Jen of Asara Part 1: Of Kings and Contests
This is a story that I started working on a few days ago. I'm transcribing it directly from the hand written version as I write it, and as a result, the breaks between the seperate parts may be a bit awkward, but please bear with me. This is still more or less a rough draft of the story. I hope you all enjoy it, and comments and critiques are much appreciated. Also, for some reason the italics and bold buttons on the upload page aren't working correctly, otherwise this forword would be italicized and the title would be bold, just FYI.
Jen of Asara Part 1: Of Kings and Contests
As the iron barred wood door of King Veiss the Second's throne room swung slowly open, the king's herald, a young squirrel, stood in openmouthed awe. Later, he would describe the two visitors currently stepping over the stone threshold to his buddies at the tavern, calling them "Angels of Heaven".
A loud cough from across the room interrupted the rodent's reverie. He turned to meet the glaring, impatient gaze of King Veiss, and quickly recovered himself.
"Introducing to King Veiss the Second, Lord of the kingdom of Banor; Queen Rose, Lord of the kingdom of Asara, and her escort, the Lady Jen." The herald bowed quickly and scampered away as the two visitors began their walk down the lengthy red carpet leading to Veiss' throne.
Queen Rose stepped forward first, the leopardess' simple emerald green dress rustling gently with every step, the vivid color accentuating her brilliant orange and black spotted fur. A small smile lit upon the queen's face as she observed every male in the room, and a handful of the femal servants, following her every move with wide-eyed attention. Even for being fifty-three years old, she was still stunningly beautiful, and didn't look a day over thirty-five.
Just a step or two behing the queen followed Jen, the queen's bodyguard, a vixen of twenty-four years, dressed in simple, yet well crafted, leather armor. Jen was just as beautiful as the queen, though in a more rugged sense. As opposed to Rose's unmarred features, Jen bore a thin white scar that stretched diagonally from above her right eye down to her muzzle, and numerous smaller scars marred the red fur on her hands and forearms, souvenirs of countless fights. A matched pair of sabres were sheathed across the her back, the hilts protruding over each shoulder.
As the duo walked down the wide, plush carpet toward the throne, Rose turned and whispered quietly to her companion.
"Try to behave yourself, Jen. We don't need a repeat of the incident at the Kamasir docks."
Jen smirked and whispered back, "But that incident worked in our favor. And you have to admit that it was fun." The queen barely wuppressed a laugh.
"I'll admit that it was indeed quite fun."
While on a visit to the kingdom of Kamasir several months earlier, Rose and Jen had taken a tour of the infamous Kamasir docks after a meeting with Nerric, Kamasir's king. While at the docks, a pickpocket had snagged Rose's coin purse from her belt. Jen had apprehended the thief before he got more than ten steps, but a squad of town watchmen, including a high-ranking watch captain, had observed the incident and insisted that the would-be thief, a ferret who couldn't have been more than twelve years old, should pay for his crime with the first digit of his right paw.
Queen Rose had intervened, staying the captain's knife, and an argument had insued between the two. After listening to the two bicker for over ten minutes, Jen's patience had worn thin. When the watch captain called Rose the "Ruler of an ass-end backwater kingdom", Jen had snapped and done the only thing she could think of to shut him up.
She had knuckle punched him in the throat.
What came after was a brawl that the workers at the docks would remember for decades. In just under half an hour, Rose and Jen had, combined, incapacitated or knocked out almost forty guardsmen, though none were seriously injured. The brawl had ended abruptly when King Nerric had shown up. After hearing the story of how the fight had started, the elderly lion had laughed long and uproariously, then pledged his support for Asara.
That was the reason for these visits; support. Asara was a small kingdom, with a small military. Over the last few years, barbarian tribes and bandit clans had taken to raiding across Asara's borders, sacking villages and remote homesteads, ambushing caravans and taking slaves and hostages. Asara's military, though well trained and heavily armed, had been run ragged by the raids. At the behest of her advisors, Rose had agreed to tour the other kingdoms that occupied the continent of Elavar to seek military and financial aid. Banor was their final stop. From Nalsa, Banor's capital, where they now were, the Asaran border was but a few days easy ride north. Both Jen and the queen were ready to return home.
By now, the two Asarans had reached the base of the stone steps ascending to Veiss' throne. They each bowed courteously to Veiss, who regarded them with thinly veiled jealousy and scorn.
