CH 199: Long-Awaited Sparring

Claire had a good night with her mothers. Their dinner was nice, and their nighttime relaxation in the livingroom was quite peaceful. Jane was tinkering with one of her horse’s harnesses, trying to fix it. Eve was reading a book, while Claire was deep in her thoughts.

She was given ample time to think over and come to terms with the information she learned over the last two weeks. From the Tyrant’s real history to the Goddess’s ritual, the time in peace was enough for her. At the moment, she was more worried about leaving her new lovers and what would happen with the boys.

Jess tried to refuse her payment, but she insisted. The tavern owner wasn’t able to take in any guests that passed through here while the boys filled her tavern, so she would be operating at a loss. With the harvest ending and people returning to their homes, she’d lose out on quite a bit of money.

All Claire hoped for was for Lady Efreit to pull through. Her grandson and former knight talked very highly of the woman, and Claire kind of wanted to meet her. To meet a noble who was different from the others. But she couldn’t. She had to keep moving and gaining levels.

And find Samira.

By the time she was done collecting her thoughts, her mothers were ready for bed. They said their goodnights with a tight, three-way hug with their daughter, before heading to their room. Claire was left in silence before returning to her own room.

She was thankful that none of Her temptations bothered her that night.

Claire wiped the sweat from her forehead. It had been nearly three hours of their training together. Claire was ready to sit down and eat, but her two companions were not.

Ursa and Hannah were staring each other down. They had different philosophies on what the issue was here. Was Ursa far too reckless, or was Hannah far too cautious? Claire knew that it was a mixture of both, but she was shot down when she voiced it. Same with Jasmine.

So, they decided it was finally time. Time for the two to have it their way.

“Is this really a good idea?” Toni asked after handing Claire some water. “They might seriously hurt one another…”

“Got any other ideas?” Jasmine responded with a deep sigh. “I tried to explain why they kept running into one another, but noooo.”

“Do not rob my sister of this,” Elsie demanded to Ana’s embarrassment.

“Elsie!” Ana pulled on her sister’s dress. “D-don’t tell them!”

“What? Why?” Elsie tilted her head at her sister with a sly smile. “Your fantasies were far, far worse when Claire was between them.”

“Elsie!”

Claire chuckled at the two. At least they were having fun. She couldn’t stand the bickering that both warriors were doing. It was excruciating to listen to and try to work with. “Hopefully, this will settle whatever they are so worried about.”

“I doubt it,” Jasmine muttered. She leaned against Claire’s sweaty shoulder, uncaring about the feel. “Just want them to shut the fuck up.”

“It will be interesting to see,” Claire continued. She wrapped her arm around Jasmine and pulled her close. “Hannah has a similar style to me, but she uses an axe or a spear instead of a sword. I do think her defensive-minded fighting is better against Ursa’s.”

“Could be,” Jasmine replied. “But Ursa is not just a warrior. She’s literally a beast in human form. She excels at fighting solo and against larger numbers.”

“Why can’t they just… fuck?” Toni hesitated before swearing since it wasn’t very gentlemanly. He even covered his mouth in shame after saying it. “I mean, Hannah has been going on and on about how attractive Ursa is.”

“Fucking comes after a winner is established,” Jasmine explained. “Have to have a pecking order between them. Their pride demands it.”

“I’m with Ana on this one,” Lily chimed in. She had a tray full of bread and dried meat for the audience. “Would love to see the two go at it…”

Ana flashed her a small smile before being dragged down by her sister. Elsie pulled Ana into her lap so they could watch the fight. And so Elsie could have easy access to tease her sister.

Lily set the tray down beside Claire, knowing she would be the hungriest. Claire was, and she quickly started scarfing down a loaf of bread and breaking away from Jasmine. She would be distracted by the food when the sparring session started.

Jasmine moved to Lily’s side, leaning against her shoulder now. Toni, before taking a moment to think, got closer to Jasmine. He hadn’t really interacted with her very much, outside of serious conversations.

“Mind if I…?” Toni asked sheepishly. He wanted to rest his head against Lily’s lap in front of Jasmine.

Jasmine gave him a small smile and a nod. Toni got situated in front of her, before Jasmine lay her arm on his side. He felt her fingers graze across his exposed midriff before resting on his hip.

With their audience situated, the fight could really start. Not like they knew everyone was watching them.

Ursa growled at the former knight, quickly running out of patience. She, in an unexpected twist, slammed her axe down into the ground. Its head was lodged into the dirt, propping up the handle. She brought her fists up and got into a brawler’s stance.

Hannah’s smile widened before throwing her kite shield and spear to the side. She undid the straps on her armor, and the steel plates slowly clattered to the ground. She stepped out of the pile of discarded armor while cracking her knuckles.

“I like this way better,” Hannah laughed maniacally. She mirrored Ursa, bringing her hands up.

The two stared at each other for only a moment before Ursa charged. The warrior had long since lost her patience. Her charge was met by Hannah changing her stance to a grappler’s, ready to catch the charging warrior. Ursa had a split-second to react, and react she did.

