Wow, it's been forever since I've written anything. I've been really busy. Stupid schoolwork. But I'm ok now, this is my easy semester. I've also had a bit of writers block. And then there's my mom pestering me to get a job and it just never ends. Oh, well, here goes.
Ari was not having a good day.
"I hate boats, I hate port cities, and I don't care if I never see another fish as long as I live." Ari and her men-at-arms had finally arrived back in England. However, Ari hadn't quite recovered from her sea sickness, and had yet to feel steady walking on the ground instead of on a lurching ship. The sight of the day's first catch of fish being cut up on the docks had not helped her stomach or her mood.
"Okay, so where to first?" Ari asked briskly, turning to the three men behind her. After a few days of traveling with her, Jonathan, Thomas and Remi were used to their new mistress's way of speaking, including understanding that 'okay' meant 'alright', among other things. At the moment Jonathan and Remi were busy scanning the crowd, while Thomas poured over a map.
"It's hard to say, milady," Thomas answered. "Spies report that Lord Underwood was last seen around this city, but as to his exact whereabouts, I can't say"
"Great," Ari sighed. She paused to look around her. "Maybe if I held up a sign saying 'Rose Duelist found here', the Rose Crusaders would come to me."
"That is hardly necessary," said an odd voice from near Ari's elbow. Ari jumped and looked down. The person who had spoken was a short man with light blue hair. About to ask who he was, Ari was given a clue when Jonathan grabbed her and pushed her behind Remi, at the same time pulling his sword from its sheath. The crowd of people around them immediately scattered until they were at the center of a large bare circle. Peering from behind her bodyguards back, Ari saw that the newcomer wore a gold ring in the shape of a beetle. Okay, so this is Lord Underwood. The bug guy.
"Step aside boys, this is my fight." Ari said. When nobody moved, she made an aggravated noise in the back of her throat and moved around the men-at-arms to stand in front of Underwood.
"Lady Arianna," the short man chuckled. "It's funny; I was expecting someone of more... regal bearing." Ari sighed. The wardrobe which she was carrying on this trip had been the point of a rather long argument between her and Lady Margaret. "You are representing the Tudor family", Lady M had protested. "I won't have you looking like a peasant!" To which Ari's response had been. "I already agreed to wear a dress, but I refuse to take part in a duel wearing one of those circus tents you call a gown!" Ari stubbornness had paid off, and she was now standing before Lord Underwood in a plain pale blue dress and brown leather bodice, her black hair hanging in a simple braid down her back. The fact that she was forced to wear a dress was yet another contributor to her bad mood.
"Deal with it," she responded. "I am the Rose Duelist. So unless you're just going to hand me your White Rose Card, I suggest we move to where there are fewer people."
"Come with me then."
A half hour ride brought the group to a windswept hill overlooking the channel. Swinging out of the saddle, Ari came face to face with a very large insect. A VERY large insect.
"Say hello to my Insect Queen," Underwood cried. Ari stepped back, pulling her deck from her belt purse.
"Well, at least he isn't big on ceremony," she muttered to herself, pulling out five cards. Score! she thought, unable to keep a grin off her face. Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the first draw! Ari could not help but stare as the dragon materialized in front of her. These didn't look like holograms, they looked real. Really real!
"What!" screamed Underwood, eyes wide. "Only Rosenkreuz has that creature!" (AN: I really don't like reading or writing duels, so any duels will be short) Ari smiled, as Blue-Eyes destroyed, not only Insect Queen, but every monster Underwood summoned after it. Finally, a defeated Underwood sank to his knees.
Ari walked over to where Underwood knelt and poked him with her foot. "Hey, Rose Card, Now. Underwood looked up at her sharply, a fiendish grin on his lips.
"I think not," he said quietly, and made an odd gesture with one hand.
Something silver whizzed past Ari's ear. She dove to one side, hitting the ground hard. Laying on her side, she saw a knife sticking out of the grass a few feet away. Underwood and her bodyguard Thomas were both making a break for their horses. Thomas was the one who had thrown the knife.
Neither one got very far. Jonathan and Remi pinned Thomas to the ground. With another crazy dive, Ari grabbed the trailing reins of Underwood's horse. Seething with anger and not thinking very clearly, Ari reached up and tried to drag him from the saddle. The attempt only earned her a knife slash across the palm of her hand. Ari dropped back in surprise. Remi then took over. Soon both men were sitting tied up on the ground, and Ari was twirling a White Rose Card in her uninjured hand.
"What shall we do with them, milady?" Remi asked, sitting next her as Jonathan bandaged her hand. "The best thing to do is kill them." Ari shook her head. No way, I won't let them do that. But what else do you do in a situation like this? If I let them go, what's to keep them from coming after me? Oh well, I guess I have to risk it.
"Leave them here, they'll work their way out of those ropes eventually. We can take the extra horses with us."
"A word of advice, Lady Arianna," Thomas called from where he sat. "Charity will not get you very far."
Ari walked over to him, looking down at him with a look of great distaste. "Are suggesting I change my mind?" she asked.
"No, No!" said Underwood quickly, glaring at the man he had hired to kill the Rose Duelist. "Be silent, idiot."
"Just know," continued Thomas, not listening, "That King Richard won't spare you because you're a girl."
"I don't expect him to," Ari replied softly. "Why should I, he killed his own family?" And with that she walked away. As she mounted up, she saw a group of riders watching them from another hill. There was no mistaking the oddly shaped silver armor of the man in front.
"It's Rosenkreuz," warned Jonathan. "Does he mean to confront us?"
"I don't think so," said Ari. Then, unable to help herself, she grinned and held up her newly won White Rose Card. Then she turned away. "Let's go."
On the far hill, one of the riders turned to Seto. "What are your orders, sir? Shall we pursue them?"
"Not yet," said Seto, calmly watching Ari and her men ride away. "You may confront them later, Rex."
"And what about Underwood?"
"Leave him; there is no place for a man such as him among knights. Let that be a lesson to all of you," Seto continued in a louder voice. "I expect better from anyone who calls themselves a Rose Crusader."
As the rest of his men moved off, Seto paused to glance one last time at Ari's retreating back. They tried to kill her, he marveled. Yet she spared their miserable lives. He shook his head and smiled slightly. The girl would not last long in this war.