Stupid idiots. If Kaya had harbored any lingering doubts that Elsa was too lenient as Queen, they were quickly dashed as she strode out of the throne room and set foot in the courtyard. Queen Elsa had promised her that she would have Thomas assemble all guards that were employed at the castle to receive her as their new Captain and commander. In Palladon, Kaya wouldn't have expected less than all ranks standing stiffly and stoically, awaiting her arrival. Seeing a dozen of the soldiers rolling around on the ground, brawling like children, was certainly something that wasn't often seen in Palladon's Royal Guard.
Thomas, a conscientious man if she'd ever met one, stepped forward to break up the fight. Holding back a small sigh of irritation, Kaya held out an arm to stop him. It didn't bother her that the soldiers were fighting; men will be men, but fighting in front of their new superior...They obviously didn't know how to make a good first impression. That, or they didn't care one way or the other.
The guards that had already noticed her presence looked puzzled that she didn't look more upset that they weren't respecting her authority. She wasn't worried; Kaya was a patient woman and didn't mind biding her time a little longer to gain the full respect of the children who fancied themselves tough men.
She calmly stepped forward, deliberately loosening her sword belt and handed it to Thomas; it would only get in her way. The soldiers parted as she walked towards them; a few of them had already seen her send the former captain running with a simple look. Those men were obviously a little more wary of crossing the newcomer despite the fact she was a woman.
Fists flew and curses were tossed back and forth like noblemen exchanging pleasantries. The onlookers watched in astonishment as Kaya made her way to the center of the altercation without anyone laying a single finger on her. She weaved in and out of the men's paths with the grace of a swan, but with the same underlying burning intensity of a cobra, just waiting for the right moment to strike.
Kaya figured that the fight most likely had started with just two men making fools of themselves (the rest had simply joined in for the hell of it), so she looked for the pair that seemed to be putting the most emotion into their blows. That pair of idiots was easy enough to find, as they were the ones were swearing the loudest as well.
Thomas winced as the woman simply stood there for a moment, likely waiting to be noticed by the two men, though her posture suggested that she could've cared less if they did or not. The woman was particularly hard to read, but she had seemed to revel in the chance to make a clear statement about who was in charge to the rest of the men. This would certainly save her the trouble of having to raise her voice to get their attention. With luck, all of the men here would think twice before engaging in such moronic behavior while in Kaya's presence again.
This foolishness was something that Captain Lockhart had almost encouraged, and didn't hinder at all, insisting that a little aggression between comrades was good, healthy, even. It was clear, however, that Kaya didn't harbor any such feelings, and if she did, she was extremely good at veiling her emotions.
Thomas was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of two skulls being smashed into each other with enough force that even the passerby servants on the edges of the courtyard flinched at the sound.
Groaning, the centermost pair of squabblers sunk to the ground on the verge of unconsciousness. Kaya looked as bored as ever; leaning back on her heels with her arms crossed across her chest.
She raised an eyebrow at the audience that had gathered as she growled lowly,
"Are you finished?"
The two men at her feet finally gained enough of their breath back to wheeze, "What the hell?"
Kaya looked down at them briefly and narrowed her eyes. "Get in line."
One man was quick to obey; the other (Loren, if Thomas remembered correctly), looked incredulous, as if he could believe that a woman had dared to give him an order.
Kaya stared him down. "Something you want to say?"
"I'm not about to be ordered around by some woman."
Thomas flinched at his characterization of his captain; he obviously hadn't been told of the shift in command.
"Oh?" It was clear to the onlookers that one should never mistake the quietness that always accompanied Kaya's tone with understanding or forgiveness. The woman had proven that she did not possess an excess of either trait.
"Hell will freeze over before I take orders from a wench."
"Hm." This time both of Kaya's eyebrows raised in what seemed like amusement. "Perhaps you should make a formal request to your queen to see if she'll make that a possibility for you."
The other man then realized who he was talking to. "You're the one Queen Elsa put in charge of 'training' us, right?" He looked her up and down.
