Preparations

Fiera hadn't slept all night.

The nature of her work next day, was continuously building up a form of stress inside her. She could not and she knew, she would not be able to focus on anything except for completing the task and her the clenched tension in her bones that made her shuffle about the bed, pace about her room but unable to fall into a restful sleep.

"Damn, you look like you want to kill someone." Terrol said dropping next to her on the sofa. Kai had asked her three times, if she was okay, and she had no idea how to elaborate further than, 'I'm not.'

"I do, actually." she sighed.

The Lounge Room was nothing but a large hall space with sofas situated around tiny coffee tables, ideally a place to pick up a newspaper or a magazine, a different kind of vibe than that of the library seeing that it was bustling in people chattering in hushed voices, and pots of tea and coffee being consumed at astronomical rates.

"Well it's still early in the morning," Terrol shrugged, "Where is Kai?"

"He went to fight over the teapots."

"Addict."

They fell quiet, and Fiera fell into misery. She low-key wanted Terrol to continue talking so she wouldn't have to think about her task, which was in the next two hours, and she was already thinking about it now, and now, she had no idea on how to initiate a conversation with him like a normal human person, where was Kai, maybe if Kai was here she wouldn't have to think about how she would be executed for committing treason by raising a goddamned sword (quite literally) at the monarch of the country that literally just forgave her.

"I'll go get him," she said rising to her feet.

"Fiera Celosis?" a voice said from behind them, and Fiera almost jumped, but reined herself in, and just gave a started jerk behind her. "I assume you are." the voice said. And after a moment of losing focus, Fiera concluded that the voice belonged to that of a girl, a little shorter than her, standing with her arms crossed.

"Is there something you need, Alba?" Terrol intervened.

"Nothing you can help with Stone-face." the girl said. Her dark hair was cut in a bob slightly curling on one side, and her nose was pristine in a way Fiera found slightly annoying.

"Watch your tongue," Fiera said, a second before she thought about it and Alba took a step forward. Terrol rolled his eyes and gestured at his fingers. Alba cautiously retreated.

"I think you are more in danger of being kicked out than I am, mongrel."

And she was also incidentally right.

"Look," Fiera said turning up her arms in peace, "I am sure you didn't want to come here trying to pick a fight with me. What do you want?"

"Nothing." Terrol intervened, catching Fiera by the shoulders and veering her away before anyone could protest. He whispered, "Alba is a pain, stay away from her."

"She likes to start shit with people?"

"She likes to start shit with people."

They trailed outside the Lounge Room waiting for Kai to catch up when a tall woman approached Fiera. She was one of the Umbrella Bearers to the Crown, and Fiera realized that the man and the woman were most certainly siblings because they looked eerily similar to each other.

"Your presence is commanded," she said.

"I'll let Kai know." Terrol patted her shoulder, and she followed the woman.

She wondered briefly why she was needed so much before the decided time, but guessed that as the monarch, even time probably bent to her will. She wondered how old the Crown actually was.

"Where are we going?" she asked, sensing that they were taking a different route than where the Crown's chambers were.

"Weapon-fitting." the tall woman answered.

"Oh, oh, I don't need weapons." Fiera said and they stopped. The lady looked at her steadily and Fiera continued, "I have my own sword."

"The Crown's preferred weapon is the Bow. Are you sure you want to use a sword?"

"Yes, I, uh, have to. That's, that's the only weapon I know. A bit." Fiera fiddled with her fingers. That probably looked weird. She tucked her hands into her pockets.

"A shield then." the tall woman said. Although it felt like a question. So Fiera nodded. A shield she could use. Or need, seeing that the Crown would be using a Bow. Is that what a duel meant in this country? She had been expecting the Crown to draw a sword too. She had no idea how she would fight an archer, as a duel, which was likely a public event too, although no one seemed to quite know what was happening.

"Are there any rules?" Fiera asked. "To the duel I mean."

"You will be informed of that soon, by my brother. Usually, duels have been restricted to swords or pistols. But since the Crown prefers the Bow and you prefer a sword, we will have to make a few changes."

So she was right, the tall man and the tall woman were siblings.

"Shouldn't you let your brother know?" Fiera asked. "You didn't know I prefer a sword till now, right?"

"Everything I know," the lady gave a smile, "He knows." Though she smiled, her tone was clear, so Fiera kept quiet as they entered a room. Though she thought of it as a room, it was more of a weapon closet intricately built with rooms inside rooms, holding a variety of weapons and shields and armor pieces.

Fiera trailed towards the shield section, "What are the arrows made of? So I can pick a shield you know?"

"You don't have to worry about that," she smiled, she reached out a hand and closed her eyes, lightly grazing each of the shields with her fingertips, she paused at one, circled her finger round another and tapped a third, "This should suit you."

"How do I know," Fiera asked pulling out the shield, "That you're not tricking me into having a weak shield so I lose inevitably?"

"The sky and the sea will always show their fickle loyalty," the lady smiled, "But the earth shall always be fair." Earth-Practitioner. That explained why she was confident about her shield, because the shield was made of metal layered with wood and leather, all particles that belonged to the earth and a very skilled practitioner would be able to identify them and glean their strengths.

"I'll rely on that, for now." Fiera smiled. She just hoped that this lady wasn't skilled enough to glean what her sword was. And to ensure that, she had no choice but to summon it straight in the duel. Possibly a public revelation of her sword's nature, but Fiera didn't think that would matter, once blood was drawn from the Crown itself.