Dakasi Winters: The Vampire Queen

Chapter 6: Attempted Reasoning

Famar laid on a bench, staring at the sky above. He sucked on a peppermint while resting his head on folded arms, and resting his crossed legs. The sound of clashing metal reminded him of a time when he was a scared child hiding in a closet. He wore a smile and kept his sister quiet and entertained while Captains of the Royal guard fought invading Vampires within the hall. Dakasi hadn't known there was ever an invasion. She was too young to know the dangers they faced when having the Vampiric Empire as their enemy. As far as she was aware, the Vampiric Empire had always been an ally to their Kingdom. Their mother was killed for betraying the Empire, rather than refusing to be allied with them.

Famar sighed, and closed his eyes while listening to the training of the Resistance members. Kantori was skilled with a bow and with a sword, and she was currently teaching the latter to Millie, another half elf within the resistance. Millie ducked when Kantori swung her rapier towards her. Only a few strands of hair were sliced by the blade. Millie rose a shield (which was strapped to her arm) and protected herself from a second attack. She then used her short sword to strike Kantori's ankle, and Kantori hissed in pain. Kantori kicked the sword out of Millie's hands, then used her own to push it far away from them.

As Millie retreated to collect her sword, Kantori pulled her back by the collar of her shirt. "You fought well." Kantori praised as she restrained Millie around the waist with one arm and held her blade against Millie's neck with the other.
"Thanks!" Millie cheered, wearing a grin. "But I'm not done yet!"
Millie stomped hard in Kantori's foot, causing her to flinch. Still, however, Kantori stood her ground. Millie attempted to push her elbow back into Kantori's rib, but Kantori pushed her forward before she could. As Millie ran for her sword, Kantori swung the rapier towards Millie. Millie blocked it with her shield, then slipped and fell to the ground in the process.

Kantori placed her foot on Millie's chest to hold her in place. Millie reached for her sword, but Kantori stabbed her rapier into the dirt between Millie's outstretched arm and neck. "You lost, Million. Still, you've improved a lot. You're incredibly skilled with your shield and hand to hand combat. Perhaps I should consider making a shield weapon for you to use instead of your sword." Kantori commented. She then released Millie, and offered a hand to help her up.

"Thanks, I guess..." Millie sighed. She accepted the hand, and managed to regain her footing. "I would have won though if you weren't so stubborn." She then complained, causing Kantori to laugh.
"Your enemies will be far mor stubborn than I am, Million. While I would only see you restrained, they will see you dead." Kantori warned, her tone both fierce and yet somehow playful. She placed a hand on the other half elf's shoulder, and offered a reassuring smile. "But yes. If I had less endurance and experience, your tactics would have led to your victory. You've been learning a lot from your training. I'm sure once you build up your muscles you'll succeed in a sparring match against me."
"I'll do my best!" Millie agreed, ambition shining in her eyes.

Famar smiled as he listened, and took in a deep breath. He wondered if Kantori could start training Dakasi... He was sure she'd be a far better instructed than Callant had been.

Famar stood outside a plastic window while watching Dakasi's training session. Vincent and two others stood beside him. There was nothing but cold silence in the viewing room. The arena wasn't much less tense. Despite their friendship, Callant held nothing back in her fights against Dakasi, who kept her focus on defence.

Dakasi put up a magical forcefield to protect herself. Callant striked the forcefield repeatedly with her dual blades. After the forth strike, the shield shattered, and Dakasi grunted as she fell to the floor.
Callant's icu eyes glowed as she lifted her arm to strike Dakasi again. Dakasi flung her wrist, and launched a beam of blinding light into Callant's eyes. Callant shouted in pain, and cussed as she held a hand over her eyes. Dakasi took the opportunity to flee, and ran a good distance from Callant. She grabbed a weapon from the stand of various options and prepared herself. "Brat!" Callant shouted when the blindness faded.