Nerini jogged along the cobblestone pathways of the city, in the early predawn of a late summer morning. She skirted past drunks asleep in gutters and bakers hustling to their shops to start the morning's batches of bread, the smell of the baking cutting through the smell of stale beer and revelry from the night before.

Cutting along one street, she jogged past Wyn's meal house. It was now fully constructed with full crops of vegetables teeming in the gardens surrounding the walls of the kitchens and the neighbouring schoolyard. Here, workers were coming in, starting a meal that would feed others in need and children being housed and schooled in the attached orphanage. She smiled at her friend's handiwork, knowing that it would change the city of Alliance for the better.

After healing and taking things easy for several weeks, Nerini was back training to recover her strength. She  had weights strapped to her limbs and weighted weapons on her back as she circled back towards the palace complex, feeling the crisp air burning in her lungs, her legs screaming in complaint as she pushed herself up the sharpest hills, along the steepest inclines she could find.

Soon the rulers of those nations in the Alliance would be boarding ships home, leaving the elected members to represent them in meetings that would last through the winter. Only in times of crisis or during the annual meetings in the summer months, would they be coming to meet here. The days were growing short and home countries needed their ruler's presence before the darkness of winter settled in. She could feel the change in the soul of the city, even when there wasn't as many people out to observe. Allians was preparing for when it was half the population then it was right now.

She felt proud, happy that it had all come to be, even knowing that it wasn't hers to be proud of but celebrating in the successes of her friends, both new and old, even as she recovered her strength and felt an old familiar tug to move toward something else. For the first time in memory, she had held herself back from it, kept amongst the people she loved, stood to the side and watched them in their glory as she shuffled along in the background.

The tugging was growing but she allowed it to pester her in the back of her mind as she had resettled her friendships and created more. At first, she'd had no choice, as she recovered her strength, she had merely resigned herself to healing and helping where she could. But more and more every day, even as she felt the desire to leave, Nerini resisted it. She told herself that she had to stay on and let her body recover a little bit longer. She lingered here, with excuses that would not have held her still in the past but kept her in the company of safety and familiarity now.

She wanted to linger, felt like she needed to rest her soul before tackling whatever else was going to happen.

With a grin, she pushed herself into a sprint, rocketing past the palace complex gates and down the path to the training yards, stopping only once she made it to the field where she had been teaching sword fighting these past months.

There she came to a walking halt, panting and grinning at the exertion, stray wisps of hair clinging wetly to her face as she made her way towards where she had left a jug of water. The training yard was still empty, though people would be arriving soon enough as the day truly started once more.

She took a long drink and straightened, watching a now familiar form jogging up to her, offering her a careful grin. "You look like you're completely back on track, Lady Nerini."

"High Lord Shiar, thank you, I feel like I may be." She smiled, offering him a glass of water, still feeling oddly out of place around him, even after the last few months of acquaintance. 

They had been in the same group of friends, circling around each other at dinner parties or brushing elbows in meetings. Their paths crossed in hallways, though neither one of them had pursued anything past cordial greetings or exchanging a few words in a group conversation.

"Are you teaching again this morning?" he asked after gulping down the glass, gasping a bit, his own sweat causing his black curls to slick back against his head as he ran his hands through them.

"In an hour or so, I try to get in a quick practice myself before it starts." She shrugged, slowly taking the weights off her wrists and ankles.

He watched her for a moment, nodding and pulling off the heavy weighted vest he had on, smiling hopefully. "You feel up for some real practice?".

Nerini considered the offer, shifting her body to test it. "Are your weapons weighted?"

"Of course."

"No cheap shots to the face or anything, I've been asked to report to the council chambers later this morning" She said, looking to him for a moment, then walking out onto the field, pulling her practice swords out of their sheaths and going through some easy movements to loosen her body up after the run.

He merely grinned and pulled out his own swords, pacing out a distance not far from her, falling into a ready stance. "No cheap shots. First to bleed."

"Or first to lose both weapons." She said easily, knowing both of their blades were dull, blunt practice ones, not meant to do any damage to foe. To cause one another to bleed would take a great deal of force. They had never fully worked out the aggression between the two of them that simmered below the surface since the tournament, but she didn't expect them to be trying to seriously harm one another.

She attacked quickly,  spinning into a slash followed by a cross with the other hand, grinning as he turned that attack easily aside and countered with his own.  Both of them moving back and forth between offence and defence as they settled into a quick, demanding fight.  Their movements circled,  metal clattering and scraping off of metal as they were locked in an almost seamless battle.

***

Lyana jogged towards the group of students, women and men from all nations who had started taking part in the morning lessons after seeing Nerini teaching her. They were all crowded around the practice field, forcing her to weave her way through as she heard the clashing of a sword fight coming from the centre of their attention. She frowned as she stopped beside Lady Wyn, who was keeping the students back from the fight between Lady Nerini and Shiar.

"Oh no." She murmured softly, watching both fighters attack one another mercilessly. She had thought the two of them had been getting along well the last few months, though they did often growl at each other more than anything else when left to their own devices.

"It's not animosity, Lyana." Wyn shook her head and pointed to them, "practice weapons, see, they were bound to finally get to it eventually."

Lyana looked at the fighters, still frowning.  "They don't say three words to each other ever, but they wind up fighting again?"

"Just watch, it's alright. See the movements, those are all things you're being taught how to do, this is what you're doing your drills for."

"Some of those aren't moves she teaches us" Lyana murmured after a moment, finding herself shifting her hands as if trying to follow along.

"No, Nerini adds and drops things as she fights, it takes experience and confidence to do that."

