The Lords' assembled Knights were quite a group, although of course Lord Inazuma's Knights outnumbered them all. A good chunk of those men were gathered around the Champions, asking for tips and strategems for the Trials. Some of the Knights were old, some were young, but somehow they all claimed ignorance of the Trials. She snorted. The "I'm so untaught, teach me brave Sir" bit was a great way to learn, especially where such egotistical morons as Jinnai and Yuusuke were concerned.

The Champion Trials were a week after the conference. She had to get herself in shape, as she intended on competing to hold her position.

She tapped Makoto lightly on the shoulder with her staff. He turned to her and smiled. "Would the Honorable Sir Makoto deign to spar with me?" she asked stiltedly, bowing.

He nodded and borrowed a staff from one of the Knights he'd been talking with, who was only too glad to give it up. Han, leaning against a wall, started taking bets, and soon a decent sized crowd had gathered. It was only sparring, so it didn't attract as much attention as an honest fight, but sparring would not mar an estate's honor as much as her little show had yesterday.

She let Makoto make the first sally, blocking him effortlessly. He was good with a staff, but not great. He was too blunt. He thought of it as an instrument, a tool. She thought of it as part of herself.

As she dodged and danced around, never attacking, she figured that he had fallen victim to the classic blunder of most men with a weapon: they will use only the weapon, and never their own bodies until they're disarmed.

She dropped to the ground and swiped his legs out from under him, using her own legs instead of the staff. Most other Knights could be dropped by the staff, but Makoto was larger, stronger, and it would take more than a chunk of wood to level him.

He fell but rolled backwards away from the blow she would've dealt to his stomach. She smiled. Perhaps she'd figured him wrong....and perhaps he'd let her believe that of him intentionally. A good fighter indeed.

Still, he was blunt with the staff, seeing it only as good for striking and blocking. She smiled as he charged her, intending to up the intensity of the fight. She knew he could outlast her if it came to a hard, fast, long fight.

She ran towards him, staff out, then used it as a pivot, vaulting high over him. It wasn't as graceful a vault as it could've been, mostly because she took the staff with her. She landed a tad hard but she was immediately behind him. She used the staff in a choke hold and he surrendered.

He grinned as he turned. "You like choke holds, don't you?" he asked her, rubbing a sore spot on his neck.

She nodded. "It's a decent way to end a fight. It's not the usual way, but for sparring and when I don't want to really hurt someone, it is most effective."

Han was at work collecting and paying out the bets from pleased and disappointed onlookers alike. She noted that most of the displeased ones were not Lord Inazuma's Knights. She smiled at that. The men under her command had faith in her and her abilities. They'd been the first to take her seriously, especially as many of them had matched off against her in the Trials.

An announcement trumpet sounded. She turned to the page.

"The Lords' Ball shall be held this evening. Attendance and formal wear required."

The page was spurred on his way by the moans of most of the men. Kivrin stifled her own. Formal wear. Another damn dress. It wasn't that she had anything in particular against dresses, but it sent her back to being and looking like a woman again.

"So early?" Makoto whined. "Isn't the Lords' Ball usually held closer to the end of the conference?"

"Yeah, no kidding," Han agreed. "We just got here!"

"It's to smooth things over from last night," Kivrin sighed. "A ball is a good way to show good will. By now everyone knows about my little spat with Jinnai. In order to show that there is no ill will between the Lords, they're having the ball tonight. They'll probably have the usual, traditional one at the end also."

"TWO? Awww man. Tell me there are some lovely ladies in attendance at least, hm?" Han whined. "That makes it worth it."

Makoto nodded over at one of the younger ladies of court who seemed to have quite an interest in Han. She blushed at the sudden attention and bustled off, hiding scarlet face behind her fan. Han grinned, temper much changed.

"THAT," Kivrin informed him, "would be Lady Yoshie. Very virtuous. But she does seem to have taken a fancy to you, Sir Han. There is hope for you yet."

"Lady Yoshie, hmmm?"

