72ce The gift of protection

[Gothic]

Claudia was not taken back by surprise this time. She raised her eyebrows in surprise and grinned in surprise at the thought of her foot or knee into a man's groin. There were several of the more lecherous men who had watched her a little too closely for her liking. Fortunately, she never needed to use what Cynane taught her in the past and hopefully would not need to in the future. "Ah, I see," She answered with a giggle, her hands rested on top of Cynane's hands for a moment and gently caressed the skin.  She had seen many beautiful women in her time, and Cynane was one of them. Not that Cynane could or should really say anything. 

"Yes, I'm ready." She answered enthusiastically and waited, her arms lifted up and was ready to bring them down hard. This time she was not as concerned about hurting Cynane in the process from being reassured before. It was exciting. Claudia thought of something else, and was curious how she would manage to escape from this sort of hold. "Wait, what would happen if someone grabbed me from behind? And what if they are armed with a dagger or something?" She asked.

There were times when having a creative mind would often lead her down the possibility of all sorts of scenarios. 

@Atrice

[Atrice]

Cynane had plenty of good advice on how to fight a man – and Claudia seemed happy to hear the advice and happy to learn. That was good. Other women and even men around Claudia here might be more formal and they might not tell her such things. But Cynane was a slave and just came from the ludus… she was still rough around the edges and spoke her mind. The young woman grinned by Cynane’s idea of kicking the man’s groin, and she touched Cynane’s hands for a moment, caressing her skin in a gentle manner. Cynane said nothing, of course, but quietly wondered what kind of a woman Claudia would become.

 Hopefully not a silent and submissive woman, although that’s what the senators preferred. At least she was willing to learn now. This was a good start. She said she was ready and quickly made the move to make Cynane break the hold around her neck. Then of course the young student had another question. Cynane glanced towards the door, but they were still alone. 

“I can show you what to do, if you’re grabbed from behind. If they’re armed… that is more tricky, but you want to learn, I can teach you.” Cynane said, “If they grab you from behind… you need to do several things at once. You tilt your head back hard, to nut them. And in that same motion, your push your hips back and bring your foot up to their groin. If it’s done right, they’ll let go. Do you want to try?”

@Gothic

[Gothic]

Claudia listened and nodded her understanding. Then she stopped when she heard the phrase 'nutted' and was not sure of the meaning in the context. "Nut them? You mean hit them with the back of my head?" She asked, confused. Wouldn't that hurt her head in the process? This one was more difficult than the previous one. Her hand was brought up to her lip in thought and hoped that it would not be as complicated as what she suspected it would be. Her heart continued to beat steadily in her chest, it was one of the most exciting things that she had done and smiled.

"Yes, yes.... I want to try it. Wh-where should I stand?" She asked, stared up at the taller gladiatrix and was uncertain about what to do. She stretched her wrists, twisting them for a moment and waited to see what the instructions were. Claudia stood stiffly for a moment then breathed and relaxed. Cynane had been patient and considerate of her so far. There were many gifts she had been given over the years, and this one was no doubt one of her favourites. 

One could say that the meeting was going quite well considering that they had met only today, and now she was being taught things that would have been considered negatively. Oh well, she would deal with it if it ever came up. 

@Atrice

[Atrice]

Cynane nodded, when the young lady wondered what it meant to nut someone in the head, “It’s exactly as you say. Hit their head with yours. It will hurt you, but they will be caught off guard.” She replied, and then Claudia said she did want to try it. 

“Just stay where you are.” Cynane said and walked around the princess to stand behind her, “So remember. Hit me with your head and kick backwards with your leg or foot. Oh… and push your elbows backwards too. You’ll hit your attacker several places at once, hopefully surprising them… and hurting them… so they’ll let you go.” She explained on the way and now stood directly behind her new mistress. She hoped Claudia would remember it all and not be so afraid to hurt Cynane – she was used to being hurt much worse and besides, she was a slave. Technically, Claudia could do whatever she pleased and Cynane would just have to tolerate it. A training session was however hardly the worst thing that could happen.

 “Try and do it all slowly the first time, so you remember it all.” Cynane said and moved closer and she placed her arms around Claudia’s waist, pulling the young woman up against her own body and waiting for Claudia to respond with the actions.

@Gothic

[Gothic]

That still sounded incredibly painful. How hard would she have to hit Cynane?

Claudia stood still and waited for Cynane to get into position. The Princess was still uncertain about striking the gladiatrix with her head. She listened, then this time could feel Cynane's taller and more muscular body up against her own. "Okay," She murmured, Cynane's arms around her waist and admittedly, there was something quite pleasant about it. She blushed, her hands instinctively rested on top of Cynane's arms and waited. She was determined to do this, and murmured to herself. 

"Hit with head... kick backwards.... push elbows back...... all at once," She repeated quietly. There was a pause, Claudia inhaled and exhaled slowly to gather her inner grit. What if it was someone else? Someone who wished to drag her away and physically hurt her? Her body stiffened, when she exhaled sharply and struck her head back. Her leg came back and kicked at Cynane's shin although it got caught up in the skirt of her gown. She squeaked and felt her arms move backwards to push Cynane away. She did her best to step away and turned. 

"How...," She breathed, reached up and rubbed the back of her head with the palm of her hand. "How did I do?"

