Golden Shield Part Two
#2 of His Stories
Second Part to Golden Shield
As the sun begins to descend, marking the starting of the first night of the celebration, nearly everyone gathered together in the castle. The Vanashian entertainers danced and performed to Gramvannarian music and instruments, both offering fine delicacies from their native lands to one another. Amongst the dancing, joyful goer's stood the golden dragoness, Zaylee. Her armor replaced with a fairly feminine set of leather padding and furs, giving her the rough appearance of a Valkyrie as her claymore sat ever present on her back. Her eyes traveled thoroughly through the crowd as she carefully wove through it, watching for any sign. A black main finally caught her attention, drawing her closer to the moving figure who stayed just out of her sight. Her feet carried her towards the person, her heart racing as she found she made her way to the exit.
Anna turned with platter in hand, her smile falling as she found herself face to face with the only person apart from the royal guard who carried a weapon. Red eyes meet with brown but this time the spark wasn't there, causing the the owner of the reds to frown slightly as the one of the browns smiled again.
"Lady Golden-Streak, it is a pleasure to meet you." The black mare curtsied, expertly keeping the platter level. Zaylee sighed silently and nodded to the girl, turning to leave before, "if you are looking for my brother, Jasper is on the tower." The dragoness turned to her again, eyes wide as she watched the girl point to the tower which she last fought the warrior.
"Brother?" Zaylee looked at the young woman, her eyes coming to lock onto the collar around her throat. "You're the brother of that champion yet..." she bit her tongue, not sure where to take it from there. The woman simply laughed.
"I'm not a true slave miss, I'm a Con-ave." She blinked and rubbed the back of her head, "since your people don't share some of the laws we do I'll explain, but first let me set this down and I'll lead you to Jasper." The mare smiled and waved over another server, after a quick exchange of words the new server took the black mares platter and left them.
"I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand..." Zaylee scratched her head as she followed the mare, "I know your people keep slaves but I thought it was only war prisoners and law breakers."
"A very common point of confusion." Anna waved it off, her tail giving a little flick as her hips swaye. Zaylee nodded and hummed softly in agreement. "First, my name is Anna Titan-Shield, and I'm a Con-ave, or a Contracted Slave." Anna turned to the dragoness and smiled warmly. "Most of our slaves are actually Con-ave's, not actual slaves. See, unlike a true slave, a con-ave is actually protected under a rather large legally binding contract."
"Oh?" The dragoness tilted her head as she walked, "So what is the point of owning a slave if a contract keeps you from doing as you will? Isn't that kinda the point of a slave?"
"Well yes, however unlike a true slave, most Con-ave's actually enjoy or at least like our 'jobs' if you will." She stretched her arms up over her head. "My current 'Master' is actually a close family friend. He also owns one of my nation's largest trading companies, of which I'm actually a ranking secretary and partial owner." Zaylee blinked in surprise.
"So... a Con-ave sounds little different than an average worker..." Anna giggled and stop, turning to lean against a wall in the secluded little alley she had led the dragoness down. Zaylee's eyes widen slightly as she realizes that they are alone, silently cursing herself for allowing her senses to dull.
"What makes us different is we don't get paid, usually, and our owners are responsible for our wellbeing." She giggled softly as she leaned against the wall, her rather simple gown shifting to press against the wearer's body. Zaylee's hands moved to the hilt of her sword as her eyes locked onto telltale sign of a small hidden crossbow her land was well known for. "Relax." the horse snorted, "if i wanted you dead i would have done so by now."
"So what is it you want then?" the dragoness question, keeping her hands on her sword. The horse neighed as she straightened herself, crossing her arms as she faced the armored warrior.
"Dont hurt my brother." she growled softly. "I don't know what you, or if you're still interested in him like you showed the last time you met," her eyes narrowed as Zaylee blushed, "and i don't care if you shoot him down if you don't. But i swear, if you lead him on or endanger his life..." the mare moved her hand into a fist before her throat, thumb out as she dragged the nail across it. Zaylee blinked in surprise, not expecting a death threat from the young woman. The horse nods as she steps forward and past the dragoness, heading back to the party. "Jasper is out hunting for tomorrow's feast. He won't be back until sunrise at the soonest."
