《BRING SWORDS AND FLOWERS》


 TYDE VODA

    That one evening in late October, Tyde Voda stood among the tall trees of the Logam estate scanning the area around her ,and building up her power. She pulled her fur coat closer over her body as a chilly wind passed by her .No, it was not just because winter was near.This eeriness she was feeling could only be explained by their presence.They were near. Monsters.


    Across from her stood Lord Logam, a man in his late fifties with grey hair which she guessed was once peach blonde, just like that of his daughter Clementine.


    "Your absence is showing." said he."You did not come for a month and look at the monsters all gathered together,like as if for a party."


    Tyde smiled, "Well I must apologize Lord Logam."


    "Why must you apologize? If my daughter had half of your skills with the sword, I will not have to trouble you to kill these monsters."


    " Do not blame Clementine. Besides this is the only way in which I can pay you back for all those swords"


    Lord Logam looked at the young lady who was standing in front of him.With her short auburn hair and dark blue eyes she would not stand out in a crowd but one could still stay if one had eyes enough that she had the looks of a lady bound for a tough life , even though she was a noble.


    Kids like these matured too fast. They kept their eyes open and spoke very few words, always waiting for an enemy to pounce at them at every turn. Is this what the noble realm been breeding all this time?


    She spotted them even before Lord Logam shouted " There!"


    Hidden away in the shade of a huge tree was a pile of monsters, bodies fused together ,only their eyes visible as hollows in a dark mist. Because the sun had not still gone down ,they appeared dark. If it was night time they would have looked a deep purple .


    They were monsters but not living beings. They were merely the left over energy in the atmosphere which took various shapes . They multiplied in places unoccupied by humans, like in forests or even poorly maintained estates like this one.


    "I am going in."Tyde announced before pulling her sword out from its sheath.She absorbed the energy from the water in the atmosphere, transferred it in to her sword before running it through the monsters ,slicing them one by one and making them disappear into thin air.


    Lord Logam stood watching from a distance. This was just a piece of cake for the lady. He was only accompanying because it was his estate.


    Tyde finished her cleaning quickly.The looming darkness and eeriness had disappeared and she could feel the change in air. They were finished for now,but in one or two weeks they would form again .


    She went on such hunting with Lord Logam every other week. It could not be denied that doing it from time to time had greatly increased her power. But it was getting easier with each passing day.This was no longer enough to train her.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Tyde placed her beret back on her head as Lord Logam drove her back to his house on his jeep.She tried not to remain dissatisfied. Every time she thought a fight was too easy, something would happen to blow her peace away.


    Back in Lord Logam''s mansion, Clementine was waiting for her with tea and refreshments. Clementine Logam, her one and only friend was the campus beauty and Lord Logam''s only daughter.Ever since Tyde''s father had passed away, the bond with her childhood friend had only strengthened. The Logams were part of the metal clan and made no big deal of forging swords for their young friend from the water clan, that was herself. She could only help them back by clearing monsters from their estates from time to time.


    Looking at the neatly laid table with the various cakes and snacks, Tyde suddenly grew hungry,


    so she sat down and started helping herself.


    " So, did you release all your pent up energy?" Clementine asked her friend .


    "Not really.But talking about energies, where exactly are you releasing your pent up energy these days?"Tyde was joking but Clementine blushed crimson.


    This disturbed Tyde. Never before had she seen Clementine blushing like this. So she pulled her chair closer to her''s so that the maids could not hear them.Not that they would dare to gossip but just to make sure..


    "Clementine, isn''t it time to break up?" Tyde asked


    Clementine had dated several guys before .''They are just like wine , you wouldn''t know which is the best if you do not taste many.'' That''s what she had told Tyde before. Clementine never dated anyone more than a month,but this time her relationship had lasted for almost a year and was concerning more so because the man in question was a commoner.


    "If you keep this up, then Helios would begin to notice." Tyde warned her.


    Helios . That was the system which dictated the rules in the noble realm. They settled difficult cases and that too rarely with dialogue .


    No noble was allowed to make a relationship with a commoner. This was the only way to protect their bloodline which gave them ability to manipulate energies of the various elements. Tyde did not even want to think about what would happen to her friend and her lover if Helios ''interfered.''


    "Don''t worry too much. it is nothing .....serious"said Clementine but she did not look like it. The stone cold Clementine who used and threw away men like tissue paper looked flustered.


    ''I should not worry too much'', thought Tyde. Her friend would forget this guy eventually and they would laugh about it one day. After all, many nobles did play around with commoners at times.


    "Lady Voda , you have a visitor." a servant announced and Tyde was brought back from her thoughts.


    When she looked at who had come for her she wrinkled her eyebrows. It was Aunt Regina''s maid. Was Ares up to something again?


