Private En Garde!

[Persephone Dashiell]

CITY OF KEREN, NABOO

Keren Select Academy for Young Sentients | Enshid Veruna
​

First had been her col'n termi, or a Hapan finishing school. Traveling back and forth to Gallinore had become near impossible, especially with usual hazards in the hyperlanes. Additionally, her parents wanted her to gain skills not only in etiquette but also politics and diplomacy. No where else would such an education be found but on Naboo. Besides, it was a much shorter hyperspace trip from Joiol. Safer too.

Much like her last foray into 'finishing school', Persephone was taking classes on her own time and as she saw fit. She had a long line of private tutors back home and worked the education in on a completely different schedule. Didn't mean she hadn't made friends in the interim. Elio Hallorand was one of those. Tall, blonde, and insufferably handsome. Son of a family who owned an extensive chain of luxury resorts and casinos. All but handpicked by her parents to be a friend. All of her friends had been nearly two years ago. Persephone had overheard them, the need for her to have a certain type of friend given her position.

Elio bounced back to her side of the gym, just as she was pulling on the jacket needed for fencing. His blonde hair was matted down as he took off the fencing mask. Persephone inclined her chin towards what she assumed was her opponent gearing up.

"Who's the new girl? I haven't seen her before."

"Enshid Veruna. Yes, as in that House Veruna." Elio paused, taking off his gloves and speaking in hushed tones. "She joined not too long ago. Word on the street says her mother was in love with a poor man and shunned House Veruna. Father says she was found on the streets." Shoulder shrugged, as if to say he didn't believe it. "Hasn't really talked to any of us. Can't tell if she's shy or thinks we're beneath her."

​

 

[Enshid Veruna]

Persephone Dashiell​

Why did she have to be here? Enshid sighed to herself as she fiddled with her fencing gear. She had at least understood the basics of this. It was somewhat similar to fighting with a knife. It was just a much longer knife and you weren't fighting to survive. You were fighting to get points. It was still a strange thought to her as she swished her weapon for a moment to get a better feel for it. She took in a steady breath, getting ready to stand up with her head up high...Up until she heard the hushed tones, her eyes darting over towards the voices as Enshid cleared her throat.

"...You know I have ears, yes? People have a habit of paying attention when you mention their names."

She tugged at the sleeves of her jacket for a moment, trying to make sure everything was decent. Having all of this fancy gear was a bit extreme in Enshid's mind but then again, how many people were willing to risk their precious children getting an itty bitty bruise? Okay. Maybe it'd be a bit more than just a bruise if something was to go wrong fencing but even still, she had been fought with blades before and was completely fine!

"Also I'm pretty sure it's rude to talk about someone who doesn't even know your own name."

It wasn't like she thought she was better than them. Far the opposite honestly. She felt like she didn't belong here. This was for the rich folk, the fancy folk. She wasn't either. Well, she might have been rich now as a member of House Veruna, but she hadn't even taken a look at any of it. It felt wrong to have money and not give it away. Enshid shook her head to try and ignore that thought as she prepared to get to fencing. She had to remember there were rules for this.

"Also for your information, my mother was the poor one."

Information about her was already being spread...This might be something she'd have to try and nip in the bud. The last thing she wanted was to cause problems for her family.​

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

"It's also rude to eavesdrop on private conversations."

What did this girl have, supersonic hearing? Maybe the gym echoed a little more than she had anticipated. Persephone was a little louder than expected at times. Either way, the damage was done. She and Elio were face-to-face with one Enshid Veruna of House Veruna. It appeared the girl was going to be her competition for the day, or at least for the next few rounds.

Removing her glove, Persephone outstretched her hand towards the new girl, bolding introducing herself to the other.

"Persephone Dashiell, a pleasure to meet you Enshid. The blonde bastard with me is Elio Hallorand." A small chuckle before the teenage boy spoke up. "Charmed, Milady."

A small pause. They were already breaking protocol and proper etiquette. Might as well continue on the line of questioning. The loth-cat was already out of the bag, so to speak.

"So your father came to collect you?"

A note of jealousy entered her tone. Persephone had desperately wanted her father to just even acknowledge her existence. Yet he didn't, instead he tried to give her a dusty, crumpled protein bar. Now she couldn't stand the sight of any type of protein bar. Shaking her head, Persephone tamped those feelings down.

"Miss Veruna! Miss Dashiell! The class is waiting." Their instructor was not pleased.

 

[Enshid Veruna]

Persephone Dashiell

"A private conversation happens between closed doors. Not in public."

Almost straight away however, Enshid reached her hand out to shake Persephone's hand. It was...nice. Someone who wasn't all bowing to her or acting like she was a gift to the planet. Of course, she did wrinkle her nose at Elio's Milady comment. It wasn't something she wanted to hear. It felt wrong. It wasn't who she was. Not who she had tried to become.

"No. He didn't."

That was her only comment about her father. The less she spoke about her family, the better. She couldn't risk giving ammunition to be used against House Veruna. Instead, she slid her glove back onto her hand, stepping over towards her position and getting ready to work on her fencing. Her fingers were itching to get to striking, to get to fighting...but she had to remind herself this wasn't some kind of street brawl. It was not a way for her to get out her frustrations.

