Part 1 of the looooooong, long story I had planned for those two. I don't know if I'll ever finish it (I do have at least one unfinished and one finished part lying around, but both are more or less in the middle, so, uhm, yeah) Anyway, I quite love how the second part turned out. Somehow I love writing about Vigarde and his interactions with his father (nothing surprising here) and Fadia´s relationship with her father, which is pretty... special anyway. Well, at least I plan to make it maybe special. I haven't completely decided on my headcanon for her. It might already be my headcanon for Fado though 8D
Also, despite this being part of the Lover's Challenge, there's no love yet XD Oh my.
Btw, Vigarde and Fadia are 12 and 10 respectively in the first part.
The year 766, Summer
"Who are you?"
The bright and unfamiliar voice startled Vigarde from his reading; he looked up confused. Next to him, standing on the sandy path, was an unknown girl. She had her hands fisted on her hips and frowned down at Vigarde, who was sitting on the dry grass. Her lips were slightly pursed and a light turquoise strand of hair fell over her eyes; the rest was tied back.
"Who are you?" she repeated, her voice carrying an annoyed undertone. A frown crept on Vigarde´s face; the question was not who he was but who was that girl? She was in his garden, his home and his country. Well, his father´s country, home and garden, but he would be emperor one day so it was his as well. She had no right to demand to know his name.
"Who are you?" he retorted and shut his book. Vigarde stood up and noticed that she was almost a whole head shorter than him. She looked very small and petite in her dark blue dress, but her gaze was strong and stubborn.
She stuck her chin out defiantly and straightened, trying to make herself seem taller. Vigarde did not let her make any impression on him; she was just an impolite girl who had dared to be snotty to the prince of Grado. "I am Fadia." She stared at him; it was obvious that it was his turn now. But he had no intention in telling her his name; impoliteness should not be encouraged.
"I see. You can leave now." Hopefully that would make it clear that she was not welcome here and who the superior person was. He turned away to walk over to the stone bench at the low castle wall.
He didn't really believe that it was over now, but he had to admit that he hadn't thought that she would push him to the ground. For a second he was so dazed that he barely felt the edge of his book poking his chest.
He turned his head around. She had crossed her arms in front of her chest. But what was really infuriating was that almost-smile on her face. His fingers dug deep into the soft earth. With a deep growl he pushed himself up. He wished that she weren't a girl so he could repay that shove with a nice right punch. But he couldn't hit a girl; his father would punish him severely if he did that.
"I don't care who you are but if you do that again, you'll regret it!"
"Ha! You're just a bigmouth. I'm stronger than you."
Vigarde clenched his hands angrily. She still dared to speak back to him. And she even believed that she was stronger than him! Him, the prince of Grado, who was being educated by the best and most well-known scholars and soldiers in Magvel. "Now listen, you-"
"Fadia!" A male voice interrupted them. Both kids startled and Fadia whirled around. Two men appeared between the trees; Vigarde recognized his father, but not the man accompanying him. The man wore a dark blue and golden uniform so he must be someone important – his hair brilliantly white stood oddly out to Vigarde.
"Father," Fadia said and jogged over to him. Vigarde stared after her, frowning. This couldn't end well.
"Vigarde, I see you've already met Princess Fadia," the emperor said. Vigarde could barely keep his face straight; she was a princess! That snotty brat? "Vigarde, this is King Henry of Renais and his daughter." Vigarde bowed deeply; he didn't think that she deserved this, but he wouldn't embarrass his father. "King Henry, Princess Fadia, this is my son Vigarde."
"Good day, young man," the king said in a deep baritone voice and they shook hands. Fadia curtsied.
"It is an honour to meet you," she said with a sweet smile. Vigarde had to do a double take. Was that still the same audacious girl from a few minutes ago? The smile grew sly when her father turned away from her. Vigarde bristled slightly. That girl was really-! He didn't know what she was, but she sure got under his skin.
"King Henry and his men will stay here for a few days and then continue their journey back home." The emperor turned to Vigarde again. "I trust you will keep Princess Fadia company?" Highly unwilling, Vigarde nodded.
