Eowyn felt both nervous and excited as she headed to the fencing teams’ practice room. As she jogged down the stairs of the Phys Ed building to the basement she was balancing an old set of whites and her saber in her arms, both of which were hand-me-downs from her brother Eomer. He had given them to her on her 16th birthday after she had pestered him continually for a year to teach her how to fence. Finally giving in to her, Eomer had begun to spar with her in the evenings after school, despite their Uncle’s admonitions that fencing was no sport for a girl.
When Eowyn had told Eomer about today’s match to decide her status with the fencing team, he had been very firm with her. “Don’t let any of the team intimidate you. You’re good and you can do this. Oh yeah, don’t forget to go for your opponent’s groin first – it’ll totally un-nerve him.” Seeing a look of doubt on her face, Eomer had grabbed her by the shoulders, “You CAN do this,” he told her sternly.
<<I can do this…I can do this>> she kept telling herself, <<I know that I can beat this guy, even if he’s some stuck up chauvinist, which is likely considering his age and gender.>> Eowyn figured that there was a good chance that the coach would set her against someone as close-minded as himself, someone that he would expect to intimidate her and send her running. <<Well, that’s not going to happen>> she told herself determinedly. With one final thought of <<I can do this!>>, Eowyn entered the room.
The entire team had assembled early for the day’s practice. The news had spread like wildfire and the group could hardly wait to see Strider, the unofficial team captain, dueling with a girl! The atmosphere in the room was charged with excitement and energy.
Holding her chin up as she walked across the room, Eowyn scanned the faces of the young men, wondering if her opponent had arrived yet. As she reached the far wall where everyone’s assorted bookbags and clothing were placed, Eowyn searched for an open spot. <<This team really needs a locker room>> she found herself thinking as she dropped her whites to the floor and set down her saber.
Then Eowyn put on the padded canvas doublet and knickers, more “off-gray” than “white” after so many years of use, and began to warm up for the upcoming bout. She felt a little self conscious at first, but her intense focus soon blocked out the rest of the room as she concentrated on her movements. <<Advance…retreat…advance…parry…
lunge…>>
* * *
Strider entered the room with Coach Anderson, his expression grim as he listened to the Coach continue their conversation.
“So I told her to come back today and spar with you. When she loses, we’ll be rid of her. And she won’t be able to argue discrimination because she was given a fair deal and agreed to it.”
Strider shook his head with annoyance. He was planning to refuse to be a part of the Coach’s sordid scheme when he caught sight of the girl at the end of the room practicing saber with a determination he’d rarely seen before. Intrigued, he walked toward her taking in her slim but strong body, her long strawberry blond hair secured in a French braid, her delicate face that seemed to glow with intensity, and her eyes that looked right through him. Right away Strider knew that this was no ordinary girl.
<<In fact, this girl’s determination and spirit are just what the fencing team needs,>> Strider thought. <<If she can really fight with that saber, we might even have a chance at the Championship this year.>>
Stepping up to her with his sword drawn, Strider blocked her practice swing, stopping her short. She glared at him in surprise for a moment before twisting her saber in a circular parry, ending with her saber pointed at his throat.
Spreading his arms out in surrender he said, “You have some skill with a blade.”
“You must be Strider,” she stated, staring back at him in with a boldness that almost made him uncomfortable.
“Yes,” he replied. “And you must be Eowyn. Coach Anderson told me that he wanted us to spar today. He said that you were interested in joining the team.” Strider decided not to mention exactly what Coach Anderson had said about her. The man was obviously a fool.
The girl nodded and wiped a hand across her sweating forehead. “Yes, that’s right. Coach Anderson told me that I’d have to beat you if I wanted to be on the team.”
Strider couldn’t help smiling at her directness. He suddenly found himself intrigued with the idea of sparring with her. If she was as good in a bout as she was in her warm-up, then this might actually be a challenge.
Coach Anderson walked up and slapped Strider on the back. “Well, shall we get started?”
Strider looked at Eowyn with one eyebrow raised. “Shall we?” And with a gallant bow of his head, he gestured for her to lead the way to the taped strip in the middle of the room.
Nodding with a slightly puzzled expression on her face, Eowyn walked past him, gripping her saber tightly.
Strider stepped up opposite Eowyn on the strip and the two stood facing each other while the rest of the team ranged itself around them. When everyone seemed settled and the room had become strangely quiet, Coach Anderson gave the command “On Guard.”
Both Strider and Eowyn raised their sabers to a vertical position in front of their faces in salute then both stepped back into the side-facing fencing stance, as if in unison. “Are you ready?” Coach Anderson asked. Both Strider and Eowyn answered “Yes”.
