Agents of the Cardinal Ep. 02

The way to handle stupid people

Le fleur de chardon wasn't a big tavern but it was a lovely place to have a drink with some friends. Louise was in company of François de Poncy and three others musketeers. It was almost two weeks since Louise met François and she was beginning to wonder if there wasn't a way to earn some trust. The musketeer had presented the duellist to some of his colleague and they all seemed interested in her duel against Bianca.

"Congratulations on your victory mademoiselle", said Arnaud de Nemous, a rather small man with long dark hair. The woman besides him, as tall as him and with very long red hair, added : "And that guard, Bianca, was really a dangerous opponent. That poor Angélique wasn't her first victim."

"She is, I mean she was known to have fight and killed at least three musketeers" said the other woman, a named Alexandra de Mirecourt, while she passed her hand in her short hair dark as a raven. You would be more precise by saying eight musketeers killed, thought Louise. But as she wasn't supposed to have access to files from the Garde, she kept her thought to her. Finally, an occasion came to help her in her mission.

"It seems that now musketeers can be excited by some fencing rookie." It was told just loud enough to be heard from the musketeer's table. François and his colleagues turned immediately to see who just insulted them. At the next table sat a tall dark haired man with two female companions. By the way they surrounded him, Louise guessed that the trio was lovers.

"I think you're trying to insult us, monsieur, and I don't really like that. I think you'll need us an apology." said Arnaud, with an hand already on the hilt of his rapier. The man from the next table was smiling. Louise decided to call him Wannabe, as he was wearing a dark blue catsuit, almost as black as a guard's uniform. His girlfriends would then be Maid and Nurse, given their latex uniforms.

"Just name a time and a place and I'm your man", answered Wannabe. Before Arnaud could add anything, Louise had stood up.

"I think I'm the one in need of apology here. I'm the one whose fencing skill you're doubting after all." Both men looked at each other before agreeing she had her word in this.

"So mademoiselle, do you have a witness to organise our 'meeting'?" asked Wannabe. Louise caught its eyes taking a look at her wetlook leggings. You think it'll be an easy fight? She let him have his full share of looking before answering.

"Well, I was thinking of something else, something we could do here and now, if we're allowed to practice some fencing in the room?" She took a look at the musketeers. Besides them and Wannabe and his girls there were no customers. The evening was already becoming night and the usual patrons had already gone home. François nodded at her, looking curious, like the rest of the audience. Ok, let's see if that guy rise to the bait. "I propose a small challenge monsieur. We're going to have some fencing here and if you succeed to hit or disarm me once before I do thrice then you'll prove that I'm not such a good fencer and can continue to say whatever you want about me."

Wannabe raised an eyebrow. "And if you touch me thrice?"

"Then I'll hear no more of you, monsieur." answered the blonde duellist. She saw Wannabe thinking about it for a second. The challenge looked easier for him and perhaps he would say no, but she couldn't resist trying something like that. Come on guy, don't disappoint me.

"I'm ok with your idea, mademoiselle. You want to do it now?"

"Yes, here and now." Louise moved away from the tables and unsheathed her rapier, taking position. Wannabe gave a kiss to both girls, then faced Louise and took his blade. "En garde, monsieur!"

Louise attacked the first, trying something not too easy, but not really difficult, just to evaluate her opponent. The man parried with his blade then slashed at Louise's thigh. The young women just dodged it and stepped back. Ok, you know fencing 101. At their table, the musketeers gave an interested eyes to the move of the blades. Nurse and Maid seemed less interested by the art of fencing than by the way their man moved. Louise parried some attacks by Wannabe but eventually she dodged his blade and lunged to his left shoulder. The tip of her blade pierced lightly into the latex catsuit of the swordsman and a few drops of blood came out from the wound. Louise stepped back.

"That's one for me, monsieur." said the duellist. The man looked quite disturbed by the hitting. Louise's moves had been really fast for a few seconds. The musketeers seemed to appreciate the action, Wannabe's girlfriends not really.

Louise's opponent took back stance and attacked first this time. He tried a couple of attacks before Louise regained control of the exchange. Her blade missed his hand by an inch before he riposted. This time Louise parried the blade and she did a short thrust that hit his right thigh, dropping a little blood again.

"Now that's twice for me, monsieur." Now Wannabe looked angry. Nurse and Maid had stopped smiling at all and looked doubtful about the duel. Faces looked more happy on the musketeers' side. Nice but that's not enough to give a really interesting impression.

Again, the blonde duellist attacked first. This time, her opponent put everything he had in it and Louise had to step back a little. It finally became serious for you, didn't it boy? She managed quite easily to block or to dodge his thrusts. Now, let's see what you have in mind. She gave him an opportunity to hit her, lightly, just the same kind she did to him. And Wannabe ignored it. To be sure she did it again twice. Each time the guy could have hit her, made her drop a little blood and won the fight. And each time he didn't rise to the bait. Once it could have been possible that the man didn't notice the opportunity. Thrice it meant he didn't want it. Ok, now see what's really on your mind. This time, Louise left an opening in her guard that could be used to lunge at her chest. Wannabe immediately lunged forward and the duellist barely dodged it by turning sideways. So, you don't just want to win that challenge, you're after a killing blow, you dirty guy. Louise knew that every skilled fencer in the audience would have understood it. Time to put an end to this.

The blonde duellist suddenly accelerated her attacks, forcing her opponent to step back, again, and again, until he finally found himself back against a wall. The man suddenly seemed to realise what was going to happen but it was too late, Louise had pushed his blade aside, centred her own and was already lunging. The tip of her blade pierced the latex catsuit of the man on the left side of his chest, entered his flesh, ran thru his heart, and came off of his back to pin him on the wall.

