Salle, Wednesday Morning

[formerbrat]

Elspeth, wearing her usual tunic and breeches, ran through her warm-up exercises as she waited for her sparring partner to arrive.

[For the opponent, but also open.]

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[bitch_prince]

Not hellfire nor icy cold nor hangover would keep Arthur Pendragon from a challenge, even if it was one opposite an opponent he didn't feel too comfortable with. Looking vaguely bedraggled but proud, he stalked into the salle, sword at his hip. "Lady Elspeth," he greeted, "Good morning."

[formerbrat]

"Good morning, Prince Arthur," Elspeth said. "Do you want to warm up a bit before we start?"

[bitch_prince]

"Of course," Arthur said. He may have finally agreed with this match, but that didn't mean he was planning to taunt her or anything. He rolled one of his shoulders, then moved to do just that.

[formerbrat]

Elspeth worked through a few more exercises while she waited for him to be ready.

[bitch_prince]

When he was finished, Arthur tilted his head back to shoot her a look. "Lady Elspeth," he called, "At your convenience?"

It was a miracle his manners hadn't completely atrophied while he was here.

[formerbrat]

Elspeth nodded. She stepped onto the sparring mat if there is one, lifted her sword and took a defensive stance. "Ready," she said.

[bitch_prince]

Okay. She was good. He had no intentions of looking like a fool again.

Not that he had in the first place. But. The point. She stood.

Arthur readied his own sword into an equal stance-- measuring her up.

[formerbrat]

Elspeth watched him for a moment, then took a couple of quick steps forward and swung her blade at his throat. She didn't expect the blow to connect, since it was a simple move to block and he was ready for it. But she wanted to see what he'd chose to do next.

[bitch_prince]

It was an easy block, and Arthur knew it; he wasn't sure whether it was on purpose or not, but he parried accordingly.

When she had gotten close enough for him to bring his knee firmly up towards her midsection, mind. He wasn't about to make the same mistake he did last time.

[formerbrat]

Elspeth arched her back, pulling her midsection away so his knee didn't do much more than nudge her. She grinned at him and swung her sword around, trying to catch his side just below his sword arm.

[bitch_prince]

Well, that right there made her better than about three-fourths of the rubbish they sent him for potential knights back home. Huh. Arthur actually had to strain slightly to catch that one, but he parried it easily, followed it up with a strike at her other side, as fast as he could twist it.

He was fast.

[formerbrat]

She couldn't bring her sword around fast enough to block. That was going to bruise. She inhaled sharply when the blow connected and swung her blade downward, trying to push his sword out and away from both of them. She pivoted with the move and in the same motion threw her other elbow at his face.

[bitch_prince]

Arthur may have been a little distracted by the whole I-just-struck-a-girl factor - give it time and that might come out - and as such caught the elbow firmly across his face. Ow.

He compensated quickly, of course, bringing his sword up and settling back into a defensive stance. For a moment, he wondered if his nose was bleeding. Luckily not.

That certainly served to knock away any last vestiges of snarky commentary in the back of his brain.

[formerbrat]

Elspeth brought her sword around toward him, aiming high, toward the face again, then cutting down abruptly and going for his leg.

[bitch_prince]

Now, he was in the right frame of mind for this. Her quick change got an equally quick one as he caught the blade by his leg, barely an inch away, but it was an inch and Arthur spent no time worrying about that fact.

He shoved the blade to the right as best as possible, then suddenly struck down towards her thigh. His mouth almost involuntarily twitched into a slight smirk. It'd been too long since he had a proper swordfight - Zack didn't count.

[formerbrat]

She pulled her leg in, towards herself, knee up, so the blade missed her thigh by just a hair. Then she struck out with that foot, aiming for the side of his knee. Her sword moved back down at the same time and the same angle, but it was aimed at his midsection.