First of Spears

by Billy Wong

  "You will be, though." Theo must have made some gesture of denial he himself didn't notice, for then Damon looked curiously at him and asked, "Unless you have some plan to stop it?"

  "I don't yet. But perhaps I'll think of something."

  "Even though I don't feel your preferred alternative is necessarily the best choice, I don't want to see my little brother unhappy. If it's realistic, maybe I'll help you."

  "Maybe" didn't exactly inspire the greatest of confidence. But Theo appreciated that Damon at least showed he cared. "Thanks. Gives me more motivation to work on it." Not that he had any real idea of how to go about it, still.

  "By the way though, shouldn't a man want a woman he can protect?"

  Theo laughed. "Just because she's strong doesn't mean I can't protect her. We could protect each other, and I could protect her while she's with child or something. Anyway, I feel like she can help carry me to new heights I've never touched before, both physically and emotionally."

  "I could see that. Does she even have any noble blood? I know she's called a Lady, but over there it seems as likely she could earned it by merit as by birth."

  "What's wrong with earning something by merit?"

  He cupped his chin in contemplation. "Hmm... well nothing, I suppose."

  Once they were free to go, Theo found out where Claire's guest room was this time and headed there. He knocked, and Lily opened the door. "Is Claire here? Is she all right?"

  "Of course," Claire said from off to the side. "This was just a scratch compared to last time."

  He entered to find her sitting in bed with a bowl of soup and wondered if it was one of Lily's healing recipes or just ordinary fare to fill the stomach. "I'm glad to hear that. It would be sad if you got seriously hurt every time you visited my land."

  "Well, I get a good fight every time I come here it seems. Since the wound isn't terribly bad, you want to have that fight between us before I depart?"

  "My knee still isn't completely healed up, so I'll pass." And he realized he was nowhere close to being ready. Defeat alone wouldn't be an unacceptable outcome, as he doubted if he could ever become skilled enough to guarantee victory over her and he hadn't lost any respect for Gunther with his loss. But being dismissed with little effort like would happen right now wouldn't give the best impression.

  "That's fair. But if we don't do it now, I don't how long it'll be before we have another chance."

  Now that she brought it up, Theo thought about her leaving with dread. With the issue she had been sent to deal with resolved, there was no way to know when she'd have work to do here again. And her position probably didn't leave a lot of spare time to visit other countries at her whim. "I hope it won't be too long before we can see one another again. We can have that fight, if you really want."

  "No, I don't want you to worsen your injury over nothing important." She smiled coyly. "Instead of fighting, though, perhaps we could get to know each other better a different way?"

  Theo suddenly noticed that Lily had left the room, and Claire scooted over to one side of her bed as if to make room. He felt his cheeks turn warm. "Wait, you don't mean..?"

  "I know what you want, and I'm not an uptight woman. In my line of work, you meet some great people who you don't have much time with. So you connect how you can when you have the chance."

  He suspected his blush had taken fully over his face, and that by now her smile was partly one of amusement. "B-but my parents, and my fiancee, and er..."

  "I'm not trying to force you to do anything. If you don't want to, that's just fine. But I know you aren't satisfied with certain aspects of your life. Think about it honestly and make a decision for yourself, that you won't regret in the weeks and months to come."

  He considered it for a good fifteen or twenty seconds, then climbed with the biggest grin under the inviting sheets.

  #

  Theo spent some very happy hours with Claire, who proved quite flexible even with her freshly stitched sword wound. She taught him a lot he didn't know before. When he returned to his room late that evening, Damon winked knowingly at him in the hall on the way. He thought about asking his brother not to say anything, but doubted he would rat on him either way. Even then, it was hard to keep secrets in the busy castle and it would be no surprise if their parents already suspected.