Zaylee nods slowly and turns to speak, only to blink and look around. She was alone in the alley, Anna had vanished without a sound. The black dragoness hummed softly as she released her sword, silently pondering the strange woman and her words.
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Jasper yawned as he wandered about the training grounds near the back of the keep, finding solace and peace away from the energetic party goers, and uppity diplomats. He hummed softly as he approached a single training dummy, pulling his shield free and small war axe. With a soft grunt he began to attack the poor dummy like it was a true enemy, his axe carving chunks from it as his shield echoed each powerful strike. Before long, the dummy was little more than splinters and decimated fabric and straw, the sound of the little one sided brawl drawing a few party goers to watch. Jasper glanced over at them and ignored them, simply moving onto another unfortunate dummy. As he raised his Axe to decapitate the stoic dummy, not even trying to move out of the way, the axe froze at the sound of metal striking metal. The warrior turned around, raising an eyebrow to the sight he now faces.
Zaylee Golden-Streak stands in her armor, claymore in hand with a fist to her chest. Jasper ignores the whispers around him as he nods to her, readying himself into an offensive stance. Smoke billows from her nostrils as she smiles, her wings spreading as she crouches, both hands taking the claymore and readying it to strike. After a beat, and an unheard agreement, the champions charged. The dragoness took to the air, flying low as her sword's tip dragged over the dirt, the horse galloping at a full speed with his shield raised. As the two clashed as they had so many years ago, their eyes met and locked, that spark and fire igniting the very air around the duo.
The two began a bloody dance, sword slashing shield with an audible screech as his axe clanked off the sword and armor. The dragoness stayed airborne, massive sword making the horse's shield ring as its strikes are repeatedly blocked. Around the small training ground onlookers mumbled and shifted, some nervous as others began to cheer on the combatants.
His axe clashed into her platemail, leaving a nasty scratch in the otherwise pristine armor as her massive blade dents his mighty shield and pushes the warrior back. Giving a slight stumble, Jasper held his shield steady as she jabbed at him ducking to avoid the blade as it punches through the reinforced wood. Zaylee growls and releases a jet of flame into the impaled shield, engulfing it and heating up the blade.
Sweat beaded upon their brows as they exchanged blow for blow, neither holding back as they attacked with ruthless aggression. Their minds focused solely on one another as they smiled to one another. Her strikes changed as she dropped her sword, catching his raised axe with a firm grip as her other hand gripped his tunic. His eyes widen in surprise as he found himself being lifted and flung across the field, smashing into the training dummy he was about to decapitate. As Jasper rolled to his feet, chucking his shield away as the flight cost him the axe earlier. Both combatants charged each other again, meeting with a solid thunk as they locked hands and eyes.
The duo held themselves like that for a moment, before both shuddered. Slowly, they eased up from their combat stances and laughed.
"A good spar Lady Zaylee" the horse neighed as they released their respective grips. The dragoness chuckled and nodded,
"Not as much fun or... exciting as our last meeting though" she folded her arms, eyes closing with a quick lick of her lips. Jasper's lips twitched as a barely noticeable blush lightened his cheeks as he nodded.
"Agreed ma'am," the horse gave a soft snort, trying not to think about it. The dragoness let a small breath of flame escape her snout as she gave a small snort and head bob. Jasper ground his teeth together as he drew a calming breath, opening his mouth to speak before getting cut off by Zaylee
"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to discuss your particular training at some point. Perhaps later this afternoon in my chamber?" she questioned, tilting her head as her eyes slowly opened at him. Jasper blinked in surprise before a small smile showed on his lips.
"I suppose I could do that, provided you join me for dinner this evening." his arms crossed as he cocked an eyebrow. Zaylee dipped her head as she turned, her tail flicking as she started to walk away. They stayed quiet until she took a knee to recover her Claymore.
"I'll see you at the dining hall then." she glanced at him as she stood, blade rising to its sheath, "provided you can hold your liquor." the dragoness chuckled as her wings spread, a powerful flap taking her into the air before she took off up into the sky.
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