The Huntsman of Adamos (Quartet)- draft

“Why, thank you, my lord. I do like good food much better than charcoal and exploded eggs.”“Why, thank you, my lord. I do like good food much better than charcoal and exploded eggs.”

Serapha finally got Fleur to tell her what happened the night the Xelusians tried to snatch her. Abrieth had told her the blade wounds on the dead were not made by his brother. She was shocked to learn from Fleur herself that she was the highest ranked swordswoman of her generation.

Laughing, Fleur stood up, “My Lord, may I borrow a small training sword or two. And the ballroom?”

Abrieth eyed her oddly, but left and returned quickly with the first swords he and his brother had trained with as children. “Will these suffice?”

Fleur hefted the weight and smiled as they walked to the large open room. “Yes, thank you. Now, ’Pha, the first kata or sword dance I teach our youngest children are single weapon, slow kata.”

Standing in the center of the room, Fleur moved very slowly as she sliced, blocked and stabbed. As she moved through the graceful motions, she explained, “Slow kata builds strength and muscle memory. Then they learn mid-kata for stamina.” She sped up the motions and moved back and forth in the steps. “Mid-Kata is repeated many times, each type of kata has ten kata movement sets of eight positions, they are done over and over, further reinforcing muscle memory of the motions and ensuring the warrior has the stamina for battle. Then comes the fun part. Fast Kata.” Fleur took the second sword from Abrieth. She flashed into motion, counting as she completed each complicated set of movements. “One... Two... Three... Four... Five... Six... Seven... Eight... Nine... Ten...” She stopped and bowed as Serapha clapped.

Abrieth looked impressed, “Are there more than sword katas?”

Fleur nodded happily. “There are staff, single sword, double sword, long knife, battle axe, and combined weapons katas. The mother warriors who protected the twin princes used sword and staff katas to train the next generation. In my time, there were only three left. Their youngest sister trained me. After the resettlement, Kaleth developed the rest after seeing me do them. You and Yuri both mastered all of them before Kaleth went into the Light. I prefer to fight with a modified twisting double-sword style. I use momentum to make up for my size and strength.”

“Show me,” Abrieth asked excitedly, it had been so long since he had learned any new martial skills. He waved a larger training sword at her, “I challenge you to a duel.”

Fleur giggled, and curtsied, “But of course, my lord.” Then she whispered loudly to Serapha, “Has he done anything foolish lately?”

Serapha snorted a laugh in a very un-princess-like way. “He’s spoiled, so yes,”

“Very well, my princess, I shall avenge your offense,” Fleur offered graciously, to Abrieth she said, “En Guardé.”

Abrieth looked at her use of the strange language confused, “What?”

“It means, prepare yourself,” Fleur moved cautiously around him, then she attacked.

He barely managed to block eighty percent of her blows and he had the distinct impression she was not putting her full effort into it because she was poking him in ridiculous places. Serapha was almost crying with laughter as Fleur jabbed him in the buttocks again with an innocent ‘oops’. It was then they noticed his mother standing in the door with an amused grin.

“I thought you were dancing but I couldn’t figure out why you would be clacking wooden sticks together,” Yllumina observed, as she held Kaleth in her arms. Kalyssa’s mother-nurse stood just over Yllumina’s shoulder holding the baby oracle.

“Mother,” Abrieth wheezed laughter, he had not had such a workout in a long time, “Fleur was teaching me kata.”

“May I see this kata that has overwhelmed my warrior son?”

A servant came with a chair for Yllumina and another with a tray of cool drinks which Abrieth gulped greedily as Fleur effortlessly moved through the motions, when she stopped, she grinned mischievously.

“It really isn’t fair, Mina, your Abrieth has never fought me, but I have fought him almost every week for over a century,” Fleur confessed. “I know all his tells.”

“I can see that you have much practice, daughter. A warrior oracle is not something my people know,” Yllumina sat regally, “You have so many burdens and so many skills. Oracle, tech, swordswoman, space explorer, is there anything you cannot do?”

“She claims she can’t cook,” Serapha pointed out but she giggled as if she did not believe it.

“No, it’s true ’Pha. Everyone else in our family are wonderful cooks, but I’m a disaster. I can burn boiling water,” she assured them.

Abrieth gave her a disbelieving look. “How exactly does one burn boiling water?”

