captain flint

“Well, at least I know more than that,” Delia chuckled. She’d never really been one for swordplay, but just from observing she had gathered a small knowledge. “Oh, that’s wonderful! I’m so glad to hear that.”

“Yes,” Felicity agreed with a laugh of her own.  “So you see, with just a bit of proper training, I could certainly turn you into more than a distraction, should you ever desire to spend a bit of time on a ship.”  There was a bit of pride in her smile when she spoke of Xenia’s progress.  “In time, your daughter could become a proper swordswoman.”

xenia sighed, but her spirit wasn’t dampened. “she would. for now, i’m happy to train with you,” she replied. seeing the bright side came easily to her, especially here at court instead of at home surrounded by fighting. “maybe someday.”

“As am I.  Shall we continue?”  She tilted her head, thought for a moment, then lifted her own sword.  “We can try something a little different for now, if you would like.  Do you think you are ready?”

“I’m sorry that you’ve come to think that the bad outnumber the good. It’s not true.” Emmett wasn’t a fool. He knew that plenty of his fellows were selfish and greedy. They hoarded money and had no idea what the people of their lands really needed. But not all of them were bad. Not all of them cared more for their own wealth than their people. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how seriously the nobles are taking this situation. We won’t let our country suffer more than it has to.”

“Well, if that’s so, I look forward to being proven wrong.”  Felicity may be stubborn and sure of her own beliefs, but she could admit when she had been wrong.  In this case, she did not expect she would be proven wrong, of course, but as satisfying as she might find it to really fight with him, she could not push it too far.  “Your efforts very well might prove necessary in the coming days.  I hope you will be as successful as you believe.”

“So what are you? A pirate? A merchant who swindles and destroys?” Roman was under no illusions about what he had done, and wanted to do, in the military. It wasn’t always a valiant career. People had died at his hand, and plenty of others had been wounded. His sword sliced through the air, the sound of clinking metal filling his ears. “Begrudgingly. Leadership didn’t exactly love me. I think they saw me as a threat. I was better than them. They knew that if I took an interest in their positions, the crown would likely look favorably on me…because I was good at what I did.”

“A captain.”  She appreciated that he did not try to defend himself or make excuses for the things that he did.  She did not particularly care for soldiers in general, but she had a hell of a lot more respect for people who knew what they were.  “How petty of them.  One would think they would be pleased to have someone skilled among them.  It serves them much better than otherwise.”

xenia practically beamed at felicity’s praise. she’d become an important figure in her life, despite the relatively short time she’d been around, and xenia loved to impress her. “well, maybe i deserve a spot on your ship, then!”

“I would happily offer you one, but alas, I have a feeling your mother would protest.”  As a pirate captain, Felicity rarely concerned herself with rules, but she could hardly get between a mother and her child, particularly when the mother was a woman she respected -- and when she herself was in very shady business with the mother.  “Perhaps we can convince her.”

“Do you judge all groups by the worst among them?” It wasn’t entirely a question filled with judgment, but Emmett couldn’t help but feel offended. “Like my parents before me, my first duty, and my loyalty, is with the people of my land.” He wondered, briefly, if she had ben scorned by an Oscanian noble. That would explain her disdain for them as a whole. Biting off another piece of his bread, Emmett gave a little nod. “Yes, I think so. If our monarchs cannot come to an agreement, then the nobles of Ryhule and Oscana will have to make their own deals. We can’t let our people starve.”

“Pillage?” Roman repeated, his eyebrows raising. Beads of sweat formed at his hairline as he blocked her blows and returned them in equal force. “That sounds less than legal. I trained in the military. Best recruit they’d seen in a decade.” Of course, he’d been sword fighting since he was a young teenager, but he hadn’t officially been trained until he entered the military. “I’m a force to be reckoned with.”

Legal.  Felicity barked out a laugh.  “You have no moral high ground here, soldier.  The only difference between what you and I do is that you act on the will of kings.  And you destroy far more than I ever will.”  He was indeed a force to be reckoned with, she had to admit, but while she was breathing harder than she had been, she was far from nervous.  “Is that what your commander told you?”

“Perhaps there is fault to go around. I hardly imagine it is completely one-sided.” She chuckled as she shook her head. Delia had spoken with too many of them to believe otherwise ( their wives were pleasant company as well ). “Please. I could do it in my sleep. They are much too easy to keep satisfied.”

“Perhaps,” she agreed.  Felicity did not think very highly of any noble, male, female or otherwise, so she did not find it at all difficult to imagine that they were all at fault for their own discontent.  “I’m sure they are, but I could never do it myself.  I would rather take their money and give them nothing in return.”

Roman wasn’t afraid to make the first move. Some people believed caution was the way to go - that playing defense would ultimately lead to a win. He didn’t agree, and his track record of taking down his enemies proved his technique worked for him personally. He slashed his sword, grinning at the familiar sound of mental swishing against air. “Where did you learn to fight?”