A broad grin spread over Fadia´s face. "I challenge you to a match." Vigarde startled at her request. "You don't believe that I'm stronger than you – which I am – so I have to prove you wrong." She took a step forward; her whole stance expressed confidence and battle lust. "I'll let you choose our weapons."
Vigarde pursed his lips slightly. Fine, if she really wanted to, he would teach her a lesson. "If you want to lose so badly, I'll gladly accept." A trace of red anger appeared on her cheeks.
"Fadia." She startled as if she remembered something and whirled around to her father.
"Father, may Prince Vigarde and I hold a sparring match?" Her father was looking at her sternly. She seemed shy now.
"You are supposed to ask before you challenge someone."
"I'm sorry, father." She lowered her gaze.
"Yes, you may." Fadia grinned broadly while the king threw a short glance to Vigarde´s father, who frowned but nodded.
"Thank you, father!" Fadia exclaimed and turned to Vigarde with a confident and excited look. "We will meet in half an hour in the courtyard." Before the last word had completely left her mouth, she already spun on her heels and sped away. Vigarde stared after her for a second. Why did she make the rules? This was his territory. He growled lowly and began to run. He would be ready before her!
To his great dismay, Vigarde lost this race; Fadia was already standing in the courtyard when he arrived. She wore a light doublet as well as leather gloves; she had changed out of her dress and almost looked like a boy in her training gear. Her sword was thin and made for quick lunges. Vigarde´s sword was much heavier; a typical sword in Grado style – perfect for close combat, but the holder needed more strength to swing it. At least here Vigarde felt that he had won; he was definitely stronger than her.
"What took you so long?" Fadia asked. Vigarde grumbled lowly. "You don't let a lady wait."
"I don't see any lady around," he retorted lowly so that nobody but her could hear him. His father wouldn't appreciate any impolite speech against the princess of a neighbouring country. Fadia glared at him – he smiled triumphantly.
"Are you finally ready, Prince Vigarde?" She raised her sword, pointing the tip between Vigarde´s eyes.
"Yes," he hissed back and they took up their duel position. A soldier who had accompanied Vigarde acted as referee. Vigarde grabbed his sword tightly with both hands. He didn't like that look in her eyes; that confidence and ambition irked him like nothing else.
"Go!"
She lunged forward. Startled – he hadn't really expected her to storm in like that – he brandished his sword to block her. She immediately jumped back again.
"Are your thoughts still with your book?" she taunted and resumed her attack stance. Vigarde´s face distorted into an angry grimace. Nobody was allowed to make fun of him. With a loud yell, he attacked.
The battle was quick, short and had an unexpected ending, at least for Vigarde. He found himself lying flat on his back with the tip of a sword at his neck. Chest heaving, he looked up at Fadia. She had a huge and in his eyes arrogant smile on her face. "I told you so," she whispered. Embarrassment and anger shot into his cheeks and his fingers clawed into the ground. Anger that was directed at himself and at her; he felt the gazes of the knights who had trained in the courtyard on the back of his head and in his mind he could already hear their sniggering and laughing. He was publicly embarrassed – he was just beat by a girl younger and shorter than him. He could never look any soldier in the eye again.
Fadia stepped back and sheathed her sword. Vigarde pushed himself to his feet and dusted his clothes off. His cheeks were still burning.
Suddenly they heard clapping from their left. With deep horror Vigarde saw his father applauding. He stiffened visibly. "Very good!" his father called over from the guarded position under a balcony, where he and Fadia´s father were standing. Fadia grinned and curtsied. Vigarde just wanted the earth to swallow him right now.
And when they walked over to their fathers and Fadia started to recount their fight to them in painstaking detail, he wanted the earth to eat her as well.
###
The year 775, Summer
The wind beat against his ears in a steady rhythm as his troupe descended the last hill in full gallop. Squinting his eyes, Vigarde could already discern Grado Keep against the sun. They would be home in less than an hour, he guessed. He gave a loud yell, spurred his horse faster and heard his men answer him with relieved calls.