"Yes. Lord Inazuma's ward."

"Awww man..." Han pouted. Kivrin laughed.

"Fear not. He only took her in because she reminded him of the late Lady Yukiko, and because he is a kind man. She is of noble blood, but her family's lands were decimated in a fire, as was most of her family, including her parents. It was a tragedy; they were some of our best landholders."

"So tell us about Your family, Lady Kivrin," Makoto changed the subject as they headed back inside. "We've got today free, thanks to the old sacred tradition of having the second day of conference be a day to rest up from the traveling."

"We've got until dinnertime free, you mean," she corrected him. "The Lords' Ball, remember?"

"Right, right..." Han and Makoto whined. She laughed as they headed for the mess hall.

As they sat and had some mead, Kivrin told them a little about herself.

"My family is not of any noble lineage whatsoever. We've always been farmers, up until my grandfather. He became a merchant through hard work. VERY hard work; he died so young...fortunately he'd had plenty of time to pass on the trade secrets to my father. We had plenty of money...until Father died. And this time, he didn't have the time to pass on his secrets to my older brother. Touma had to try to learn everything on his own, and for a long time the family business was doing very poorly. So I cut my hair, pretended to be a boy, and took a job in My Lord's stables. No one would hire a girl except as a milkmaid, a scullery maid, or a seamstress.

"I looked at the Knights and...I felt like belonged. I wanted to be like them. So I trained. I trained hard. I learned the truth of my mother's favorite saying the hard way."

"And what would that be?" Han asked around his goblet.

Kivrin grinned and quoted, "Anything a woman does she must do twice as well as a man to be thought half as good." She sipped her mead and added, "Fortunately this is not difficult."

"So how goes the family business now?" Makoto asked after he and Han had stopped laughing.

"Much improved. Touma's caught on to it, although I dare say he doesn't like it much. And I send half of my wages home."

"Half?! How do you live?"

"What do I need but food, clothing, and a place to stay? That is all provided for me here, and since I became Champion, it is provided in abundance. I have little need for anything else."

"Well yeah, but....don't you have...outside interests?" Han asked.

Kivrin shrugged. "I enjoy reading, but Lord Inazuma has an extensive library that I am given free run of. I couldn't read all the books in His library in TWO lifetimes, let alone one. I enjoy writing but paper and ink are always kept on hand here."

"Of course," Makoto recalled. "Lord Inazuma is the most educated of the Lords, ne? He studied abroad for ten years before returning to his estates to claim his title."

She nodded. "Yes. So I am happy here."

"Yeah well sounds like a good deal for you. I'm glad to hear your family is doing well, Lady Kivrin. You've only been Champion one year so far, right?" She nodded and Makoto continued, "Han and I've been our Lords' Champions for...what? Three years?"

"Four," Han corrected him. "Yuusuke's been Champion for the last two, and Jinnai's been around for five. That tends to make him think he's in charge."

"So you'd better win the Trials. With you around to keep him humble, he might actually be tolerable," Makoto grinned. Kivrin laughed and summoned a servant to bring them some lunch. She'd worked up an appetite with all this storytelling.

During lunch, she heard Makoto and Han's tales. Makoto was the bastard son of a nobleman and a peasant woman who'd joined His Lordship of Rekka's Knights in order to prove himself of just as good blood as any full-blooded nobleman. Han was simply a nobleman's son, low in the line for the family seat, who'd joined the Knights for lack of anything better to do, but had devoted himself to it once he'd become accepted.

All in all...they were good drinking buddies and nice guys generally. It made the prospect of the Ball that evening even worse, because she knew that during the Ball, they'd all have to be proper and formal and just...not have any fun.

Finally they had to leave each other's company behind. They had a Ball to prepare for.

"Okay so we show that we're having a grand old time tonight," Inazuma grumbled as his servants continued their preparations for the Ball. "That should smooth over any thoughts anyone is having about Lord Shouki and I going to war. A war of honor is not what we need at the moment. Still..."

