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Exchange weapons, huh? Not an easy task for two girls who couldn't stand the sight of one another. Glee took the quarterstaff gingerly, grimacing as though it carried some infectious disease that she didn't want to pick up. Forte picked hers up the way a normal person would, but she remained cautious of it. Jessie showed the girls how to hold the weapons properly.

Now they'd have to exchange weapons. But how? The only logical way that Jessie had alluded to was fighting. But Glee was hesitant; she knew that it was possible Forte had combat skills from the war. The musician hated violence, so she automatically didn't want to fight.

"Jessie, permit me one question," Forte asked. "You said it's not simply enough to disarm the foe and gain their weapon. That in and of itself seems to be the goal if we are to fight, so must we finish off the opponent? Because if that is what's to be done, I won't--"

"Oh just shut up!" Glee said, charging at Forte, forcing the musician to block the attack and defend herself. She was a bit surprised that her pretentious enemy could attack with such force. The curly brown-haired girl continued to attack and Forte continued to defend herself.

"Stop it this instant!" Forte cried out as she blocked Glee's barrage of attacks. "STOP!"

The composer let go of the staff with her left hand and waved it at the sand. Two sandy tendrils wrapped around Glee's legs, stopping her in her tracks. She flailed the quarterstaff around as Forte jumped back and away.

"You cheater!" Glee shouted. "Using your magic to get ahead!"

"I'm not cheating," Forte said sternly. "I simply don't want to fight, so stopping you from attacking me was of the utmost importance."

"But how are we supposed to exchange weapons if we don't fight? In case you haven't noticed, this seems like it's a fighting class."

"No kidding," the composer said. "You must be quite intelligent. Have you a doctorate? In that case, use that brain of yours to figure out a solution; I know that's what I'll be doing."

"Shut up."

After a few more minutes of thinking, Glee spoke up.

"So, um...are you ever going to let me out of this, uh...sand...stuff?" she asked.

"When you see fit to stop attacking me in a blind rage," Forte told her. "Until then, you shall remain there while I think things through."

"You know, as much as I hate to say this, you're at an advantage. You could just beat me, switch weapons, and this whole thing would be over," Glee replied.

"Perhaps," the composer said. "But I hate violence, you see. That's why I'm thinking of a way to end this without it. Any situation can be ended without violence, if you think about it enough."

"You're kidding me," Glee said, somewhat sarcastically. "You, an organ-playing hermit who fought in a war, are a pacifist? I never would've guessed."

"And I never would have guessed you knew the meaning of the world 'pacifist'," Forte replied, also somewhat sarcastically. Then something occurred to her. "Oh goodness..."

"What?" Glee asked, a confused expression on her face.

"I...may have found a solution," Forte said, one arm around her waist, the other resting on it, hand on her chin in thought. "But...if this is correct, we may just be the biggest fools on the planet."

"What is it?"

"First you must promise to stop attacking me."

"All right, I promise."

"I don't believe you."

"What?! I just said I'd stop attacking you! That's a major thing with me."

"Maybe so, but that look remains in your eye, and after all these years I know what that look in your eye means. You plan to double-cross me."

"...All right, fine, I admit it, but this time I'm promising I won't attack you, so let me out of these things."

"No."

"Why not?!"

"It's still there."

"What is?"

"That look in your eye. Must you always be a conniving, cruel woman?"

"Stop blabbering and let me out of these things so you can tell me the solution already!"

The girls watched as some of the students tried out their task in various ways. A few of their ideas seemed to make sense to Glee.

"Why don't we try that one?" she said, gesturing with her quarterstaff over to a pair who hit their sticks together with enough force to send the two weapons flying into the air. "If we can catch the other's weapon by doing that, it might work."

"Maybe so, but there's an even easier way to do this," Forte told her. "One that doesn't involve violence."

"Well what is it?"

"We simply switch weapons."

"...What?"

"Must I repeat myself?" the musician said. "We switch weapons. That's all there is to it."

"Yeah I know that, but how?" Glee asked. "What strategy do we use? And how does it not involve fighting?"

"Well, it's this revolutionary thing we call, handing your weapon over to me, and I do the same for you," Forte said. "We've been overthinking the solution this entire time."

"Are you serious?"

"Incredibly."

Glee thought a moment. This solution was so simple it was stupid. How could it possibly be the right answer? Knowing that Jessie taught a combat class, not to mention they were in the midst of that class, it was automatically assumed they'd have to fight to switch weapons. There was no way Forte's answer could be the right one.

