Dawn of Adventure

by Andrew Bardsley

  “Well, I guess that we'll see,” said Charlotte with a frown as she looked as if it was a foregone outcome of Lydia's demise. “I just hope that she doesn’t suffer too much.”

  The two combatants had now moved to a clear area. In the small woodland in the hills before the mountain. The wind was increasing power as they all felt the cooling effect. Some of the lower level wizards started to cast small lighting spells. In the area under the outstretched branches of the trees covering the camp. The last act of preparation was somebody to draw a large tournament fighting circle in the dirt. When they had finished marking out the ten-meter diameter circle, they moved back.

  Then the combatants moved into the tournament area as they faced off against each other. Charlotte was shaking her head as they all saw the smaller girl in leather armor. Standing alone against the large Dark armored Knight. He was a head taller than her with a giant longsword pointing toward her prepared for battle. The sword looked to be an expensive weapon. In contrast, Lydia only had her small magical crossbow and a thin knife.

  At the side of the circle, Lizzy saw her sister Kitty talking to some of the retainers. As they exchanged some money. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion as she wondered what her two youngest sisters were up to. They usually ran together as Lydia would often get Kitty into trouble.

  Sir William Lucas stepped into the circle and said in a formal tone, “In the interest of good of the expedition, I implore you both to back down. You have one final chance. There will be no dishonor in showing mercy!”

  When he said this, he was looking earnestly at the large man. Who shook his head then said, “This brat needs to learn a lesson in civility and respecting her betters.”

  Lydia mocked the man as she replied, “It is not likely to be by somebody just at the standard level for his class.”

  This seemed to anger the man more than anything she had said before. He moved forward as if he was pounding the ground with his heavy armor. Small dents in the soft ground could be seen where he had stepped. Lydia just stood still smiling as he moved toward her. With a roar, he swung his massive blade toward her exposed head. As the blade went through the air, the surface glowed blue with some magical enhancement. This left an echo of a shock wave in the air in its wake.

  When the blade moved through the space where Lydia had been. She was no longer there. She ducked and rolled to the side. Lizzy saw her get up from the ground. Then she raised her small crossbow and fired a shot at the face of the Knight. A clang sounded out as the bolt struck directly in the slit in the visor of the armored man. The only effect Lizzy could see was there was now a small dent in the thin eye strip.

  I hope that wasn't her only trick, she thought.

  The slow-moving man moved forward again as if he was a tank. He swung his large blade into the ground as Lydia dodged out of the way again. Then with a sudden increase in speed, the man blurred for a second as his blades swept toward the moving Lydia.

  Charlotte muttered to Lizzy, “He's starting to use his combat skills!”

  Holding that Lydia had not bitten off more than she could chew. Lizzy watched with rising nervousness. Thankfully, her sister blurred slightly as well and appeared out of thin air at the back of the man. Then he blurred again as appeared on the other side of the smaller girl swinging his great weapon.

  The use of the combat skills between the two of them continued on for some nail-biting minutes. It seemed to Lizzy that Lydia was only able to play a defensive game in this fight. Never attacking but always dodging. She started to worry about how long her sister could keep this up. She only had to make one mistake, and she would be cut into two by the massive weapon.

  Then at one point, the Dark Knight seemed to overextend himself as he fell to one of his knees. Lydia's reactions were lightning fast. She shot three bolts from her crossbow. That was aimed at her foot. Of all places. Instead of piercings the heavy armor, the bolts just lodged into the ground, locking his back foot in place. For a second, he tried to move as he pulled against the bolts locking his foot in place. With a flash of movement, Lydia ran up this the half kneeling man hit his chin with the stock of the crossbow. This moved his head up to face her. Then as she dropped the crossbow, she reached back and plunged the thin dagger into the thin eye slit. Lizzy noticed that she plunged the blade into the exact spot she had previously dented.

