The Duel

Samuel drove the carriage forward, beyond the walls of the city and into the countryside. The location Lirena had promised to show to Yvonne was a fair way from the city, beyond what would be reasonable for a day trip, and so she had called in a favor.

Of course, with Lirena currently estranged from the Barton household, getting a butler to provide a ride to her, let alone a Touched of the Low Ward, was a lofty ask.

Which is why Laura Barton sat across the carriage from the couple, eyeing them with mischievous interest, much to the chagrin of the two.

Her mother had concocted an excuse of wanting to go shopping in the city, which was surely in the itinerary after Lirena and Yvonne were dropped off. Lirena had managed to slip a note to the lady of the household by catching one of the servants going about errands in the city.

“So what are your intentions with my daughter?” Laura asked, her voice the pinnacle of a haughty noble’s, making Yvonne jerk up, her spine rigid in anxiety.

“Mother, please,” Lirena sighed, seeing the performance for what it was.

“Oh, indulge me,” Laura gave an exaggerated pout. “I’ve always wanted to say that and you’ve never given me the chance!”

“M-my intentions… uh… as you know, I am dating Lirena, and-“

Lirena cut Yvonne short. “Dear, she’s toying with you.”

Laura chuckled softly at Yvonne’s visible confusion.

“Yes, my apologies. Just a bit of fun for an old woman,” Laura said.

“I wouldn’t say old,” Yvonne offered. “In fact, I was wondering when you arrived if Lirena had an older sister she hadn’t told me about.”

“Ooh, flattery! Lirena, I like her already. But don’t you worry. I have given Lirena considerable privacy after… discerning where her desires lay long ago. Why, it was clear as day at the ball when she first met the daughter of Duke-“

“Mother!” Lirena cried, her face a shade of red closer to her hair.

“Perhaps I’ll share that story another time then,” Laura said in a hushed tone to Yvonne with a wink.

“I think ‘never’ would be a delightful time for it,” Lirena murmured.

The attentive nodding Yvonne had given to the beginning of her mother’s story told her that it would probably come up in the future one way or another.

“So a date out in the country gardens then?” Laura asked. “What on earth did you need that large box for then?”

“Picnic supplies,” Lirena answered immediately. It wasn’t a lie, but neither was it the whole truth. Weapons and light armor were not typically considered such, after all, but more than any embarrassing childhood stories, Lirena didn’t want her mother blabbing about the duels she had been challenged to in the past.

That was a responsibility that Lirena wanted from start to finish.

“I see,” Laura said cautiously.

There really is no hiding anything from the Lady Barton, Lirena thought. But her mother did not press the topic further.

The older woman instead turned to Yvonne, taking delight in quizzing her about everything from her favorite foods to her profession and even throwing in some comments of concern about Lirena’s safety since joining the Vanguard.

The idle chatter helped fill the time, and Lirena was pleased to see the two getting along so well.

Father could learn a few things from her.

A rap sounded on paneling from the front of the carriage. Laura opened the visor and the clopping of the horse hooves became more pronounced. So too did the aroma of flowers as a breeze filtered into the cabin.

“My lady, we will be arriving shortly. Are you sure you are fine being dropped off on the main road?” He asked.

“Yes, thank you, Samuel. We can make it just fine on foot. It aids the experience, anyway.”

“Very good, madam.” He said, returning his full attention to the road.

“I’m a bit surprised your butler is also the carriage driver,” Yvonne admitted. “I figured nobles had more granular roles and plenty of staff to fill them.”

“We certainly have staff aplenty,” Laura said. “We do have other carriage drivers, but dear Samuel is a trustworthy man, so we rely on him a great deal for particular outings. It helps that he is a man of many talents! One time, when Lirena was oh… was it seven or eight? He even managed to fetch her from a great tree that she found herself stuck in!”

“I can definitely see you climbing trees as a kid,” Yvonne chuckled as she glanced Lirena’s way.

“I was escaping a dreadful fate - dress fitting,” Lirena said. “I just wasn’t prepared for the height I managed to climb to escape my would-be captors.”

“I assume you had to face that ‘dreadful fate’ once Samuel captured you,” Yvonne guessed.

Lirena gave an indistinct grumble in response.

“We gave up after she bit the seamstress on the second attempt,” Laura said, hiding a grin behind her folding fan.

“You bit her?” Yvonne laughed, and Laura joined her from the reaction.

“I was seven!”

The carriage slowed, and Samuel announced their arrival, opening the door for the two to leave from. He even offered to lift the trunk from storage for them, but Yvonne thankfully raced to it to grab it from him, apologizing for her rudeness, but Samuel was ever the good sport.

“We will return in a few hours,” Laura said. “That way we can get us all home before the evening bells and keep your father from being too suspicious. I trust that gives you enough time for your… picnic?”

“It does, mother. I truly appreciate it. You as well, Samuel.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Lady Barton,” Yvonne said, doing her best to perform a curtsy with the heavy trunk in her arms.

