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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2990151" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter 151, “Fencing Practice”, Thursday, March 23rd, 1882, 10:30 P.M.Minerva catches Nanuets's kiss and presses it to her heart. She turns from window, with a dreamy look in her eyes as she imagines herself once again in in his strong arms. She wraps her arms around herself and dances slowly about the room while softly humming Nanuet’s song. She will always think of it as Nanuet’s song. Their song. She thinks giddily as she is once again swamped by these tender new feelings. She throws her arms out and spins, her skirt twirling around her, and laughs gleefully “Ruby, was right after all. I do feel WONDERFUL!" After a time she calms down and regains some of her composure.  "Who would have thought that I would find myself upon this path?" She musses in awe as she disrobes and stands before her gods, looking much like the young goddess she worships, as her innocent beauty is exposed to the moonlight. She gives thanks for this new beginning and a chance to love another ”I am no longer alone.” She sighs contentedly as sleep takes her.Nanuet returns to the grove that night after serenading Minerva. Back to the spot where they kissed for the first time, back to the spot where they shared meaningful conversation. He stretched out upon the blanket that was still laid out upon the ground. He spent time mulling over the evenings events, knowing that he had made the right choice, knowing that the time was right. Eventually he began his reverie and then waited for the sun to rise on a new day. "To new beginnings."Minerva has two dreams that night, both of the gods. The first is of the Goddess Venus, embracing her and showering her with streams of multi-colored light. Several winged fairy creatures fly by her and Venus to give their blessings and two of the fairies have the faces of Nanuet and Ruby.   Minerva lies peacefully, a ghost of a smile on her lips as moon light streams across the bed. The second dream begins with Venus who then passes Minerva off to the Charities, the daughters of Jupiter and Eurynome who are the attendants of Venus and the incarnations of Grace and Charm. They take a long walk through green mountains looking at the various animals and plants. They then come upon a barren land, where all the trees are withered and dead and animal carcasses lie decomposing on the land. When Minerva turns to the Charities they are gone, replaced by two other deities - Discordia, the Goddess of Discord and Strife and beside her Furiae, the punisher of the unfaithful.  She begins to toss and turn and mutter in her sleep. She then hears laughing and standing before her are two beings. The one that is laughing is Mars, the God of War. Standing beside him is the man known as Johnny Ringo. Minerva awakens, covered in sweat.  She leaps out of bed, a wild panic in her eyes and holds herself against the terror of the dark summoning "Diablo, What can it mean?!" "Johnny Ringo and Mars? Goddess Minerva, Father Jupiter, Protect us!" she prays. The sun is just coming over the horizon.Minerva paces back and forth trying to get the dream straight in her head and figure out it's meaning. It is barely past dawn when she dresses and returns to the grove in search of Nanuet. She finds him sitting on the blanket that they had shared the night before and rushes over and tells him about the terrible warning. She tells him that she saw the goddess Discordia and Furiae and "The land was barren and desolate, strewn with decomposing animal carcasses and Mar's stood their laughing and Johnny Ringo was at his side with that smug look on his face! I do not think that we can avoid this confrontation. Something bad is going to happen and it's going to happen soon! " she says the fear still evident in her eyes. ""Well then we best do what we can to be prepared for it." Nanuet says smiling and wrapping his arms around Minerva to comfort her. He gently rocks back and forth as he talks. "We are going to meet up with everyone later today, we will share that dream with them along with anything else we know. Our wisdom will guide us, our strength will help us accomplish the tasks we set before ourselves. We are in a war Minerva, make no mistake. It is up to us to determine who enjoys the victor's spoils."Once Minerva is in Nanuet's arms the logic and confidence of his words causes her panic to recede and she is able to think clearly.  "I am not afraid to stand and fight, and even relish the opportunity to eliminate evil from this earth. Johnny Ringo is an evil man, very much like the wizards who killed Papa. I will not allow him to harm those that I love and look forward to his demise." She says with a hard look in her eyes. "But my dream tells me that Mar's has decided to satisfy his hunger for savage violence and bloodshed by taking sides with him. this will make him a formidable enemy." She shudders in Nanuet's arms." "But we are extremely fortunate that the Goddesses Venus and Minerva favor us for they have no sympathy for Mars and his senseless brutality or one as evil as Ringo. Minerva puts her arms around Nanuet's neck and smiles confidently. " I am confident that Minerva will not let us come to harm. She will show us the way to win this war. Did you know that she was not birthed like other gods? She leaped forth from her father, Jupiter's, head already wise and mature and fully armed for battle. All successful Captains pray to her before they go into battle for they know that she is the wisest of all the gods when it comes to tactics of war." "Well it is still much too early to seek out the others. What shall we do to pass the time? She smiles up at him with a mischievous grin and with an inviting look in her eyes she tries out the kissing instructions that Ruby gave her.Nanuet watches Minerva as she looks into his eyes batting her eyelashes and leaning in. Her eyes close as she leans in and parts her lips ever so slightly. Nanuet feels his knees weaken as he falls prey to Minerva's charms. He cocks his neck and leans the rest of the way until he feels the press of her warm, full lips against his. His arms wrap tighter around the raven haired beauty and he holds her embraced in a passionate kiss until his breath is spent.As Nanuet leans in for the kiss nerves begin to dance over Minerva's skin and quickly race a path to her belly. As her blood begins to sizzle she raises her hand to his shoulder in dazed defense but on a small moan finds herself clinging tighter and responding with equal fervor as he devastates her mouth. When he finally releases her, her hands slide limply to her sides as her heart continues pounding in her throat, blocking any coherent words from escaping. She looks at him with dreamy eyes and says "Well" and with great enthusiasm repeats the experiment. The two sit and pass the time, kissing and talking and kissing some more.. Minerva tells him about her first dream and how two of the fairies had his and Ruby's faces. "I believe that Venus has given us her blessing and is pleased with all of us."He says, "Faeries with the faces of your friends? Sounds like a good omen to me, although I know little of faeries and Roman goddesses. I have much to learn on that subject. Speaking of much to learn, I have the need to travel to visit a friend soon. I won't be gone long, but I will most likely be leaving tomorrow unless anything else comes up. I will probably only be gone for the day and I just wanted to make you aware. I know you have your festival to work on and I would like to make the journey alone." Nanuet pauses there trying to read her expression.Minerva takes his hand but does not pry into his reasons for leaving. "It is probably wise for you to disappear for a day or so since the Cowboy gang thinks that you are traveling with a wagon full of Ringo's books. If you must go promise me you will be very careful. I could not bear to lose you." She says and wraps her arms around him.Nanuet returns the embrace, then slowly separates himself from Minerva, just enough so he can see her face. "I will promise you that I will be careful. It has just been some time since I have seen my mentor, the one who has given me this necklace, the shaman who has opened my heart and mind to the powers of healing and other magics. I will not be traveling alone, for he also befriended me to Maska and she will accompany me."  The embrace resumes and for several moments no words are spoken. Then Nanuet says in a soft voice "And I could not bear to be lost to you either."   After discussing the plans for the next few days Nanuet tells Minerva that he should get some work done. He reminds her that they were supposed to meet with their friends to share knowledge and make plans for the immediate future.  “I will see you later today. "Minerva replies and kisses him one last time before she goes back to the Comstock house."  He leaves the grove and heads to the Lucky Lady where he goes about his usual chores. He takes some time out to play with the puppies, training them a bit more.Chester wakes up early Friday morning. He cleans his pistols and replaces the bullets. While reloading, he drops a cartridge under the bed. Reaching for it, his hand brushes against the gun case holding the hand cannon. "I forgot about that. Better ask Jeff if he can help me out." He finds Jeff sweeping out the kitchen. "Hey, Jeff? Could you help me something in my room?"  "OK, Chester. What's this about?" He replies, "Something that only you can do. Come upstairs." In the room, Chester pulls out the case from under his bed. "This gun is damaged and I want to fix it."  Jeff says, "Why don't you take it to the gunshop then?"  