Lady Madison stood in her training grounds. To her right were Lady Glinda and Lady Iocasta, two young knights for the Emporan military. They were fully armored and armed with wooden training swords that were about 36 inches, the length of a standard Emporarn military sword.
To her left was Shalista, a traveler who introduced Lady Madison to the comforts of sexy armor. She was armed with 78 inch staff, about the size of her halberd. As someone who wore sexy armor, she was barely covered.
To keep things safe, their real weapons were behind Lady Madison herself. "If things go to far, I'll shall interject myself. Understood?"
The three participants all looked at her and nodded.
"Very well, you can start when you're ready."
Lady Glinda faced Shalista and stepped forward. "Prepare, demon. I shall be your opponent."
Both women got into their fighting stances. Lady Glinda moved first, rushing in to attack.
Shalista jabbed her in the stomach with her staff. "Dead."
Lady Glinda continued the assault, slashing at Shalista's head. Shalista ducked the attack and kicked her in the butt. Lady Glinda turned and found her face only a few inches away from the end of Shalista's staff.
Shalista smiled. "Dead."
Lady Glinda gasped.
Shalista lowered her staff with one hand and gestured to her body with the other hand. "You have all this meat to slice into, yet you attack my head? What a waste of your advantage."
Lady Glinda snarled and roared, "Shut up!" She then continued her assault.
Shalista raised her staff and blocked the incoming attack. Then, she kicked Lady Glinda's hand, causing her to drop her weapon. Finally, she kicked her back and kicked her weapon aside. "Dead."
Lady Glinda made a desperate dive for her weapon, but was swatted down. Shalista stood one foot on her back and plunged her staff into the ground next to her head.
"Dead." Shalista laughed. "You can't beat me."
Lady Glinda grumbled and struggled briefly. "I...I yield."
"What was that?" Shalista asked. "I didn't quite hear you."
"You beat me!" Lady Glinda growled. "Now get off, trollop!"
Shalista looked at Lady Iocasta. "Your turn. I can't wait to devour you, you tasty-looking morsel."
"Silence, demon!" Lady Iocasta growled, running toward her.
Shalista ran in and blocked an attack, then swept the legs from under Lady Iocasta. Down went the knight and Shalista sat on top of her and pressed her staff down on her neck. "Dead."
"Gack!" Lady Iocasta choked as she struggled underneath her.
Shalista smiled. "Okay, I'll let you stand up." She got off of the knight, who immediately attacked her upon getting up. She sent her right back to the ground by flipping her to the ground. She then disarmed the young knight, turned her over on her stomach, planted her knee into the side of her head, and twisted her arm. "Just give up."
"A-argh!" Lady Iocasta screamed. "Someone...help me!"
Lady Glinda retrieved her training sword and charged in.
Shalista released her grip on Lady Iocasta and used her staff to knock away Lady Glinda's training sword. She then blocked a punch before grabbing Lady Glinda's hair and pulling her head down, then viciously driving her knee into her face. Lady Glinda crumpled and fell to the ground, writhing and moaning in pain.
Lady Iocasta trying to grab her training sword, but was kicked in the face by Shalista and wound up lying on her back. "No...mother!"
Shalista kicked her leg high and dropped her heel on her face, knocking her out.
Lady Madison decided to end things here. "Okay, that's enough."
Shalista held her head high while the two knight lay on the ground groaning. "Not bad, huh?"
"Pretty darned good, actually," Lady Madison answered. "You're at least as good as Lady Belinda. I must admit, I'm quite surprised. I would be honored if you'd devote your services to the Emporan military."
"No..." Lady Glinda moaned, working her way back to her feet. "I can...still fight."
"I said that's enough," Lady Madison said. "She's humiliating you. It's obvious that you can't beat this woman. If this were a real fight, she'd have killed the both of you within seconds. Honestly, I'm getting embarrassed just watching. You may take your weapons and leave."
"Yes, milady," Lady Glinda said sadly. She limped over and helped Lady Iocasta up and they staggered over to retrieve their weapons. Then, they started to leave.
"Hey, you two," Shalista said.
They both stopped. Lady Iocasta looked back and whimpered, "No...please!"
"Don't worry, the beating is over,"Shalista said. "I just wanted to make a point."
"What?" Lady Glinda grumbled.
"Look at all the armor you're wearing and look at how little I'm wearing," Shalista said. "You took one look and thought you were going to easily beat me, yet you're the one's walking away in defeat. I won because I'm better than you, not because I'm wearing the finest armor and wielding the finest weapons. Remember that. Well, I've said my piece. You are free to go."
The two young knights staggered away moaning and groaning.
Lady Madison decided to continue her pitch. "If you were to join the Emporan military, you'd be well taken care of. I'm sure you'd be an asset, racking up victories."
"Nah, I'm good," Shalista said. "Sure, being a traveler has some downsides, but on the whole it's good. I mean, I get to travel to all kinds of exotic locations, stay as long as I want, and take whatever jobs I want. It would be nice to be hailed as some mighty hero, but I like the independent lifestyle more. Thanks for the offer, though."
That was too bad. Empora could use someone like her. "If you ever change your mind, let me know."
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