Salle, Wednesday Morning

[formerbrat.livejournal.com]

Elspeth, wearing her usual tunic and breeches, ran through her warm-up exercises as she waited for her sparring partner to arrive.


[For the opponent, but also open.]

Comments

[formerbrat.livejournal.com]

Hellfire, she'd put too much into that move. When he pulled out of the way and parried - he was fast - she couldn't pull back without leaving herself open. So she pushed forward, taking a step forward and bringing her sword around and down at his other leg.

[bitchprince]

He wasn't fast enough to catch that one, though, and so he took the hit with the slightest wince. Bloody hell, that hurt.

Of course, in such close quarters, the only solution was to ignore the burning pain and attempt to slam the other side of his body into hers. He'd get to flailing over the beating up a girl part in a few moments.

[formerbrat.livejournal.com]

She hadn't been expecting that (plus he outweighed her) and the move sent her stumbling back. She managed - barely - to stay on her feet and brought her sword back to a defensive position.

[bitchprince]

Ohthankgodshedidn'tfallover, said the part of Arthur's mind dedicated to being nice to women.

The rest of him was taking a moment to breathe before giving his sword a twirl, and settling back into position. He was not going to admit aloud that he was actually getting a little winded off of this one.

[formerbrat.livejournal.com]

She wasn't going to admit getting winded, either, but she didn't come back with an attack right away. Instead, she gave her own sword a twirl and shifted her stance slightly while still watching him closely.

[bitchprince]

Seconds, seconds...

He stood there for just about that long, and then he charged, feinting for her left side before switching it up to high, right in actuality. Much as he could while still keeping as much distance between them as he could.

Arthur knew now she knew the kind of tricks that tended to trip up most people he'd sparred with here so far. He had to be careful.

[formerbrat.livejournal.com]

She caught the feint and brought up her sword to block it. A part of her noticed that he wasn't trying to close the distance between them and while she didn't have time to consciously form a plan, instinct took it into account.

She twisted and slammed her left shoulder at his chest, hoping that momentum and surprise would even up the weight difference.

[bitchprince]

It was a bit of a surprise, yes, which was the entire explanation Arthur could come up with as he found himself stumbling back a step or two. Compensate. Compensate. Keep your mind clear, focused.

I won't hear of my son being beaten by a girl, Arthur. It would be an embarrassment.

When he settled, his grip on the hilt of his sword was firm. He didn't channel any rage into it, because that was left to himself, but he did dart forward to strike at Elspeth's knee with very focused intent as soon as he was anywhere near steady.

[formerbrat.livejournal.com]

The strike connected, Elspeth stumbled and this time she went down as her knee buckled under. She swung her blade in a wild strike at his knees as she fell.

[bitchprince]

Which forced him to jump back with a suddenness.

He'd already wound up falling down on one person this week in the wake of a spar. He would prefer to avoid doing it again.

[formerbrat.livejournal.com]

Her knee throbbed. It wasn't a severe injury, but it'd leave a mark and she'd probably be limping for a couple of hours. She lowered her sword in a gesture of surrender. It was a fair fight and he'd bested her this time.

[bitchprince]

See, normally, this was where the gloating started.

But in Arthur's subconscious estimation, this hadn't been a fair fight for a very simple reason, and so the first words out of his mouth were an earnestly meant, "Are you all right?"

[formerbrat.livejournal.com]

For that Elspeth scowled at him as she scrambled to her feet, avoiding putting weight on the bruised knee. "I'm fine," she said, then added a little more politely, "Good fight."

[bitchprince]

What had he done wrong now? It was starting to get ridiculous. The day had best not continue on like this.

"You were trained well, milady," Arthur offered, opting to settle for formality in this case. It was safer.

[formerbrat.livejournal.com]

"As were you," Elspeth said. Formality was good. She offered him her hand. "Thank you for the match. You're a worthy opponent."

[bitchprince]

He wasn't, in fact, dense enough not to realise that the proper answer was, "As were you, as well," and a firm shake of her hand. She really was ridiculously good at it for a girl, Arthur had to admit, and so it didn't actually sound fake.

There was a slight pause, as several factors warred, but he finally did say, "Good trick with the shoulder."

Even if it had set him off something royal.

[formerbrat.livejournal.com]

She smiled. "Thanks. Guess I'll have to figure out something new for next time since you know that trick now."

[bitchprince]

Next time. Lovely.

He didn't quite keep the yeah, um, about that from registering on his features.

Finally, his mouth set into an uncomfortable line, and he said, "I suppose you will."