#{aaaand i really need to get her verses page written omfg}

[tarnishedxknight]

"How's your arm?"

((@disillusionedjudge for Drace after the battle at Nalbina!))

@disillusionedjudge

Drace was almost never seen without her armor, but after the Battle of Nalbina Fortress, she was unfortunately sidelined for a few weeks. Perhaps for several. Time would tell. Although the battle had been an unquestioned victory for the Empire, Drace had not emerged unscathed. In attempting to draw the Dalmascan reinforcements from the fortress to better enable the destruction of the protective paling that surrounded it, she had crossed paths with Ser Basch fon Ronsenburg, Gabranth's twin brother. Regrettably, and to her utmost mortification, it was a duel he'd won.

The resemblance had been... disturbing. His fighting style was a unique one, though, and very different from Gabranth's own. She knew she ought not to compare the brothers, but in her curiosity, she had subconsciously done so. And silently, for she would never bring such topics up with Gabranth. It had been a strange encounter, however, for she'd found her usually easily restrained emotions giving way at the mere sight of the man. She knew well the reasons why Gabranth wanted nothing to do with Basch, and in her love for him, those reasons for hatred had become her own. Some part of her, whether she realized it or not, had been defending Gabranth that day, and it may have been that emotional volatility that cost her the duel entirely.

A blow to her left upper arm, dealt by the knight's sword finding a small break in her defense, had dislocated her shoulder on impact and resulted in severe muscle contusions. There had been enough power and strength behind the attack to dent her armor significantly, causing extensive bruising where the misshapen metal crushed her flesh. The sudden, shocking pain alone had caused her to cry out and stagger, but despite all Gabranth said of his brother's arrogance and self-righteousness... Basch had ceased his attacks the moment he'd realized the blow had struck true.

He'd simply stood and watched her, sword held in a defensive stance, unwilling to resume battle while she was faltering and in pain. Fool, she thought. You could have killed me. And yet, some small part of her respected the man for having such honor, which was an increasing rarity in the world. The Knights of Dalmasca, unlike the Judge Magisters of Archadia, were known throughout Ivalice for such honor, but this had been Drace's first time experiencing it. It left her conflicted and with many questions about Basch that she knew would likely never be answered.

The paling fell soon after, and with it, Nabradia's and Dalmasca's dreams of defending Nalbina Fortress and staving off Archadian occupation. Drace... had stepped back from Basch and relaxed her stance, a silent indication straight from the standard rules of engagement that she was withdrawing from the duel. "This is not yet over between us. Mark you well my words, Ronsenburg. I shall repay you in kind for this, someday hence," she'd said strongly, holding her wounded arm and half expecting him to not allow her to disengage from him. If he'd wanted to, he could have pressed her and potentially defeated or even killed her, but just as he hadn't taken advantage of the window of opportunity to kill her before, he did not then either. He'd given a single nod, that was all. And so Drace retreated, living to fight another day.

Had anyone else but Gylfie seen her without her armor, her arm tightly wrapped and held in a sling at her side, she might have snapped at them to leave. She trusted this one significantly, though, and did not mind her seeing her in this sort of compromised state.

"The pain is not by any means negligible," Drace replied with a slight smile. "But I will live." Her dislocated shoulder had long since been agonizingly popped back into place and the contused muscles in her upper arm were compression-wrapped to keep the internal bleeding to a minimum. Oh, but gods, did it hurt! The pain was good to feel, though. It meant she had failed at something and needed to do better next time. A lesson learned. "I shall be right as rain in a few weeks' time, Ynarra. Worry not," she added, for she could already see hints of sympathy in Gylfie's eyes.