"Forgive me, My Lord," she begged as she bowed again. She should've curtsied, but he didn't correct her. Doubtless she was aware of the blunder already. She was wearing a deep blue and ivory dress, suitably fancy for the occasion. Her hair was curled and piled atop her head, and long teardrops of silver and sapphire dripped from her ears. An ivory choker was at her throat, and rich sapphires accented it occasionally. To look at her, one would not know she could kill you in less than five minutes. If he hadn't known better, he himself would've named her one of the noble Court Ladies, not a lowly peasant girl who had risen through men's ranks. "I was not thinking clearly at the moment."

"Lord Shouki's Champion insulted you. But you must learn to take such insults from those who simply do not respect your abilities."

"They should learn respect," she muttered. She probably believed he couldn't hear her.

"They will, one day. For now, you must simply grit your teeth and bear it."

He noted her surprise in his mirror. It was rare to see her surprised. He had grown used to the fierce falconess, handsome and proud, not this pretty primped little pigeon. He smiled to himself as he recalled Yukiko's own temper. Oh she could rail at him. How often had she called him an idiot and told him that he had to earn her respect? At the same time, how often had she called his name and clung to him, whispering vehemently that she loved him with all her heart?

He stored his thoughts away. Yukiko was gone. She was never coming back. That was the end of that. The end of his real happiness.

"My Lord?"

He glanced up startled. The servants had all gone, and Lady Kivrin had a hand on his shoulder and a worried look on her face. "Are You well? You were...staring off into space."

He patted her hand reassuringly and she frowned. He supposed he still treated her as a woman sometimes, rather than as a Champion, which he knew she preferred. "I'm fine. I was just....thinking."

"About...the Lady Yukiko?" she asked, withdrawing from him now, back to the proper distance. He nodded and she hung her head. "I know You must miss Her terribly, and I don't...I don't mean any disrespect by saying this but...it's been almost a decade, My Liege..."

"And I should go on with my life?" he finished for her. "I know. I am trying. But....she...." He stood and turned to look at the portrait of her on the wall. "She was my whole life."

She curtsied this time and withdrew, leaving him alone with his memories. He sighed and murmured, "Yukiko...I wish you were here with me now."

She stifled a yawn. Dull dull dull dull DULL. She wondered how early she could take off without it seeming rude. She supposed she couldn't leave until Lord Inazuma did...which meant she'd be here all night. She barely succeeded in NOT groaning audibly.

At least she had compatible company. She was hanging out with Makoto and Han and a couple other of the Knights. She supposed they looked nice, but she wasn't looking at them. They weren't looking at her either. Each Champion had their eye on their Lord; this was normal when the Lords were around a large group of people. Peace was a relative thing, and you never knew when and where an assassin could strike.

So they chatted while they watched over their Lords. The conversation was light and amiable, but phrased formally, as was appropriate for the setting.

She was rather surprised to note Jinnai, of all people, approaching her as the music moved from mere background noise to foreground attention for those who wished to dance. If he thought she'd dance with HIM....

Then she noted Lord Inazuma's look. He was looking straight at her. So was Lord Shouki. She realized the plan. If everyone sees Jinnai and I dancing together, at least once, they'll know things are okay...and that's the whole point. So I suppose I have to tolerate him...

Jinnai bowed before her and asked formally, "Would Lady Kivrin," he managed NOT to sound as though he were choking on that, "care to dance?"

She smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Considering who's asking, how can I refuse?" she replied judiciously. He looked up at her and they both knew as a certainty in that instant that his asking and her acceptance were merely to accomodate their Lords' wishes. It was clear as crystal to them, and Makoto and Han at least, that they'd rather face an army of warriors, naked, unarmed, and alone, than dance with one another.

One meaty paw was on her waist, another enclosed her hand. They had fake smiles on their lips as the waltz began. It would have to be a WALTZ, of all things. She was rather surprised to find that the large man could dance fairly well.

They pitched their voices low as other dancers joined in around them.

"You look much better this way," Jinnai tried his hand at a half-compliment.

