Chapter 142: For Thine Honour

Ann’s fist hit with a satisfying thump.

“Good. Couple more an’ ye’ll be fine,” Kat coached, holding her hands back up. “Remember the talk?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it,” Ann huffed, bouncing on her paws. “Take advantage of the arena. Make sure I’m using Fade Away. Try to scare him into making mistakes. You said I can go pretty far with this?”

“Aye. Try not tae make things like yer eyes poppin’ out too obvious, but scare the feck outta the bastard. Fight dirty, too. Ye’re not gonna be able tae cut him as well, but ye can hurt his joints like Remmi told ye. I’ve fought Biagio before, an’ he’s decent. Ye’re gonna need tae go all out,” Kat said as Ann threw punches into her hands. Each impact was dampened by Kat’s Reactive Defence, making her hands basically training mitts.

“And that’s the last resort, yeah?”

“That’s right. He’s a seasoned duellist, an’ probably a few levels up on ye. Fight him head on in an open area as an absolute last resort. Get him somewhere that compensation o’ a blade won’t work right, an’ play it smart.”

“Thanks for being a punching bag for a minute. You see Rosalyn yet?”

“See me?”

“Aaah!” Ann jumped.

Rosalyn cocked her horns at Ann, looking confused, then grinning mischievously. “Did I sneak up on you?”

“Holy shit, you sure did,” Ann gasped, leaning over to hug Rosalyn. “Thanks for coming to watch.”

“Gotta keep your guard up better if you’re fighting,” Rosalyn chided, returning the hug then stepping back. “Glad you could at least get out of your dress for this. Wouldn’t want that sexy thing ruined. The way it shows off your tail is amazing.”

“Staring much?” Ann teased, making Rosalyn fidget.

“Sure was,” Kat said, having no filter on that. “She’s right. Hugs your hips an’ ass something fierce, an’ the tail just makes it better.”

“So, let’s go over what I’m looking at here,” Ann said, turning to the courtyard. Big open area, in a semicircle from the fountain, then stands, carts, wagons, and carriages from people being here. Think I have my plan down solid, but is there anything else you can give me tips on?”

“Careful wit’ the high ground. Not many places fer him to get that, but with his sword he’ll already ‘ave a range advantage o’er ye. Lettin’ him get that’ll be a major problem.”

“Twenty two uses of Stoke the Flames, I’ll be toying with that,” Ann nodded. “Other than that?”

“Don’t get stabbed, love,” Kat chuckled. “Ye’re a fighter. Fight him.”

“Got it,” Ann said. She appreciated the love through the rough pat on her shoulder. “No pressure.”

“Just Lucia and I’s honour on the line,” Bren said as he rejoined them. “I will make sure no permanent harm comes to either of the combatants, Katlyn.”

“Yeah, well, you better,” Rosalyn huffed.

A bell rang out through the inner city, the cavern amplifying the lonely toll. The hushed murmur of the crowd picked up to an active chatter as the appointed time finally came.

“Well, time to go break a leg,” Ann said grimly.

“That’s the spirit,” Kat laughed.

“I… you know what, yeah? I’ll explain that phrase later. For now, that works.”

“Fight well,” Lucia said. Though her words said little, Ann saw in her eyes that she was fervently pulling for her.

Giving them a lazy salute, Ann walked into the area as casually as she could. This part was important. She needed to get Biagio to underestimate her even more, and putting on this casual air, given his sense of self-worth, would be perfect. She relaxed her arms, thumbs of her gauntlets hooked into the belt of the borrowed trousers, leaned back slightly, and sauntered, making sure to put some good sway into her hips. To finish off the facade, she donned a lazy grin and looked around the crowd with hooded eyes. If these nobles wanted a show, she’d give them one, whether they liked what it contained or not.”

“Hail, warrior,” Biagio called from the other side of the field. He was a burly man, about a foot shorter than Ann, with a dark complexion. His own borrowed shirt strained to contain his muscles as he hefted a large sword over his shoulder, and approached Ann. He had black hair curiously flecked with gold, and a ridiculously bushy moustache to match. No obvious alternate body configurations that Ann could spot at a glance, but with how common random extra body parts seemed to be, she wouldn’t be shocked.

