~Prepare For Trouble And Make It Double~

So now the group had figured out that there was a Spider Demon who was able to hide his presence just so they wouldn't find him. They had received information that he was planning to take them to the forest demon, so that he could devour their souls. They had eaten the candy that Undertaker had provided them with so that they could hide themselves, but they knew that it was only temporary, so they would have to hurry and get as far away from him as quickly as they could.

Nevertheless, their journey continued on as usual. However, something was about to happen. Something that would change the perceptions of how one group member saw the world forever. Unbeknownst to the group of friends, two spirits were up in the trees, watching them. One of them smirked, while the other one was just observing with a stoic expression. It wasn't long before Sieglinde was able to pick up their presence. She turned around and looked at the trees above.

"Our next stop is up there." The young witch pointed out.

The two spirits figured that it was time to make their entrance. One of them hopped off which caused the group to move out of the way so he could land, while the other one landed behind them, more gracefully. The spirits were two men who appeared to be the same age. One had white hair with some sort of ponytail, wearing a white guard outfit, while the other also had white hair, but without a ponytail, also wearing a white guard outfit. One had a smirk of confidence while the other held his stoic demeanor.

"Well, it seems you've finally managed to reach us. Allow us to introduce ourselves." The one with the ponytail said.

The two stood next to each other. "I am the courageous, risk taking sword fighter, Charles Grey."

The other one spoke. "And I am the more logical, perfectionist sword fighter, Charles Phipps, and together, the two of us make up the duo of Forest Guardians, The Double Charles."

Charles Grey raised his sword in the air. "That's right! The Double Charles are here! Now prepare for trouble, and make it double!"

That last part had Alois thinking. "Why do I feel like I've heard that phrase somewhere before?"

"Anyway, you can't leave without candy, and I don't settle for plain old words! to get candy, one of you has to beat me in a sword fighting match!"

The group tensed, but there was one who's tension practically skyrocketed. Charles Phipps only sighed. "Do you have to do this every year? Honestly, a few simple words would suffice."

Grey turned to him. "What? We can't make it to easy on them. There has to be a challenge somewhere."

"Yes, but do you know if there is anyone here who even knows how?"

Grey only smirked and turned back to the trick-or-treaters. Lizzie specifically. "I couldn't help but notice that you have a sword with you. Would you by any chance know how to fight with it?"

Her eyes widened, but she slowly nodded. "Y-Yes, I've been taking lessons since I was little."

When she was younger, Elizabeth was declared a genius at fencing, even more so than her older brother. She hated it, however, because she had fallen in love with cute things, and according to her, swords weren't cute at all. "Well then, I guess you wouldn't mind dueling me then, would you?"

Lizzie's eyes widened. "B-But swords and fighting are not cute at all! I want to remain a lady like my aunt had always taught me!"

Grey's smile faded, and he raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Well, let me tell you something. Getting your head ripped off or your neck broken isn't cute either."

Lizzie knew that there was truth in what he said, but she still would have preferred to stay a cute lady until the end. "The only way that you'll be getting candy is if you fight me and win."

Lizzie, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to change his mind, reluctantly nodded and agreed.

After Sieglinde had casted a light spell, providing everyone with the ability to see, the fight could commence. Charles Grey was getting himself ready, while Lizzie was feeling a bit apprehensive about all this. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" Sieglinde asked, concerned for her friend.

Lizzie nodded. "Yes, I know how to use a sword well, so I think I might have a shot at winning."

The young witch sighed. "If you say so. Good luck."

Lizzie smiled slightly. "Alright everybody, are you ready to start?" Grey asked, filled with energy and ready for action.

"Actually, I seem to recall you having left your sword in one of the trees nearby."

To confirm it, Grey looked at his sheath only to find that his sword wasn't there. "And you waited till just now to say something?"

"You never gave me the chance."

Grey only sighed and then hopped up to the top of the trees with ease. "But, we saw him pull his sword out earlier." Lizzie pointed out.

"Yes, I know that, I just had to get him to leave for a minute." He looked at Lizzie seriously. "You should already know that an advantage of winning is knowing your opponent's weakness. Grey is usually confident and collected, but there is one thing that will shake him. Although he already is one, he gets frightened by things he knows can do some damage, like ghosts and monsters. He gets startled easily by things that pop out at him. If you use that to your advantage, you just might win."

It took a second for Lizzie to absorb all the information, and once she did, she smiled. "Thank you so much Mr. Phipps."

The next thing anyone knew, Grey was already down from the trees. "I didn't see it up there."

