Despite everything they had been through, the attack on Blefcynn was still active all across the city. Their faces glistened with a thin layer of sweat as they continued their daunting trek through the Narrows.

“Our destination, The Prince’s Glaive, is not much farther now.” Grimm spoke in hushed tones just loud enough to carry over the sound of battle coming from the street ahead. “Stay vigilant.”

Kalos stood behind Grimm. The shadows of an empty stable kept them partially hidden from the light. A large troupe of pirates fighting a slightly smaller group of heavily armored men appeared from around the next corner. The two groups seemed more skilled than the previous ones they encountered earlier. Despite slow, exhausted movements they relentlessly sent powerful attacks at one another to claim victory.

A small streak caught Kalos’ eye, causing him to look up at the sky for the first time in hours. There, a deep blue shade over the backdrop of millions of stars had begun pushing through the darkness. Dawn was beginning to break over the horizon.

Kalos and Grimm slowly crept forward along the building’s edge. They needed to turn down a street very near the mass of fighters without drawing unwanted attention. Just as they were about to turn and continue on their way, a body lying on the ground jolted up at them unexpectedly.

“Oi! Ya tryin’a sneak’p behin’us ah!?” The man had been knocked unconscious a little earlier and just so happened to awaken as soon as they came near.

Grimm grit his teeth and sharply jabbed him in the chin as he attempted to sit up and swing his sword at them. The pirate fell silent once again, but it was too late.

A couple of pirates who had recently slain their enemies and started pilfering corpses heard the commotion.

“Blast it all!” Grimm growled as he drew his sword for the third time that night. Kalos noticed that his movements were not as fluid as they had been previously. Lack of sleep and intense bouts of combat had worn heavily on them both, after all.

Kalos instinctively drew his dagger this time, adopting an expression of intense focus rather than dumb surprise. This time he had every intention of making a difference in the fight.

Just as he was about to launch forward to take the initiative rather than wait for the pirates to attack first, Grimm firmly redirected him, “Your courage is admirable, but I need you to travel ahead while you still can. We can’t risk anymore interruptions.”

Kalos felt like he was drowning in confusion as he replied, “But I can really help this time!” He had finally started to feel like he could engage the enemy and was actually eager to do so when Grimm interrupted him. The pirates slowed to a stiff walk as they came closer, now only a few paces away.

“Go!”

Kalos was about to object once again when a sense of deep respect washed over him, forcing his defiance to ebb away in light of Grimm’s command. He bitterly took off, angry at himself all over again, but this time he wasn't quite sure why. He glanced back just as the two pirates attacked his father in unison. Just before he lost sight of the battle, Kalos saw Grimm parry both blades to one side with ease, as he had many times before. Despite his intense desire to help, he turned away and continued on.

Suddenly a loud, crackling surge of energy shot into the air behind him, causing the hair on his arms to stand up straight. Kalos instantly turned back toward the battle he had just left. The area where all the fighters were scattered fell completely silent. Just as he was about to run back to check on his father, he heard a distressed cry from somewhere nearby.

“No! Were ya dropped on’yer face as’a squit or somethin? Get’yer grimy paws off’a me!” A husky, feminine voice from someone who sounded like they were caught halfway between panic and outrage drew his attention from the direction he was headed before the crackle stopped him dead in his tracks.

After considering his options, Kalos decided to take just a few steps more before going back to check on his father, and peaked around the next corner to see what was happening. Instantly his anger intensified when he realized what he was witnessing. Three men were pinning a small, feminine figure to the ground and beaming with anticipation.

One straddled her hips while another held her wrists above her head against the cold stone. The last one laughed mindlessly while scrambling to bunch her cloak as far up her thighs as he could manage.

The girl growled and kicked as hard as she could into the groin of the one working to expose her legs. He immediately squealed and toppled forward, catching himself with one hand against the other pirate who was straddling her. The straddler in-turn snarled and shoved him to the ground with a vicious punch to the throat, magnifying the pain he already felt.

“Useless!”

The pirate who was straddling the girl glanced right at Kalos as if by some supernatural sense of awareness and yelled, “Whos'at!?”

The men had been unintentionally distracted by Kalos just long enough for the girl to pull her hands free and lock her fingers into a dangerous hammer-fist configuration. Before the other two could stop her, she hurled her fists at the nose of the one who had been holding her down with all her might and growled like an angry lioness. His eyes immediately rolled back as he teetered awkwardly to one side, leaving only one attacker to handle her all by himself.

