Aside from a minor sore head the following morning, breakfast was a normal affair. Dorothy would meet with Angel for lunch, and she chatted happily how she was looking forward to it. I had to admit, I was nervous with Dorothy interacting with Angel, but according to Norman, they were having weekly lunches together, talking about multiple topics that young ladies needed to talk about (I didn't ask how he knew that). Norman did mention that Dorothy had provided some advice to Angel on how to access her power and control it. I assumed Dastun might've mentioned something to Angel, and Angel was having issues, if Dorothy provided a suggestion to help. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to play with something we don't understand, but if done right, I guess I can see the potential benefits. Apparently, Alex had a bunker made, figuring I would go after him at some point, which I thought was very paranoid of him, and Angel had been using it, figuring the walls were thick enough to block any signal from her power getting out or from getting out of hand.
But, I guess what surprised me the most was Dorothy helping Angel provide insight into the reactions of her power. Even if they didn't hit it off from first meeting, now they were acting completely professional with one another, and friendly at that. I don't know if Dorothy had forgiven Angel completely, but seeing this growth in Dorothy made me feel content. Dorothy had friends with Dr. Plebanski and Carlye at the clinic, and now she had a friend in Angel. With the positive interactions she was receiving, I had a hunch Dorothy was now beginning to formulate her own purpose for why she was here or at least come to terms with what happened in recent months. This growth is probably the best for her.
Norman and I had the mansion to ourselves. We began preparing the meal for Heaven's Day. Normally, I wouldn't have troubled myself with such affairs and I would order Norman not to either, but as this is Dorothy and I's first Heaven's Day as an official dating couple, and considering what has happened over the past year, naturally I wanted it to be something special. Norman had secured a ham, and I was helping him get it ready. He chose to make a spiced apple cider glaze, so naturally, we were out of the ingredients needed to make it, which resulted in a last-minute trip to the market. Thankfully, the list was short as it began snowing. The snowstorm had arrived that Dastun had warned me about, but early. Norman and I were brushing snow off of the Griffon when Dorothy pulled up, stating Angel had to cut things short because of the storm. Of course, the outing hadn't been a complete loss. Angel had told Dorothy on the night of the play that she was going out with Dastun, and got more details about it during lunch. I remembered R. Instro's invite to Amadeus for New Year's Eve, to which Dorothy said Angel had mentioned the same thing as well, as she was going with Dastun. I'm not sure if Dastun sees it the same way with Angel, but if he is, well, good for him.
Heaven's Day Eve brought its own drama. While working out, Dorothy wanted to start practicing actual self-defense sparring with me, which… well, it resulted in an argument. Teaching self-defense is one thing and acting certain scenarios is another. But Dorothy wanted to spar against me like how I spar with Norman or practice by myself. And I wouldn't bring myself to do it.
"Roger, how is it different from practicing the moves and scenarios?"
"Because I can seriously hurt you, even with protective gear," said Roger, drinking a glass of water Norman had brought him. Norman remained, observing quietly.
"Norman can act as referee if things get out of hand, or you can hold back."
Roger was starting to get annoyed. "Dorothy, you fight how you train. There will be no referee in real life, and no one will hold back. Why not ask Angel, Dr. Plebanski, or Carlye to come over and help?"
"Yes, I'll just ask them to come over in the middle of a snowstorm or when they're busy. That'll work out quite nicely! And what if I have to fight someone bigger than them?"
Norman was looking back and forth from Roger to Dorothy. Roger was keeping his temper in check, but Norman could tell he was angry from the way he was scowling at Dorothy. However, Dorothy returned the glare, not wanting to back down. Then Norman thought of a solution.
"Perhaps there's a solution," he began tentatively. Roger and Dorothy turned to look at him, "Forgive me, Miss Dorothy, but there have been two things you've been having trouble with, pulls ups and escaping the mount. You've been working diligently to improve yourself, so perhaps if you do a demonstration for Master Roger, maybe he will at least think over the decision and consider a sparring regimen with you?"
