Peacekeepers

Chapter 3: Guardian

Sebastian was eager for this fight, smiling at Diane as she stood across from him in the field behind the house where they'd laid out the lines for a crude dueling ring, with a plan to build a better one in the future.

"I'm excited to see your sword." Diane said eagerly.

"Oh I bet you are, sweetheart." Sebastian grinned wryly.

Diane seemed confused for a moment before she sputtered out a laugh and blushed. "You knew what I meant! You're terrible!" She giggled.

"Of course I am, you knew that." He grinned in amusement.

Diane giggled again and brought up a shield, using her ancient magic to make it stronger, the blue glow swirling in the wall of magic. "Have at it, then! I have yet to have someone break this!" She said excitedly.

Sebastian glanced down at his wand, the arching golden light that ran from the length of the wand onward several feet out vibrating with energy. Here goes nothing.

He brought up his more portable arm shield, catching Diane by surprise as he ran at her, swinging his sword toward the shield and laughing in glee as it shattered immediately under the golden glow.

"Woah!" She said in shock, staggering ack a bit because she hadn't expected him to be able to break through it so easily.

"Depulso!" She cast, but Sebastian brought up his shield to block most of the blast, digging his heels in so he scraped through the grass but wasn't sent flying.

"Merlin, wow Seb!" Diane said in delight that he was so much stronger than he used to be when they'd fought last.

"We're not done yet, flower." He grinned, casting a confringo toward her to distract her while making a wide berth to her flank, crashing through her shield again when she brought it up with an alarmed yell that he was suddenly so close to her. He pressed his shield against her and she gasped as the magic tingled all across her front from the contact, making her yell in surprise from the sensation before she stepped back with a bright flush.

"What?" Sebastian was taken off guard by her reaction to that, seeing her blush.

"It- it tingles a lot." She said breathlessly.

"Oh?" He said in curiosity. He brought a hand to his shield and didn't feel anything, though. Just a solid surface. "I don't feel anything."

She came forward again and gently touched the shield, gasping as the tingles ran up and down her arm again before she took her hand away with a shudder. "It definitely does." She said breathlessly.

"Maybe we should ask Ominis." Sebastian said curiously, looking down at the shield.

"I'll go get him real quick." Diane nodded, and came back with a very confused Ominis.

"Why am I touching a shield? Won't it zap me?" He said in alarm.

"You just have to try real quick! See if you felt what I felt." Diane urged him, bringing him up to Sebastian.

Ominis looked pretty skeptical and uneasy, but held his hand out with a soft sigh.

"Brace for it." Sebastian warned before touching the shield against his hand.

"AH!" Ominis yelled, bringing his hand away with a shudder as he blushed, rubbing it in shock. "What happened? That's like no shield I've ever felt!"

"I wonder... Sebastian, can you make it any bigger?" Diane said thoughtfully.

Sebastian concentrated, and made the smaller arm shield large enough to block most of his body on one side.

"Okay, hold it still, I'm going to try something." Diane said, taking a little breath. She moved quickly, pressing her hand against the tingling energy before she pushed harder, and with a soft whimper her hand started moving through the shield to the other side.