Death and Transfiguration

Chapter 41

Léa instantly charged toward the judge, a huge smile on her face as she swung her sword toward him. However, Judge Marchand soon realized that he had underestimated the blue-eyed opera singer, and he quickly parried and counterattacked. Léa blocked his hit and then responded by swinging her sword overhead, and of course, Marchand saw his opportunity and thrusted his sword toward her stomach, but Léa quickly blocked him again. The two of them went on like that for a long time, their swords clashing again and again, and before long, I lost track of what was happening. They were leaping back and forth at full speed, their arms whirling around far too quickly for me to make out anything.

Within a few minutes, Marchand began to tire, but Léa didn't let up. She kept on attacking him with endless, aggressive hits, while each of Marchand's blocks became weaker and weaker. Eventually, Léa finally managed to strike his shoulder, Marchand lowered his sword, and I let out a gleeful cheer.

"Best out of three?" Marchand said weakly.

Léa looked to me for advice, but I knew that nothing good could come of fighting Marchand again. We had come this far. We had already gotten what we wanted. There was no good reason to duel Marchand again.

"Quit while you're ahead, Léa," I said.

Léa thought about it and then turned to Marchand. "Let's do it," she said. "I beat you once, I can beat you again."

"Léa!" I shouted. "What are you doing?"

"Do you really think I'm going to turn down a fight, Mattie?" Léa said.

She was right, as usual. I should have known that Léa wasn't going to take my advice, that she would never refuse a fight, no matter how fruitless. I leaned against the wall, watching as Marchand and Léa ran toward each other once again. This time, however, Marchand clearly had the advantage. Léa was constantly on the defensive, parrying each of Marchand's strikes without ever getting the chance to attack. She needed to take the lead if she was going to win this fight.

Léa parried Marchand's attack once again, but this time, she managed to counterattack, thrusting her sword toward Marchand's shoulder. However, Marchand was easily able to attack again, and as Léa prepared to block, he elbowed her to the ground.

It's over, I thought to myself. Even if Marchand hadn't quite won yet, Léa was no longer undefeated, and if she didn't win the next fight, then Jean-Luc and Romain would die. They would be gone forever, just like Bergmann, Lajoie, and Pascal.

"You cheated, Marchand," Léa mumbled before reaching over and stabbing Marchand in the foot.

"What?" Marchand said. "No I didn't!"

"You have to actually hit me with your sword, not just your elbow," Léa said as she stumbled to her feet. "I hit you first, so that means I win. Good game, Judge Marchand."

Marchand was understandably displeased, but he soon saluted Léa with his sword. "Good game," he said.

"So you'll lessen those sentences?" Léa called out as Marchand put his sword away, too embarrassed by his defeat to face Léa.

"It's what we agreed to, isn't it?" Marchand said before leaving the fencing hall behind once and for all.

Léa turned to me and smiled, and when I embraced her, I knew that we had won. As long as Judge Marchand upheld his end of the bargain, Jean-Luc and Romain would stay alive. They would get the chance to live out the rest of their lives, to turn themselves around, and Bergmann's, Lajoie's, and Pascal's friends and families would all see justice delivered. At last, I had the feeling that everything was going to be alright.

As soon as Marchand left, as soon as we were all alone, Léa pressed her lips to mine. "We did it," she said to me. "We saved Jean-Luc and Romain."

"No, you saved Jean-Luc and Romain," I said. "I didn't do anything."

"All I did was beat the judge in a duel," Léa said.

"Yes, and it was incredible!"

"I'm an undefeated fencer, Mattie. I could have beaten him any time I wanted to. The only bright thing I did was convincing him to lessen the sentences if I won."

"Well, it was impressive nonetheless."

Léa kissed me one last time and then said, "Care to come over to my place for a little while? I think we might be overdue for a celebration."

I hardly had to think about Léa's question, because in an instant, I knew exactly what my answer would be.

The next day, Jean-Luc and Romain were convicted, but I didn't have to worry anymore. I trusted that the two of them would be safe, and all day, I hardly thought about the trial. I found that I was able to compose again, that I could write music better when I wasn't constantly living in fear. For the first time in a long time, I felt like myself.

About a week later, I found myself in Café de la Paix once again, flipping through a copy of Le Petit Journal. Most of the stories were nothing exciting, just articles about events happening far away from my neighborhood in Paris, but on the second page, I found an article about the sentencing. I sipped on my coffee and held my breath as I read on to find out what had happened to Romain and Jean-Luc.

Earlier this morning, Jean-Luc Sylvestre, 13, and Romain Dupuis, 14, both of whom were recently convicted of killing famed composer Johann Bergmann, tuba player Pierre Lajoie, and private investigator Louise Pascal, were sentenced to hard labor in New Caledonia. Both boys are currently being held in La Petite Roquette, and they will leave for Nouméa within the month...

I took a deep breath and smiled, glad that Léa had defeated Judge Marchand, that the honorable judge had kept his promise to her. At last, it was all over, and at last, justice had been served.