“If you expect me to bow and scrape to her, you’ve got another thing coming. I will not tolerate this. I don’t know what you were thinking of, bringing a female into battle at all, let alone leading it.” The general swatted a fly from his face. They had plagued him since he’d entered the Shadowglenn forest.
“I think you’re forgetting who you’re talking to, Geril.” King Almeir frowned. If he didn’t agree with the man himself, he would have had him whipped for his insolence. “Besides, we have no choice. We need the elves and this was one of their terms.”
General Geril sighed. “I mean no disrespect, Your Majesty, but you must see how this complicates things. They’ve put her in charge of their soldiers to spite us.” Geril’s face grew redder as they rode and he trembled with rage.
“Apparently not. They say she has been their military leader for centuries.”
When the pair arrived at the meadow, they dismounted and tethered their horses to trees at the edge. Elves, of both sexes were paired up and practising with their swords. Geril’s tremors grew more violent and he clenched his fists at his side.
Lord Meridin wandered up to greet them. At the far end of the meadow, Lady Sheanni observed one pair of trainees and stopped them to give instruction. When she saw King Almeir and his general, she flapped her wings and raised herself into the sky before flying towards them.
“They have wings?” Geril said, wide-eyed.
“Only the high-born ones.”
She landed in front of them. “The general, I assume?” She held out her hand in greeting, but Geril just scowled. She turned her attention to the king. “Are we going to have a problem here, King Almeir?”
“No, no. Geril, show some damned respect, will you?”
“Lady, I am a serious soldier. This is wartime. We don’t have time for your games.”
Meridin opened his mouth to speak, but Sheanni held up her hand to silence him.
“I’m curious as to why you think this is a game, General.”
“Ladies have no place in war. They have neither the strength nor the skill, and they are a distraction to the men. I won’t have my soldiers killed because of it.”
King Almeir shifted on his feet and exchanged uneasy glances with Lord Meridin. Sheanni kept her eyes fixed on Geril.
“If you have so little faith, perhaps a duel is in order.”
“What?”
“Come, humour me. Let me audition for a place among your soldiers.”
“Very well, but when I win you must adhere to my terms and go home. No more of this nonsense.”
Sheanni nodded and crossed her sword with his. She didn’t wait for him to start. With the clatter and scrape of metal, she advanced at speed. Her face lit up when his jaw dropped and he struggled to keep pace with her. He tried to throw her off balance but she held her stance. In a moment, she knocked his sword from his hand and delivered an almighty kick to his stomach, sending him flying into a tree. His head wracked with pain from its impact with the trunk. When he looked up, she stood over him, pointing both their weapons at his chest.
“Am I worthy, General?”
He gave a feeble nod and groaned in pain.
“Good. Now, if you’re quite finished insulting me and my female soldiers, perhaps we can begin our training.”
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