Felicity let him make the first move, wholly unsurprised to see that he did.  Once he began, she did too, and the feeling of blade against blade is far more satisfying than blade against practice dummy.  “Captain Marion Blackthorn did more than pillage.”  Whether he was Oscanan or Ryhulian, the pirate traveled around the world, making herself well-known enough before her retirement that Felicity did not doubt he would have at least heard of her in passing.  “She made a good teacher as well, when she found someone worth training.  You?”

Emmett raised an eyebrow. “Are you questioning whether my people back home are taken care of?” It was true that Emmett didn’t spend as much time in the north as his parents had, but he had only been Earl for a few years now. His home held so many memories of his parents. It was difficult for him to return…and at least right now, it seemed important to be at court. “I assure you, my lady, my people are not suffering. If there was an issue, I would be there, dealing with it. But my parties aren’t just for fun, you know. Our neighbors will soon have to decide whether or not they will supply food for us even if this treaty does not play out the way they originally intended. Having a jolly time with more than one Ryhulian isn’t a bad idea, especially if they have access to grain they’re willing to sell.”

xenia was proud of any little progress she made—felicity always had a smile or a kind word, and she was starting to treat herself that way too. she shifted to the second position, quickly but with care, to make sure it was right. “i think i’m improving, don’t you?”

Felicity was not a soft person, had not been for a very long time, if she ever was to begin with.  Some people might be very surprised, therefore, to see her at times like this, or in quieter moments with her crew -- moments when she could be less cold.  She nodded.  “I am quite certain.  In fact -- and do not tell anyone I said this -- I think you are improving faster than several of my own crew.”

“I always welcome a challenge,” Annette replied. She could sense that the woman doubted she truly was as advanced as she stated ( and Annette was usually more humble ) but it didn’t bother her much. “I do not doubt that at all. And yes, it would be quite a shame.”

If Delia had anything to lean against, surely she’d be leaning now. She couldn’t help the chuckle at the woman’s innuendo. “Ah, now that much is true. Apparently I am quite sought after for those unhappy with their wives.” She didn’t care much one way or the other, so long as she got her money. “It would be a shame to leave them so unhappy.”

“I do not doubt that at all.  These rich men seem to grow unsatisfied so easily, it hardly seems worth it at all.  One has to wonder if the fault lies with their haughty wives, or their own inability to be content.”  Not that Felicity had ever been content either, of course, but she had never claimed to be.  “You are so kind to take care of these poor rich men the way you do.”

“I take it you don’t approve?” Emmett knew that not everyone at court thought highly of him or his favorite pastimes. Usually, he paid them little attention, but it was difficult to ignore someone right in front of him. He took another bite of his food, speaking again only once he had swallowed. “Do you wish court to be like it was when King Magnus and Queen Deirdre, may they rest in peace, reigned? Stifled? Everyone doing as they pleased in secret?”

Felicity could take this opportunity to let out all of her frustrations, all of her anger, at him and the people like him, who let her mother and people like her die because they were too busy doing as they pleased -- but if she let him know just how much she hated him, he might begin to suspect her, so she made sure to keep her voice even, calm, even though it remains cold.  “Are those the only options?  I would hope you here at court could remember that while you are busy with your parties, distracting yourself from the worry and dreariness around you, there are people you are responsible for who cannot distract themselves so easily.”

Roman raised his eyebrows. “You think awfully highly of your skills. It’ll be your downfall.” He took a step back and unsheathed his sword. Already, adrenaline pumped through his veins. How pathetic was it that these random sparring matches were the only he looked forward to? Oh, how he had fallen… With a little smirk, Roman masked the painful realization of how awful his life was, and nodded. “Do your worst.”

“I think no higher than I have already proven.”  While her confidence may appear to be cockiness, it does not extend into carelessness.  She has years of experience, of victory, behind her, and in front of her too.  She was trained by the best, and she has trained other women to be nearly as good.  However skilled this man may believe himself, she knows that she is better.  With a smirk of her own, she lifts her own sword, ready to begin.  “Oh, I will.”

“And surely someone’s told you that practicing with a…is that what you call a training dummy?” Roman’s lips curved into a frown as he took in the scene before him. So far, he’d only come across one sparring partner who put up a good fight, and unfortunately, he hadn’t seen her in days. “Maybe you’d like to practice with someone real? I will warn you, though, I’m not an easy opponent.” 

She spared the dummy only a brief grimace.  It had been quite a while since she had needed one in lieu of actual partners, and even longer since she had to make it herself.  “It’s the best I could do, under the circumstances.”  She raised an eyebrow, interested in the proposition, though she could not help but laugh at his warning.  “Your concern is adorable, but I have yet to see a real challenge from anyone at court.  You are more than welcome to try and prove me wrong, but I assure you, I am not worried.”