Test vs. Orianna

Recovering his breath from the shield bash, Test prepared for a series of thrusts, aiming to attack swiftly, and this time he didn't have any cramps or kinks or tweaks to stop him. In matter of seconds, he managed to pin three strikes against Theresa. "Now, you have my attention. I think you've earned something special." She tucked her shield firmly away and readied a stance, her eyes glowing bright red. One step was all he saw before his eyes lost track of her, flashes of red and silver shining briefly in the moonlight.

He felt three blunt hits collide with his torso in different points, two bouncing harmlessly off what armor he had. After the ordeal, Theresa stood with her sword pointing at him steadily, but looking at the vampire herself and he could hardly believe she could keep it straight. She looked utterly exhausted as she shakily sheathed her sword.

Triple Strike - 36, 66, 82
Red Blossom - 41, 45, 66, 54, 74

Test: 4
Theresa: 3 + Exhaustion (She has Disadvantage against Test, and Test has Advantage against her, in the next turn)

"Wow." Test squeaked, hardly able to speak after so many blows to the torso. He went for a basic practiced swing. Not trusting himself to pull of anything more complicated right now.

Old Reliable

Though simple, his strike was powerful in the face of someone as tired as Theresa was in the moment, blowing her back and throwing her to the floor. She didn't even have a chance to try to retaliate and spite her fatigue, she had no choice but to lay down for a moment and rest, albeit by force.

Old Reliable - 86, 98 Double Crit XD

Test: 4
Theresa: 2 + Stunned

Test offered her a hand to help her to her feet, his own stance a little unsteady. He wasn't going to hit her while she was down and he definitely wasn't going to hit her while she was down and exhausted.

Turn Skip

Theresa took his hand and accepted the offer for help, getting back to her feet, having returned to some working level of rested. "Thank you. I must admit, it's somewhat refreshing to have a sparring partner like you." She took a deep breath and redrew her sword, ready to start again. "Ready to finish this?"

"Likewise. It has been a long time since I've had a good clean spar." He replied, adopting his defensive stance to signal his readiness to continue.

River Stance

With his consent, Theresa resumed their spar, immediately going in with her shield to try and knock the wind out of his sails again, only for a well-experienced Test to reassume his stance and knock her shield away and her balance off before retaliating strongly with the pole-end of his halberd.

River Stance - 58, 35
Hack and Bash - 73, 69 (Nice)

Test: 4
Theresa: 1

With his defensive prowess already on full display Test tried to finish things with a basic swing, trying to catch her in the torso with the flat of the halberd's blade.

Old Reliable

With one final swing, he knocked her back and won himself the spar, Theresa dusting herself off and leaning against the wall for support. "Well done, Test. You handle yourself well. I'd be wary of you in a real fight, but I think it's probably best that I not keep you from Orianna any longer, else her stares will drill a hole in my head." Looking back to the princess, she had a grumpy look on her face, directed mainly at her godmother.

"Finally!"

Test gave Theresa a respectful bow. "It was an honor sparing with you." He told her. He was going to be feeling some of those hits tomorrow, but that was just one of the signs that it was a good clean bout. He then turned to follow the princess, not wanting to leave her waiting any longer.

"And you, Test. You were immensely sporting and good fighter, so I give you my blessing. Feel free to call this place home if ever you find yourself on our grounds again," Theresa offered, giving a genuine smile for the first time since they'd met. "Enjoy the rest of the tour."

Orianna had hopped off her throne and made her way over to Test, taking his arm in her hands, urging him to hurry on. "That was pretty amazing. Theresa hasn't done that in forever, ignoring the time we've been here, that is."

"She hasn't sparred? Or given anyone her blessing?" Test asked as he let the princess lead him. Happy to have a place he could call home if he ever needed it.

"Well, she's sparred with the staff in the castle, and the other guards, so I guess giving her blessing," Orianna noted as they wandered the halls. "As I've mentioned, it's been literal ages since this castle has seen any true rule, at least the kind you'd expect from a matriarchy. Not a lot of opportunity for that these days, but even when we still ruled, she wasn't really the... nice sort? I don't know... she changed at some point."

"Changed for the better sounds like." Test said. It made sense that not much ruling would go on. Everyone seemed to know each other, it was less if a kingdom and more of a community.

"That could be..." She smiled blissfully as they strolled on through before heading upstairs and arriving at a door. "Okay, since I'm starting to get tired," she said, looking to Test playfully. "We'll do one more stop before the grand finale." She opened up the door and revealed an immense study room, filled with bookcases aplenty and a few women roaming to scan its contents. "Welcome to the study! Every book in here is free for anyone to read if they wish, but careful~ Some of these books like to entertain themselves."

Test was too dazzled by the sheer number of books to catch that last bit. Quickly beginning to scan the shelves for anything interesting looking. "Wow. I've never seen so many in one place." He said in amazement.

He definitely caught some attention by the other occupants, but they didn't raise any fuss over Test's presence. Though one did make their way over to Orianna, talking to her for a moment before the princess raised her voice. "Enjoy yourself if you want, Test, but if you need any help looking for something, Anise here would be happy to help you out."

The woman in question had short amber hair with vitiligo, darker skin taking a majority with light patches. She wore modest blue clothes and a pencil skirt with striking yellow eyes. She smiled and waved to Test, seeming pleasant for the most part.

Test returned Anise's wave. "Hello. Do you have anything about the history of this place?" He asked. It seemed like it would make the perfect reading for tonight.

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's been a while since anyone turned that up and a lot of the books have been shuffled around for a while. Keeping everything organized is a hassle I haven't yet solved... You'll have to look around." She seemed genuinely upset, especially as that was one of the books she wasn't yet up to date on the location amongst the sea of pages nestled in the shelves.

"It's alright. I can help you look for it later if you like. But I should probably finish my tour with Orianna first." Test offered returning to the princess's side.

At the promise of help, Anise nodded and waved to Test in a quick goodbye as he had resolved to finish the tour. Afterwards, who knows? Orianna felt a bit giddy that he was getting along so well with everyone, and even moreso as they were ready to head to the final part of the tour. "Come this way, we'll end the tour and see what happens from there."

Test followed with an excited nod. Between the rush of the spar and the wonder of the library he'd mostly forgotten where their tour was going to end.

Orianna brought Test to a bedroom lavishly furnished with lavender and wine-colored trappings, with a large bed at the end of the room overlooked by a high-reaching stain-glass window and covered up by a veil. Off to the side of the bed, ready for any command thrown their way were two vampiric maids, one of which was the one who guided Test to the throne room. "This is where I lay myself to sleep every night, Test. It used to be my mother's, but as I am the next in line, it became mine long ago."

"Such luxury." Test said. A little dumbstruck by the beauty of the place.

"Indeed, I sleep very well most nights, dream what I may, and spend personal time here if I want to be alone... or with company. So, are you ready to join me for one more bit of fun, Test?" Orianna stepped ahead of him and turned around to face him as she snapped her fingers and her two maids undressed her and prepared her nightgown.