    "My lady." the maid bowed, " I have a request from Lady Regina"


    " It is the usual isn''t it?" asked Tyde


    " That is my lady...Lord Voda has gotten in to a fight with the Adara family, our Lady has requested your help...."said the maid


    "Your cousin Ares is a handful." remarked Clementine.


    Tyde sighed. She had begged him not to mess with the fire clan. But no,he would not listen. Even though her cousin was the heir to their family and head of their clan , he was a fool. He was all that Lady Regina had . He should at least think of his mother.


    That hot head of his would be the end of him.


    Tyde got up without finishing her tea and took her leave.


    Clementine watched her drive away in her maroon mustang.


    Her friend Tyde was the young lady of the Voda family which had been in the past both powerful and rich.But the Vodas were poor now and their head was a weakling.


    "Stay safe." Clementine whispered a prayer for her friend.

 CHAPTER 2 - ARES VODA

    Tyde parked her mustang and got out.And as she walked towards what looked like a warehouse near a bar, she could sense the energies of three people.


    She saw a  young man in his late twenties, with long red hair .That was her cousin Ares. He was already on the floor panting, trying to get up, he looked quite drunk.


    "You bastard!" he was shouting at what looked like a man in his sixties. That man was from the fire clan as was obvious from the red aura surrounding him. This man must be an Adara. The Adaras were the most powerful descendants of the fire clan. Of all people to pick a fight with in a bar!


    That Adara looked like as if he was ready to land another blow. A third person was lying on the floor, wounded. He did not look like as if he was from the fire clan, thank God.


    " Ares, let us leave." said Tyde trying to help her cousin back up.


    "You provoke me and now you want to get away?" shouted the fire clan dude powering up.But Tyde knew after weighing his power that she could handle him.Only it would bring trouble later on.


    " Please excuse my brother who is drunk and become senseless, Lord Adara." Tyde tried to apologize but the old man had drawn his sword.


    The next best thing to do was to make a barrier, so she quickly set up a water barrier separating Ares from the Adara. She would hold it up till they got out of there. But the very next moment she regretted her decision for the old man had attacked the barrier. Big mistake. He was thrown backwards with what looked like hot steam. Tyde ignored the old man''s scream as she dragged her cousin to her car and fled the scene. He would be alright, that servant of his had enough power to walk, thought she. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    "Hey, Ares wake up!"  Tyde could not help but scowl at her drunk cousin who was peacefully sleeping in her car.


    Ares opened his eyes and looked around. " I need to puke" were his first words.


    Tyde parked her car by the roadside and helped Ares out. After  Ares had finished ,he made his way back into her car.


    "Little Tyde, what are you doing escorting me back, where is the driver?"asked Ares


    "You idiot! You wanted to die ?" cried Tyde. " Provoking the Adaras of all people! "


    She looked at her cousin who had lowered his eyes.  " By the way, your family driver quit last week for lack of pay."she said after a pause.


    "Is that so?" Ares sat back in his seat and smoothed back his red hair that grew to his shoulders.If not for his rotten personality he would have even looked handsome.


    "A handsome dead body."Tyde whispered under her breath.


    "You did not have to interfere." said Ares


    "Your mother begged me to!"


    "If I died  you would become heiress, of course you wouldn''t help me on your own accord"said Ares.


    This is why she hated her cousin. He was rotten, hot headed and foolish.


    ''Little Tyde, are you angry?" asked Ares "I was joking! joking!"he said laughing.


    "Don''t call me little" she said looking at her cousin. "By the way did you get burnt badly?"


    "What do you think I am, a commoner?" asked Ares. Of course nobles healed quickly, but it also depended upon  the damage. What would take a month for a commoner , would take only a few days for a noble, it was all in the blood.No wonder Helios was desperate to preserve blood lines.


    " Stop! Stop the car there." Ares asked pointing at a mansion in the way.


    "Your new lady love?" asked Tyde sighing.


    "Yes, she would heal me..."said Ares smiling.


    How do they tolerate the likes of him, Tyde wondered.He smelled of puke and blood..


    "It is the power of love." said Ares as if he read her mind.


    He helped himself out from her mustang and bid her goodbye.


    "Hey Tyde, don''t tell mom on me." said he before disappearing into his lover''s house.

 CHAPTER 3- RAUL ADARA

    There was a thirty five year old man in the Adara family with well kept silver hair and grey eyes hidden away under his spectacles . He was a mystery to all. Some said he was from the wind clan but they could not be sure. His name was Gaga . But no one called him that because he was known to all as  Lord Adara''s  aide. His master,Lord Raul Adara  who was in his late twenties was  the heir to the Adara family. Everyone thought Gaga was a lucky man, because Raul Adara was one of the most powerful men in the noble realm and  was also pretty level headed for his age.


