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"Morning, darling!" 

Louder than loud, sweeter than sweet, so much so, that the speakers on my phone could barely even handle it. 

Then there I spoke, my tone the exact polar opposite, greeting her back with, "Morning, Amanda…"

Regardless, the soft cooing noises I heard meant she was utterly delighted to hear me all the same even if I did sound a little dead inside.

"So this hour marks day one of our time apart from each other," She said, sniveling and whimpering, lamenting out loud presumably alone in her room. "Oh, each passing hour an eternity\'s yearning ever stronger to see your face, for a day without your touch, is like the earth without its sun. So dark, so cold... and oh, so alone."

Then as if on cue, I felt the wind of the open fields blow so chilly and strong over me. Guess Mother Nature had a flair for the dramatic.

"Anyway, I\'m just calling to check on how you\'re doing," She said, not as dramatically as before. "So, yeah, how are you doing, o\' dear lovable hero of mine? Didya manage to save the day yet?"

It was a long moment before I answered. "Not really…"

"Oh..." She said, and I could practically picture her frown. "Well, I\'m sure you\'re still working on it, aren\'t you?

Again, an even longer moment. "You could say that…"

"See, I knew it. You can do it!" She cheered, the buzz of the speaker failing again to capture her dripping enthusiasm. "So, uh… what\'s happening now exactly?"

"Now exactly..." I blinked, continuing to stare at the scene in front of my eyes, still unable to wrap my head around what I was seeing, much less what I was saying, "Well, my dad and Ash are just about to duke it out in the fields now."

For the third time in a short time, my phone continued to fail to accurately capture the emotion in her voice. 

"Your... WHAT?"

"Listen, can I call you back? I\'ll call you back."

I heard a tiny, squeaky, "What the f-!" before she was abruptly cut short by her being promptly disconnected thanks to the press of a big red button.

Rude, I know. Callous even, most could and would argue. But the truth of the matter was, right then, I couldn\'t focus on anything else even if I tried.

Any other instance, Amanda would have my full undivided attention guaranteed.

But not in this instance.

Dad standing on one end of the field, Ash just as motionless in the other. Mere meters only separating them apart, not a single word exchange to one another, yet the both of their gazes saying so much. 

When this was first suggested, before Dad could even finish enunciating the last syllable, I was already firm and loud, "Not happening," has never left my lips so intensely as it had right then. 

There was an infinity and one reasons I could have listed out just at the top of my head explaining why I refuse to go along with his suggestion. The fact that I even had to state reasons why reason enough itself as well…

Like, have you ever introduced your girlfriend to your parents, and the first thing your Dad does is gauge how well she can take a fucking punch to the face?

Look, I know my relationships aren\'t exactly conventional, and neither are my parents apparently… hell, even I, myself, ain\'t exactly the stupid average joe I thought I was in the beginning. But this was ridiculous, even as per my life\'s bizarre standards. 

Besides that, it wasn\'t just the idea of it that didn\'t sit right with me - worst, it was the motivation, the reasoning behind the idea that ultimately was setting me off. 

This stigma he just couldn\'t let go, this innate distrust he had for Elves… for Ash. He didn\'t show it, he barely even explained it, but I can very well feel it, alright… in his stare, in his voice, stating things clearer than words ever could. 

If he just took the time to know her, to understand her… just fucking talk to her. But that\'s not what he did, that option wasn\'t what he chose. Either he didn\'t have time, or he simply chose not to spend it, either way… he thought to pick a fight instead. 

I didn\'t care for the reasons. To test her? To trust her? For me? For him? No, I didn\'t care what version of justification he chose to layer the prospect version. This wasn\'t going to happen.

But then before I could go off at him, spur into a long vitriolic rant that he no doubt knew was coming already, Ash stepped forward before him, carrying herself ever as gracefully, ever as elegantly, and answered his offer with a simple, quiet, "I accept." 

And to that, I immediately responded with… absolute quiet. I had words, I had protests, but they all fell back down my throat the second I caught her gaze. Unlike me, she didn\'t see it as an insult, or a petty irrationality, but as an opportunity for her, a perfect chance to prove herself to him.

