6 CH5:R:A Supper for Crows.

"The Blood Status attributes greatly welcome into the Regalian Nobility, If they were not born with such a gift, they were considered not of noble birth, and thus exiled out of the nobility. During the later years of the Regalian Nobility, Perception is considered the most desired stats of this century. Due to the invention of gunpowder, pistols were the gentlemen pursuits for duels, and having high perception gives the noble gentlemen higher standing in their community." Lessons Notes from Tutor Tonselwift.

#Reanna

Reanna pivots, twisting her footwork into a thrusting stance, she thrust. Jayce, her trainer avoids her thrust by stepping to the side than countering with a side swing to her shoulder.

Reanna leans back to avoid the strike but lightly gets tapped by the tip of Jayce's swing. The tip hitting her right shoulder motivates her to quickly use the angle of the swing to drop her sword and catch it with her left hand, turning her right shoulders back and moving her left shoulder in for deeper thrust.

If Jayce had a shield, he would easily avoid Reanna's thrust; but seeing these moves a hundred times from her, he submitted his fate to another draw in their duels.

"Argh…Good one Lady Reanna."

Reanna's trainer panted her praise as Reanna rest her blunted rapier on her shoulder also winded from the small skirmish.

Reanna smiling brightly at the sweating Jayce who was aching all over says.

"Being ambidextrous helps."

Jayce sighs at her natural gifts as he saunters up to a water bowl on a table near their sparing circle to rinse his face. Wiping a towel over his brown he turns backs to her.

"Those moves will get predictable a second time around in long bouts… if I had a shield or a stiletto to parry that second thrust, your natural advantage would be nullified by its presences."

"Well if I had a stiletto or another rapier on my offhand, you'd be the one with a disadvantage."

Reanna retorted to a frowning Jayce. Reanna and her trainer always like to bicker like this since she was a little child. She had secretly fallen head over heels in love with her father's house retainer when she was growing into her womanhood.

In trying to get some alone time with him, she devised a method to get him to train her swordsmanship. Reanna easily adapted to the sport and began to actually enjoy her time with their sparring sessions.

Jayce was 5 years older than Reanna, she was a blooming 16 years old while Jayce recently reached his 21st. Ready to inherit his family traditional title of the household retainer of the noble house of Recrest.

"Shall we go again?"

Reanna inquires Jayce like it was for a lovely stroll in the gardens.

"If you insist lady Reanna."

"I told you, call me Reanna!"

Reanna flicks her rapier out into a duelist stance and began to hurl herself at Jayce with a huge snarling grin on her face. Reanna face suddenly distorts abject horror as she trips on a small tree branch losing her footing, ready to collapse to the ground. Jayce rushes and catches her before she thumps the ground on her flustered face.

Jayce arms around Reanna as he gently lifts her up towards his face. Reanna flustered face began to blush furiously on their contact together.

"Reanna Recrest of Registrar! What are you doing with those swords?!"

A noble womanly voice inquires out loud in a tact of order and courtesy; breaking the sharing moment Reanna and Jayce were having.

"They aren't swords mother! They are rapiers, for thy Regal sake."

Her mother, Rihanna of Regmont, now Baroness of Registrar cruelly stares at her daughter antics with one of their household retainers.

"Ahem, I hope that was all you were doing… playing with swords."

Reanna Mother's face distorts from civility to slight disgust of the idea of swordsmanship. Her mother ganders the closeness of her daughter and their retainer and frowns slightly; trying to not show a hint of a smirk on her lips thus destroying her impressive prudent demeanor.

"Sorry, my lady Baroness, and sorry Lady Reanna for my abrupt contact with your person."

Jayce profusely apologizes for his time rescue of her, he steps back to the side. A huge step back in point of fact. Reanna's face distorts from utter embarrassment of the moment to a melancholic stubborn yearning for her dreams to come true.

"Ahem, come now darling. We will be late for supper. It's nearly 6 pass."

Reanna's mother scolded her, as she raises her hand slightly so Reanna can support her as they walk together towards the dining hall so they congregate with the rest of the Recrest family members.

As they were walking in one of their many hallways of the Recrest Manor house they reside in, Reanna couldn't hold the tension in the air any longer, from her mother civil demeanor to her headstrong embarrassed one.

"Why did you have to embarrass me like that mother?"

"Oh please dear, you were embarrassing yourself."

"No I was not, I had everything under control."

"You mean under his muscular arms."

Her mother saucily taunted with yet a somewhat prudent demeanor.

"Oh, mother!"

"Oh dear, I know you have been pining for that boy for a while now. But he is a member of The Recrafts' our most loyal retainer family."

"Mother, I know. But…"

"But nothing dear. Your father signed an agreement with the Rhaodian Empire, that you are to marry Prince Jorg of the imperial line of the Rhaodian Empire."

"He is 30 years old mother! Besides… I do not like or trust Rhaodians."

Reanna stumbling slightly, recalling the encounter with the Rhaodian guard known as Balic last eve. Reanna nervously sighs out the memory from her mind.

"Well, your father signed the agreement. Do not disappoint our country, my dear, we need this to stabilize our claim…"

Reanna mother considers her daughter closely with a worryingly loving expression. The doors predictably open to the view of the dining hall table. Their house steward Stalwort announces their presences.

