“I challenge you to a duel.”

Thea’s word instantly divided the two groups.

The recruits behind her jumped and cheered as if she had already won.

I didn’t know whether it was misguided self-confidence or meaningless noise to dispel any doubts, but their reaction reminded me of those street brawls in front of Gladford’s taverns.

In contrast, Rhoslyn’s men remained silent in their positions. Straight upper body, eyes to the front, with a stoic determination in their eyes. No swearwords or rebuttals. The only reaction was their right hands gripping the sword hilts on their left. Ready to kill all recruits if their maiden desired it.

But Rhoslyn only waved her hand once, ending the approaching massacre.

A simple gesture, but all her men reacted as one, unclasped their hands, and changed their posture into a more comfortable one.

“Do you know what it means to challenge me?” Rhoslyn’s inquiring gaze drifted over the recruits before it stopped on Thea. “Do you understand the consequences?”

“Yes!” A hearty shout answered.

“Good.” Rhoslyn nodded. “I decline.”

“You decline?” Now it was Thea’s turn to display a puzzled expression. “But I challenged you.”

“And I declined.” Rhoslyn’s tone chided the farmer girl. “There is no reason to duel you. Nothing I could win. Even killing you wouldn’t be worth my honor.”

“Is that so?” An agitated laughter escaped Thea’s lips. Her voice became choppy. “It’s always the same with you city dwellers. Always looking down on us. Always laughing behind our backs. As if you were so much better than us.”

“I don’t know who you think I am, but your rant is misdirected. Throw those words at someone who cares.” Rhoslyn nodded towards me and turned around to leave. “There is nothing between us and you won’t get what you want from me.”

“Why are you turning your back on me?” Shrill words filled with antagonism. “Isn’t this exactly the behavior all of this is about?”

“I beg your pardon.” A regretful sigh emphasized the true meaning of the words. “Then tell me what all of this is about. And why I should care.”

“It’s your men.” Thea began her explanation. “They look down on us because we aren’t from the city. Even when we asked, they still wouldn’t take us with them. Only because they think that all farmers are weak. They’ll always claim the best parts of the food. Yet they are too proud to help with the buildings and ditches.”

“But the report I received mentioned they helped with the central stores? Do you accuse my men of lying?”

“That. That was only one building.” Thea gestured towards the fortress behind her. “Do you know how many buildings we’ve built and how many ditches we have dug?”

“No.” A carefree reply. “And I don’t care. This fortress belongs to you and my men are only guests here. Since when would a guest clean the outhouse?”

“Then don’t take our glory!” Thea’s attention turned towards the small patrol group. “You won’t help us, you won’t take us with us, and you’ll even mock us for our births. Then at least don’t take our triumph away.”

“My men won’t entertain dead weight during their missions.” Rhoslyn’s body language announced the end of the discussion. “For everything else, you should talk with your commander. After all, he is the one who asked for these circumstances.”

“But that’s the thing! He only has eyes for you and your men. He won’t listen to us at all.”

“Hence this farce began.”

“No farce. A display.” Thea corrected the sword maiden. “We’ll show that we aren’t weaker than some city dwellers. And then you’ll have to take us serious.”

Rhoslyn’s facial expressions changed the moment those words reached her. Or rather, her entire atmosphere became sharp like a sword. “So you say that my men are weaker than the trash before my eyes? You have the audacity to imply that they have to fight side by side with mere recruits who don’t understand their place? Is that it?”

“Yes.” Thea’s answer was a forced whisper, overwhelmed by Rhoslyn’s behavior.

I had seen this side of the sword maiden only once. A few hours ago when she beheaded one leprechaun after another. This wasn’t the carefree girl who laughed about her own silly jokes or a commander who gave valuable advice. No, this was a soldier ready to kill her counterpart.

“I accept your challenge.”

The moment those words left Rhoslyn’s mouth, the mercenaries sprang into action and drew a circle on the ground. The battlefield for these young women. Around 10 meters long and wide.