"Really? I rather liked the way you looked the other day better."

"This fancy getup doesn't suit me, hm?"

"Oh, it's not that so much as I rather liked the look of you unconscious."

The smile faltered for the briefest of moments and his eyes began to glow with suppressed rage. "Keep in mind that I'm in control at the moment," he reminded her, jerking her forcefully through one movement. "And I can snap you in two."

"Ah yes, brute force and brute threats. That makes you much more recognizable under that civilized veneer."

There was a long silence. "Look," she finally sighed, "I want you to know that no matter my personal feelings, I respect you as a fighter. Strength has its place, and you would not have become Champion if you did not possess considerable skills. I respect you because you've been Champion for half a decade. That takes quite a bit of power and knowledge. I'd rather have you on my side in a fight than against."

Jinnai digested that. "Girl, I don't know if you have the skills to be a real Champion or NOT....but you did get me unconscious, and that's more than any man has accomplished in most of my life. THAT I will respect. That does not mean I will respect YOU."

She nodded. She hadn't really expected anything else. That he respected anything about her was marvel enough.

"And I still say you should be properly married off." His eyes traveled downward, and she was suddenly conscious of the fact that she was in a fashionable dress. This wouldn't be so bad if the current fashion wasn't clinging, cleavage-revealing bodices and long skirts. Her dress was considered a bit prudish in comparison to some of the others currently on display around the ballroom, but it was still more flesh than she was used to showing off. She flushed.

Jinnai continued, "In that dress, I'd think you one of the Court Ladies."

"I am not so easily conquered as they are. I put up a fight," she informed him shortly, face burning.

"All the better."

She gawked at him, and he looked at her, confused, before realization hit. He clarified, "I would never take an unwilling woman. That is an insult in and of itself. This time I let it go. What I meant was....spirit is a desirable quality. Most women of court simply lay down and let you, or act on your behalf. True spirit is above and beyond more important than mere flesh."

This was not helping matters. "I am relieved to hear of your honor, Sir Jinnai."

"And your own?" he asked, grinning. She let her smile slide into feralness and the grin fell.

"You have no need to know of such things, but my honor is as intact as a newborn's."

"In what sense, honor?" he asked now. He'd gotten lost in the subtleties.

"Both." Men had need to look after only one "honor" after all.

He nodded and the dance ended. As he escorted her off the floor, perhaps a bit quicker than he might've done had she been someone other than who she was, he asked, "A man has to fight you all the time, doesn't he? To be worthy, that is."

"A man has to be A Man. By my definition," she informed him simply. She nearly ran straight into Lord Inazuma. She remembered to curtsy this time.

"Sir Jinnai, might I relieve you of Lady Kivrin's company for the next dance?"

"Of course, Your Lordship," he agreed all too quickly. She readily accepted. Dancing with her Lord might be awkward, but anything and anyone was better than Jinnai's condescending and grudging acceptance.

And, despite supposedly having bathed, he didn't smell any better either.

Lord Inazuma led her back out to the dance floor. It wasn't a waltz, but it was still a reasonably slow tempo. On His order?

Her Lord looked magnificent, which was how Lords were supposed to look. His long azure hair was pulled back with silver and royal blue ribbon. He was wearing a short cape of silver, edged in the same royal blue; they were the estate's colors after all. Blue-flecked-with-silver silk tunic; silver-gray pants and boots that were actually blue-dyed leather trimmed with silver fox fur. His Lord's circlet, silver of course, and set with sapphires, was clearly visible on His brow. He wore no sword, and His cape clasp was the emblem of His estate: a silver and sapphire falcon, wings wide.

She was dancing with a Lord. With HER Lord, that she was supposed to protect. She supposed most other Lords did not dance with Their Champions. Certainly He'd never asked her to dance before.