“Think nothing of it! In fact, perhaps we should have you over sometime for a meal or at least tea!”

Lirena knew the sly smile on her mother’s face, and figured she had the same image of the Lord Barton’s reaction to a Touched in his home, even one dressed in finery.

“That would be lovely,” Yvonne said, not understanding the full implication. Lirena would have to fill her in appropriately later.

Samuel and Laura parted, and set off from the road down a narrow, barely trodden path.

“Your mother is wonderful,” Yvonne said happily.

“Are you sure it wasn’t just her sordid tales of my past you enjoyed?” Lirena teased.

“A bonus, I think. As is seeing how well you’re likely to age.”

Lirena’s mind flitted to an image of the two of them around her mother’s age, still together and happy. A peaceful thought.

A goal I’d love to see.

“I suppose I have to meet your family at some point to guess the same for you,” Lirena said with a nudge to Yvonne’s shoulder.

“Ha, if you don’t mind miles of farmland and the sound of clanging hammers, you’re welcome to visit. Been a bit since I’ve seen my folks anyway. Would be a good excuse to see everyone again. Might take a bit of planning though, home’s a bit further away.”

The grassy fields around them gave way to a growing mass of flowers of all varieties. Lilies and wild roses grew in fields seemingly only kept free of any plants that would encroach on their beauty.

This was the view I wanted to see though, Lirena thought, looking happily at Yvonne’s darting gaze and glowing smile.

“Does your family actually maintain all of this?” Yvonne asked in awe, turning her head each way to take in the sight. Her eyes were bright with wonder as the fields seemed to stretch on in all directions except in the distance where a lake was spotted.

“Minimally. Mother insisted the natural beauty should be kept intact as much as possible, but the Bartons do own this land. There’s an old summer home on the opposite side of the lake that we visit every so often. Less as I grew up, sadly.”

A path through the field of flowers took them closer to the shore of the lake, where a large tree provided a cool shaded area where the field returned to grass. Lirena instructed Yvonne to set the trunk down, and the two unlatched the straps keeping it closed, pulling out from the top a blanket for their picnic and setting the area.

Before they could enjoy the scenery and the day though, they had one matter to attend to in order to work up more of an appetite.

Lirena pulled open a drawer on the bottom of the multi-layered trunk. Inside were a longsword and shield, and nestled between them, Lirena’s own rapier, all nested in a lavender cushion. She handed Yvonne her weapons and took up her own blade, strapping the belted sheath around her waist as Yvonne situated herself.

Yvonne thought for a moment, but ultimately placed the shield back in the trunk, which Lirena found strange, the blacksmith forgoing the extra defense she had been training with for just the longer sword. She shrugged, and decided to trust Yvonne’s judgment.

“Right then. This is your first match in the form of a duel, I assume, so do you mind if I explain how these usually go?” Lirena asked, and Yvonne silently nodded. “Backs to each other, seven paces, then we turn and attack. A victory in this case is determined by whoever is disarmed or falls to the ground first. At that point, combat stops.”

She unsheathed her blade and tapped the flat of the blade against her palm. “A wound that causes bleeding isn’t disqualifying, so don’t worry about any knicks and such.” The noblewoman had a playful smirk. “Though admittedly, I will be trying to avoid it, especially any cuts to the face, as I don’t want to mar a pretty face I’ll be kissing.”

“Tease,” Yvonne said, turning a shade darker. “And you’re really fine with me using my gifts here?”

Lirena held her arms out wide. “There’s not a soul but us for miles. Fight freely, dear.”

The two puts their backs to each other and on Lirena’s count, walked seven steps, then turned and took their opening stances.

“Then let’s begin,” Lirena said, and lunged forward with her rapier pointed at a gap in Yvonne’s defenses. It would be easy to cover, but she wanted to see what response the simple strike would yield.

Yvonne batted away the strike with a swipe of her sword, and then swiftly brought it back around for a slice at Lirena. Lirena’s rapier made brief contact with it, rounding the strike and diverting its momentum away as she moved aside.

Though she was successful, Lirena felt her sword being pushed out of her grasp. She strengthened her grip on the hilt and jumped away, assessing Yvonne’s reaction for a guess what was going on.Yvonne’s face was passive and her eyes focused, leaving not a hint that Lirena could glean.

Alright, again then.

Lirena dashed forward, her strikes now delivered with her usual swiftness, each one parried unnaturally wide as it caught was blocked by Yvonne’s sword, and it was only her footwork that kept her from receiving a rebuke.

She then went for feints at extremities it would be harder for Yvonne to catch, but even the slightest contact with the weapon would push her own away, threatening to disarm her through some unseen force.

It was then that Lirena remembered the Wraith and the metal that Yvonne had blasted out of its body, and her realization must have dawned on her face, because it was only then that Yvonne gave the slightest of smiles as she went on the offensive.

Yvonne was clearly aiming for the opposing blade as the strike came in focused not on any gap on Lirena’s person, but evidently trying to disarm it through sheer force.