Thea returned to the other recruits to receive their congratulations, whereas Rhoslyn prepared in silence, taking off the armor protecting her right knee. It was a weird image, but a more urgent problem occupied my mind.

“Please don’t kill Thea.” My honest request agitated the recruits even further, but I couldn’t afford to not ask.

A long, silent gaze was the only answer Rhoslyn gave me before she stepped into the ring and addressed Thea. “You understand what will happen once you entered the ring?”

“Yes.” Thea hesitated for a moment. “Yes!”

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Warning bells rang in my head. I wanted to run over, press Thea’s face to the ground, and make her apologize. But I understood Thea wouldn’t accept such an outcome. The moment to stop all of this had come and gone while I was blindsided by Thea’s unnatural behavior.

I had failed.

And so I could only watch the duel from the outside.

Rhoslyn stood on my right side and displayed a calm exterior. “Then for the weapons, I’ll pick -”

“Wait!” Thea’s short interrupted Rhoslyn’s spoken thoughts.

“Don’t tell me that you want to pick.” An exasperated sigh displayed the sword maiden’s current attitude. “First, you challenge me to duel. Then you slander my men. And now you want to pick the weapons as well? Alright then.” A mocking smile appeared on her lips. “The weak should be allowed to pick. Then what would it be? A club? A stone? Or one of your little wooden spears?”

“I!” Thea stopped for a moment. “I pick the sword.”

Hook, line, and sinker.

I wanted to scream at Thea, who discarded her wooden spear and borrowed a sword from one of the mercenaries. Not that it would make any difference in the actual fight, but Rhoslyn’s behavior would attack and destroy her confidence. And I couldn’t risk any interference now that Thea’s life was in the sword maiden’s hands.

Now ready for the duel, both fighters stood in front of me. Rhoslyn’s calm and collected figure to my right. And Thea, sword already drawn, to my left.

They stood there.

Waited.

And nothing happened.

“Draw your sword.” Thea was the first to break the deadlock. “Let us begin.”

“But we’ve already begun.” Rhoslyn sighed. “You can attack me whenever you want.”

“But your weapon.”

“I won’t dishonor the white horse and draw my sword against you.” Rhoslyn’s bitter laugh displayed her exasperation. “First you slander my men. And now you want to take my honor as well? Who do you think you are? I would rather die than throw my honor away.”

Rhoslyn’s biting words agitated both Thea and the recruits behind her.

There was no way back.

And Thea became the first to attack.

A handful of fast steps towards the Rhoslyn and a wide swing with the unfamiliar sword.

Rhoslyn used a single sidestep to dodge the clumsy attack, stretched out her right light, and tripped Thea up.

Muddy meadow greeted Thea’s face.

“All this conduct because you hated those ditches. And yet you love the mud so much you kiss it. I congratulate you on finding your beloved.” Rhoslyn’s right foot pressed Thea deeper into the mud, soiling her face and hair. “Now end this farce, get your spear, and prepare to die.”

Her words displeased the watching recruits, but Thea could only obey. She stumbled back to her half, cleaned her face with a rag, and exchanged the borrowed sword with her wooden spear. With her familiar weapon in hand, some fighting spirit returned to her eyes.

The following spear attacks were a lot sharper and accurate.

A mix of stabs and swipes aimed at Rhoslyn’s legs.

But the outcome didn’t change.

Another sidestep.

Yet this time Rhoslyn’s right leg lashed out like a whip.

Her knee struck Thea’s stomach.

The two fighters paused for a second.

And Thea collapsed to the ground.

The following minutes became a replay after replay of the same scene. Thea forcing herself to attack, Rhoslyn sneering at her, and another mouthful of dirt for the farmer girl.

This wasn’t a duel.

This was a humiliation.

Revenge for the words Thea had uttered.

Yet the mercenaries stood there as stoic as ever. No joy or satisfaction on their faces. This duel wasn’t even worth their reaction. Just like an adult defeating a child, this win had no meaning or worth to them.

