Post by opalgirl on Sept 13, 2009 13:46:31 GMT 10
Title: One Way or The Other
Rating: G
Prompt: #6 - Puzzles.
Summary: Neal thinks his knight-mistress knows more than she ought to, and he doesn't understand how she does know so much.
Lady Alanna lowered her blade and eyed him. "Who taught you to fence, Queenscove?" She walked to the far edge of the practice court, stretching.
"Our man-at-arms, my lady."
Coppery eyebrows rose and she tossed him a towel, which he caught in his free hand. "Go."
"Tomorrow morning?" Neal asked, feeling the weight of the too large and too heavy practice sword drag at his arm.
"Of course." Her grin was mischievous. "You won't learn if you don't practice, will you?"
Neal wanted to tell her she was mad and that she was going to kill him. Then he remembered that Kel trained with lead-weighted weapons and shut up. He saluted his knight-mistress and sheathed the blade before he left the court.
The lady caught up with him as he started the walk towards the keep. "You can be fast - and you can be good," she told him, her hands tucked in her belt, "but if you're facing someone that's stronger, you'll tire quickly and they'll have you. You won't be able to keep up."
What she said made sense, even to Neal's tired, not yet fully alert brain. "If I may, Your Ladyship?" He saw the roll of her eyes and the visible effort she made to keep from snapping at him.
"You may. So long as you get to the point sometime today, squire. I'd like my breakfast."
He groaned inwardly and regretted asking the question. "Who taught you to fence, my lady?"
"Duke Gareth - he was training master during my time."
Neal raised his eyebrows. The Duke of Naxen was over eighty years old, but he had been King's Champion. It was also said that he had been the best swordsman alive during King Roald's reign.
"I also started with a sword that was nearly as big as I was," she continued, "and probably weighed more than I did. It built stamina.” She was grinning. “Your friend Squire Keladry trains with lead-weighted weapons – surely you can.”
Neal stopped, startled. “How do you know that?” he demanded of the lady’s retreating back. He waited for her to call him on his attitude or his tone, but she didn't.
Alanna flapped a hand at him. “My husband,” she said casually, as if that somehow made sense, which it didn’t.
Neal frowned, and followed after her. It wasn't as if she lived at court, so how would she know? He would find out, one way or the other.
Rating: G
Prompt: #6 - Puzzles.
Summary: Neal thinks his knight-mistress knows more than she ought to, and he doesn't understand how she does know so much.
*****
Lady Alanna lowered her blade and eyed him. "Who taught you to fence, Queenscove?" She walked to the far edge of the practice court, stretching.
"Our man-at-arms, my lady."
Coppery eyebrows rose and she tossed him a towel, which he caught in his free hand. "Go."
"Tomorrow morning?" Neal asked, feeling the weight of the too large and too heavy practice sword drag at his arm.
"Of course." Her grin was mischievous. "You won't learn if you don't practice, will you?"
Neal wanted to tell her she was mad and that she was going to kill him. Then he remembered that Kel trained with lead-weighted weapons and shut up. He saluted his knight-mistress and sheathed the blade before he left the court.
The lady caught up with him as he started the walk towards the keep. "You can be fast - and you can be good," she told him, her hands tucked in her belt, "but if you're facing someone that's stronger, you'll tire quickly and they'll have you. You won't be able to keep up."
What she said made sense, even to Neal's tired, not yet fully alert brain. "If I may, Your Ladyship?" He saw the roll of her eyes and the visible effort she made to keep from snapping at him.
"You may. So long as you get to the point sometime today, squire. I'd like my breakfast."
He groaned inwardly and regretted asking the question. "Who taught you to fence, my lady?"
"Duke Gareth - he was training master during my time."
Neal raised his eyebrows. The Duke of Naxen was over eighty years old, but he had been King's Champion. It was also said that he had been the best swordsman alive during King Roald's reign.
"I also started with a sword that was nearly as big as I was," she continued, "and probably weighed more than I did. It built stamina.” She was grinning. “Your friend Squire Keladry trains with lead-weighted weapons – surely you can.”
Neal stopped, startled. “How do you know that?” he demanded of the lady’s retreating back. He waited for her to call him on his attitude or his tone, but she didn't.
Alanna flapped a hand at him. “My husband,” she said casually, as if that somehow made sense, which it didn’t.
Neal frowned, and followed after her. It wasn't as if she lived at court, so how would she know? He would find out, one way or the other.
A charming, yet insightful vignette!
Maybe once we'd have seen it during Smackdown!