Notes: Sorry guys! I was out all day yesterday celebrating my birthday so I couldn't post a chapter. But Ooooooo! Another fight scene. I never knew how hard these could be to write, but I think I'm getting better!
Disclaimer: WAHHHH! Why ain't it mine?!
CHAPTER 10
Stull Cemetery seemed to be a grassy and unkempt piece of land with crumbling headstones and a sort of dry feel to the area. The rising sun of dawn casts an almost eerie glow over the land where the morning mists are just beginning to dissipate.
It's a little bit chillier than he had expected and he was rubbing his hands together to keep them warm and ready for holding the sword. He was worried about losing feeling in his fingers if this chill held in the air.
Dean had been escorted here about an hour after Cas left by several of the "gentlemen" from the party as well as the porter. Dean guessed that the porter would be the game referee/ announcer for the proceedings, guy definitely had the pipes for it.
Upon arrival he could see a crowd of spectators gathering in one of the small clearings. Obviously those were the intended dueling grounds. Looking closer, Dean can make out some familiar faces from the party, as well as a couple of the goons that were accompanying Crowley for their "tea party". The Captain guessed that they were here to see if Crowley needed to find another person to acquire the job if Dean were to be killed. Never let it be said that Crowley didn't like to stay informed.
Dean chooses to head over to Harrow who is standing happily to one side of the area, still wearing that ridiculous red sash.
"Good morning lad. How did you sleep?" He asks upon seeing Dean.
"I don't sleep," Dean answered wryly. Then he saw the approaching Anna and Zachariah. She looked alright. Dean had been worried about allowing her to go off with that douche after their fight, but she was still walking proud and when she caught Dean's gaze, she smiled encouragingly. Zachariah also seemed to be in good spirits, chatting happily with Anna and his following entourage. Dean's anger surfaces again as he recalled why he hit this dick in the first place. He had half a mind to forget this ridiculous duel and just go pummel this guy into the ground, but he was interrupted by the porter stepping into the center of the duel ground and raising his hand.
Eventually the crowd's noise dies down and he clears his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen, the field of combat is a somber place. A man will here lay down his life. Let the duel begin!" He says loudly. Perhaps a little too loud for this early, and Dean shakes his head. Game time.
Harrow hands Dean his sword that Dean takes firmly, behind him Zachariah gets his own sword out with a theatric flourish.
They move to meet each other in the center of the clearing. Dean chooses stays still while Zachariah prowls around. To Dean and all those watching it's clear that this guy really does have some sort of experience with theses duels judging by his pristine stance and the confidence that rolls off him in waves. Dean has experience too, with taking down lofty jerks like this guy, and with that thought, Dean crouches a little bending his bowlegs and being ready to spring.
Zachariah strikes first, like a cobra punching forward, but Dean remembers how Cas came at him suddenly like this before and he easily parries. Feeling a rush of confidence at this, Dean strikes out quickly at his attacker. Zachariah hops back and has to lean back as well to avoid the swipe, but his fancy vest gets nicked.
Dean takes great satisfaction in messing up his fancy duds. "Best be careful there Zachariah, I hear these things are sharp!" Dean teases. Maybe I can do this, thinks Dean happily. He mentally sends a thank you to Cas and then takes another mental note to but the guy some flowers.
Anna has made her way over to Harrow, her eyes never leaving the fight. She has completely lost her lady-like composure by now and just wears a mask of fear. As petty and spoiled as Zachariah was, he was a very capable fighter. He had been boasting the whole night of how his father had him trained from a young age to handle these types of situations, and how he had paid the best swordsman on the planet to spar with him once a week. Then he described all of the ways that he would humiliate Dean the next morning. Anna had almost left four times during the night, the only things holding her back was trying to keep an eye on Zachariah, and upholding her reputation. Although, at this point she didn't care about her reputation and she just cares that Dean is in the rink with a snake.
"He thinks he's doing well, doesn't he?" She asked Harrow worriedly.