"I just wish they'd get along when they weren't trying to bludgeon each other to death." Lyana said exasperatedly, continuing to watch the fight.

Wyn laughed softly, watching the two fighters, "they've been at it for almost an hour again, one of them has to make a mistake soon."

***

Shiar thought she was continuing through with her second cross as she had done several times before and moved to block it.  His body shifted to catch a blow from high while Nerini  had actually reversed her movements and brought her blade in from a low point. It caught him across the chest in a slash that should have cut through more than his shirt, had she been using her actual swords and genuinely trying to cause damage. 

As it was, he winced  at the feel of the thin scratch from the dull blade and stepped back, holding his hands up in an acknowledgement of surrender. Nerini halted immediately, spinning her blades back into their upside-down sheaths, watching him carefully, "are you ok?"

He smiled and sheathed his own blades before pressing a hand to his chest and nodding, "yes. Just a scratch."

She offered him a smile. "Great fight."

"You as well." He opened his mouth to say more, stopping when he heard the clapping. Both of them seemed to realize then, that they had an audience, "your pupils have arrived, it seems."

Nerini watched him for a long moment, taking in a breath before looking to the crowd, "yeah." 

"Have a good morning, Lady Nerini. I will see you later." He said, bowing quickly to her before turning to walk back to where he had left his things. 

Shiar had been trying to find a way to get around the awkward silence between them for weeks now but whenever he felt as if he were about to, the moment would slip and they would be left just as they were today. He realized, belatedly, that he had intended to give her a heads up about what was going to be happening in a few hours. But as he glanced back her way, he realized she was already beginning her lesson.

Time would tell if he lived to regret that slip up as well.

***

"Lady Nerini O'Vara, of Lansen in Aupana" The Herald cried, followed by the great oak doors opening. They framed her in light as she bowed on the threshold then entered. Ignoring the murmured words that surrounded her in the chambers, Nerini walked up the center of the room.  

She found herself standing in front of the council table that spanned in a half circle around the outside of the room with Queen Rael and Prince-Heir Caelur sitting directly in front of her. To her right, stood High Lord Shiar, who was regularly part of the meetings. 

Or  he had been until the Council of the Alliance had been voted in last week, ending the need for his presence as one of the guiding, founding members who hadn't attempted to run for the council due to his own commitments in Sellexu.

She hadn't spent a lot of her energy following what they were doing in these chambers, most of it sounded like policy and truce writing just technicalities that she had no interest in. She knew that he had remained to help them until the season was over, at the very least.  The thing about him that was out of place in that moment was the fact that he was beside her and not sitting behind one of the other tables in the room.

Nerini bowed again before settling her eyes on the ambassador from the City state of Alliance, who had been elected as the council's Speaker for the next year. She hadn't been told what this meeting was for, only that the council wanted to speak with her, and had prepared the information she had compiled on the unseen threats, as it was the only purpose she could think of having to meet with these people.

"Lady Nerini, you've been called before this council to recognize your service to peace, your efforts in guiding our great nations towards the alliance we now have." Prince Caelur said firmly, standing from his seat and looking to Rael.

"Your prowess in fighting and self-sacrifice not only for the good of Aupana and your friends, but for strangers and former enemies has been noted and is being recognized." Queen Rael stood before speaking. The woman's expression was serene and every bit regal, even when addressing her childhood friend.

Nerini glanced between the two of them, her expression darkening. She didn't like being surprised, didn't like having to deal with whatever was happening right now, the ceremony. Her expression darkened as she bowed silently.

"We have nominated both you and High Lord Shiar to be decorated as Champions of the Alliance, charged with protecting the integrity and intentions of this peace with your actions, missions and deeds until relieved of duty." The Speaker said finally, beaming with pride. One would think he was receiving some sort of accolades himself.

Nerini frowned and let her eyes wander, seeking escape even as the words rang out through the room and settled somewhere in the back of her mind. No one moved as the room fell silent and she could feel them all waiting for her response. 

Her mind was whirling, telling her that it couldn't be that simple, that there had to be more than this empty title.  She felt a tug of wrongness to the situation but couldn't seem to grasp it  in this room.

"I need a day."  Nerini finally said, drawing puzzled expressions from the group. She paused and shook her head. "Both me and High Lord Shiar need a day." 

A day sounded right, though she hoped they didn't demand to know why. It was on the tip of her consciousness, but would not come to her here.

"A day?" Shiar echoed, looking incredulously at her.

Rael watched her friend for a long moment, clearly unsurprised at the oddity of Nerini's response, despite the concern on her features. "You wish for a day to provide a response to the council?" 

No one was happy, judging by the shocked looks and murmurs. Nerini would guess that they had not expected her to do anything else but accept their empty title.

Nerini was biting her tongue from arguing with her friend and finally forced herself to nod. "Yes. Tomorrow morning, you'll know if we're really the Champions you seek."

As the council remained stunned, Rael glanced to Prince Caelur who nodded slowly, his own confusion evident. "Alright, Lady Nerini. We expect your answer when you're summoned tomorrow."

She nodded at that, bowing to them. "Thank you, Regency, Highness, esteemed council members. For your patience and this honour."

"You are dismissed, Lady Nerini."

She bowed again before turning and walking quickly out of the chambers and was half way out of the building before High Lord Shiar's footsteps chased her down.

"Lady Nerini! A moment! Please!" He was bewildered but not angry, oddly enough. She had expected him to be angry for including him in a plan without asking. Still, he would want answers. 

As she turned to face him, it hit her.  The answer, the realization, everything that needed to be done before tomorrow's summons. Now, she needed to convince him.