When they reached the foot of the hill, Vigarde could discern the red roof of the throne hall on the very top of the castle; the tiles seemed to burn in the noon sun. Vigarde worried what his father would say about their lateness. They were expecting King Henry of Renais and his daughter and the many tents Vigarde spotted when they reached the main road told him that they unfortunately had already arrived. His mission had been unexpected and an emergency, but he still found it impolite to be absent when such high and rare visitors came.
He did not exactly find it sad that Princess Fadia didn't visit more often. He could still remember the day she embarrassed him. Nor did he want to forget it since the memory had served as a great motivation. Only thanks to that defeat he was where he was now. Retrospectively, it had knocked a good portion of arrogance out of him. Maybe he should thank her for that.
The main road led directly past the big camp of Renaitian soldiers; only few were stationed there though and Vigarde did not long have to wonder why. As soon as his horse´s hooves slammed onto the streets of Grado Capital, he heard cheers and saw showmen and -women, jugglers, singers, dancers and food vendors along the road and in the side streets. He signalled his men to follow him through an empty side street; the main road to the castle would surely be full of booths and people enjoying the welcoming tournament.
Vigarde slowed his troupe when the main gate appeared in his field of vision; the main street was indeed completely full and he contemplated for a moment if it wouldn't be easier to take another entrance. The guards, however, had already seen him.
"Make way!" they called and directed (or pushed) the people out off the street. "Make way for the prince!" Since the decision was already taken out of his hands, Vigarde gestured his men to follow him slowly. The visitors seemed to be a bit disgruntled at the rough treatment of the guards, but politely bowed to Vigarde when he passed them.
The front courtyard was a complete mess; common people were running around, pages and squires calling and searching for their masters, horses neighing loudly. The jousting range was on the left side of the court yard and a bit more orderly; the place was surrounded by a high fence to protect the people from stray horses and chips from broken shields and lances. Behind the fence were three rows with hastily build seats; there was not one inch unoccupied. Opposite of Vigarde´s position close to the gate was the royal gallery, slightly higher and better situated than the other private galleries of the nobles. Even from here he could discern his father (he always wore the same and certainly unique uniform at such events) – the man with brilliant white hair next to him was surely King Henry.
Vigarde leaned over to his second-in-command. "John, take over the troupe. I'll see the emperor directly." The black-haired man nodded and called several orders over his shoulder. Vigarde meanwhile pushed his horse through the mass of people towards the royal gallery. The pages waiting next to the stairs immediately recognized him and took his horse when he dismounted. Vigarde barely nodded to them before hastening up the stairs. Pushing back the heavy purple curtain separating this gallery from the stands around them, he stepped onto the porch.
"Good day, father," he announced loudly. The occupants of the gallery turned to look at him almost simultaneously.
"Vigarde!" the emperor exclaimed and stood up to shake hands. King Henry remained sitting. Vigarde shook hands and bowed to his father. Then he walked over to the King of Renais.
"I fear I cannot stand at the moment," the old man said with a smile and only offered his hand. "My bones are forsaking me."
"Of course, Your Highness, feel at ease," Vigarde answered and bowed again. A quick glance around told him that a few of his cousins and several visitors of Renais were sat around them; he greeted them only shortly. During that time another chair was brought for him and placed to his father´s left. He suppressed a tired sigh when he sat down.
"You have missed quite a few spectacular fights," King Henry noted with a friendly nod to Vigarde.
"My son had important business to do in Seranhem," the emperor said. "Truly a shame that this had to happen now."
"Please accept my apologies for my lateness," Vigarde said with a bowed head, more to his father than to King Henry. "We were delayed at Lothin and had to make camp there."
"I hope your mission was successful," King Henry just answered.
"Indeed it was." Vigarde threw a short glance towards his father. The look in his eyes confirmed his guess; they would talk about it later and alone.
"If you've been in the mountains," King Henry began thoughtfully, "your journey must've been a hard one. You should rest and not sit around here with us old and boring men."
"It is truly no effort for me. A little bite and a goblet of wine will fix me well enough."
"That you will have," the emperor said and gestured to a servant who nodded and disappeared behind the curtains. Vigarde relaxed then and leaned back, letting his gaze roam over the jousting range. Two squires were collecting pieces of their master´s broken weapons.
