thought about color?”

“
Well, I was thinking about bright white, but…”

“
Ah, that would be an excellent choice for contrast; it would frame your face and make your hands and feet seem to float on the dance floor,” she offered.

“
Do you really think so?” Dawn was starting to get a little apprehensive.

The attendant nodded firmly and smiled. Dawn turned and cast a glance at Gwen who nodded and smiled back. Suddenly Gwen produced a brilliant white anklet band with silver bells and said, in an almost musical tone, “Match!”

Dawn blinked a bit. She wasn’t sure, but she thought that was the first time she had ever heard Gwen say
anything
. The attendant, unfazed, smiled and took the beautiful anklet. “Oh, that is a nice satin white. How does white polished cotton with satin trim sound?”

Dawn nodded absentmindedly, “If you think so.”

“
Well let’s get started and get you fit, so it will be ready in time. It does look like you’ve blossomed a bit since you were last here.”

Dawn beamed at the observation. She was really enjoying being the big sister of the family for a change. She quickly tried on several dresses of various styles while the attendant made measurements and kept notes. Finally they found one that suited her fancy, so they shifted their attention to choice of fabrics. Dawn never realized there could be so many possible variants of something as simple as white. There were several different weaves, weights, nap and polish to choose from. Fortunately, Maria soon arrived and helped sort it all out.

As they left the store, Gwen carried Lily while Maria led the merry band down the street to visit the vendors selling a wonderful variety of piping hot foodstuffs. A quick snack for all did them well.

“
Isn’t that Gavin?” suddenly asked Maria.

Sure enough, Gavin was walking up the street toward them.

“
Gavin!” called Dawn, all but beaming.

He smiled and waved and soon joined the crowd, “Good to see you. You were coming to watch practice today, yes?”

Dawn nodded enthusiastically, “But where is your armor, how will you practice?”

“
Oh, we’re doing Live Steel drills today. No armor needed, or allowed.”

“
It’s wild to think that something like Live Steel can be tame enough to practice with.”

“
Wild indeed! You get hit and the pain will make you all but delirious for a second or two, but it quickly passes and does no physical harm. Keeps you on your toes and makes sure you don’t get sloppy.”

“
Sorry to interrupt,” interjected Maria, “but if you two want to just go ahead and go to the practice field, we will catch up with you later.”

Dawn and Gavin both nodded and started off together.

“
You look a little stressed,” noticed Gavin, “Gwen? Lily? Me?”

Dawn laughed and shook her head, “No. Just a girl… Kate. She’s so mean!”

Sudden realization flashed over Gavin, “Oh,
her
!
Yeah, she thinks she can follow in the footsteps of her mother. She had been an only child for a long time, and wasn’t
nearly
so rude. But her baby sister came along and Kate turned into a serious grouch! She is sharp, I’ll grant you, but she talks behind everyone’s back. She isn’t winning herself any long-term friends.” Gavin laughed, “My Second Mother says Kate has delusions of grandeur. My big sister says Kate has delusions of adequacy!”

They both had a good laugh at that.

“
She seems to have eyes for you, Gavin.”

Gavin laughed so hard it almost floored him. “Oh
that
is fresh. Three months ago the word she used to describe me was ‘whelp!’” Gavin smirked and mused aloud, “I wonder if Tobias knows Kate is shopping around on him. That will make him, oh, so happy.”

“
She already has a boyfriend?”

“
Yeah, Tobias, big guy, about seventeen or so. Very nice guy, but a little slow when it comes to girls. He likes her a lot, a whole lot. But he’s not the type to do something stupid for her. That may be why Kate is looking around―she can’t manipulate him easily enough.”

“
And you are easier to manipulate?” Dawn cocked her head.

“
I guess so―all you have to do is bat your eyelashes and I turn to mush on you,” joked Gavin.

Dawn gave him a half serious frown, “Just so long as you keep your eyes aimed this way.”

“
Like I have any choice! Those eyes…”

“
Stop it!” barked Dawn as she put a finger over his mouth. “Save it for the dance this weekend.” She paused. “You
will
come to the dance with me?” Dawn asked as she batted her eyelashes.

Gavin gave a hearty laugh, “Yes, ma’am. That is if you will have me.”

“
Silly boy,” Dawn kissed him on the nose and all of Gavin’s fur turned dark and shot up on end. Gavin stood there speechless as he tried to recompose himself.