  They didn't talk about what might have happened in the days to come, though. Some things weren't meant to be spoken of out loud. He got the sense his parents didn't want to discuss Claire in hopes that time without any mention of her would make him move on. He still had their letters however, and his sweet memories. Those few hours exploring her leanly muscled, yet still curvaceous body might have been better than the rest of the year put together. He could still feel those firm legs around him, squeezing with just the right force and timing to make him...

  Granted, the First of Spears wasn't the first he'd speared. He had been unfaithful to his ordained bride before, as temptation could be hard to avoid when with certain friends or relatives. But she was the first he longed dearly to hold onto, even when they were physically far apart.

  His following meeting with Sophie in the garden, she seemed to notice his anxiety over not knowing when or if he would see Claire again. He had to give her credit at least for that. After a few meaningless attempts at small talk, she said, "You miss her, don't you? Claire."

  He couldn't think of anything to say but "Yes."

  "I can be more like her if you want. I can act bolder, more forward, and learn to speak better." She put on a forced smile. "I can even use a spear if you like."

  Theo exhaled exasperatedly. "That isn't what I want. You shouldn't try to be somebody you're not. There's nothing wrong with the type of person you are, just because it isn't my preference doesn't mean you have to change."

  "But I'm willing to change for you, so we can be happy together."

  "Even if that's the case, do you think you can truly change yourself on the inside? I would feel guilty if you felt compelled because of me to put on an act, while not being true to yourself and being miserable for it."

  "Yet you don't feel guilty denying me my heart's desire?" she asked softly. "I'm not sure I understand your priorities, Theo."

  "You can't force love on someone. That's what you're trying to do to me. And like I said before I don't know that what you feel is love, and not a construct formed from your oversized sense of duty."

  "What about you, then? Are you sure you love this First of Spears? Because it seems like it could be a childish infatuation, the mighty warrioress to you an unreachable ideal the height of which inspires you."

  She was definitely smarter than he'd once assumed, and more of a thinker. How had these depths of hers managed to remain hidden from him for so long? It even intrigued him a bit, though it didn't make him attracted to her. "I admit that's part of it, especially in the beginning. But we've talked many times and I really like her too." More than like. He felt he could spend every waking hour with her and never grow bored. He believed it was love.

  "Fine, I can accept that. From what I've heard she sounds like a person it wouldn't be hard for a man to get along with. Ask yourself this—is a good drinking partner, lively friend and stout comrade what you want to spend your life with? It's my understanding she can't even cook, but brings a cook along in her travels."

  "I don't see why that would make her not suitable to spend one's life with. If you're implying what I think, she has ample womanly qualities too."

  Sophie's brows rose. "And how exactly do you know this?"

  Uh oh. He had let his tongue get too loose. "I, um, you know..."

  "You've slept with her, haven't you."

  He gulped. How did she have such an uncanny ability to read him? Perhaps she did know him better than he'd assumed. But then he saw the potential bright side to this. If she grew upset enough at him that they both protested their marriage, maybe it would be dissolved and he'd finally be freed from-

  "It's okay," s
he said to his shock. "If you don't love me, I understand why you wouldn't feel a need to be loyal. It's my job then, to convince you I'm deserving of your loyalty."

  Wild thoughts raced through his mind. How are you so calm? It's quite disconcerting... There are things I respect about you, but why are you stubbornly insisting our future is set in stone? I want to carve my own path, and not just blindly follow the trail marked by our parents.

  "What are you thinking? Is it hard to put words to?"

  "I... men and women should make their own fates."

  "Is it not arrogant to presume the world will bow to your will?"

  "If you're talking about not getting struck by lightning or some such, then you have a point. But I mean, maybe we shouldn't let other people make our decisions for us when we're already adults?"

  Sophie gave him a questioning look. "What determines when we are or aren't adults?"

  "Er, I don't know. When we can think like this, I guess?"

  "The ability to philosophize does not necessarily equal the ability to do it well."