"King Henry, may I ask where your daughter is?" Vigarde asked after a while. "I thought she would come with you."
"Fadia? Ah, she's here somewhere," the king said and looked around, making a little wave with his hand to his right, "I haven't seen her for a while but she'd never leave before the tournament ends. She is probably with our men, supporting them. Their morale is much higher when she is with them." He laughed lowly. Vigarde nodded and was a bit surprised by his answer, though when he compared it to his few memories of her, it didn't sound too improbable. She hadn't changed much then. Any further thoughts on this matter, though, were intercepted by the sight of food and drink and so he contented himself with watching jousting matches.
For maybe an hour he sat there and listened to his father and the king´s conversations. A few times he added his evaluations of the matches and the fighters, but he never became a real part of the discourse.
Suddenly a new warrior caught Vigarde´s attention. The squires had finished cleaning up the range and two new fighters entered. One of them Vigarde recognized – he was a rather well-known knight from Grado – but the other one was... different. He wore bright green armour – obviously a great handiwork with golden accents – and carried a bare iron lance with him (the Gradian knight had the handkerchief of his lady tight around the tip of his lance). But the thing that had caught Vigarde´s attention was that the unknown knight seemed so much younger and thinner than the Gradian knight; he couldn't be older than sixteen or seventeen. That such a boy dared to challenge a seasoned warrior was not brave but stupid. Vigarde hmpf-ed; the boy obviously wanted to lose.
King Henry laughed loudly. Curiously, Vigarde turned to him; he hadn't paid attention to their conversation so he didn't know if he laughed about something his father said or if he had thought the same as Vigarde.
"How about a little bet?" the king asked suddenly. Vigarde raised his eyebrows; he hadn't thought that King Henry was a gambler. "I bet that this Renaitian knight unhorses your knight at the latest in the third round."
The emperor snorted amused. "King Henry, do you want to lose your money so badly?" The king laughed in return.
"Trust me. You will be the one to lose."
"Hn. Very well, I accept." They shook hands just as the horn signalling the start of the fight sounded. Curiously and with their full attention, Vigarde and his father followed the fight.
In the first round both their lances broke, but neither of them fell. When they returned to their starting points, their pages offered them new lances. In the second round, both swayed but no lances broke. The small green knight clutched tightly at his saddle to keep himself upright.
"Almost," the emperor said with a triumphant quirk in his voice.
"But only almost," the king returned confidently. Vigarde straightened in his seat and involuntarily leaned forward as the contestants raised their lances again. The horn called, the fighters kicked their horses into gallop. Dirt and splinters flew high as they thundered towards each other.
With a loud crack the Renaitian knight´s lance broke against the Gradian knight´s shield – his didn't. Both were fighting for balance when they passed each other and the audience already wanted to cheer for the Gradian knight for gaining a point. They fell silent halfway through. The green knight quickly had regained his footing and galloped towards the end in a straight position. The Gradian knight, however, struggled, and lost; he fell backwards and slammed on the hard ground. A collective gasp of surprise was heard – Vigarde sucked in a shocked breath as well.
Then the audience roared with ardour and the green knight rode back to his squire, raising his lance in triumph. Vigarde joined the applause as soon as he collected his thoughts. With half an ear, he heard the king and the emperor talk about the wager (his father sounded quite disgruntled). He rather watched the green knight dismount; it was astonishing that such a young and small man could beat such an skilful and seasoned knight. Whoever he was, Vigarde wanted to get to know him.
The audience cheered even louder when the Gradian knight stepped forward again and challenged the newcomer to a duel with the sword. Vigarde had the notion that this fight would not end differently and he was proven right; the green knight emerged victoriously once again.
When the referee, the lord of Leifhem, entered the jousting range to congratulate the winner and discuss his prize with him, Vigarde made to stand up since he wanted to meet the young man right now. He took leave of his father and the king, who had an amused twinkle in his eyes, as the green knight and the Lord were talking. Vigarde had just reached the stairs when the horn resounded two times; he stopped surprised and turned to the range again. The lord was holding up his hands, signalling that he had an announcement to make.