"I can't honestly believe that someone like the Captain would have us do something with such an easy solution," she said. "It doesn't seem right. It feels like there should be a tougher answer."

"For once we agree," the composer replied. "But for some reason I feel confident in my conviction. I firmly believe the answer is to just switch weapons; no fancy tricks or skills necessary."

"So let's do it already," Glee said. "But first I want you to let me out of these things."

Forte sighed. "I suppose there's no need for them anymore, seeing how you've calmed down. But mark my words, if you so much as try anything, I will not hesitate to put you in your place. Is that understood?"

Glee gulped. Forte wore an expression that showed she was extremely serious. In exactly the same way Forte knew about Glee's glint in her eye, Glee knew Forte's dark expressions meant not to cross her.

"Okay, okay," the curly brown-haired girl said. "I get it, you'll whoop my butt if I attack you. Fine. Just get me out of these things."

By this point in time the girls had already forgotten about Jessie's presence, something that was nearly impossible for young women of their age. Forte sighed and waved her hand. The sandy tendrils fell away and Glee was free to move again.

"Ahh, that's better," the girl said, brushing her legs off. "Never thought I'd say this, but thanks--what are you doing?"

The musician had put her quarterstaff up in front of herself, as if to block an attack. She was staring at Glee menacingly.

"What's with the stance and the dark look?"

"Protection," Forte said. "As you can see, I don't completely trust you."

"Oh for God's sake, organ-freak..."

The two stared at each other for a few seconds. For the first time--and whether or not anyone else knew was questionable--the two enemies stood in direct sight of each other and were not verbally or physically attacking one another.

"So...we just trade weapons now?" Glee asked.

"Precisely," Forte said, hesitating a little but nonetheless holding out her quarterstaff for her nemesis to take. "Go on, take it. Then give me your weapon."

Glee looked at her for a second. "No," she said.

"What?" Forte asked, confused.

"Now I don't trust you."

"You must be kidding."

"I'm not."

Forte drew her quarterstaff back, resting it on her right shoulder and winding her arm around it. "Chew on this for a minute will you? Just how much do you actually know about me? How much do you know about me that isn't based upon rumors or false accusations?"

Glee was silent.

"Can't say much, can you? This is what happens when you base your entire knowledge of an individual off of rumors and other such things; you do not grasp them, you grasp an artificial idea of them. And if you continue to do this, you will never acquire a true understanding of an individual."

Again, Glee didn't say anything.

"In this case, go out on a limb and trust me," Forte continued. "Say I actually am unlike the rumors you've heard and am a trustworthy individual. The only way you will know this is to simply put your trust in me, just as I am--although begrudgingly--putting my trust in you. Give me your weapon, and I will give you mine."

As much as she hated to admit it, Glee knew that Forte was right. She'd always looked at the composer as being some organ-playing hermit who only deserved the title "freak". She'd heard many things about her through rumors; things like she was a witch who would cast spells on anyone she happened to encounter, she played the organ to keep people away, she treated people like dogs, among others. Maybe it was time to put those notions aside, if only for a moment.

"Get this straight; I still don't like you," Glee said. "But fine. We're in this jam together, might as well get out of it together."

She held out her weapon and Forte did the same. The two girls stepped forward and handed one another their respective weapons at the same time. Glee stepped back holding Forte's quarterstaff and Forte stepped back holding Glee's quarterstaff. Each of them looked at their new weapons as though they'd found some sort of unique artifact, but internally, they were both going "Wow, I can't believe that actually worked."

The girls blushed, both internally feeling more like five year-olds than anything else. They didn't know it, but for the first time the two of them had something in common--while they both could do well in crowds, they didn't care for being put on the spot. However, despite the embarrassment they both felt, they definitely felt better--it was a relief knowing that such a tense situation could be resolved so easily.

No one said anything for a while, so to break the silence, Forte was blunt and said exactly what was on her mind.

"Well, we didn't end up killing one another in the process, so for that I am truly grateful," she said, still holding the weapon gingerly.

Once again, the girls blushed. Like any normal woman who received a compliment from Jessie, they both felt cheerful and a little uneasy (the latter emotion resulting from the envious stares of other women in the vicinity.)

Forte, beautiful? Glee thought. That's a new one.

Glee, intelligent? Forte thought. That's a first.