Bodyguards by Kallysten

months she had known Brad, she couldn’t remember ever hearing him
laugh. She’d seen him smile, she’d heard him chuckle, but he had never sounded
like this, carefree and simply...happy.
    He said something to Aedan; Vivien
was too far to hear the words, but she heard Aedan’s reply: a quick bark of
laughter. Brad attacked next, taking two steps forward and swinging his sword
with his left hand; the right was gesturing at his side. For a second, not even
that long, he seemed to glow, bright colors emanating from him and extending
from his hand. Vivien blinked, and the colors disappeared, leaving behind a
second sword in Brad’s right hand.
    She thought at first that it was
nothing more than an illusion, like the mist he had conjured in the house to
show Vivien what had happened to Anabel. But when he slashed with his right
hand, the sword met Aedan’s crossed knives with a loud clang. Not an illusion,
then.
    She rested her arms on the sill,
leaned her chin on top of them, and looked down as they continued to fight, now
both of them with a blade in each hand. Part of her couldn’t help but be
afraid: two swords, two knives, and no armor that she could see; it was an
accident waiting to happen. At the same time, though, she wished she could have
joined their game. It had been a long time since she had held a blade, and, as
different as Brad’s broadsword was to the fencing gear Vivien knew, to see them
wield their weapons with such grace made her long to do the same.
    And, after all, why not?
    Stepping away from the window, she
went to the attached bathroom she had discovered the previous night and washed
up quickly before getting dressed in comfortable jeans, a t-shirt, and
sneakers.
    After reaching the first floor,
she tried to orient herself in the long corridors. The courtyard was under her
window, and her room was halfway down on the left, so if she tried to find the
room directly underneath it... As she came closer, the sound of metal clanking
together became louder and louder, until, when she peeked through an open door,
she could see through an armory-like room and straight through wide doors
opening onto the courtyard.
    She crossed the armory, throwing
only a cursory glance to the weapons and armor on the walls, and came to stand
on the threshold, half hidden behind the heavy wooden door. From her window,
she had been able to appreciate the speed with which Brad and Aedan fought as
well as their dexterity. Now that she was on their level, she could also see
the strength they put into each move.
    It looked more like an actual
fight than a game, and if not for their smiles as they circled and launched
themselves at each other, Vivien would have worried even more about their
safety. They did offer her a very interesting display, however, and she
couldn’t tear her eyes off them.
    Their muscles rippled with each
attack, counter, or sidestep. Similar rectangular pendants hung from chains
around their necks and bounced against their chests with their movements. Now
that she was closer, she could see that Aedan was a little paler than Brad; he
was almost like a living statue, marble defying all laws of nature to slide
into elegant motions. Across from him, Brad’s chest and back were covered in a light
sheen of perspiration that seemed to accentuate every hard muscle in his torso.
Vivien swallowed hard. She’d had glimpses of Brad’s body before when they ran
and his t-shirt clung to him with sweat, but the sight of him was even more
entrancing than she had expected.
    Reminding herself forcefully that
he wasn’t interested in her, she tore her eyes from the fight and went in to
find a sword. From up close, they were even more different from what she knew
than she had first believed. A couple dozen blades rested on holders on the
wall, each a little different from the others. She looked for a narrow sword,
finally finding one with a large enough hand guard, though she grimaced at the
unfamiliar grip.
    It was the