Interlude: Linara - 1

Holding his sword in two hands, Senral swung downward, aiming directly for Linara's head. She spun her spear, batting his sword to the side with the tip, then brought her upper hand backwards, arcing the butt towards his shoulder. Senral stepped backwards, dodging the strike. He raised his hand to his face, brushing his sweat-soaked, dark brown hair out of his eyes, and frowned at Linara. She clenched her teeth, keeping her breathing steady, and waited for his next move. It only took a moment before her opponent swung again, a quick horizontal cut without much power. Linara deflected it, also not putting force into her movement.

Smiling, he spun around and stepped forward, thrusting his sword straight at her chest. Holding her spear vertically, Linara attempted to push the strike to the side, but Senral shifted, pivoting his sword downward as he moved. After Linara moved her spear through the air, he slammed the handguard of his sword against her chest, stepping forward as he pushed her back, staying close to her.

Finding Senral too close for her to effectively use her spear, Linara's moved her left hand off the shaft of her spear and grabbed the hilt of the long dagger at her belt. In one motion, she drew the weapon and managed to strike his sword away, letting her swing her spear one-handed to slam against his waist.

“That was dirty.” He said, letting her shove him back as he lowered his sword in defeat. “Your knife isn't even blunted.” His sword and her spear were both dull training weapons. Her knife, on the other hand, was real. “Not very sporting of you to use it here.”

“This is practice.” Linara said, sliding her knife back into it's sheath. “You're practicing how to fight, and in a real fight I wouldn't hesitate to do that. You put me in a disadvantageous situation, and I got myself out of it.”

Senral smiled as he shook his head. “While I cannot disagree with that, I still feel as though I've been cheated in some way. I don't have a second weapon to pull out in a bad situation like that.”

“I'm sure that as the Crown Prince of Olentor, you would be easily able to find multiple other weapons. Or just ask several others to come to your aid.” Linara grinned at him. “A strong king must know all the ways around a battlefield, in both fair and unfair fights.” She set her spear against the wall and took a deep breath, reaching behind herself to undo the fastener on her breastplate. “That's enough for today, though. That move would have worked against anyone with a spear, other than me.”

He stepped towards her, helping her take her armor off and place it on the ground. Face to face, they were equal in height, and his face was very close to hers. Linara could smell his sweat and breath as he reached his hand up to stroke her cheek. “And if I wanted to practice an engagement where I have the unfair advantage, how would we go about that?” He smiled, his face moving closer to hers.

“No.” She turned away from him. Pulling back, he frowned at her. “We can't do that any more, I told you. The Princess-”

“I don't care about the Princess.” He said, firmly, cutting her off, but he still stepped away from her. Yanking the fasteners on his padded tunic, he threw it to the floor, revealing the chainmail beneath. Linara always demanded they train in proper armor. He pulled that off as well, roughly throwing it to the ground. “I love you, and I want to be with you. You love me as well.” The last bit he stated as a fact, not a question.

Swallowing, Linara steeled herself. “I love you, but you have to marry her. Just as I have things I can't do because of who my parents are, you have things you can't do because of who your parents are. We've been over this.”

Stepping towards her again, he grabbed her hand. “What kind of king doesn't have multiple women? Nothing is stopping us from being together. I have to marry her, but I don't have to love her. We can still be together.”

For the past several months, they had gone through some version of this conversation once every few weeks, Senral finding some new argument every time. This was the latest one, it seemed. Linara closed her eyes, pulling her hand free from his. “I don't want it to be that way. I don't want to share you with anyone.”

“So-”

“No! Not this again!” It all came back to this. “I cannot be your Princess, I cannot rule humans, no more than you can abandon this place and run away. I do not ask you to do that because I know you can't, so stop asking me to do what I can't!”

His face twisted, the pain evident. Turning, he strode towards the exit of their training arena. “I'm going to take a bath, wash the sweat off of me.” He said as he left.

Leaning back against the wall, Linara counted to ten, then sunk to her knees, failing to hold back the tears. She knew he was young, human, and emotional. She knew he loved her as much as she loved him and was struggling to find a solution to make them both happy, but she could not be happy with his answers. Linara wanted him all to herself. She did not want to stand by and watch as he had children with another woman.

“Ma'am, uh...”

Opening her eyes, she pushed herself to her feet, meeting the gaze of the palace servant standing in the doorway. She couldn't bring herself to care about him seeing her like that. “What is it?”

