"What, are you
going to hit me with your little stick?" asked the tied up prisoner.
"Somehow, I didn't think you had it in you to beat up on the helpless."
"I've changed," menacingly replied the shorter woman. "But you're
right. Release her and give her her sword."
After Callisto had a chance to work out the kinks and warm up, she
looked at Gabrielle with a patronizing stare. "Sigh. You're going to
have to learn not to let your prisoners have their way. Too bad you're
going to be dead in a minute."
With a familiar "Yiyiyiyiyi" scream, Gabrielle launched herself at the
other. Callisto found herself blocking a flurry of blows from the
incensed staff-wielding Amazon Queen.
The blond cooly waited for the other's first adrenalin-infused assault
to tire. Then she smoothly went on the offensive, and Gabrielle found
herself backtracking over the same ground that Callisto had given up
only moments before.
Callisto lunged, feinted, attacked high, swung low, but the other
combatant surprisingly blocked or deflected or evaded her every blow.
The blond was baffled by Gabrielle's high level proficiency with her
overgrown stick. Surely, the little bard couldn't be better than her?
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That's when
Gabrielle took the offensive again. Her staff moved with a blur,
attacks coming from all sides and all at once as an embattled Callisto
desperately concentrated on defending herself from her enemy.
And then suddenly, and impossibly to Callisto, her sword went
skittering away as Gabrielle finally scored a hit. Before she could
react, the Queen was pummeling her. Reflexively, the blond raised her
arm to ward off the blows and had it broken for her trouble.
With a few more blows and Callisto found herself on her back, several
bones broken, seemingly bruised everywhere. I really need to take up
another hobby, she dully thought to herself as Gabrielle stood silently
over her, staff at the ready, breathing strained but regular.
"Well? How does it feel to be me?" asked the defeated opponent as she
stared up at the victor. "Does it feel better? Does this stop the pain
in your heart? Was it worth betraying your ideals for revenge? I really
want to know..." she finished truthfully.
"You know what, I don't feel better," confessed Gabrielle. "But I'm not
doing this for me." And with that, the staff came down and everything
went black.
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