"Our contestant from Renais has decided on a prize!" The audience cheered again. Curious, Vigarde remained where he was. "He desires no payment from Sir Reginald of Greffen. No, the only thing he asks for is a duel with the Imperial Prince of Grado himself!" Vigarde felt a jolt of surprise shooting through his veins. Suddenly all eyes were on the royal gallery and then on him. He searched the green knight´s gaze, which was still hidden under his helmet. "Prince Vigarde, will you grant our winner this wish?"
The audience cheered and called for him. His lips twitched upwards when he stepped forward to the low railing of the gallery. "It would be my pleasure!" he called back and the audience almost exploded with jubilation. Amused, he turned and walked down to the range, collecting his sword and helmet from his squire on the way, and entered the arena under the calls and whistles of the people.
He first shook hands with the Lord of Leifhem, then with the Renaitian knight. "What is your name?" The man only cracked a smile in return. Vigarde knitted his brows.
"His name is Farian of Renais, my Prince," the lord answered. Vigarde quirked an eyebrow and threw a sideways glance at the knight. When the man did nothing, Vigarde huffed inwardly. The knight´s manners were disappointing.
"Very well then, Sir Farian," Vigarde said. "It is an honour to fight with you." The green knight bowed his head.
They took up their fighting stance and the audience quickly grew quiet. Vigarde breathed shallow and short under his helmet, his low visor throwing his used air back at him. Tightening his grip on his sword, he impatiently waited for the call.
The horn sounded and he lunged. Farian´s block and counter was quick, but did not catch Vigarde unaware; he sidestepped and lunged again. They exchanged blows and counters rapidly and when a minute had passed with neither of them gaining the upper hand, Vigarde got a strange feeling of deja-vu. He felt like he had seen this technique, this way of lunging and the footwork somewhere before.
Suddenly he felt a sharp pain at his hand – before he knew what had happened, his sword flew to the side and a sword was at his throat. Heart beating loudly against his eardrums, he froze. He saw his opponent´s chest heaving as well and his mouth, which was not hidden behind a visor like Vigarde´s was, was wide open to take in all the air it could get. The horn sounded again to signal the end of the fight and the Renaitian knights and lords roared with rapture while the Gradian people were surprisingly quiet.
Then the green knight lowered his sword and a bright grin entered his face. Absentmindedly (since most of Vigarde was occupied with dealing with the fact that he was just defeated by a newcomer, who was probably knighted not long ago), he noticed that the knight´s teeth were in a far too good shape for a man without title.
"A grand match!" the lord of Leifhem exclaimed. Vigarde turned his head slowly towards him, still a bit dazzled.
"Indeed." Vigarde lightly shook his head to dispel his stupor. "Indeed, it was," he repeated with his old power back in his voice. He turned to the green knight again, whose squire had just arrived and already took his sword. Vigarde´s own squire had arrived as well and opened the clasp of his helmet. Vigarde shook and wiped his sweaty hair from his eyes, when he finally could see and breathe properly again. "Sir Farian, I congratulate you. You are an exceptional fighter."
Just as Vigarde stepped towards him and raised his hand in a sign of friendship, the green knight spoke for the first time: "I've told you so."
Vigarde froze in the middle of his motion. His eyes widened and his jaw slackened. He- no, she seemed to see it as well and laughed, loudly.
"You cannot..." he mumbled. But the green knight just turned and offered her throat to her squire, who quickly unfastened her helmet and pulled it off. Long, turquoise hair fell onto her shoulder, her bangs sticking to her forehead. Her eyes shone as brightly as her brilliant smile. Vigarde blinked once, twice.
"Princess Fadia." She laughed again.
"Indeed I am. Princess Fadia of Renais. I am pleased to meet you again, Prince Vigarde." She clasped his hand, which had uselessly hovered in mid-air between them, in a tight grip. "I am looking forward to the next six months. My father said I could learn much here."
Vigarde nodded slowly. Her last words hadn't even registered fully. He could only think one thing: Not again.