Forever

She watched silently, her black hair gently lifting off her shoulders with the warm summer breeze. She couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to fight, her eyes widening slightly as a soldier bashed another in the head with a shield. She looked closer as the Sergeant started the two on two matches. Two of the men had caught her eye. One of them was tall, with a full head of dusty blonde hair, tied back in a ponytail. The other, looked a little younger, with a mop of spiky copper hair that jutted out just about anywhere.

"Do you find any of them to your liking My Lady?" a quiet voice spoke behind her. She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"So kind of you to want to hand me off to a man so soon, Lady Greymoore." The girl grumbled, taking her eyes off the sparring soldiers and focusing on the older woman behind her. The elderly woman smiled, chuckling.

"Oh, Kyrian. You will have to pick someone soon. Your father is being very generous in allowing you to choose a suitor. Most women your age are already married and have a first child on the way. It's unbecoming of a Lady-"

"To not hand myself off to the first man I see? To…to not, powder my nose, and wear corsets?" Kyrian finished for her, a bored expression on her face. She had heard this from Lady Greymoore too many times before. The older woman sighed, shaking her head.

"You're lucky you're father hasn't arranged for a marriage yet. You cannot afford to be so stubborn." She scolded, wagging a satin gloved finger at Kyrian. The younger woman huffed an irritated sigh, leaning her back against a stone wall. "Why can't I be different?" She gestured to the sparring soldiers down below her, the two she had been eyeing seeming to beat out everyone else. She took a moment to watch them before finishing her sentence. "To just…be one of the boys?"

Lady Greymoore stepped up to her, putting a pale bony hand on her shoulder. "You are not a peasant dear…you are a Noblewoman, and you will act like one. You need to learn that soon, or your Father may do something drastic. I would hate to see you disowned." The Lady whispered.

Kyrian spat a nasty epithet, pulling her cloak over her shoulders and storming off, shouting as she left. "I think I'd rather be disowned personally!"

~~*~~

"Come on, up all o' you!" The Sergeant shouted, kicking a moaning soldier who had taken one too many blows to the stomach. All the other men were up and standing at attention before his boot could reach them. "Today we've got a special guest watchin'. Lady Skylar. I don't want any of you morons to make yerself look worse than ya already are in front of her, that's an order! We're doing two on two today."

The young men's faces all lit up, except for one, who seemed rather peeved. His grayish blue eyes settled on the young woman his Sergeant was talking about. 'Well…at least she's not wearing some frilled dress that most of them wear.." he thought to himself.

"Not bad around the eyes there, is she Thassarian?" William Allerton chuckled, jabbing his life long friend in the side with his elbow. Thassarian rolled his eyes. "I suppose not."

"Aw, come on. Don't be like that. Lady Skylar is like gold, compared to most other women I've seen. Well…cept maybe that sister of yours. Show off for her, she might like it." William laughed.

"I'm not really interested in pleasing and or impressing noblewomen." Thassarian grumbled, returning his eyes back to the Sergeant. The Sergeant pointed at him and William.

"You two, front and center. I'm pairing you up with Hiso and Leeroy." Thassarian did as he was told, dragging his seemingly lovestruck friend along with him.

The four soldiers drew their blades, all staring readily at eachother.

"Begin!"

Hiso took the first strike, lunging for Thassarian. The soldier swung for his unprotected sword arm, and Thassarian parried easily. He ducked a swing from Leeroy, and kicked out with his right foot, knocking the other man off his feet. William caught a pommel strike from Hiso on his shield, barely saving Thassarian from what would've been a nasty bruise. Thassarian nodded his thanks, swinging his blade with practiced speed at Leeroy. The other soldier could barely could keep up, and soon found himself backed into a corner. Thassarian lifted his eyebrows and smirked at him, as if to say. "Really? That was just too easy." He took a few steps back and gestured for the other soldier to come at him. Leeroy nodded, running and swinging his sword low. Thassarian swung outward, forcing the other man's arm to swing wide. He ducked behind his shield, lunging and slamming his shield into the soldier's chest. Leeroy stumbled back, coughing. Thassarian stood up straight, rolling his shoulder and popping his neck. The other soldier shook off the blow and came running again. Thassarian and Leeroy both struck and parried eachother's blows for at least another minute. Leeroy stumbled, and Thassarian took his chance, riposting his blade into the soldier's wrist, knocking the sword out of his grasp. He spun quickly to gain momentum and slammed the his opponent in the face with the pommel of his sword. The soldier toppled backwards, knocked unconscious. Thassarian couldn't help but glance up for Lady Skylar. He blinked, noticing she wasn't there. William finished off his opponent, stepping up to Thassarian, following his friend's gaze.

"Hmm. Dissapointed?" William said, laughing. Thassarian raised an eyebrow at him.

"Hardly. Just wondering where she went." He mumbled, resting his sword against his shoulder and watching the other soldiers fight. The Sergeant looked at Thassarian, and then to the unoccupied balcony. His brows furrowed, and he stepped between two fighting soldiers.

