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 Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 2:46 pm
♛_⋄_ A Lady and Her Knight_⋄_♘
Written by Teddy Bear Cupcake and Iroko of the Desert War. They say War never changes. Constantly ripping at the shore of peace, pushing people together just as much as it pulls people apart.
War can pull people apart. War shows the horrible side of humanity. The way we throw our lives away, the brutal love of holding life and death in the palm of our hand, the love of control and of pain.
But in all things there is good. War can also show the side of humanity that is only brought out in times when we admit we need each other. Our belief in what is right, no matter how those opinions differ. Our faith in putting our lives in other peoples hands. Our loyalty to those who matter most.
Sometimes War can show us how even the darkest of days can have a bright sunrise when it's over. War can prove to others as much as to ourselves, that there is more to us than we ever could have imagined. War can prove that while there is so much hatred in the world, there is also love, and the will to move on, no matter the obstacles. It can show our strength to do what we believe is right for the world, and our strength to hold onto what we love most. █▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█
█████████████████████████████████████████████████████████   ♛_⋄_ Noble Lady in Captivity_⋄_♛
Played by Teddy Bear Cupcake ➸ Character Name:Lady Fawne Maddeson
➸ Age: 21
➸ Height: 5'5
➸ Weight: 130lbs
➸ Physical Description: She often looks a couple inches taller than she is due to heels on her feet, her dark hair is actually straight and rather dead looking, but is styled into loose curls for beauty. She's got soft curves, breasts, and just about everything else, but her eyes are keener than those of most noble ladies.
➸ Personality: She's more reclusive than her outer personality may make her look. Though Fawne does her duties to her father and their name, she'd almost always rather be alone in her room, writing or reading, or simply imagining things. She's doesn't like being cooped up in any castle and often wishes for a different life, despite the fact that she probably couldn't have survived as anything but a noble girl.
➸ Likes: Books, Sleeping, The color red, Adventure stories
➸ Dislikes: Gooshy love stories, being around a lot of people, Being unable to choose her life for herself.
➸ History: Fawne was ten years old when her mother died from an illness. Before that she lived at the family country home, being aloud to do and play as she pleased. She was well known as a bit of a rascal, often skipping her lessons to go play in a tree. But, as the home was so far out in the country, Fawne never got to meet any other children. She soon depended on herself for fun and a person to talk to. After her mother died, her father became overly protective, taking her away to the capital where he worked. There she met many other girls her age, none of whom her interested in the adventures and stories that Fawne had grown to love. Instead of playing and learning with them, Fawne became very reclusive, hiding out in her room where she wouldn't be surrounded by "Bumbling idiots only looking to please." After that, the other girls soon began to simply leave her alone. The only person that Fawne spends any time with is her handmaiden, a young girl of 16 who can't read. Over the past few months, Fawn has been attempting to teach her in exchange for some help with her needlework.
➸ Et Cetera: Fawne's father rarely has anything to do with his daughter as he is constantly near the king, being the Lord Chamberlain. Due to that and him taking Fawne away from her childhood home has caused a large rift in their relationship.█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█▅█
█████████████████████████████████████████████████████████  ♘_⋄_Shining Knight Gallant_⋄_♘
Played by Irako of the Desert ➸ Character Name: Radan Taiser ➸ Age: 30 ➸ Height: 5'10" ➸ Weight: 163 ➸ Physical Description: He's well-muscled after years of wearing plenty of armor and keeps his hair cut short. His eyes are blue and often vary in shade according to his mood.➸ Personality: He's good-natured, friendly, and honorable. He has a quick wit and a clever tongue, but becomes grim in the face of impending battle. ➸ Likes: Jousting, reading, storytelling, and riding ➸ Dislikes: Bloodsport, dueling, cowards, and braggarts ➸ History: He was the third of five sons and his lord father sent him to become a page in the house of Maddeson. Lady Fawne had just been born then. He then proceeded to follow the road to knighthood, serving as squire to Lord Maddeson before finally being granted the title of a Maddeson knight. Soon after, the lady of the house died from illness.
The king then raised a host to repel invaders from the east, and Sir Radan was sent to war. He spent the next five years in the king's army, becoming seasoned in battle and tactics. When the invaders were beaten back and the army able to return home victorious, Sir Radan was surprised to discover that Lady Fawne had grown into a beautiful young woman. He did not fall instantly in love, but after being assigned to be in charge of her small personal guard by her now overly protective lord father, he grew to love her. Whenever he could, he tried to lift her spirits with jokes or his stories, and only hoped that she considered him a friend.