The one who had been straddling her the entire time glared down before delivering such a vicious backhand to the face that the sound of his knuckles colliding with her cheekbone echoed all the way to Kalos’ ears with a dull thud. When the girl groaned in pain, the last thread of hesitation Kalos was feeling snapped, sending a wave of rage through his body that made his hands tremble from the flood of adrenaline coursing through him all at once. He immediately launched forward around the corner at the pirate with all the frustration that had been building within him for hours. He deftly scooped a long, wooden plank from the ground and within a few seconds swung it like a club at the man’s head with the full force of his sprint driving it forward. To his surprise, the pirate sensed him coming and lifted an arm just in time to soften the blow while the wood shattered against his forearm.

The girl, whom Kalos assumed would be unconscious after taking such a hit, was not only awake, but screamed again in power while planting the heel of her boot into the man’s chest and shoving him onto his back with a single kick. Standing upright, she loosened the dark cloak the pirates had been so keen to remove and carelessly let it fall to the ground as she drew a long, sharp dirk from her waist.

With all the force of a wild beast, she swung her blade at the pirate's head. The attack was deadly, but poorly aimed, so rather than catching a vital point and making a clean cut, the flat of her blade ripped a chunk of flesh from the pirate’s forehead by the force of the impact, alone.

The man slowly stood to his feet and, contrary to what they expected, took off in the opposite direction like a scared rabbit. Neither of them bothered to follow, but the girl was still trembling with fury over the situation she was in when her gaze snapped to Kalos next. Her wild, wolf-like eyes locked onto his as recognition set in for both of them. Her expression hardened even more, matching his sense of indignation with equal intensity.

“Give me back my stuff...”

She snickered bitterly while her flesh shimmered with sweat, “You're the kind of idiot I've only ever heard about in stories up 'til now. Those were sold hours ago! Good luck getting them back, though after seeing the truly unique way you played dice, I imagine you've never had any to begin with.”

“You couldn’t figure out anything better to do before your friends started attacking like the strays they are? Guess they got bored and turned on you, instead...”

The girl had stolen everything and left him with nothing but his underclothes as he lay unconscious in the street. The realization that he’d just saved her without even realizing who she was made him feel even more angry about everything that happened to him over the last several hours.

“They're not my friends,” she snapped back with all the venom she could muster, “I’d kill myself before I'd ever sail wi’their sort!”

Without warning the girl leapt straight at him, attempting to drive her dirk deep into his stomach.

Kalos barely drew his dagger in time to parry the attack. His blade was several inches shorter than hers, but its length allowed him to react quicker than she expected. Despite the disadvantage of his reach, he preferred to move close to his opponent in combat. His specialty, much like Grimm’s, was to draw the enemy near and dispatch them as quickly as possible without giving them a chance to try again. He had no qualms about fighting her or intention to let her off easy. In his mind she had stolen everything from him during the worst night of his life and left him as good as dead in the streets.

He immediately stepped forward, folding his empty hand behind his back while adopting the same mid-stance he had only just saw Grimm use earlier that night. It was a very confident posture that many foes would not know how to defend against, but the pirate girl was no amateur. She immediately stepped back, increasing the distance between them to maker her dirk more manageable against his close-range style of combat.

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She chortled meanly at him, “Foolish boy. Seeking to challenge the Red Dagger are we? And with such a confident pose… You actually think you can win!”

“That your nickname, child?”

“CHILD!?”

The “Red Dagger” lunged forward faster than before, but with a more unusual strategy as well. Instead of aiming for his body she targeted his hand, which was the closest point of contact between them, forcing him to react through instinct alone.

The tip of her dirk clashed against his Ostele blade with a blur too quick for him to perceive, driving it down. She had tried to knock his weapon out his hands with remarkable precision, and it was an effective technique, but he was able to maintain control despite her unusual attack. Someone with a weaker grip would surely have lost their weapon and become utterly defenseless against her assault, but he was no amateur, either.

She quickly flicked her wrist, trying to slice the back of his hand wide open with her dirk when she realized he wasn't going to give-in. Rather than finding flesh, though, her blade was averted to one side when Kalos stepped forward and tilted the angle of his dagger just enough to deflect her blow, again pushing closer to try and attack her from well inside her normal range of motion with the long, slender blade she was wielding.

Kalos pressed his forearm against her elbow, attempting to slice into her neck while restricting her ability to defend herself entirely. If she didn’t jump away backwards, the edge of his dagger, which was now angled directly at her jugular, would sever both arteries near her throat and end her life in seconds.

