The Duel

From A Hard Lesson

A light rain had begun to fall, as Danel stared at Estarfin with fury written across her face. Her hair was plastered in mud, her clothes ruffled, ripped and stained. A line of blood ran from her lip which he had split. Spinning the sword in his hand, he swung it at her from a backhanded stance, knowing that she would either step back or parry the blow, as she had done so many times already that day. To his surprise, she stepped into the blow, ducking at the last moment and hitting him hard in the stomach with the pommel of her sword. Falling to his knees, he saw a small grin of triumph on her face as she turned away. Disappointed, he sprang back to his feet, grabbing a handful of her hair. Surprised, Danel tried to jerk away, but he had a strong grip, and pulled her roughly backwards, bringing the sword round to rest against her throat. "Do not turn your back on an enemy, unless they are no longer a threat" he whispered in her ear.