“
Better get it under control, fuzzy boy. It looks like practice is about ready to start,” smirked Dawn.

Gavin quickly spun around. Sure enough they were already at the practice field and most of the others were already there. It was an older crowd today. The eldest were around seventeen while Gavin at fifteen was definitely the youngest. Dawn knew he was supposed to be good beyond his age. He was going to need to be! There were all manner of boys with an arsenal of different weapons, each itching for a chance to prove their worth.

Llewellyn started the group through a normal set of stretches and warm-up drills before launching into the normal safety lecture that always accompanied such outings. He then squared up Gavin and a large boy of about seventeen.

“
Tobias,” began Llewellyn, “if Gavin here is your opponent what will your approach be?”

Oh, so that is Tobias!
Dawn suddenly had mental images of the towering boy in the evil clutches of Kate.

“
Well, I’m taller and stronger than him and have a longer reach, but he is very fast on his feet. I need to exploit my reach and not let him get too close.”

“
Excellent! But what would you do with a
really
short target? Dawn, could you come out here?”

Dawn was shocked, but not half as shocked as the boys on the field. Odd murmurs filled the field.

“
Dawn, this is Tobias. Tobias, this is my daughter, Dawn. Enough pleasantries, how would you take her down?”

Tobias, towering overhead, alternated between shocked and amused, “By stepping on her, sir?”

Llewellyn grinned slyly, “Dawn, Live Steel, defensive posture.”

Dawn grumbled to herself.
This was the wrong outfit for things like this. I’m going to get grass stains everywhere.
Grumbles or no, she obliged her father and she went to a low squat position and two curved short swords appeared in a blue flourish. One held forward and out maximizing her reach while she held the other over head in line with the first.

Shocked looks engulfed the field. Dawn stole a few quick glances and saw while Tobias was flabbergasted, Gavin just had a broad grin.
Good, at least that didn’t freak him out
, she thought to herself.

Llewellyn carefully, articulately, and somewhat fatherly tried again, “Tobias, how would you take her down?”

His confidence shattered, Tobias composed himself carefully, “She’s very short, so she has little reach. She’s fast on her feet, so she can close. She apparently likes fighting with two weapons so that means she’ll probably try and foul my weapon and then close. She’s
your
daughter so she’s probably very good at this. I am much stronger than she and I have excellent endurance. I have two options. First―keep her at the full reach of the sword so she cannot close and then try and wear her down.”

“
You said two options.”

“
Yeah, the other option is to not try at all…”

Llewellyn smiled as he addressed the crowd, “There will always be times when you will have to look at a bout and decide if it is really worth it. You must learn to choose your battles. If you are out gunned and out classed, but the tide
must
turn, what should you do?”

“
Find a friend,” offered Gavin.

“
Excellent choice! Sword work for real is rarely ever a solo proposition. Teamwork pays off instantly. And that is the theme for today: teamwork. Tobias.”

“
Sir.”

“
If you had to pick a partner today, who would it be and why?”

“
I’d pick Gavin. Our strengths and weaknesses play well off each other. I can set a frontal attack, while he has the speed and footwork to protect my flanks, and the poise to close when needed.”

“
Excellent! So that is how we will start. Who wants to fight Tobias
and
Gavin? Choose your partner wisely.” Llewellyn grinned broadly as he gave Dawn a quick hug. “Thanks, little one! They haven’t been so shaken in months.”

“
You’re welcome, I think,” replied Dawn. She hesitantly approached Gavin, who was still grinning like an idiot. “Um, you okay with me playing with swords?”

Gavin glowed, “Dawn, can you get any more incredible? That was fabulous!”

Dawn’s fur rippled briefly as she made her way back to the sidelines. Well, at least that was one less secret she had to keep. What of the other secrets?

Dawn bounded down the stairs and skipped into the kitchen. With a quick flourish, she spun showing off the flow of her new dress. It had come out perfectly and was flattering in almost every way.

Maria beamed, “I think someone is happy with her new dress.”

Dawn smiled back, “It’s gorgeous! I’ve never had anything like it. Those people at the shop are amazing!” She giddily looked around. Gwen was at the table holding Lily while Maria was cleaning up Heather for the outing. “Where are the others?”

“
Oh, Ivy and the twins headed out just a little bit ago. They have a bit of setup to do before the dance starts.”

Dawn nodded to Gwen, “Is she going to be playing, too, or just helping with Lily?”

Gwen smiled broadly and giggled as she rocked the infant.