Weapons
Summary: Emperor Kaddar of Carthak is faced with a very curious situation indeed as he realizes that his wife, a fragile blossom until now, could best him with the longbow. It's lucky for him that he happens to be excellent with some other forms of weapons, and wastes no time demonstrating for her.
"There is no way you can best me with the bow."
Kalasin shrugged, thoroughly enjoying the conversation. "Oh, I don't know. The Wildmage, Daine, did teach me a few tricks with it when I was younger."
"I see." Daine's last visit to the Carthaki practice courts still had a very vivid place in Kaddar's memory. "Could you have beaten her at it?" It seemed impossible, but he had to ask.
"Goddess, no! I don't think even the Lioness could have beaten her at it." It was obvious from Kalasin's voice how much awe she still held for Daine.
"Very well. Care to compete, then?" Kaddar's voice was teasing.
Kally raised an eyebrow in surprise. "It'd hardly be appropriate."
That was true. As monarchs, it was safe to say they lived by the most rules and had the least freedom out of everybody in the palace. "I do have a private practice yard, you know. It's small, but nobody can accuse us of being inappropriate if they don't see us doing it."
"Well...when you put it that way," Kally said, grinned from the mere concept of it all. "Of course I'd like to compete against you in a highly inappropriate display of competency in arms. Lead the way, my lord."
That was exactly what he did, and they were standing in his practice courtyard just a few minutes later. After much assurance from the slaves that nobody would disturb them, Kalasin carefully selected a bow from the range Kaddar provided. She strung it, loving the feeling of the wood beneath her hands. It felt good to be near a weapon again. She had missed the days she would spend hunting with her extended family, or toil on the practice courts, training in self-defense.
Kaddar was watching her carefully. "What?" she asked, a little defensive.
"Nothing," he said in reply. "I just...you handle the weapon well." It only added to the things he loved about her.
Kally looked a little surprised to hear this. "Thank you," she replied, blushing slightly. "I learnt from the best."
Silently, the couple walked onto the court and found a target. Kaddar smiled. "Best of five?" he gestured towards target when Kally nodded. "Ladies first, then."
Kalasin responded with a wild grin he hardly ever saw on her. "If you say so, Kaddar." Her first arrow, perhaps due to lack of recent practice, missed the bull's-eye by a few inches and struck the innermost ring instead. She shrugged, though it was hard to miss the disappointment on her face.
Her husband stared at her in surprise. That arrow had been very well shot, for all it didn't quite reach the bull's-eye. Kaddar had heard about a young Kalasin's love for weapons and fighting, but hadn't quite thought about it before this. He pulled his own bow back, and let loose.
It seemed that Kalasin was not the only person who hadn't practiced for a while. Kaddar's arrow headed straight for the center of the target, only to derail at the last moment and land in the second innermost ring, just outside of Kally's. He smiled sheepishly.
She grinned in reply and shot once again, the arrow flying straight and true, burying itself deep into the bull's-eye. Impressed but no longer surprised, Kaddar shot his own second arrow. He obviously took longer to recovery than Kally, for his arrow only made it into the innermost ring. Kaddar shrugged, looking slightly more panicked.
Kalasin shot again, hitting the bull's-eye once more. Kaddar's third arrow soon joined hers there, and Kaddar shouted a victorious war cry. Shaking her head at the boyish folly in him, Kally shot again. Perhaps she was distracted; the arrow missed the bull's eye and plunged itself almost on top of her first arrow, in the first ring. Kaddar, cherishing his opportunity, shot again. His fourth arrow flew directly into the center of the target.
There was tension in the air now; if Kaddar lost this round, he would lose the entire bout, and that was far too embarrassing for any emperor to have to go through. In fact, he had to win this round in order to even chance at winning the bout. He considered tickling Kally to make her miss but decided against it; the woman was frightening when she needed to be, and Kaddar wasn't quite ready to die yet.
Kally's arrow hit the center of the bull's eye. She stepped away and put her bow down, pleased. Knowing it was a lost case, Kaddar shot anyway. His arrow followed his wife's into the center of the target.
"You win," he declared unnecessarily, fighting down his wounded pride. "I never knew you were such a skilled bowswoman."
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," she replied in a teasing voice, daring him to ask what else there was. He didn't.
"Well, there are a lot of things you don't know about me, also," he said instead, responding to her teasing with a smile of his own. "There are weapons that I'm sure I'm better at using than you."
"Really?" She couldn't stop giggling now. "Such as what?"
"Really." He smiled into her eyes. "I'll show you, if you have the time."
"Oh..." She faked surprise, pretending to suddenly realize something. "We do have that party with the Scanrans tonight. If we don't show up at that, we could get into a whole lot of trouble."
"You think so?" he asked as he literally swept her off her feet. She yelped, but quickly regained her posture.
"Yes, I do." They grinned at each other, reaching a silent agreement.
She bowed her head in mockery, but perfect imitation, of a perfectly bred noble blossom. "I do surrender myself to your pleasure, my lord. Do tell me more about those weapons, and show me how you properly use them."
Perhaps the conservatives are right. Perhaps men are better with weapons, after all.