"Alright, that's enough! We'll finish up next week. Be ready! One o' you sorry lots is going to be Corporal soon, I want you all trained up." The Sergeant yelled. "Dismissed!"

With that, the soldiers all filed out, most of them with bruises and cuts to tend to. Thassarian himself had only received a blow to the shoulder from William stumbling into him with a shield. He couldn't say the same for those unlucky few he had fought. William sighed from behind him, placing his arms behind his head.

"Oh, she was beautiful. Thy maiden of Ebon locks and Emerald eyes. You placed a hand upon my shoulder, my soul struck blind by your sunkissed cheeks." He sang, bursting out laughing at the look on Thassarian's face.

"I know you agree with me. Don't deny it." William elbowed his friend again, jostling his bruised shoulder. "You liiiiike heeer. Come on, say it. I. Like. Lady Skyl-oof!"

Thassarian was the one to laugh this time, as his friend walked face first into a tree. William shook his head, stumbling a moment. He rubbed his nose, managing a half hearted chuckle.

"Alright…I'll shut up." He mumbled, stepping away from his friend and towards the stables.

Thassarian nodded, still chuckling. "See you later."

He placed his shield on sword on the weapon racks, unfastening his armor and stepping out of his iron boots and into a pair of well worn leather ones. He pulled his chain shirt and cotton chemise off, rummaging around his bag and producing a leather jerkin. He pulled that on, huffing a sigh of boredom.

"I suppose I can afford to kill a couple hours in the city." He mumbled to himself, stepping out of the training room and out into the courtyard. He stopped as he noticed a figure leaning against a stone wall of the archway. From the way she was standing she almost looked injured.

"My lady…are you alright?" he called out. The woman's gaze shot up to meet his, her body jumping as if startled.

~~*~~

Kyrian watched in silence as the remaining of the training session ended. She turned to face a weapon rack, pulling a longsword from it and trying to swing it. Her arm went flying to the side and she let go of the blade for fear of falling. She cursed herself, picking up the blade and carefully placing it back on the rack. She huffed a sigh of irritation, kicking a loose rock across the courtyard, sending it skipping noisily along the stone floor. She stared down at her oiled black leathers, smiling a little.

"Well, at least I can dress like this. I don't have to go fanning myself to keep from suffocating in a big poofy dress like most the pampered richwives." She spoke grudgingly. She strode into a shady archway, leaning herself against the side. She appreciated the cool temperature of the stone against her aching head.

"I'd take any sword wound over these headaches…" she said to herself, rubbing her temples. The rotating motions of her fingers only worsened the low thrumming pain, and she let her hands fall to her sides. She stared down at the gray cobblestone ground sadly, her eyes dim.

"My lady…are you alright?" a young man's voice called out from the other side of the archway. She jumped, staring up at him. He wore a simple brown leather jerkin and pants, along with boots who had certainly seen better days.

"I…uh. Yes..I'm fine. Thank you." She nodded, putting on the practiced smile she had been forced to put on for when she was paraded around her father's banquets.

The man nodded at her, staring at her awkwardly. She raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

The young man shook his head. "No…just. I don't see many women dressed like that. It's a nice change." He said. She wondered if he fully realized who he was talking to, silently expecting a "My Lady, or Lady Skylar." As if he had read her mind, his eyes widened slightly. "Are you..Lady Skyl-"

"Kyrian! Just Kyrian…" she suddenly blurted, automatically slapping a hand in front of her mouth, her eyes wide. The man seemed a bit surprised by her outburst, and laughed. "Kyrian then." He held his hand out to her. "Thassarian. It's a pleasure." She looked down at his hand for a moment till he cleared his throat, and she took the hand away from her mouth, shaking his firmly. They both stayed silent, and Kyrian kept slowly shaking his hand till he took it away.

"I-I…uh. I saw you sparring. Y-you're quite the talented swordsman." She said, scratching the back of her head nervously. She noticed his cheeks redden a bit. "Thank you. I know you were here looking for a suitor. See anyone interesting?"

She blinked, looking down. "N-not really…no. Except for you…maybe. Or the one who fought with you." Thassarian couldn't help but laugh, nodding his appreciation. "Well, thank you. I'm flattered." Kyrian found a small giggle tickling the back of her throat. It seemed his laughter was contagious. They both stood silently, until Thassarian coughed. "Mm, well. I should be going." He turned away from her, waving his hand. "I'll see you around Kyrian." She watched him go, waving.

"Bye…" she whispered quietly. She stood in the archway, letting herself lean back against the stone. She smiled to herself, breaking out into a fit of giggling. She hadn't ever been addressed by her first name, and never treated as an equal to a soldier. It was always, My Lady this, and Lady Skylar that. Being called Kyrian by someone other than her father made her want to shriek with joy and burst into tears. After a few moments, she caught her breath and wrapped her cloak around her shoulders. She could still see a hint of Thassarian's dusty blonde hair, and ran after him. Better than attending another banquet….