Veiss, a wolf of thirty years, was a vain creature. Despite being adorned with every jeweled ring he possessed, the least of which could pay any of his general's wages for a year, despite the fine silk tunic and leggins he wore, despite his royal circlet, set with a ruby the size of a sword pomell, despite his magnificent royal cloak and the ornate solid gold throne on which he sat, he had been easily outdone by the Asaran queen and her bodyguard, with what appeared to be little to no effort on their part.
The wolf stood as the vixen and the leopardess bowed. "Lady Rose, it's been too long. How... nice... to see you again." Veiss' words, though polite, did little to hide his disdain for the beautiful Asaran queen.
Rose responded with a polite smile. "Likewise, King Veiss." The Banoran king gestured toward two chairs that had been brought in for his guests. Unlike Veiss' throne, the chairs were simple, almost crude. "Please, sit." Rose nodded and obliged. Jen remained standing, her paws clasped behind her back. Veiss eyed the young vixen for a moment, then turned back to the leopardess.
"I don't know that it is wise to travel so far from home with only a single bodyguard, Queen Rose." The feline smiled curtly.
"Jen is the only bodyguard I need, King Veiss." The wolf snorted with derision.
"Doesn't look like much to me." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "How about a little... contest of sorts?" Rose looked to Jen for her consent, and the fox nodded.
"Fine. What do you have in mind?"
Veiss motioned toward a squad of royal guards waiting along the wall. "Captain Cest!" A mountain of a bear, garbed in plate mail and carrying a massive broadsword at his hip stepped toward the throne.
"Yes, m'lord?" Veiss motioned for the massive ursine to come closer.
"Cest is the leader of my royal guard, as well as my personal bodyguard." Cest had reached the throne by this time. The bear bowed to the king.
"What is your bidding, my liege?" Veiss smiled, eyeing Jen.
"Queen Rose and I have agreed to a contest: my personal bodyguard against hers. Just a training bout, with padded weapons." Cest looked at the young vixen, startled.
"My liege, are you sure this is wise? Even padded weapons can break bones!" Veiss snorted in response.
"Lady Jen knows the risk full well, and has agreed to the contest." Cest shrugged.
"Well... then I suppose I agree to the contest as well." The bear motioned to one of his soldiers, who left the throne room and returned momentarily with a set of three padded blade sleeves. Jen drew her twin sabres and slid a sleeve over each of them, Cest doing the same with his broadsword. The two combatants descended the steps to the floor of the throne room and faced each other from either side of the red carpet, weapons drawn and ready. "At your word, my liege."
Veiss nodded. "Begin." Immediately, Cest lunged forward with a loud bellow, his massive blade sweeping in a wide arc toward Jen's ribs. At the instant before impact, Jen shifted her weight, rolling back on her heels. Cest's blade swept by her, just a hair's breadth from her armor. The vixen lashed out in retaliation, her left hand sabre sliding harmlessly off of Cest's plate mail. The two combatants broke contact, falling back into their individual fighting stances; Jen with her center low, curved blades held parallel in front of her, and Cest with his feet shoulder width apart, sword held to the side at a downward angle.
Cest was the frist to make a move. He stepped forward, swinging his blade at Jen's shoulder. The vixen dropped, dipping under the blade, and then rising with a hard right hand blow to the bear's armpit. Cest grunted and quickly retreated, eyeing his opponent. Jen fell back into her stance, and the two fighters each waited for the other to make a move.
After a few tense moments, Jen struck. She stepped forward with a whirling left handed feint. Her opponent evaded the blow, only to receive a hard rap on the wrist from Jen's right handecd followup strike. To a warrior less seasoned and skilled than Cest, the blow would have been a perfectly executed disarm. To the bear, however, it simply hurt. The ursine warrior retreated momentarily, then with a loud roar, spun and brought his blade downward towards Jen, a blow that would, if landed undoubtedly end the duel.
As Cest brought his blade down, Jen lunged upward towards it, her sabres held paralledl with but a bare inch between them. Jen's blades met her opponent's sword right above the hilt, and she shoved the blade back with all her strength.
Cest's mighty blow was halted, and the ursine stubled back, off balance. Jen wasted no time. The vixen swung both blades inward, catching her opponent in both ribs simultaneously, right at the joints in his heavy plate mail. She then whirled and brought her sabre's pomell up into the bear's throat. Cest stumbled and fell, gasping for breath.
Jen fell back into her fighting stance, but the downed bear raised a paw in submission. The fight was over.