The Lesson

Time passed, and Lirena was once again called away to duty. As the swordswoman had guessed, the Zone created was not one of Earth, so Yvonne’s assistance was not required.

Yvonne thought that the frequency of the Zones was also quickening, but Lirena assured her it was normal. Most of Yvonne’s information before was from when the Commission was called to action, which was not often. Additionally, many Zones appeared in largely uninhabited areas, so there wasn’t as much commotion regarding their existence except among kingdom officials.

It did leave the blacksmith’s house eerily quiet though. Despite years of living alone, the presence of Lirena around daily as Yvonne recovered - effectively living together - had quickly become a familiarity that Yvonne found herself craving the moment her partner was gone.

While disappointed that they would be apart, Yvonne had the chance to bury herself in work, since orders were starting to come back into the shop, and she did not want the keep cutting the flow with excursions. Yvonne prided herself on being reliable to the clients she had built over the years, and for all of the thrill of the adventures with the Vanguard, she wouldn’t let that go to waste.

Since her girlfriend was unavailable to continue the sword lessons, Yvonne opted to spend what time she could training with Gaz instead, and other Commissioners when he wasn’t available - the nature of their jobs kept their schedules in disarray, after all.

More important, the indoor training space owned by the Commission allowed Yvonne to practice fighting as only a Touched could.

She had taken up a shield to fight with, as Lirena suggested, but she was now being tasked with fighting others that were using swords as much as jets of flame, streams of pressurized water, and gusts of wind powerful enough to knock her off-balance. It was a grueling series of trials, and having no Earthtouched to give her pointers meant she had to come up with ways to utilize her gift all on her own.

The Commissioners had been offering suggestions, but the most that Yvonne had put into practice was keeping a sense of movement through the ground to try and avoid tricky footwork. For what it was worth, that did end up helping her with movement, providing an innate sense of where opponents were heading so she could move accordingly. The rest was learning what certain movements meant for how to prepare for an incoming attack.

But it wasn’t enough - Yvonne was unsatisfied with just that, and Gaz figured there was more she could still do, and gave her the task of figuring out what it was and asked her at every session.

“Have you figured out how to use your gift in combat yet?” Gaz asked as he dodged one of Yvonne’s strikes and aimed a stab directly at her. It was a slow strike, she knew. Gaz had proven himself much faster in actual combat both in the battle with the Wraith and in training.

Yvonne brought her shield up quickly to catch the blade and sent it glancing off to the side. “I use it to create things, so no, nothing comes to mind,” she grunted as she sliced down to attempt to take advantage of the opening created.

Gaz stepped to the side and swung around, his footwork taking him behind Yvonne’s shield and letting him strike right at her neck. She sensed the movement, but was too slow to react.

The blade stopped, and Gaz tapped her on the back of the head with the flat of the blade. “I think you’re just not looking at it from the right angle,” he said as dropped his sword to his side.

“Not exactly a way I’ve ever wanted to utilize my talents,” Yvonne grumbled.

“I imagine not, but it may be handy to consider.” Gaz thought for a moment. “You said it feels as if the metal speaks to you, right? Tell me more.”

Yvonne nodded. “Yes. I like to think it’s more like singing, and bringing different sources of metal together means creating a harmony. Something freshly forged is already in tune - provided the job was well-done.”

Gaz nodded. “With the Wraith, you just told it to sing. A unique ‘song,’ I take it?”

“To the exclusion of all else, yes,” she said, looking at her sword. “And so loudly that it drove out all of the other sources of metal, though I wasn’t honestly sure what it would end up doing.”

Yvonne’s eyes lit up as putting voice to her explanation brought a thought to mind. What if I asked it to sing constantly?

Gaz grinned. “Got an idea?”

Yvonne focused on the metal in the sword, and urged it to sing, but in a way that created the opposite of the harmony she was so accustomed to asking for. The sword seemed to hum in her mind, but the blade itself remained still in her grasp.

