Holding Back

Noble's eyes opened wide. "But I thought..."

"Are you arguing with me after you explicitly agreed not to?" Emira picked the bracelet up from the ground and tucked the dagger into her frayed skirt. She checked the gold band, eyeing it as lovingly as a mother views a child.

Noble took a step backward. "I wasn't trying to argue. I am just unclear on the rules of this battle—"

"Showing disrespect and then claiming ignorance?! I never expected such weakness from you!" The monarch scoffed.

Noble was not sure what crime she had committed, but the anger within Her Majesty was palpable.

Maybe Emira was just that vain. She certainly seemed to hold affection toward her jewelry.

'I should have let her win.'

But the duelist suspected that would have also gained the monarch's ire and led to this same end.

'There is no pleasing her!'

As if reading her thoughts, Emira narrowed her gaze. Her hands lit like a pair of braziers.

"You want to know when this is over? It is over when one of us yields. And I never will."

Before Noble could speak, two molten balls plummeted toward her with frightening speed.

'Seriously?!' Noble knew from the other woman's emotions that the strike was coming, but she had hoped that Emira would reconsider at the last moment. 'What is the mad woman doing?!'

She was making a point. That much was clear.

Emira was ruled by her anger. She was no longer gathering information. She was seeking revenge.

A cold feeling overtook Noble. This wasn't the Dreamscape. If she died, it would be permanent.

'She won't actually try to kill me, right?'

The thought was somehow not reassuring. The memory of Emira's dead General popped into her head at just the wrong moment.

"Your Majesty! You cannot act so rashly!" Counsel stood up from the solid stone bench only for a ring of flames to burst from the ground around him.

"You and the Symncus will stay in your place, crown-holder. Prove you can fulfill your promises for once." Emira balled her fist, bringing the circle tighter until Counsel sat down once more.

Kosi hissed, but the man found a way to calm him.

While Noble appreciated Counsel's desire for fairness, it had only made the situation worse. Emira's judgment had been called into question. And that was something the queen would not allow. Her Majesty's eyes burned with unquenchable flames.

Another fireball shot Noble's way and hit her squarely in the chest. The black and gold breastplate turned bright red.

Thanks to her charm, the armor held.

'Her fire is different from Sarai's. It has more substance. That makes it more deadly.'

Against Fireshing's blaze, the charm Memory, [Fire Insurance], had no difficulty keeping her safe. With Emira, the charm was struggling.

It was holding on, for now.

Noble struggled to clear the next gigantic conflagration. 

The ball shot past her directly at Kosi and Counsel, but it dissipated befor hitting them. Emira's control of her element was absolute. She narrowed her gaze and smirked. 

That's when things got heated. 

From the edge of the arena, Emira brought her hands together. Dozens of flames sailed like arrows through the air.

Noble ducked into a floating roll before standing and arching her back. Somehow she snaked through the barrage with her fluttering. 

That only made the Queen try harder. 

Each shot seemed bigger than the last. The duelist used her best moves to evade and keep one step ahead of the queen's attacks. But it was increasingly difficult.

Pretty soon, the flames would take over the entire arena. Then there would be no escape.

The chamber was just not big enough to avoid the flames without Noble leaving entirely. She glanced at the stairs.

If Her Majesty followed her, that would get both Kosi and Counsel out of the line of fire and give her more space to work with. Even moving up and down in the underground chamber would not help her much. The ceiling was just too low. 

'That is the cowards' way out.'

So rather than run, Noble charged. Two balls of fire hit her, pushing the charm to its limit. Her armor burned so brightly that she looked more like a dying star than a human. 

'Don't give up!' 

Even with the charm, the heat was beginning to take its toll. Emira was too powerful. Her essence reserves seemed endless. 

One final floating surge of effort allowed Noble to reach the monarch.

Noble thrust the Unlikely End toward the queen. Without any armor, Emira was incredibly vulnerable at close range. 

If Noble could get the blade against Her Majesty's neck, surely even the insane queen would admit defeat. 

Emira's nostrils flared as her opponent neared. She tilted her head to the side, begging the estoc to take off her head.

Noble realized she felt a little too happy to oblige. The thought scared her. Emira's animosity toward her was feeding a hatred in herself. 

The feeling appeared to be mutual. Emira's fist became flame, just like her body had in the battle against the Lord of the Mountain. 

At the last possible moment, Emira ducked away from the estoc, replacing her neck with her immolating flame. 

Noble's weapon slipped into the grasp of the fiery hand, becoming white hot as it made contact. It drew no blood. 

There was no blood to draw in the burning fist. 

'No!' The professor could feel the strain becoming too much for her favorite weapon. It would shatter into a rain of sparks before she could withdraw it. 

Instinctively, she funneled essence into the [Unlikely End] to activate the enchantment. 

Emira cried out in pain as her hand returned to its normal state. An ashen mark now scarred her palm. 

"You!"

Noble gasped and lowered her sword. 

"Forgive m–," she started as she suddenly found herself slammed up against the wall. 

Grasping her niece by the neck, Emira's uninjured hand lit up like a star. The flames on the wall climbed out of their home and surrounded Noble's head, slowly sucking the oxygen from her lungs. 

Noble coughed, unable to speak as her throat went dry. Her mind felt suddenly fuzzy. 

She was suffocating. 

'I have to get her away from me...' Noble knew what she needed to do, but the way to do it was suddenly elusive. 

"Lady Brenna yields!" a voice broke through the fog. 

The flames abated and Noble gasped for air. 

"You will let Counsel speak for you?" Emira kept her niece pinned to the wall. Thankfully her fiery grip had not compromised her neck guard.

"How can I yield when you take away my ability to speak?" Noble retorted. 

The Queen's necklace still glowed softly as a tiny amount of recognition crossed her face of what she had nearly done. 

Releasing Noble, Emira stepped back. Almost immediately, her mask of indifference was back in place.

"Pathetic. I was barely even trying." 

"You could teach me how to be better," Noble wasn't sure if it was the best idea, but if she wanted to become more skilled, this woman could certainly help her become stronger—if the duelist didn't die in the process, of course. 

"That would be helping you, which I had said I would not do," Emira clicked her tongue. When had her niece become such a terrible listener?

"Could you at least tell me how you have so much power at your command? How do you get the fire to bend to your will so easily?" Noble felt the queen's ominous aura lessen as she considered the question.

"Practice." Emira shrugged lightly. "Once I believe I can, I push forward until I succeed." 

'That seems a little too simple...' Noble was hoping for a bigger revelation. "Surely--" 

Emira took the crown from Counsel and placed it back on her head. Even with the dress in tatters, she looked regal. "I have places to be. I think the three of you should get some air in the garden while this place clears out."

The air in the room was very thick. Kosi, who was much bigger than the others, had to breathe twice as fast as normal to keep his mind alert. 

Emira snapped her fingers and the light around the room dimmed. "I will see you at dinner, Brenna." 

"I will see you then, Aunt." Noble dipped her head. 

The queen stopped at the stairs and looked over her shoulder. "Oh, and Brenna? Next time we fight, I won't hold back..."