He glances at her for a moment, not wanting to take his eyes off the fight for too long, "He's being toyed with." Anna's heart sank. Zachariah was like a cat playing with a mouse before finally going for the neck. And Dean had not even noticed that yet. But Anna did have to admit that Dean was handling the sword well for a beginner. She would almost have assumed that he had some sort of training if she didn't know better.
Dean ducks to avoid his aggressor's latest blow. While Dean is recovering from this, Zach decides to show off a bit, and he tosses his blade in the aid and catches it with the other before slashing down again, slicing Dean's arm. He's trying to put on a rutting show, thinks Dean, his temper flaring. He maybe hasn't been doing as well as he thought if Zachariah was comfortable enough to toss around his sword like the ribbon dancers from the market.
He laughs at Dean as he quickly tries to inspect the injury, "Oh Dean, you're nothing more than a maggot to me! So small, insignificant, and disgusting. How is it that anyone can stand to stay around you! All you do is fly around in that rusty boat pretending to be something. But look around, there are plenty of fates worse than yours. You get to go out in a blaze of glory, fighting for the honor of your "friends". How lucky for you!"
He strikes again, and Dean only just parried it off but it threw him off balance again. Dean expected Zachariah to strike again right after this, to end the duel here by taking Dean's life, but instead he steps back and puts his sword behind his back.
Now what is he doing, thinks Dean. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth he takes the opening to dive forward with a lunge, forgetting that Cas told him never to get too close to his opponent.
And Zachariah immediately sidesteps and swipes sideways with the sword behind his back, stabbing Dean in the side as he fumbles past.
Anna sucks in a sharp gasp and Harrow stiffens.
"Well this isn't going to take long, is it?" Harrow mumbles softly. He sounds a little disappointed.
Dean looks down, shocked at his wound and then up into the smiling demented face of Zachariah looming in front of him.
The crowd around them is starting to become more alive, whether it's because they've had time to wake up or they sense the end of the fight, Anna isn't sure. She had spent enough time with Zachariah to know that he would start boasting now. If Dean was going to have any chance at an opening, it would be about now. Anna only hoped that Dean wasn't too badly hurt to take advantage of that.
Dean staunches the wound in his side, pissed that he fell for such an obvious trap. But he pays the wound little mind thinking that Cas could fix it up nice and pretty later, not even a scar to remind him of the dumb error. But then Zach opened his mouth, looks like Dean wasn't the only one who was being dumb today.
"Did you really think you could beat me? You simpering wad of insecurity and self-loathing?" He taunts, and turns to wink at the crowd and Anna, then without missing a beat he moves forward again and thrusts the sword as Dean, not actually trying to hit him, but to scare him. Dean reacts by moving back clumsily, still trying to register the shock of being stabbed.
Dean knew that he couldn't hold out too long, so he moves forward for a strike, only to miss, but he recovered quickly and tries to strike again. Zachariah was pretty fast for an older guy, and he was able to deflect making it look easy. If Dean couldn't beat him through youthful speed, he would just have to do it through Zachariah's weakness. Pride.
Standing up as straight as his wound would let him, Dean met Zachariah's gaze. "You think that I'm the insecure one? None of these people would ever look at someone like you without you holding something of their interest. Going to a party? Find a companion to make you look good. Get in a fight? Declare a duel so that you don't look like a pussy in front of your peers. In a duel? Pull out theatrics to please those around you! Status is all that you are, under that is just a puppet. Look around man, you're nothing but a performing monkey to them! You're more of a whore than the companions you hire to play arm candy, no offense Anna." Dean nods to Anna in apology, but she only smiles awkwardly, uncertain as to what Dean is trying to do.
But Dean's strategy was working, Zachariah was starting to lose his confidence, and his neck was starting to turn red. And Dean took his chance and lunged to his feet, catching Zachariah under the chin with his sword and throwing him back, face cut and bleeding freely.
