Ringing Steel

The fencers fence, though their encounter is clearly one sided.

The sound of ringing as steel met steel, the stench of sweat surrounding her, the feeling of leather shoes sinking into soft moss, leaving imprints of her every footstep; all of this was beginning to bother Giovanna. It had surely been over an hour by now, and her shoulder ached, yet she was unwilling to let the tip of her rapier drop for even a moment. She knew that if her defense weakened, the girl in front of her would seize the opportunity. Vittoria, that pale devil. She came dressed in that darkened leather, made for dueling. She truly was a terrifying fencer. No matter the technique Giovanna used, nor how fast she thrusted, her opponent would beat her blade aside and push her back. She raised the heel of her back foot for just a moment, trying to shake off how sore it was. 

She felt a breeze run across her neck, sending a shiver through her whole body that she tried to suppress. She couldn’t afford to lose her composure right now. To her right was a sheer cliff face, going down several dozen feet before finally turning into a steep hill that led all the way to the bottom. To her left, the old stone walls surrounding the Altadonna manor. But none of that mattered now. All she cared about was what was in front of her; a demon hiding itself as a girl. Never before had Giovanna felt such helplessness, being faced before with such overwhelming odds. Vittoria was like a ballista, ready to sail and crash through any poor defense in front of her.

I’m used to this. I can work through the pain. I just need to touch her once, that’s all it takes. 

She studied Vittoria for a moment, while her breath found a rhythm. Her tip was pointed low, resting, yet ready to flick up at any moment. Her feet were planted firmly, yet ready to explode into a lunge if necessary. She was undoubtedly the better trained of the two, but Giovanna was always a hopeful. And now, her only hope was to throw all caution away, and force her way past Vittoria’s defense. She would feint low, letting her lazily keep her guard where it was, only to suddenly change course and arc towards Vittoria’s head. She would not let this privileged, haughty b*****d best her.

She sprung forward, taking a step as her arm launched out, her hand downturned to stab at Vittoria’s feet. Just as she thought, Vittoria did not move, and Giovanna’s blade was on an obvious course. Her intuition stepped in, telling her it was time to spring the trap, and her hand slowly turned to thrust the blade up. For a moment it seemed like her plan worked, that Vittoria was destined for defeat. Then she heard steel ringing again, as Vittoria’s hand moved in a circular motion, and her blade met with Giovanna’s. She forced it to the side, causing the tip to miss by a wide margin, and then stepped in with her own blade. Giovanna's breath caught in her throat as she tried to retake control, but Vittoria had already begun moving. The edge ran down Giovanna’s rapier, her simple cross guard meeting with Vittoria’s ornate basket handle, and as strong met weak, she thrusted forward. 

“I believe that would be my point.” Vittoria spoke as the tip of her blade soared past Giovanna’s head, only an inch from actually taking a piece of her neck with it. The two held their position for a moment, with Giovanna just trying to catch her breath again. Then Vittoria pulled her sword back, and stepped away from the defeated girl. Giovanna’s legs finally gave out on her, and she had no choice but to sit on the soft, wet moss. She breathed heavily out of her mouth, as if her head had been stuck underwater this whole time, and she was desperate again. 

“I would tell you how many points that is, but I stopped counting after twelve.” A voice came from behind Giovanna, her instructor. He was sitting on a lonely rock, watching the two duel this whole time. 

“Really? I thought you were a diligent tutor.”

“There is no point counting if the girl cannot take even a single victory.” He said, the exhaustion clear in his voice. “I thought they said you were talented, girl? That you were some diamond in the rough!” Giovanna was still laid out on the ground, finally having caught her breath. 

“I’ve never practiced rapier.” She was clearly frustrated, though trying (and failing) to hide it in her voice. 

“And?” He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “You practice swordplay, and yet even in a week you cannot win a single duel with a rapier!” He stood suddenly from where he sat, and marched over to the girl. He towered over her, glaring down with dark eyes. “Why do you waste our time?”

She took a deep breath before she spoke, trying to keep her composure. “We’ve trained for hours, every day for the past week. You will not invite me inside for food, and I still have my duties to attend to at home. I’ve had no rest.”

“You could never afford to eat with us.” Vittoria spoke up from behind the two, having taken the tutor's place on the rock. She leaned back, resting her hands on the boulder behind her to prop herself up. “Autier, I told you she could not learn. Especially against a duelist as skilled as I.” Giovanna didn’t even need to look back at her to know the smug look on her face as she boasted.

Autier pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly tired. He took a moment before he spoke again, and dropped his hand down to his hips. “I will give you two days, and only two days. Rest, eat well, and be victorious. Otherwise, there will be nothing left here for you.” With those words, he took off, his tall boots hardly making a sound on the soft moss as he strode off towards the manor, leaving the two girls by themselves. Silence fell over them for a while. Giovanna could still hear the sounds of metal scraping and whizzing past her head, piercing holes in the air. 

“You know, you really should stick to smithing.” She finally turned her body to face Vittoria as she spoke. “If your chores at home keep you so busy, then why even take up fencing? Just because you cut some bandit down doesn’t make you skilled.” She took the blade of her rapier gently in her hand, seeming to inspect it as she spoke.”

“It was three men. You know that, because you were there when it happened.” Giovanna no longer tried to hide her frustration. It was pointless when Vittoria was concerned. “And I did not cut them down, they fled.”

“My father is still waiting for that sword. It should’ve been ready by now. Surely Sir Agresti had not lost his talent in old age?” She looked up from her blade, waiting to see if her words cut into Giovanna. Disappointingly, they had not. Giovanna knew that her fathers work was excellent, and he was making appropriate time. Had it not been for the wreck the little bandit group had caused, things would not have taken him so long. Vittoria could not shame him for that.

Giovanna groaned as she clambered back up to her feet, not even bothering to pick up the rapier. It wasn’t hers anyways. She had a long walk back home.

Author's Note

This chapter is meant to serve as an exciting introduction to the book, serving to lay some foundation while still giving a bit of action. The names are probably missing accents, but I'm not all that concerned about it.