Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Escaflowne: All you need is Love, Isn't it?

Chapter 62

At the Palace Courtyard

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Sir Beckett said to his king as he approached. "It appears his Majesty has already had quite a workout this morning." The large man smiled.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Van replied, "That was just a warm up. The real workout begins now." 'If he only knew. All I want to do now is soak in a hot bath for a week.'

A young squire, no more then ten, ran up to the king and handed him a sword. "Your Majesty." The lad bowed his head.

Van grabbed the sword and secured it around his waist then he began his regular ritual of walking down the rows of soldiers who were training with each other. When he saw one who showed particular promise he would stop and observe him for a few minutes. He would offer words of advice and if he felt as if a little personal instruction was needed he would step in and train with the young warrior himself.

After about an hour of this, he then preceded to train with each of his six captains. Each was older then the young king by at least two years but none could match his prowess with the sword. And as usual he saved his last two bouts with his two finest young swordsmen, Leopold and Cid.

Leopold Chezaress was a 17-year old lieutenant under Colonel Beckett in the Chezario Army. Beckett and several of his young officers, including Leopold, were so inspired by the Fanelian King during the battle against the Zaibach Empire that they requested leave from the Chezarian Army. They then immigrated to Fanelia and to serve under the young king. Leopold's departure from Chezario caused quite a stir since he was nineteenth in line for that kingdom's throne. While no one expected the crown to fall upon him, the idea that a member of the royal family would renounce his allegiance to his homeland and go serve another king was unheard of. Even Van tried to persuade him to return home, but the young officer would not be swayed. Now, about eight months since his arrival, he had risen to the rank of Captain and was regarded as one of the two best young swordsmen in the Fanelian Army.

Van's matches with Leopold were always spirited, an exercise in technique and form. But Leopold's unwillingness to execute a serious attack on his king always resulted in Van's anger being levied against his captain. The lessons he learned from Balgus and the experience he acquired during war stayed with him, and he tried to instill these lessons on his officers as well.

Leopold's attack was easily blocked and countered by Van, who pressed his captain until he lost his footing and ended up on his backside, his sword on the ground next to him and his king's sword held dangerously close to his throat.

"You continue to hold back. A warrior must always fight with everything within him. When you attack, you must attack with only one intention in mind. Anything less and you're as good as dead." The Fanelian King lectured his captain.

Casting his eyes down in shame, the young captain replied. "Yes my Lord. I shall try harder next time."

"That is what you say every time Leopold and every time it is the same thing with you." Van lowered his sword and extended his hand to assist the captain up.

While Leopold stood a several centimeters taller than his king, in his eyes, Van was the tallest, bravest man he had ever known. He bowed low and said, "I humbly apologize my King for repeatedly failing to follow your instructions. I have no excuse for my insubordination."

The captain's loyalty and humility never failed to soften the king's demeanor as he sighed. "It's all right Leopold. You have great technique, just learn to fight more aggressively and you can be a great swordsman someday." He patted the young man on the shoulder then turned his attention to the last of his captains. The captain, Van enjoyed dueling against the most.

Cid Tenecia was from a long line of soldiers. First from the now non-existent Tazerian Kingdom what was annexed by the Zaibach Empire, his family, along with many other Tazerians, fled to the neighboring kingdom of Fanelia. There, his father and older brothers served under King Gaou. By a strange twist of fate, he was spared the fate of his father and brothers when Zaibach attacked because his mother insisted that at least one of her sons stay home and tend to the family farm. A small plot of land hardly large enough to be called a garden, let alone a farm. Being the youngest, though already 18; that lot fell to him. During the exodus, his mother passed away as well and when Fanelia was restored, he immediately enlisted, rising in rank quickly. He dedicated himself to restoring his family's proud military tradition as well as striving to achieve glory and honor for himself. And while he had reservations about serving under a king that was half-Draconian; he could not deny Van's skill with the sword and in battle. That, and the fact that Fanelia bordered Zaibach, seemed to ensure the young captain that his opportunity to prove himself in war was simply a matter of time and patience on his part.

Cid charged with fierce concentration and determination. About the same height as Leopold but slightly larger build, he quickly drove his king back by sheer strength as he attacked with a flurry of sweeping sword strokes. With each stroke, the captain's confidence grew as he pressed the attack.

'You're mine Fanelia, this time I shall defeat you and prove myself the greatest swordsman in the kingdom.' He pressed on.

With Van's defenses seemingly weakening from the older, larger man's unyielding attack, Cid increased the fury of his attack. For a moment everyone else stopped practicing as they seemed to be witnessing their king's first defeat when suddenly Van took a quick side-step and spun around striking the overzealous captain hard in the side, below his arm and against his rib with the butt of his sword.

The blow was so hard and so sudden that the young captain was in utter shock for several moments before the pain finally registered and he quickly cradled his side, his sword falling from his hand. Slowly, he dropped to one knee as he gasped for air.

Sheathing his sword before removing the belt from around his waist, Van handed it over to the squire who came running up to him the moment he lowered the blade. Then walking over to his captain, he took his arm and assisted him back up to his feet.

"You hold nothing back in your attacks. That's good, but you also need to remain aware of your opponent's movements and not solely concentrate on your own. Had you been paying attention, you would have noticed that I was drawing you in. I allowed you to believe that I was weakening thus causing you to loose focus on the overall battle. You were consumed with the prospect of defeating me, which caused you to get sloppy and allowed me to strike a lethal blow. Had that been the edge of my sword, you'd be dead right now." Van lectured him.