On the other hand, the recruits became more and more agitated, throwing swearwords, mud, and even stones at Rhoslyn.

A disappointed expression clouded the armored girl’s face. “This is a duel and no street fight.” Her gaze froze the stone throwers. “The moment the girl entered the ring, she gave up her life to challenge my honor. Such a fight must not be disturbed until it ends through death or the winner’s grace. So watch and learn.”

Afterward, she stood aside and waited for Thea to get up. No grace and no sympathy.

Thea’s attacks had long become sluggish and innocuous.

The swipe so slow that even a child could jump over it.

But Rhoslyn stopped the shaft with her left leg, fixed it in place, lifted her right foot, and broke the spear in two.

Sorrow warped Thea’s face.

A loud howl and a swing with what had become a sharp stick.

But Rhoslyn dodged that attack with ease, circled around her opponent, grabbed Thea’s hair with her left hand and kicked the hollow of her knee.

Forced to the ground. Humiliated. And kneeling. Held in place by her spearhead, now in Rhoslyn’s right hand.

“That’s it?” Rhoslyn asked the defeated the girl. “That was all? This is your strength?”

Her gaze beheld the recruits one by one before she continued.

“You want to fight beside my men with this strength? You mocked their honor to display this? Yet you want me to lay their lives in your hands? With this strength, any fight, no matter how small, will lead to death. Best case, only you’ll die. Worst case, you take my men with you. And yet you stand there and want my men to die just so you can have some fun times on a patrol march? Tell me, who looks down on whom?”

She stopped for a moment, but nobody would answer her.

“When you were standing in the fields, my men would train. When you were sitting around the campfire and laugh, my men would train. Last winter, when you were complaining about the cold, my men would train. For each grain you harvested, my men would swing their swords. For each festival you celebrated, my men would go to war. They never complained, they never despaired, and they never gave up. Instead, they honored the white horse. And you want to take that honor from them.”

“Did my men ever come to your fields and told you how to farm? Did they arrive and told you how to breed your animals? Or did they force you to bake your bread a certain way? No. They didn’t. They also obeyed all the new rules your fortress forced onto them. Without grumbling or resistance. When your commander came and asked, they stopped the training that would save their lives, and helped you construct the most important buildings. Tell me, was this the time they looked down on you?”

“No. My men never looked down on you. We simply understand our strength and your weakness. And you are too weak to stand beside us. A liability. A threat for our lives.” Rhoslyn raised the spearhead in her head, ready to strike Thea. Her voice barely a muttering, but still heard by the silent crowd. “Then why would you lecture us? You, trash, with no strength to back up your words, want to stand side by side with us. Simple farmers who trained for a few circles feel they are equal to my men who walked through hell and blood. You know nothing and you still question their honor. So tell me, who looks down on whom?”

The entire crowd had fallen silent.

Afraid to see Thea pay the price for her behavior.

Frozen in place.

Except one recruit, one of the earlier stone throwers, who raised another stone and rushed at Rhoslyn.

A useless attempt to deviate her attention.

The spearhead fell down.

And hit the mud.

A metallic ring sounded.

A sword unsheathed.

And a head fell to the ground.

I looked in shock at Rhoslyn and the now headless stone thrower.

“Try to dishonor me one more time and I’ll personally kill every one of you.” Rhoslyn sheathed her sword. “This isn’t children playing on the field with their sticks. So don’t act like children. We have killed more leprechauns during this last circle than you guys would survive. Without us, your blood would color the ground. So accept your weakness, and act like that.”

“But what if we can’t accept it?” Thea’s faint voice came from the ground. “What if we want to become strong?”

“You could have asked my men for their guidance. But you rather mocked them, instead.”

“But. Aki never told us. So we didn’t know.”

“He also didn’t tell you to dishonor my men and challenge me to a duel.” Rhoslyn turned around and left the circle. “Enough blood was shed this day. By my grace I’ll allow you to live with your shame and regret what you’ve done.”

And with those parting words Rhoslyn vanished from the duel ground.