“Princess Yenra sent for you, Ma'am.”

“Of course she did. I'll be there once I am presentable.”

The messenger nodded and ran off.

After a quick rinse and change of clothes, Linara strode into the princess's meeting room. Heavy curtains divided the room, with the princess herself sitting on a high, cushioned chair on top of a raised platform. Multiple lengths to put the short woman above the sight line of her visitors. Linara stepped forward and bowed deeply to her.

“Rise, Lady Linara.”

Linara straightened, looking upwards to find Yenra standing in front of her seat. She hid a smile as she looked the other woman over. The golden trim dress she wore started below her shoulders, white cloth clinging to her arms and breasts, tightening around her waist, then spilling down to the floor, hiding her legs entirely. Her face, shoulders, collarbone, and cleavage were the only exposed skin, long golden gloves covering her arms and hands under the sleeves of the dress. In the middle of that exposed skin was a gold necklace set with a single, large red stone. The short woman was breathtakingly beautiful.

Yet somehow, Linara, dressed in a plain tunic and trousers with only a small spattering of embroidery, was the target of the prince's affections. She pushed the greed downwards. “You sent for me, Princess. How may I be of service?”

“You are the Prince's master at arms and personal body guard, I am told.”

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“This is true, Princess.”

“Is it also true that your training sessions with him extend beyond pure martial arts?”

“I have taught him many things, Princess.”

The woman let out a huff. “Linara, let us not mince words.”

“I will answer any question you ask.” She responded, looking upwards to meet her gaze.

Yenra went silent, but did not look away. “Tell me, then, Linara. Did you take my Prince to your bed?”

The way Yenra said 'my Prince' pierced through the tension between them. The greed in Linara's heart, the anger, the jealousy rose up. She didn't fight it. “I took him - or, to be more specific, he took me – in a number of places. The training room, the baths, his waiting room, his own bed. However, no, I never had him in my bed.”

Seeing that pretty face twist in anger gave Linara a surge of joy, and she found herself smiling. Very quickly, she let the more rational part of her mind take over, and continued. “Of course, this was all months ago, before the negotiations between your kingdom and his were finalized and the marriage arranged. Since then, I have rejected his advances, multiple times, out of respect for you. If you have heard rumors that him and I have engaged in such activities after you arrived, they are entirely false.”

This addition did nothing to change the look on Yenra's face, but she did let out the breath she had been holding. Linara could almost feel the unsaid words of anger in the air. “I thank you for your...restraint. However, this does pose an issue going forward.”

“I agree.”

Upon hearing this, Yenra's eyebrows rose. “Oh? You agree?”

“I have no desire to stand by and see the man I love give himself to another woman.”

She laughed. “I heard your people were prideful, but I did not expect that. So, about finding a replacement trainer and bodyguard. I have an individual in mind for this role, from my kingdom.”

“I also have a person in mind, from this very kingdom. I will defer to your highness's choice if they can prove to me they are more than just a political appointment. Otherwise I will suggest my intended replacement to the prince directly.”

Yenra tilted her head, suspicious. “And what is your idea of proof?”

“A trial of combat.”

The princess's neutral expression turned sour again. “Yes, of course.”

“I think it would be a grand piece of entertainment leading up to your wedding, would it not?” Linara suggested, smiling. “A one on one fight in front of hundreds, if not thousands, of spectators, showing one of the best fighters from your kingdom?”

Her frown deepened. “That is a wonderful idea. We will have to present it to the king. Surely it isn't too late to add such an attraction to the schedule.”

“Well then, I am glad we are in agreement. Will that be all?”

“Of course. You may leave.”

Linara bowed, spun, and walked out of the chamber. She could hear Yenra fall back into her cushioned chair before the door closed behind her. With a smile on her face, she walked back towards her room.

Two days later, Linara and Senral walked down the path outside the castle, side by side, towards the larger training grounds. “What are you so happy about?” Senral asked.

“I had a talk with Princess Yenra the other day, and we've come to a bit of an understanding.”

Senral let out a single laugh. “I find that difficult to believe.”

“It's true, and if I can get along with that woman, you should be able to do so as well.”

He let out a sigh. “It's not that I can't get along with her, she just isn't appealing to me.”

Linara stepped ahead, turning to face him while walking backwards. “Oh, what don't you like about her?”

“She's short and weak. I would prefer a woman that can beat me in a fight.”