"And thrice for me, monsieur." The look of surprise and pain on her opponent's face was a real teaser for her. Not the way you excepted it to end, monsieur. Louise felt her crotch wetness against her wetlook legging's inside. "As I said, I'll hear no more of you." She removed her blade from the man's chest, and watched him slide down against the wall, his two hands on his chest as if it would prevent his life to leave him.

"Bitch!" Louise turned just in time to see Maid trying to unsheathe her blade. But Nurse prevented her from doing so.

"No Elodie, don't do this. Pierre accepted the challenge and all went in a regularly way, you need to respect that."

Elodie, as it seemed it was Maid's name, hesitated for a second, while Louise cleaned blood from her blade with a handkerchief. Then she finally released the hilt of her rapier. Tears were rolling on her cheeks. "But she murdered him, Jeanne, she's a murderous whore." said Elodie in a small voice. Jeanne, the nurse girl, tried to comfort her friend.

The musketeers advised Louise not to stay too long, as some guards could come in at any moment now. The duellist saluted them quickly, put on her black leather jacket and left the tavern while lighting a cigarette.

***

On her way back home Louise thought about the fighting. She was quite arrogant in the challenge she proposed to the man, she gave him opportunities to end it without killing, she showed how far better she was than her opponent before finally finishing him. The musketeers looked like they enjoyed the fight and appreciated her skill. But it wasn't the big opportunity she was waiting for. You can't fight Cardinal's guards every time. At least it was already some good point taken.

A silhouette came from the shadows. A girl with long strawberry blonde hair, wearing a simple black latex maid outfit with thigh high boots. The crying one named Elodie. She had her rapier at hand, ready to fight. "En garde bitch! You're going to pay for your murder!"

Louise barely had time to unsheathe her blade to parry the attack of the swordswoman. Her opponent was attacking fast but she wasn't skilled enough to be a real danger to the duellist.

"I'm going to kill you, fucking slut, I'll make you beg for mercy before finishing you!" Elodie spent as much energy in insult than in fighting. Louise dodged a new attack from the maid before striking back. Quickly she forced the girl to step back.

"Your man was an idiot. He had opportunities to hit me without danger and he didn't take them, all he wants was a killing thrust. If he wasn't that arrogant he would still be alive, so don't complain to me for his stupidity."

Louise had the feeling that her opponent didn't really listen to her. The maid continued to insult her without paying attention to what the swordswoman answered back. Her attacks were already slowing and she was more on a defensive mode, as if waiting for something. She didn't look focused on her fencing, her eyes were as if looking behind Louise.

Louise suddenly moved to her right, just in time to avoid Jeanne's blade. The girl in nurse outfit had waited silently in the shadows that her friend attacked Louise and focused her attention, then she has sneaked behind her to kill her. Not a bad plan. Louise was not just skilled, she was lucky too, as every great duellist needs to be. There was a small moment of uncertainty for the swordsgirls as Jeanne's trick failed. Louise used one of her secret thrust : she pushed Elodie's blade aside, and did a fleche. Her blade hit the maid in the throat. That way, you'll stop insulting me. The woman dropped her rapier and put both hand to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding which was filling her lungs and killing her.

Louise focused on her remaining opponent, the one named Jeanne that she continued to call Nurse in her mind. She seems to be the clever of the two girls. The two swordsgirls crossed blades for about a minute, giving time to Louise to see that Jeanne's was also the most skilled of Pierre's girlfriends.

"Too bad for you Elodie wasn't as skilled and disciplined as you. If she hadn't looked for you as she fought you would have succeeded into killing me."

The swordswoman in nurse uniform tried to fight back, but she couldn't force Louise to step back. "My fencing master gave me a few important advice, and "stay disciplined" was one of the most important."

Time to end this. Using one of her preferred thrust Louise disarmed her opponent then pointed her blade to Jeanne's throat.

"His arrogance costed his life to your man and her thirst of vengeance costed the life of your friend." Jeanne's stood still. Louise closed in to her, blade still pointed at her throat. "You're such a gorgeous girl, it would be a shame to not taste you."

Louise kissed Jeanne's lips. The swordswoman hesitated for a second and eventually opened her lips and let her tongue play with Louise's one. The blonde duellist caressed her opponent's back with her free hand, the other one still holding her rapier. Then Louise whispered into Jeanne's ear.

"And here's one of the most important advice of my master." Still holding the nurse's back with her free hand, Louise pushed her rapier into her left breast, running her thru chest. "Never spare an opponent you can kill."

Jeanne cried of pain, but in her voice Louise also heard a little pleasure. She gave a last kiss to Jeanne then removed her blade. The nurse had her hands on each her breast, the left one could look like trying to hold her life, but the right one was really on the breast as if arousing herself. Louise saluted the dying girl with her rapier, and while she cleaned the blade Jeanne finally gave her last breath and felt to the ground. The swordswoman sheathed her weapon and turned to another part of the street in shadows.

"You can come out of there now, monsieur." The silhouette of Arnaud de Nemours came into the moonlight while Louise, who'd thrown her cigarette at the beginning of the duel, lighted a new one.

"You knew I was there milady?" The musketeer raised an eyebrow.

"I'm the one who should ask you why you didn't come to help me. Aren't musketeers the kind to help a young woman ambushed?" Louise blew some smoke to his face.

"I suppose I should have. But I had the feeling you didn't really needed my help, mademoiselle. Your presentation at the tavern, with that swordsguy, was interesting, but that ambush was really something else. I think now I understand why François spoke so highly of you."

Louise closed to the musketeer and put an hand on his side, then closed her lips to his own. While they kissed she put her other hand to Arnaud's crotch and felt his excitement thru his leather pants.

"If you want I can show the other reasons he speaks that way of me, monsieur."

"It would be a pleasure, milady", answered Arnaud as he put a hand on her bottom.