"What did you tell him!?"
"Eula-"
"I thought he was going to kick me out of the flippin' Long Patrol!"
"Eula-"
"Give me your stave, Contarelle."
"Eula-"
Jamie sat in his room, papers scattered over a desk at which he sat. His eyes followed the younger haremaid as she stormed back and forth in front of him, ranting on about something he hadn't quite caught on to.
"You realize how bally terrified I was!?"
"Eula-"
"But no, I was reassigned. Reassigned, Jamie!"
"Eula!" He finally yelled, clapping a paw to his forehead. "Give it a rest! Now what the flip are y'talking about m'gel?"
She looked austerely at him, tilting her head a bit as she put her paws on her waist in what would have seemed to be a sarcastically strict manner. Jamie tried not to laugh. Eula could carry on an entire conversation with her poses.
"Like you don't jolly well don't know what I'm talkin' about."
Jamie only shrugged, nonplussed.
Eula fished into a pocket of her tunic until she extracted a crumpled parchment. Stepping towards Jamie, she pressed it into his paws. She stepped back to watch him read it. After a moment, an astounded look crossed his features and became more defined by the moment.
Even after she knew he'd finished reading it, he was still staring blankly at the scribbling of words and signatures. Finally he lowered the paper and flicked his gaze up to Eula.
"This breaks so many rules, Eula. Couldn't even know where t'begin, wot. You're too young, y'hit an older Long Patrol hare, y'mouthed off to your officer, and... y'get bumped up a rank. Lord Halestripe even signed this thing his blinkin' self."
Eula shrugged, rather caught by surprise that Jamie wasn't responsible for her promotion. "Tell y'the truth. Sandscut seemed impressed that I decked Daikon." She smirked. "Decked Daikon. That sounds funny, eh?"
Jamie didn't seem terribly amused. "You realize you're in the same patrol as Daikon now?"
There was a noticeable pause from Eula there. "Halestripe musta' gone off his flamin' rocker, Jamie. Promotin' me a good two or three seasons early into your patrol."
He sighed, laying the paper among the mess on his desk. "My hares will eat you alive."
She obviously found this offensive, as she replied with a toss of her head. "I'm not scared of them."
"I'm not sure if that's the attitude I want you to have, m'gel." He frowned a bit, then stood. "Go get some sleep, busy day tomorrow, Eula."
"Oh really?"
"You're in my blinkin' patrol now. I can't promise I'll be easy on you, Eula."
Before she could go on the defensive again, he took her by the shoulders and steered her from his room. "G'night," he spared her before he shut the door on her.
***********
Eula walked about the storage area just beside the mountain's forgery. It stored all the available weapons inside of the Salamandastron stronghold. The weapons greatly differed, from swords and daggers to axes and maces.
Jamie was inside the doorway, leaning back against the wall and musing at how hopelessly out of place the small haremaid seemed, surrounded by the multitudes of deadly weapons. Eula still walked about as if she owned the place, as she did just about everywhere. He watched her carefully, but stayed out of the way, trying to pay attention to what caught her eye and what she passed by disinterestedly.
After a few minutes, he realized she seemed to keep doubling back to the same couple of blades. Abandoning his position by the door, he walked over, deciding to help her out. Maybe test her a bit-- it wouldn't hurt.
He lifted a sword from a hang on the wall and presented it to Eula hilt-first. It was one she'd been noticeably eyeing. "Try this one." He said, making it seem as if he planned to give it to her all along.
She took it, and he watched her. She seemed comfortable enough holding a sword-- and Jamie wasn't quite sure what to think of that, really. She stepped away from him and twirled it in her paws, running subconscious tests of balance and weight for herself.
She finally brought her eyes back up to Jamie and shrugged slightly. "It's kind of heavy for me. Something else?"
He nodded, immensely pleased when she returned the weapon to him and he put it away. He knew the sword wouldn't have suited her, and was glad that she could tell that for herself.
Turning, he crossed the room and stopped at a rapier. He seemed to recall her eyeing this one. Lifting the weapon, he inspected it himself. It was actually an enviable piece of work. It had been whetted recently and showed no flaws. He saw Eula come up beside him and he glanced at her. "How 'bout this one?"
When he handed it to her, she took it, admiring the ringed hilt. She stepped away from Jamie again, looking at the long, thin blade and running a paw down the flat edge, satisfied at the smoothness. Balancing it in her paws, Jamie already knew she was hooked. She nodded at him with a smile. "I like this one."
"Good choice," he said approvingly, taking the scabbard that had been placed beneath the rapier. He handed it to her. "Light'n'swift. Like you."
**********
She lay on her stomach in bed that night, her new blade laid out in front of her. Jamie had been too busy that afternoon after she'd gotten it to start training her.
He was going to give her a few lessons personally before she joined training sessions with his patrol. She'd protested to begin with, but was too excited about her new rapier to hold an argument, so she relented.
She couldn't stop admiring the rapier. She was positive she had the most gorgeous weapon on the whole mountain. The ecstasy that came with the possession of a brand new blade had overcome her, and she continuously fondled the hilt, admiring the lightness of the deadly object. Running a paw somnolently along the ringed hilt, she unwittingly drifted into a calmed sleep.
With sleep came the childish dreams of superiority and valor.
***********
A/N~ Alas, chapter 3. Wanted to take the quick second to thank you for the reviews and to say: Keep 'em coming! I won't deny that I enjoy writing this, and it makes it better if I know others enjoy it was well. That's all. kthnxbi