Henry Espada's Request

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Job Sign-Up: Page 13, Post Number 304

-Captain Espada's Island, inside Captain Espada's House, two hours later-

It had been a little over one hours since the battle with pirates and the fairly even duel with Captain Hector Espada, captain of the pirate vessel Ocean's Requiem. In need of medical treatment from an assortment of minor wounds plus a not-so-minor gunshot would to the left shoulder, Leona had agreed to go back to Henry Espada's hut to receive medical treatment for her wounds. A little over two hours after the medical treatment Leona lay on a bed with a blanket over her upper body: she had had to remove her outfit top in order for Henry to remove the bullet from her left shoulder, but the embarrassment from that was a lot preferable to suffering permanent nerve damage or losing the arm entirely. Leona needed both arms if she was to remain a Wizard Saint and Silver Wolf's Guild Master.

Leona sat up slightly and looked at the chair to her left, which had her fixed and somewhat bloody outfit top hanging on the back of the chair. In the far left corner opposite the door was Henry, who was seated at a small wooden table with a pewter stein full of a drink that was definitely not water. It smelled like a really strong beer.

"You'll be fine now, Wizard Saint. Your left shoulder's gonna hurt for awhile, but you won't suffer any nerve damage. I used a healing tonic I saved from my days in the navy to fix your wounds." Henry said to her. Leona looked at her left shoulder, which was badly bruised from the gunshot and was hurting badly. Even though she was going to keep her left arm and suffer no permanent damage, it hurt badly enough that she was not going to be doing any power lifting or heavy fighting any time soon.

"You should be proud of yourself, Wizard Saint. You managed to fight my brother to a standstill, something that few other people could do. Hell, even when people called me the The Crimson Terror I had a hard time keeping up with Hector because he was that good. He has a natural killer instinct." Henry praised Leona for the accomplishment of just surviving the duel with Hector Espada. Considering the array of spells he had, good swordsmanship, and the pistol that had been built into the crossguard of the shorter sword, Leona was lucky to duel Hector Espada to a draw. That pistol was an unpleasant ace in the hole that almost took Leona out of the fight after she had turned the tables with her Silver Tempest spell.

"Your brother's a good fighter." Leona readily agreed with Henry. While he did not have a lot of finesse, Hector was smart enough not to stand still and trade blows with her. He kept moving and always looked for opportunities to attack. He also used his height and reach advantage to force Leona on the back foot and kept her from getting too close for him to effectively fight back.

"Now you might be asking why he wants to kill me so badly. I know what you're thinking. He's a pirate and I was a pirate hunter. That's part of it, but there's more to the story than you think." Henry said to her, changing the topic from the duel with Hector to why Hector wanted to kill his brother. Leona listened with interest and waited for the man to continue his story. He took a long drink of beer and set the stein down before continuing to talk.

"As you can tell, Hector likes dueling a lot. He travels the seas looking for good opponents to fight... piracy's just a means to an end. He's mad at me for not joining his crew and joining the navy to hunt pirates, but he's also mad because he wants to duel me one last time and I keep refusing him." Henry explained.

"Why would he want to duel you when you've left the navy and told him to his face that you won't fight?" Leona asked him. She tried to sit up, but her left shoulder started hurting. The pain forced the Wizard Saint to lie back down while Henry watched her in case she got into trouble.

"He's convinced that I'm able to beat him. The truth is I retired from the navy almost five years ago and my skills have declined. I'm still able to defend myself, but I wouldn't last long against my brother. He's been a pirate for over thirty years now and he's not going to stop any time soon." Henry explained, then paused to raise the stein for another drink.

"So if you won't fight him, then what was his request?" Leona asked him. Henry set down the stein and looked at her. His facial expression indicated that he did not like what he was about to say.

"Since I refuse to duel him, he asked me to get someone else to duel him. You did so well against him that he wants you as his opponent." Henry told her in all seriousness. At first glance Leona did not see what was so bad about that until she thought it over a little more. Then she started to realize why Henry had reacted so strongly to the request.

Leona had pushed him hard and after a lengthy battle had fought him to a draw, so there was a good chance that Leona could kill him.

She then realized that Henry had reached the same conclusion, only a lot sooner than she had. It was little wonder that Henry had reacted the way he did. Despite their differences Henry still cared for Hector and was upset that his older brother had asked for what amounted to death by Wizard Saint. Leona herself was not sure what to make of the request. The younger Espada picked up on that and spoke to her.