“Hey, sorry, what was your name?” Ann asked. “I got pulled into this after introductions.”

“My lady, Sir Biagio will do. I take pride in my title,” Sir Biagio replied.

“Well, Sir,” Ann said lazily. “Good to meet you, too. For the formality of it all, I’m Annita Kronforst.”

“I am well aware of you and your reputation. Such sinful pursuits, I would not have expected you to be a combatant.”

“A girl’s gotta have hobbies,” Ann laughed. “Things get boring between bouts of fucking.”

Biagio sniffed. “Crass. I can see why the third princess was attracted to you. Many shared values. We are, unfortunately, not here for that matter. This is about the scum Hedera and his irredeemable choice to bind that poor woman to him.”

“Listen, buddy,” Ann said, dropping the flippancy from her voice. “You can chuck insults at me all you want, but my friends are off limits. I know how that event went down, and you’re just guessing. You’ve let this all escalate to this point, and now we have to physically hurt each other in a pointless tradition to clear someone’s name. Remember that in about ten minutes, yeah?”

Biagio’s eyes widened for a moment as Ann’s entire presence changed, becoming deadly serious.

“So yeah,” Ann said, putting that chipper spark back into her voice. “Hope this is a good duel and that you’re ready with everything. Got a drink before we started? Sword all oiled?”

Biagio’s brain stumbled for a moment over the sudden change in tone. “I… yes. I am prepared for the duel. Judge, shall we begin?”

“Verily,” Krisnaal said from atop a table that had been modified into a platform. The whole thing was covered in red cloth, allowing the illusion of an actual stand. “Both fighters, you have either accepted a duel or been called as a second and accepted to fight on behalf of your companion. Under the laws of the Korvan Kingdom, I will act as judge for this bout. Standard duelling rules apply. Do both parties understand what this means?”

“Yes,” Ann and Sir Biagio returned.

“I am obligated to ask if there are any questions or further stipulations either contestant would request at this time.”

“No,” Biagio said.

“None from me,” Ann said with a chuckle.

“This duel will be recorded in the log of official duels, the results, and the matter over which the duel was challenged. When this handkerchief,” she held up what Ann thought was a napkin, “hits the ground, the duel begins. Are both parties prepared?”

Ann stretched one last time, bouncing on her paws and flexing her gauntlets. “Yup!”

“I am prepared,” Biagio said, entering a stance with his sword held out before him in both hands.

“Alright then,” Krisnaal said, the formality leaving her voice. “Let’s get this thing started. On your marks…” she dropped the napkin.

Time slowed as both parties tensed. Ann kept her pose casual, but shifted so she could easily move at a moment’s notice. Biagio shifted his stance to hold the sword out to the side and drew the tip back behind him. The cloth fluttered serenely, a dancer in the air. The embroidered edges rippled as it fell. Ann’s fists clenched, ready.

It touched the ground.

Ann turned and bolted, leaving a surprised Biagio in her wake, sputtering.

“Get back here!” the man shouted as he lurched forward.

Ann let herself laugh as she bolted off. Her claws caught the edge of a stand, and she used her momentum to swing around, breaking line of sight. She didn’t even need to use Fade Away to slip around a couple more corners. She heard the mumbles of the audience, annoyed that they couldn’t see what was happening. That didn’t matter, though. This position was perfect for pulling off what she needed.

Biagio was far from a stealthy man and followed her into the stalls, shouting for her to face him with honour. His sword bumped against wood a few times as he navigated the more confined space. That was another disadvantage Ann sought to exploit.

She waited until he waled past her, crouched in the shadow of an overhang, and darted across the street behind him. She made sure her claws clicked on the ground as she did.

Biagio whirled, but Ann was already out of sight again.

“Blast,” he cursed under his breath. “Where are you, woman? This is not a duel. Quit playing.”

“Oh, but I love to play,” Ann purred as she moved, keeping her voice just loud enough for him to hear. “You said it yourself. It’s what I’m known for.”

“This is a fight! A duel!”

“A fight can take place on many fields,” Ann chuckled, putting a little sexy rasping into her voice. She pulled up at another ambush point, making sure she was hidden. From there, she saw Biagio’s back and puled Stoke the Flames. With it, she pushed on his fear. Not hard, but a gentle nudge. She wanted him to feel the fear of knowing something you couldn’t see was watching you. A predator, a spectre, whatever his mind came up with.