Chester answers, "I did, but Pierre can't fix it. It was made by a man named Bailey. Now do you understand why I need your help?"Jeff stiffens up. "Bailey you say. That could present a problem, you're talking three days ride each way. I don't mind going for you, but from what Niles said to me now doesn't seem like the best time for the Lucky Lady to be without its guards, especially with you now having other responsibilities. Plus Sheriff Colin Hunter always follows me whenever I leave town, if he sees me heading towards Mexico he'll alert the army at Fort Huachuca and they'd probably confiscate the gun if they caught me with it."Chester replies, "So you know where he is? Pierre told me, but I didn't know where it was. I'm in no hurry to get this fixed. It's been like this for a couple months. I agree we need to fix the Cowboy thing first. As far as Hunter is concerned, I wonder how far he'd follow you. We could ride out separately, then I give you the gun outside of town."He answers, "Depends on which way I go. If I head anywhere near the mountains he won't stop following me. Heck, he's even been following some of you guys when you've headed off into the mountains. That day that Booth and Katherine rode off on that fancy buggy he followed them. That man is nothing if not persistent."In the morning Kate dressed in her soft grey skirt and blouse, leaving the jacket behind. She and Ginnie had a quick breakfast and then went upstairs to see Mr. Gonzales. It had made her heart hurt to see the happy look on his face last night replaced by that grim visage. Ruby had needed her last night, but this morning would be for her teacher.  Ginnie went right to her work while Kate found Mr. Gonzales. She kissed his cheek affectionately and sat down across from him. They exchanged a few pleasantries before Kate asked, "What did Jake tell you last night that upset you so?"    "When doesn't that man sour my mood?" He sighs and states, "He told me all about the Cowboy Gang situation and his desire to thrust you all into this war against Ringo, then pressed me for details about Ringo's magic and how it works, which I frankly know nothing about. I regret that he ever found out that I was a wizard. Katherine, be careful around Cook, he is dangerous. Right now he is in the wrong frame of mind for this endeavor and I fear that he will get all of you killed."Kate answers, "There can't be much he told you that you didn't already know. Jake can't thrust us into the war with Ringo, we were already involved. We've all avoided laying blame, but it could be said it's all my fault. Nanuet and I were the ones who wanted to go help the Cartwrights, I'm the one who wanted those books. I've made many mistakes, we all have. Jake asked you about the magic because you know more than any of us. Where else was he to turn? I will take care, and make sure Jake is thinking clearly before we do anything. But we can't go on this way. Yesterday I bought furniture for my new homes, and I realized I didn't dare have it sent for fear the Cowboy's would see. I'm afraid of the Cowboys, but I'm more afraid of continuing to live like this."Gonzales says, "Little bird, my precious little bird, I will not let harm come to you. But I cannot be with you always and I fear that Cook is too reckless. I have agreed to help to. You have used a scroll once, and with Ginnie's help I can make up several more with a spell on it that can temporarily counter Ringo's magic. She and I can start that this afternoon. But right now I have myself another appointment. Wait here while I change." He heads off into his bedroom. When he returns he is wearing a white quilted cotton fencing uniform, holding a fencing foil and carrying a wire mask to use to cover his face.  Kate smiled when he came out. "I'm not sure what kind of appointment calls for that kind of dress. Hopefully not one with your new lady friend," she teased."Oh no, I'm off for some exercise. I believe that you've met Mr. Schmidt. The errand in Chihuahua concerned his previous employer. As Mr. Schmidt came her unexpectedly and will not be returning to there he had me retrieve the possessions that he had left behind. I was pleasantly surprised to see fencing garb among it. He and I spoke about that last night. I learned how to fight with a sword shortly after the Spanish invaded this continent, but am currently several decades out of practice, so he has agreed to do some sparring with me. When I was back in Mexico yesterday I had another old friend obtain this uniform and foil for me. You're welcome to come along and watch if you would like."She states, "I think I will. It would be nice to do something else for a while, as long as I'll be back by lunchtime. I have a kind of appointment myself, with someone who doesn't know we have an appointment." She shook her head clear. "I'm sorry, that is for later. Let's go."They do not have far to travel, simply downstairs and out the back door. A 30x60 foot area has been marked off with wooden stakes and ropes west of the El Parador and Brown's Ice House and behind Gilson's Baths, Rixton's Furniture and the Comstock House. A line has been marked in the dirt down the center of the rectangle, dividing it into two 30x30 foot squares. All of the employees of both the El Parador and Brown's Ice House have gathered around to watch. Manuel takes his place inside the ring near the line in one square with Hans on the opposite. Hannibal Brown announces that he will referee this match, with his son Max and daughter Liza acting as timekeepers. This area behind the buildings remains shaded by the hills immediately south and east of it until mid-to-late morning and Brown announces that the match will last until the sun begins to shine