Title: Redemption
Game: Fire Emblem 7: Blazing Sword
Challenge 006: Wager
Word Count: 965
Pairings/Characters: Vaida, Ursula
Warnings: Arena violence
Author's Notes: So I went through about three or four ideas before I finally decided on writing this. Also, I can't really write believable fighting scenes, so think what you will about this. This whole thing is definitely not one of my better works. And, um… Yeah. I do believe that that is all.
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The man waiting at the far end of the arena is tall and broad, strongly built. He carries a large broad axe in his right hand, his left resting carelessly on his hip. It is obvious that he is confident in his skill and strength, that he believes himself to be the victor of this match.
She smirks.
He is nothing.
Umbriel hisses. He is unused to being enclosed by walls, and the crowd makes him anxious. Vaida reaches up and pats his long neck. His scales are smooth and cool to the touch. "Soon, Umbriel. We will crush this insect." She mounts the wyvern, sliding easily into the saddle, and instantly her nerves are on fire; she is ready to cut, to slice, to see blood stain the dirt floor of the arena.
The arena master raises his hand and Vaida watches closely, waiting for the signal. As if they share one mind, she and Umbriel tense up, muscles shivering in anticipation. His hand falls.
It begins.
From across the arena, her opponent leaps forward and charges, yelling at the top of his lungs. She tugs swiftly on the reins with one hand, axereaver held comfortably in the other, and Umbriel lunges forward; there is no room here for flight, but she is not worried. She will still be the victor of this match.
The man with the axe dodges and shifts his weight, moving out of the Umbriel's way while simultaneously managing to graze the wyvern's foreleg with the blade of his axe.
Umbriel roars in pain, and Vaida clenches her teeth; although the weapon did not manage to cut through his tough hide, it is enough to hurt him, and she feels the wyvern's pain as keenly as if it were her own. She grunts and tugs on the reins again to calm the wyvern, all the while wary for whatever may come next.
Out of the corner of her eye, she manages to catch a flicker of movement. It is her opponent, using the moment to watch for her point of weakness.
Fool. It cannot be helped; she smirks again. She has no weakness. "Come to me, little man" she sneers, though he cannot possibly hear her. "Come to me, so I may break your bones across my knee."
And then he moves. The axeman leaps gracelessly from the ground near Umbriel's left hindleg and slashes wildly at her. But he is clumsy, and far too confident in himself. His axe does not make contact with her flesh, and he has misjudged the distance of his leap terribly; he soon comes crashing down to the packed dirt floor of the arena, within striking distance of her spear.
It is too easy. One, two, three quick flashes of sunlight upon the polished metal point of the axereaver's blade, and the dirt floor of the arena is stained with the blood of her opponent. The arena master raises his hand once more and declares her the winner before rushing off to find a medic as the axeman is carried off the field.
She dismounts. Someone presses a bag of gold into her hands—her prize—and hurries away to tend to the next match, leaving her alone at the end of the field with Umbriel. She simply ties the bag to her belt and leads the wyvern slowly to the exit; though it is not serious, she will still have to look at the wyvern's injury and treat it if necessary.
"Arrogant arse," she mutters under her breath as she approaches the exit, where a young healer is busy tending to her opponent's wounds. "You could have at least given me a half-decent fight. A general of Bern's wyvern riders deserves nothing less."
"Do you not mean an ex-general of Bern?" a voice from the shadows asks.
Umbriel growls, a low rumbling from deep within his chest. "Show yourself," Vaida hisses. "What do you mean by 'ex-general'?"
A woman steps from the shadows, a contemptuous smirk on her face. "My apologies," she says, running her fingers through her close-cropped hair. "I only mean to say that I heard that the legendary Dragon Rider Vaida was now nothing more than a common entertainer. I am afraid that I have discovered just how true the rumors were."
"I am no entertainer, woman," Vaida says.
"Then perhaps," the woman continues, "you are the spineless worm of a woman I have heard of? It is said that when you were to be punishment, you and your unit fled like cowards."
"Coward?" Vaida snarls. "I am no coward! I stayed and fought like a true soldier that night, and paid for my incompetence."
The woman sneers. "And what of your unit? They did not stay to aid their commander?"
She can feel her blood boil. "That is none of your concern."
"I am afraid that it is," the other woman says. "You see, I have need of a soldier with bloodlust and a need for battle. I had heard of the ruthlessness of the knights of Bern, and of a woman among them said to be the greatest soldier to take to the skies. I can see I was mistaken."
Vaida glares at the other woman. She cannot trust her, and yet she does not want to spend the rest of her days in the arena. Her decision is made. "What do you want from me?"
The other woman smirks again. "Only your skill in battle. I will make it well worth your time."
Umbriel hisses again; he does not trust this strange woman either. But something in her voice has caught her attention, and she is speaking before she realizes it.
"How much are you offering?"
The woman smiles. "Everything that you could possibly desire, and more."
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Xirysa Says: Definitely not one of my better works, sorry. The title, also, gave me quite a bit of difficulty, though it's still fairly vague in most respects. XD Sorry to being made of failsauce. Anyhoo, constructive critique and the like is welcome. Thanks for reading!