Biagio shifted, his movements uneasy as he glanced around. “I will have my victory. You cannot hide forever. This must end eventually.”

“So quick to seek a conclusion,” Ann chuckled, causing Biagio to whirl toward her voice. “Come get me, big boy.”

Biagio stepped forward, hands white-knuckling the shaft of his sword. Ann grinned as he passed her again. She again ran across the small alley behind the man. This time, she reached out and tapped the back of his head as he did.

Biagio spun and glimpsed her tail as it disappeared again. “Cease this madness,” he said, his voice no longer as sturdy as it had been. “Next time you come out will be your last.”

“We talking about coming out?” Ann said as she endured a migraine. It would pass quickly. “Cause I did that a loooong time ago.”

“What do you mean, woman? I don’t see you?”

“Idioms really are frustrating these days,” Ann groaned, her vision returning.

“Wordplay is for before a duel, not during,” Biagio grumbled. “My blade craves conflict.”

“He’s right, let’s keep this moving,” Krisnaal called. Ann spotted her with a shield on her left arm, having walked into the cluster to observe. Bren stood beside her, just in case.

Ann used Stoke the flames again and pushed harder on the man’s fear. This time she darted past an opening in front of him. She knew she was mostly hidden by the gloom of the night city, save for one new detail.

“Gods above, what are you?” Biagio gasped.

“More than you’ll know,” Ann chuckled in a deep voice. She pulled her claws out, moving to Biagio’s left as he watched for her.

She lunged, streaking out of the black.

Biagio raised his sword, flat side out, to defend against her assault.

Ann laughed madly as she hit the blade, palms out, claws scraping at the edges. The force knocked Biagio over, both crashing to the ground. Ann saw her golden eyes reflecting in his own as the man stared up in terror. Just to put the extra touch on, she extended her teeth into full canine fangs and grinned. “More than you will ever know. Yield,” she growled.

Biagio reached up, grabbing at her hair and pulling.

With a thought, Ann made that clump shorter, making the current locks fall out in his hand.

The knight looked at the loose hair in horror, not expecting it to come free so easily.

“Yield,” Ann growled again, claws scraping harder over steel. She pushed even harder on that fear. It didn’t need much help at all.

“Y-yield! I yield!” Biagio gasped. “I lose. Get away from me!”

Ann promptly stood and put her palm over her eyes. The migraine returned as her glowing eyeballs popped out and her normal ones returned. Once the process was over, she lowered the hand with the extra pair of eyes, hiding them from Biagio and Krisnaal. Pausing, she debated growing the hair back, but that would be a bit too obvious. Her teeth weren’t easy to hide when she replaced them, so she just resolved herself to not opening her mouth much until she got a private moment.

“So, does that mean I win?” Ann asked as Krisnaal approached.

“It does,” the Bultrong nodded, looking up at her. “Not sure what in the Hells you did to scare him that much, but he yielded. Skills and spells are all fair game, and we won’t press you.” Krisnaal raised her voice. “Congratulations, Annita Kronforst. You are declared the victor!”

“Monster! Warped! Creature of Darkness!” Biagio shouted, scrambling away from Ann. “This was not a valid duel! The other is not natural!”

“Biagio, I was watching the whole thing,” Krisnaal said. “Yeah, the glowing eyes were weird, but that could easily be an illusion.”

“What about her hair? It came out so easily? And her teeth!”

Ann gave Krisnaal a thin grin, showing barely any of her sharp grin.

“She’s always got those, you idiot. Do you really not know your own strength?”

“Yeah, that shit hurt,” Ann grumbled, rubbing the patchy spot on her scalp. “Rude to pull a girl’s hair without a date first.”

Krisnaal rolled her eyes and pulled Biagio to standing. “Come on, let’s declare it to the rest of the crowd.”

“Well done,” Bren whispered, leaning close to Ann’s ear. “Let me take those.”

Ann surreptitiously passed the two pairs of eyes to Bren, having nowhere to hide them.