As she brought it toward her shield, a light tap repulsed the shield, pushing her arm wide.

“It might work,” she murmured. “But discordance has never really been part of my tools as a smith. It feels strange to ask it of the metal.”

“Time to practice your interview skills, then,” Gaz said, lifting up his weapon again to a combat stance. “Make that sword as much a shield as the one you’re holding. Between that and your muscles, you’ll force plenty of openings, I think.”

Yvonne and Gaz walked back to their starting positions in the room and took up their stances. “Keeping that up while dodging your blade?” Yvonne mused. “You make some rough demands, old man.”

“It wouldn’t be training if I didn’t, lass!” he replied as he charged forward once more.

* * * * * * * * * *

Another week went by and word came through early one morning of the Vanguard’s return. A few of the gossipers in the neighborhood had taken to letting such things - once an uncommon topic in the Low Ward - slip into conversation around Yvonne.

Yvonne wasn’t quite sure when or why her relationship had become a topic of discussion, but she appreciated that others felt positively enough about it to keep her in the loop. She may have once guessed that it was her own reputation that assisted with that, but knew full well that Lirena’s strides with the locals while caring for Yvonne and earned her some deserved kindness.

Her focus was scattered all day, so it came as a great relief when the bell to the shop rang, and Lirena stood in the doorway.

“I’ve returned!” Lirena cried with a dramatic, sweeping bow.

Yvonne dropped her tools on the table and immediately ran up to hug Lirena.

“To which I am immediately covered with soot,” the noblewoman teased as she returned the embrace. “I take it you missed me.”

“Of course I would,” Yvonne said. “It was too quiet.”

“Either you believe me to be chatty or you simply missed the sound of my voice,” Lirena said.

“Can’t it be both?” Yvonne said as she looked up and smiled.

Her gaze was immediately met with a soft kiss. The brush of Lirena’s lips after the time away sent shivers down Yvonne’s spine. The kiss felt like it lasted a few minutes, but Yvonne still found herself a bit reluctant to let their lips part.

Lirena filled the silence after with a soft-spoken question. “Did you keep up with sword training while I was away?”

“I did. Spent time at the Commission to practice at least a few times a week,” Yvonne said. “In fact… it’s gone so well that I was honestly thinking maybe I could duel you once you got back.”

Lirena’s expression immediately fell. “A duel? Why?”

Yvonne hesitated. The look on Lirena’s face was new to her. The redheaded woman wore an anxious expression tinged with disappointment.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Yvonne asked in earnest confusion. “I haven’t had the chance to practice with you for weeks, but I’ve gotten pretty good under Gaz’s supervision.” She flexed one arm with a proud smile. “So I figure the best way to show that off is with a real duel. I can think of it like a test.”

A flood of relief seemed to wash away the pained expression, returning Lirena’s normal smile. “If that’s the reason, then certainly.”

What other reason would there be? Yvonne wondered, but figured the question best saved since the mood had lightened.

“I’ll bet Gaz helped you figure out a few tricks that you can’t show off if we duel with the risk of people around, correct?” Lirena asked.

“He… did,” Yvonne admitted. “But I don’t think it’d be fair to use those against…”

Yvonne found her words cut short as Lirena pressed a finger to her lips.

“Fair? Dear, I have years of experience and a winning streak I can boast about. That’s hardly fair, I think. Use whatever you find to be the most natural way to fight - and I have just the place in mind to give us all the privacy we need to do that.”

Yvonne nodded. “Thank you. Tomorrow work for you? I have a break from my orders, and that gives you a chance to rest.”

“It’s a date!” Lirenna replied happily, clasping one of Yvonne’s hands with both of her own.

“You know, some might question why so many of our dates end up involving questionably dangerous activities,” Yvonne said.

“I like to believe that being such a unique catch is one of my charms!”

Yvonne couldn’t find any reason to argue with that. “Welcome back, my dangerous darling.”