Long Awaited Victory

-----Yui's POV

Thankfully my sickness wasn't too bad as I ended up feeling better after waking up this morning, which I'm glad I did, otherwise I'd have to sit out of today's upcoming dinner.

With some help, mom finally found some time off to finally celebrate our move here, inviting everyone we know personally to our mansion for a grand feast; much like the one I attended at the queen's palace, only this time it'll be filled with all our friends and family. Of course, Kaede is invited along with everyone else with her, but I also made sure that Luna and her family, along with Olivia and her family were coming as well. I'd imagine Gabriella would also be joining since she's been staying with Olivia. Mom also invited Rupert so that'd mean his family would also be attending. So~ Yeah... It's a lot of people.

I am nervous about Mell, Fleur and Faye though, but I'm sure Kaede will help keep them in check. I'll probably stop on by before we all meet up just in case anyone would need some blood.

Alice: "You up yet, Ellen?"

Yui: "Yeah?"

With a sudden knock on my door, Alice opens it before walking in, carrying her rapier by her side. My only guess for what she wants would be-

Alice: "Come on, let's spar. I need to see how much you've grown."

Not even letting me take the day to rest huh? Well, not that I mind. Besides, I'm also curious to how far I've come, but it's not like I've fought anything after that battle in Azalea, so I'm not sure.

That said, I now find myself out in the yard just a little off to the side of the mansion with Alice. We both unsheathed our rapiers before taking our stances. Natalie also came to watch since she is still my disciple in training, so I hope she can take notes.

Alice: "No magic."

Yui: "Pfft, not like I'm any good at magic in the first place."

I have been training myself in trying to actually cast some sort of magic that's different to just making my hand wet, but I'm still having issues on that. A part of me do wishing to be just a little bit more like a vampire, just enough so that I can use basic magic, but Mai did say that I'm capable of doing that already. I just have to continue training.

And so, our sparring match began as we both closed the distance between us in a matter of seconds as our rapiers crossed with one another. For a few moments, I was taking aback at how fast Alice is as I must've gotten used to fighting those soldiers during our retreat, so fighting Alice after so long really does make my heart pump.

Alice: "You've gotten a bit slow there, Ellen."

Defiantly, I increase my pace, trying to force myself to match Alice's speed but she sure is not making it easy. It's an odd feeling fighting an opponent that parries your attacks before immediately making a counter attack of their own, but I guess I'm also doing the same to Alice as we soon find ourselves stuck in an endless dance of swords, with endurance being the deciding factor once again.

Soon enough, my breathing starts to grow heavier and heavier as every breath becomes more difficult than the next, but it looks like Alice is also feeling the same as I can finally see her beginning to pant. Judging from this, I'd say I'm still inferior to Alice, but not by much now, and that thought alone gave me a spark of determination to win this. We refused to speak words as we were both focused on trying to disarm the other while panting desperately for air, but just when I feel like Alice's strikes have grown a bit weaker, I force out every bit of strength I have in one final attempt. And just then, the tip of my rapier finally catches her guard as I immediately fling her rapier out of her hands before immediately pointing my rapier's point at Alice. The look on her face told me everything I needed to know that she was proud of me, seeing the corners of her mouth rise up while still out of breath. Just then, the last of my strength leaves my body as my arms drops back down as I desperately try and fill my lungs with air.

Alice: "Well done."

Yui: "Y-you... Better have been taking that match seriously."

Alice: "Hehe. Of course! It was a well executed attack. Despite both of us clinging on, you sensed weakness through your own and managed to find that last bit of strength. It honestly caught me off guard."

Hearing her praise brought me the utmost joy as I just collapse to the ground, however Alice remains standing, seeming to have more energy to continue if she wanted. Sure I won this match, but I know that was thanks to a bit of luck. Not to mention she was holding herself back with not being able to use magic, so I still have a long ways to go. But even so! I won!

Natalie: "You did amazing, Ellen!"

Yui: "Thanks."

She hands me a glass of water as I immediately begin to drink every last drop of it in a single breath, exhaling heavily upon finishing the glass.

Yui: "You better have been watching closely."

Natalie: "I couldn't keep up with most of it, but towards the end I could follow and understand both of your movements."

At least she got something out of it. I was planning on sparing with Natalie next, but after that match with Alice, I'm quite drained as is, so maybe another time.

Alice: "Did you want to meet with Kaede before dinner?"

Yui: "Yeah, I was thinking of going over there after lunch."

Natalie: "Oh! Maybe I could make some lunch for you to bring over to them?"

Yui: "Well that would only be useful for Sicily and Lillian."

Natalie: "I was actually thinking of incorporating wine into it. I went looking for some yesterday while you were resting."

That's right. I totally forgot about Kaede's taste for wine. I'm sure if it works for her then it would work the same way with Mell, Fleur and Faye.

Yui: "Then I'll leave you to it! Did you want me to help? I could spare some blood maybe?"

Natalie: "I'm not entirely sure if you can even cook with blood, haha."

Yui: "Yeah, okay. Let's stick with the wine then."

Alice: "I'll also help. I haven't got much to do anyways."

Natalie: "Thank you."

And with that, we all enter back inside to make preparations for lunch. I'm not much of a cook, so I'll just follow Natalie's instructions.

-----Fabian's POV

Today marks the first day of Ilfa's absence. She said she'd be gone for a week or two but I'm not too sure how long I can last. A part of me thinks that if I just went ahead and told her my feelings then maybe she'd stay behind, but the other part of me is too scared of the inevitable rejection. She did replace the webbing around my ankles once more before leaving as I find myself just staring at it, gently touching it as the pain isn't too bad now. Moving my toes also seems to be more or less painless which is relieving, but more than anything, I wish Ilfa would've just stayed behind.

Apparently Tarifa is staying behind to guard Inasdale, but aren't they sisters? And shouldn't Tarifa; the blood thirsty sister be the one going off to war? I guess the only reason for it to be this way is because maybe Ilfa's opponent is too strong for Tarifa to handle? Or maybe it's a code of honor perhaps? Like one leader fights another leader to end a dispute? I'm not sure. All I can do now is wait...

I try once more to see if I can stand on my own two feet, but it still seems impossible as the pain is just too much for me to handle. However I can place more weight on them now, so at least I know that my ankles are indeed healing, albeit very slowly. In that sense, I really do envy Ilfa being able to heal that massive wound that she took from her fight with Lucien. I can still imagine his sword piercing straight through her which at the time filled me with immense joy, but now I find myself glad that she did end up surviving.

Fabian: "Wow, maybe I'm being turned into a monster..."

I can't believe I just thought about preferring Ilfa winning over Lucien, what is wrong with me? Am I that blinded now? This sure is a scary feeling... I can see why father warned me about it, but I don't think he ever anticipated me falling for a monster of all things. He was even skeptical of demi-humans, warning me that their essentially monsters, but now look where I am.

Fabian: "Pfft."

Well, not that it matters now. I don't know if this was all part of Ilfa's plan on having me fall for her, but even so, I feel quite happy.