The Stepsister Scheme

carrying the wine, and you start to stumble. Leap forward to recover your balance. And don’t spill that wine. ”
    Danielle did her best to obey. She allowed her body to overbalance, then danced ahead, keeping her body straight as she thrust her sword toward Talia.
    Talia’s sword snapped against Danielle’s hard enough to knock it from her hand. Flushing, Danielle knelt to retrieve her sword.
    “Not bad,” Talia said. “Move like you did just then, shoulders loose and level, and your opponent will have a harder time knowing what’s coming next. You’re not chopping wood here. Brute force can be effective, but it’s clumsy and wasteful. That sword is keen as a razor. With practice, the lightest kiss of steel can be deadlier than brute, sweeping blows. Now let’s see if you can parry.”
    Danielle braced herself. Talia’s lunge was deceptively slow. Danielle swung her sword sideways, knocking Talia’s blade aside.
    “Right,” said Talia. “Let me show you what would happen in a real fight.”
    Talia attacked again, as slowly and gracefully as before. Danielle tried to parry, and Talia’s blade dipped beneath her own, twisted, and smacked Danielle lightly on the knuckles.
    “Of course, a real enemy would have sliced off your hand,” Talia said. “Block the upper part of my blade with the lower part of yours, and don’t swing so wildly. You look like a child playing stickball, Princess. You only have to move my sword far enough to the side that I can’t hit you.”
    Danielle’s fist tightened around the hilt of her sword. What did Talia expect? Danielle had never even touched a sword until her mother gifted her with this one, and it wasn’t like she had fairy magic to guide her hand. She tried to block another attack and missed, taking a slap on the elbow that nearly made her drop her sword.
    “You’re tensing up again,” Talia said. She pointed her blade toward Danielle’s fist. “Your knuckles are white, Princess.”
    “Maybe that’s because you keep hitting me.”
    “Better me than one of your stepsisters,” said Talia. “A tight grip costs you speed and control both.” She swung her sword overhead, bringing it down slowly toward Danielle’s throat.
    Danielle raised her sword to block, but caught Talia’s attack too high on her blade. Talia pressed down, twisting both weapons around and wrenching Danielle’s sword from her hand. The glass rang against the base of a tree.
    “Pick it up and try again,” Talia said.
    Danielle straightened. She was beginning to understand why Snow had given up on weapons training with Talia. That imperious tone made Danielle’s teeth grate. It was like being back home with her stepsisters. Danielle was just about to follow Snow’s lead and tell Talia what she could do with her own sword when she noticed something strange.
    Talia was smiling. It wasn’t a huge grin. She didn’t even look particularly happy. But the tension around her eyes had softened. As she stood there, absently twirling her sword through the air, she seemed content .
    Slowly, Danielle retrieved her sword and did her best to match Talia’s stance. She was rewarded with another brief smile.
    c" w Ta“Normally we’d go through all twelve of the basic offensive and defensive moves, but given your condition, I think we’ll take it easy and stick with the four primary strikes and parries.” Talia flexed her arms, then sank into a guard position. “Once we’re through, I guarantee you’ll sleep the rest of the night.”

    When Snow shook her awake the next morning, Danielle’s arms and shoulders were so stiff she could barely move them. Her legs were even worse. She sat down and tried to stretch out the muscles the way Talia had shown her. The exercises hurt, but they did seem to help her move.
    Snow laughed. “I see Talia was working with you last night. Here, try to relax.”
    Danielle groaned. “Do you know how many times I heard that?”
    Snow scooted around behind Danielle and began to knead her neck and shoulders.
    Danielle closed her eyes again, then gasped as Snow began to work on a knot at the base of her neck.
    “Any sign of my stepsisters?” Danielle asked.
    “That’s why we woke you,” said Snow. She tapped her choker.
    Turning, Danielle saw that all but two of the mirrors had returned. The front mirror flickered like it was catching the morning sun.
    “They’re a little ways south of here, flying fast,” said Snow.
    “Flying?” Danielle glanced