Roger grumbled. It was a fair request and a fair assessment. If Dorothy could complete one pull up and escape the mount successfully… then perhaps she was strong enough to spar. Though, she'll need to first learn how to take a hit. I still don't like this. It goes against everything I stand for. He took a deep breath, his scowl disappearing.
"Look, you know it's my principle not to hit women, so even if it's just practice, it still falls within this category."
"But…" Dorothy tried to rebut his argument, but Roger held up his hand.
"I know what you're going to say, that other people in this world are not like me, and we have to be prepared, and that's a fair argument. HOWEVER, if you can demonstrate with proficiency the moves Norman mentioned, I will THINK about it, and let you know my answer. This is not a yes, do you understand? It's a maybe."
Dorothy frowned. Maybe was better than a no, but it could still be a no.
"So… what's the grading criteria to improve my chances of a yes?"
Roger huffed a sigh and glared at Norman out of his peripheral. He had been trying to avoid this subject, and he felt like Norman laid a trap for him. Leave it to Dorothy to cover all of her bases. He held up his hand to tick off the grading categories.
"Speed, effectiveness, and threat submission, but the last one applies to escape the mount. You get all three, it MIGHT be a yes."
Dorothy clapped her hands before putting them on her hips. "Fine! Prepare to eat your words, Roger Smith!"
"Fine! Show me then!"
Dorothy stormed off to the pull up bar, while Norman handed Roger a towel to wipe the sweat off. "You're not helping, Norman," whispered Roger.
"With all due respect, sir, you need to have faith in Miss Dorothy."
Roger was caught off guard by Norman's retort and held his comment back, shaking his head. Dorothy had taken a few steps back to get a running start so she could jump and catch it. She took a deep breath and pictured herself clearing the bar, firmly holding that image in her mind. When she opened her eyes, she was staring at it with defiance, that despite being angry, Roger admired her determination. Roger looked at his watch and set the timer.
"Whenever you're ready," he called to her.
Dorothy growled and began running to the bar, catching Roger off guard, who started the timer late. Dorothy jumped and caught the bar and began the struggle to pull herself up. Slowly, she began to inch herself upward, but it was painful. Dorothy grunted and huffed, her arms now starting to feel a slow burn consume them. She came so close the other day, getting to the middle of her face, before letting go. Today, she would clear this bar and make Roger eat his words.
Her arms were now starting feel like they were on fire, but she didn't give up. Her eyes were level with the bar, now slowly moving past it. 20 seconds had passed on Roger's watch, but he was more preoccupied watching Dorothy. Her hands were starting to shake, and she slipped, but held on. Roger instinctively wanted to run over, but held back. He knew he would never hear the end of it if he went to help her.
Dorothy gave a loud yell, pushing herself to regain lost ground, but her arms were starting to tire out. Her eyes were level with the bar once more. She closed them tightly, trying to find the image of her clearing the bar once more. Roger found himself closing his hands into a fist, slightly raising themselves to cheer her on.
Come on, Dorothy. You can do it…
"Go Miss Dorothy! Show Master Roger you can do this!" Norman cheered.
Dorothy, with her eyes still shut, gave one more yell, pulling herself up. Her nose cleared, then her mouth…
Her chin finally cleared the bar and she briefly open her eyes to see herself over the bar at last, but only for a moment. Her arms finally gave out, Dorothy tilting her head backward so she wouldn't smack the bar with her chin, and fell down onto the mat, breathing hard, but grinning all the same.
Roger stopped the watch, making a mental note to not add any time since he had started the clock late. She had given a valiant effort. He turned to Norman to get a towel, but he had one already in his hand. He nodded his thanks and took the towel, running over to Dorothy. Dorothy had her eyes shut, her arms were burning, and her head hurt from hitting the mat so hard, but she had done it. It had taken a few months, but she had done it.
"Dorothy?" asked Roger softly.
Dorothy opened her eyes, still breathing hard. "What's… my… time?" she managed to ask him.
"Never mind that now…"
"What's… my… time… Roger?"
Roger looked at his watch. "41 seconds and you technically did a chin up. But, you didn't give up when you slipped, so that earned you some brownie points."