    Gaga was an intelligent man and the young Lord had picked him from several others to serve him and become his confidante.Gaga made his way to the said Lord''s office, a pile of files in his hand. He opened the door and found his master sitting on his desk brushing through files.


    "There are more?" asked Raul eyeing the files in Gaga''s hand.


    "We can put it off for tomorrow if you like, my Lord." said Gaga


    "Oh is there something else then?" asked the Lord


    " Your uncle Sebastian has come to visit you." said Gaga


    "Is he in the guest room?"asked Raul Adara getting up.Uncle Sebastian was not the most important person in his family but uncles were uncles.


    Lord Adara made his way into the guest room and greeted his uncle.


    "Oh Raul! how have you been?" asked his uncle embracing him.


    Raul embraced him back. Usually if he wanted favors he would talk over the phone but this time he has come in person, thought Raul.He must have something to show me.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Look at this"  Uncle Sebastian Adara showed him his bandaged hand


    "Who dared to hurt my uncle?"asked Raul inspecting the bandaged hand and trying to show concern on his face. Was it another bar fight?


    "You wouldn''t believe me if I told you but they were the Vodas."


    "The Vodas you say?" asked Raul "The family from the water clan?"


    he looked at Gaga who nodded his head.


    "Yes there were two brats." said Sebastian


    "Sit down and tell me." lord Raul showed his uncle to a  chair and eyed the clock before sitting down beside him.


    "Well the one who challenged me was the heir to the Vodas."uncle explained


    "Heir to the Vodas? I have heard stories about him,he has quiet a reputation."said Raul . Raul knew that Lord Voda was his exact opposite, loose with money and women. The Vodas were already ruined, their businesses had been failing for a decade or so,and yet the young Lord was living in luxury he had heard.


    "What was his name again?" Raul asked Gaga


    "Ares Voda." said Gaga


    "Yes, that''s the one who challenged me. " said the uncle his face red with anger.


    "And you met him in a bar, I suppose?" asked Raul


    "Well ..that is the case and it was all well ,that man is a weakling I tell you,I had him in one strike ,but then they played dirty"said Sebastian his face reddening.


    "Continue."


    "There came another brat who made a barrier of some sort,and the next thing I know there was a gush of steam coming from it ."


    "Oh" said Raul sitting back in his chair. Uncle must have broken a water barrier with his fire sword.How foolish!


    " You want to retaliate?"Raul asked his uncle


    "Yes no need to kill them." said Sebastian after a pause. "They are young after all,just teach them a lesson they would never forget."


    Raul turned to Gaga ."Send one of our group C boys to this Voda brat and let them know what will happen if they mess with the Adara family."


    "Understood."


    "Then I shall be off uncle. Do not worry.Water clan or whatever nobody touches the Adaras."


    Raul assured his uncle.

 CHAPTER 4 - DAMIEN TORDEN

    Tyde Voda sat in her college lecture room looking outside the window, most of the trees around were bare and the janitor was cleaning the college campus sweeping the fallen leaves.


    "I heard you were challenged." it was Clementine who had come up to her.


    "Must be the Adara family''s side kick. I should be sending him to Ares. Why should I clean up his mess every time?" said Tyde getting up reluctantly.


    "Go on and kick their ass." said Clementine laughing."By the way, I won''t be waiting for you."


    Another date? But why wouldn''t she tell me these days? And why am I afraid of asking?,thought Tyde.


    Tyde went to her college locker and took her sword out. On a whim she opened Clementine''s locker which was next to her''s. Yes, the white heels were missing. She was going to meet that commoner again. It was time they had a serious conversation about it.


    But first things first. She should finish the Adara business. Should she take some hits and settle it?  It would not be good if it escalated.Yes ,that was the prudent thing to do.Lose on purpose.


    When Tyde reached the rooftop, which was the place she was called on to,  she saw a man standing with his sword drown out .But then, she sensed another presence besides that of her opponent.


    She looked to her left and saw Lord Torden sitting leisurely with a lady who looked like his lover. Lord Torden from the Torden family of the thunder clan , was the most handsome man on campus.With his long golden hair tied in a pony tail and his clear sky blue eyes , he was like a heavenly being you saw once in your life time.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.But he was not anything like her cousin. Lord Torden was good at business, avoided fights of all kinds and was well admired by his servants. If he had one fault , it was that he had several ladies as lovers. They said he had one for each night but they were perhaps exaggerating. But then again it was no surprise for a man with his looks and money.And the ladies did not mind and considered it a blessing whenever the Lord requested their company.


    "We are going to have a show Damien."his lover was saying to Torden.