He did not dare openly court her favor, however, having no inheritance or land to speak of. Instead, he began to compete in tournaments, and won purses in jousting and swordplay all over the kingdom. Lord Maddeson encouraged this, appreciating the glory Sir Radan gathered to his house. It took the knight away from his lady often, but every time he returned to her, she only grew more and more beautiful in body and spirit. He became determined to wed her, and once he has enough gold from the tournaments, plans to buy a landed title and make a bid for her hand in marriage.➸ Et Cetera:His most faithful companion is his horse, Tobi. Tobi is a chestnut destrier with a lopsided splotch of a white sock on the off hind leg and a stripe with a diamond star on his face. His temper is sweet for a warhorse and
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 9:30 pm
 ♛_⋄_ Noble Lady in Captivity_⋄_♛
Played by Teddy Bear Cupcake 
Fawne Maddeson sat at the window of her room, pulling thread through fabric. She looked down at the training yard where all the knights, squires, and pages were practicing for the upcoming celebration.
"The harvest is coming in soon." Mireielle Rowland, Fawne's handmaiden said as she straightened out the sheets on her bed. "Aren't you excited for the upcoming celebrations?"
Fawne shrugged, before she remembered it was an unladylike thing to do. "Of course." she said, almost flatly. That was what her father would love to hear. Fawne was raised to be a soft spoken, kind, and talented young lady. Though that didn't always mean that's what she wanted to be.
Truthfully, she wasn't excited at all for the celebrations. The tourney was always hot and over crowded, the knights she wanted to win, never did. The feast afterward was tedious as Fawne had to sit straight like a lady, smile, and refuse too much food, while not looking too stingy to have anything. Then the dancing. Fawne hated the dancing. Sitting with her legs pressed together as lords and knights alike passed by her, dancing one stiff dance with her father due to pity, then wearing a false smile and watching, when she's really rather be curled up in bed with a book. No, Lady Fawne Maddenson was far from excited. Mireielle knew that she was sure, but Mirie also always seemed to find the silence Fawne so much preferred to be awkward.
Fawne pulled the needle through her embroidery once more, sucking in a breath when the point stabbed into her finger. She would have sworn if Mirie hadn't been there. Instead she stuck her finger in her mouth, tossed her embroidery aside and told Mirie, "We're going down to the practice yard." and with that, she left the room, leaving Mirie to hurry after her.
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Irako of the Desert Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 10:25 am
 ♘_⋄_Shining Knight Gallant_⋄_♘
Sir Radan Taiser, Knight-at-Arms of House Maddeson Sir Radan Taiser, celebrated hero of the wars and knight of the house Maddeson, looked with longing at the capitol city as Tobi carried him faithfully towards it. They were returning as triumphant winners of a king's tournament held in an allied country just in time for their own king's tournament. Sir Radan looked forward to competing, and had his eye firmly fixed on the fifty thousand gold crown prize.
When Radan and Tobi finally got into the city, Radan turned the chestnut's head towards the palace in order to report to the Lord Maddeson as was his duty. They were recognized by the guard and allowed to pass. Lord Maddeson's steward came out to greet the knight with a warm welcome and the news that Lord Maddeson was currently in council with the king. Radan nodded and said that he would take Tobi to the stables and make sure the destrier was well settled before coming in and cleaning off the dust of the road. The steward left to make all the necessary arrangements for a bath and clean clothes.
Once Tobi was unsaddled, groomed, and happily munching away on oats and hay, Radan was able to get himself cleaned up. He had just entered the wing that had been granted to Lord Maddeson's family and household staff when he spotted Lady Fawne walking briskly toward him, trailed by a glum-looking handmaiden that he didn't recognize. Painfully aware of how dirty he was and how he smelled very fragrantly of horses, he nonetheless bowed and said, "Greetings, Lady Fawne."
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Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 7:50 pm
♛_⋄_ Noble Lady in Captivity_⋄_♛
Lady Fawne Maddenson Halfway out of the corridor Fawne was stopped by the sound of her name. Annoyed at first, she turned to who had spoken. Recognizing Sir Radan Taiser, Fawne found her annoyance diminished. Here was someone who wouldn't remind her of her needlework, or penmanship, or to practice some other kind of lady work she wasn't interested in. "Sir Radan." she acknowledged with a nod and smile. "I'm glad to see you back safe and sound." Finally, some courtesy that wasn't an outright lie.
