I Will Be the Greatest Knight

For her to tell herself that she didn't want to be led by emotion, this sparring round was only a lie she was using to try to convince herself that she could overcome all of her thoughts and that it wouldn't be a big deal.

However, the moment she sent forth a jab and directed it at the man's chest, she knew all bets were off. He had gotten under her skin, and that irritated her.

Years of convincing herself that all these men were nothing more than brothers came crashing down around her when the handsome Commander joined the charge and became something she didn't know she wanted until she realized that he was completely unobtainable.

He had to slap her sword away despite how bad it hurt because he couldn't get his dominant hand to move fast enough to begin to match the fury with which her blow was dealt. If he didn't do something, he was going to have a massive bruise on his chest, and he didn't want that.

"Nice start," he muttered, despite having to put his entire focus on the vicious woman in front of him, or he would certainly lose.

This small window of opportunity gave Henry the chance to deal a diagonal swipe, but she somehow twisted her body and used her left hand to grab the wrist connected to his sword-wielding hand. It was enough to allow her a moment to right herself and swing her sword so that it connected with his and pushed it outward.

She then felt his body move against hers—his chest against her back and boots just behind hers—but it was only so he could send a knee to her upper leg and send her forward. He then could pull his sword back and not risk losing it to her outward smack.

"Cheap!" Irene spat, not wanting to be touched by him. It felt like he was using it against her, but he seemed oblivious.

His proximity stunned her for a moment, but she used the irritation at her own responses to fuel another flurry of parries, and he managed to meet each one.

"You're going to have to give me more than that," he insisted through clenched teeth.

'More than that' to Irene was getting into his space again. She could use her speed to escape certain situations, and would rely on it if he caught on and tried to trap her.

She then lunged forward and slid her boot behind one of the Commander's feet. At the same time, she smacked their swords together using the space closer to her hilt, but hitting it against the point of the Commander's sword so that she was hitting him with a strong spot while the tip was weak and the hardest part to control.

His trying to correct his sword rather than focus on the fact that she had put herself close to him was his mistake because he had no choice but to relent by going on his knees in front of her, or he was going to trip and fall harder if he fought it and lost.

He stared up at the woman with a small smirk.

"I don't like to lose, but if I lose to someone so well-versed in their craft and serves me, I suppose I couldn't complain," he complimented her.

Irene wanted to smack the expression off of his face, but instead she offered him her hand in the same way he had done to her the first time she was defeated by him.

"We had to even the score," she muttered as she came down from the thrill of battle, and nervousness she could never grow accustomed to took its place. "Now, if you would excuse me, I'm quite hungry."

Since others had started putting away their practice swords after various losses and victories, Irene decided she ought to do the same as well.

However, Sir Alix, who had been observing the fight from the sidelines, stepped closer to the Commander who was watching Irene escape back into the Duke's Tower.

"Guard your expression, Henry, or people are going to start to get the wrong idea," Alix whispered.

At that, Henry shot the older knight a glare, and he stalked forward to the front of the practice yard, where he was able to put away his sword as well. He then stood there for a few moments, deciding he would cool off for a while by watching the others finish their spars.

He would have to take heed to Alix's words, or he truly was going to get himself into trouble. His interest in the only woman in the knighthood could be taken as something it wasn't.

All he wanted to do was get a bit closer to make sure she was okay. He wanted to see if he could have a conversation about what she expressed to him when she was too drunk to hold back.

Every knight in his knighthood needed to be cared for—at least that's what he was convincing himself.

However, once the last practice sword was put away and everyone had gone inside or gone off on various tasks, Commander Henry couldn't quite understand why he was disappointed when he went into the dining hall and saw that Irene had already left to busy herself with something else.

It was for the sake of checking on her, he reminded himself as he ate breakfast slowly and then went on his own duties.

Their efforts to avoid one another succeeded quite well for a few days as the days grew colder and they could tell that winter was on the horizon. There was little time to talk with one another when Irene was busy with the apprentices or on evening patrol duties so she had dinner at a different time.

Unfortunately, the Commanders desire to show the others that he didn't favor the woman and Irene's desire not to show the others that the Commander got under her skin were a bit more difficult when Alix approached their Commander at breakfast one morning about a week later.

"Based on the weather this morning, I think it's time we bid this place goodbye," Alix explained. "We have much to do in Hydrogia, and you have plenty to do here as well."