Lief reached for Jasmine's hand as they were walking down the cobblestone path in one of Dell's most beautiful palace gardens. She slipped her hands into his without realizing it.
"Lief," she whispered quietly and put her head on his chest and he slowed down to keep her head from bouncing.
"And what are we up to?" Barda's head poked around the corner.
Luckily he was looking the wrong way. Jasmine and Lief quickly let go of each other's hands and stood up straight.
"This way, Barda," Lief smiled at his old friend.
"Lief, Jasmine, I'm captain of the palace guard and I haven't seen a man fight like this one. Come to the palace courtyard and see the duel of your life."
Lief and Jasmine laughed. "Barda, you sound like a jester," Lief said just as Jasmine said, "Very well, we shall accompany you, the great Captain of the Palace Guard to watch men hit each other with sticks." Jasmine and Lief broke into laughing fits. It felt good to laugh but they couldn't give too much away or Barda might begin to suspect something.
Barda looked at them strangely the whole trip until they reached the courtyard and someone else grabbed his attention. In fact, it grabbed Lief's and Jasmine's to.
It was Doom who was fighting. His quarterstaff struck blow after blow against his opponent's staff, not once hitting anything but wood. His opponent could not have been older then seventeen, but he had barely broken a sweat. His quarterstaff was a blur, finding enough time to block and retaliate against the much stronger Doom. As the watched, the youth's foot snuck forwards, transferring his weight forwards and lashed out with his quarterstaff. Doom was too slow and fell to his knees, all the wind driven out of him. Then the stranger gently tapped Doom's temple and said, "Dead."
The courtyard erupted with cheers as the stranger helped Doom up. Doom leaned heavily on the stranger's shoulder, something Jasmine knew he wouldn't do unless he had to. She experienced a brief moment of sympathy for her father, but that moment didn't last. He'd probably volunteered anyway. But she was very interested in this stranger.