Loren scoffed. "You couldn't do it if your life depended on it."
Kaya looked as if she wanted to laugh. "A wager, then." She then turned to address the crowd. "Shall we test his theory? I'm sure you'll have no problem accepting your defeat like men if you're wrong."
Turning on her heel, Kaya walked a few paces away and took on a relaxed posture that many experienced warriors would say had no place on the battlefield. "If I can't manage to knock all of you out within sixty seconds, then I'll leave on the next ship out of Arendelle without complaint."
She shifted her gaze to Thomas for a moment. "Thomas, I'll be keeping count, but you can be a safety to be sure I don't cheat."
Thomas doubted she needed someone to keep her honest, but he nodded anyway.
Loren was up from the ground so fast he seemed to reel in anticipation of knocking the arrogant woman on her behind. Or maybe it was because of the still-lingering head injury that Kaya had recently inflicted on him.
Loren turned to his brethren. "Well? Are you going to let a woman talk down to you like that?"
To their credit, the other soldiers seemed reluctant to engage Kaya, but it was because of her rumored prowess, and not because she was the new leader of the Queen's guard.
Looks like I'll have to change that. Kaya smirked as three of the soldiers leapt forward in hopes of catching her off-guard. She shifted her weight onto the balls of her feet, raised her hands, and let her well-honed instincts take over.
To the reluctant onlookers, she let loose one final statement before connecting with the first man's face.
"Come on, then." She smirked. "Defend yourselves."
Elsa had to make a conscious effort to hide her amazement. She couldn't remember the last time someone had forced her to do that, but she would have been lying if she'd said that it was uncalled for. Who would've guessed that the strange, foreign woman had been that skilled?
Sure, Elsa had been given a brief glimpse into the woman's abilities, but that was only because she had been one of the few who had been a witness not once, but twice before. Even if she hadn't, the prone bodies of her soldiers on the ground would've served as proof enough of her abilities.
Her new Captain, surrounded by the groaning figures of her guard, glanced up at Thomas with a bored look on her face. Even so, a small smirk graced her lips before she said,
"How many was that, Thomas? Twenty?"
Thomas was shaking his head and gave a suppressed laugh. "Seventeen, Captain."
Those soldiers that had already regained consciousness, albeit still on the ground, snapped their heads up at Kaya's title.
Kaya caught sight of Elsa then and inclined her head. "Sorry for the embarrassing state of your soldiers, Queen Elsa."
Elsa held back a giggle; she didn't sound sorry at all.
She waved a hand. "No, please," she said. "Don't mind me; I just happened to be passing by."
Kaya wouldn't have cared if the session had been personally supervised by God himself; she wasn't about to change her teaching methods just because one of her superiors happened to be there.
The Queen started to turn away, and Kaya suddenly remembered something that she hadn't asked last night.
Kaya spoke as she passed Thomas, "Five minutes." she said, "I want them all up and ready to go when I get back."
The former commander of the Palladonian army caught up with the queen.
"Queen Elsa, you gave me your word that I wouldn't be hindered in training your guard, is that correct?"
Elsa looked puzzled. "Yes, why?"
Kaya shrugged. "I thought I would clarify before I started. My methods may be more..." she groped for the right word. "Unorthodox than your soldiers are used to."
Elsa smiled. "If I thought my soldiers couldn't handle it, I wouldn't have asked you to train them, Captain Kaya."
Her Captain tilted her head for a moment and scoffed. "I suppose that makes sense." She bowed. "By your leave, then, Queen Elsa."
The queen watched her as she walked away, the way her trousers clung to her lean thighs like a second skin, molded to every curve. The way she moved exuded such confidence, lethality, and an innate business-like quality that Elsa had a hard time containing the intense effect the combination had on her.
Her thoughts flashed back to the sight of Kaya standing over her defeated guard.
Elsa had no doubt her soldiers were in good hands with Kaya of Palladon.
