Dawn of the Unconquered Sun (Part 8 of the Ignaius-Saga)

The Price

When they returned to see Lekal-Kayla, Tanier didn't leave his sword at the door this time. The young warrior received them in the same room that had been cleared for the duel. After a short greeting Tanier walked over to Lekal-Kayla, reached into his pocket and again pulled out Variel's collar.

"Here, this is for you," he explained, while he offered the item to the younger man.

Lekal-Kayla looked down at the item for a few seconds before he took it. he then looked back up at Tanier. "You hand this to me before our duel, which I will take to mean that it is not the chance to take Variel to my bed that I am fighting for. What then is your suggested victory prize?" As he spoke, he put the collar in his own pocket and hooked his thumb in his sword belt.

Tanier didn't immediately answer, but instead unsheathed his sword and went through a few moves as a warm up.

"If I win," he finally explained, "I want to watch."

He didn't mention Vis at this point, although he was very much aware that he wasn't the only one who very much liked to see what the young warrior would do to Variel. Not that he found it difficult to imagine. Part of the thrill came from finding a way to make Lekal-Kayla accept something that was beyond his usual limit.

Lekal-Kayla frowned upon hearing Tanier's victory condition. It took him some time to mull it over, but he did at last draw his own blade. "Very well. I accept, under the condition that - if I win - neither you nor your bodyguard follows us out of this room." He made a sweeping gesture with his blade to emphasize his words.

Vis raised an eyebrow from where he stood just behind Variel's left shoulder. "Me? Why, I am just a simple interpreter." He was smirking as he said it.

Lekal shot him a look, then returned his focus to Tanier as he took up his fighting stance.

Tanier got ready as well, but then dropped his position again to make another announcement: "And should you decide to let me win again - which I may appreciate, given the price - you may want to make it less obvious." Then he assumed position and launched into an attack without giving Lakal-Kayla time to respond.

Lekal-Kayla began by making sure Tanier was on his toes. Instead of parrying the blow, he displayed his speed by pivoting to the side to dodge it, then making a swift counter-stroke. If he did intend to let the king win this time, Tanier would certainly have to work for it.

Variel wasn't quite as nervous this time around, though he did appreciate it when Vis laid a firm hand on his shoulder. He did still tense every time Lekal-Kayla made an attack, but he didn't quite feel as though he'd be physically ill like he had the previous day.

Not surprisingly Lekal-Kayla had an advantage in strength and routine. It was obvious that he trained daily and Tanier speculated that he probably did so for a few hours. He has fast and hardly ever faltered in his moves. But it became very clear to Tanier that his opponent relied rather heavy on his advantages and obviously counted on his ability to easily tire him out. But the long years of experience gave Tanier an advantage in seeing those weaknesses and coming up with non-standard solutions. It was much more difficult for him to restrict himself to not waste his energy, as this was what Lekal-Kayla wanted him to do. While it was the exercise and the passion that he enjoyed in the duel, he was determined to not loose this fight through mere exhaustion. He had to admit that restricting himself got easier quickly and it became less of an effort to make his moves less energetic and more efficient, blocking his opponents blade with minimal effort. He was delighted when the younger man clearly put more of an effort into it, displaying more skill and less of his youthful arrogance. For a while they were both rather absorbed in back and forth of attack and counter attack, but no one was able to gain a critical advantage. Tanier could feel his arms growing heavy and the exhaustion increasingly decreased the elegance and class of the fight, as unwilling muscles were putting up more and more resistance. Tanier had to admit that he tried to extend the moments when both opoonents taxed and circled each other to occasionally relax his muscles, even if only for seconds. Still the blades rather clashed more forceful than before and finally Tanier got lucky in blocking and binding Lekal-Kayla blade in a position much unfavorable to the young men. He just had to increase the pressure for a little longer and the contorted fingers let go of the blade that fell to the ground with a rattling noise.

"It looks like we will leave this room together," he commented, picking up Lekal-Kayla's sword and offering it to him.

The young warrior took his blade, his expression unreadable as he answered, "I suppose we will." He slid his blade home in its sheath and then wiped a thin layer of sweat from his face. "A shame I couldn't drag the fight out a bit longer; I could tell you were tiring." He gave the king a somewhat taunting smile, though there was no meanness in his expression even if humor didn't look to come to him naturally.

Variel's heart was starting to beat faster, and then he felt it drop into his stomach when Lekal-Kayla's gaze settled on him. The warrior reached into his pocket to produce the collar once more, his mind visibly shifting from the fight to what would come after.

"I was," Tanier admitted. "But different from you, I won't need any more strength. From now on, I can just sit back, relax and watch." His smile was not so much taunting as knowing and his eyes followed Lekal-Kayla's when he looked over to Variel. "He is all yours," he encouraged the younger man.

Those words from Tanier were what made the exchange official, and thus when Lekal-Kayla extended his hand in a beckoning gesture and ordered, "Come," Variel came toward him, albeit slowly. Vis did not follow, as he had not been invited to join in, but he was giving Lekal-Kayla a look that could not be mistaken for anything other than what it was: a warning.

When Variel reached him, Lekal-Kayla reached up to push his long hair out of the way and fasten the collar around his neck. Without a word, he took hold of the back of it and began to guide Variel ahead of him as he turned to walk from the room, simply expecting that Tanier would follow.

Tanier followed, silently. It was reassuring that he would be able to interfere, should Lekal-Kayla go too far, but he had no intention to do so, unless he deemed it absolutely necessary. With every step he got more excited, wondering what he would be able to watch. He was also wondering, if he would find the reality as pleasurable as the idea. The discussion with Vis about limits crossed his mind. What if he learned the hard way that he had some, that he would regret this bet? Now he had seen Variel being tortured for real and he had found a way to deal with it. But then nothing that was done to Variel at Ond was his responsibility, even his own design. But this was. So not all of his growing excitement was plain arousal. Instead it was a rather complex mix of lust, curiosity, and fear.