The Duel

Zierra ended up being a much better dancer than I was, though I was never really much of one to begin with. I spun her around the floor but it was her own movement and laughter that caught the attention of everyone else and I found myself glaring at them whenever I could. Eventually, the small orchestra took a break and I led her back to the food and refreshments.

"You're an excellent dancer," I complimented as I popped, what I hoped, was some kind of exotic olive into my mouth.

"You're not half bad yourself you know," she was still giddy and barely out of breath.

"Nah, I've never been much for it really. I think this is the first time I've danced at a party in a long time."

"Well my toes remain untouched so that's better than some of the partners I've had," she lifted her dress a few inches and wiggled her toes from her sandals. "I'm flattered you found me worthy to dance with."

"Yeah well if I didn't then who knows which of these grubby and grabby nobles would have whisked you away," I grumbled over my glass.

"How chivalrous," she chuckled.

I felt Lyon slink up next to me before I saw him and he spoke to me silently under the guise of getting himself something to drink. "We have a problem Saph."

I kept a smile on my face, like I was still engaging in conversation with Zierra, who quickly caught on to what was happening and went along with our charade. "Please tell me it isn't related to Soren."

"I wish I could but it seems that our esteemed host has disappeared."

My grip on my glass tightened and keeping an easy smile on my face became a lot harder. "I told him to stay in our eyesight!"

"Don't panic yet," he sighed. "I sent Kari to look for him. It's possible he just got really drunk and passed out."

"Does Kari even have a weapon on her?"

He nodded. "She said she had a couple daggers with her."

"How she sneaks those into every dress she wears I will never know."

Zierra coughed to get my attention and tapped her thigh where I could hear the feint sound of something solid strapped there. "You'll be surprised what you can sneak into a dress."

"Is that the dagger I gave you?" My eyebrow quirked up, impressed. She nodded and I hummed in amusement before turning my attention back to Lyon. "We should split up and look for him. This place is huge and Kari is only one person."

"Sounds like a plan to me. I think she started on the second floor. I'll go to the third floor if you and Zierra want to stay here and keep on eye out on this floor."

Zierra perked up at the mention of being included. "You guys need my help?"

Lyon gave me smirk and quick salute before jogging off towards the stairs. I shot him a glare and gave Zierra a reluctant nod. "I'm not particularly keen on putting you in a situation that could prove dangerous but an extra pair of eyes would be helpful."

"I am perfectly capable of defending myself, thank you," she huffed and motioned for me to follow her. "There is a small rest area this way, Amelia pointed it out to me when I got here."

I followed behind her, keeping an eye out for any guests that looked suspicious or were missing. "Yeah I saw you talking to her when you got here. She usually makes a point to introduce herself to guests she hasn't seen before."

"She was nice to me. Seemed a bit normal in comparison to her husband."

"They balance each other out," I nodded in agreement. "They have a lover in another town who matches Soren's energy a little better."

Zierra laughed. "I wonder why they aren't here then."

I shrugged. "They tend to keep her under wraps. Soren deals with a lot of people who don't like the work he's done to try and better the Slums. It's easy for him to protect his wife because she lives here but it's harder to protect their lover who lives miles away."

"Then why not invite her to live here?"

"They have considered it but having an escape from this town is good for them. Lyca can be a bit dreary after a while," we stopped at the rest area and I scanned the couches and chairs for any sign of Soren. "It doesn't seem like he's here."

"Are you looking for someone?"

We turned to find a shy looking noble behind us. He was in simple, but nice, attire that didn't quite fit his small frame. What bothered me, however, was that I didn't recognize him. I gave him a short nod. "We were trying to find Soren."

The young man jerked his thumb towards the back doors. "Last I saw he was heading out to the courtyard. Some people are holding duels out there."

"Thank you!" Zierra beamed at him and began to drag me outside.

The noble was right. There were at least three duels going on outside as the clash of weapons filled the air. It was a common pass time nobles engaged in and they usually bet things like money, land, or even some of their smaller businesses. To keep them from getting seriously injured, however, Soren only allowed the use of the wooden training swords he had. We walked up to the nearest duel and found Soren locking swords with the noble who asked Zierra to dance earlier. My eyes widened and I started to take a step forward to stop the duel but Zierra held me back.

"We don't know for sure if that man is the one who threatened him and stopping the duel now would just make whoever it is weary," she whispered so none of the others around us could hear. "We just need to watch carefully and keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary."

My eyes darted back and forth from Soren and Zierra for a moment before I growled in frustration, crossing my arms, and began tapping my foot impatiently. "You're right. I just don't like that I don't know who has been sending the threats. We looked into it in the days leading up to the party and found nothing. There are a lot of nobles here that don't like the work he's been doing but none of them have been violent about it. They would rather discredit him somehow than kill him. Humiliation can be worse than death for a noble."

Despite being heavily intoxicated, Soren managed to use his stumbling to his advantage, making it harder for his opponent to land a hit on him. Finally he managed to disarm the noble and point the tip of the wooden sword to his throat.

"I believe that's another win for me!" Soren exclaimed and tried to lean on the sword like a cane but was to unsteady to do so. His opponent sulked away, obviously upset that his night was not going at all how he planned. "Does any one else wish to challenge me?"

I was about to step in to get his attention when the small noble who led us out here shuffled out of the crowd. He raised his hand, almost uncertainly. "I'll give it a go."

Soren sized up the young man and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you can hold up a sword young man?" He nodded and Soren tossed a sword to him, which the noble almost fumbled and dropped it. "I believe everyone should have an equal chance kid, but fair warning, I won't hold back on you."

The young noble's posture suddenly changed. He stood up straighter and corrected his stance while giving the sword a few good swings. He was no longer a shy young man and when he looked up at Soren, with anger in his eyes and a deadly smirk, I recognized him.

"I won't either old man."

He's the one! I shared a glance with Zierra and we both lunged forward, shouting at the same time. "Move Soren!"