  The crowd went quiet as they heard the grinding sound of metal moving against metal. Then the harrowing screamings of the large man started. His body was throwback, onto the ground as he began to shake violently as if he was having a strange fit.

  Now that he was prone on the ground, Lydia looked over the violently shaking man. Then spat on his body as she said, “Good lesson. I hope you liked it.”

  Sir William Lucas said in a stern voice, “It's over now. Have some respect, young lady. Be a graceful victor.

  “Jane would heal the man as we still need him for the expedition. It would be inconvenient to have to wait for him to come back from his resurrection point.”

  As Jane dashed forward, the silent crowd saw Lydia walk over to the shocked Mrs.Hurst. She was carefully cleaning her dagger on a rag. Then she said, “I will accept the equivalent gold for his equipment as payment. Is that fine with you, Lady?”

  Mrs.Hurst looked at the girl with distaste and then said, “As the winner, that is you right. We'll get the money for you tonight, girl.”

  This made Lydia smile broadly, and then she ran over to Kitty, who was smiling in return. Holding up a small leather purse. She saw her parents move over to talk to the rogue. They seemed to have mixed reactions on their faces, but mostly it was a look of relief.

  Jane, in the meanwhile, was working on casting a powerful healing spell on the man whose body was still violently shaking on the ground. Lizzy ran over to her sister and said, “Can I help?”

  Jane said in a breathless voice, “Heal the eye wound, and I’ll deal with the poison. I recognized it as one of our fathers. It's going to take me to the limits of my abilities.”

  With her focus now on her magic, Lizzy cast the healing spell on the man's face. Greenlight flowed out of her hands as the energy started to close the wound in the eye. Through the healing magic, she was administering, she felt the deeper, more powerful wound of the poison spreading and killing him. Then she thankfully felt the energies from her sister moved through the man's system, flushing the toxic material out of his body. Soon the energies started repairing the damage to his damaged organs. Lizzy was amazed at the extent of her sister's power as she knew that she couldn’t have gotten close to her healing abilities.

  Chapter 12

  When she had finished, the healing, she looked up around the crowd that was starting to disperse. Some of the adventures were even congratulating Lydia for a battle well fought. She was basking in their prize with a happy smile. For a second, Lizzy was occupied in observing Bingley’s attentions to her sister. He looked at her in admiration of her beauty and ability.

  Then smiling to herself at her sister's fortune, she looked around. She caught the eye of Bingley’s friend Darcy, looking at her. Far from the expected look of disdain, she saw something unexpected a look of admiration. Lizzy was far from suspecting that she was herself becoming an object of some interest. She knew that in the eyes of this Darcy, she was just tolerable. But he was looking at her with so much interest that it was disturbing.

  This annoyed her as at first that Darcy had allowed her to be pretty. He had looked at her without admiration at the hunt, and when they next met, he looked at her only to criticize. But now she could tell that he had some look of desire in his eyes.

  She saw Bingley’s sister link arm with the staring Darcy. Then she looked over toward the focus of his attention. With a smile, she whispered in his ear. Curious as to what they were saying about her. Lizzy cast a small hearing spell. She focused the spell’s energy to the two figures some distance away.

  From what she could tell that Darcy was clarifying to the woman that Liz
zy hardly had a good feature in her face. Then he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. To this discovery, she now heard some other equally mortifying comments.

  Darcy said in a whispered comment to Miss Bingley, “Though he had detected with a critical eye more than one failure of Lizzy’s perfect symmetry in her form, he was forced to acknowledge her figure to be light and pleasing; and in spite of his asserting that her manners were not those of the fashionable world, he was caught by their easy playfulness.”

  Lizzy saw that Miss Bingley looked annoyed with his observation. As was the woman he was so intently staring at.

  She disengaged his arm and said, “Well, I leave you to your admiration. Good night sir.”

