บท 6: 5 : MEETINGS
Dedicated to all my wonderful readers.
***
She flipped the sword just in time to block his attack. She turned and used her upper body strength to push him back.
Her lower body was left unguarded and as a result he swept her leg off the ground with his.
Leonard smiled and stretched his hand out to her. " I keep telling you to stop focusing only on your upper body strength. You need to work on maintaining a balance between the two. "
She accepted his help. " it's not all that easy as you think " she said coming at him with her sword.
He blocked every strike with ease.
She swiped at his chest, throwing a kick at his groin at the same time, but he stepped back just in time.
He smirked and she narrowed her eyes at him.
They rounded each other and at the same moment went on attack. Their swords met and a ray of sunshine hit it.
Although there was a beauty in it. Both refused to get distracted and rather focused on each other, waiting to see a weakness.
They drew their swords up against each other, a test of will and strength.
Clarissa pulled away and kicked at him to throw him off balance but he simply sidestepped her and she went forward not expecting that move. He immediately swept her feet off the ground from behind her not giving her a chance to turn back.
She landed on the ground with a loud thump.
She closed her eyes, panting deeply and opened her eyes to the glint of the sword at her neck.
" when am I going to get better at sword fighting? " she asked with a huff.
He smiled and grabbed her hands to pull her up. " when you start listening to the tips I give you. "
He gave her a pouch of water and drank from another. He closed his eyes and opened them back to see her pouting while a few drops of the water she'd consumed dropped down her lips.
She didn't look so tidy, elegant and proper. She looked like a kid who had spent the day playing in the field.
To him, she looked beautiful.
" stop pouting " he said as he walked towards one of the trees surrounding the field. " you might get it right someday. Don't be too hard on yourself. "
" you've been telling me that since forever. " she said coming over to meet him. " are you telling me that it took you more than three years to master sword fighting? "
" no it didn't. It took way less and with the way you're going, you are going to suck at hand to hand combat forever. I mean a kid could basically crush you when it comes to that. " he says ruffling her hair.
" whatever. " she said pushing at his chest.
She sat on the floor in her training outfit which constituted of a matching set of green pants and tight short sleeved top. The clothes were well dusted with dead grass and leaves.
She thought back to her conversation with her father. If she was too weak to defeat Leonard in a fight, then how well would she do in a fight against werewolves and witches. Not for the first time she wished she had inherited even just a bit of her mother's powers. Maybe then she'd have a chance to help her father. She felt so useless.
" feeling sorry for yourself won't make you any better. Nor will it help your father. " Leonard said sensing the turmoil going on within her.
She sighed. " then help me become better. "
" not until you clear your mind. " he said coming to sit beside her. " It would be a waste of time. "
" we are going to have to seek for help. " she said rolling her eyes. " which is going to be next to impossible and if we're truly being realistic, even if all the greatest human kingdoms were to come together it would be almost impossible to defeat the Eradains. " she said angrily.
Leonard thought back on what she said.
Human kingdoms not that of the supernatural creatures.
" have you considered asking help from the supernatural kingdoms? " he asked looking at her angry face.
She scrunched up her face in confusion and looked up at him. " the supernatural kingdoms? " she scoffed. " they would never help us. The Fey are known to be extremely selfish and will only help their kind. The elves are pretty much the same and the dwarfs only work for gold, meaning that they could betray us easily. Trust me that is a dead end. "
" what about the vampires? " he asked.
" I'm starting to wonder if you even know what you're talking about. " she said exasperated. " the vampires are basically myths. No one has heard of them since the old wars. And if they still exist, they're doing a good job of keeping their distance. " she sounded like all hope was lost.
But Leonard believed otherwise. He knew if the king or Clarissa put their mind to it there would be a way.
" still present it to your father as an option. You never know luck just might shine on our faces. "
She sighed and nodded. " but just so you know, father said they are working on a way to seek for help. But if that fails I'll him tell of this. "
He stood up, dusting some of the dirt from off his body. He offered her his hand and helped her up. He seemed to have miscalculated the force which he used and found himself staring into her eyes.
Her green colored eyes were so beautiful that he found himself being pulled into them. They seemed clearer and more vibrant than that of nature which surrounded them.
She too was entranced by his brown eyes that calmed her down and comforted her even in times past. She knew he felt for her as she felt for him and wondered when he'd confess his feelings to her.
But as usual he pulled away, disappointing her.
She schooled her face, refusing to show him how hurt she was by his action.
" we should get back now. " he said clearing his throat.
She nodded scared to reply and break her composure.
***
A lady with dark hair walked down a path towards a clearing. In all appearance she seemed innocent, a smile on her lips, a laugh in her eyes and the smell of cherry blossoms surrounded her.
She bent down in the clearing picking up flowers and wild berries when she heard the sound of a horse neighing as it trotted in haste towards her direction.
In a few seconds, the sound of the hooves of the horse could be heard hitting one spot as it had stopped moving.
The owner soon alighted although he had found it difficult to do so with grace.
The lady rolled her eyes and stood up to come face to face with the man who had been helping them with their plans.
" will he finally hand her over to us? " she asked wasting no time for formalities.
" he has decided to seek for help instead. " the man replied.
" stupid human. Does he think even five human kingdoms such as his joined together would be enough to defeat our army? A big fool is what he is. "
" not human kingdoms. He wants to seek help from Shadow's Kiss. "
She raised her eyebrows in shock. " well then we will have to go on with our next plan. " she handed him a pouch filled with gold. " we will come for her two days from now. "
Author's note
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