Fan Fiction ❯ The Duel ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The Duel

Chapter I

-"James, hurry up with that tea, would you?" - the female voice sounded very far away and muffled; the words were barely understandable but the commanding tone distilled in them was clearly emphatic. Besides, he did not need to understand them anymore. He had taken care of Isabella's whims and wishes from her most tender years. He looked at the solid door that separated them and smiled. -"Yes milady"- he answered back.

The old, balding servant hurried to the mansion's vast kitchen and lifted the silver kettle from the fire. He brushed his sleepy eyes struggling to remain awake as he poured the hot beverage into a delicate china cup. Trying to suppress a yawn, James climbed the staircase as fast as his age allowed him, cup in one hand and a candle in the other. At least his hands were still agile enough to move with the haste his mistress commanded. His knuckles tapped the door, loud enough to be heard but gentle enough as not to startle the Countess. She detested being pushed out of a stream of thoughts by unnecessary noises when working.

-"Countess Isabella, your tea." - James said with his elegantly trained voice as he slowly opened the door.

-"Leave it on that table; that is all for now,"- Lady Isabella quipped as she waved her hand in a dismissive motion without lifting her head from what was holding her present interest. James closed the heavy pine door carefully, as if he intended to avoid at all costs disturbing the person inside the room with the slightest of sounds.

Inside the room, Isabella's platinum strands were barely visible behind the tall barricade of books piled up in front of her, scattered all around the sturdy desk that used to be her father's. The light of the crescent moon spilled over the room with its white light, giving the room and its present occupant a surreal aura. Wearing an elegant sleeping gown of soft silk, Ivy's head was buried deep into a thick book, while her delicate right hand was moving frantically a quill over a piece of paper.

-"Bloody hell, I can't understand this part too well. Hmmm, let's see ? 'Cervantes de Leon atacó la flota de vuestra Majestad Isabel I de Castilla, dejando a su paso desolación y muerte." -The Countess lifted up her head, her delicate left hand brushing silver locks of hair from her forehead. She sighted loudly. The translation of this text had proven more challenging than she had anticipated but the information she obtained from it was more than worth every painstakingly hour she had spent bended over the tome. Suddenly her clear eyes sparkled with excitement. Her hand paused the scribbling and all her attention went to the text bearing her elegant handwriting.

-"I need to improve my Castilian but there, I think I've got it. 'Cervantes de Leon attacked the fleet of our majesty Queen Isabella I of Castile, leaving behind death and desolation.' So Cervantes must have had Soul Edge by then. I bet Vercci must had been livid, his little plan trashed by Cervantes, not to mention how he was endangering business with his Spaniard associates with his indiscriminate attacks. Hah, at least De Leon managed to snatch from Spain all that precious New World gold he boasted of. Now let's see who really has the Armada Invencible"?-the countess remarked with a sneer.

Ivy lifted her head again as her hand went to caress her nape with a massaging movement. She felt the muscles of her back, shoulders and neck untangling from the uncomfortable position she had forced them to endure for long hours. The blood on her extremities seemed to flow back and she became aware that her feet were tingling. Her eyes stung in discomfort, the torture of having to adapt to the fickle light of the dwindling candle finally surfacing. -"Well, I think that's enough for today. My linguistic skills need a good night sleep to recover. I'll need them for the rare alchemy books I'll be working with tomorrow. But at last, this puzzle is coming together. I feel that I'm closing in!"

As she delighted her tastebuds with the soothing flavor of her warm lemon tea, her glance finally lifted from the books and instead it went to rest on the familiar surroundings of the family library that had doubled for so long as her father's study. Her sight went over several old volumes stacked together in a corner when suddenly, a swift move near a bookshelf caught her attention. The wiggly movement of a thin grayish tail slipped behind the leather bound books.


-"So we have unexpected visitors" -Isabella murmured. -"I better tell James that we need another mouser. These pests are taking over my home. My mother would have been petrified and outraged at the mere sight of a mouse on her precious mansion." Yet another painfully physical sign of the pathetic state of her beloved home?

Suddenly, her glance stopped at the sight of a richly ornate Paladin Sword that was hanging along with other weapons long ago forgotten on a mantel littered with keepsakes and more books and yellowish scrolls. Neither the dirt nor the dust could hide the fine craftsmanship of the weapon. The silver and gold inlays on the hilt shimmered with the moonlight, inviting the hand to touch it, to bring it from its imprisoning sheath. Isabella stood up and her steps took her to face the mantel, her eyes still fixated on the Paladin. Scores of memories flooded her mind as her hand picked the sword carefully from its resting place.

-"I didn't remember this sword was here. I thought I had it thrown somewhere else. So many memories!"

Ivy unsheathed the magnificent sword as she contemplated it with affection and remembrance, as if she held a friend, a confidant and companion more than just the mere output of the working of iron and fire. The edge was still sharp and her blue eyes looked back at her from the silver blade.

-"My first real sword, my dueling sword. You were my trusty partner in so many adventures. We experience triumph and despair together..." Her fingers caressed the smooth blade, the cold iron contrasting with the warmth of her skin. Then a shadow of sadness darkened her eyes. Another memory, long ago suppressed was brought to life by the sight of her Paladin.

-"My magnificent German Mercenary, I wonder were your path of revenge and redemption has taken you." Ivy moistened her ruby lips as her mind brought the features of the blond young knight who had challenged her some time ago, when her family was still the admired Valentines and her life had not been shattered by Soul Edge's grim shadow, when some illusion and warmth could still be found in her heart.

-"We shared some very good times together.," she murmured with husky voice as her hand held the sword up, as if the images of the past were pictured on its long, two-edged blade. -"I know we could still be having a splendid time. You were an eager student and I was a patient teacher. But you had to leave, the siren calls of Soul Edge bound you in ways I never could." Her sultry voice turned cold now. -"And the irony of it all is that you were pursuing the same thing as my father. Both of you, enraptured, obsessed with that dreaded thing. And I lost both of you because of it!"

Ivy put down the Paladin abruptly. Turning around, she placed her hands over her curvy hips catching her own feline reflection on a mirror. A defiant stare gleamed under the delicate curve of her eyebrows as he blue eyes reflected cold resolve.

-"We will cross paths again, Schtauffen, and this time, I'll emerge victorious!"