“Put a kettle on or pot to boil, and then wander back to work or just leave completely and go to the tech center.” Fleur shrugged, “I wasn’t kidding, I have to sit in a chair in front of the stove when I am heating meal packets, or I turn them to charcoal. During the war, my subordinates claimed I was putting food in the plasma fusion chamber to warm it.”

“Meal packets? Like warrior rations?” Abrieth looked shocked but he was laughing. “You couldn’t have been that bad.”

“My darling brother-by-sealing, I destroyed my husband’s kitchen eleven times. When Asha was a child and we were getting ready for the war, it was so bad that Kaleth’s best friend would remove the cooking range from our home when Kaleth was away, so I wouldn’t burn the kitchen up.” Fleur laughed lightly and held out her arms for baby Kaleth, she cradled him and tapped his nose. “Yes, I will... I will ruin your kitchen eleven times.” He cooed and kicked his feet excitedly. “Because your wife is a very bad cook.”

She waltzed around the floor, retelling of her kitchen adventures in a high sing-song voice as Kaleth made happy baby noises in her arms. “And one time... I decided to boil some eggs for Asha to decorate for the spring festival... oh, yes I did, and you... you told me to wait... but you were so busy, and I was waiting for my calculations to finish and do! You! Know! What! Happened?” Fleur bounced to emphasize the words in her baby-talk voice.

A giggling Serapha was practically laying in Abrieth’s lap as he chuckled. Several of the servants were listening and laughing as Fleur glowed with her happy memories.

Adamos strode in and demanded, “What is the source of your amusement, family?”

Mina was rocking Kalyssa and laughing, she answered melodically, “Fleur telling us what a gifted cook she is, my husband. You should listen.”

“Gifted cook? Has Madge not banned you from the kitchen?” He demanded in an amused tone.

“Yes, my lord,” Madge answered, “And I wish my lady had shared her experiences with us sooner, I would have banned her from the beginning.” Madge gave her a fond glare that Fleur felt rather than saw, as she danced with Kaleth, so she tip-toed over and kissed the old housekeeper on the cheek. Madge patted her own cheek then winked knowingly, “Tell us why you shouldn’t cook eggs, Lady Fleur.”

“Well, my computer chimed that it had finished the calculations and I was so excited, so... so... sooooo excited because of my new breakthrough that I forgot about the eggs.... Oh dear... Yes, I did, I forgot and went to work.” Fleur giggled and looked straight at Adamos, “My Lord Adamos, do you know what happens to boiled eggs when there is no boiling water?”

Without waiting for an answer, she looked down at baby Kaleth and raspberry-kissed his cheeks, “They become egg-bombs. Yes... yes... yes... a very special recipe... boiled eggs without the boiling water... blow... up...”

Abrieth guffawed, bending in half, and Serapha giggled so hard she fell off the chase. Several of the servants and Madge the housekeeper were laughing as Fleur continued to sway and twirl with Kaleth, narrating in her sing-song baby voice. “Pop... pop... pop... and oh no... the smell... so... so bad... And when you get home hours later, we will have to move into a room at the royal castle because it will take weeks and weeks for the smell to go away... And you had to buy a new cooking range a-gain because another pot melted to the burner.”

Adamos chuckled as he stepped up, taking Fleur and Kaleth in his arms, he danced with her. “Then it is good I foster a love of cooking in my sons. Fear not, you shall not starve.”

Fleur grinned at him, but the old oracle could feel her shattered heart beneath her joyful façade, so he pressed a kiss to her forehead, as everyone laughed harder at her humorous retort. “Why, thank you, my lord. I do like good food much better than charcoal and exploded eggs.”

Abrieth looked up from his book when Fleur made a disgusted sound. Mina and Serapha were trying to teach her needlepoint as they all sat in the lower level of Adamos’ library. Fleur was trying and failing miserably to imitate the delicate stitches and her heart ached at the memory of Asha and Allura trying to teach her to paint a simple flower. She missed them, she missed Kalen and Jenna, painfully knowing she would never see any of them again. She had not realized it would be so hard.

Groaning to keep the tears from starting, Fleur demanded, “Abrieth, give me your sword. I just can’t be a proper lady and make pretty things, I’m a warrior and I am going to put the wretched knotted mess out of my misery!”

Abrieth laughed and pointed at the kitten in her lap, “Perhaps, if my lady did not have a saboteur under your cloth and hoop, your thread would behave as it should.”

“Shhhh, don’t listen to him, Diva, he’s a big meanie,” Fleur cooed to the striped gray kitten that stared up at her with large emerald eyes, “You’re not a saboteur. You’re my precious.”