"So you understand what I'm getting at. I don't blame you for not wanting to make a decision right away. Fighting someone to the death's a hard thing to do, even if my older brother's a pirate who's killed many people over the course of his career. It's really hard to have someone else fight my brother to the death." Henry continued. Leona was not liking where that was going, but she did not have a whole lot of choice in the matter. Hector Espada was a pirate captain who had killed countless people and would kill many more unless he was stopped. As a Wizard Saint, it was Leona's responsibility to stop people like that no matter the cost to herself. She could not back down from this challenge, but no one said that she had to like what she was going to do.

"It's a tough choice to make." Henry succinctly summed up Leona's conundrum. On one hand, pirate captains were among the threats that Wizard Saints were supposed to stop and killing him would add luster to a career built on stopping threats to Earthland. On the other hand, it was hard to get in the right frame of mind for the task when the man's brother was sitting across from her. Even if the enemy was a pirate captain who arguably deserved to die, he was still someone's brother and nothing could change that fact.

Leona remained silent while she thought the situation over.

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Leona thought the matter over very carefully. In the end she did not have much choice in the matter unless she wanted to be indirectly responsible for the deaths of more people that could have been prevented if she did not stop Hector Espada. Still, she hesitated for a bit because she did not want to seem too eager to kill Henry's brother. Hector was still Henry's brother and was still a human life that was going to be taken by the Wizard Saint. Leona had to take the request seriously and treat the sensitive matter with respect.

After a few minutes of thinking over the issue and looking at it from all sides Leona made her decision.

"I'll accept the request. I can't stand by and let Hector continue to sail the seas. But know that I'm not going to enjoy what's going to happen." Leona assured Henry that she had accepted the request and would treat it with the seriousness that it deserved. Henry sighed with a mix of resignation and relief. He was resigned to the fact that Hector had likely issued a challenge that would end in his death and was also relieved that he would not have to be the one who killed his older brother. His relief was short-lived when he looked at Leona.

Henry then looked upset that Leona was the one who was going to have to fight and kill Hector Espada.

"I'm sorry that this task had to fall to you, Wizard Saint. If I was strong enough to duel my brother I would have done it myself, but I'm just not strong enough to kill my own brother. I don't have what it takes anymore." Henry apologized to her for the burden that had been placed upon her shoulders. Leona remained silent and began to think. She would need to choose her next words carefully.

"I understand, Captain. I'll duel your brother in your place." Leona said to him, trying to be as diplomatic as she could be. Henry picked up the stein, took a long drink from it, and set it back on the table while looking Leona in the eye.

"Thanks, Wizard Saint." He said simply. The conversation then entered a lengthy and awkward pause as both parties struggled to find something meaningful to say after discussing the grave subject matter they had just finished discussing. What else could be said?

-Thirty-five minutes later-

Henry and Leona sat in silence for slightly over half an hour before Henry stood up to refill his stein with more beer, presumably to ease his conscience over what was about to happen in a few days' time. Leona's shoulder still hurt badly, but she needed to stand up because her legs were going numb. Wrapped in her blanket shroud, Leona stood up and slowly walked over to her outfit top, grabbing it and turning her back to Henry as she gently set the blanket down and put her outfit top back on. In the time since the fight with Hector Espada had ended it had already repaired itself thanks to the power of the Celestial Fabric. All that needed to be done for it to look as good as new was for the blood to be removed, but she could have that done once she got back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall.

"I see that you're back on your feet, Wizard Saint." Henry said to her while Leona returned the blanket to the bed that was presumably Henry's. Since it was the only one in the house, it was a safe bet that it was Henry's. Again Leona thought carefully about what she was going to say next.

"I'm back on my feet thanks to you." Leona chose to thank Henry for his prompt administration of medical treatment to her wounds, most of all the gunshot would to her left shoulder. If left untreated it could have either killed her or permanently ended her career by making her left arm useless. Thanks to Henry Leona's career would last a good while longer.

"Think nothing of it. It's the least I could do after you fended off my brother and his pirates." Henry said to her as he poured out another serving of beer.

"Where can I find your brother?" Leona asked Henry. She was reluctant to bring up that unpleasant subject again, but she would need to know where to find Hector Espada for when the time came. Henry frowned deeply.

"I'll send you a map when the time comes, Wizard Saint." Henry replied sharply. Leona raised her hands palms-out in a "no offense" gesture and let the subject go. It would be best to let that particular subject drop here and now. Henry took a long drink of beer and set the stein down with a look of regret for his outburst.

"Tell me, Wizard Saint. Where did you come from?" Henry asked her. Seizing the chance to get away from the awkward subject of the upcoming duel, Leona jumped on the question.

