Clash of Captains

Chapter 7

Aneira's glare was fixed on the ground as she stumbled, exhausted, from the dragon hold. Claer had settled herself in her usual nook near the top level of the hold, nestling herself silently into the hay bedding, and Aneira had immediately left in search of rest herself. She rubbed at her face. Her muscles already felt sore from the evenly matched combat she had completed with the other captain; bruises had already begun to display themselves across her arms, and she had no doubt that there were others hidden beneath her clothes.

Aneira missed a step as she stumbled up the stairs into the stronghold, nearly falling on her face before a strong arm grabbed her shoulder, holding her in place. "Carys," she mumbled with a soft sigh of relief. She straightened up with the girl's help, meeting her blue eyes and finding them pooling with concern.

"Stars, you look horrible!" Carys cried, not quite removing her hand from Aneira's arm; she seemed hesitant to do so upon seeing how tired her friend looked, as if she was worried that Aneira would topple right over without her assistance.

Aneira shrugged off her hand and took a step away, managing to sway only a little on her feet. "Rude. I'm fine. Just... really tired."

"I can see that," Carys replied with a roll of her eyes. She fixed her grip once more on Aneira's arm. "C'mon, I can at least bring you to your room. I would hate for you to pass out in the middle of the hall and end up getting a concussion or something."

This time Aneira was the one to roll her eyes. But after seeing how genuinely concerned her friend appeared, she reluctantly nodded and allowed Carys to lead her into the stronghold and down the hall to her chambers. The blonde immediately collapsed on her bunk, feeling exhaustion beginning to creep up on her. She wriggled under the thin sheets and shut her eyes. A minute later, she reopened them.

"I can feel you watching me," Aneira grumbled. Sure enough, Carys was sitting at the foot of the bed, her eyes resting intently on Aneira.

Carys laughed softly, sidling up beside Aneira. "I just want to make sure you're actually okay. And I kind of want to know how the battle went, considering you're so exhausted. I've heard good news about it so far, but... clearly there was something eventful that happened, considering you're..." She trailed off, waving her hand up and down in reference to Aneira's current state, as if to say 'Well, just look at you! You know what I mean!'

Aneira rolled her eyes again. "If I tell you about it, will you leave me alone?"

"Of course."

She heaved a sigh and rose into more of a sitting position. "Fine. I want to tell someone about it anyway, and if this'll get you out of my room so I can actually sleep, I guess this is the perfect time." She sent Carys a pointed look, but her friend was too curious about the story she was about to hear to actually care. So she shut her eyes for a moment, ensuring she remembered the tide of events, and began to recount the morning's battle.

"The battle was pretty typical in the beginning. There was the usual flood of Dregian foot soldiers meeting us once we landed, then the slightly more skilled archers and riders that filtered in after that initial rush. Again, it was all pretty normal. I was dodging in and out of the fray, landing blows where I could and letting my soldiers cover for me if I needed it, and then... Then someone showed up that I didn't expect." Aneira remembered the initial shock she had felt upon first seeing Devyn on the battlefield earlier. She hadn't expected the young woman to survive the injury she had dealt just the other day, and she definitely hadn't expected her to fight as soon as it had healed up. And then there was the pure rage she had seen festering in the captain's dark-eyed gaze...

"She was the lead Dregian captain, who's led every battle up until now. I only met her myself the other day, and I dealt what had seemed to be a fatal blow. But today she had returned looking as if I hadn't touched a hair on her head." Aneira narrowed her eyes, as if seeing the captain approach again in real time. "They must have a really good healer on their side for her to rebound after such an injury. But, anyway, she scouted me out amid the other soldiers. It seemed as if she was looking for me and only me. I can only imagine she wanted revenge after I had taken her by surprise yesterday. So-"

"Ooh, she was searching for you?" Carys interrupted. Her expression seemed to be a mix of excitement and apprehension. She's enjoying this story way too much, Aneira thought to herself, almost regretting the fact that she had agreed to recount the events for her. "Do you have a secret admirer? A forbidden lover? Ooh, this is so romantic!"

"No! Stars, Carys!" Aneira spluttered, feeling her face heat with a deep blush. It was bad enough that Carys suspected her of having a relationship with an enemy captain, but it was somehow more embarrassing that Carys had correctly guessed that her feelings didn't lay in any men. "I don't even- No. I can promise you that we do not like each other, nor will we ever."

Carys made a pouting face, seemingly disappointed in Aneira's answer, before letting out a soft sigh and giving a dismissive wave of her hand. "Ugh, boring. But fine. Continue."

"Anyway. She sought me out and we were, like, immediately locked in combat. It seemed almost as if she could guess my every move before it happened. We were just so... so evenly matched. Neither of us were able to land more than a couple of minor strikes each. After a while, we were just both too tired to continue. I called for a retreat, and she did the same." Aneira shrugged, realizing that it hadn't come to quite the climax that she had felt it would. There had been so much adrenaline in the heat of the moment, so much fear, so much pushing and pushing and pushing to get around the other's defenses. She hadn't thought it would amount to such a simple story, but there were really no better words to describe what she had been caught up in during the battle.

"Hm." Carys hummed thoughtfully. "I guess that could be a problem, couldn't it?"

"What could?"

Carys groaned impatiently, frustrated that Aneira hadn't come to the same conclusion. "You two being evenly matched and all. If neither of you can overtake the other, what's going to happen when you keep fighting each other? Neither of you win? You both wind up killing each other? I just don't see how either of you can win a fight."

"I hate that you're right," Aneira mumbled. Carys chuckled, seemingly pleased with herself for figuring out what her friend hadn't even considered. "I have to find some way to take her down. I'll just have to drill myself more. Yeah. Complete more training. Make sure that, the next time Devyn appears, I'm ready for her."

Carys nodded thoughtfully, only slightly raising an eyebrow upon Aneira's use of the captain's name. "I like the way you think. We've just got to get you up to speed, so you can overtake her."

"We?" Aneira asked, noting the use of the term in Carys's suggestion.

"Well, duh! Did you really think I'd let you do this on your own?" Carys rolled her eyes. "Also, I don't mean that in a sappy way. I just mean that I really want to help you train. The thought of pushing you to your limits sounds very cool." When Aneira snickered softly, Carys ran a hand down her face. "Ugh, now I'm sorry I said that. Just get some sleep. We'll be up early tomorrow to get started."

Carys had barely left the room when Aneira's head hit the pillow and she drifted off into a mostly dreamless sleep.