Chapter 7 A Dual

• Chapter seven
• The air was bright and peaceful, filled with the exotic scent of water and trees.
• To Raymond, it was a beautiful day.
• To Earl however, it was the worst he had ever had. Moments before, he pictured knocking Monica off her feet in the first strike, claiming victory and rubbing her ignorance in her face.
• Now however, he was perspiring more than he expected, flinging his sword continuously to avoid the lady's strikes.
• The Scottish had a smile on the whole time though she became just as tired. With one final strike, she leaned her sword on Earl's, keeping it there and pressing her weight on it.
• The Marquess shivered , unable to move his blade away.
• "If you ask me My Lord, you are quite an amateur in this," Monica teased boldly.
• Earl returned the grin with his usual charm and wit. Almost immediately though, he frowned and snarl his retort, "Well I did not ask you, did I?"
• Raymond Louis still felt the day was beautiful. Along with the others, he lay on the grass, watching the never ending slashing of weapons between the Marquess and his opponent.
• It was impressing to Philip though, how this lady gave her every strike as if she knew Earl's every move. She avoided his attacks with such dexterity you could bet a fortune she was not going to lose.
• At that, The Duke smirked, shouting to Earl, "If she wins this, I'll give her my bet. She becomes superior to you for a whole week."
• The man he spoke to smiled in response. That smile anyone would give when dared. And it appeared that's all he had been waiting for.
• With a single spin, he kicked Monica's weapon from her grip, placing his own at her throat almost immediately after. Then his smile deepened when he faced Philip, "What were you saying again?"
• The Duke wasn't disturbed though. With Earl losing guard like that, he knew the lady was not going to let it end that way.
• Slowly, he smiled at her.
• Monica nodded to him, facing her opponent later on. With all the strength in her left leg, she kicked his sword up, so high it soared away from where they stood.
• With shock blinding all his features, Earl looked at Monica,"You little…"
• The Scottish damsel did not wait for him to finish though. She ran inorder to catch the weapon in the air . Earl understood her motive a little bit later. And when he did, he chased after her.
• As it was expected, the male was clearly faster, catching up with the blade before the lady was going to.
• She grinded her teeth angrily, swearing on her lust for the Duke that she was supposed to win this.
• Lust for the Duke?
• It was then she realized that.
• Back to the matter at hand, Monica picked up pace and kicked the Marquess's back so he fell.
• That taken care of, she flipped over him, landing with a roll just before she clutched the blade with a hand.
• Quickly, she sprang up with the sword stretched out to the man on the floor.
• And Earl did the last thing he was expected to do…as always.
• He laid there flat, eyes facing the bright blue sky and a grin on his face. His chest rose and fell gradually while he panted, realising it was more of a happy game than a silly, savage fight.
• And when the lady retrieved her sword and put a hand out for him, he grabbed it with a smile, letting her pull him up.
• But his mirth was short lived as long as he still had his best friend around to spoil it. Philip.
• "Just tell me a single thing apart from smiling that you are good at," The Duke teased genuinely.
• But the proud ones always remained. Jason huffed with a proud tone, lifting himself gloriously from the grass. While he wiped his Italian waistcoat, he faced Monica, "Why don't I show you where you belong."
• She bared her pearly teeth in response, studying the sword in his hand. With one final analysis, she rasped with her usual tone of seduction, "Well said my Lord. Well said."
• ***
• They stayed in that particular stance for an annoyingly long time, pointing swords to each other while shooting daggers with their eyes.
• Jason analysed her, expecting her to make the first move. It was funny she was expecting the same thing from him.
• When none complied however, the Earl chose the time the lady least expected, coming at her with full force.
• Out of reflex, Monica struck back, their weapons slashing against each other so hard both blades dropped to the ground.
• Now they just resumed the rueful glares again, watching to see who'd go for his sword first. Nobody was ready to this time. So they chose to fight without them.
• Monica twirled her neck while she brought her fists up, her feet shoulder width apart. She punched the air with a smirk on, "Oh I pity you now."
• Jason laughed hysterically, clearly amused by her confidence. But she found that belittling…and offensive.
• Her frown returned. She threw her right fist to his face in a serious blow, making him frown suddenly at the pain.
• The Earl nursed his jaw, smirking so much it was clear he had evil plans for her. Unknown to him though, it was mutual.
