Attached: One toy lightsaber.  The blue one.

 

Jean is incensed!!!  He writes to his second, Evan:  He makes a mockery of me. Duelling with toys!

 

Evan, alas, finds it funny. He writes to his counterpart:

Dear other second:

 

Very well, lightsabers at ten paces it is.

Jean is not happy, but challenged does have choice of weapon. 

What shall it be, since to the death or even to first blood does not

seem very likely, unless someone pokes an eye out?  To first laugh?

 Yours, Evan

 

Evan,

I have a feeling Julian will be laughing himself blue in the face

before he even hits ten paces. Whomever breaks his opponent's toy

first, perhaps? Nimue

 

 

Which pisses Jean off even more:  I see you are amused by this, as well. Is there no honour? I fight for Genevieve, and he chooses a toy weapon. Bah.

 

Gen gets the least bit peeved at Jean:

 

Cher, cher Jean:

 

You are not fighting for my honour, or for me.  I am not a prize in a

tournament, nor some impossibly pure maiden whom Julian has debauched. 

 I thought we had agreed that our love lives were our own during those

times we were not trying to live together as a couple. If I did sleep

with Julian, it is my business. 

 You are duelling with Julian because you are angry with him for daring

to give you orders during our strike against those ridiculous monks, and

because he annoys you, because you are too similar.

 Now go play with your lightsabers like good boys.

 

Then Nimue, worrying about her own lover, gets a bit tired of Jean:

 

And I suppose you see no honor in his trying to maintain my happiness,

or that of the woman you love?

 Besides, had you actually wounded him, I'm not sure I could have kept

my composure. And that's nothing any of us wants to see.  Nimue

 

Ma chere Nimue:

I do not understand your argument about Julian maintaining your

happiness; it has no bearing on this duel.  Where is the honour in a

fight with plastic toys?

I had not intended to kill him, you know. Jean

 

 

Jean,

I'm sure you two would have a very masterful duel - after all, I've

sparred with the man myself, I'm aware of his skill with a sword. But

had you harmed him even a little bit, I would be very put out. I'm sure

you are a strong vampire. I'm stronger. I have no quarrel with you, and

I genuinely desire not to. I really don't care whether or not they

slept together - he is with me now, and I will allow no harm to befall

him.

 His decision to fight with toys is more manly and honorable than you

could ever be. He thinks of the people who care about both you and him.

You think only of sating your testosterone induced rage at having your

territory invaded. In my mind, this makes you the weakling.

 Take his choice of weapons as it was intended - a gift.  Nimue

 

Nimue realizes she's getting a bit too upset and private says to Julian: My dear, I am afraid my temper is getting the best of me. Please remind me that you are smart, and kind (to me, if no one else), and that this duel is nothing for me to get riled up about.

 

His response:  Darling, I am smart, and kind (to you, if no one else), and this duel is nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about. Poor Galen. He's having flashbacks of heads rolling. Damn Jean for pushing for this now.  Maybe I ought break my promise and castrate the bastard anyway.

 

At any rate, I've magicked up the swords. They'll ring and spark and look just like the ones in the movies were

supposed to look. But they are entirely incapable of hurting either him or me. I'm no dummy.

 

And in a private exchange between Julian and Genevieve:

 

Dear Genevieve,  _NOT_ Prince and Master,

Forgive Jean.   Not to mention me.

And this is hardly all about you, although he does know

about us, or rather thinks he does.  I've no idea how.

Certainly not from me.  But you well know it began last

fall.

 Jean and I will play like silly fools, swash a little, yell

'arggh' at each other, and with a bit of luck we will go out

and get roaring drunk together afterwards.  The ladies of

Paris may not be safe from either of us then.

It will be fine. Love, Julian

 

Dearest Julian:

You say it will be fine, and I must trust you.

Yes, it began last fall.  I feared from the start that Jean would resent

you.  He can be so unreasonable about these things.

I do hope that it resolves itself by your becoming friends.  He really

is not quite the jackass he seems.

Such a fuss. Love, Gen

 

Gen,

He loves you.  Men in love are seldom rational.  I've heard

that said of women at times too.

Julian

P.S.  I know he is not a jackass.  He proved that to me well

enough in the fall. I like him quite a lot and would trust

him with my back.  Although maybe not on April Fools Day. Love, Julian

 

Cher Julian:

I believe that he likes you too, though he would mostly likely sooner

face an army of vampire hunters than admit it. If he did not like you,

he would not have protected you last fall.  You and he are very similar,

which is why I hope you can be friends when this is all over.

How he found out about us, however, I have no idea.  The cousins would

not tell him.  Surely Bertrand would not have said anything. Unless Jean

asked him in some way that he did not see the answer as betrayal...

I love him, too.  But love is never easy, is it?  I so envy Alex and

Adele that giddy rollercoaster ride; Jean and I are well beyond that.

 I am dying to see you in that Darth Vader mask.  Shall I wear my hair in

curly buns at my ears?  Love, Gen

 

Darling,

It is such a shame to hide my adorable pout, non?  The down

side of Darth Vader masks. Love, Julian

P.S.  I'd prefer you in nothing, with your hair unbound. Ahem.

 

Cher Julian, Ah, but now I have a cowboy hat. Love, Gen

 

 

Other folks were taking an interest in the upcoming April Fools Day Duel:

 

Spencer Smythe, Julian's assistant, announced to the Telegraph: 

 

There will be webcam coverage live.  The URL will be distributed that evening via Telegraph message.  The camera will be trained on the combatants.  Unless...

Bribes to train said camera on Nimue's dress (or lack there of) gratefully accepted. Although Julian pays me quite

handsomely I've student loans that need paying off, not to mention the Citroen did not fare well through the Adventures.

I'm told on fairly good authority Jean's second will be dressed fairly boringly, although tight jeans may be a

possibility.I'm an equal opportunity bribe taker.

 

 

Bets were placed and interest heated up. Especially when Adele Blakesley announced she would attend the duel too.  And considering the scantily clad picture she'd sent to Alex Goldianias (their story is in Complicated Lives), but did not mark private, the rest of the males on the Telegraph were eager for the camera to pan toward her state of undress too.