At the last moment, before cold steel split her flesh, hesitation caused him to reduce the momentum just enough to prevent his fatal strike from connecting with her flesh. His resolve weakened even more when he saw a thin trickle of blood trailing down her lip where the pirate had struck her only a few seconds earlier. The idea of causing her to suffer even more made him feel terrible.

That brief flicker of sympathy was all that was needed to give her the upper hand. As Kalos’s arm reached the zenith of its attack, the girl leaned back just enough to save herself from his blade while also leaving her within range for an unexpected countermove. She fluidly drove her foot into the top of his thigh, using the attack more as a way to launch herself away from him than to inflict damage though it still hurt like he was kicked by a horse.

Impulsively, he reacted by using the momentum of her counter to roll away in the opposite direction as well. Though his movements had been deftly executed, by the time he sprang back onto his feet, she was already at striking distance again. At the last instant, the heel of her left boot connected with his chest before he even realized what was happening. She had performed a spinning, reverse-kick that sent him flying backwards rather than finishing him off with a slash.

She immediately hurled words at him in irritation, “Why’d ya let me kick you, ya dumb ninny!?”

Kalos tried to catch his breath while simply staring at her, perplexed by what she was saying. He couldn’t understand why she was suddenly so upset about something like that in the middle of a duel. He had plenty of strength to get back up onto his feet, but confusion paralyzed his mind better to such a degree that he could only stare in disbelief while he tried to make sense of what was happening. He could tell by her eyes that she was angry, but not in the same way she had been at the pirates.

Without warning, an imperceivably fast slash sickled through the air from behind at the girl. She gasped as she tried to move away, but was unable to do so quickly enough to avoid the attack entirely. Reacting at the extreme limit of her physical ability, she turned and tripped over her own feet while lifting the dirk between her and the incoming attack from behind. Her inadequately light weapon absorbed the full impact of the blow, knocking her to the ground at Grimm’s feet while the dirk soared across the alley as a result of the momentum it absorbed before landing completely out of reach several paces away. She stared at Grimm with fear for only a second or two before he made his next move.

Grimm suddenly raised his blade high into the air to add as much power as he could to his downward stroke before sweeping the sword straight at her stomach in a long, wide arc that would surely cut her all the way through to her spine if it connected. The girl rolled away as fast as she could, unintentionally ending up beside Kalos, who was also sitting on the ground in shock. Grimm’s blade sparked as it bounced off of the street at a wild angle.

Grimm immediately placed his fingertips along the flat of his blade to steady his aim at the girl's chest. With narrowed eyes pinning her hopelessly in-place beside Kalos, he sharply stepped forward and thrusted his blade straight at her with the same technique that brought the skeletal creature to its final demise only a little while earlier. -

“Wait!” Kalos shouted, holding his hands up at Grimm who paused mid-stroke to meet his son’s gaze with irritation while the girl clawed away from them until she was out of range. She seemed more rattled being near to Kalos than by how close she had come to death three times in a row by Grimm's blade. Kalos sprang up like a barrier between them, uncertain about what to say next as he looked back and forth from one to the other. He had no idea what he was doing, but he felt like he needed to protect her rather than let her die.

Grimm’s expression softened as he recognized some mysterious thing about what was happening, and gracefully sheathed his sword. The girl jumped to her feet, tilting her nose up to appear taller than she really was in defiance. Even when standing on her tiptoes, she was still several inches shorter than Kalos who was also significantly shorter than Grimm.

She suddenly balled her hands into fists and took a defensive stance, ready to fight both of them at once if necessary as she shouted at them, “Do what ya want, but I won’t take it quietly!” Her nails dug deep into her palms as her shoulders grew tighter by the second. She looked more frightened than ever. Her eyes glistened with tears as a result of the stress she was feeling.

Kalos watched as Grimm haggardly turned and walked away without a word. He knew his father was exhausted, but now he just looked like a feral cat ready to kill anyone or anything that stood in his way whether it was deserved or not.

Finally, the sweaty girl relaxed a little as Grimm went on without them. She gave Kalos a wary expression before timidly walking over to retrieve her dirk from the street where it fell.

Kalos found himself deeply impressed by her fiery disposition and fighting skill. Grimm’s ambush would have quickly dispatched any lesser opponent in half the time it took for Kalos to speak up, yet she survived unscathed. He didn't meet new acquaintances very often, and he had never thought it was possible for anyone to survive the full force of his father's onslaught.

The Red Dagger carefully picked up her weapon before locking eyes with him again as if to remind him just what she was capable of. Finally, they sheathed their blades at the same time, signifying an honorable end to their confrontation. After standing in awkward silence for several seconds, she crossed her arms and shifted her weight from one foot to the other in annoyance.