Inazuma knew he was supposed to be saying something. This dance wouldn't last nearly as long as the last one had. But he was still thinking of Yukiko, which was terribly odd, as this was not the time nor the place to be doing so. He hadn't thought of Yukiko until he'd started dancing with Lady Kivrin. She might've worn a dress like this; just enough daring to be fashionable, so as not to cause a stir, but modestly elegant. Blue and ivory suited the Lady, that was certain. Finally he spoke.

"I know you do not think highly of Sir Jinnai, but it was necessary. Forgive me. I would not otherwise do such a thing."

She blinked as if coming out of a mage's trance, and then nodded. "You should not seek my forgiveness, My Lord. I am Your Champion, and therefore at Your disposal. And I understood it quickly enough. It was, indeed, necessary. I just wish You'd given me some sort of warning beforehand."

"I was worried you would refuse. If you'd refused him, here, now, in public, it might've ruined the entire point of having the Ball early."

"I would never seek Your ruin in any matter, Lord." She paused, knowing she probably shouldn't ask, but unable to help her curiosity. "Forgive me, My Lord, perhaps it is not for me to know, but...what will You do about the traditional Ball held at the end of the conference?"

"I have already discussed that at some length with the other Lords. We shall have a masque this year when the conference is ended. That will be announced at the end of tonight's event."

"Ah. Very neat solution then, My Lord. Just as I would've expected of You and the other Lords."

He smiled. "Yes, well, we are Lords for a reason, after all."

"You are Lords by birth."

The smile faded into a frown. "Is that an implication?"

She was confused for a bit but then quickly sought amends. "Oh no, My Lord, I would never mean to imply that You are an unfit ruler! You are a good, kind, wise Lord, as noble a man as I've ever known, whether of noble blood or not!! I only meant that You were destined for this, that it is in Your blood to be so. I did not mean the slightest offense, My Lord, please forgive me for not clarifying..."

"You are forgiven. I thought perhaps your forced dance with Sir Jinnai might've soured your temper."

She laughed a little uneasily. One crisis averted, but only barely. "My temper? Surely My Lord is already well acquainted with my temper by this time."

He laughed. "Yes. Yes I am." He'd seen her on and off the battlefield, angry, running on adrenaline. Quick to anger, quick to cool, but a serious enough hurt stayed with her, like a festering scar. At the same time, displeasure with one individual did not affect her temperament to anyone else. "It was only a thought."

"Not that Sir Jinnai doesn't sour my temper," she muttered, casting a dark glance at said individual. Inazuma frowned and took hold of her face, pulling it back to look at him once more. It would not do to have anyone else see such a look, although doubtless a few already had. She was immediately penitent, having realized her mistake. She was so conscious of her slip-up that she was blushing. His late wife's name and face wandered across his consciousness again and he let her go, returning his hand to her own to finish guiding her through the moves.

The dance ended soon thereafter, with neither of them having said another word.

Night II: Unwelcome Visit

The Grand Lady of all Kikoutei, Lady of Kongo and Lord Chouwa's wife, slept fitfully. She missed her husband terribly, not because of any real love between them, although they got along well enough. In point of fact, they got along better as friends than as lovers or husband and wife.

No, it was not love that made her miss his presence. She simply had grown so used to listening to him snore that she now had trouble sleeping without it.

She sighed and stared at the ceiling. The conference's second day had drawn to a close. Next year, they were having it HERE, and that was that. She didn't see why they shouldn't have it here anyway. She and Chouwa were THE Lord and Lady of the entire country. It only made sense. In her mind anyway.

She closed her eyes and turned onto her side, facing where Chouwa would've been had he been there, resolved to try to sleep. Only twelve more days and then that loud rumble that so disturbed everyone else would be back, and she could sleep peacefully again. Twelve days. Twelve nights. Plus the journey back. Oh by Mother Earth...

She felt chilly. She pulled the covers up. Strange to be cold this time of year. It was late spring; the cold season was well past.

She felt eyes on her and opened her own...to come face to face with red, glowing eyes.

DarkWorlder eyes.

Her scream faded like water down a drain. The first guard was there in a matter of seconds, having been stationed outside the door, and all he saw was the empty bed where his Lady should've been.

******