“I… I don’t know what happened…” Biagio mumbled as he walked out into the clear of the courtyard. “It was so dark. She was bigger. I could feel her watching. Feel her hunting me. I… what in Illdall’s name?”

Ann had a feeling she now knew what it felt like to play a monster in a movie. To be the big bad guy hunting the poor survivors. It was kinda fun! Yeah, Biagio didn’t know better, but she only wanted to scare the stuffing out of him. If that failed, she would have been dumping Libido points into exploiting weaknesses and taking him down as hard as possible. Honestly? He got off easy. A little mental trauma, but he’d get over that. Her reputation wouldn’t change in the eyes of everyone else, but Bren and Lucia’s honour was defended. Whether that actually mattered or did anything, Ann wasn’t quite sure, but it’s what she was asked to do.

“Pay attention, everyone!” Krisnaal shouted. “Annita won the duel fair and square by Sir Biagio’s surrender. The duel is finished, and this matter is settled. Next time you all start yelling at someone, try listening to them before you get to fighting.” In a lower voice, she continued. “Blasted idiots.”

Kat sauntered up and high-fived Ann, then pulled her in for a kiss. “He didn’t give ye too much trouble?”

“Nope. Honestly, I could have gone on longer freaking him out, but Krisnaal pushed the envelope. What would he have thought if he saw teeth when he turned around?” Ann giggled.

“Remind me not tae piss ye off,” Kat said with a shudder.

“Did you get rid of your eyes?” Rosalyn whispered. “I can take them. I didn’t notice at first, but this dress has pockets!”

“All the better not to get it messy, then,” Ann laughed, patting the top of Rosalyn’s head, between her horns. “Bren’s got them.”

“Thanks,” Lucia grunted, nodding in Ann’s direction. “It’s… good. What you did. Means a lot.”

“Lucia is trying to say,” Bren translated, “that she owes you for what you have done in her service and deeply appreciates you being willing to step in on our behalf. I echo the sentiment.”

“Nah, you’re good,” Ann said, waving them off. She started pulling off her gauntlets. “We’re all a team here. I’m sure you’d do the same for me. Maybe a little less sure about you, Lucia, but we’re getting there.”

“After this? Would,” Lucia said with a rare smile, her lips stretching around her tusks. “After that, need drink.”

“I want food,” Ann grumbled.

“Then you are in luck,” Junia said, the crowd making way for the first princess. “The feast is about to begin, and you all have places of honour. Go get changed, Annita, and we’ll see you there?”

“Just her,” Kat asked, already being pulled away by her sister.

“Yes, just her,” Junia said, tugging more insistently. Kat had to be letting her do so, otherwise she’d still be stuck in place. “I am not allowing you three another incident.”

“Later,” Ann mouthed at Kat, giving her and Rosalyn a wink, then spun and followed a servant to the room she’d left her dress in.

While she dressed, she took a minute to reflect on the duel. Yeah, it was a short thing, but that was for the best. Biagio would have taken her apart had he gotten a straight up duel, and that was always the plan.

Ann shuffled out of her pants, the woman’s fit actually quite nice now that her cock was mostly internal. She needed to look for more for the road. Maybe some leather armour or similar. Things to figure out later. Quickly, she shucked her shirt and shuffled into her dress, making sure everything was secure and in its proper place. Getting her tail through the reinforced slit was always a little annoying, but she thanked Nolton for making it sturdy enough that a few flawed pushes didn’t tear anything. Grabbing her hat, she settled it on her head, ears poking out of the cut slits on either side of the crown, and lowered the brim far enough it shaded her eyes.

Now it was time to get back to the Ball. She’d been running into random nobles all night, but now it was time to meet the really important people. Once the dinner was called, conversation became the focus of the evening. Seats would be traded, wine would be flowing, and lips would be loose. She had friends to win, and many detractors to at the very least talk down.

Stepping out, she followed the servant back to the hall. They entered through a side door right beside the high table, and Ann quickly joined Kat on her left between her and Rosalyn. In their places, to Kat’s right, were Krisnaal Junia, Bren, and Lucia.

“Gods, I’m hungry,” Ann whispered, her stomach giving a much louder voice to the feeling.

As if hearing her, Krisnaal clapped loudly. “Before we eat, a few words of thanks!”