The smile on Linara's face grew wider. The greed was still there, but she had other plans today. “You have to look at the positives of those traits.”

“Like what?”

“She may be short and weak but she is also large and soft. Gentle. Delicate.”

Senral frowned. “What's large about her? She's tiny.”

“Her breasts.”

“What?”

Linara leaned towards him, looking directly into his eyes. “Those big round things on her chest, my dear prince. Her boobs. Her massive mammaries. Her udders. Her tits, to put it bluntly. Those things that she shows off with every outfit in her wardrobe. The bouncing breasts under which her heart beats as she breathes rapidly with the thought of boldly baring them before her-”

As she went on and on, his face grew considerably redder, until he finally had enough of her. “I get the picture, Linara.”

However, Linara wanted one last jab at him. “I am confident that in time you will end up with much more than just a picture of them, Senral.”

That pushed him over the edge, sending him all the way back around, from a blushing, embarrassed boy to a fully proper member of the court. He stood up straight, his face going completely blank. “I believe that is not the proper way to talk about the future queen, Lady Linara.”

Still walking backwards, Linara bowed low to him. “Of course, my Prince. I have truly overstepped the boundaries of proper etiquette. “ She spun around again, and fell in beside him. They walked in silence for several moments.

“If you have so many good things to say about her, why don't you take her?”

“First of all, stealing the princess would make me an enemy of the kingdom, putting my livelihood in danger. Second, I love you far too much to ruin your wedding.”

He stopped walking, and Linara once more turned to look back at him. “I want very much to pull you to the side right here and-”

“I will break your arms if you do.”

He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Of course. I can't attend my wedding in splints.”

The two of them reached the training ground without further banter. As per Linara's instructions, a mock corridor had been constructed, two wooden walls a bit over twice her height. Each half contained a number of 'doorways', small arches to hide under. With the sky above and the dirt below, it gave off the impression of a wooden canyon more than an indoor hallway. Eight soldiers stood around, in full kit, looking at the formation oddly.

“Well, my Prince, I had devised a special training exercise for you today. You said you wanted a situation where you have an advantage, and so I will be fighting against you when you have a set of guards with you. Guards!” She called out, and the eight men immediately snapped to attention, forming ranks in front of her as the two of them stepped into the arena. They all bowed to the prince, who waved them back up.

“I have here one Sergeant Niffrem, here for some extra training, and seven members of his squad.” One of the soldiers saluted, followed by the rest. “They will be acting as your guards. I will be acting as an assassin, out to kill you. The group of you will walk down this hallway, and at some point, I will attack you. If your team manages to kill me without letting me kill you, or you make it out of the hallway without dying, you win. If I kill you, then obviously I win, even if I die in the process.”

“It does seem like I have the advantage here.”

“Then I will leave you to discuss a strategy with your team, and put myself in position. When you wish to start, simply walk through the hallway.” She slapped one of the two sides of the construction, then stepped behind the supports on the outside.

The entryway to the practice hallway left her out of their view, so she jumped upwards, crawling between the supports. When the group started down the hallway, four of them in front, four behind, with Senral right in the middle, Linara hauled herself over the top and fell directly behind him, landing with a crash. It was not silent, or stealthy, but she grabbed her knife – still in it's sheath – and dragged it across Senral's neck from behind. “First point to me.” She said, as the solders finished turning and started to take a step towards her.

The next time, the eight of them crowded closely around him, not giving her space to drop from above. Linara was not positioned above, instead coming in from the side, through one of the 'doors' in the hallway, shoving into the group from the side. One of the men tripped, bringing two others down with him, and Linara poked Senral with the tip of her spear as he was struggling to turn towards her with the guards standing so close to him. “Second point.”

The contest continued this way, Linara scoring five points in a row before they managed to bring her down. At the end of the practice session the score was eight to three in Linara's favor. The soldiers were frustrated, tired, and on the edge of paranoia from checking every hiding spot in the hallway. Senral was rather upset himself. Linara smiled the entire time as she repeatedly 'killed' him.

“So where is the real you, in all of this?”

“I'm dealing with the first assassin. We're locked in an epic battle, the likes of which would be sung by every bard in the land, were anyone but the two of us there for it. You ran away, meeting up with this group of your loyal men, only to find there was a second assassin.”

“Of course.” He let out a sigh. “Could you look a little less happy to murder me?”

“I'm having my revenge on you for marrying another woman.”

The Crown Prince rolled his eyes.