"I'm from Desierto." Leona answered simply.

"Is Desierto that desert country with nothing but sand and those three... oases, was it?" Henry asked her. Leona nodded.

"I've been around the water all my life. What's it like to be around sand all the time?" Henry asked her with curiosity. That was a question that the blonde from the desert could answer with authority.

"It's dry and hot during the day, but during the night it gets really cold. There's also not much safe drinking water unless you live near the oases, but the three largest ones are where the Tri-Council Cities are. Most of the other oases are all over bandit country. The bandits guard them jealously and know that thirsty travelers will risk anything for water, so they wait for them. Many thirsty travelers die from bandit attacks when they try to get to the water." Leona answered with a brief explanation of what desert life was like. Henry looked like he could not fathom a life without water. He also seemed to equate the land-bound raiders of Desierto with the pirates of the seas, a comparison which was not too far off.

"You've fought those raiders before, haven't you?" Henry asked. Leona nodded.

"Ever since I was twelve. I'm eighteen now." Leona answered. Henry looked distressed to hear that.

"It's no wonder you can fight as well as you do." He said simply.

"I had to learn to fight from a young age. I started training with weapons and magic at ten and killed my first raider when I was twelve. It was either fight or die because raiders don't spare women and children. They'll either kill them or take them to be sold as slaves." Leona answered grimly. Henry was not happy to hear that. He must have dealt with the same thing in his time as a pirate hunter in the navy.

"I think I've heard enough of that subject, Wizard Saint. Let's move on." He suggested before raising his stein for another drink. Again Leona silently agreed. He then looked at the Wizard Saint.

"Ya want some beer before ya go back to your guild hall?" Henry offered the blonde a drink, getting up and walking over to a cupboard to fetch a stein just like his own.

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"No thanks, Captain. I need to be able to stay on my ride home." Leona politely declined the offer of a drink. She was halfway tempted to try the beer, but she had better not because she had a long way to travel before she reached home and did not want to fall off of Winged Lion in mid-flight. Unlike earlier when she landed on the sand, Leona would be flying over ocean and land and those surfaces were far less forgiving than sand.

"Ya sure?" Henry offered again. Leona stood firm on her polite refusal.

"No thank you." Leona repeated. She was pretty sure that she did not want any beer before her lengthy trip home.

"OK then." He said, putting back the extra stein he was reaching for and shutting the cabinet door. He then sat back down at the table and began to drink again, but this time more slowly and deliberately. Leona reclaimed her backpack and Silver Longsword from the same chair she had recovered her outfit top from and put them back on. Having run out of meaningful things to say and having agreed to duel Hector Espada on Henry's behalf, she turned to leave when the captain called out to her.

"Good luck on the return journey, Wizard Saint. And thank you. Thank you for agreeing to do something I can't bring myself to do." Henry thanked her with sincerity. Leona was not sure what to say to that. Thankfully she did not have to say anything more.

"When I send you the letter and the map to my brother's hideout, gear up with any armor you have and bring all your best weapons. You'll need them. You'll need every advantage you can get." Henry advised her. Leona wordlessly waved goodbye and shut the house door behind her. She had a long flight ahead and needed to get going as soon as possible.

-Outside Henry's Home-

Leona walked on the sandy beach which had been cleared of all the signs of the battle that had happened less than four hours ago. There was no blood, no discarded weapons, nothing to indicate that a Wizard Saint had taken on over five dozen pirates and their captain and lived to tell the tale. Leona took a deep breath and summoned Winged Lion. When he appeared none the worse for wear she climbed onto his back and made sure that she was securely seated.

"Head for Silver Wolf Guild Hall, please." Leona requested of the winged summon. The sudden pain in her left shoulder prompted her to make another request.

"And fly low to the water, please. My left shoulder hurts badly and I don't think I can swim with it. I want to stand a chance of being rescued if I somehow fall off." Leona added to the request.

"It will be done." Winged Lion replied. Leona then climbed onto his back and braced herself as he took to the sky with his mistress on his back. It would be a lengthy ride back to the guild hall, but Leona had plenty to think about to occupy her time.

Leona was glad that Priestess Sumika had given her permission to use Shoki outside of Midi because she had a feeling that she would need the sword against Captain Hector Espada. She would also wear her Adaptable Armor for the first time in several months. The captain had proven himself to be a serious threat and per Henry's advice she would gear up accordingly. She had a feeling that Hector had been holding back some of his spells and that she would need to learn some new tricks herself if she wanted to win against him in their rematch.

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