Attack and Defend
When Kain left, the quiet of Eira’s room returned, but it didn’t feel restful.
She sat at the edge of her neatly made bed, fingers resting on the polished hilt of her practice spear leaning against the wall. Her thumb traced the familiar grooves worn into the grip over years of disciplined training.
‘Two days ago, she would have forced Kain to kneel and apologize until he broke. Yesterday, she would have called him a fool for believing he could rise again. Today…’
She could not decide.
‘He looks different, speaks differently, and even…feels different.’
She frowned, uneasy.
‘Don’t be naive. Change like that doesn’t happen overnight.’
Still, the image of him unconscious in the frost, blood on his hands, exhaustion settling on his face with a strangely peaceful expression would not leave her. She gripped the spear harder.
“If this is real, then I need to know why.”
If it was all an elaborate plan, she would break him and he would be exile either way, that way he will not hurt anyone ever again. Especially herself.
----
Elsewhere in the estate, Henry sat alone in one of the side corridors, hands clenched tightly at his sides, nails digging into his palms. He had heard everything.
The Right of Redemption. The duel in one month. Him standing across from Kain. He should have been nervous, but instead he was trembling with anticipation.
‘Kain is finished....everyone knows it. I’ll defeat him publicly and when he falls, I will be the one standing, hand raised in victory.’
He closed his eyes, visualizing it. Eira watching from the balcony. Eyes no longer cold or distant, but wide in surprise before slowly being impressed.
‘She’ll see it. See me. The one who stood where he fell.’
“Hehehehe...HAHAHAHA!!”
A soft, twisted smile crept across his face.
‘After the match, she’ll understand. She’ll know I’m the right one. That she belongs at my side. I’ll protect her, stand beside her, rise with her, love her for eternity.’
“My precious Eira.”
His fists tightened.
“Kain…” he muttered, voice low, smile stretching thinner. “I’ll break you completely...”
----
Eira stood, lifting her spear and placing it back in its place on the wall.
“…One month,” she whispered.
‘One month to decide whether Kain’s change was real...and one month before Henry tried to prove something dangerous.’
She did not know which of them scared her more.
----
The Valemont estate’s private training grounds were tucked behind the western wing. A place reserved only for the heir and those of Duke’s blood. The space was quiet, lit by the late afternoon sun bleeding through open windows, painting long golden lines across the polished floor. The faint scent of oil and steel lingered in the air.
Kain stepped inside, boots echoing lightly. Eira stood in the center, already dressed in her training garb: fitted black and silver that accentuated her thick thighs and toned body, lined with thin leather guards. Her spear rested easily in her hand, the weapon balanced as naturally as breath.
“You really don’t waste time,” he said, while walking over to the weapons on the table.
Eira turned slightly, eyes cool. “Not like you have any time to waste.”
He smiled faintly. “...”
She blinked, brow furrowing. “What?”
He chuckled. “No...you are right.”
Her lips pressed into the ghost of a smirk. “Now enough talk...are you ready?”
Kain picked up a longsword, the blade catching the light. “Yes. But I won’t be using a spear.”
Eira tilted her head. “No?”
“It doesn’t suit me,” Kain said. He picked up the shorter blade and held it beside him. “I’ve decided to settle with these, a longsword and a short blade.”
Her gaze flicked between the two weapons and then back to him. “A pair for reach and reaction,” she said, thoughtful. “The long sword controls distance and strikes decisively. The short blade covers the gaps, close-range counters, parries, feints. A good combination if you can manage it.”
Kain blinked, impressed. “You caught that instantly.”
Eira shrugged lightly, though the faintest note of pride crept into her tone. “It’s what I do.”
He smiled. “I am too weak to wield them both simultaneously. So its either the longsword or the short blade at the moment.”
She nodded once. “We’ll begin with two stages. First, I’ll defend only while you attack with your longsword. I want to see how you move. Then we’ll switch, your turn to defend while I press you. We will alternate between both. One hour offense, one hour defense. Understood?”
Kain exhaled slowly. “Understood.”
Eira shifted her stance. Her feet light, spear angled defensively, its tip barely moving. Kain tightened his grip on the longsword. The weapon still felt heavy, but he steadied himself.
“Begin,” she said.
The first swing was clumsy, too broad, too slow. Eira barely needed to move; she twisted her spear shaft, redirecting his blade’s momentum away without breaking a sweat.
“Your swing is heavy,” she said, circling lightly.
“Don’t force it. Let the blade’s weight work for you.”
Kain adjusted his footing and swung again, tightening his shoulders, trying to recall every lesson drilled into his memory. The longsword felt alien but honest with each movement slow and punishing.
Kain lunged forward, blade arcing down in a clean but unrefined strike. The sound of steel meeting wood filled the air as Eira twisted her spear shaft, deflecting the blow effortlessly. He attacked again, this time following through into a reverse cut, then pivoting for a thrust. His blade cut through the air, but Eira was already gone, stepping aside. Her spear tapped against the flat of his blade but she did not counter, only watched.
“Too wide. You open yourself on the recovery,” she said.
He nodded, resetting his stance. Sweat already beaded at his temple. His muscles screamed, but his mind sharpened.