Sir Radan was Fawne's favorite of the household guards. He was young, not the youngest of the guards, who often joked about Fawne's femininity when they thought she wasn't around, or who lacked in their jobs, but he wasn't so old that he was dry, boring, and cared only about her safety. "I hear you jousted successfully at the tourney. " she smiled, "Congratulations."
Behind her Mirie shuffled uncomfortably as she always did in the knights presence, her head down, a slight pink coming to her face. Fawne often felt bad for Mirie. It wasn't that the girl was specifically unattractive, but as a handmaiden, she had no money, no lands, the only wealth coming from what the Maddenson family chose to give her. Upon her obvious prosperity problems, Mirie had the look of a working handmaiden. Her face was plain, large eyes were such a light blue they were almost colorless. Her brown hair was mousy and thin, and her hands were dry from washing and working. Putting it all together the perfectly nice girl didn't have a continence that suited her, causing her to look older than Fawne when she was really three years younger. Fawne vowed to one day dress her up in her own clothing, and put some creams on her face and show the world the patient, calming, sweet child underneath.
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Irako of the Desert Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 10:13 pm
♘_⋄_Shining Knight Gallant_⋄_♘
Sir Radan Taiser, Knight-at-Arms of House Maddeson He nodded at his lady's congratulations and said, "Thank you, my lady. The men I fought were brave and skilled, and the victory was hard won." He gestured vaguely in the direction of the grounds the next tournament was to be held. "I intend to compete in the tournament tomorrow as well for the honor of House Maddeson. Once it is finished, I may finally return to my duties as knight captain of your guards for a while."
He did not dare drink in her beauty, though she seemed to have become even more radiant in the months that he'd been away. He could only sip with brief glances at her bright, intelligent eyes and her dark, glossy hair. Anything more, and... Well, that was dangerous water for a steel-clad knight to test. As a knight of House Maddeson, he would ask for a token from his liege lady tomorrow to bear through the competition. It shall be my luck, no matter what kind it bears.
He bowed apologetically. "My lady, I hate to be so ungallant as to cut short our reunion, but I fear the dirt of the road and Tobi's fragrance haunts the very air I breathe." He gestured self-deprecatingly and grinned wryly. "Your lord father would not appreciate his knight reporting in smelling worse than the stable boys that tend his steeds, I think. If I may have your leave?" He raised his eyebrows in polite request.
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Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 1:39 pm
♛_⋄_ Noble Lady in Captivity_⋄_♛
Lady Fawne Maddeson Fawne smiled, "Of course." she replied to him, gesturing for him to continue. He was right of course, her lord father certainly wouldn't appreciate anyone, not just his knights, meeting him smelling of horse. He wouldn't even see his daughter like that, Fawne knew. Which also meant a trip to the stables tended to come before any meeting he had arranged with her. It was a horrible thing, but Fawne much preferred cutting her meetings with her father down by a good half-hour.
She still remembered the day he had come to take her to the castle. She had been in an old dress, barefoot, and covered with dirt, leaves, and straw, tear stains on her face, refusing to take a bath. He had come, given her a hug, and told her they had to leave now. The young Fawne had been so shocked by the affection from a father she barely knew, she didn't argue anymore. That was the last time he had consented to see her when she wasn't primed and primped for him.
Fawne continued on her way to the training yard, feeling considerably less moody than she had when she was leaving her room. Truly, the tourney would be much more interested if she had someone to watch. And this way, after dutifully giving her token, there wouldn't be young lords with too big britches asking for a glove when they were really asking her father for marriage.
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Irako of the Desert Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 11:02 pm
♘_⋄_Shining Knight Gallant_⋄_♘
Sir Radan Taiser, Knight-at-Arms of House Maddeson He bowed to his lady and took his leave gratefully. He made it to the bathing room and took care to get every last bit of dirt off him before changing into the more genteel courtly garb in Maddeson's colors of midnight blue and forest green. Sir Radan wasn't a particularly vain man, so did not spend much time fussing over his appearance. Most of the time, as long as he was clean-shaven and wore serviceable clothes, he was happy.
Radan found Lord Maddeson in his study looking over some letters. When the knight stepped inside and closed the door, the lord looked up and said, "Oh, Sir Radan. You've finally returned."
Radan bowed briefly. "Yes, my lord. It may please you to know that I won the tournament at Garheldor."
Lord Maddeson smiled briefly, shuffling the letters idly until they were mostly hidden from view by other pieces of parchment and paper. "That is good news to hear. I'm sure the king of Heldor was suitably chagrined to find that a knight of our realm could defeat all the ones of his realm. Do you intend to ride in tomorrow's tourney as well?"
Radan nodded. "Yes, my lord. I will do my best to honor you and your daughter."
Lord Maddeson nodded at this. "Excellent. I'll have instructions sent to her to grant you her favor to wear instead of one of those strutting young stags. I've had so many requests for her hand that I can scarce keep count!"
Radan's breath caught fearfully in his throat, but years of hiding his true feelings gave him the ability to speak as if the knowledge that he might not ever get the chance to begin courting the lady did not frighten him.. "It is quite understandable, my lord. Lady Fawne is very beautiful."
Radan's liegelord scowled and said, "Yes, I'm well aware of that, and I've a pretty good idea of what those young knights want from her. None of them will so much as touch her while I'm here, you can be sure of that." His voice was dark and ominous.
Sir Radan did not know how to respond, so he waited quietly while his liege fell into a brooding silence. After a few moments, Lord Maddeson seemed to remember himself and dismissed the knight.
Radan made his way out to the practice yard to see what he could learn about his potential opponents. Knights from all over the realm had gathered in the capitol city and were extended the honor of being allowed to practice in the yard. It was very large and well equipped, with a ring for sparring men on one side, an archery range on the other, and a large arena with rings on posts and dummy men scattered around the edges for lance and horse work. There were temporary stadium-like seats around all these stages of warfare, and Sir Radan knew it was to be the site of most of the tournament events tomorrow. The stands would be packed to bursting with lords, ladies, and common folk alike while knights fought for their entertainment.
Now, though, the stands were empty save for a few spectators here and there watching the knights who cared to practice. One was in the arena on a horse that wore saddle, but no bridle. He seemed to be guiding it with his legs only, and prettily too. The horse stepped out with elegant paces under its rider. Over in the dueling rings, a poor squire was dressed in a suit of thickly stuffed pads and wielded a heavy wooden sword and shield. The knight he served was treating the lad like one of the practice dummies, raining blows upon him with incredible speed. Nobody was using the archery range, but as it was a short one and therefore not much of a challenge, Radan wasn't surprised.
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:25 am
♛_⋄_ Noble Lady in Captivity_⋄_♛
Lady Fawne Maddeson Out in the practice yard Fawne took a slow stroll, watching the knights who were awaiting the tournament tomorrow get ready in anyway they could. Save for the archery contest. The archery lane was depressingly short, short enough that even Fawne could make a nice shot if she tried. Not that she often tried. The hours of learning how to shoot a bow and arrow, both on foot and on horse back for hunts, had taken all the adventurous fun out of the sport for Fawne. And of course she wasn't much of a hunter anyhow.
Mirie kept her slow pace, staying a step or two behind her lady. Suddenly the serving girl sped up, tapping Fawne on the shoulder.
"My lady." she whispered. "It's Sir Ralf Appleby coming up on your left."
"Oh by the mercy of the gods...get me through this quick." Fawne groaned, turning her face up toward the sky for an instant.
Sir Appleby had been pinning for Fawne's hand ever since she had come of age at 16. Plenty of other girls all had their eye on him, but of course, none of them were good enough for the arrogant knight. They all thought we was the most gorgeous thing ever to cross the threshold of knighthood. Fawne thought his hair was the color of greening straw and his nose was entirely too big.
"My Lady Fawne!" Sir Appleby called out as he approached. "You're looking beautiful as usual."
Fawne looked passed him where his squire was struggling out of the padded armor he had been wearing for practice. The young boy was the color of a tomato, sweat beading on his face, rolling over the fresh bruises he had earned from the training.
"Sir Appleby." Fawne said inclining her head slightly. "It seems you've been practicing hard for this tournament. I'm sure if all the knights are squires under their foot thick armor, you shouldn't have any difficulty."
Appleby gave something Fawne could only guess was a laugh. "Lady Fawne, I see your wit is as quick as it ever was." he said.
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Irako of the Desert Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 8:32 pm
♘_⋄_Shining Knight Gallant_⋄_♘
Sir Radan Taiser, Knight-at-Arms of House Maddeson Radan gritted his teeth as the knight in the dueling rings moved to speak to Lady Fawne. He had caught her arrival in the practice yards almost immediately, but had carefully concealed his reaction. With a painful lurch somewhere inside his gut, he saw that the knight was Sir Appleby. He was one of the worst knights that had ever been granted the title, but he was a nephew to the queen as well as the youngest of four sons. Knighthood was the fate of such unlucky fortunate as Sir Appleby. The blonde knight was famous for his habits of tumbling every girl who worked in a profession with "maid" in its name wherever he happened to bunk down for more than one night: Chambermaid, milkmaid, barmaid, lady's maid, laundrymaid, and et cetera. The man always joked that he saved tons of gold that would have otherwise been spent whoring.
Lady Fawne was saying something, and by the tilt of her head and slight smile that didn't touch her eyes, Radan could tell that her comment was probably one of those veiled barbs she was so fond of. He was too far away to hear the exact words. He made great efforts not to grind his teeth in irritation. It would be inappropriate to approach his Lady now and interrupt, as he was not back on duty as her personal guard yet. At the moment, he was merely a knight of House Maddeson whose lady was in the presence of another knight. Theoretically, her honor and dignity were in no need of protection, especially since she was accompanied by a handmaiden.
He turned his eyes back to the knight doing horsework in the arena, but the attempt to distract himself didn't work. So, he turned and pretended to notice his Lady and made his approach, a blandly polite expression of surprise on his face.
"Lady Fawne! Imagine running into you out here so soon again. I had not expected to see you again until dinner."
As Radan came closer, he nodded civilly to the knight. "Sir Appleby, forgive me for interrupting your conversation with my Lady. I do hope it was nothing overly important."
Sir Appleby only smirked and said "Oh, we were just discussing my prowess with the sword, nothing more. I see you've returned from tourneying abroad, Sir Taiser. Rumor has it that you fared well. Are you competing tomorrow?"
Radan smiled modestly. "Indeed so. Perhaps we shall cross swords and lances tomorrow."
Sir Appleby's expression sharpened, and with exaggerated casualness, he said, "Perhaps we could cross swords right now. A friendly bout, perhaps, just to warm us up for the morrow. What do you say, Sir Taiser? Care to try your hand?"
From the way Sir Appleby glanced at Lady Fawne as he spoke, Radan knew immediately that the knight sought to impress the lady by humbling an opponent. He had a feeling such macho posturing on Sir Appleby's part would only irritate Lady Fawne, rather than impress her. He spread his hands out slightly to the sides, palms up, in a gesture of emptiness. "My apologies, sir, but as you can see, I am neither armed nor armored. I came to the yard merely to observe and so am not prepared for any such bouts."
"Oh, that's quite alright. Stuffy here can just loan you his sword and shield, and I'll go without my armor. The odds will be a bit more even then. Stuffy, give him your things."
Sir Appleby addressed the squire peremptorily, and the boy awkwardly struggled out of the last bit of padding before hurrying to hand over the wooden sword and shield. Then the squire moved to assist Sir Appleby out of his armor while Radan frowned regretfully at his shirt. It was of a fine weave and though it wasn't of an overly ornate cut or cloth, Radan didn't want to ruin it with sweat or dirt. Had Lady Fawne and her handmaiden not been present, Radan would have just shrugged out of it and laid it carefully to the side before stepping into the dueling ring. He glanced towards the two ladies, not sure of what he should do.
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 8:31 pm
♛_⋄_ Noble Lady in Captivity_⋄_♛
Lady Fawne Maddeson This...was going to be fun. With a sweet smile, Fawne put on her most innocent lady-like face. "Please, don't let my presence stop you. I would be honored to witness your bout." Kick his arrogant p***k a** Sir Radan she thought silently. Not the most lady-like thing to go with the face, but the feelings in that thought were true.
Her eyes caught Mirie's who almost immediately blushed and looked down, a small smile playing on her lips. "But Sir Raden, you wouldn't want to ruin such a fine shirt. Please, feel free to bare yourself if you think it would help you to honor my house." Ruin your fine shirt. Right.
Taking Mirie's hand, Fawne led her over to a bench near by. The poor girl had turned as red as was possible in such a short amount of time. And Raden hadn't even shown his chest yet. Fawne settled down, practically yanking her handmaiden down beside her. Appleby looked over at the two, nodding to Fawne, then smirking at Mirie. It had once crossed Fawne's mind that Appleby would be looking to bed Mirie, who still blushed at the simple word of a man. Those aspirations clearly hadn't left his mind. Yet another thing for Fawne to look out for. Well, if Sir Raden truly proved his worth, hopefully they wouldn't have to think of it anymore.
Fawne held Mirie's shaking hand and waited.
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Irako of the Desert Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 9:10 pm
♘_⋄_Shining Knight Gallant_⋄_♘
Sir Radan Taiser, Knight-at-Arms of House Maddeson Radan quirked one eyebrow questioningly at Lady Fawne, then smiled as she granted her permission for him to be indecent in front of ladies for the sake of her house's honor. With a nod, he turned his back to them and quickly stripped out of the shirt before folding it neatly and laying it on the bench next to the handmaiden. Years of wearing the hundred and twenty odd pounds of the best steel that made up his armor and swinging a two-handed broadsword from the back of Tobi through people had made him exceptionally strong, and it gave him satisfaction to see Sir Appleby's face fall a little bit at the sight. Appleby was famous for his speed with a sword rather than his strength with one. For effect, Radan stretched lazily and shook himself out before accepting the wooden sword and shield from the overawed squire.
He frowned immediately, realizing why the boy had been making such a bad show with his gear. It hadn't been just the padding slowing him down. The false sword was blade-heavy and maneuvered like a fat-bellied river scow beached in mud. He hefted it experimentally and in the back of his mind, a very ignoble part of him was muttering curses. The shield was alright, though Radan noticed it was a shade thinner in the middle where it arced out slightly than on the edges. He put it on and stepped into the ring.
"I'm ready whenever you are, Sir Appleby."
Sir Appleby nodded and said, "Of course. Let's begin, shall we?"
The knight began to circle warily and Radan moved to match him step for step. There were a few experimental taps of swords against swords as they each got a feel for the other's defenses. Then Appleby struck, quick as a whip, aiming for Radan's right shoulder.
Rather than try to swing his blade-heavy sword up to parry, Radan shifted his weight left and allowed the point of Appleby's to slip past without touching him. He'd noticed Appleby glance toward his right and had made a guess. Before Appleby recovered, Radan spun on his left foot and managed to put a little distance between the two of them. Unfortunately, Appleby was soon upon him again, this time attacking him with cuts from the side. Radan allowed his sword to fall in interception, and the resounding thwacklifted a few splinters from the wood.
Radan scowled as Appleby disengaged and danced back a few steps, eyes alight with glee.
"Whatever is the problem, Sir Taiser? Is your sword too heavy for you to lift?"
Appleby punctuated these words with a flurry of strikes that Radan managed to catch on his shield. There was a crack, and as Appleby backed off again, Radan took the moment to glance at the shield. A jagged split ran down the middle, and though it didn't go all the way through, he figured it could only take a few more blows before it broke apart completely. Rather than wait for such a thing to happen, Radan quickly slid off the shield and kicked it out of the ring. He readjusted his grip on the wooden sword so that he held it above the hilt and Sir Appleby's eyes narrowed.
"I believe that counts as a touch, Sir Taiser. Were that a real blade, you would no longer have fingers."
Radan raised his eyebrows and said coolly, "Were this a real fight, I would not be armed with a blade-heavy sword. As this is not a real fight, and we are not using real blades, I believe I'll hold my sword however I please."
With that, Radan rushed in and swept the blade at Appleby's knees. Now that he was gripping it closer to the blade's center of balance, it was much easier to control than it had been before. Appleby stumbled backwards and ran his back up against the fence, then rolled desperately out of the way as Radan swung at his shoulder. Appleby tried to respond with some attacks of his own, but Radan parried the strikes easily. He tried to stay aware of the lack of a hilt protecting his hand now, and did his best not to let his opponent's blade land on his fingers.
After a few moments, they stood apart. Appleby had expended a lot of energy attempting to land blows on Radan, but the taller knight had taken advantage of his height and managed to either stay just out of reach or parry. Appleby panted and glared daggers at the unruffled Radan, who stood patiently in a relaxed stance. With a sudden frustrated yell, Appleby lunged sloppily, aiming for the center of Radan's chest with the point of his wooden sword. Radan slapped the blade aside and with a rapid series of strikes, smacked Appleby on the shoulder, torso, and thigh, sending the knight stumbling to the left.
"Three touches. The bout is mine." Radan turned and began to exit the dueling arena. He had barely even broken a sweat.
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Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2012 2:12 pm
♛_⋄_ Noble Lady in Captivity_⋄_♛
Lady Fawne Maddeson The win wasn't at all surprising. To Fawne, Sir Radan has always been a strong and confident knight. She never believed for one moment in her life that he could fail. Not her house, not her family, and not her. And certainly taking a shot at Appleby was a goodness to her. The fight itself was still thrilling, but more in the way that when you play yard games with a child, when you know you're going to win, and it's the playing itself that makes the experience so wonderful. Radan had such beautiful form as well. Fawne, though never having the chance to gain skill with a blade, often studied the knights and squires who practiced. A couple of times, when her father was away, Fawne had even been able to give a practice sword a try, against the straw dummies and never with an instructor, but it was practice all the same. Even though she herself couldn't do much more than a simple stab and slash, she had learned to recognize all the different techniques knights used as she watched. Lord Maddeson would never let his daughter make any use of the skill books he kept in his library and in the library that was open to the pages and squires. And though Mirie would never tell on her if she did, her father had eyes on his daughter everywhere. Except, it seemed, in the practice yard.
Back at the country home, Fawne had learned the little she knew of practical sword play. Sir Derek Ruks had taught her some, back in the days when she ran about barefooted and ripped her dresses climbing trees. Back before her father had come to take her away from her personal paradise.
"All little girls must become women someday." That was what her mother had told her, as she lay in the stuffy old room, suffering from the sickness that would eventually take her life. She knew. Fawne thought, She knew how things would change, and she knew she could never fix it for me. When it really came down to it, Fawne didn't think she much liked being a lady.
Mirie watched the entire bout intently, gasping as Radan blocked and parried. It began to get quite annoying. Fawne found her attention waning, changing from the forms and the sound of wood clashing with wood. Instead her focus moved to Radan himself. Fawne rarely ever saw the knight out of his heavy armor, much less with so much skin exposed. It was admirable, the way sweat glistened on his shoulders as he moved in toward Appleby, his broad chest moving back and forth with each breath he took. It was a different way for Fawne to look at the knight, despite the many years they had together. For just a moment, the view, and the sounds of the swords, the grunts, and the smell of the practice field, (which smelled of sweat, grass, sand, and the general odor that forms when men do anything together) made Fawne's head spin and her breath caught in her chest. It was memorizing. If she didn't know better, Fawne would have thought this was what it felt like to be a knight. But the bloodlust that came over the lady was entirely different than that which came over men locked in battle.
Quickly Fawne pulled away from Mirie's hand, and ducked into a secluded part of the field, hidden by shrubbery. With a small shudder, she retched, leaning against the wall of the stables. It was strange. Fawne had had bellyache's before, and she wasn't sick. Nor was it from any form of violence. Fawne had always had a strong stomach for violence. And besides, it wasn't her stomach that hurt. It was just below. Placing a hand on her abdomen, Fawne spat out the rest of the bile that had formed in her throat wanting to shake the episode off. She went back to the field, walking slowly, to find the bout almost over. As she took her place by Mirie again, Radan hit Appleby three times, shoulder, chest, and leg.
"Three touches. The bout is mine." Radan said before he turned to exit.
Appleby stood, furious and shaken. He looked about to open his mouth, his face bright red, when he spotted Fawne sitting calmly on the bench. Fawne rose and smiled sweetly at him.
"You fought gallantly Sir Appleby." she told him. "But you know there must always be someone better." Her smile almost turned to a smirk as Appleby's face turned sour. Instead she quickly turned and caught up to Radan by the water barrels, Mirie following, looking excited and meek.
"That was an excellent spar Sir Radan." Fawne said with a genuine smile. "Your fighting is very..." There had been a word Fawne had known as a child that would have fit the fight perfectly, but the years of repression seemed to have chased it out of her mind. And what if a lady must compliment her lord husband father, what does she say then? "Aggressive." she decided. That word worked just as well.
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