"Baroness of Registrar, Rihanna of Regmont and Heiress of Registrar, Reanna Recrest"

"Welcome my love and my beautiful daughter! Come sit! Regulus, welcome your dear mother and sister."

"Welcome mother…welcome sis." Regulus peaks up from his porcelain bowl of vegetable soup where he was swirling it uninspiringly.

"Let me do that."

Reanna's father Rembrant, taking the carving knife and carving fork out of the hands of the servant who was cutting a huge plate of roast beef in front of her father.

Regulus glares at his father, while his father began slicing huge chunks of beef.

"You need to eat your vegetables, son, then I'll ordain you with some beef." Rembrant dastardly taunted an annoyed Regulus.

"Savages…" Reanna mother sat down beside her husband muttered under hear dainty breath.

Reanna sat down beside her mother, glowered at her vegetable soup. She solemn up and began to scoop a spoonful into her mouth, un-lady-like.

"My dear daughter, are those your riding dress and hard leather training garments?"

"Oh yes dear, to better to guard me against the boys who sought me, dear father."

Reanna said in a sarcastically derisive tone. Rembrant glowers at her, dissatisfied with the attire she has worn for supper. He then chortles out big bursts of laughter as he could not hold his angry stare at his daughter any longer.

Father and daughter both guffaw at their banter together. Her mother sighed deeply again at the commotion.

"I wish Revon were here! He would be enjoying this vegetable soup… I wish I was eating his soldier's rations at the moment, at least they would add a little meat. "

"My son, once you have eaten soldier's rations every day in a campaign, you'll be craving the taste of our chef vegetables soup."

"I beg to differ father."

Regulus appears to act more with civility as he addresses his dastardly father response. Mother please with her son's response, nods to him, then smirk at her husband's nonchalant demeanor.

"Revon is a Colonel in the Red Army; he does not have time lollygagging and eating vegetable soups with his siblings."

"I heard Revon's command suffered a major loss father? Is that true?"

Regulus inquires his father.

"Where did you hear that? No matter. Sadly it is true, my son. Luckily he manages to survive that tactical disaster with the remaining of his soldiers."

"What happened?"

Rembrant, moving three chunks of meat to the side of his big plate began to explain to his son about warfare.

"Well you see son, the right flank army were lightly skirmishing Rensfor left flank army. The scouts on the out right of the army were scouting the wooden terrain beside the two armies skirmish."

"Then what happened?"

"They god darn it, did not report the 2000 enemy dragoons ready to flank the 2 regiments of foot skirmishing with the enemy regiments."

"Did all those men die?"

"No, fortunately, one of the captains with a company of foot counter charge the dragoons charge, reinforcing bother tattered regiments."

"What happened to that company?"

"Sad to say, but they all die to a man. But they manage to stop the bleeding of the right flank army."

"I'm sorry to hear that father. They were quite noble to have sacrificed themselves for their fellow soldiers."

"Quite so my son, with that noble feat, we avoided disaster, instead of losing a whole battalion of soldiers, we only lost 3 regiments of foot."

"3 regiments of foot?"

"3000 soldiers, my son, 3000 soldiers…"

Rembrant nodded slightly, praising the valiant sorts who died in that battle.

"What happened to Revon? They can't blame Revon for this disaster, right father?"

Reanna intrigue with this conversations inquires a question for herself.

"No, it falls to the Rhaodian scouts sent by our stingy allies who seem at fault."

"Father, why are we using Rhaodian scouts as our scouting force?"

"We aren't really, they are to tag along with our main scouts. As per the agreement, they are not allowed to join in battle but to play a supporting role. Provisions, support, scouts, and maintenance. But we could have used their infamous Rhaodian artillery, the six-pounder cannons, and the mortar cannons."

"I've never seen artillery before father! Can I join you on your monthly inspections?"

"If mother agrees, then I would be delighted if you would come."

"Definitely not."

Reanna mother adamantly said bristly.

"Aww come on mother? Revon is there also! Please?"

"Eat your vegetable soup, my dear, it's getting cold."

Reanna mother glaring at her father with enmity.

"And do not talk about such crude things in the dining hall, my dear husband." Rembrant face sort of turned pale at her rebuke. Reanna speculates that her father is going to sleep uncomfortable tonight.

A racket can be heard outside the dining room. Their house steward Stolwort exit the room to check the commotion. Stolwort came back flustered and slightly outrage from the interruption.

"Uhm, my ladies and lords, I present-" A man plated silver with gold trims push past the stuttering Stolwort and introduce himself by lifting his plated visor.

It was Balic, the Rhaodian guard…

"Good evening, Lord Rembrant, sorry to have to interrupt your noble family supper." Balic sneers in contempt at Recrest family gathering.

"What? Who? Rhaodian? What are you doing at my house?" Rembrant flustered at the interruption got on up from his stool, with his carving knife on his left and carving fork on his right.

"We are here to kill some pest that has infested your noble house of yours, milord." Balic slightly nods a bow, as he begins to lift a huge war hammer on a stance.

"How dare-" Stolwart was about to say before his cranium was crushed by the spike of the oncoming war hammer.