The defeated opponent nodded his understanding while averting his eyes from his king.

"Good. You should be proud of yourself Cid. You improve each time we fight. I'm sure, one day; you'll make a great swordsman. Perhaps good enough to represent our kingdom against Asturia's finest in one of their tournaments." Van smiled as he patted the captain on the back. Turning toward Leopold, he said. "Take him to the physician to have the rib looked at."

"Yes my Lord." Leopold bowed then assisted his friend into the castle.

"All right you dogs, back to your training." Beckett yelled. Causing all the men to jump slightly before returning to their training.

"You certainly have a way with the men." Van observed as he walked up next to his minister.

"Thank you my Lord. I try." The tall man said with a smile.

The young king struggled to surpass his laughter, casually raising his hand in front of his mouth and pretending to cough.

"Let go of me!" Cid insisted. "I can manage on my own." He took a few steps then nearly buckled over in pain.

"Yes, I see. You're managing quite well." Leopold stood to the side with his fists at his waist.

Cid just looked up at him with narrowed eyes.

Shaking his head as a smile came across his face, Leopold walked over to his friend. "Come on; let's get you to the physician."

Moaning his displeasure at being assisted, Cid mumbled under his breath. "I can't believe Lord Van humiliated me like that."

Snickering at the idea, the younger man replied, "No, I was humiliated, you were simply defeated."

Turning his head slightly to face the other man, "But you heard him. He was just toying with me."

"He was using his superior experience against your overly aggressive attack." The younger captain countered. "Besides, he also said he thinks you may someday be able to challenge the finest swordsmen Asturia has to offer. Now wouldn't that be a glorious victory." He smiled with a sense of excitement.

"I'd rather enjoy a glorious victory on the field of battle than in some circus spectacle." Cid grimaced in pain.

"I, for one, would be only too glad never to have to raise my sword in battle ever again." Leopold responded as he assisted his friend down the hall.

"What, you fear battle? Then why be a soldier?" The injured man replied.

"I do not fear it, nor do I fear my own death. I would gladly sacrifice my life for my new king and my adopted country. But I have no delusions about the glory of war. In war, there is no glory, only death and destruction." The Chezarian said.

"So you'd rather remain a captain your whole military life, never achieving the title of samurai just so you could avoid another war?" The Tazerian replied.

"I would gladly serve as a squire till I was old and feeble if it would guarantee peace throughout all of Gaea."

Stopping to turn and stare at his friend, Cid replied. "Now I know you are lying. You were raised in the courts of Chezario. Trained to be a warrior since you could walk. And you mean to stand there and tell me you'd be content, no rather joyful to go the rest of your life never experiencing the fury of battle ever again?"

"I lie not. You weren't there. You didn't see the carnage brought about in that final battle against the Zaibach Empire. Don't misunderstand me. If called upon to fight, I shall, without hesitation. But it is nothing a relish, unlike you. You seem to thirst for the opportunity to wage war." Leopold countered. While looking at his fellow captain, the fair-haired captain noticed a familiar sight coming in their direction. Stepping aside so as to be plainly seen, he smiled and said. "Hello Miss Merle, it is good to see you today."

Merle stopped, as she was just about to turn down an adjacent hall and regarded the two soldiers. "Captain, what are you doing in this part of the castle?"

"Oh, Lord Van instructed me to assist Captain Cid here over to the palace physician." He replied with a smile.

"Ah, trying to go all out against Lord Van again? I've seen you before Captain, always attacking Lord Van like you want to kill him or something." The catgirl narrowed her eyes at the injured soldier. "You're lucky Lord Van is such a great swordsman, otherwise he may slip someday and end your life." Without another word, Merle turned and continued down the hall, which took her away from the two officers.

"Farewell Miss Merle." Leopold called out, grinning widely.

Cid began to laugh but quickly stopped as he buckled over in pain.

"What's so funny?" The fair-haired captain asked.

"You are. You fancy that catgirl, don't you?" Cid grinned through the pain.

"Don't be silly. She's but a child." Leopold said in his defense.

"Now I know you are lying. You should have seen your face the moment you laid eyes on her." The stouter man gave his fellow captain a mischief's stare.

"I was simply being polite to Lord Van's childhood companion. Nothing more." Leopold straightened his posture and looked down his nose at his ailing friend. "Now if you want assistance to the physician's quarters, I suggest you drop this subject immediately." He took his friend's arm and started guiding him down the hall where Merle had previously come from.

After a few moments of silence, Cid wondered out loud. "Do you think she scratches when she kisses?"

"Will you be silent." Leopold insisted.

The injured soldier began to laugh again only to stop abruptly once again because of the pain.

"Serves you right." The fair-hair captain said.

Down an adjacent hallway, on her way to Hitomi's chambers, the catgirl's ears relaxed while her hair stood on end and a frown crossed her face. 'Soldiers, always too arrogant… and too loud.' She mused before whispering to herself, "What jerks."

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AN: I was hoping to get this chapter out in less then a week and by some miracle I did it. ^___^ I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you find the two original characters I've added, Leopold and Cid, interesting. Well, you were actually introduced to Cid a few chapters ago and to Leopold in the previous chapter but here we get to learn a little bit more about them. Sorry, I couldn't go completely straight, serious on this one. Just couldn't get myself to do it. :P

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews of my previous chapter and I look forward to reading what you have to say about this. Chapter as well. ^___^