Sword Play

Disclaimers: The characters from the Queen of Swords are copyright to Fireworks Productions and Paramount. No copyright infringement is intended or revenue expected from their use. The story plot and other characters are copyright to the author, James Guy.

Beta’d by: Maril Swan, Jo and Elizabeth Milligan. Thanks ladies

Characters: H T

Synopsis: ruffians interrupt A pleasant day

It was a fine spring day and Doctor Helm was looking forward to a day off. It was something that he had not had for several months. There was always something. -- babies were born, workers injured or soldiers that needed to be stitched up from fighting with the Queen of Swords.

Helm mounted Equus and road to the coast. His thoughts traversed the last few days, especially to a rare case: the treatment of a don.

His last patient had been Don Ricardo. He had taken a nasty spill from his horse and broken his leg. Doctor Helm’s expertise had insured that not only would the don recover, but that he would walk without a limp. In gratitude, the don had presented him with a gift -- a fine Toledo sword, made of the finest steel in all of Spain. Over the doctor’s protest Don Ricardo made it clear that he would be insulted if Helm did not accept the gift of friendship.

Reluctantly, Helm accepted the gift and placed the sword in the sword ring that had already been mounted on Helm’s saddle. One of his rancheros attached the ring while Helm was treating Don Ricardo. Helm never could understand why the Californios insisted on using a sword ring instead of a scabbard.

Helm decided to take the sword with him on his ride. Maybe he would lose it. The thought crossed his mind. Reaching the coast, Helm turned north towards Monterey. He wouldn’t ride that far up the coastline as the shore disappeared and the coastline became impassable.

As he rode along, he got the feeling that he was being followed. His old soldier’s sense made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He found a place that he could stop and watch his back trail. The beach was narrow here and there was an overhang above. He wouldn’t be able to see the rider, but he could hear the horse coming.

A few minutes later, a rider approached. As the rider came closer, Helm launched himself and knocked the rider to the ground. They fell and rolled even though the rider had managed to hold onto the sword she was carrying.

When they untwined themselves, Helm came up ready to fight, but found that he was staring at the business end of a sword.

"If you wanted to hug me Doctor, couldn’t you find an easier way?"

"Senorita Alvarado, I . . . I am sorry. I didn’t realize it was you who were following me. I couldn’t see who it was, only that there was someone."

"Following you? For your information Doctor, this is still part of my land and I was taking my morning ride. I thought I would come this way for a change."

"With a sword?"

"A girl must defend herself," Tessa smirked.

"Where did you get a sword?"

"Must have been an angel who saw that I would be attacked. Actually, I saw the hilt partially covered in the sand, just as I started my ride on the beach today. So I dug it out. I have never seen one quite like it, have you Doctor?"

Helm looked at the blade and hilt. "It looks more like a boarding saber that sailors and pirates use. How many swords have you seen?"

"My father had a sword, and my uncle, even your British soldiers who were quartered in my home in Spain. We had soldiers from both sides walking around Madrid and they all carried swords and rifles."

"Yes, I forgot. So what do you intend to do with it? Keep me from stealing your apples?" He grinned.

"Maybe I should learn to use it. You never know when a girl might be attacked while riding."

"Whom do you think would teach you?"

"Well, a certain British Colonel taught me some basic moves after our maid was attacked by one of his soldiers. Care for me to show you? Let’s see this pointed end is the hilt, right?"

Helm whistled and Equus came. Helm took his sword out and faced Tessa. "En Guarde, Senorita. I will teach you a lesson so you will never pick up a sword again." Helm snarled at her but she saw the twinkle in his eyes and the start of a smile.

Tessa knew that she had to be careful and make sure that it was Tessa Alvarado with the sword, not the Queen of Swords. She lunged at Helm, missing him by almost two feet. Helm smacked her on the rear with his sword as she stumbled by. Tessa came at him again with her sword arm up in the air. In an instant, Helm was inside her guard and had his one arm around her while the other had captured her sword hand.

"With moves like that, the entire garrison of Santa Helena will have to be careful. The Queen of Swords slices them up so I have to stitch them up. You, on the other hand, will have them in stitches from laughing to hard."

"Thanks for the praise, Doctor. Now either kiss me or release me." She tilted back her head pursed her lips and closed her eyes. A moment later she opened them again. \Oh please kiss me.\ she thought.

Helm looked into her eyes, smelled the wind blown hair with the wet sand from being knocked off her horse. \Robert, what the hell are you doing? She is a Dona, you are a doctor.\ Suddenly he released her and stepped back.

Hurt, startled and totally disappointed that he had backed away, Tessa stared at him. "Am I that repulsive doctor?"

"On the contrary," he mumbled.

"What?"

"You are a lady and I will not take advantage of a lady."

Tessa stuck her sword in the sand and put both hands on her hips and challenged him. "Who would you take advantage of? The Queen when she brings you patients?"

"Please, every time I see her I seem to have a sword at my neck or she is sending me more patients."

"Well look what we have here. Two birds for the plucking."

Helm and Tessa looked to the sound of the voice to see three ruffians not far away. This was trouble.

