“Master Valvaris, it is time to arise for the morning tea”

Valvaris groaned, pulling his covers up and over his eyes.

“Apogageas, must you always sound so… eager every morning?” With a groan, the young
Hylian elf rolled out of bed: his butler, Apogageas, stood before him smiling as he watched.
“But of course, at least one of us must be.” Apogageas’s one good eye twinkled with mischief
as he began to pull out clothes. The elf sighed, but couldn’t help but smile. He never really liked
all the formalities of royal life he lived, but Apogageas made things easier often. He wondered
why he would always wear an eyepatch, but Valvaris never asked.
“Don’t forget,” Apogageas continued, helping Valvaris into his daily formal attire, “this
morning’s tea is vital. The lord of our lands, Chester, the all-powerful, omnipresent, anime lord,
supreme lord of all drugs, has chosen to have his tea with your father and has graciously invited
the rest of you to join them.”
Valvaris nodded absently, clipping his prized scimitar to his belt. It was a rather interesting
choice on his part, picking a scimitar instead of a long sword to train with, but he preferred a
smaller, elegant weapon focused on skill, rather than the brute force needed with a long sword.
His family thought he was crazy for it, but they couldn’t even argue about Valvaris's efficiency
with that sword. He smiled with satisfaction, then turned to grab his small dagger.
“Might I remind you, Master,” Apogageas’s dignified voice broke through Valvaris's chain of
thoughts, “You are to arrive early to the tea, to help greet the other family joining you for the
meal.” Valvaris paused, looking puzzled. “Other family?”, he wondered briefly before Apogageas
continued.
“Lady Lidra and her family will also be joining you all for morning tea and your father offered to
have you and your older sister greet them.” Valvaris groaned, rolling his eyes. Of course, his
father would do something like that. Normally he wouldn’t mind, he was rather outgoing, but…
this was Lidra. She was a handful for him to deal with, and then some. Apogageas, noticing his
face, began to chuckle a little.
“Is she still beating you in your sparring matches? She certainly is a master with her
greatsword.”
“N-n-No!” Valvaris said quickly, his face reddening, “We’re evenly matched! And besides, I have
her beat in our studies, at least, I did…” He trailed off, flushing even more as he quickly finished
dressing and rushed out of the room. As he left, he could still hear Apogageas chuckling as he
fixed the room.
“Beating me, I’ll show her!” He muttered to himself as he hurried through the halls towards the
dining chambers, pausing briefly to feed his pet Furnix As he made his way there, he grew
increasingly flustered and upset, getting faster and faster until he practically sprinted, the grand
Dining hall door looming large in front of him. How dare Apogageas imply that, that girl, was
better then him!
“I’ll show her!” he thought to himself as he burst through the doors of the dining hall, striking a
triumphant pose as he did so. His dramatic side tended to show through when he was worked
up. Then he froze. In front of him stood, not only his own family, but Lidra’s family, and even
worse, Lord Chester, the all-powerful, omnipresent, anime lord, supreme lord of all drugs, stood
at the head of the table, watching him with slight amusement. There was a long silence, then
Lidra snickered, and his sister slowly began shaking her head. Flushing a deep red, the young
Elf quickly gave a deep bow.
“My sincerest apologies, Lord Chester, Father, Master Lodin”. Another gasp spread throughout
the room, and his father’s face blanched as he also bowed to the Emperor. Valvaris felt the
blood leave his face as he realized he had improperly addressed Chester, the all-powerful,
omnipresent, anime lord, supreme lord of all drugs, in his apology.
“I beg pardon, My lord Chester, all-powerful, omnipresent, anime lord, supreme lord of all drugs.
My son is still naive and is not skilled in the ways of court. Please be reassured he will be
properly disciplined and-” His father cut his rambling apologies short as the Emperor raised a
hand.
“There is no need for that, Vaeril.” Chester’s smooth, resonant voice filled the hall. “It is clear
that the boy takes after you, and who am I to punish the son of one of my most loyal subjects?”
He smiled and looked at Valvaris, his intense eyes bright and curious. “No, there is no need for
any violence today. Come here, my boy.”
Valvaris gulped, but slowly rose and approached the Emperor. As he walked, he couldn’t resist
shooting a glare at Lidra, who was still watching him with a smirk, although it was significantly
smaller than normal. He didn’t give it any thought as he drew near to the throne and again knelt,
bowing deeply. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
“Tell me,” Chester’s voice was curious, but still resonant and powerful, “Your father tells me that
you are a mighty warrior and that you have faced many a battle. Is this true?” Valvaris smiled,
thinking back to his campaign to the Lanayru Sand Sea.
“Yes,” He began, pulling out his scimitar for the Emperor, “I hope to one day lead His Majesty’s
armies against our enemies, and especially against deserters to His Majesty’s glorious empire!”
At this, a loud snicker echoed through the hall. Valvaris reddened, knowing that Lidra was
finding this hilarious, but Chester laughed heartily.
“Well said, young man!” He finally said, letting out one last chuckle and wiping his eyes, “I
admire your passion. Lidra!” Immediately, the elven girl stood and bowed.
“Yes, your Majesty?”
“How about you and young Valvaris here have a sparring match for us all, right in my training
room? Your father also speaks highly of you, and I wish to see the promise of our next
generation.”
Valvaris froze. This could not be happening: the Emperor asking him to fight… her?!? He
watched in horror as she smiled at him and answered, “With pleasure, your Majesty.”