Lirena used her strikes to try and force Yvonne’s feet to move, but she noticed that the blacksmith started to anticipate these strikes and moved her own feet out of the way.

Her strikes have about the precision I expect for how long she’s trained, but her movement…

Yvonne was strong, but she was not especially fast. Nevertheless, Lirena was finding it difficult to even close the distance with some of her lunges and strikes. It was a mystery that she would have to solve quickly before whatever Yvonne was doing got the upper hand.

Their back and forth continued, with Lirena dodging Yvonne’s swings to avoid the push from her sword and Yvonne dodging Lirena’s more targeted thrusts, neither one really working in an advantage.

Lirena finally saw an opening, but had to renege her prior effort to not aim at Yvonne’s face. Her intent was merely to create a feint that would leave Yvonne more open for disarming, but Yvonne panicked and swung her blade up to meet the strike, forcing it high.

The blades were crossed air a moment before Yvonne seized the position and Lirena felt the push again, though it was different from that prior brief contact. Lirena tried to pull her sword free to move, but found the blade was stuck, fixed tightly to Yvonne’s.

Lirena held her grip onto the blade tightly, but with a mighty flex of her muscles and a small twist, the rapier left Lirena’s grasp. The swords were oddly paired together at the blade for a moment before Lirena’s released itself and clattered to the grass.

Lirena looked at the fallen blade incredulously for a moment, then to Yvonne, who also didn’t seem to believe the outcome. The noblewoman could only laugh as she swept her hair back and away from her face. “Victory to you, it seems!”

Yvonne let out a breath, and tension released from her all at once. “I… how?”

“Whatever you did at the end there was the last surprise I had no answer for,” Lirena said.

“I… had been trying to make the song discordant,” Yvonne said, looking at her own weapon. “That was what pushed you back. Then I realized… I fixed your sword. I know it well. I could make it resonate instead. And that’s when… you know.”

“Then you truly had a knowledge advantage no other duelist could have,” Lirena said. She walked over to pick up her sword to sheath it. “Come on, let’s get something to drink.”

Yvonne sheathed her sword and held Lirena’s hands as they walked back to the picnic blanket and packed away their weapons into the trunk.

“I can only do it with one or the other at the moment,” Yvonne said, looking at the shield laying in the trunk. “Decided to focus on just the sword for the purpose of the duel. Imagine the shield will be more handy against a Wraith, but it’s hard to use my gift and both arms for fighting. Reading footwork through the ground while using my eyes is just a headache, to boot.”

“I can only imagine!” Lirena chuckled as she took out their waterskins and passed one to Yvonne. “It was an interesting fight. You’ve done well in a short time!”

“Still feels awkward. And I wouldn’t have stood a chance without my gifts.”

Lirena balled up a fist and punched her girlfriend playfully on that impressive bicep. “I told you I was fine with it. In fact I’m… glad it was you that beat me.”

Yvonne looked at her silently for a moment before pressing the issue. “There’s something with the duels, isn’t there?”

Lirena nodded sheepishly.

“I didn’t want to pry, but I am curious. I’ll wait if you want time before you explain.”

The redhead let out a sigh and leaned against Yvonne for comfort. “The duels are… a condition. My mom and I managed to arrange a deal where I wouldn’t be married off unless a man could beat me in a fair fight. And to that end I trained religiously. Losing out on so much just to make sure I wouldn’t have to be with a man.”

She felt Yvonne stiffen in anxiety under her as the implication of what Lirena had said hit.

Yeah, that makes sense, she thought, her mind darkening a bit. 

“I’m… not proud of the amount of duels I’ve won, because of what they represent. So many men clamoring for my family’s fortune, the claim to ‘the Untouchable,’ bragging rights, or some combination of the three. I hoped that I’d reach a point where I could leave them behind. Almost did, for a time.”

“Until I challenged you,” Yvonne said sullenly, but perked up as she continued to process the information. “Then… by winning, did I… I mean are we…”

Lirena leaned over and kissed Yvonne’s cheek, right next to the rocky patch in her skin where she knew the blacksmith to be extra sensitive. “It wasn’t part of the official terms of victory, as is typical of such things, but as far as I’d let anyone know, you won the right to the wed the young Miss Barton.”

Yvonne was clearly trying to stammer out a reply, but Lirena shushed her with another kiss.

“’Won the right’ doesn’t mean it will happen immediately,” Lirena assured her. “For one, I’m not even sure if kingdom law allows for it in the traditional sense. Second, I’m not in any rush. But at least this way, I can decline further duels because of your victory, and you’re under no similar obligation to fight any would-be suitors to change that.”

“If… you’re alright with me…” Yvonne managed to say sheepishly.

“Nothing would make me happier.”

The two shared another kiss, letting the chirping of birds and rustling of wind take over in lieu of further words. The two had each other and the beautiful day ahead of them, and nothing else in the world mattered in that moment.