“I’m not a meanie,” Abrieth chuckled, as Mina and Serapha smiled at their mock argument.

“Oh yes, you are. You have never liked cats that makes you a meanie, unlike Yuri,” Fleur insisted.

Sitting forward in his chair, Abrieth eyed Fleur skeptically, “Yurieth despises cats more than I do, calls them useless balls of fur and claws...”

Fluer narrowed her eyes at him, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure... he... by the light!” Abrieth exclaimed suddenly, “Are you saying your Yurieth, in the future, has a cat! My brother hates all felines!” He bellowed a laugh as Fleur broke down into uncontrollable giggles.

“Tell me more,” Abrieth demanded.

“I... I can’t... I mean I shouldn’t,” Fluer insisted.

“Oh, now, you have to tell us,” Abrieth chuckled. “My brother has a pet cat and I want to know everything.”

“Fleur, you said yourself that we won’t remember,” Serapha announced curiously, “Please tell us about Yurieth’s pet cat.”

“Oh, it is so much more than a pet, it protects him and attacks on command like his wolves, it’s a warrior cat,” Fleur grinned then the memories made her laugh so hard tears shined in her eyes. After a few moments, she regained her composure enough to talk.

“Please Fleur, I’m begging.” Abrieth grinned charmingly.

“As you wish, I’ll tell you about Fish.”

“Fish? I thought you were going to tell us about my son having his least favorite animal in the biomes as a pet and protector,” Mina raised her eyebrow.

“Fish is Yuri’s cat, mother. In the far future, your eldest son has a trained warrior feline named Fishlover and it...” She started to giggle again.

“Oh, just tell the story!” Abrieth demanded impatiently.

Fleur held out her hands to pacify him, “I’m sorry... it’s just so funny.” She took several deep breaths to calm herself. “One day, I came home for the lunch Kaleth left for me, and Yuri was sitting on the front steps with the tiniest kitten I had ever seen. It was just this little ball of gray fluff in his palm, and I didn’t realize what it was until it mewed. He was trying to get it to eat the dry kibble we kept for our wolfhounds, but it wouldn’t eat it. He was so worried about it. You see, he wasn’t doing as well as you and Pha did, he was listless and had nightmares, and on my homeworld, we use pets as a form of therapy. So, I called the harbor master who sent his youngest son over with 2 kinds of fish and cream. I decided if Yuri wanted to keep this kitten, then he could.” She nodded firmly before she continued.

“Well, the kitten wouldn’t eat the fish from the sea, or the fish from the lake, or drink the cream, and big, worried Yuri was just beside himself because it was so weak. Young Vesser has a natural talent with animals but that is another story about why we started the schools. Anyway, Vesser had an idea, and he mixed the two kinds of fish with a little cream and forced the kitten to take a bite. When Yuri offered it a little more on the end of his finger, the kitten clawed his finger and tried to eat it with the fish.” Fleur made a gesture of one hand clawing her extended opposite index finger as she giggled.

“Seriously, that kitten was going for the bone and Yuri never flinch, he just said, ‘Ow ow ow, it’s okay, don’t bite’, over and over as he fed the kitten one pinch at a time while Vesser made more. It was too small to eat from a bowl, so Yuri hand-fed the voracious ball of fluff and gave it bottles every few hours for a month until it finally learned to eat from a bowl, and by eating from a bowl, I mean crawling into it and getting covered in creamed fish every meal. Yuri would... would have to... to bathe it.” She wheezed out her amusement, as she wiped her humor-tears, “And that was how Fish learned to swim, by trying to get out of the bath. Which it usually did by climbing Yuri’s arm.”

“Oh dear,” Mina laughed, “It certainly sounds like a horrible creature.”

“Oh, Fish was a funny kitten, but the thing is, Fish would curl up on Yuri’s shoulder or lay across the back of his neck and purr and Yuri could fall asleep without potions or music. And when he would start into a nightmare, Fish would purr and Yuri would calm. He rested well.” Fleur paused to smile fondly at the memory. “Yuri and Fish went everywhere together, there are so many stories that Pha wrote or will write children’s books about them and their adventures, I mean Yuri even had the leather crafter make a pouch that could attach to either his backpack or his belt while Fish was still a kitten. He couldn’t leave it and go anywhere because, unless Fish was with Jenna, the wretched little thing followed Yuri like a shadow. Yuri trained it to do all sorts of things, but he couldn’t... couldn’t make it stay...home... It drove him crazy.” They were all laughing.