***

“Please, Ready your Weapons!” Apogageas’s voice rang through the room like a gong,
catching the attention of all watching. They were all now in Chester’s training room, with Lidra
and Valvaris on opposite sides of the room facing each other. Valvaris stared down the blades of
his two scimitars at Lidra, her massive greatsword glinting against the torchlight. Outside, he
could hear the two families milling in the reception area, talking, no doubt, about him and Lidra.
He set his gaze. He WOULD bring honor to his family and take her down.
“Fighters, Begin!”
She was quick, making the first move, however, valvaris saw through her movements.​
“Too Slow!”​
 He immediately rolled left and popped back up, feeling smug… just to feel the flat of the
greatsword impact his back
“Oh really? I seem to be doing just fine!” She called as she used the momentum of her
backswing to spin Valvaris around and fling him full force into the opposing wall. There was a
crunch as he smashed into the brick and crumpled to the ground, his vision hazy on the edges.
He could make out Lidra’s boots as she casually sauntered in his direction. “Don’t tell me you’re
done already, Val?” He struggled to his feet, wincing from a pain in his back, “That was even
shorter than last time!” That caused something within him to snap, and his vision cleared. With a
cry, he jumped through the air towards her, spinning. Sparks of energy crackled down his blades
as he bore down upon her.
“I’m only getting started.” He said forcefully, his blades breaking through her defenses and
sending her sliding back, twitching from his electricity. He smirked, then rushed forward. Valvaris
began to move faster and faster, his blades a blur as he began to overwhelm Lidra with his
speed. After being flung back again by a swing of her sword, he used the momentum to push off
against the wall, his blades crackling with electricity as he tried to finish the fight in one big
movement, yelling as he did so.
“Now hit me with everything you’ve got, because I’m never going down!”
“Neat trick,” Lidra shot back, sliding down and dodging his headlong assault, using her sword to
sweep his legs out from under him, and rising with a wicked uppercut, sending him flying
straight up. Valvaris, falling wildly through the air, watched helplessly as she hefted her
greatsword, icy energy encompassing her fists and blade “I guess I will then!” With a roar, Lidra
swung her blade like a bat, catching Valvaris square in the gut as he fell. There was a hollow
Boom as she connected, and then Valvaris shot out of the room with a blast of icy wind,
crashing through the training room’s glass and landing helplessly at his father’s feet, crumpled
and beaten. Apogageas blinked, then raised his left hand.
“The winner is Lidra!” he cried, and the room, which had gathered quite an audience, erupted in
cheers. Lidra smiled, still panting, her sword dug into the ground. She walked towards the
still-prone Valvaris and offered a hand.
“That was a good match, Val, you almost had me there for a second.” Valvaris looked up, a
slight scowl on his face, but then he sighed and accepted her hand, pulling himself to his feet.
“No, Lidra, let us not kid ourselves. You demolished me.” The Elven girl smiled slyly, but her
smile faded as she looked past him. He turned around to see Chester approaching them both.
Valvaris quickly bowed, feeling embarrassed.
“You both fought well, like true warriors of my kingdom. An excellent job on victory Lidra.”
“Thank you, your Majesty, It was an honor.” They both recited in unison, but Valvaris detected
an odd note in Lidra’s voice. He glanced at her. She was bowing low, and, was she scowling at
the ground? He frowned, confused. What was wrong? Wasn’t it a great honor to be
complimented by the emperor himself? Valvaris rose, Apogageas materializing beside him.
“Shall we take our leave, Master Valvaris?” Valvaris nodded, bowing again to the Emperor and
nodding to Lidra. As he made his way out of the chamber, he took one final glance backward, to
find the emperor still watching him, his piercing eyes curious and direct, and despite the warmth
of the room, Valvaris couldn’t help but shiver.