    Damien Torden sighed. "Our place has been invaded,but ....who is that lady?."


    Tyde could hear their whispers very clearly.


    "That is Lady Voda. They are a fallen family of the water clan."his lady was saying


    "They are quite poor I heard, look at her dressed like a boy."said the lady giggling.


    Tyde was dressed in a white shirt and blue pants under a classic trench coat.Her clothes were  expensive but if one got close to her one would know she wore the same few clothes in rotation.


    "I think it is cute."said Torden looking at her.


    "I did not know you liked the boyish type too." giggled his lady love again. "Even though she is poor I heard she was good with the sword."


    Now Tyde was in a conflict. If she lost on purpose now , her  pride would be shattered.As a matter of fact, her pride was the only thing she had left.But why should she prove herself to this playboy Lord and this giggling lady?If she defeated him now ,the Adaras would send  some stronger sidekick, before the real shots of the family themselves show up.Yes, she could simply lose to the next sidekick.So Tyde changed her mind and decided to finish the duel quickly.

 CHAPTER 5- AGATHA

    Tyde drew her sword and defended herself from her opponent''s strike.As her opponent struck, the ground beneath  her began to shake.So the sidekick was from the earth clan, Tyde noted.


    If she did not act fast, he would soon control her body''s balance.That was the ability the best ones in their clan had.


    Tyde began to strike with her water power, which turned the air around her sword a deep blue. His  brown energy clashed with her blue energy.


    She soon began to feel his power affecting her ,making her dizzy.He was better than she thought.


    He could only control her vestibular system from close range,so she began striking from a distance.Her power emanated as blue waves emerging from her sword that struck her opponent without giving him time to attack back. Tyde soon recovered her balance and landed the final blow.


    When the match ended Lord Torden got up saying"How boring". He soon left with his lover who looked a little shaken.


    Tyde looked at her opponent who was on the ground.She went up to him and lifted him up by the collar, "Now listen up.Tell those people who sent you that you defeated me,and that I promised to never involve with their family again. Tell them I begged for mercy, you hear me?"


    Tyde left his collar and the guy fell back on the ground gasping for air.


    Because Clementine had gone on her date ,Tyde made her way back home . Even though her house was a  run down mansion, she smiled at the sight of it.  Agatha would have made the best tea in the world for her. Her maid though a commoner, had a weird ability to predict when she would come back home.


    "Our Agatha is psychic." Tyde remarked looking at the table already laid for her. Agatha took her bag and sword but Tyde stopped her. "Why do you have to dye your hair? You look quite young even without it."


    "Stop joking my lady." said the fifty-five year old escaping from her mistress''s inspection of her head.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    " Don''t play around with Agatha too much my lady, she has a maiden''s heart."said Paul. Paul was her sixty four year old gardener. Paul and Agatha were the only servants she had left. Even though Tyde could no longer afford them, they still continued to work on with low pay. They had made it clear early on, that is just after her father had passed away, that they would stick with her until the end. She was grateful to them and for a long time they were like her own family.


    "Come and sit with me for tea Paul." said Tyde sitting down at the table.


    " Some other time my lady, we had our tea already." said Paul.The same dialogue every time , sighed Tyde , he doesn''t even change his wordings. Even though they were like family, they refused to be treated like anything more than servants.


    Tyde sat sipping her tea . How long had it been, since she had this kind of life? Her mother had died of an illness when she was two years old . She did not even remember her face, but her father had died when she was twelve. He had died along with  his brother in a car accident. His brother used to be  the head of the Voda family and Ares''s father.  It had  been 9 years since that happened.


    If Ares had been anything like Uncle , I would have looked forward to the future of the Vodas, thought Tyde.


    ******************


    " What is it ?" Raul Adara asked  Gaga who had come to disturb him in his study.


    " About the illegal drug trade that Helios asked you to investigate."


    "Go on."


    "We have a hunch that the Demetros might be involved."


    Raul looked up from his book." If it is true then their overnight riches could be explained."


    " It is best to observe before making a move my Lord."said Gaga


    " Friends with the Thunder clan are they?"


    "Also my Lord, the group C lad we sent to take care of the Voda business has come back."said Gaga


    "He was defeated eh?" said Raul going back to his book."Wasn''t the head of their family a weak guy, this Ares?"


    "No it wasn''t Ares, but his cousin I heard, my Lord"


    "What are you planning Gaga?" asked Raul


    " Allow me to take care of this my Lord."said Gaga


    " Is our Lord Gaga in the mood to kill?" said Raul looking up from his book.


    Gaga flinched every time Raul called him ''Lord'' . This was because , it would have been his title originally had not his family been destroyed. ..


    "Do as you please."said Raul