"Oh, that's my fault. I had forgotten that it was actually right here and not in the trees." Phipps handed the sword off to Grey.

"Seriously?!"

A few minutes later, the fight was about to start. "Alright, here are the rules! No stabbing or slashing! The fight is over when one fighter is on the ground, face the face with the point of a sword! Competitors, get ready!"

Phipps waited for the two of them to draw their swords. "Three! Two! One! Begin!"

As soon as the match had started, Grey lunged over to Lizzie like a bullet. Fortunately, Lizzie saw it coming, and she was able to block it. Alois, Sieglinde, and Ciel were all cheering her on, helping her do her best. Grey and Lizzie had their swords locked. "I can't believe it. You're better with a sword than I thought. Let's just see you try to beat me."

He unlocked the swords and charged straight for her, but Lizzie jumped back and avoided it by blocking his sword again. "If all you're going to do is block, then this isn't going to be any fun."

He pulled the sword away and thrusted it towards her head, but luckily, she ducked in time. Phipps only sighed. "He tends to get carried away with these kind of things."

He raised his sword in the air, ready to bring it down on her, but she jumped out of the way in time. Fighting in a princess costume was definitely not easy, and now Lizzie knew that. Grey had stopped swinging for now and had stepped back. "Do you need to catch your breath?" He asked in a kind of taunting manner.

She didn't answer, but instead just breathed in and out and turned to her friends and Phipps. The rest of the group kept cheering their hearts out for her, but Phipps nodded in her direction, and she knew what that meant. As she looked over in Grey's direction, a look of absolute horror was present on her face. Grey then became a little concerned. "What?"

With a shaky breath, she slowly raised her hand and pointed behind him. He turned around and saw nothing but shadows. "I don't see anything." He said, nonchalantly.

"I-I-It's moving through the shadows! Can't you see it!"

Grey's eyes widened, but he tried not to let his fear show. "I-I don't believe in things like that. I only believe in things that I can use my sword on."

"B-But I can see it clearly!"

The rest of the group was watching the area she was referring to, looking for anything worthy of Lizzie reacting the way she was. They were sincerely hoping that Claude hadn't found them.

"T-There isn't anything there. There can't possibly be anything there." His voice was starting to falter.

However, the look that Lizzie was giving him meant that she wasn't kidding around. He turned back to the shadows and took a deep breath. "There is nothing there. It's just the shadows. Nothing is going to jump out at me."

Taking this opportunity, Lizzie took her sword's scabbard and tossed it, where it hit Grey on the back. He let out a loud, almost girlish shriek, and jumped back, causing him to fall back wards but he didn't care about that right now. The next thing he knew, he had come face to face with the point of a sword, and that was how everyone knew that the fight was over.

"I win." Lizzie said with a smile.

Grey only blinked. "...What?!"

"You heard her. She is the winner of this match. The game is over."

"But, but...Hey! She cheated!"

"I don't see how. She followed the rules. She didn't slice or stab you. She just won the match in a unique way." Phipps said.

"But- But...That was scary! I thought that a monster was going to come out and kill me!"

"Well, at least you had a sword. Besides, you may not have broken any rules, but you did come pretty close."

Grey only sighed in defeat. "Fine, I guess we should give out the candy now."

The rest of the group had gathered around Lizzie, asking her if she was alright and congratulating her on her victory. Sure, it was a sneaky, deceitful and underhanded, and they had never expected her to pull something like it, but it was a victory nonetheless. The Double Charles had started passing out candy, until they had given enough.

"As much as it still pains me to know that you've beaten me, you really are good. Have you ever considered becoming a sword fighter someday?"

"Well, I haven't really given much thought to my future."

Grey smiled. "Well, you should consider it. Except next time, try not to do anything sneaky like that."

Just then, something occurred to Grey. "Wait a second. How did you know that would work in the first place? No one knows about my weaknesses except-"

His eyes widened in realization and he turned to the other half of the Double Charles. "Of course I didn't tell her anything, she just figured it out on her own."

Grey narrowed his eyes at Phipps. "...Right."

Phipps turned to Lizzie and smiled a little, while putting a finger over his mouth, telling her to keep quiet. And finally it was time for the duo of forest guardians to take off. "Alright, we have to go to sparring practice right about now. We'll hopefully see you all some other time, if the demon doesn't get to you, that is. And Lizzie, you should really consider it."

Lizzie smiled. "Thank you Mr. Grey and Mr. Phipps."

The two of them super jumped to the trees. "Alright! The Double Charles are blasting off again!"

After the little fiasco was over, there was only one thing on Alois's mind. "Seriously, where have I heard these phrases before?"