  He turned away. "Thank you for the thinly veiled insult. I similarly disapprove of your stance, so I could say the same about you. But even if we can't be sure who is right or wrong, doesn't how vehemently we disagree with one another's positions indicate how unsuited we are to be a pair?"

  "There are many who say opposites are drawn to each other."

  "To this degree, I would gather not."

  Neither of them could make much headway getting the other to see their point of view, but Theo somehow thought better of her after that day. She might not make that bad of a wife, if she could grow out of her simple-minded deference to tradition some day. Even so, he wouldn't accept their union. He adored Claire that much more. There had to be a way for them to be together.

  #

  The public's discontent abated somewhat with the restoration of normal trade, but it was unclear what other consequences would arise from Gunther's defeat or Egrent being forced to send soldiers to the border with Fian. Since it would take some time for the troops to arrive and Fian to form a response, they got a taste of the former first. Mere weeks after the duel with Claire, the Duke of Jorest which bordered Ailune arrived at the castle with a hulking, hooded companion and a proposal for King Darius. A rank smell accompanied them into the throne room, and there was something vaguely disturbing about the stiff gait with which the cloaked one walked.

  "Your Majesty," the fat bald duke said with a haughty edge in his voice, "I humbly challenge you to a duel of champions. If mine wins, I request you allow my territory to secede from Egrent, so that we may negotiate on our own terms in case of a war between Egrent and Ailune instead of being helplessly caught in the middle." But it had also long been known that he gave little respect to the crown, and yearned to boast of being a sovereign in his own right.

  Deep lines creased Darius' face in a heavy frown. "And if your champion loses, what do you offer me then?"

  "I will relinquish my authority in Jorest, and you may install a new vassal there as you see fit." Clearly, he had some confidence in his representative's ability to win.

  Watching with him from the sidelines, Theo's freckled friend Rory from the royal guard said, "It's as your brother feared. Now that Gunther's been defeated, there's a sense of vulnerability about him and others think they can beat him too."

  That, and Gunther still being injured might make them want to take advantage. "I'm sure Father won't let him fight in this condition, though."

  To his shock, the king replied, "Well very. I accept."

  "Father, what are you doing?" Theo protested, his brazenness causing heads to turn. "Gunther is hurt, his arm is broken for gods' sake! You can't make him fight like this."

  Darius raised a hand for silence. Gunther stood impassively at his side. "Enough, my decision is made. Lord Jorest, present your champion."

  Triumph shone brighter in the duke's eyes as he grasped his companion's hood and threw it back. Gasps filled the air while Theo fought to keep his bladder from emptying itself. He shivered uncontrollably, frozen in place. It couldn't be. Such things shouldn't exist outside of legend. But it remained there in his sight no matter how he willed it to disappear. The champion's helmeted head was a skull with bits of withered skin attached. The duke pulled the cloak away entirely. A skeleton in thick looking plate towered before them, brandishing a large axe.

  "W-what is it?" Rory asked, sounding as frightened as Theo felt.

  "I don't really know. But I've heard stories... it might be a death knight. They say they're hardly slowed by any wounds short of hacking them apart." And with that armor, it seemed dubious even Gunther's greatsword would be up to the task, particularly when he had one good arm.

  Even the king had gaped to see the challenger revealed, but he regained his composure and said in an even tone, "Very well. Then I will present my champion." But wait, wasn't Gunther right there next to him? After a few seconds, someone stepped in through the front door. How had Darius summoned them without noticeable action? Theo supposed he must have given some subtle signal, maybe for one of his men to fetch the person in question.

  The new arrival proved to be a woman, a gray ceramic mask covering the upper half of her face. She was tall but not freakishly so, an inch or two over six feet with a thick frame that filled out her nondescript leathers. While imposing for a female, Theo doubted whether she made an appropriate substitute for Gunther especially in this situation considering she was still a good deal smaller than him. Then she passed him, and he saw the weapon on her back. It looked almost like a cross between a sword and an axe, a gigantic leaf-shaped blade far wider than even Gunther's attached to a long hilt. She walked calmly to put herself between the death knight and the king and faced it with no discernible fear.