Dorothy blew her bangs upward. "Cute. Thanks for the unneeded brownie points. Now for escape the mount."
"Now's time for a break. Your arms haven't recovered yet and it wouldn't be a fair assessment. Can you stand or do you need help?"
But Dorothy answered his question slowly getting up. Roger handed her the towel, which she gratefully accepted, but was still annoyed by him. Norman sat the tray on the table nearby and poured Dorothy a glass of water. Dorothy slowly walked over, wiping the sweat off her face.
"Thank you, Norman," she said, accepting the glass from him. Norman bowed his head. She downed the glass of water, setting it back down on the table and began rotating her arms, getting ready for escape the mount. Roger shook his head.
"Do you honestly feel your arms are ready for this?"
"Do you think my arms would be ready in a real-life fight after exerting myself?"
Roger held up his hands, shaking his head once more, admitting his defeat. Dorothy went over to the mat and Roger followed.
"You know, I'm not holding back."
"I wouldn't expect you to."
Dorothy laid in the starting position. Roger turned to Norman.
"Norman, can you keep time?"
"At the ready, sir!" Norman showed his watch ready to go.
Roger assumed his position on top of Dorothy.
"I'm not losing, Roger Smith."
"This isn't a competition, Dorothy Wayneright."
"GO!" shouted Norman.
Roger on his knees, with Dorothy in between them, brought them closer together to pinch Dorothy's hips. Dorothy tried shrimping out with no success. He had a firm grip. Throwing hands would do no good. He knew how to trap them well. Unless…
Dorothy baited Roger into going for her hands. He trapped one, but Dorothy at the last minute curled her hand into a claw-like shape. As Roger trapped the hand on his chest, he realized what he had done, but it was too late. Dorothy sank her fingernails as hard as she could into his chest/upper collar bone area. Roger yelped in pain, struggling to hold on, but it was too much. He shifted his weight to break away, releasing her hips. She shrimped to her side, but Roger realized what was happening and tried to pin her in place. As he tried to grab her with his right hand, Dorothy caught it, shifting back down to her left buttock, pulling it down to her left, and catching Roger's head in a head lock. She held tight.
"What the…" Roger tried using his weight against her, but Dorothy's right hip was still off the mat and in the air. With quick reflexes, she adjusted her feet and legs, and rolled, pushing off with her right foot. In the process of the turn however, still holding tight to Roger's head, Dorothy's right elbow positioned itself on his sternum.
The roll took only seconds, but the damage was done. Dorothy came down hard, her elbow crashing into the center of Roger's chest. Roger gasped in pain, then began coughing. Dorothy began to break free, and Roger tried trapping her with his legs, but the pain from the blow she inflicted made him catch his breath in a second too long. Dorothy was free, Roger lying on the ground, breathing hard, and rubbing his chest.
"Time! 1 minute, 53 seconds! Well done, Miss Dorothy," cried Norman, clapping.
Roger began coughing again, then took a moment to catch his breath. "Where did you learn that, with the elbow?" he wheezed.
"That was just luck, to be honest," said Dorothy, offering a hand for Roger. He accepted, pulling himself up.
"Luck? I'm impressed…"
"So?"
"So what?"
"So, what do you think my chances are, Roger?"
Roger sighed, not wanting to admit Dorothy had done well, but she had, and he had no more counter arguments. "We'll work on proper sparring technique first. You'll start with Norman, then work your way to me, okay?"
Dorothy jumped, her fist punching the air in success. "YES!"
"Practice first, PRACTICE! Then sparring. We're walking before running with this." Roger was still rubbing his chest as he went to Norman.
Dorothy rolled her eyes. "You're such a louse, Roger Smith. I'm going to take a shower. I'll see you at dinner."
Dorothy walked away to the lift. Roger scratched the side of his head.
"Tell me Norman, did I really deserve all of that?" asked Roger as he watched Dorothy walk away.
"Truthfully sir? Yes, you did."
Norman walked away to follow Dorothy, leaving Roger dumbfounded for a moment, but then he chuckled.
I guess I know which side my butler is on.