“When to you want to have this fight?”
“Tomorrow.”
The next morning Tiga met Reed on the practice ground. It was early and most of the troops were doing drills and running so there were only a couple of onlookers. When they saw it was Tiga and she was dressed in armor for sword fighting they took notice. Tiga never told anyone that she never lost to Winn in single handed sword fighting. In fact, the only time Keyland fought her, she beat him too. Winn wasn’t very good at it, to be sure, but the vaunted Winn Vaux was never supposed to lose at anything. It was a point of pride for Tiga that she could beat him at something she thought she was good at. Sir Karik said she was a master, but Tiga thought he was just saying that to boost her ego. She was about to find out, because from what she could see, Reed wasn’t a master but was very good.
“Last chance to back out of this Tiga,” Reed said.
“Even though you gave me terrible armor,” Tiga said. “I am ready.”
Tiga’s armor didn’t fit her terribly well. They gave her a small man’s chest plate that smushed her breasts, boys vambraces and grieves which didn’t cover her arms and legs very well, and a helm that felt like it was top heavy and if she moved her head too quickly it would fall.
The rules of the match were the first to strike the opponent three times in the chest or head won. Reed was ready to go. Tiga thought he was a little too excited about the thought of winning and was taking her too lightly. She was about to show him that was a mistake.
Reed’s sword was a mighty two-handed claymore like her uncle used to carry. Hers was a one-handed battle sword that looked too heavy for her. She also had a shield, he did not.
They bowed to each other, then they started circling. He threw the first blow, an overhanded strike aimed right for her helm. She smoothly stepped away from the blow, pirouetted, and struck him in the middle of the chest while he was righting himself from the miss.
“One to Lady Tiga,” said the sergeant who was the referee.
Neither of them said anything. They started circling again and Reed swung from the side this time. Tiga used her shield to block, but the force of the blow knocked her aside a span. Reed pulled back and launched another side swing at Tiga from the other side, and she stepped back to avoid it. She zoomed in for a counterstrike at Reed’s head, but he recovered in time to block. Or so he thought, Tiga came out of the feint and hit Reed right on the knee. It was a weak joint in the armor, and he fell to his knees. Tiga attacked aggressively swinging from side to side. Reed was fending her off as hard as he could but without leg support, he couldn’t swing his heavy blade as fast. Tiga finally landed a blow on the side of Reed’s helm that sounded like a bell going off.
“Two to Lady Tiga,” said the referee.
Reed was cursing in his helm and Tiga chuckled.
“That was a dirty blow to my knee,” Reed said.
“That is what losers say,” Tiga said.
They started circling again and Reed was letting Tiga make the first strike. She went on full attack mode and tested his defenses. He blocked every blow and did not attempt to strike back for two minutes. Then, when he felt like she was getting tired he swept her feet. She jumped and avoided the blow and was about to strike high when he whipped his sword around at lightning speed and whacked her on the head. Her helm went flying and blood was oozing down her face. Reed dropped his sword and ran to Tiga.
“Are you alright?”
“My head is spinning a little, but I will be fine.”
“She has five minutes to rest according to the match rules,” the referee said. “One to Lieutenant Sexton.”
“That is all I will need,” Tiga said as she sat up. “I’ll be ready.”
Tiga was very dizzy and could not see straight. By the time five minutes had passed she was not much better. They started again and were circling. Tiga swung and missed completely. She struck out two more times and missed. Her depth perception was off. He took a swing, and it came right for her midsection. She moved her shield up to block, but the blow glanced off the shield and hit her square in the chest. She hit the ground hard again and her head bounced off the packed dirt.
“Two to Lieutenant Sexton.”
Tiga felt like she was going to throw up. Somehow, she held it in and got up. Her head was still spinning but it wasn’t as bad as before. She started thinking of a strategy to finish this quickly. She didn’t think he would go for a headshot, so she planned for a side swipe.