  "My new champion," Darius said, "Isolde the Breaker."

  Theo felt an urge to protest again, to point out how Gunther had served loyally for many years and didn't deserve to lose his status as champion so easily. But he supposed he could wait until after the battle. If the woman was killed—not that he wished that on her, but it appeared a strong possibility—any argument would be moot. And if she won in impressive manner, it might just be a waste of time trying to get an argument going.

  Isolde watched the undead creature without moving, not even to draw her weapon. It stared at her but didn't advance, as if it too tried to take its opponent's measure. The Duke of Jorest, so assured before, seemed to grow more nervous. "What are you waiting for? Take her!"

  His grotesque warrior charged, drawing its axe back. As it approached, Isolde finally reached for her hilt. The strange blade whipped over her shoulder and crashed into the floor, splitting it. A huge axe head, along with part of the handle, landed beside it.

  The death knight fell apart, its left and right halves falling away from each other. They flopped down like so much refuse, inanimate as they should be once more. Jaws dropped all around the chamber.

  "Did she just cut all the way down through it, right through the helm and all that armor?" Theo breathed. "But that's insane."

  "She must have strength like a god," Rory said. "I wonder how much that weapon weighs. Never seen anything like it."

  "Lord Jorest," Darius asked while Isolde wiped off her blade, "do you have anything to say?"

  The Duke's gaze rested solidly on his feet, not daring to look up. "I accept my defeat."

  "Of course you do. You have no other recourse. But do you realize using dark magic such as that used to animate death knights is a crime punishable by death?"

  Now the Duke's eyes snapped up. "What?"

  "You probably didn't know that because no one has used such sorcery in Egrent for over a hundred years, hence the laws about it having fallen into obscurity. But a crime committed in ignorance remains a crime nonetheless. Isolde, punish him."

  "Stop, stop! I haven't used any dark magic! My champion was a gift given to me by the dark elf Manuiel-" The giant blade passed through
his shoulder as he made a poor attempt to sidestep, cutting his words off in a scream.

  "Wait," Darius said while the Duke clutched the stump of his arm trying to stem the gushing blood, "don't kill him yet. If he admits to conspiring with our enemies, let us learn more of what he knows about them first."

  Isolde took a torch off the wall, pulled the Duke's hand out of the way and thrust it into the gaping wound where his arm used to be, searing it with a loud hiss. He shrieked and passed out.

  "That... will do." The king himself seemed a tad unnerved by the eerie calmness of Isolde's actions. "Take him to the dungeon." A couple of guards did so while Isolde stood there like the task was beneath her. It was also possible she didn't have the strength to lift him on her own, but that seemed somewhat unlikely.

  Theo waited until they had time alone to talk to his father in the study. "What are you doing? It doesn't seem quite right after all of Gunther's dedicated service, to replace him this quickly." It had been depressing to see him fade into the background after Isolde's duel, while she took his place at Darius' side.

  "After High Waloros told the world their women are better than our men, it's only natural for us to answer back by showing our women are strong too. Gunther approves of this."

  Did he really? The old warrior would probably go along with most anything his king suggested, even if he disagreed in his heart. But Theo knew trying that argument would do him no good. "Where does this Isolde come from anyway, though? Is she even from Egrent or just some foreigner you hired to play the desired role?"

  "You think I would further risk our honor with such a bold lie? If you know the tales of a female warrior saving people from monsters and bandits near the coast, that was Isolde."

  He had heard of them, now that his father mentioned it. They'd proclaimed the warrior a giantess though, and while pretty big Isolde wasn't huge. He supposed with that kind of prowess, it was easy to grow in someone's imagination into a colossus. "A mysterious fighter with this much strength—I wonder what her background is?"

  "It isn't your concern. Whatever it is, she's my champion now and will be treated with respect from you."