“How did Kaleth feel about this? If he is like his father as you say, you must have had to coerce him to allow a feline in his home,” Mina observed.

“Luckily, Kaleth’s hatred of felines was overrode by his love for his brother and concern for his welfare. More than anything he wanted for Yuri to be healed and happy... well, until Fish tried to eat them... eat them both.” Fleur started laughing so hard she fell over on her side.

Abrieth gaped at her, as Mina and Serapha snickered, he demanded, “It tried to eat them?”

“Oh, Kaleth and Fish hated each other. I still have the vid of that afternoon. When I get really sad, I watch it and laugh because I am a terrible person who enjoys the suffering of two great warriors being terrorized by a palmful of a kitten.”

“Did you bring it with you?” Abrieth asked hopefully.

Fleur shook her head, winking at him. “No, but you will get your own copy. It was at the training center, so everyone saw.”

“Tell us the whole story,” Pha begged.

“Okay, breathe, Fleur,” Fleur scolded herself as she snickered. She tried to compose herself enough to elaborate on the one of the funniest afternoons of her life.

She cleared her throat. “Alright… Kaleth was the last Guardian, he was all about training and cross-training. His guardsmen were to know as many different styles of combat as possible, and since there were no huntsmen until we rescued Yuri, Kaleth wanted to learn his style. Huntsmen use axes, long knives, and staffs very differently than guardians and protectors. Anyway, Fish usually stayed with Jenna when Yuri went to training center, but she had exams, so he took him. Kaleth and Yuri were all ready to spar and I get this com from the Master Swordsman to open the vid feed to the outdoor sparing area. Kaleth and Yuri were standing in one of the rings holding fighting staffs, and Fish was standing between them. He was hissing loud enough I could hear him over the coms. Little kittenish growls threatening everyone who was standing around laughing. I watched as Yuri’s tiny kitten repeatedly attacked and chewed Kaleth’s boot. Then...” Fleur was laughing so hard she had to stop for a moment.

As she continued, Fleur’s animated gestures had them all laughing hysterically. “My poor husband didn’t realize he was in mortal danger. He... he said... said to Yuri, ‘Poke me.’ Yuri did, and Fish got even more vicious kitten attitude and tried to climb Kaleth’s boot before Yuri clicked for Fish to come back. Oh, he was so cute, sitting between Yuri’s boots all puffed up and threatening... Then... ah haha haa. Then Y-Yuri s-said ‘Poke me’ and the millisecond Kaleth’s staff touched Yuri’s shoulder, Fish... F-Fish climbed Kaleth like a tree and went straight for his neck!”

“Was I th-there? W-What did I do?” Abrieth demanded as he bellowed out his amusement.

“Oh, you were useless.” Fleur waved her hand at him in a dismissive gesture. “You, Karstien, and Colby, who was Kaleth’s second... the three of you were laughing so hard... you could barely stand... Yuri was trying to save Kaleth from getting eaten, and Fish got mad and started biting him too. Fish bouncing between the two of them like a crazy feline monkey with grappling hooks for paws... Oh gosh... and when Kaleth fell over and took Yuri with him, Fish tried to attack the guardsmen who went to help them up. By the time Jenna got there to calm Fish, half the senior corps had scratches or bites. Jenna scolded everyoneand left with Fish... And then... and then... the... the Master Swordsman said the funniest thing. He... He kinda sounds like Odinus, he has that really deep House of Odini voice.” Fleur paused to wipe her eyes and take several deep breaths.

“He looks Kaleth and Yuri dead on and says, ‘Perhaps we should train Felines instead of Canines for combat, they appear to be more vicious.’ And that was it, everyone lost it and being the terrible wife that I am, I took a vid of the whole thing to the Healer’s Hall, so our daughter could laugh at her father and uncle while she healed them.” Fleur was wheezing from laughing so hard.

Abrieth was laying on the floor in an undignified heap chortling. A giggling Serapha was doubled in half, and Mina was leaned back with her arm over her weeping eyes, laughing.

In the level above, Adamos chuckled and glanced at a dour Yurieth. “It sounds like you have some very interesting adventures in the future, my son. Warrior Felines seem like an interesting challenge.”

Yurieth chewed his cheek to keep from smiling at the mirth below as Fleur continued to tell his family more about himself and his trained feline. “I will take my leave, father. I have heard enough nonsense for today.”

“Yurieth, laughter heals the heart.”