Even if she really shouldn\'t have had to do so in the first place…

I\'m sure if I said it, if I proclaim outright I wouldn\'t allow it, she\'d have completely accepted it, and following along the same lines, Dad would have eventually let it drop too and moved on with his day like nothing had happened.

Instead, I kept quiet. I let this whole stupid ordeal unfold, and even now, still allowing it to unfold before my very eyes. Why? Well, it\'s not because Dad asked for it… it\'s because Ash wanted it. 

When\'s the last time I ever saw that look in her eyes? If I\'m remembering right: Never, actually.

Dad nodded, and that\'s how things ended up as they were - out in an open plain, far from the house, a fair distance from the farm, and going by the huge jagged glacier of ice seemingly sprouting out from the ground itself and towering over us close by, I\'m guessing this was also the same place they took Sammy to train her magic. 

It really was a big chunk of ice, alright… as if an iceberg had somehow mistaken the land for the ocean, and just ended up embedding itself in the middle of nowhere… and you know it\'s bad when a literal tower of ice rising out from the earth was the least bit interesting aspect about the whole thing. 

Dad and Ash stole most of the spotlight, everything else, every passing breeze, every sway in the grass, the sheen of sunlight refracting from the icy blue, all just backdrop for what would next transpire.

All my life, I\'ve never seen Dad acting the least bit brash, he was always calm, composed. The thought of him ever being in a fight in his life has never crossed my mind at any time. 

And now there he was, assuming his body into a tense, tight stance - his movement, every minute adjustment, he shifted into it like he\'s done it a thousand times… and even then, I get the feeling it went even beyond that range. 

"If we\'re going to do this, I need you giving your all, you must not be holding yourself back in the slightest," Dad called out to her, his usual gruff, quiet voice suddenly so commanding and defiant. "You won\'t have a chance of winning unless you do." 

Ash nodded back, and in the next moment, her entire figure became enshrouded in a dazzling white light, and when it eventually dissipated, so did her dress… instead, now her body was clad on every inch with her gleaming silver knight armor, and resting in her gauntlet, ensnared in an iron grip, the hilt of her silver sword was wrapped in her fingers. 

Striking green eyes, snowy white hair, the Elf-Knight was back again.

"And what of you?" She asked, the heaviness of her voice shared in her unblinking gaze. "Will you proceed unarmed?"

Dad took a second to soak in her words, before blinking rapidly as if breaking out of a stupor. "Right, I need a weapon, I forgot," He muttered stoically, then after another quick second of scrounging around came up with a stray piece of wood he found lying around. "There, this will do."

Now if I was alone in finding his weapon of choice absolutely ludicrous, I\'d have gone insane. Fortunately enough, Ash did more than just bat a bemused eye at it.

"Not to impose myself…" Ash began, a little uncertain. "But you sincerely believe that, umm… stick… sufficient of serving your exact intentions for it?"

"I do," He simply said, and that was that. 

I breathed in again, each breath a little deeper than the last. I\'m surprised my lungs haven\'t exploded yet actually… or at least carried me off into the skies. In my hand, I felt a beep… my phone screen lighting up with messages, and in those messages, Amanda was chiming in again.

<<Leonardo fighting Eshwlyn?>>

<<Just like in the game? Are you serious?>>

<<You know she\'s like the toughest boss fight in the game. Terestra not included. And that\'s with a party of four, dude! Your dad\'s really gonna fight her alone???>>

<<Why though? Did something bad happen? Or are they just sparring? It has to be just sparring, right? Testing their skills?>>

<<Darling, pretty please, I\'ll love you forever. You mind recording for me?>>

Promptly, I let the messages go unread, making a mental note to apologize later. Into my pocket, my only distraction went… and once more my eyes returned to the battlefield. 

"No magic, no spells, just your skills, and your wits," Dad demanded. "I will tell you when the fight is over," then raising his hand, he brandished the sword-stick before her. "Now, are you ready, Elf?"

Ash raised the tip of her sword right back at him. 

"I am ready."