Another swing. Eira deflected. Another downward slash. Dodged. Another thrust. Parried.
She only guided his rhythm. Her defense was minimal, efficient, beautiful. Kain began to see it, the way she moved not against his strikes, but with them, turning his strength against him.
So he adapted, his intuition telling him to angle the sword a certain way, to pivot his leg at the right moment, slightly adjusting his movement in an effort to penetrate her defenses.
He shortened his swings. Cut his recovery time. Adjusted the arc of each strike to follow the line of her spear rather than crash against it. Little by little, he began to anticipate her movement, adjusting tempo. Two fast strikes followed by a half-beat delay, then a sudden thrust.
Eira’s eyes narrowed slightly. He was learning.
“Better...you are reading my movements.”
Kain did not reply. He was breathing hard now, but his eyes shows complete focus, a gleam in his eyes. His intuition, honed, whether it was from a hidden talent or something else, it was blending with muscle memory.
She deflected a diagonal cut and expected a pause, but Kain pivoted smoothly into a feint as the tip of his blade drag low before reversing into a rising slash. The strike nearly grazed her shoulder, forcing her to step back sharply.
Her eyes widened slightly.
He dropped back, panting. “How’s that?”
Eira tilted her head. “Still reckless. But…” Her grip on the spear tightened faintly. “That was better.”
Kain smiled faintly. “Progress.”
Then, almost imperceptibly, she nodded. “Good...time to switch to defending.”
Kain lowered his sword. “That was…brutal.”
“That was me holding back,” she said simply.
Eira reset her stance, spinning the spear once before leveling it at his chest. “Now, I attack. You defend with the short blade. I’ll test your balance.”
Kain slid the longsword back into its sheath and left it on the table. He proceeded to pick up the short blade. It was barely longer than his forearm, the edge clean and balanced, its weight light enough to move freely. He gripped it in reverse, blade running along his forearm, point angled down.
“Ready,” he said.
Eira did not wait. She lunged, spear thrusting straight for his shoulder. Kain barely raised his blade in time, knocking it aside. The force jolted through his arm.
Before he could reset, the spear reversed and sweep horizontally. He ducked, sliding under the strike, feeling the rush of air brush his hair.
Her form was perfect as every motion chained into another. Kain’s only choice was to move with her, not against her.
“Your guard is too tight,” she said between strikes. “Open your stance. Let the flow carry your defense.”
He obeyed instinctively, stepping, turning, parrying at the last possible second instead of early. The change made his movements faster, smoother.
‘This… this feels right’ he realized.
He caught one of her thrusts with the back of his blade, twisting his wrist to deflect the spearpoint off-balance, then stepping in only for her to pivot and jab with the butt of the weapon, catching him in the ribs.
“Ugh”
Kain grunted, stumbling back.
“Too predictable,” she said. “You need to anticipate, not react.”
Kain exhaled sharply, adjusting again. His arms were trembling, his breath heavy, but his focus sharpened.
She lunged again, and this time he did not retreat.
He stepped into the strike, sliding the short blade along her spear’s shaft, redirecting it past his shoulder. His body twisted with the motion, the blade snapping upward just under her guard, not to strike, but to control.
For a fleeting second, her eyes met his. Recognition flickered there as he had caught her off-guard.
Then she smiled. “That’s it.”
The spar continued, faster now, fluid. Steel hissed through air, wood cracked against steel, footsteps echoed across the stone. The world narrowed to movement and rhythm, both of them responding without thought, as if their bodies remembered something their minds had forgotten.
Finally, Kain faltered as his lungs burned, muscles screaming. He dropped to one knee, blade still raised in a defense position.
Eira’s spear halted an inch from his shoulder.
“And that,” she said softly, “would be the killing blow.”
He laughed breathlessly. “Then I’m still losing.”
Her tone softened barely. “Not losing...learning.”
There was a pause where only Kain’s panting could be heard in the training ground.
Kain smiled weakly. “Coming from you… that’s high praise, Flower of the North.”
Eira froze as a faint pink rose in her cheeks, highlighting her beautiful face and heterochromatic eyes before she turned sharply away. “Don’t call me that,” she muttered.
Kain chuckled. “Sorry...didn't mean to tease”
“Rest for now. An hour break and then we will continue.” Eira stated.
Kain nodded and then lay down on the ground with arms and spread to either side as he try to catch his breath. Eira walked over to the door and walked outside. She came back a few minutes later with some water.
“Here,” as she handed him the cup of water.
Kain sat up and took the cup before smiling. “Thanks”
Eira nodded and move towards the table before proceeding to check on her spear. Kain got up and moved over to a nearby wall to lean on in order to rest.
An hour passed with silence between them. There was no casual conversations to be heard between them.
‘I knew it was tense between us, but besides training, I have no idea how to reconnect with her,’ as Kain pondered how to amend their relationship.
He look towards Eira still looks like she is reviewing her own movements and weapon.
‘Our relationship is strained, but she is still helping me. Its a step towards the right direction and for now, that's all I can really ask for. I have too much to worry about.’
He sighed and looked up towards the ceiling.
“Kain, its time...get up” signaled Eira.
Kain only nodded before getting into position. The spar continued and the sound of weapons clashing echo throughout.
