If Araluens visited Tortall. Slightly OOC. It's maybe K/D of you squint.

The Araluen contingent was arriving in Tortall. Third Company had the luck of greeting them. Kel was with them, and although she would rather be doing something more useful, she had to admit she was interested in meeting people from a country without magic.

"Hey." It was Dom. He nudged her. "Excited? You know, the next in line for the throne of Araluen is a woman. I hear she's coming as well." Kel looked at him, surprised. He shrugged. "Meathead likes to talk about this sort of thing. For hours. Thank the gods he has a wife now to yammer to. Poor Yuki." Kel laughed.

Just then, the sentries started making a commotion. Kel looked out at the road, and could see a spot in the distance. Using her spyglass, saw a procession of a young man in knight's gear, a young woman, and a number of bulky men who weren't on horseback. They looked Scanran.

Kel and Lord Raoul ran out to greet the party. "Welcome, your highness!" called Raoul. They both bowed. The princess smiled prettily. "No need for that. You can call me Cassandra."

Raoul straightened and nodded. Kel did the same. "I'm Sir Raoul, commander of the King's Own, and this is Lady Knight Keladry, Protector of the Small." Kel grimaced internally. She'd get him for that later.

Cassandra nodded, looking slightly confused. "I am Crown Princess Cassandra of Araluen, my companions here are Sir Horace Altman," the man in armor nodded, "Will Treaty, King's Ranger," a cloaked man on a small horse suddenly appeared, "and the sailors of the ship Wolfwind." The bulky men raised a cheer.

Raoul gave a small bow. ""My standard bearer, Lerant, will take your horses. Lunch should be ready by now, although I'm sure it's not quite what you're used to."

It was definitely not what the princess was used to. The diplomatic meeting had been last minute, and the food was basically what could be hunted down- a few fat hares and some radishes that the cooks had done their best with. To her credit, the princess ate her fill.

"So, why are you called, 'Protector of the Small?' " asked the small man who had worn the strange cloak. Raoul grinned, and Kel knew this had been exactly what he'd hoped for.

"Well, Kel wouldn't say it, but she is actually a hero. A few years back, Scanra, the country North of Tortall, started a war. One of their mages, Blayce, invented a metal machine that would use the souls of children to come to life- a weapon. Kel was commanding a refugee camp when it was invaded, and the people were all stolen to make new machines, or else for slaves. Kel tracked them up North, with one squad of men and some animals, to Castle Rathhausak, the mage's base. She killed the mage and saved the children, practically winning the war. Somehow, she picked up the title along the way."

Will Treaty whistled. Cassandra glared at him. "Horace fought and beat Lord Morgarath, a man who almost took over Araluen, as a mere apprentice, and defeated him," she said.

Raoul grinned. "As a squire, Kel raised a baby griffin and killed a centaur." Oh no. Kel could totally see where this was going.

Cassandra's eyes narrowed. "Horace earned a sword of the hardest steel made from an emperor for his valour in war. He earned the title Kurokuma." Will Treaty was apparently muffling his laughs.

"All right," said Raoul, with a tone of finality."How about a friendly duel?"

"Swords?"

Raoul looked at Kel, who shrugged helplessly. She didn't see a way out. "Yes," said Raoul. The Ranger burst out laughing, and Horace had a bemused expression on his face. Kel just sighed.

Their match had a big audience. All the Scandia and the King's Own showed up. Kel and Horace wore light pads, and had wooden practice blades.

They faced off. The fight started slowly, as Kel and Horace sized each other up. Neither wanted to strike the first blow without knowing the other's strengths and weaknesses. Kel out-waited Horace. He decided to start with a straightforward blow, which Kel easily dodged. He tried another, and then Kel counterattacked. The battle quickly picked up speed, until it was almost too fast to follow. Both warriors had a lot of stamina. They lasted for about ten minutes before both started tiring. Finally, the fight ended when Horace left a hole in his defence. Kel went for it, eager to finish the fight, but it was a truck. Horace parried and slid his blade under hers, using his longer reach to touch her throat lightly with his blade. Kel grinned and held up her hands. "I give."

Cassandra smirked. The Skandians cheered, and the Ranger offered a skin of water to her. "I don't remember anyone doing that well against Horace in the past year, at least," he offered. Kel nodded. Just as she opened her mouth, Dom shouted.

"Hey! Rematch!" Silence fell.

Kel shook her head. "Dom, he won. Fair is fa-"

"Kel, the sword is his best weapon. You could beat him if you fought with that pigsticker of yours." The King's Own cheered in agreement.

She looked at Horace, who shrugged. "I always enjoy a good fight." She quickly ran back to her room and grabbed her practice glaive. She ran out, and they took a few minutes cool down. Kel gave her glaive a few practice swings, and they started again.

This time, they started more quickly. The glaive was a polearm, so Kel now had a longer reach, which was in fact why naginata were so popular among Yamani noblewomen in the first place. The fight lasted longer, until Horace, unused to glaives, got swept off his feet with a backhand blow.

The watchers cheered. Kel helped Horace to his feet.

"Well that was round 2!" said Cassandra. "I'll bet Horace could beat her at jousting! He's defeated many Gallican knights!"

Raoul snorted. "Kel is one of the best jousters in the country! She stayed in the saddle against Wyldon of Cavall!" Cassandra evidently had no clue who that was, but that didn't stop her from arguing.

Kel and Horace ignored them. "So you don't use polearms for close quarter combat in Araluen?" she asked.

"Some soldiers do, but knights are trained with swords. I have a very nice battle ax from Skandia, though."

"I've got a warhammer, with spikes. Good for bashing in metal monster heads."

"Oh? Once I fought with just a small knife and half a sword. I used the Double Knife Defence."

"Well, if we're talking unconventional weapons, in Yamani, the noblewomen use shukusen, fans with sharp steel edges. But I've been told my horse, Peachblossom, is weapon enough."

"Peachblossom? Mine is the same. His name is-"

At that moment, they simultaneously realized their horses were in the same place, probably tied to the same tree and they simultaneously ran towards that tree in the hopes that neither horse was now a smear on the ground. And if you listened closely, you'd maybe hear a Ranger laughing in the background.

I can't really write battle scenes. I almost said "and then they wandered off to compare weapons," but that sounded kind of suggestive. Horace is the Champion, his sword skills are nothing to be sniffed at, and he has more experience fighting with it. Kel could totally beat him with a glaive, that has a longer reach and he's unfamiliar with it. She would totally beat him in a joust, despite his greater weight, because she's got perfect form and even stayed in the saddle against Lord Wyldon.