"Oof!"
Rivondir landed with a thud and found himself blinking up at the canopy above him. He wondered for a moment how he'd gotten there, sure that he'd been standing just a moment earlier. The pressure of a boot on his chest reminded him of what had happened, and he lifted his head to see his opponent cast in shadow against the soft green light that filtered through the trees above her. Even in the dimly lit clearing, he could make out the amused grin on her face. Rivondir frowned and dropped the knives he was meant to be fighting her off with. "I'm no good at this, Círeth!"
"Oh, you just haven't practiced enough!" she answered, a hint of laughter evident in her voice. She stepped back off of him and offered a hand to help him to his feet again. "I hadn't pinned you for a few rounds before that, if it makes you feel any better." Círeth giggled and reached over to pick the leaves out of Rivondir's tousled golden hair, coaxing a smile from him even though he'd been trying to keep up a pouting facade.
“What is the point of this, anyways?” He asked, taking her hands in his and pulling her closer, pressing his forehead to hers. She smiled, and the glimmer in her blue eyes made his heart beat out of control. Rivondir lifted a hand and softly stroked her cheek, trailing along her face and to her hair, where he tucked a dark, wavy strand behind her ear. He hoped that they could stop this nonsense for the day, since she was obviously going to continue to beat him into the dirt. “The point is,” she began, pausing to gently push him away, “That you have to be able to fight, Rivondir! How will you protect yourself if you have to?” Círeth asked, drawing her blades again. “Now pick up your knives!”
He groaned and did as he was told, turning to face her again. “But no one would ever get to me with you around!” Círeth shot him a look that told him he wasn’t going to weasel his way out of training, and he sighed and braced himself for another round. “Come on, you attack this time!” she urged him, beckoning with one of her blades.
Rivondir took a deep breath and then ran at her, sure that he had her this time. But Círeth swiftly dodged him and turned on her heel, kicking him in the back so that he was knocked off balance and landed face-first in the brush. Círeth erupted into laughter again, and walked over to his side, putting her knives away again. “You’re hardly trying anymore! Oh, Rivondir, what will I do with you?”
He sighed and sat up, and she took a seat next to him, wrapping her arms around his middle. “I think you’ll just have to stay with me forever,” he answered, nodding matter-of-factly. “Who knows when I could run into trouble? Yes, I’ll need you there to get me out of it.” Círeth rolled her eyes but couldn’t hold back her smile. “So that is why you married me! You needed a bodyguard! I should have known better than to marry an ellon who can’t even fight off a rabbit!” Rivondir gasped and feigned insult, staring at her incredulously. “I would have married that guard captain of yours if that were the case, whatever-his-name-is! And mind you, rabbits are notoriously quick!” They both stared at each other for a moment, until they couldn’t hold straight faces any longer and burst into laughter.
When their laughter finally subsided, they sat there together for a while, and Rivondir thought that he had never been so happy before, except perhaps on the day that they had made their vows to one another. “Do you think I’ll ever get better at this? Fighting, I mean?” he asked her after a long stretch of silence. Círeth stirred and glanced up at him, having nodded off for a moment resting against his shoulder. “Of course, my love. I may not always be there the moment you need me, so at least I will feel better knowing that you are safe,” she answered, and Rivondir nodded in agreement. “You are right, as usual,” he told her, leaning over to press his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. Círeth smiled, content in the fact that he hadn’t given up on the idea of training altogether.
“Does that mean you want to spar again?” She asked hopefully.
Rivondir sighed and picked up his blades. “Oh, fine.”