down onto the roped off section. Each round will last for five-minutes followed by a five-minute break, for which he has provided a pitcher of ice water for each participant. The winner will be the one with the most successful jabs to the torso and in the event of a tie the winner will be the one who has managed to spend the least amount of time in his own square. The match begins. It is rather stimulating to watch and Katherine notices that Manuel is in better physical shape than she had realized. Despite all of the loud noise coming from the stamping mill a quarter mile to the west, the distinct sounds of metal striking metal soon resonates through the town and a crowd begins to gather.Katherine smiled as the area around the ring began to fill up. Surely some of the people had work they should be doing on a Friday morning. But how often did they have a chance to see a fencing match? Considering the draw, it might be a good thing to have at Miss Florencia's festival. She would have to remember to mention it.  As the crowd grew larger Kate looked to see if anyone she knew was in it.Kate notices that Judge Isby and his assistant Kevin Tomlinson soon arrive to watch. The first round ends and Gonzales happily gets himself a drink of the ice water. "Ah, if only I was six-centuries old again. Then I would really give him a run for his money. Pedro says, "You're not doing so badly, you've each scored two hits on the other." Manuel says, "Yes, but he's been going easy on me." Hans Schmidt does as well, but he is not perspiring to the extent that Manuel is. He has far fewer friends in his corner, basically just Joseppi Franjoluppi, Angelica Young and her young son Mark. The next round begins. Manuel taking it slow and Hans as well. Kate hears a familiar voice say "Hello" and she turns to see Conrad Booth now standing beside her, a wide grin on his face.Good morning," Kate said smiling back at him while suddenly unsure of what to do with her hands. "It's rather early for you, isn't it?   Conrad says, "Yes, but I heard this going on outside. Manuel against that new German guy, Schmidt wasn't it?" Conrad turns to watch the match, commenting "Nice advance....ah, good attack-au for from Schmidt....Manuel is a bit slow on the coup lance....oh, good feint by Schmidt" Manuel then makes an aggressive attack immediately after a parry of Schmidt's attack and strikes Han's chest. "Great riposte!" Conrad exclaims.Kate turned from watching the match to looking at Conrad. "Trees, plants, cards, Spanish, Singing, and now fencing. Perhaps it would be easier for you to give me a list of the things you don't know about." She applauded the hit with the rest of the crowd. "Exciting, isn't it?"  Conrad says, "Kate, you forget that I grew up in the theater. Fencing is one of the skills that all of the actors have to learn for the Shakespearian plays. I learned to fence before I learned to read." The round ends and the participants head back for some more water. Manuel looks very tired and Schmidt is beginning to as well. Conrad jokes "I would offer to take his place except that I haven't the proper attire. I'll have to stop by Mary and Kevin Kelly's shop today and have them make me a proper uniform."  "You're thinking of challenging these gentlemen then? That might be interesting to watch. Of course, you could always wear it to the costume dance being planned for Miss Florencia's festival.  It looks tiring, but fun. I'd almost like to learn myself. Mr. Gonzales looks tired, I hope he's not overdoing it."The third round totally belongs to Hans, who scores twelve hits to Gonzales's one. When the round ends Gonzales removes the mask and says, "That's all I've got." "Then maybe I can step in for you?" Tomlinson suggests. Gonzales hands him the foil and mask and says, "Be my guest." Kate tells her teacher, "I'm impressed. That was excellent, especially for a man of many centuries," she teased. "Age is a state of mind, and yours is still young."   He replies, “Thank you my little bird but I do not feel so young at the moment.” Tomlinson removes his suit jacket and tie, still keeping on his dress shirt, handing them to Judge Isby. He then removes his cuff links and rolls up his shirt sleeves.  The next round begins. It starts out slow, with the two combatants each measuring the other's talents. A large number of parries follow and it appears that both are focused on defense rather than offense. The round ends with a tie score of zero to zero.  Kate watched as Judge Isby's new assistant gave Hans a run for his money. "It seems you don't need the proper attire," she said to Conrad. He replies, “He may not but I do. One must always look one's best when in the public eye.”   Kate says, "I'm no expert, but it seems they were just testing each other. He's quite good, isn't he?"   Conrad replies, “The tall one is extremely good, I think we'll find out exactly how well in the next round.”Just before the beginning of the next round Kate leaned over to her teacher. "It seems there are quite a few partners for you in town. A little practice would get your stamina back up again.  