As it turned out, Maria coming to spar wasn't a wasted trip, as they needed a fourth. Maria would have wanted to give her respects to the duke and duchess first, but they were apparently still indisposed in their rooms. Well, it had been a long time. Maria supposed Duke Claes must have been deprived of his wife for sufficient time that he had craved her presence.
Katarina, after being away from her brother for so long, was enthusiastic about being his sparring partner, and Keith's own mood lightened at being with his sister. The air was filled with the pleasant sounds of practice swords cracking together as the two enthusiastically sparred.
That left Maria with Katarina's cousin and visitor. She held a sword and the round shield, and the hunter in Maria wanted to sigh and tell her she was a knight, not a townswoman in a mob. Still, if that was how she wanted to do it.
Maria held up her own practice sword and bowed to Dame Romani as was proper. The other knight bowed back, then settled into a stance, her shield raised, sword in one hand. They both moved at the same time, Maria charging forward, her sword sweeping up from below. Her opponent had instinctively moved her shield to parry, but had moved as if expecting a strike from in front of her. The shield was swept out of the way even as continued parrying, and Katarina's cousin froze as she found a wooden practice sword against the side of her neck.
Maria smoothly stepped back to reset as her opponent blinked in confusion at what had happened. Shaking her head, the young woman reset as well. She looked more determined now. She still held her shield up though.
They both moved at the same time. Maria darted forward, and this time her opponent held her place, shield up as if expecting to whether another strike. Instead, Maria kicked her shield, knocking her back and making her arms flail before she spun, her sword her sword moving to land at the other woman's side with that would have been a powerful, bisecting backhanded blow if Maria had pulled it a the last moment.
Maria smoothly stepped back to reset as her opponent stared down at her side, then at Maria, then at Katarina for some reason.
Ah.
"If you've been sparring with lady Katarina," Maria said, "then you might have taken on bad habits meant to specifically counter her skills. Perhaps we should spar using your preferred weapon and style?"
The other woman blinked, and a slight blush came over her face. "Oh, right!" she said, sounding embarrassed. She stepped aside for a moment, and Maria watched as put down the wooden practice sword. She also adjusted the round shield, gripping it in the center instead of strapping it on as most did.
Maria watched, curious, as the young woman came back. She was holding her shield in front of her, her body turned slightly sideways to minimize her profile. Maria sighed internally at the folly of continuing to hide behind a shield, but if she insisted.
They both moved at the same time.
Maria slid to her left at the last moment, sword moving in a rising cut towards her opponent's side, only to have her sword be deflected by a shield as her opponent spun, her shield swinging behind her to meet Maria's attack on what had once been an open side. The woman suddenly lunged, and Maria was struck by the full face of the shield in the chest, knocking her back to the ground.
For a moment, she lay there, a contemplative look on her face. It had been a long time since she'd been knocked down.
"Ah, are you all right?" her sparring partner said.
Maria waved her left hand dismissively. "I'm well. Merely contemplating the nature of arrogance, the growth of skill, and the interconnected relationship of both."
"… um, did you hit your head? Try to stay awake and don't close your eyes–"
"I'm not concussed," Maria said. "Merely humbled."
With great poise and dignity, Maria stood up. She went over to the side and picked up her practice short sword. Then she returned to stand in front of Katarina's cousin.
"Shall we continue?" she said.
They both moved at the same time.
"They look like they're having fun," Katarina said once she and Keith finished their practice. It was past mid-morning, but the two knights were still going at it. Both were using really cool moves! Mashu was sometimes doing that shield throw move that American toku hero who was in a lot of movies liked to do, while Maria Lady Maria was using a super-chuuni two-swords style that looked really cool and really hard to do.
"Perhaps we should interrupt," Keith said. "Lady Maria has a lot of work to do. she usually doesn't stay this long."
"I guess she's just really enjoying herself," Katarina said. "Wow, Mashu's really good with a shield!"
The two watched a little longer as Matthew rolled under Maria's attack, slashing at the backs of Maria's knees with the edge of the round shield, only for Maria to leap and backflip over the blow, both swords coming down in a double-bladed overhead strike. They slammed onto the shield as Matthew did a breakdance-like spinning move with her legs and one hand on the ground to get the shield back in place.
"Well, let's leave them to their fun," Katarina said. "Are you doing anything? I could use some help working on my fields."
"I don't think father's up yet," Keith said. "Or mother. Sure, I'll be glad to help."
Ah, he was such a good little brother. Katarina just wished she knew why he was being so cold to their cousin. They were family, after all. maybe because of how lonely he'd been while she was gone, he blamed Mashu for taking her away for a little while? Silly Keith.
Katarina resolved to be extra nice to her brother so he'd get over being lonely while she was gone.
They both moved at the same time.
They both moved at the same time.
They both moved at the same time.
Maria lost track of the number of times she'd clashed with this woman, this warrior, and her shield. Rather than just cover behind it and become beast fodder, she used it to both attack and defend. Intellectually Maria knew a metal shield would have a lot more mass than a longsword, but the lesson wasn't hammered home until she'd had to try to parry and deflect the blunt edge of one and felt the greater for behind it. Thank goodness its size and placement meant the weapon didn't have as much reach and leverage.
They both moved at the same time.
They both moved at the same time.
They both moved at the same time.
Matthew found her pride as a knight shining after weeks of getting beaten by her cousin with a sword. With a shield, any kind of shield, she was in her element. Still, the one she was fighting was fast, cunning and unorthodox, using attacks unlike anything any other knight she'd met had ever wielded. Most swordsmen and swordswomen kept their feet planted firmly on the ground, only occasionally rolling or more rarely leaping to plunge down with heavy attacks. This woman moved like a leaf in the wind, dancing from side to side and into Matthew's vulnerable openings, flying up as if caught in an updraft and coming down like a spear.
They both moved at the same time.
They both moved at the same time.
They both moved at–
"Mashu! Lady Maria! Lunch time!" Katarina suddenly yelled from nearby.
They both stumbled at the same time. Maria barely managed to keep the point of her sword from slamming straight into her opponent's face, while Matthew barely managed to keep her shield from shattering Maria's knee. The two of them fell face down on the ground, sliding along slightly from their momentum.
"Lunch time," Katarina repeated. "Lady Maria, we prepared a place for you. You two should have enough time to wipe your face before we eat."
"Ah, all right, cousin…" Matthew said from where she lay.
"Noted, Lady Katarina," Maria said, her voice muffled by the ground.
The two of them slowly push themselves off the ground, standing and brushing themselves off. Then they both turned to face each other. After a moment, they bowed.
"An excellent spar, Dame Romani," Maria said. "I look forward to doing it again."
"I as well, Dame Campbell," Matthew said. "I hope we can do it again soon."
"Tomorrow, perhaps?" Maria said. "You're welcome to visit my estate. I'm sure Katarina would be willing to accompany you."
"Then I'll be there, Dame Campbell. Thank you for the invitation," Matthew said.
They bowed once more and followed Katarina to lunch.