• They began exchanging fists and it seemed the lady was getting a little bit more aggressive than normal.
• She sent a kick to his side, one he stopped with a hard grip around her leg. And a smile of fulfillment.
• At that, the Scottish groaned in anger, using her other leg instead on his face. With the pain he felt, he let her go. Somehow, a new form of anger evolved, one determined to tie the lady up as throw her into a volcano. But before then, she had to feel a kick to her face as well.
• And as with Earl, it looked like she was studying his every move. Consequently, she planned a kick as well. It resulted in a clash between both their legs, with Monica falling and Jason just staggering to his balance.
• He grinned at the little sign of dominance, planning his next move while she lay there watching him.
• "Why don't we take this to the next level," he announced while he bent to clutch her red hair. With that, he pulled her up.
• Monica shook in struggle to release his hard grip around her hair, realising his intentions a little too late. This was certainly not the type of fight she'd planned.
• He pulled her with her hair to that same ditch he almost fell into earlier. Blind with contempt and anger, he didn't realize the sudden urge to push her into it. And he surely was going to satisfy that urge.
• Philip stared with a worried frown, facing the Marquess right beside him, "Don't you think he is taking this practice a little bit too far?"
• Peter answered in his stead, "Well you should know the Earl by now. Rather a naked dance than lose to a woman."
• And The Duke knew he was painfully right, not right enough though to justify Jason's actions.
• Just by the edge of the pit, The Earl made Monica face him, "By the time I'm done with you, you'll remember the marked difference between you and I."
• She frowned angrily, realising just then that this man was insanely proud, "Will u really throw me into this?"
• "Ahhhh," he laughed, "with all the pleasure in the world darling."
• Fed up, she kicked him uncontrollably, struggling and groaning childishly until he let go of her. It was then she realized his grip was her only support from falling. She flapped her hands frantically, watching herself bend over the edge of land into the ditch.
• At some point, she figured this was going to go a long way ruining everything. Her pride, the little dignity she had left, and maybe her opportunity to steal the Duke away. And at that, sudden anger came over her.
• With a frown, she pulled on Jason's garment to get herself back up to balance. That helped, because she found herself coming back up but now the Earl was falling into it.
• However, she held his hand, clutching him in a fist. The previously screaming Jason opened his eyes to look at her. From this view, she was attractive in a wild kind of way, he did not doubt. Still he frowned, mainly because she still saved him after his madness.
• "Second time today," she nodded, "however this time will be slightly different." She wriggled her fingers which were around his hand, threatening to let go with a smirk.
• Earl of Vetcom released a gasp from his parted lips, hiding the fear in his voice unsuccessfully, "Pull me up now!"
• The Scottish shook her head stubbornly, "No. Say please Monica."
• Jason Ferma gawked at her in shock. To him, she had some guts. He shaped his lips to retort to her when she let go of half of his hand. He screamed again, much to her expectation.
• "Say please," she teased, "Your honour is literally in my hands."
• He sighed and closed his eyes, seemingly trying to swallow his ego. The words came out as a groan, "Please Monica."
• She smiled, finding everything quite interesting. Next, she did what anyone with power would do.Abuse it.
• "You are far better than I am in fighting," she added for him to repeat.
• Sending her a deathly glare, he chewed out the sentence, "You are far better than I am in fighting." From the looks of it, he was going to eat her alive when he was up from there.
• But she wasn't done, "And I owe you my life,"
• This was one thing Jason swore on his position as Earl never to say, "You must be out of your mind!"
• With a non-chalant shrug, Monica released her grip around him .
• The words escaped from his mouth in screams, noticing she was being serious, "I owe you my life. I owe you my life!" What was the use, he was already going down. But suddenly, he noticed he stopped falling…
• Slowly, he peeled his eyes over to find the Scottish bending into the ditch with her hand hooked around his belt. Then she gave that smile of satisfaction before she pulled him out. What made her smile widen was when she realized the invincible Earl of Vetcom was shaking on the grass like a leaf, fear gripping at his chest.
• His friends laughed in amusement especially Earl of course. As always, he made a big deal out of it,
• Hah! You shameless man," he mimicked him, "why don't I show you where you belong?"
• Philip ignored all of them, laughing as he looked into the sky. He never imagined he was ever going to have such mirth again.