They began for the last time, the one landing the first strike would win the bet. They circled for a minute, each one feeling the other out. Reed lost patience and launched a side strike. That was exactly what Tiga was looking for, and she took off running toward Reed. At the last second before his blow fell, Tiga dropped to the ground, and slid under his legs. As she slid under him, she struck a mighty blow to his midsection. It hit him hard, and because he was off balance from his swing, he fell backwards and hit the ground.
“Point Three to the winner, Lady Tiga!”
“Yes!” Tiga shouted.
“Are you sure you are not your brother’s warrior twin?” Reed asked after he sat up and took off his helm.”
“I just might be,” Tiga giggled. “Tiga, Champion of Aviel has a ring to it. Don’t feel bad, I am a master swordswoman. I forgot to mention that maybe.” She leaned over and gave Reed a big kiss. “Now I get a chance to try to catch my brother’s kill count.”
“What have I gotten myself into?” Reed asked.
“You are courting a fascinating woman who can beat you at swords. Don’t worry, you can still be the big bad man.”
Chapter 9: A Girl Can Fend for Herself
August 1, 850 A.A.
Sarah round kicked and missed Master Chen as he ducked out of the way. He answered with a fast punch to the gut that Sarah blocked. She threw a triple combo of which Master Chen blocked two but a third grazed his hair.
“Stop!” He yelled as he mumbled under his breath. “Enough for today. Sit down, please. I have something to tell you.”
Sarah sat down, and Master Chen went to pick something up from the corner. He brought it back over to her and sat down in front of her.
“You have done something no one in the history of Pho Ren has ever done before. You have become a master in six months. Your rate of learning is incredible. You soak up everything I say, and you do the moves exactly right the first time. I have never seen anything like it. Now here you are. I give you this sash as an official recognition on your status as a Pho Ren Master.”
“Master Chen I don’t believe it! A real master, me? I had no idea I was anywhere close to becoming a master!”
“I didn’t tell you on purpose because I didn’t want to distract you. Lest you think you are through training, now the hard part comes. You must learn the nineteen moves of Siwang Pho Ren, or the death strikes. Of course, you will probably master them in nineteen days, but we will see.”
“Master Chen, I really want to learn the death strikes. Isn’t there something called the Forbidden Move as well?”
“Yes, young one, I have not decided if I will teach it to you. I am not sure if you can do it without hurting or killing yourself. You must get stronger, jump higher, and strike faster.”
“Master Chen look at my arms and legs. I look like a boy. If I get any stronger Winn won’t want me.”
“Ah, my warrior goddess, Winn wants you more than anything in this world. The shape of your limbs won’t matter to him.”
“Do you think he is alive, Master Chen?”
“Yes, Samir whispers to me that he is alive but in great suffering. He urges you to help him.”
“How can I help him? I am stuck here.”
“A way will make itself clear. Now go. Celebrate your achievement.”
“Thank you, Master Chen. I am so happy I achieved this milestone.” She turned and left.
“Samir, I know you are getting her ready for something,” Mr. Chen said aloud while looking up.
Sarah was so excited that she decided she would go down to the palace cellars and get a bottle of her favorite champagne and have it chilled for the evening. On the way back up from the cellars to the kitchen she came up behind two Knights of the Scepter. They were in an otherwise empty hall speaking in hushed tones, but Sarah could hear them.
“These damn Pearl knights keep getting in my way. Why does the King put up with these vagabonds? They are a waste,” said the taller knight.
“I say we run one through and claim it was an accident. If we are lucky, they will fight us. Talk about easy meat,” The stocky one said.
“In the confusion, I would go and have my way with the princess, if you know what I mean.”
“I would join you. She is begging for it.”
“What precisely am I begging for?” Sarah asked, startling the knights. “I believe those words earned you both several months in the stockade, if not a hanging.”
The two turned around. They took a step towards Sarah. She did not move back, rather, she put down her champagne bottle and took a step toward them.
