The More Things Change

Conrad was completely taken off guard, and yet, he was in a delicate position where he needed to pretend nothing was amiss. Before him stood Carmela, the woman who he had trained with, broke bread with, and worked the field with. She was dressed in a sharp guard's uniform, with a layer of visible chainmail and sturdy gauntlets. Thick, polished leather boots adorned her feet. And yet, even though he was looking at her and could tell beyond any shadow of a doubt that this was her, something troubled him. It was her age, and the look in her eyes.

The sharp, aggressive look on her face seemed to be an evolution of the look that she had when they had said their goodbyes. Conrad wasn't surprised Carmela hadn't looked too jovial when they had parted ways. The tragedy had occurred quite recently. Her mother had died right in front of her eyes less than a month ago. But the anger in her eyes looked like it had grown, festered, taken root in her deeper. And while Carmela wasn't genuinely old yet, not by a long shot, Conrad could still tell that she had advanced in age by quite a few years.

Jeremiah's friend, though...he had referred to her as Captain Ingram. The Carmela he was looking at now had left her father's farm, moved to the city, and taken up the role of enforcer here. It was the inverse of the path that her mother had taken. And it wasn't just that, she had achieved a position of authority on this career path as well.

Conrad spoke to her carefully, choosing to refer to her by her title. There was a good chance that no civilians would know her first name, as they seemed to refer to her by her rank and last name by default.

"Captain Ingram, good evening. Just a little swordsmanship practice. Thank you for the reminder about the curfew. We'll be on our way now."

Conrad would head back home and immediately discuss this with Nana. The odds of this being a coincidence were non-existent. Dropped in a body in the same city as Carmela, and they bumped into each other on his first day here? Not a chance. Of course there was some funny business going on.

Carmela held her hand up and shook her head.

"No. I caught the end of your little spar with your friend. There's something off about the way you move. It reminds me of my mother. I want to have a short bout with you too."

Conrad stiffened. He doubted she was about to take no for an answer. And she had the authority to toss him into a holding cell if he acted uncooperative. All he wanted to do at the moment was head home and chat with Nana, but it seemed that would wait for a moment.

"Understood, Captain. It would be an honor to have a match with you."

Carmela nodded, and turned to Jeremiah's friend. "You. Lend me your practice sword, if you'd please. The only sword I have on hand would cut through a practice blade and kill this man."

He nodded, still nervous, and passed the wooden sword to Carmela. She glanced down at, a smirk spreading across her face.

"Oh, this is funny. I haven't used one like this in a long time. Even the practice swords at the Officer's Academy are real swords. They just had their edges removed." Carmela laughed openly, but it didn't strike Conrad as a particularly whimsical or joyous sound.

She got into position, sinking her body weight, taking the stance that Conrad had seen from her many times. Now, though, the feeling she was giving off was staggeringly different. Carmela was staring into Conrad's eyes, her body language so hostile that it was like she was planning to rip through his body with that wooden sword.

"Alright, young man. Let's have at it. Don't worry, I won't use excessive force. I'm just a little curious about you. Indulge me."

Conrad nodded slowly, keeping his gaze firmly focused on Carmela. "It would be my pleasure, Captain, but you stated the curfew is in a few minutes."

"Oh, I'll escort you to your homes. Nobody would question the two of you if you're with me. Now defend yourself."

Conrad took his stance as well. Time to take what he could from this experience.

Carmela bolted forward, not bothering to exercise patience or indicate that they had begun. She raised her weapon over her head with both hands, swinging down aggressively and forcing Conrad to block high. The resulting hit shook Conrad's whole body. It felt as if she was twice the beast she had been previously. Carmela's gifted genetics had not failed her yet.

Conrad backed up, creating some space. Arguably, he should have advanced and put the pressure on Carmela while he was controlling her weapon from above. But he needed time to acclimate. It wasn't like she was infallible, and it wasn't like it was impossible to read her moves. But my goodness, that speed and power were incredible. Had she already been able to hit like this back when they were training, and she had just been holding back at the time?

Conrad could only hazard a guess at the age of the Carmela in front of him at this point. Early to mid 30's, maybe? She definitely wasn't slowing down yet.

She ran in again, breaking Conrad's line of thought, and thrusted her weapon forward. Conrad shifted to the side, her weapon dragging across his as he played defensively. Conrad steadied himself, his arms shaking as Carmela applied pressure against him. She scowled at him.

"You're too easily distracted. Stop hesitating and do something. I didn't challenge you to whack away at a training dummy. Or do you not like the idea of fighting a woman?"

"I'm not concerned about your gender. But you're right, I am distracted. Please excuse me."

Conrad leaned in and moved beside her, pushing her right side with his entire body weight in an attempt to knock her over. Or at least upset her balance. Carmela prevented her fall, leaning over and shifting all of her body weight onto one side, eyes flashing with irritation. She sprung back, using her momentum to swing upwards, which Conrad had to sidestep. Conrad took the initiative to attack, swinging at Carmela's upper body, but her weapon interrupted his. The two practice swords grinded against each other as the combatants prepared their next move.

To say that Carmela was confused would be a grievous understatement. None of the techniques this guy was using were alarming on their own. No, plenty of swordsmen, and even some humanoid beasts, had attempted similar moves on her before. It was the fact that all of these specific moves were being used in tandem with each other. Even the way this guy spoke, his tone, was digging up old memories.

The two of them looked nothing alike, but he reminded her distinctly of Conrad.

Grunting, Carmela jolted forward and shoved Conrad's front directly, the tackle too sudden and direct for him to counter successfully. He was flung back, toppling onto the ground. Carmela placed a foot on the wrist of Conrad's sword arm. Nothing that would injure him, but enough to prevent that arm from moving. She placed the tip of her practice sword to his throat.

"Alright, that's that. You lose."

Conrad huffed, his heart rate slowly returning to normal. He nodded.

Carmela threw her weapon back to Jeremiah's friend, and helped Conrad to his feet, clasping his hand and yanking him up. "You're good. Not on my level, clearly. But you've put your work in."

She motioned to Jeremiah's friend. "Give that guy his weapon back too."

Once Conrad returned the second practice sword, Carmela gestured lazily at Jeremiah's friend to leave. "Go on. Just get out of here. If you leave right now, you should be back at wherever you live before the bell rings."

Nodding, he scampered off. Conrad prepared to leave as well, his mind swimming with thoughts, but unable to ask Carmela most of them without tipping his hand. If he asked her questions directly pertaining to his time on the farm with her, she would likely become incredibly confused and alarmed. Ingram Farm had already been invaded. The last thing she needed was more thoughts to make her paranoid with. Odds are she would accuse him of spying on her.

"Hold it, pal. You're coming with me."

Carmela clapped a hand on Conrad's shoulder, flashing him a smile that showed teeth. "Got some questions for you. First, guide me to your place."

A few minutes later, the two were standing outside Conrad's house. Before letting him go, Carmela grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him to face her, eyeing him up and down.

"Alright kid, answer honestly. Were you trained in swordsmanship by a man named Conrad Walters?"