"I apologise for keeping the class waiting Ma'am. I just believe that having good chemistry with your opponent allows you both to grow."

It was her...attempt at trying to use sweet words. To be charming. Something she wasn't used to. These classes could be used for more than just education. She could use them to try and build on her social skills. It might be like a pit of vipers...but at least the vipers here were defanged.

"...Ready when you are, Persephone."​

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

Persephone wasn't sure about Enshid Veruna already and they had just met. She could see why the girl was standing off compared to the rest of their classmates. The girl had a good reason to do so, although Persephone suspected if she was a little more forthcoming perhaps the rumor mill would be much more quiet. Yet without much knowledge of Naboo diplomacy, maybe Enshid was doing as instructed. What was expected of her now. Persephone could relate to that.

Placing her glove back on, gaze fell back to the instructor.

"Apologies. I was holding Miss Veruna up. It won't happen again."

A small nod indicated she was ready, moving towards the fencing piste. They woud have monitors to judge their strikes, as their instructor wouldn't be able to see all the subtle movements between them. Persephone wasn't as good as the others yet, however, she had been taking ballet for her 'movement' for the last two years. So far it had helped with the footwork.

Grabbing her foil, she fell into the en garde position and gave a short nod, indicating to the other she was ready to begin.

 

[Enshid Veruna]

Persephone Dashiell

Enshid raised an eye as Persephone took the blame for holding the class up. Was this some kind of way to get a favour from Enshid? Or was her oppoent actually being kind? Enshid wasn't too sure if she was being honest to herself. Maybe she was just being overly paranoid but at the same time it was better to be safe than sorry at the end of the day.

Either way she prepared herself, holding the foil in her own en garde position and braced herself. The first move in a duel was meant to be able to tell a lot, was it not? Who was the aggressor, who was the defender? Who was more likely to step into action and who was more likely to wait and react? There were a lot of complex decisions that came in a duel, but she didn't care about any of those in reality. It was a fight at the end of the day!

And so she advanced carefully! Bringing her front foot forward carefully before dragging her back foot behind her as she also lunged forward with her foil for a sharp attack towards Persephone. Enshid was not the kind of girl to wait for an opponent to come to her. She went to them.​

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

Persephone wasn't surprised Enshid Veruna struck first. At one time, she would have done the same. Having to prove one's worth and that perhaps one wasn't weak. All a facade, she had come to realize. Maybe Enshid didn't realize that yet. Or perhaps it was just simply her nature, sometimes there were no motives behind actions. At least, that's what she would like to believe.

As Enshid lunged, Persephone took a graceful and delicate step back, still falling into a defensive stance as her foil parried away the girls. It was a simple push back with the foil, a test to see what the girl would do next. Persie was demonstrating a great deal of patience, but not out of sympathy. No, the teenager was trying to figure out her opponent. Her weakness. Her strengths. What drove her advancements.

Strategy.

 

[Enshid Veruna]

Persephone Dashiell

Interesting. Persephone hadn't pushed her advantage. She had managed to parry Enshid and could have responded offensively in kind, but instead Enshid's opponent had stayed on the defensive. Was she testing Enshid? Why did everything have to be some kind of test? Enshind's grip only grew around the hilt of her foil. She had to breathe. Stay calm. Anger meant she'd make mistakes.

And yet she still rushed out to meet Persephone once more with her foil, aiming for a quick sharp lunge towards Persephone's upper torso. It made sense that she'd trust to rush into the fight, she was getting frustrated...but instead she was actually trying to go for a feint. It was intended to try and make Persephone protect up high, to try and parry a strike that wasn't there, so that Enshid could actually go for a strike down low. She was trying to use her brain, not her heart.​

 

[Persephone Dashiell]

Persephone saw the flash of frustration. Not sure if it was related to herself or if it was more the situation. Didn't matter, she just had to respond in a much more measured fashion than expected. She hadn't been fencing for long but it was more of a hobby for her. Something a refined lady did, plus it gave her an insight into more strategic thinking.

Parrying the lunge towards her upper torso, not seeing it was a feint. Enshid Veruna 's foil quickly connected with her suit, meaning the girl had gotten a point.

"Point Miss Veruna." the instructor called out, a mild bit of surprise her voice.

Not missing a beat, Persephone used the motion of her defensive parry to push forward an attack. Persephone went for a 'cut over', which was to bring her foil above Enshid's and attack from above so to speak. A way to give advantage to make a strike while pushing her foil away at the same time.

 

[Enshid Veruna]

Persephone Dashiell

Enshid was surprised to get a point. She hadn't expected that feint to work. It did bring a small smirk to her face under the fencing mask. Maybe she was better at all this fancy fighting than she had expected. Fighting was something that she knew how to do...Of course she wasn't as good when it came to following the rules. So when Persephone parried Enshid's foil away, Enshid had clenched her fist, getting ready to resort to a punch to defend herself...but she didn't throw it. She had to control herself. And so she took the strike instead.

"Point Miss Dashiell"

Enshid hissed in frustration, trying to keep her emotions in check. Enshid wasn't good at playing defensively. She had always been more of an offensive fighter and so she'd need to try and push against Persephone. She couldn't let the other girl get an advantage against her. And so she went on the offensive once more, though this time she was focused on making an opening as she focused on using her foil to push Persephone off line.​