“Seems like if we are going to hang, we should have a little fun first,” the tall one said.
“I have always wanted to see her naked,” said the stocky one. “Now is our chance.”
The knights didn’t have their helms on, and they didn’t pull their swords. Sarah smiled at her good luck and threw a roundhouse kick at stocky and he dropped like a stone. The tall one punched at her, but he moved like a statue in his armor. She punched him three times then threw an axe kick and he went down too. She wondered if she should kill them. Instead she found some decorative curtain tie backs and tied them up with those. She went in search for her papa and although he was in an important meeting, she drug him out of it and showed him the guards she beat up and tied up. She told him what they said. After he got over being astounded at what Sarah had done, he threw them in the stocks and dismissed them from the Knights of the Scepter.
She picked up her champagne like nothing happened and took it to the kitchen and the staff placed it in the cold box. She let it chill for a couple of hours then she decided she was going to drink it at the scandalous hour of 11:00 am. She couldn’t drink the whole bottle, so she shared a couple of glasses with Cera and they were a little silly for the rest of the day.
The next morning Sarah had her first lesson in performing a death strike, and it was much harder than any of the lessons she had before. She did master a death strike in one day, even though it took three hours. She was going to know Pho Ren better than Winn. He was going to be so amazed with her. The thought of it made her smile. She cleaned up and readied herself to meet with her spy master. She always looked forward to meeting with him because he had a knack for coming up with secret bits of information that no one else knew.
When it was time Sarah and Cera took a walk in the palace gardens, and in a remote place Timofy Fluance was sitting on a bench waiting for them. They approached him and he got up, walked toward them, and bowed quickly.
“Your Royal Highness, you are not going to believe what is happing at this very moment,” Timofy said.
“Timofy, you have never been this forward before. I can’t imagine what has you so excited!” Sarah said.
“It is going to excite you too!” He said as his voice dropped down to a whisper. “There is a secret team being formed to go to Menegar to try to rescue your husband!”
“What?” Sarah said. “How can that be? The dukes said no.”
“My information is that the King sanctioned it anyway. The army and navy are cooperating in this venture, and it is hard to imagine them cooperating on their own.”
“I never ask, but where did you hear this from? It is hard to believe without validation.”
“Of course, I can’t tell you where I heard it. I will tell you this, I am one of less than ten people that know about it, counting you and Mrs. Cera. That is all the validation I can provide.”
“Mr. Fluance, you will tell me who is going and who you heard it from right now!” Sarah demanded.
“Your Royal Highness, this knowledge could get you into major trouble,” said Timofy. “Are you sure you want to know?”
“Am I sure I want to know who is going to rescue my husband?” Sarah asked. “Yes of course I do.”
“The force is led by Major Svae Norvesk. She, besides Jaunty Chen, is the colonel’s closest officer, his right-hand woman. The rumor is she had a crush on him but got over it. There is another rumor that they are related, second cousins, I believe.”
“Great,” said Sarah. “Another Skal cousin in love with my husband. At least she will be motivated to save him.”
“The second member is Captain Alana Pervis. It is public knowledge that she is betrothed to Jaunty Chen.”
“She is the Baroness of Weyton. She joined the army when her family ran out of funds. I didn’t know she was in Winn’s unit.”
“She was also very close to Winn; she was his adjunct captain along with Jaunty Chen. The third member of the group is someone you have heard of that Winn met the first day he was in the army. Vant Resbon. Resbon picked three of the 17th Platoon members to round out the crew. Vasco Metto, Hart Peders, and Tuck Ferris. All three are known for their bravery.”
“Six are going?” Sarah asked.
“No, they need to round out their crew. They need a translator that can speak LaVoran and Menegar.”
Sarah sat still and thought for a minute.
“When is the group leaving?” She asked.
“In one week. Under the guise of a trading excursion.”
“Who in the navy is the captain of this venture?”