Zachariah is trying to save face, and tries to bring his sword arm back up to defend himself, but Dean is already on him, using the light wrist flick that Cas had shown him to catch his shoulder, further ruining the man's vest and a red splotch of blood starts to spread on the fabric.
And Dean doesn't stop there to play around, he raises the hilt of his sword and brings it down like a gun butt, over the downed man's head.
Zachariah is sprawled upon the ground with the hit, dropping his sword where Dean kicks it away out of reach and then points his own sword tip where Zachariah's heart supposedly is.
"He's down!" the porter announced, sounding surprised.
Dean only partially sees Harrow and Anna come up behind him as he is completely focused on his cornered prey.
"You have to finish it, lad. For a man to lie beaten and yet breathing, it makes him a coward." Harrow informs him dully, not sounding at all bothered at the idea of ending a life.
Anna places a warm hand on Dean's arm, "It's a humiliation," she whispers.
Dean pulls back his sword a little, never looking away from the downed man. "Sure. It would be humiliating, having to lie there while the better man refuses to spill your blood. But there are fates worse than yours. Mercy is the mark of a great man after all."
But then Dean stabs forward quickly, catching Zachariah's other shoulder.
Dean smirks, "Maybe I'm just a good man." That's for hurting Anna and treating her like a tool, he thinks to himself
He then he stabs down again, hitting him in the belly, but not going too deep.
"Well, I'm all right." And that was for Cas. Dean grins widely and tosses the sword aside and walks away.
Zachariah gets up slowly and the crowd draws back, whispering behind their hands. He notices this, he sees that he has lost whatever respect he had from them, if he even had it to begin with. He sees red.
"Winchester! Get back here! I'm not finished with you!" He shouts. The crowd continued to whisper and Dean is still walking off.
"You've lost, lad. Be gracious." Harrow throws over his shoulder.
Zachariah ignores him. More frantically this time he screams, "Winchester, get beck here now or I'll have your companion friend black-listed."
That stops Dean in his tracks, he looks to Anna with a raised eyebrow. Do we have to worry about this? He asks silently. Anna only smirks reassuringly and turns back to face her once client.
Zachariah thinks he might have got a hand hold again, "You set this up didn't you, whore. After I bought and paid for you. I should have uglied you up so no one else would want you. And I should have bought Dean's boy as well for some one on one time." He says, sneering at them.
Again Dean looks to Anna, "See how I'm not punching him? I think I've grown."
Anna just smiles obligingly and turns to address Zachariah, her confidence mustering. "Actually, that's not how it works. You see, you've earned yourself a black mark in the client registry. No companion is going to contract with you ever again." She informed him happily. She wraps her arm around Dean's and they start to walk away, practically strutting.
Harrow huffs out a laugh, "I suppose you'll have to rely on your winning personality to get women. God help you." And Harrow joins Anna and Dean, leaving a stricken and bloody Zachariah behind.
"You didn't have to wound that man", Harrow tells Dean after a distance.
That made Dean laugh loudly. All of the stress he had been feeling earlier was quickly dissipating, but he knew the pain from his wounds would catch up with him soon once the adrenaline died down. "I know that. It was just funnier that way. And also incredibly satisfying."
That made Harrow smile for real, "Well then if you are willing to fight that hard to protect my property, I'll have it in your hold before midnight." He tells Dean happily and then walks off to prepare his cargo.
Dean nods at him as he leaves, standing a little unsteadily now. Seems like the pain was finally kicking in, but he was able to ignore it knowing that Cas was waiting for him back on the Impala. The thought warmed him.
"Mighty fine shindig," he breaths out through the pain. Meaning every word.
So I decided to not use Mal's trick of waiting for Inara's distraction to "take a stab" at Atherton. I thought Dean would be somewhat morally above that, and also Zachariah in this story didn't think much of Anna and it just didn't fit. So I came up with the pride issue from what I had gathered of Zachariah in the show.
Eek! I know that a bunch of you wanted me to kill Zachariah, but I wanted to keep his character available should I choose to go a certain route with the series….And I won't say much more on the subject about that XD