@Atrice

[Atrice]

It had to be painful – how else would the move really work? Cynane moved in behind Claudia, as she stood still and she came very close to the young woman; she could feel her warmth and how Claudia was maybe a little bit nervous. She repeated all the steps to herself and Cynane waited patiently, until she thought she ought to make it a bit more real for Claudia to understand. She tightened the grasp around her, as if she’d pull her backwards, but just then, Claudia’s body stiffened and she carried out all of the moves.

Claudia’s head collided with Cynane’s, hard enough for her to be knocked backwards – and then came the elbows, the bend and a kick to Cynane’s shin. The young woman squeaked and pushed Cynane away and stepped away too. Claudia was almost panting and wondered how she did.

“Not bad, for a beginner. But you have to be more… forceful.” Cynane said and looked at her, “Are you well, Domina?” She then asked and looked her over, she seemed to be fine. Except maybe… “Your hair… do you mind?” She came closer, not that Claudia’s hair was a mess, but you could tell she’d been doing something and if this was to be a secret, Cynane would have to fix it.

@Gothic

[Gothic]

Claudia's hand still rested on the back of her head, rubbed the tender spot and looked at Cynane in confusion. Already it had heard quite a bit! Still, Cynane was the expert on these matters and she nodded. "I am, and ...... no you can fix it," She said, like many women in Rome, Claudia's hair was important to her and waited for Cynane to fix it. Would Volusa or her other slaves notice that it had changed at all? Aula, her hair slave, absolutely would notice something was amiss if she happened to work in now. Standing at such close proximity to Cynane she knew could tell how physically imposing she was, and from today, how gentle she could be with her -- and had absolutely no desire to feel how violent she could be. 

"This will do for today, it is exciting..... I will need to work out my schedule to ensure we have time to fit it in," She explained. Still excited about the possibility and happy about what could come. Her mind would be trained by tutors and the prominent women in her family while Cynane would train her body. Hopefully, they would be able to be as discreet as possible, and she would never need to use what Cynane taught her. 

Overall, she had a positive feeling about Cynane, and the gladiatrix was beautiful. 

Admittedly, Claudia did want to tell her cousin, Rutiliana about it and a few of her friends. Secrets only remained secrets if few people knew of them.

@Atrice

[Atrice]

Not that Cynane had ever been any kind of hairdresser, but she knew how to do her own hair and she wasn’t the only gladiatrix in her ludus – and of course they’d help each other get ready for battles in the arena. Plus she’d helped family members as a young girl. Claudia said she was fine, although she rubbed the back of her head and then she allowed Cynane to fix her hair. She stood still while Cynane’s fingers gently made the strands fall back where they belonged, and with her fingers she also carefully patted the hair to make it lay down.

 “Now you’re fine again.” Cynane said and then Claudia said this was good for today, but she wanted to make sure she had time to train.

 “That is up to you, Domina. You just let me know. And since I am to be your bodyguard, I will never be far away from you.” And Claudia seemed like a smart young woman, although she still had a lot to learn. Cynane would be happy to help her with anything, she did not seem to be a very troublesome mistress. She was friendly and kind so far. So quietly Cynane waited for Claudia to dismiss her and then she was certain some other slave would show her where she was supposed to sleep and keep her things in this vast palace she’d suddenly ended up in.

@Gothic

[Gothic]

Claudia was not sure how she felt about being patted. She could not resist a small giggle at it and instinctively reached her hand up to smooth any possible stray hairs down. She was still not entirely sure what she thought about it. Cynane was right. As her bodyguard they would be in frequent contact with each other. Much of her time would be spend in the company of her bodyguards, along with the other members of her household, and by extension, other members of the Imperial family, too. 

She nodded in response to the statement. "Yes, you will need to meet the other slaves of my household. However, you will be settling in and finding your bunk. Isis will show you the ropes, so to speak," She said, her eyes still lit up with excitement about the possibilities and the thought of her next lesson. Claudia clapped her hands and a woman entered, bowed her head, and waited to be addressed. 

"Isis, this is Cynane. She is a bodyguard for me and needs to be housed with my other slaves. Please see she understands the routine and has everything she requires." Claudia instructed, as Isis answered in agreement and Claudia turned to Cynane. "I expect you to come to my quarters before sunrise." 

@Atrice

[Atrice]

This was so different compared to her life at the ludus. Claudia was so far very kind and willing to learn and she treated Cynane very nicely. Had she acted like this with any of her superiors at the ludus, she’d surely earn herself a good beating and maybe more. But Claudia was fine with Cynane teaching her a few easy moves to defend herself and now she stated how Cynane had to meet the other slaves and learn how everything worked around here. She nodded and watched as her new mistress simply clapped her hands and a slave appeared – with a bowed head, ready for her order.

See this was different too – think that such a young girl as Claudia could give orders to anyone older than her. Cynane must at least be ten years older, if not more… she didn’t know Claudia’s age yet, but she would remember to ask the slaves. Still though, to see a young woman give orders like that. That she could just clap her hands and the world would turn for her… but she reminded herself to pay attention.

“Of course, Domina. You will is my duty.” Cynane replied to Claudia, hoping they would continue to get along so well. And then she waited for Isis to escort her away and show where Cynane should sleep and eat and so much more. A new life was ahead of her here, that much was obvious. So far, it seemed far better than the ludus and she’d work hard to stay here.

@Gothic