"Can we share her?" A voice sounded from behind Tessa and Helm. When they looked, they saw two more of the low lifes blocking an escape route.

The leader drew his sword. "Kill him first and then we will show the lovely lady a good time, before we kill her."

Helm raised his sword to defend them and tried to push Tessa behind him but there was no where to protect their backs. He felt Tessa’s back against his. "Tessa take cover."

"Where? Should I dig a hole?"

"Tessa, try and stay where I can protect you."

"At five to one odds? I think not."

"I don’t want you hurt."

"Why doctor, I didn’t know you cared. Well, I don’t want to be raped, so prepare to defend the front. I will defend your rear."

Helm heard her softly giggle. He looked up to the heavens. "Lord protect me from ruffians and bad puns."

"Puns or buns, Doctor?"

Helm glanced behind him. "Good Lord, she cracks jokes while we are preparing to die."

At that moment the ruffians charged from both sides. Helm engaged the three he was facing. He could hear the sound of swords clashing from behind him. While he was dancing, he caught a peak out of the corner of his eye. Tessa was holding her own.

Slash, parry. One man down. Helm divided his attention between the other two. He heard more clashing of swords and grunts of exertion from Tessa and the two ruffians.

Helm ducked as one man came at him and backslashed the man’s stomach which opened like a ripe watermelon. The leader attacked with renewed vigor.

Helm watched as his opponent looked for the other ruffians. The ruffian let his guard down. Helm saw shock in the leaders eyes, first at whatever he had seen behind Helm and second at the sight of Helm’s sword buried to the hilt in his stomach. The leader was dead before he hit the ground.

With his soldier’s instinct Helm yanked the sword for the ruffian’s body. In the heat of battle, Helm had not thought once about his personal convictions of killing. Blood, heated by the rage of combat coursed through Helm’s veins. He only knew that he had to help Tessa. He turned and got one of the shocks of his life. Tessa was facing him with the tip of her sword in the sand. The two hombres were lying behind her dead.

"Are you alright?" they asked simultaneously. They both replied in the affirmative.

They looked at the blood soaked sand and the dead men. Still carrying their swords they walked away from the killing ground. Their horses followed behind them. After walking down the beach about a mile they stopped. Tessa and Helm removed their boots and walked into the cool waters up to their knees. As they came out of the surf, Helm studied this woman who had just killed two ruffians.

"You are more than you seem, Senorita."

"Sometimes a girl must do what she has to do to protect herself." She stood proud and haughty. Them she slowly acted embarrassed and lowered her head to look at the sand.

"That must have been some swordsman you had in your home. Who are you really,-- the Queen of Swords?"

Tessa lifted her head to gaze into his eyes but did not reply. She stood there proud and defiant.

The moment that he uttered the words, he knew he had his answer. He walked to Equus and slammed the sword in its holder.

"You … you… you …."

"Bitch?"

"That’s one word. All this time I loved the Queen and hated that rich stuck-up Maria Tessa Alvarado. Now to see you. . . . ." Helm shook his head

"You love the Queen, but hate me?" she interrupted, a trace of annoyance in her voice.

"Yes, damn it. How could I not have seen it?" Helm gazed into her eyes as if it was for the very first time.

"You never look at the face of Tessa Alvarado but you look into the eyes of the Queen. What does she have that I haven’t got?"

"I don’t know anymore." He looked at the sand and shuffled his feet \Lord, I love this woman but what do I do now.\

"Now what? Are you going to take me to Montoya?" Tessa seemd to lose her confidence.

"And lose you?" He shook his head and sat down in the sand. Tessa walked over and sat down beside him.

"Why?" Helm still couldn’t look at her as he thought of all the horrors he had seen in his lifetime.

"Why what?"

"Why all the killing? Why the Queen of Swords?"

"I became the Queen to avenge my father’s death. By the time it was apparent that it would not be a simple matter, I started to see more and more injustice and no one would do anything. The dons could and wouldn’t. The peasants would, but couldn’t."

He looked at her. Her tangled hair, the blouse with several cuts in it and was open to her waist. Her breasts were still covered but slightly more exposed than normal. Tessa must have realized he was staring at her and clutched the blouse together with one hand.

Helm placed his hand on her knee. "Where does that leave us?"

"Us?"

"Yes us, damn it." He suddenly took her face in his hands and kissed her.

After a long five minutes, they finally stopped kissing. Helm felt aroused. He wanted more. He saw the flush on Tessa’s face and felt her heart racing as they clung to each other.

"Well, Robert," she gasped for air. "That’s a start."

Helm started to move forward again.

"Roberto. We both know what this can lead to. I am not going to make love to you on this beach were five men died. Come, I know of a place."

She placed the sword in the sword ring on her saddle, then mounted Chico and gently prodded the noble beast into a gallop. Helm, at first startled at her sudden start , urged Equus on after her.

He caught up with Tessa and they slowed down. The two rode side by side, and very close. Tessa held out her hand, which Robert took.

Helm gazed at the beautiful woman next to him. \This started off to be a nice day. It will definitely end as a nice night.\

The End.