Hannah grabbed the thrown fist, ready to use the woman’s momentum against her. But Ursa had learned. She reeled her head back and slammed it into the knight’s. Her forehead slammed into Hannah’s, sending the two reeling backwards.

Ursa recovered quickly, unbothered by the haze of a head hit. She would have to thank Claire for teaching her about grappling later, if she even remembered to. She was on the recovering woman quickly, landing a punch in Hannah’s hasty guard. It knocked the woman onto her back.

Ursa’s smile broke out as she pressed the advantage. To her, being on her back was the worst position. She couldn’t swing her fists or her axe from that position, so it was an easy victory.

But to Hannah, it was exactly where she wanted to be.

She blocked the downward strikes that Ursa threw in quick succession, her legs wrapping around Ursa’s waist. What Ursa saw as a feeble attempt at blocking and keeping her away was Hannah slowly going on the offensive. She had Ursa’s center of gravity in a leg lock, all it took now was a quick twist.

Ursa stumbled, her last punch glancing off of Hannah’s guard. Her feet failed her, and she was taken to the ground with Hannah’s legs still around her. The knight was quick to readjust her legs, capturing the northerner’s in a vice grip. She quickly isolated one of Ursa’s arms before making her final adjustment.

Claire was paying attention now and knew what came next. Ursa’s straightened arm telegraphed Hannah’s movements. She was going in for an arm bar on the warrior. It surprised Claire with how well and how fast the woman adjusted her position, given her size. Must be from years of experience.

Hannah could have easily kept her leg lock or adjusted into another pinning position, but she wanted more than to win. The knight wanted to assert dominance over the northerner, so she went after the warrior’s arms. Without them, she couldn’t fight.

Ursa found herself with Hannah’s legs across her chest on either side of her right arm. The warrior was still catching up with what just happened. She felt her arm bend in a way it shouldn’t, threatening her elbow. Her attempts to move were thwarted by the knight's leg strength and leverage over the woman.

Under normal circumstances, Hannah’s demands for Ursa to yield would have been met. But Hannah had never faced a Ravian before, nor had she faced a berserker. Ursa did not care about the pain, nor the fact that her arm would bend to the point of breaking.

She only cared about winning.

Ursa let out a mighty roar as she pushed against Hannah. It boomed over the sound of her ligaments and joints popping, then tearing. Their audience could only hear the crack of her bones after the roar reverberated through them.

Hannah was too stunned at the sight to react. Ursa’s strength overcame her leverage and weight as the knight was picked up since she never let go of Ursa’s bent arm. The berserker slammed the knight down on her back, knocking the wind out of her and finally releasing Ursa from her grip.

Ursa’s arm flailed in an unnatural direction when she landed a blow against the recovering knight. A downward left jab to the chin that cracked the knight’s jaw. Ursa’s next blow was with her right arm, a failed strike with her nearly shattered arm. It bounced off the woman before a third strike with her left again sealed the fight.

Ursa would have continued if Claire hadn’t gotten to her feet.

“That’s enough!” Claire yelled a command at the northerner.

Ursa turned to her, her eyes radiating red light from them. It seeped from her eyes like smoke, before they softened. She blinked rapidly, her consciousness slowly coming back. So was the pain. Ursa tilted her head in confusion before her eyes rolled back and she slammed onto the ground unconscious. The pain had gotten to the warrior quickly, and the shock was enough for her to faint.

Claire and Jasmine were the first to make it to the two warriors, both making sure their respective women were still breathing. Hannah’s was labored while Ursa’s was incredibly rapid. The two were not in good shape.

“Of course it would end like this,” Jasmine muttered. Technically, Ursa had won the fight, being the last one standing. But, sadly, Hannah’s arm bar would have counted as a submission depending on how you looked at it. She had Ursa pinned for at least ten seconds before Ursa’s anger took over. Both had a claim to victory. “They are not going to be happy about this.”

“We’ll see,” Claire exhaled in a mixture of relief and annoyance. She had Ursa’s head supported in her lap as the others surrounded them. Ana focused on Hannah with her healing magic first, since Ursa was likely just in shock. “Hopefully, they have new respect for one another.”

Toni was anxious upon seeing Hannah’s state. He clung to her arm tightly while Ana was healing her. “I-I’ll make sure she doesn’t act up again. And thank you, Ana, for healing her.”

Ana nodded at him. “Sh-she needed it.”

Elsie was smirking at her sister. She knew the thoughts racing through Ana’s mind during the fight and what hopefully came next. “I can assure you, it’s her pleasure.”

Hannah’s posture eased, and her breathing evened out. Toni moved to grab her hand and hold it up to his forehead. The singer began to hum, doing the only thing he could to help Hannah.

“I swear to the Goddess,” Jasmine muttered. She let Toni take care of easing Hannah’s pain. “If they fight again, we may have to rethink this entire formation.”

“Could let Ursa do her own thing, like when she went after that other Ravian,” Claire replied. She ran her fingers across the pain-ridden face of the berserker. “May just be easiest.”