There was another moment of tense silence, then Coach Anderson said clearly and loudly, “Fence.”
Without hesitation Eowyn lunged at Strider. Never having dueled with a girl before, Strider found the experience awkward, to say the least. Should he hold back so that he didn’t hurt her? Should he give her the right of way after each touch to give her a head start? Before Strider could make up his mind on what his conduct should be, he found himself quickly retreating before her attack.
The first three touches had been awarded to Eowyn when Strider began to be concerned that there was a chance of him losing the bout. And to a girl! Deciding that he’d better take this more seriously, Strider had to forget about who he was dueling and just concentrate on the strategy of the swords. Eowyn was a ferocious fencer, and Strider found himself grateful for the protective body armor.
The rest of the team’s attention was completely riveted by the bout. Most of them had felt indifferent at the thought of a girl being on the fencing team, but now watching her fight with Strider they felt themselves warming to Eowyn. Everyone could see that she lacked any formal training, yet her natural instincts seemed to make up for that lack. And she was tough! She was taking hits that were going to leave some great bruises! Watching Strider slowly close the scoring gap, everyone of the team felt relieved that they hadn’t been picked to fight with Eowyn.
By the time that they had reached 7 points each, Eowyn had earned Strider’s respect. No matter how hard he pushed her, she continued to keep her guard up and remained totally focused. <<The rest of the team could definitely learn something from this girl,>> he thought. By this point he had begun to sense her weaknesses, and he could tell that she’d begin tiring soon. But instead of pressing his victory, he held himself back.
When they had reached 13 points each Strider could feel the sweat pouring off his body from the effort he was expending. Momentarily lost in the ferocity of the bout, his 14th touch was a harder strike than he’d meant it to be, hitting her squarely in the heart. He heard a few of the watching team members draw their breath in sharply in a sympathetic wince.
About this time Strider sensed that Eowyn was getting tired. Her last few lunges had been less aggressive, and her guard was definitely getting weaker. Just as he was beginning to worry about her she lunged at him from nearly point blank range. His parry was too late and her saber sliced across his cheek, leaving a bloody gash. Rather startled by her amazing lunge, Strider fell back, but not quickly enough to avoid the 15th touch.
“Halt!” Coach Anderson called out.
Both breathing heavily from exertion, Eowyn and Strider stepped apart and lowered their sabers. Eowyn had an elated look on her face and Strider couldn’t help but smile back at her.
The room remained hushed while everyone looked at Coach Anderson for his reaction. Finally, he gave a grudging smile and nodded at Eowyn. “Welcome to the team, girl.”
The rest of the team gave out assorted whoops and hollers of congratulations and Eowyn felt herself manhandled by most of them wanting to slap her on the back or punch her in the arm.
“Alright, alright,” Coach Anderson had to yell above the melee. “We’ve still got a practice to hold here! Everyone line up along the wall!”
* * *
After practice, Eowyn quickly pulled off her whites, eager to head back to Edoras Hall and tell her brother the great news. As she was kneeling down to pick up her things from the floor she became aware of a shadow across her body and looked up to see Strider standing above her.
Reaching down to take her arm, he helped her to her feet. Eowyn felt her heart race as he pushed open the collar of her shirt and gently touched the skin above her heart. He sighed in annoyance and looked into her eyes from only inches away.
“I’m sorry about that,” he said. “I shouldn’t have hit you so hard.”
Feeling a blush spreading up her body Eowyn felt the strangest sensation as she stared back at him. “Don’t worry about it,” she finally managed to say. “It’s…it’s nothing.”
“I broke the skin,” Strider said, again examining the wound. “You need to get some witch hazel on this as soon as possible.” When Eowyn didn’t answer him he raised a finger to her cheek. “I mean it. Alright?”
Eowyn had to close her mouth which she suddenly realized was just hanging open. Not trusting any words to come out, she nodded mutely. Why was his touch so distracting?
Strider smiled at her and let go. “Alright then. See you tomorrow at practice. And by the way, congratulations.”
Eowyn smiled back at him and she suddenly felt like her heart was coming undone. As she looked into his eyes again she realized that she’d been holding her breath, <<Maybe that’s why I feel a little light headed,>> she thought. The saber gash on his forehead caught her attention and she realized that she hadn’t apologized. She wanted to say something to him, but no words came to mind. Instead she watched him turn and walk away, a tattered bookbag on one shoulder and his sheathed saber at his side. She found herself staring at him, watching him stop to talk to someone in the doorway, then disappear through the doors. <<What is wrong with me?>> she wondered as she moved her hand to her cheek where she could still feel his touch.
***
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