[Center]Alicia Le’roux - East Watchtower[/Center]

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If her tutors saw her now, they would be hurling a thousand chastising comments at the duellist. Her lessons had never been anything but gruelling, and so many of the basics were hammered into her by repetition and yet she had forgotten all of them. 

She had spent more time thinking of her battle with Dirge, about how she would best the behemoth, that she was not giving her opponent the respect he deserved and even forgetting the most basic of information. He was quicker than she suspected, but she should have been faster. 

No, she [i]was[/i] faster. What had happened was she was had gone for a one hit-kill, and she had focused on flair. She was the better duellist: she was always the better duellist and yet her oversized ego might cost her dearly as she tried to rush things.

Arrogance, if anything, was Alicia’s greatest flaw. She was so used to getting her own way that, sometimes at least, she would lose every logical part of her mind in pursuit of her demanded outcome.

She glared up at Daren, coming down for a second swinging blow. The shoulder barge had been enough to knock some sense into Alicia, even if it didn’t hurt all that much. This blow was one from the axe: hungry to taste blood. Alicia was focused now, not worried about the other Queen’s blades, or ending this battle quickly. Dirge seemed to be honouring his opponents, and some other woman had begun an ineffective assault that might distract the armoured man. 

No, Alicia was focused on Daren now, and on living. She grasped at the lithe grace provided by her fading vampire heritage and knew that this fight-as handicapped as she was by the time of day and her own impatience- was going to require a bit of patience and a little give-and-take. 

She waited until the axe swung down to dodge, letting patience define her new manoeuvres. As late as she felt she could: she rolled to the left, away from the swing of the axe and the slam of the shield, in response to her dodge. 

Assuming she lived, that far, she would roll again, putting herself onto her knees now as she jabbed at Daren’s neck with rapier’s tip. If it worked, he would be caught off guard. If it didn’t, at least she’d be on her feet enough to have a chance at dodging the follow up.