The Chronicle of Aurelia Aurelius

Chapter 40 The Spar Between Lady Octavi and Lady Hillaria

            We were walking towards the training ground, and every lady in the garden earlier was following us...At the training ground, the knight and the armies there were shocked by the commotion and the crown prince arrived with everyone behind him...Especially it wasn't because of the Crown Prince, rather it was because of Lady Octavi...Milo immediately went to the commander of the training ground, to halt all the training sessions, with the reason, there would be a sparring between Lady Hillaria and Lady Octavi...He granted it...

Lady Octavi asked Lady Hillaria, "Do we need to use a real sword or a training sword?"

"Of course, real sword..." answered Lady Hillaria.

They took the swords on the stash of sword side of the training ground...Before they took a step to the platform of the training ground, I said to them the basic rule of this spar, "NO TRANSMUTATION FOR BOTH OF YOU..."

They nodded, and they walked towards the platform...Everyone was gathering around the side of the training ground...Fabian, the Crown Prince, invited me and Lady Clara to the front of the ground...There were already some seats in there...We took a seat in there, as I was looking around the training ground, a lot of ladies were already taking a spot and watching the sparring between Lady Octavi and Lady Hillaria...

They went to their side and started to show a small swing of their sword as if they were warming up with their sword... The crowd grew more excited as the sparring began, with cheers and applause filling the air, especially from the ladies after showing Lady Octavi was playing with her sword...These ladies surely idolised Lady Octavi a lot in my mind...

Lady Octavi took the Alber or Fool's stance, in which she opened her upper body wide open, and gripped her sword between her lower body in one hand with her sword pointed at the ground...Yet, she took her right foot back, it was different from the first time she showed me the stance seven years ago...On the other side, Lady Hillaria raised her sword with her two hands high, as if her sword were in front of her face...I sensed Lady Octavi being more relaxed about this spar than Lady Hillaria, who was more excited...

The spar began with Lady Hillaria who plunged first...She dashed with fast, precise movements, her sword slicing through the air with a powerful grace. I saw Lady Hillaria focusing on the throat of Lady Octavi, as like Lady Octavi told me back then, Alber's stance was provocative...The response from Lady Octavi was just a simple move...When Lady Hillaria's sword almost touched her throat, she quickly swung her sword upward vertically, diminishing the plunge from Lady Hillaria...

Lady Hillaria's sword got neglected upward and wasn't giving up; she regained her grip from a strong swing from Lady Octavi...She took back her sword and spun her body...As she tried to deliver another swing to Lady Octavi's right side...Her swing was quick, yet I saw Lady Octavi's eyes quick-dart to the attack...Her eyes and hands were well coordinated in just a second and again blocked Lady Hillaria's swing...Their steel sword sparked like fire, and the sound echoed through the training ground...The crowd began to cheer, their excitement filling the air. They witnessed some seconds of the duel between Lady Hillaria and Lady Octavi, which was captivating in their eyes...

Lady Octavi didn't show any expression, yet Lady Hillaria showed some excited expression as if she were enjoying the spar...Lady Hillaria took some steps back after her plunge got denied...Letting Lady Hillaria take some steps back, it could tell Lady Octavi wasn't on the offensive side yet, but on the defensive side...

As the duel continued, Lady Octavi's defensive manoeuvres grew more impressive, skillfully deflecting Lady Hillaria's attacks with ease...I looked at her feet was like she didn't move a single inch from her spot... Lady Octavi's footwork was so precise and controlled that it seemed as if she were rooted to the ground...The intensity of the duel grew as Lady Hillaria started to barrage her swing towards Lady Octavi...Above, bottom, left side, and right side, she swung her sword with relentless fury, determined to break through Lady Octavi's impenetrable defence. The clash of their blades echoed through the air, each strike sending sparks flying in all directions...I didn't know who was the most amazing one, the defence of Lady Octavi or the relentless offence of Lady Hillaria...