  Now that the woman had left his arm, he began to move over to Lizzy. She, in turn, moved toward a group of people talking about the fight and the up and coming scouting mission for the crown. She had just gotten involved in the conversation. As they were talking about the people in the expeditionary force.

  The group beside her included Sir William Lucas, his daughter Charlotte and a few of the retainers. Lizzy noticed Darcy with apparent awkwardness of behavior abruptly interrupted the conversation with the group she was talking to. It was looking like he had specifically come over to talk to her. Which annoyed her greatly.

  He blurted out, “What a large party is assembled for the expedition.”

  “What does Darcy mean,” said Lizzy to Charlotte. In a sardonic manner as if she was ignoring the interloper, “by listening to our conversation?”

  “That is a question which Darcy only can answer.”

  “But if he does it any more, I shall certainly let him know that I see what he is about. He has a very satirical eye, and if I do not begin by being impertinent myself, I shall soon grow afraid of him.”

  With that comment, he bowed and moved away from the conversation. For a few minutes, the chatting continued in the group. Then the conversation relocated to one of the wooden logs that were being used for sitting around the fire. Soon bowls of stew were passed with skins of water and weak wine around. As people embed and flow in the evening socializing. With only some friction with Mrs. Hurst, who made sure people knew her husband was recovering in a tent now.

  The conversation turned to potential activities in the county in the upcoming calendar. The women were soon trying to convince Sir William to put on a ball at Meryton.

  During this conversation again, the awkward Darcy approached. Though this time without seeming to have any intention of speaking. Charlotte defied her friend to mention such a subject to him. This comment immediately provoking Elizabeth to do it, she turned to him and said:

  “Did you not think, Mr. Darcy, that I expressed myself uncommonly well just now when I was teasing Sir William to give us a ball at Meryton?”

  “With great energy, but it is always a subject which makes a lady energetic,” said Darcy with a strange face with no humor.

  “You are severe on us,” said Lizzy.

  “It will be Lizzy's turn soon to be teased,” said Charlotte with a smile at the interplay between to two.

  “I am going to ask you to get out the lute, Eliza, and you know what follows.”

  “You are an extraordinary creature by way of a friend!—always wanting me to play and sing before anybody and everybody! If my vanity had taken a musical turn, not magical, you would have been invaluable. But as it is, I would really rather not sit down before those who must be in the habit of hearing the very best performers.”

  On Charlotte’s persevering, however, she added, “Very well, if it must be so, it must.” And gravely glancing at Darcy. “There is a fine old saying, which everybody here is, of course, familiar with: ‘Keep your breath to cool your porridge,’ and I shall keep mine to swell my song.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Darcy watching her as she moved to one of the seats around closer to the fire. When Lizzy had got out a lute from her inventory and did some simple tuning. Sir William said in a clear voice to the assembled nobles who were still talking about the events of the night.

  “We have the honor to hear from Elizabeth Bennet. May her music calm down the nerves of the gathering as we’ve had maybe too much excitement in one evening.”

  All of the people started to sit and listen to her renditions in the cold night air. With the stars just visible between the gaps in the branches of the trees.

  She started off by playing a simple old Ballard that was well known to the assembly. Thankfully, it seemed to have the desired calming effect on the gathered crowds. Though her performance was pleasing, by no means capital. After a song or two, and before she could reply to the entreaties of several that she would sing again, she was eagerly succeeded at the instrument by her sister Mary. Who has, in consequence, diligent in her musical studies worked hard for knowledge and accomplishments, was always impatient for the display of her talents.

  It was soon found that, unfortunately, Mary had neither genius nor taste. Though vanity had given her application, it had given her likewise a pedantic air and conceited manner. Which would have injured a higher degree of excellence than she had reached.

  Elizabeth, easy and unaffected, had been listened to with much more pleasure, though not playing half so well. Mary, at the end of a long ballad, was glad to purchase praise. And gratitude. At the request of her younger sisters, she was asked to play a jig. Who, with some of the Lucases, and two or three-man joined eagerly in dancing at one end of the clearing.