People seem to enjoy watching it, you might like to suggest to Miss Florencia a small competition as part of her festival. I'm sure she'd appreciate your interest."The next round goes quickly, with Tomlinson winning five to two. Not long after they end the sun crests over the top of the hill and shines down onto the field of play. Brown declares the fencing over for the day. Tomlinson and Schmidt both agree to meet back there at 9:00 AM the following day and invite Manuel as well. He laughs and says, "I'll let you two tire each other out first, then I'll play the loser." Following the fencing competition Dorita invites all three competitors back to the El Parador for some brunch, saying that they must have worked up an appetite. Once near the Cantina both Angelica and Pepita fawn and swarm over Manuel as though he were a conquering hero. Kate notes that he is now happy again, as he had been the night before when he arrived at the Lucky Lady. Kate notes that he is now happy again, as he had been the night before when he arrived at the Lucky Lady. She pursed her lips slightly, watching the girls fawn over the elderly elf. "Overdoing it a bit, aren't they?" she said to no on in particular. Still, she was glad to see the smile returned to his face. Angelica Young has followed the crowd and she is now busy interviewing both Schmidt and Tomlinson about their backgrounds. Kate catches Kevin Tomlinson saying something about having been on the fencing team at Oxford.  Kate stored away that bit of information, hoping she might be introduced someday soon. Someone with an Oxford education might have some advice or skills to help with the school.The crowd begins to break up. Booth tells Kate "I was only kidding earlier, but if this will be part of the festival I think that I actually will stop by the Kelly's and see about a uniform."  Kate says, "I can't guarantee it, but Miss Florencia wanted competition, and this seemed to be quite popular. I can't see any reason why she would refuse."  Kate was quiet for a moment as they turned and headed back toward the El Parador. "Why don't you get yourself some breakfast, and then I wonder if you wouldn't mind going for a short walk with me? Maybe across the way into the grove?"   That would be fine. I could use a meal right about now. Dorita has a full house as quite a few people who had been watching the fencing match have followed the participants inside. As such, Kate and Conrad have to wait for a while until she is able to take their brunch orders. But the time passes quickly as Estaban pulls out his guitar and Grant Keebler accompanies him on the fiddle. Kate notices for the first time that the piano is missing. It is around 11:30 AM when they finish the meal.  "Let me go say goodbye to Mr. Gonzales and we can go. I'll be right back." Kate went in search of her teacher and found him still surrounded by admirers. Vain thing. "I'm going for a little walk now, and then over to the Lucky Lady. I'll be back later. What happened to the piano?"  Gonzales says, "It was Morgana's. Yesterday she had it moved down to her new home. Enjoy your walk. I'll be upstairs working with Ginnie when you return."  Kate sighed softly. "I will miss playing it. I'll see you in a little while." "If you're ready," Kate said as returned to Conrad. He took her arm and they went out the front door and toward the grove. They were quiet as they entered the canopy of trees, with it's dappled sunlight peeking through to the ground. After a time they reached a small clearing and Kate detached herself from his arm. "It's lovely here isn't it? So strange in the middle of town." She was quiet again for a moment. Now that the time was here it was much more difficult even than she had imagined. "There is something I want to tell you, away from prying eyes as well as ears."  Conrad gives Kate a half smile. He stands beside her and looks at her silently with anticipation. He starts to fidget with his hands."I, ah...." She stopped and paced a bit. "I can't believe I'm telling you about this. In Boston a woman would never speak of such a thing, much less.... I know you accept that magic is real, and that things can happen that most would consider impossible. Something impossible has happened to me."  Kate made herself stop pacing and face him. "It's a long story. There is some magic and some other things few would believe, but the long and short of it is... I... I'm going to have a baby."Of all the things that Booth had possibly expected for Katherine to say, that wasn't one of them. He just stands there dumbfounded. He then blinks and says, "I.....oh.....magic you say...." He then balls up his fists and his face turns beat red with anger. "I'll kill him!" Conrad exclaims and turns around then takes two steps back towards the El Parador.Kate ran around until she was in front of him and pushed her hand against his chest. "No! No, he had nothing to do with it. Please. Please listen."   "Dirty old man, taking advantage of you, he'll get what he has coming!" Conrad exclaims. He moves quickly to the side to get around Kate and continues to march towards the El Parador, fists still balled up.</blockquote>

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