Chapter 5 — A Swing, A Sword, A Storm

Chapter 5 — A Swing, A Sword, A Storm

The garden was warm and still, the shade of the tree casting a gentle shadow over Stella’s curled-up form. Her blanket was tucked around her, her breathing soft, her dreams vast and slow. Birds chirped. Leaves rustled. And all was peaceful—

Until the sharp clang of metal against metal split the air like thunder.

Stella stirred.

Another loud clash. Her brows furrowed.

Then again.

She sat up, slowly, blinking under the drowsy haze. Her hair shimmered under the sunlight, like the stars themselves were still trying to sleep in her strands.

“...Really? Sword fights at nap o’clock?”

The maid beside her looked up from her embroidery and blinked. Another clang echoed across the garden. She winced.

“I… I think the knights are sparring nearby again, my lady.”

Stella’s eye twitched. She exhaled long and dramatically.

“Of course they are. Ruining peace. Kicking clouds out of my dreams like barbarians.”

Without another word, she stood. Still barefoot. Still wrapped in her blanket like some celestial queen risen from a thousand-year sleep. Her hair trailed behind her like a royal veil of galaxies.

She headed toward the noise.

---

At the training ground, the clashing continued. Sweat-soaked knights shouted orders, sparred hard, and let their swords ring loud across stone and air.

Aster was at the center, mid-duel, sword in hand, brow damp with exertion. The knights around him were cheering or critiquing, clearly enjoying the contest.

And then they saw her.

Stella stepped onto the grounds like she owned the place. Which, in a way, she did. Or at least she acted like it. She looked unimpressed, half-asleep, and vaguely irritated, like someone woken up five minutes before their scheduled nap.

Aster paused mid-duel.

“Lady Stella?”

She tilted her head, blanket still around her shoulders like a queen’s cloak.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Hi. I’m trying to sleep under a tree, and you lot sound like you’re breaking the laws of acoustics.”

Some of the knights laughed under their breath.

“Apologies, milady,” Aster said, with a lopsided grin, “but this is our daily training. Vital to staying in shape. It’ll be over soon.”

“Hmm,” Stella tapped her chin. “And what happens when you're all too tired to move?”

Aster shrugged. “Then we stop. Until then, we swing.”

Stella blinked. Slowly.

“Well then… I suppose I’ll have to help.”

“Help?” one of the knights echoed with a grin.

“Yes,” she said. “I’ll put all of you to sleep. That way, you stop training. And I go back to my nap. Everyone wins.”

There was laughter again, louder this time. A few of the younger knights nudged each other, smirking.

“No offense, Lady Stella, but have you even held a sword before?”

“Oh no,” she replied, smiling lazily. “I skip the holding part. Too tedious.”

Aster raised an eyebrow. “Milady, maybe you should—”

“Aster,” she cut in, her tone light but firm. “As the daughter of Duke Rivera, I command you. Duel me.”

That silenced the field. Even the birds seemed to pause in the trees.

Aster looked... conflicted. But refusing was out of the question.

“If you insist.”

A knight stepped forward with a practice sword.

“Here you go, Lady Stella.”

She gave it a look that suggested it might as well be a twig.

“No thanks. I’ve got my own.”

She raised her hand.

Reality blinked.

A rift tore softly in the air beside her, like paper peeling back from existence.

From within that space emerged a greatsword—jet black, lined with luminous golden runes that pulsed like constellations in motion. The sword hummed, heavy, ancient, impossible.

Stella with sword [https://i.ibb.co/rRg3LRFK/stella-sword-compressed-v2.jpg]image [https://ibb.co/DDSGjvqh]

She took it in one hand.

The wind stopped.

The knights froze.

One actually dropped his helmet.

“...She’s a mage or swordsmen?”

“That’s not magic. That’s… that’s something else…”

Stella tilted her head, pointing the tip of the blade lazily at Aster.

“Ready when you are. Try not to break too easily.”

Aster took a deep breath, composed himself, and lunged.

It was clean. Fast. Measured.

Stella swung.

Not with force. Not with effort. Just a simple, lazy arc.

The impact was apocalyptic.

Aster flew backward like a puppet cut from its strings, slammed into a tree, and slid down unconscious.

Silence.

Utter, gaping silence.

“Welp,” Stella said, adjusting her grip, “that was faster than expected.”

The remaining knights stared in horror.

“Aster… lost?”

“In one swing…”

“What kind of sword was that?! That wasn’t even a stance!”

“Was she… playing?”

Stella turned to the others.

“Alright. Who’s next? You’ll get a nap out of it. That’s a fair reward.”

Despite the shock, a few knights stepped forward out of pride.

They fell. All of them.

Within minutes, the training ground was a field of groaning, defeated knights.

Some had crawled behind barrels. Others pretended to be unconscious just to avoid her attention.

Stella yawned.

The sword shimmered—and disappeared into the rift once more.

“I’m going back to sleep,” she announced, turning to her stunned maid. “Wake me if someone invades the kingdom. Or the sun explodes. Preferably not both at once.”

And with that, she walked off, dragging her blanket, leaving behind the battlefield like a goddess after tea.

Back at the mansion, chaos would erupt. Rumors would fly. Reports would be filed. The Duke would shout, the Duchess would sparkle with joy.

But none of it mattered.

Because Stella would be sleeping. Again.

Victorious. Unbothered. And already dreaming of quieter skies.