  Darcy stood near them in silent indignation at such a mode of passing the evening. To the exclusion of all conversation, and was too much engrossed by his thoughts to perceive that Sir William Lucas was his neighbor.

  Till Sir William thus began: “What a charming amusement for young people this is, Darcy! There is nothing like dancing, after all. I consider it one of the first refinements of polished society.”

  “Certainly, sir; and it has the advantage also of being in vogue amongst the less polished societies of the world. Every savage can dance.”

  Sir William only smiled. “Your friend performs delightfully,” he continued after a pause, on seeing Bingley join the group; “and I doubt not that you are an adept in the art yourself, Darcy.”

  “You saw me dance at Meryton, I believe, sir.”

  “Yes, indeed, and received no inconsiderable pleasure from the sight. Do you often dance at the palace?”

  “Never, sir.”

  “Do you not think it would be a proper compliment to the place?”

  “It is a compliment which I never pay to any place if I can avoid it.”

  “You have a house in the capital, I conclude?”

  Darcy bowed.

  “I had once had some thought of fixing in the capitol myself—for I am fond of superior society, but I did not feel quite certain that the air of capitol would agree with Lady Lucas.”

  He paused in hopes of an answer, but his companion was not disposed to make any, and Lizzy at that instant moving towards them, he was struck with the action of doing a very gallant thing and called out to her:

  “My dear Miss Eliza, why are you not dancing? Darcy, you must allow me to present this young lady to you as a very desirable partner. You cannot refuse to dance, I am sure when so much beauty is before you.” And, taking her hand, he would have given it to Darcy who, though extremely surprised, was not unwilling to receive it, when she instantly drew back and said with some discomposure to Sir William:

  “Indeed, sir, I have not the least intention of dancing. I entreat you not to suppose that I moved this way in order to beg for a partner.”

  Darcy, with grave propriety, requested to be allowed the honor of her hand, but in vain. Elizabeth was determined, nor did Sir William at all shake her purpose by his attempt at persuasion.

  “You excel so much in the dance, Miss Eliza, that it is cruel to deny me the happiness of seeing you; and though this gentleman dislikes the amusement i
n general, he can have no objection, I am sure, to oblige us for one half-hour.”

  “Darcy is all politeness,” said Elizabeth, smiling.

  “He is, indeed; but, considering the inducement, my dear Miss Eliza, we cannot wonder at his complaisance—for who would object to such a partner?”

  Elizabeth looked archly, and turned away.

  Dacy stood for a minute in contemplation, looking after her retreating form in the light of the fires. Her resistance had not injured her with the gentleman, and he was thinking of her with some complacency when thus accosted by Miss Bingley:

  “I can guess the subject of your reverie.”

  “I should imagine not.”

  “You are considering how insupportable it would be to pass many evenings in this manner—in such society; indeed, I am quite of your opinion. I was never more annoyed! The insipidity, and yet the noise—the nothingness, and yet the self-importance of all those people! What would I give to hear your strictures on them!”

  “Your conjecture is totally wrong, I assure you. My mind was more agreeably engaged. I have been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow.”

  Miss Bingley immediately fixed her eyes on his face and desired he would tell her what lady had the credit of inspiring such reflections. Darcy replied with great intrepidity:

  “Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”

  “Miss Elizabeth Bennet!” repeated Miss Bingley. “I am all astonished. How long has she been such a favourite?—and pray, when am I to wish you joy?”

  “That is exactly the question which I expected you to ask. A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to handfasting, in a moment. I knew you would be wishing me joy.”

  “Nay, if you are serious about it, I shall consider the matter is absolutely settled. You will be having a charming mother-in-law, indeed, and, of course, she will always be at Pemberley with you.”

  He listened to her with perfect indifference while she chose to entertain herself in this manner, and as his composure convinced her that all was safe, her wit flowed long.