Just when Kalos was about to say something, she beat him to it, “Thanks for stoppin'em.” He was at a loss for words all over again. She seemed to mistranslate his silence for something else entirely, though, for she quickly tromped right over to him, and with a hard expression, stopped only arm’s length away and watched his eyes like a hawk. Her close presence caused his heart to flutter despite a lingering irritation that stirred in his heart over what she had done to him. Even so, if she was suddenly compelled to end his life, he wouldn’t be able to react at all as a result of the intoxicating effect she had on him.

“Now, I have to repay you...” She abruptly shoved her hand into her leather top, again pressing certain body parts aside in the most attractive ways possible to reach what was hidden underneath. After pulling out the same long, slender money pouch she had with her during their game of Sailor’s Dice, she paused to look at it and carefully weight her options for only a moment. It looked even fatter than the last time he saw it. Everything that was happening felt surreal. He couldn’t say a word. Apparently she appreciated the silence, for her face softened a bit before she firmly shoved the whole pouch into his chest.

“Well, do ya want it or not?” she goaded with a mischievous, seductive grin that made his cheeks burn.

Kalos snatched the bag from her, confused about whether or not he was doing so out of entitlement for what was stolen or submission to her will.

“It’s what we got for sellin’ your stuff, as well as everything you lost during the game. Gamblin’s kinda risky... It’s prob'ly not your thing.”

Despite the mild-mannered insult she gave, Kalos randomly started thinking about how impossible it would be for her to become any less attractive to him no matter how dirty, tired, or bloody she could become. Everything about her looked perfect, even after being attacked by those pirates, fighting him with all her might, and finally defending herself from certain death against Grimm’s barrage. He quickly shook his head, trying to clear his mind.

“You don’t need it?” Kalos replied dryly.

She waved her hand dismissively, “Nah, I’ve got another one just in case.”

“Where?” Kalos asked incredulously while closely tracing her breasts with his gaze as if to spot where it might be hiding. His face suddenly grew pale before he furiously snapped his eyes away from her to one side, but it was too late to hide what he'd been looking at.

The girl quirked an eyebrow and smirked, “A bit curious, aren’t we? I’d have to show you later, I guess... Where ya headed, next?”

Kalos was caught off-guard yet again. He carefully slid the pouch inside his jerkin where an imperceptible pocket had been constructed for that very purpose.

“The Prince’s Glaive” came his blunt response. Apparently her straightforward manners were already rubbing off on him.

Her nose twisted a little, “The Prince’s Glaive, huh? It’s just up ahead, yeah?”

“It is?” Kalos asked with a touch of hesitation in his voice.

“O'course. Ya didn’t know that? Ya’really are gonna die if you keep this up, silly.”

The simplicity of her words and her exotic accent intrigued him every time she spoke, even when she insulted him. He coughed, trying to fight off the charmed state of mind she was pushing him into.

“Who are you, anyway?” His tone was more forceful than intended, but he didn’t care. She was already having more of an effect on him than he was comfortable with.

She grinned with a hint of playfulness in her tone, “Why, the Red Dagger o’course. And how bout you, what’s your name?”

“That’s a strange name... I’m Kalos.” He was annoyed to be answering her questions so freely, but he couldn’t help it. She was simply irresistible.

“Bit daft aren’t ya? Ya really haven’t heard of the Red Dagger?” Her comment was more a statement of disbelief than a malevolent attempt to poke fun at him again.

“Elana.”

Her voice was like music to his ears with the northern, seafaring accent that naturally flowed through her vowels.

Despite how much he enjoyed having her attention, Kalos felt like he couldn't afford anymore distraction from her. The start of their relationship had been a strange one, and he couldn’t decide if he ever wanted to make her acquaintance again after everything that happened because of her. Just as he was about to turn and walk away, one of the two pirates who had been lying unconscious for the last several minutes groaned, starting to wake up.

Elana flinched before looking over toward the pirate with a wild expression in her eyes. Like a feral kitten caught unaware, she looked completely uncertain about whether she should run and hide or get ready for another fight.

Kalos didn't understand what was going on in her mind, but he also couldn’t help but wonder how much being overpowered and forced into such a helpless position might have affected her. It was strange seeing her flinch after fighting so fiercely to protect herself only a little while ago. He couldn’t leave her alone now, but he felt like he couldn’t trust her, either.

Elana nervously stepped over beside Kalos before speaking up, “Come on, I’ll show ya the way.”

©2024, K. M. Plum, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED