As lieutenant of Lions it was my ‘secret duty’, to give private training sessions to more promising cadets. It was important to let talented or hard working ones reach their potential, while also keeping their pride, or in quite a few cases - their arrogance, low.

And so, I watched the undead-man who was getting ready to duel me. With a simple wooden sword and shield against my own bare blade. It was time to evaluate how much he had learned in the dungeon and how much stronger he had become.

As he had told us before, he would get stronger by ‘feeding’ on the remnants of life, absorbing some of ‘essence’, as he called it, and making it his own. That was...simply upsetting to say the least!... Yet, carried such a huge potential as well.

I could already tell - he indeed was a tad bit taller, but that's something that everyone would notice. What drew my attention more however was the way he moved. His whole posture seemed to be far more massive, and yet, his step wasn’t completely dull and heavy as one might expect, but rather springy and light.

Without noticing it himself, he would look around the room every now and then, scouting for danger - a habit learned in the dungeon where he had to be constantly on guard.

Still, the greatest change was in his stance.

Previously, he would stand stiffly, executing a basic stance, almost as if he was at some sort of parade. That stance was good as ‘an opening’ letting you quickly change into a more fitting position, but every rookie would blindly follow order, ending with awkwardly positioned legs and a completely misplaced center of balance. One strong push - and they would have landed on their butt.

No, this time, his position was shifted. Right leg slightly back. Good. In case of a sudden attack, he could raise his shield mounted to his left arm, and use his right foot as a root, letting him mitigate the force of the oncoming blow.

Standing slightly ‘to the side’ he could hide his sword behind his body.

Another good omen. You don’t want to let your enemy know how you will attack.

I quickly scanned him one last time, checking for other possible openings.

Saying ‘he had none’ would be a blatant lie. He had plenty, obviously, no man nor beast can effectively cover himself from attack from all sides. But, the angles of his shield, sword, and the direction he was looking at would allow him to quickly cover as many ‘danger zones’ in a blink of an eye as physically possible

Good. It’s a start.

“Start!” I yelled, raising my own wooden sword before me, expecting a frontal attack.

And, he indeed rushed me, shield up, wanting to ram his body into mine.

With his size and the weight of the full plate armor, he could easily blow me off the ground. He acted the way I anticipated, yes. Because, in his place I would do the same. He had an enormous advantage in frontal combat, and using any advantage you have in your duel was at the very core of any tactic.

He was faster than before, I have to admit that. Still, dexterity was my speciality and I could easily avoid that… then again, it is tempting to see what he planned to do next.

I allowed him to get closer, into slashing range. He kept his blade hidden behind his shield till the very last moment. Good.

But, naive.

Seeing how his shoulder was aligned, on which leg he put pressure, I guessed what was coming after he moved his shield aside and thrust with his sword...…

….a thrust that never came.

He didn’t attack! Not with a sword, that is, instead, he ‘swung’ his shield, trying to bash my chest!

The strike came from his left hand, which at the same time made my attack - from my right, meaningless!

Great idea! BUT!

I took two hurried steps back, letting the shield pass in front of me, preparing to swing with my sword…

… which was parried by his sword, which, until now, was hidden from my sight.

Interesting! Wonderful! Oh Aster!

He planned at least two, if not three steps ahead?!

Of course, someone that was counting on their agility, like myself, would rather dodge a blunt strike of the shield and answer with a riposte! He was no longer merely ‘reacting’ to situations on the battlefield, but was also anticipating it and actively ‘creating’ one!

Our fledgling finally grew some feathers! Time to see if it can fly though, and to kick him from the proverbial nest!

Two quick strikes which made our blades clash, now, we are done with our formal greetings, this is where the ‘fun’ begins. Dates, flirting, romance. All step-by-step. You, Aster, in your ‘dominant’ role, how will you seduce me? My young maiden heart can’t wait!

Using your strength? Promoting your best assets? Taking over the field, making me take steps back and back?

Slash - thrust - slash?

Like presenting flowers to your beloved! Classic, yes. Proper, indeed. But soooo predictable! For now, I will dance alone, but please! Come on! Surprise me!

Slash - slash, back step, half-pirouette? Interesting. Brave, a bit unorthodox, but still nothing mind blowing!

Let’s play like a shy damsel now, shall we?

Answered with side-step, getting off the slash trajectory, then swing from the side, into a blind spot! - Oh, but deflected with a shield. Yes, yes… OH! And shield bash again!? My-my! Aster! You really like using defensive tools for offence?! That’s wonderful! Might work only on less prepared people, but still, it’s a nice twist! A spice of passion in the romance!

Now, let’s speed up the tempo!

Taking the initiative, ducking under a slash, reducing the distance between us, staying close - my blade is shorter, so, shorter range will make his weapon ‘more awkward’ to use!

How will you answer? Ah, back step?! No-no-no, don’t go! I am needy! I am staying close to my partner, as any proper lover does!

I watched, nearly giggling, his frustration, as he tried getting rid of me, being forced back and back.

For now, I saw one possible ‘way out’ of this impasse, well, two, but only one that Aster should know about! - Again, it relies on his shield - to push me away and perform a quick slash right after it! Will he do it, or would he surprise me… Or disappoint, by doing nothing at all, or worse something predictable?

Ah, what a shame, here it comes, way later than anticipated, but still it came - the shield. Now, I should get ready to counter the followup sword and punish him for his predic…

…

……

………

Dull pain, for a split second, clouded my mind.

He kicked me!

In the guts!

He knew that I anticipated the sword, and so, he waited on purpose, trying to come up with something I wouln’d expect.

WHAT SANE PERSON KICKS DURING A DUEL OF KNIGHTS?!

...

Exactly!

I had to jump away and away, yielding more and more of the field to him, as Aster unleashed a tempest of blows, not wanting to let me fully regain my balance.

… Marvelous!

This dedication! Proper form, but still ‘unpredictability’! This is what a da-duel was supposed to be!!!

This! This awakens something deep inside of me! Anticipation! Excitement!

… it will be fine, if I get a little bit serious now, right?! Some rough play is fine with you right?!

RIGHT?!

… I had no idea what happened.

These thoughts plagued me as I finally sat down back in my room.

First, I was doing well. Really well in fact! Like, holy crap! Everything went according to the scenario I made in my mind!

Then, Lieutenant Natasha's expression suddenly changed, and I had my ass handed back to me faster than I could even process.

And again.

And again.

And again as well.

And once more for good measure.

Almost as if she was toying with me… EXCEPT SHE WASN’T! I could tell this much! After countless monsters I have killed in the dungeon, I learned to recognize this ‘look’ in one’s eyes! The one where they were just toying with their food, and the one when they were truly ‘serious’, trying their best to defeat their opponent! Here, Natasha was serious for the whole time! She gave me no handicaps! She wasn’t letting me land some blows nor moving ‘slower’ than she was…

AND YET! Somehow!! The tide of the battle completely turned! Right away! In a blink of an eye!

Well, I didn’t expect to win, that’s for sure, not against ‘Slivemane Nastasha’... But, I hoped to at least stand on equal grounds with her! To prove some challenge to her! Instead, I was utterly humiliated.

I wanted to say that at least I learned a lot during this time, but truth be told - I didn’t. Of course, my body did learn to react to a few more moves and such, but I still couldn’t ‘understand’ what happened there, nor tell what I could do better for next time.

SO FRUSTRATING!

I collapsed at the top of my bed.

Funny, I was an undead, I didn’t need to lie down nor sleep or rest. And yet, the mere act of lying down did bring me some measure of comfort, helping me soothe my thoughts.

I cracked and popped my bones, stretching and contorting on my bedding. I felt a bit like one of those dancers from those traveling circuses that visited my village some seasons ago, obviously only for a day or two, as they were heading to the city...

Lieutenant Natasha, with a few short breaks for dinner (her dinner) and refreshment (her toilet) was sparring with me for nearly ten hours straight. At some point, I could hear my poor bones rumble dangerously, threatening to just fall apart. I don’t think that’s even possible but it certainly felt that way!

Ok, Asterouse, ok, calm down.

No more negative thoughts. This day is already ‘behind’ you. Focus on the present and future…

…

……

………

Tomorrow’s future is another round with Natasha.

And so is the day after tomorrow. And day after that as well, until the day of the appointed duel.

On second thought, “focusing on the future” doesn’t sound like a good plan anymore. INSTEAD! Let’s focus on present times! And what do we have right now, what do I have control over that no one can take from me?!

I picked the book from the stand. “Iron Maiden Breaker”, gently rubbing the cover with my boney finger.

“At last, my beloved, we meet! What wonderful adventurers do you have for me today!?”

Like a madman, or at least a beginning crazy person, I talked to the object. Well, Margret - our village's witch, tended to repeat - ‘it’s not a problem, when you talk to animals or objects, problem starts, when they answer back to you’.

Patiently, I waited ten seconds or so, giving, out of courtesy, the book a chance to respond to my little flirt. Alas, it remained silent, ensuring me that my sanity is not (at least not completely) gone. I may be an undead skeleton fueled by hatred for those who made me this way but I do have my sense of self at least.

And just like that - getting comfy on my bed, resting my aching bones, I started reading the adventure book. Zariel mentioned last time that the writer was one of his followers, and her gift of writing is at least partly caused by his divine interference.

As much as I didn’t like him personally, I couldn’t let the chance to read a truly divinely inspired book go past me.

And so, with a smile on my face, I decided to spend my evening and night enjoying such highly endorsed literature.