iluvroadrunner6: ([castle] alexis)
Emily ([personal profile] iluvroadrunner6) wrote 2018-02-24 05:27 pm (UTC)

2/24/18 | february challenge: cliches | 1,300

Then hallway opens to a long empty room as Rosalina and the rest of the valkyries reach what used to be the dining room of the Frostward estate. Piles of unconscious guards lay in their wake, and the emptiness of this particular room draws her to a halt, holding up her hand so that the company rests behind her as well. The silence of the room sits uneasily with her, and she slowly closes her eyes, trying to make out if anything stirs on the far side of the room. It isn’t long until there’s the sound of plate armor shuffling against the far door, and the tall broad form of Aster Frostward appears on the other side of the long table.

“Well, hello there, sister. It has indeed been a while.”

He wears the gilded armor of her people, of her father, a rose-gold base with delicate snow roses emblazoned into the metal. The Frostwards are hardly the leaders of Xandria – that honor falls to Hodour, god of cold and snow, but they are high enough nobility that their snow roses are a symbol of their power and promise, and their wealth strong enough to give them rule over their small patch of mountains.

“Rosalina?” One of the valkyrie’s voices is uncertain behind her, not sure how they should approach here. She glances back to the girl over her shoulder, before waving them off by drawing her sword.

“Find my sister. I will take care of this braggart.”

Aster sneers, drawing his own sword from across the room, before taking a step forward and climbing onto the dining room table. “Come face me then, Rosa. Or will you run away again, just like you did from your wedding.”

Her eyes harden as the Valkyries continue to move down the hallway, and she steps forward to do the same, gathering her skirts with one hand as she steps onto the chair then up onto the table, holding her sword in front of her. “Those are large words, Aster, considering I used to best you every time during training.”

Flashbacks to their childhood sparring matches pass behind his eyes as his teeth grit, fingers curling around the broadsword as he prepared to swing it forward. “I’ll make you regret that, you wench.”

The sword swings high and fast, but Rosalina’s prepared, dodging easily to the side and she swings out her rapier to block the move. The blade isn’t meant to block the swings and slices of a broadsword, but after having been tempered with Asgardian steel and the blessing of Odin, she hopes it will hold up, and it gives her more flexibility to handle a more lightweight weapon. Most had the impression that the valkyries were women who desired to be more like men and therefore needed to handle every weapon a man did, but that has never been the case. The valkyries are women warriors, first and foremost. Which means, they fight like women, always, and Rosalina has always been far more effective a fighter with a rapier in her hand, as proven when she dodges out of the block, swings her blade high and across, slicing against the soft skin of his right cheek.

“Still favoring power over accuracy, Aster? Why am I not surprised?”

His hand comes up, glove swiping at the blood on his cheek, before his eyes hardened again. “You’ll pay for that.”

“I’d be delighted to see you try.”

The battle continues with more of the same. Aster raises his sword to strike his sister and Rosalina swipes it away scornfully, just like she did when they were children. Eventually, she gets to the point where she ceases to be impressed, and starts coaching him through each wrong move, eyes rolling in return, almost as though he was one of the recruits she was elected to train on the fields of Valhalla.

“You need to keep your blade up or you’re never going to be able to protect yourself.”

“All the power in the world isn’t going to matter if you’re not accurate enough to hit anything.”

“My gods, it’s like you were taught by a fool. Honestly, I have no idea how you managed to survive this long – ”

Another wide swing forces her to lean back and away from him, just barely grazing her as a result, but there is true anger in her brother’s eyes now, the kind that comes not from bloodlust, but from being the frustrated younger sibling and forced to deal with his overbearing older sister.

“Why are you so bossy,” is the growled protest as he comes in for another swing again, and he actually manages to get in a few good ones that actually manages to put her on the defensive, before he swings too wide and she manages to get the upper hand. A broadsword is a large and powerful, but it lacks the finesse needed for some more delicate maneuvers. It doesn’t take much for Rosalina to get in close, catch just the right angle and knock the blade from his hands. A fast backhand with the handle quickly follows and Aster drops, stumbling off the table and tumbling towards the wall.

She stays where he is, standing tall for the moment, before she gathers her skirts again, stepping delicately down onto the chair and then onto the floor. “Yield, Aster.”

He watches her for a moment, before holding up his hand and waving his challenge, indicating that she’s free to lower her sword. She does, before moving to sit next to him as they both shift to rest against the wall. There’s a long moment of silence before she speaks. “Veronica should be free to make her own choices.”

“Veronica is a girl. She doesn’t know what choices are best for Frostward. All she sees is you, who ran off to join the valkyries because she thought she could be free.”

Rosalina purses her lips for a moment, before sighing heavily. “I will speak with her. But could you at least let her choose her own suitors? She’s smarter than you give her credit for, and she’s not like me, where none were acceptable because all were men. She just wants a say in choosing someone who will treat her well.”

“And she thinks I do not care for such a thing?”

“She knows you do. But she also knows that you are a man and therefore not able to see the flaws of your own gender.” He turns and raises an eyebrow to her at that. “She says one of your options was Nicholas Orbbane.”

“The Orbbanes are a good family.”

“The Orbbanes have a history of silent wives and unexpected widowers. Nothing has ever been proven, but there is much suspicion, and ladies talk.”

Aster sighs as he tips his head back against the wall. “What should I do then?”

“Our sister has a better political mind than you think. Let her work with you, rather than against you. She won’t steer you wrong.”

Aster frowns, but eventually nods his agreement. “Will you call off your warriors before the do any more damage to the décor?”

She laughs a bit at that, before nodding her agreement. “That I can do. And perhaps a dinner before I leave, just the three of us?”

“Still so bossy, daring to tell me what to do in my own home.”

“Oh, hush,” she laughs, as he gets to his feet, before extending a hand to help her up as well. “You know that you missed me.”

“I’d miss you a lot less if you’d come home more.”

“We’ll see,” she sighs, taking his hand and letting him pull her up. “But for now, I think we need good wine. Lots and lots of wine.”

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