Heart to Heart

“So what’re we doing here? Are you gonna spend the next hour staring at me or are we gonna throw down?” Medrauta asked, her arms crossed as she glanced expectantly at Eris. The two knights stood in an open field of grass just outside the outpost. Moonlight shone down upon them, illuminating their invisible arena in lieu of the encampment’s torches.

The blonde-haired knight pursed her lips, the position of her arms mirroring Medrauta’s. She shot an irritated glare at her soon-to-be opponent, but made no other moves to respond. In truth, Eris had wanted to take the opportunity to apologize for her behavior. After all, Medrauta had done nothing to deserve the treatment she was receiving. Eris had been the one who issued the challenge and she had lost in a fair bout.

While she wasn’t a mean-spirited person, Eris wasn’t exactly accustomed to apologizing, especially after she had already taken a serious blow to her pride after her defeat at Medrauta’s hands. Because of that, she now found it difficult to speak the words she knew she had to say in order to resolve whatever hostilities had taken root in their still-budding relationship.

Gah! Why does Lady Scarlet have to be so chummy with Lady Viviane!? Eris released a brief sigh, allowing her frustration to seep out for a moment. Indeed, if this had just been an issue between herself and Medrauta, it likely wouldn’t have weighed so heavily on her mind, but Eris knew this sort of behavior wouldn’t be sustainable in the future. As far as she was aware, her beloved Scarlet wasn’t planning on cutting ties with Viviane anytime soon.

“You look like you’ve got somethin’ to say.” Medrauta drew her sword, keeping its point toward the ground for now. “But you just can’t seem to spit it out. Why don’t we have a conversation without words instead?”

“...A conversation without words?” Eris frowned. “What are you even saying?”

“We’ll simply let our blades do the talking,” Medrauta grinned. “I saw you fight, and I crossed swords with you albeit briefly. You’re skilled enough, aren’t you? To convey your feelings through swordplay.”

Eris’s brow continued to furrow in confusion, but she drew her twin daggers anyway. Though Medrauta had shattered one of them just a little while ago, she’d managed to retrieve a replacement on the way to the command tent. She wasn’t exactly familiar with the concept that Medrauta spoke of, having mostly fought against other junior knights. Her opponents simply hadn’t reached the level of skill where their very intent and motivations resonated deeply with their blades.

“Very well. If it is a duel you want, then I am more than ready.” Eris replied. “If this will allow me to convey the words I wish to say, then that is all the better.”

Medrauta nodded once, watching as Eris settled into a stance. Without further warning, the silver-haired knight darted forward, the dirt exploding beneath her feet as she closed the distance between herself and Eris within a heartbeat. Her sword flashed out, a blur of silver as it shot through the air in a deadly thrust targeting Eris’ right shoulder.

Had Medrauta been facing anyone else, the duel would’ve simply ended right then and there. The combination of speed and power that drove her thrust made it nearly impossible to dodge, but Eris was used to achieving the impossible.

Leaning to the side almost casually, Eris allowed Medrauta’s blade to pass right by her shoulder, using the momentary opening in her opponent’s posture to issue a rapid series of attacks with her daggers and forcing Medrauta to jerk her body to the side, throwing herself onto the ground and rolling to recover.

The moment she stood, Eris was descending upon her already. Twin daggers poised to strike like a serpent’s fangs, Eris thrust her weapons down at Medrauta before she even had a chance to raise her blade, forcing the silver-haired knight to backpedal rapidly. Although their first duel had ended rather quickly with Medrauta claiming victory after issuing a well-placed strike, Eris had been ill-prepared for the silver-haired knight’s surprising speed then.

Now that she was well aware of Medrauta skills, Eris pressed the attack constantly, not allowing her opponent even a second to breathe. Although her weapons were small and ineffective even against half-plate, her precise strikes were more than enough to force Medrauta on the defensive. Eris knew that if she let up for even a second, she would be subject to a deadly riposte.

“Whoa, spicy!” Medrauta grinned. Despite being pushed back, the silver-haired knight was thoroughly enjoying their bout. Though Eris’ attitude toward her had been rather hostile, Medrauta held no grudges against her fellow knight, especially when she had finally found someone who could match her blade in a duel. “So this is how the strongest knight of the Imperial Academy fights, huh?”