“Princess, that might be the toughest secret this kingdom has ever held, but I know it because, well, I am the best. The captain is to be Lieutenant Bevy Nonce, the very daughter of Fleet Admiral Nonce.”
“It says something that the fleet admiral is sending his own daughter,” Sarah said.
“She is a handful from what I hear, but an excellent seaman, or sea woman.”
“She will do, I don’t know if I like this Svae leading the group though.”
“Coy picked her personally, if that means anything to you.”
Sarah paused again.
“Send Vant Resbon to me. Somewhere secret and safe. Late in the night. I must speak to him before he leaves.”
Timofy knew not to question the princess when she used that serious tone. Though the logistics of setting up the meeting were going to be nightmarish.
“Yes, Your Royal Highness, it will be done by tomorrow night.”
“Wonderful Timofy. Is there any other news?”
“Yes, concerning the Menegar movements in Skal. The Menegar horde has left Farheim and looks to be headed to the mountains to find Aggenburg. It is about as dumb of a military strategy as I have heard of. If they get lost in the mountains in the winter, then they may never come out. It is late summer and that gives them maybe a month and a half before the real storms set in up there.”
“If they find Aggenburg it could be a disaster. The Skal are proud of Aggenburg and say in is impregnable, but it never has really been attacked either. A force of 38,000 is a big test.”
“Princess it is doubtful they will find it. If they do, they will be mired in the harshest winter climate imaginable, so I don’t see how they could fight.”
“I hope it is as you say Timofy, for my mother in law’s sake, for she is surely there with Tiga. Is there any other news today?”
“No, your Royal Highness, that was all I had for you today.”
“That was plenty. Thank you so much. Let us know about Vant.”
Timofy bowed as he left.
“I will,” he said over his shoulder.
Sarah left after he did. Usually she talked with Cera about the spy reports, but today she was unusually quiet. She was pensive all through the day and the evening. She woke up the next morning and took her lesson wi
th Master Chen. He noticed her head was somewhere else and it was so out of the ordinary he stopped the lesson before it was halfway over. He told her to come back when she had a clear head. It was the closest he had ever come at yelling at her. Even he knew you don’t yell at a princess. She never needed yelling at anyway.
The word came later that the servants could sneak Vant into the kitchens at midnight that night. Sarah became nervous as the midnight hour approached. Cera asked her if she was OK. Sarah told her she was, and that she was thinking about something that was difficult. Cera told her if she wanted to talk then Cera would listen. Sarah thanked her but told her it was something she had to deal with alone.
Midnight came, and Sarah accompanied by Cera crept toward the kitchens avoiding the guards. When they got there, they entered the large room and it was dark. There was a silhouette of a man in the far corner. Sarah had a candle and as she came closer, she could see the man was dressed in a palace guard uniform, but it did not fit him very well. Once they reached him, he bowed.
“Your Royal Highness, I am Vant Resbon. If I may say so, Sarge chose well.”
“Sarge?” Questioned Sarah.
“Yes, Ma’am, we in the platoon still call him that. It’s a tradition. He was OK with it.”
“You mean my husband, Winn?”
“Yes Ma’am, though we knew him as Delver Kide. I wasn’t surprised he was a lord though; he was always so proper and common men don’t play the fiddle like he does.”
“That is my Winn,” said Sarah. She turned to Cera. “Cera, I need to speak alone to Lieutenant Resbon. You are to wait for me in my room. If I catch you eavesdropping, I will make you muck the pig sty all winter. Do you understand?”
“Yes, your Royal Highness,” Cera said as she left.
When Sarah was sure that Cera was gone, she turned back to Vant.
“I know about the mission, and I approve. Don’t bother denying it. I understand you need a translator.
“Yes Ma’am, I have had no luck finding one.”
“Your luck has changed. I know of one that can speak LaVoran and Menegar. She is a little rough around the edges. She is from the streets.”
Trials of a Champion Page 11
