Her wits were no match to my blade.

Those were my exact thoughts as I easily parried Anna’s pitiful stabs, swings, and slashes. Why, I even turned my blade blunt side out as I side-stepped yet another ill-placed attack and knocked her knees out from under her.

Anna easily stumbled backward, losing grip and dropping her blade. “Hey! No fair!” She cried.

“All’s fair in love and war,” I commented with a smirk as I knocked her blade out of reach.

Hey, what was I supposed to do? Let it slice her as it fell?

I dodged a fish-boned slap that only made me laugh harder.

“I am NOT your love!” she hissed at my mirth as she very grumpily placed her fists on her sides. She’d yet to recover her blade from a mere four feet away.

I hadn’t meant to disarm her, but saving her from certain injury did necessitate such an action.

“I never said you were,” I said with another smirk. This statement only caused Anna further anger, which I found most entertaining. I had a very difficult time stifling another laugh.

“Men!” Anna seethed darkly as she clumsily picked up her weapon again.

My face went stone still. “Anna,” I suddenly chided her, “you must be prepared for all distractions. Do you not know how many men in this detachment think it is laughable that a woman has picked up a sword?”

That did it. Anna was furious I’d brought up her obvious and unignorable disadvantage. She charged at me, wielding her sword with both hands ready to thrust her blade at me the moment she got close.

I stepped aside again, but this time I did not strike her or her blade.

I didn’t need to.

Anna stumbled and dropped her sword anyway. The blade bounced out of her hands and would have run itself through her had I not cast my sword to the side, caught her left hand with mine from behind and brought my right arm around her abdomen, pulling her back just in time.

We stumbled backward in a mess of tangled legs and arms, and I slipped and fell flat on my back on the padded training mat, pushing some air out of my and Anna’s lungs simultaneously.

“What was THAT for?” Anna screamed, writhing and wrenching herself free.

“You would have died at your own hand had I not saved you, ungrateful wench!” I shot back.

Anna didn’t like that statement either.

Apparently though, her balance was bound and determined to make a fool out of her today.

Anna stumbled on my ankles and fell flat and forward.

Right on to me.

“Hey, watch it!” She snapped again, trying to regain her composure. Today was not her day.

“I’m not the one who fell face first, O intelligent One,” I jabbed.

Why did I enjoy teasing her so?

As my student, who in all honesty was not that much younger than myself, struggled to rise from me though, I felt such a feeling in my gut and chest as I’d never felt before.

I cursed silently. I felt this feeling before.

‘Not here, not now,’ I thought and pleaded to myself.

Anna was still struggling to rise…and I was terrified to realize something…

I wasn’t sure I wanted her to now.

Her head snapped forward, eyes suddenly opened wide and deadlocked with mine.

I cursed again.

“One more, one—one more lesson, E—Ezra?” She stammered.

“Y—yes, child,” I clumsily replied. “L—let us try that again.”

I silently berated myself as I helped her back to her feet.

Anna was my student. Nothing..nothing more.

I don’t recall the rest of the lesson. Neither did Anna, though I do recall that she at least never again dropped her blade, never stumbled or tripped again.

Her eyes were unfailingly focused on me.

Was she…was she feeling…what I was feeling?

I suddenly realized why I enjoyed teasing her so much.

Her short temper was extremely, endearingly, and unequivocally—attractive.

My entire frame froze, rooting me to the spot as I realized my deepest fear.

Had I fallen in love with a student? Someone whom I’d been entrusted to train and mentor?

I didn’t get another moment to process my sudden and rather unwelcome emotions.

“Ezra?” Anna timidly asked. “Are you o—are you…okay?”

I tried to respond. My head wouldn’t move left, right, up, or down though.

I was supposed to be training this girl. Protecting her. Helping her.

“E—Ezra?” She asked again.

I opened my mouth to speak again, but Anna wasted no time with her next move.

She thrust her hands forward, one grasping the back of my head and the other arm firmly around the back of my neck.

And kissed me.

Her wits were no match to my blade. Right?

Right?