It had been such a long time since the two friends could properly face one another in a true spar and not merely an example for the apprentices who were lost in the ways of swordplay or messing up their footwork to be more efficient sword fighters.

They felt like apprentices themselves, but unlike when they were apprentices, they didn't need permission to get practice swords from the sheds as they went to the shoveled-out practice yard.

They lifted their swords and gave one another a show of good sportsmanship before backing away.

Felix began to circle, which meant Irene had to do the same or she was going to be caught by him.

"Look at us," Felix stated. "Two family-less bastards forced to play with swords to pass the time during winter. Never thought I would see you here."

"This time of year making you feel alone?" Irene teased. "You ought to turn your attention to your surroundings occasionally. I've noticed a few people who want your attention."

The smirk on Felix's face told Irene that he was already aware of what his surroundings possessed, but unfortunately, he was someone freshly scarred by grief that would make his heart unable to focus on anything else.

However, her bringing up something that was an unbelievably festering sore spot, Felix gained the energy to deal the first blow, and he swung his sword in a sideways slash that nearly hit Irene's chest if she hadn't jumped backwards.

"Deal blows with your sword, not with your mouth," Felix warned her.

"My pleasure," Irene stated through clenched teeth as she lunged forward and swung her sword in an overhead strike that cracked down on Felix's well-piloted blade, making it just in time to block what she dealt.

For a few moments, all she could do was hold her sword in the downward strike she had first dealt because Felix had locked his blade with hers, and they were having a power struggle for a few moments.

Unfortunately, this angle definitely gave Felix the upper hand because, not only was he taller, he was also able to support his sword with two hands—one to the blade and one on the handle. It allowed him the opportunity to shove upwards, and Irene stumbled backwards as she regained control of her blade.

"Too easy, try again," Felix taunted.

With his words came another blow, and he caught the back of her leg with his boot while also dealing a forward thrust of his blade.

Since she had to send herself backwards and throw off her center of balance to dodge the blow, she fell onto her backside. However, while this move would have certainly been her defeat in the past, she used it as a lower advantage as she whipped her sword around and got Felix in the side of his knee.

Weakened by that, she was able to get her feet underneath herself and launch herself forward. With Felix's balance thrown off as well, she was able to push him to the ground, kneeling on his stomach and putting her wooden practice sword towards his face.

"If this blade were metal, you would be dead," she reminded him with an evil smirk.

"If this blade were metal, you wouldn't have allowed me so much time to stab you in the side while you do this strange victory speech," he retorted quickly and lifted his arm to stab the woman in the side.

Irene rolled her eyes at him and stood up, brushing the snow off of her pants before she offered Felix a gloved hand.

"We will save the low blows for childhood," she responded. "We're pretending to be decent adults for the apprentices who are peering at us from the windows on the second floor of the tower."

As Felix accepted her help up, he also brushed himself off as he gazed towards the windows in the upper area. It seemed a few apprentices had gone to the library and had taken notice of the action in the practice yard.

Irene offered them a smile and a wave before she offered to take Felix's sword back to the shed, where they locked up everything and ensured they were out of reach from the falling snow so they wouldn't get brittle from getting wet and then drying.

When she returned to Felix's side, where he was smoothing out a few places they had caused divots on the ground, she let out a light sigh.

"Seeing them up there reminds me of when my father wouldn't allow me to practice with the knights, so I spent much time gazing down at our small practice yard full of envy," she admitted. "I'm always happy to see that they're so eager to become better swordfighters."

"Mastering a weapon is the most important skill we can have as knights," Felix admitted. "Chivalry isn't something to learn as much as it is something to follow. Sword fighting is much more difficult." He paused, then turned towards his friend. "Speaking of weapons, you haven't wielded a bow in a while. Seems Sven is the only one who teaches the apprentices those skills."

"I'm probably rusty now," Irene deflected immediately.

However, Felix, who could read her like a book, raised an eyebrow, and she realized she had been too abrupt.

"When my grandmother died, I gave her my bow to take with her to the afterlife," she admitted. "Thinking of using it while the one who taught it to me is under the ground hurts a lot. Whenever I see a bow, she's all I think about. I don't know why I have such trouble moving past that, but I would like to give it a try again one day."

"No rush," Felix assured her with a small smile, understanding more than most how hard it was to get over death. "If we're in this mood already, would you like to visit Agnes with me?"

"Sure," Irene responded. "I will get her something from my room first."

"I'll be on the other side of the barracks."

With a nod, he was off, and Irene parted to go to her room.

Felix felt a tinge in his heart as he watched the knight rush away on behalf of Agnes. He wondered at times if he clung to Irene's friendship so much because she was one of the few who understood how special Agnes was. He wanted someone to talk to her about, but he kept it all inside. Who would want to hear about someone's dead love? He wondered himself sometimes why she still felt so close to him, even though it had been a while. He couldn't imagine attempting to love another.

Everything during that time period was so heavy. It all felt worse because of the circumstances.

Without wasting time, Felix made his way to the memorized spot.

He could tell exactly where her grave was based on what the mountain looked like, as well as the ruins from the mana tower the mages had created. He visited there at least once a month just to make sure everything was as it should be.

The small, stone grave marker he had erected for her with an 'A' carved into it was found first, and he cleared the space around it with his gloved hands. When it was clear, he sat down on the snowy ground. It was cold enough outside that it was unlikely to melt under him.

"Agnes, I've been thinking about you a lot lately," he admitted quietly. "Perhaps it's because I know how much you liked the snow despite how much you also loved flowers. I remember all the flowers I would hide just so I could dry them and give them to you through the cold months."

He stopped his words because they became hard to say.

This was usually when he would go on and daydream of all he wished he could do with her. Would they have been married now? Would he have wanted her to make a home for them far from the knighthood so he could escape sometimes?

What they had in common was a lack of family. She stayed with distant cousins before getting old enough to stay at the Duke's Tower full-time. They bonded over having no one but each other when they got more serious.

That was also why no one ever came to claim her body. There was no one besides him who would want it anyway.

The crunching of snow alerted Felix to Irene coming to find him.

When she got closer, he was shocked to see dried lilacs in her hands.

"From my family's garden," she explained. "Mom sent them to me, but I remember Agnes always had dried flowers during winter, and she took such careful care of them so they wouldn't fall apart."

Felix's jaw clenched as he felt a lump in his throat form. Past and present collided in the strangest of ways.