It was a quick walk from the garden where she met Crystal to the training hall for the palace cadets. Luckily it was common practice for the nobles living in the City of Altea to recruit cadets from the palace into their knight orders. This was because each knight order, while led by the noble house they resided, was considered to still be a royal knight of Altea.

  That was also why many of the knights sent glares their way when they approached. Justus had gained a bad reputation, and they likely saw Ruena as a foolish girl and a puppet of Velcorna. Since she was the heiress of the Alodan Duchy, the captain and supervisor of the cadets came to greet her with the barest of formalities.

  "Lady Alodan, are you perhaps lost?" he asked, not even bothering to introduce himself, "This is a place where knights train with dangerous weapons."

  "Captain Carlos," Justus interjected, stepping between them, "I expect you to show the proper respect for Lady Alodan. She has come here to choose new knights for the Alodan Order?"

  "House Alodan is here to crush more dreams? After what the Duchess did, no Alodan is welcome on my training grounds. Go somewhere else," Captain Carlos growled.

  So this was not an issue with Justus, but with Velcorna. It was irritating to be constantly judged because of that woman. This was exactly why Ruena had never intended to return before Densooth forced her hand. If she waited for Crystal to return, things were bound to work out, but that wasn't the kind of heir Ruena needed to be. A Weaponsmaster would not run and hide in the face of such provocation. She needed to prove her and now that she was not to be underestimated, or associated with that so-called mother of hers.

  "Then how about we settle this with a duel?" Ruena asked, pushing Justus aside so she could glare into Carlos's eyes, "If you win, I will leave and find another way to recruit new knights. If I win, you will acknowledge me as the heir of Alodan and apologize for comparing me to that woman."

  "Sounds fair enough," Captain Carlos agreed, "So long as you personally participate. No heir of Alodan would hide behind their guard knight."

  "That's exactly how I wanted it. Me against you, with no stand ins or substitutes," Ruena confirmed.

  Captain Carlos quickly cleared the training grounds for their duel, though all the knights stuck around to watch. "What weapon will you be using, Lady Alodan?" he asked her, ignoring Justus's insistence that he needed to be careful not to hurt her.

  "I will use my own, a staff I inherited from my father," Ruena told him, holding out the weapon so he could see, "Feel free to use your personal weapon as well."

  "My weapon is a sword. Are you not concerned that they will be too mismatched?" Carlos questioned.

  "No one has time to worry about matching weapons in a real battle. You grab what you can and fight to survive," Ruena replied, "I will use the weapon I know the best, otherwise I would have no hope of beating a knight captain."

  "I will also use a staff," he decided, "Duel or not, I cannot risk using a real sword seriously against Alodan's daughter."

  The fight began and Ruena braced herself for his strike, but he seemed to be waiting for her to move first. It was far different from her usual spars with Soral, but she wasn't going to forfeit the advantage of first move. Ruena attacked, making sure to keep a careful distance in case this was a trap. Wood met wood in a sharp clash and their duel began. A moment later, the duel ended to Ruena's shock.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  "I said I wanted a duel," she growled, unable to stifle her fury as she released Captain Carlos from where she had trapped him, "A duel involves both parties giving it their all. I have never seen anyone fumble so much with a staff before!"

  "Fumble? Lady Alodan, I followed the standard teachings," Carlos replied. He was far too calm for a knight Captain who had just lost, "I have never seen such fluid movements with a staff before. I would like to challenge you to a rematch with practice swords."

  "So that was your goal. You should have just demanded those terms from the beginning," Ruena told him, still frustrated with this whole situation. She was sure once he won this match he would claim something like a tie so neither of them had to face punishments. A very political way of handling the situation. That was why she needed to win the second time as well. "Let me choose my sword from your collection so neither of us can claim foul play."

  Carlos had a couple of the cadets bring out the rack with the practice swords. He selected the largest, some form of two-handed broadsword. No wonder he had struggled with matching her staff movements. He fought with more of an emphasis on strength than speed. Ruena chose the smallest sword in turn. She knew she would never match him in terms of strength.

  This duel was better matched, but Ruena couldn't shake a strange feeling. He was not as quick or slippery as Soral. He did not have the power to his swings like Storm. Perhaps it wasn't that he was weak, but that Ruena had surrounded herself with unprecedented powerhouses of combat. Her earlier irritation turned to pity as she finished off this duel as well in her victory.

  "I have won this second duel. I think that is more than fair. Do you admit defeat, Captain?" Ruena demanded.

  "I admit defeat," Captain Carlos confirmed, "and I humbly apologize for judging you based off of the Duchess. You are the Duke's daughter and a true star of Alodan."

  That was a bit more than Ruena had expected. She managed to get out a thanks before the knights came rushing in, suddenly eager to be recruited. Across the sea of eager cadets, Ruena met a pair of eyes that were golden like her own.

  ==========

  It had been a while since Crystal had met with Queen Shirisha in person, but the halls of the palace were just as familiar as ever. She was one of the very few people in Althaedor who knew the real reason for Shirisha’s seclusion, and she had always felt guilty for her part in it. That was why she engaged in the politics she so despised to protect what her precious friend held dear.

  “Crystal? I wasn’t expecting to see you today. Did something happen?” Shirisha asked, not moving from her seat by the window. She looked especially frail today, sending another stab of guilt to Crystal’s conscience.

  “Today I met the young Lady Alodan in the palace gardens,” Crystal replied, “Normally, I could save this for one of our letters, but I need your permission for something.”

  “Go on.”

  “I would like to give Lady Alodan a key,” Crystal explained, “I am certain she will be an ally to us, and she already has connections in surprising places. King Xandus, for instance.”

  “Valen? That is unexpected,” Shirisha mused, the interest making her pale face seem more lively, “And you are certain she won’t simply try to claim the throne for herself?”

  “I am,” Crystal confirmed, “I don’t think that girl even has any interest in becoming duchess. The only reason she returned to the City of Altea was to stand in the way of her mother, Duchess Alodan. It is an alliance worth risking our secret.”

  “Very well, but make her swear to secrecy,” Shirisha ordered, “If Thador believes I am feeling better, they will demand to see me and all will be lost. Another decade or two is nothing to a dragon.”

  As she spoke, Shirisha carefully rose from her seat and removed a delicate key from her bedside cabinet. “Don’t worry,” Crystal assured, taking the key and placing her hand on the Queen’s, “We have already put plans in place should the worst come to pass. Altea will not fall while you sit on the throne.”