Winter 4987, 25 Ginmoth
Even on winter break, Shon slept in just long enough to get up at fifth bell. While most of the others continued to sleep, he dressed and made his bed the same as always, walking quietly to the courtyard to stretch and run. He liked the routine and was soon joined by two other Squires and a handful of adult Paladins who felt the same.
Ryuuko yawned widely and waited in the courtyard while they ran around the fortress the standard ten times, then went their separate ways. Some returned to the fortress for an early breakfast, while others remained in the courtyard for drills.
Shon worked through his unarmed kata first, and by the time he moved on to his sword forms he was the only one still doing drills. He tried not to think about the upcoming match, but was forced to face it as Ryuuko let out a whistle of greeting. The little dragon sent him an image of Lily exiting the fortress, looking around and waving to him from the door. She moved with the grace of a dancer, heading straight for the sparring rings and starting her own kata without rushing him.
Finishing his exercise, Shon went to his usual water barrel to splash his face and neck. He had to punch hard to get through the layer of ice and down to the water beneath. A few more days, and it would be completely solid. Streaking his hair back, he turned to find Lily still going through her forms but now surrounded by the usual group of six Squires.
Their voices carried through the still morning air, “... sure you don’t want to start with someone closer to your level?”
“And how do you know my level?” Lily asked sweetly. Far too sweetly. Dangerously.
She was wearing a sleeveless tunic and loose-fitting pants like the day before and had her long golden hair braided in a thick plait down her back -though strands had already managed to escape around her ears and forehead. Shon could see the muscles in her arms move under her skin and scales as she worked through the twisting motions of her kata and would bet money her legs had filled out with muscle as well.
She was good. Very good. She definitely hadn’t been exaggerating when she'd told him she practiced every day. It had only been a year, but the improvement was apparent to anyone with half a mind and at least one eye.
With a sigh, Shon went for the weapons rack. Ryuuko landed on one of the wooden sparring swords and twittered at him. She'd given him the option of staff or his favored weapon. Considering her noticeable improvement, he went for the sword, brushing Ryuuko off to fly ahead of him.
Lily wanted to test her abilities. It wouldn’t be fair to only give her half his effort.
Shon stopped at the edge of the ring to watch her finish her form, but the other Squires had noticed him and called out, “Hey Shon, about time!”
"Way to leave a lady waiting..."
"The sword? Really?"
His friends exchanged nervous looks and a few more Squires filtered out of the fortress to watch.
Lily finished her form, facing away from him. From behind, he could see her taking slow, steady breaths until she turned just enough to tilt her head back and smile over her shoulder at him. “Ready?” she asked.
Shon nodded sharply and stepped into the ring, meeting her in the middle with a bow. She mimicked the motion, and they both took their fighting stance.
At the edge of the ring, the six Squires had become ten, and were all cheering Lily with things like, “Knock him down a peg or two, Lily!” and “Don’t hold back Lily!”
Shon had a sneaking suspicion that a few of them might still be a little bitter over the hand-to-hand sparring from the previous few weeks. He blocked them out, focusing past his sword at Lily, who was still grinning.
Ryuuko whistled to start the match, and Lily struck first, swinging the staff down at an angle. Shon deflected the blow, but she pivoted off the sword and swung up from the opposite side with the other end of her long weapon. She was fast, but so was Shon, who anticipated the move and had countered accordingly. Lily wasn't deterred, coming back in right away. Shon countered each of her attacks, but he wouldn’t have said it was easy. He waited for an opening in her assault, and when it came, he took it without hesitation, aiming a one-handed swing at her upper arm.
She managed to block some of the force but not all of it. The dull wooden sword smacked hard into her bicep. She flinched and the watching Squires moaned and cried out in anger, “Hey, take it easy!” and “What the hell, man?!” but he wouldn’t have been able to pay them any mind even if he wanted to. Lily countered hard from below, hitting him in the thigh with a loud SMACK that would definitely leave a mark.
They separated, Lily shaking her sore arm and Shon shifting his weight onto his hit leg to check its stability before bringing up his sword again. Lily did the same with her staff. Shon didn't manage to get a good look at her face before she was attacking again, even faster than before.
He blocked the first few swings then stepped into them, closing the distance and attempting to take away her reach advantage. He pivoted behind her, but just as his sword swept low from behind, she bent backward and flipped over the blade. He was still recovering from the impressive move when she was back on her feet in a crouch and thrusting her staff straight for his face.
Without thinking, Shon twisted to dodge the gab, letting go of the sword with his left hand, he spun on the balls of his feet to catch it from the air with his right, ending the maneuver with an upward swing into her ribs. Lily hadn’t been idle when her strike missed and stepped forward, bringing the staff's far end up to strike his leg again.
Ryuuko squawked, and they both flinched under the strong blows, Shon with a “tch,” and Lily with a hiss as she closed the eye on the side of the strike and folded over the sword. They were both breathing hard, with sweat wetting their hair at the temples.
Shon's leg buckled. He stumbled closer, barely managing not to fall by driving his sword point into the ground. Still bending over, she was only a few inches from his face. Lily opened her closed eye and stared into his. He could feel her hot breath on his lips.
Shon gasped, “Match,” his bladed weapon having made a fatal strike. Lily laughed between breaths, and Shon couldn't help but smile as her eyes twinkled.
“Squire!” Shon and Lily separated at the sound of Master Daunas’s angry voice.
Marching towards them came not only the Weaponmaster but Major General Selibra as well. Neither was smiling. “Tell me I did not just see you go full force on a civilian!”
Shon looked from the oncoming officers to the scowling and angry Squires, then to Lily. She was tilting her head at him with a worried expression, still breathing hard, a large white welt surrounded by puffy red skin forming on her arm where he'd hit her.
“Shon?” she whispered. But he didn’t have an answer for the question in her voice.
***