“Flattering me won’t make me go easier on you.” Eris’ eyes narrowed, focusing even more intently on her barrage of cuts and thrusts aimed at Medrauta’s unprotected bits. Although her evasive fighting style had been overwhelmingly effective against the Walpurgisknight, Eris found herself hard-pressed to break through the silver-haired knight’s defense despite constantly pushing her opponent back.

“Flattering you?” Medrauta laughed as she parried several of Eris’ strikes, her sword flickering through the air in a burst of movement. Accustomed to being the defender, Medrauta quickly found her rhythm once more, adapting to Eris’ rain of attacks with ease. “Hardly. I was just surprised by how bloodthirsty you are.”

“Bloodthirsty?” Eris frowned, her blades faltering momentarily as she was caught off-guard by Medrauta’s observation. Although she certainly wanted to win, she could hardly be called bloodthirsty, but for some reason, that word resonated deep within her almost as if it had unearthed a long-buried desire.

Indeed, Medrauta could sense a deep-seated bloodthirst that emanated from each of Eris’ blades. Perhaps the blonde-haired knight was not particularly conscious of it, but her daggers seemed to be forged with resentment more than steel. The bloodthirst and repressed anger was not specifically directed toward Medrauta, but she could still smell the latent scent of blood hanging in the air, emphasizing its intensity.

“Can’t you smell it yourself?” Medrauta asked. “Your blades are heavy with the lives that you’ve taken, but this scent of blood in the air, this unslaked desire for violence... It doesn’t come from any of that.”

Eris shook her head, attempting to banish the memories Medrauta’s words had summoned. Memories she had thought were long gone and buried underneath the mountain of her victories at the Imperial Academy. In her moment of distraction, Medrauta struck twice in quick succession, the tip of her blade burying itself in Eris’ left shoulder and then her right. They were shallow cuts not meant to be decisive, but merely served to deliver a message.

“You didn’t lose because you failed to properly assess my abilities,” Medrauta spoke as she easily parried Eris’ counterattacks, batting them aside with her blade as the blonde-haired knight lashed out in frustration. “You’re fast and skilled. You strike with combinations that I’ve never even thought of before, but those blades of yours will never touch me, Eris.”

Medrauta swung her sword mightily, its arc carving a path that smashed through both of Eris’ daggers as she thrust them toward the silver-haired knight. The force of the impact caused Eris to nearly fall over, knocking one of the daggers from her hands.

“As a knight who lives in the present, a knight who remains shackled to the past can never hope to reach me.” Medrauta said, pointing her blade at Eris’ throat.

“Shackled to the past...!?” Eris grit her teeth, her eyes alight with fury. “W-What do you know about me!? Hell, today’s the first day we’ve met!”

Medrauta lowered her blade slowly as she settled into a stance, allowing the light of the moon to cast an ethereal glow on its silver surface. Her eyes naturally drawn to the movement, Eris flinched as she saw her own reflection in the pristine blade.

Is that... Is that really what I look like when I fight...? Eris’ expression of desperate pleasure that was previously unknown to her now contorted into one of disgust and denial as its twisted visage was inadvertently mirrored in her opponent’s weapon. Her remaining dagger fell from her hands, embedding itself point-first into the soft dirt beneath her feet. Her emptied hands flew upward, grasping and covering her face as she attempted to shield herself from the pathetic image reflected in Medrauta’s sword.

“Eris...” Medrauta frowned, recalling her own moment of vulnerability when Trista was killed shortly after the festival’s conclusion. It was easy to become trapped in the past, and had Viviane not been there to pull her out of the darkness that dominated her thoughts, Medrauta might still be in the same state as Eris was today.

“D-Don’t look at me!” Eris shouted, sinking to her knees and curling up in an attempt to hide her face from Medrauta’s gaze. “Oh, Aluvsha... Is this... Is this what Lady Scarlet has been looking at all this time...?”

Medrauta stared down at Eris’ cowering figure, the tip of her sword resting against the soft earth. Although she knew her words would get a rise out of Eris, this certainly wasn’t what she expected.

Ah, shit... Just what the hell have I gotten myself into?