Jack left the building, surprised to see that both Elaine and Noelle were already there and waiting for him. Noelle had changed into the clothes the sanctuary warriors wore, which was less focused on protection and more on ease of movement. It didn't look bad on her, but he was never comfortable with leaving his stomach bare and unprotected, as he had seen too many soldiers get slashed and see their innards fall out onto the ground. Elaine had changed into elven clothing, the silver cloth light and thin, something else he was not very fond of himself, although he did enjoy seeing it on her, as it hugged her body well.
Annie nodded when she saw him, gesturing for them to follow as she walked. She showed them to the market first, showing them where to get food as well as clothing and weapons, and where the blacksmith was in case their equipment needed maintenance. Then she showed them where the public baths were, something that Jack had never seen before, as there was no such thing in the Nation of Blood.
She then led them to a open area, where their was a few warriors sparring with each other, as well as wooden dummies and wooden weapons to practice with. Annie walked to the middle like she owned the place, turning around and drawing her beautiful estoc with a smirk on her face, the elder vampire having always been confident in everything she did and said.
"The princess here was telling me that you were beginning to teach her how to wield a sword. I am surprised; you made it clear to me that teaching was not your thing, and I heard from the other Night Stalkers how you groaned and complained when they asked you to teach the three new recruits before I left."
He flinched at the mention of his pupils, Annie not knowing that he killed them recently. He drew his estoc from its sheath, the metal looking dull compared to hers.
"Had nothing to do with whether I wanted to or not. I was the only one who could teach her, and after what she went through, she deserved it. Besides...those three pupils would have been better off never knowing me, and they might even still be alive."
Annie nodded, beginning to walk and circle him, Jack going the opposite direction, using his eyes to process images faster; he did not count this as an ability, and would use any advantage he could get.
"I see, but do not blame yourself. Not many vampires have the willpower and courage to turn against the Nation of Blood. Now, you remember how this goes; no abilities, just skill. We stop at first blood, or when it is clear that one of us is the victor. We will start on Elaine's mark."
Jack nodded, seeing the elf looking nervous at the request, while Noelle watched with amusement dancing in her eyes. Jack took a deep breath, eyes focused on his opponent, and as Elaine told them to start, they both charged each other at the same time.
While he could slow things down with his vision, without his speed to back it up, it was only useful for seeing her attacks, hoping he could see any feints or tricks before he fell for them. With normal swords, this would be a competition of attacking and defending, until one person found an opening and claimed victory. With their weapons, however, it was much more offensive. They both thrusted their swords at the same time, all the while trying to predict their opponents attack and make sure their body was not in the way.
He thrusted at her chest, the biggest target and the hardest to miss, while she aimed at his sword arm, trying to disarm him. They both narrowly missed each other, Annie being a master and attacking at odd angles and turning her body to make it a smaller target, and they both backed up before going again, Jack evading her thrust at his face and stabbing at her hip, which she turned and evaded at the last second.
They continued their deadly dance, neither of them backing down, evading and striking, waiting to see which one of then slipped up first. While not at the speed he was used to fighting, they were both still vampires, and all Elaine saw was a blur as they moved faster than she could follow. Noelle was able to barely keep up, being a warrior, but even she had trouble following them, her eyes always a second behind their movements.
For a while, neither of them gained any ground. She was more skilled than he was, but he had trained with her for years, and had a pretty good idea of how she fought. She suddenly pulled her arm back to thrust, Jack preparing to evade, but when she went forward, she ducked her body down, striking up and trying to catch him off guard. He had seen this before, and barely avoided her blade, seeing it flash by within an inch of his face, before striking back, his mind calm and clear as he stabbed at her before she could get up, aiming where her collar bone would be.
It was then that she did something he had not seen before, catching him by complete surprise as she swung her left hand, hitting his blade with the palm of her hand and pushing it off course. He went slightly more forward than he intended, caught off guard as her hand began to bleed, the edge of his sword not sharp but still able to cut. She got up and thrusted at him with inhuman speed, trying to catch him before he could recover. He got his footing at the last second, knowing that he could not evade and thrusting his sword as well.
They both stopped, panting and sweating as they held their poses, their swords stopping just before hitting each other. The tip of her sword had just hit his neck, breaking the skin as a small bead of blood wept from the tiny wound. His sword had stopped at the right side of her gut, her clothes stopping it from drawing blood. Elaine stared at them, wide eyed at what she witnessed, and even Noelle looked stunned at their fight.
Jack growled in frustration, standing up and sheathing his sword, seeing that his hair had gotten messed up and pushing it back out of his eyes, a habit he did when he was annoyed or frustrated. He saw that the warriors that had been sparring had stopped to witness their duel, and now returned to what they had been doing, having something to talk about later.
"It is your victory."
Annie stood up, nodding and sheathing her sword as well.
"Yes, but not by much; you have improved by leaps and bounds. To make me try my hardest at such a young age is a major achievement, and you should be proud; vampires hundreds of years older than you cannot give me such a hard time."
Elaine blinked, looking back and forth between them with a confused expression on her face.
"She won? I thought it was a draw."
"No, not if this was a real fight." Noelle said, pointing at Jack's throat as she spoke. "While Jack's blow would have hurt her, maybe killing her eventually, her strike to his neck is a certain kill, and a quick one at that. In a battle, while wounded, she would still be able to fight a bit longer, even take a few more soldiers with her. Jack would have choked on his own blood and died a painful death in less than a minute."
"It is as she says." Jack said, sighing and trying to calm himself. He had relied too heavily on his speed ability, and a vampire that relied on their ability alone was a weak vampire. He was frustrated by his loss, having been confident that he would finally best her, but he would have to accept it and deal with it. He crossed his arms, looking at Annie with his eyebrow raised.
"I never saw that little trick when you trained me. You must be out of your mind, hitting the sword with an open hand like that."
She chuckled at his comment, looking at her still bleeding hand, the blood beginning to drip off and hit the ground.
"It is rather risky, and your timing has to be perfect, otherwise you would just die looking like an idiot. But if you have the experience and skill, risking your hand is better than risking your neck or chest. Sometimes you need to think outside the box, especially when fighting skilled opponents."
She then turned to Elaine, smirking as she leaned down closer to the elf.
"You got to see two masters of the craft go head to head. Now, go and grab two of those wooden swords; I will assist Jack in teaching you, and we will have you able to hold your own against any common soldier in no time at all."