It was another fine day in the Kingdom of Veldt.
The citizens were going about their day, and the Knights were doing their civic duty.
And inside the stone walls which separated the towns of the Kingdom from the inner city itself, in a small barracks, two people were sparring with swords.
The first was a boy of around 15 years of age, black hair and rough skin, a sword in his hand which he seemed to have picked up hastily from nearby, slightly too heavy for his hands to properly hold, dressed in a simple tunic of that of a squire, inexperienced but more than happy to learn.
The other was a woman,much older than him, a brunette with fair skin, clad in shining,clean armour, she held a sword that made for her, something which she had years of experience with, a stern gaze as she scarred with her smaller, younger combatant.
The squire swings his sword towards her chest plate, but the Knight quickly parries it, and retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack, causing the squire to fall down to the ground, while the knight pointed her sword towards his neck, and said one simple command. "Yield."
This was Dame Catarina, The Iron Woman of the Veldt.
"I yield! I yield!" Yelled the squire in fear.
"Calm down, no need to worry my squire, as always, I won't be cutting your throat." Said Catarina.
"I'm sorry, Dame." Said the squire, referring to her by her title.
"No need to apologise, you've improved, you've been able to block some of hits, but still have not landed a hit. But you'll get better." Said Catarina, as she held out her hand to her squire.
"Yes, Dame!" Said the squire, as he took her hand, with Catarina pulling him up with one swift motion.
"Now...After our sparring...our duties now are..." said Catarina, before her squire finished her sentence.
"We have to meet the Finance Minister, where he will decide our...unforeseeable future." Said the squire.
"Yes...let's get moving shall we...I won't have myself become a tax write off...ready my squire?" Said Catarina with a small smirk.
"Yes, Dame! Squire Charlesley read for duty!" Said Charlesley in a determined tone.
"Good Squire...follow me." Commanded Catarina, as Charlesley followed her, as they both headed towards the building housing the Financial Minister's office.
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Charlesley sat in obedient silence, a concerned look on his face, while Catarina had a serious look on her face, tapping her foot, her reputation and job was on the line, she'd known her past...failures were the reason she'd been demoted to be handled by the Finance Minister of all people...ugh.
Then, a man, seemingly the secretary of the minister came out of the door to the Minister's office, and approached them, "Dame Catarina, Mr Gahlot has called for you." Hearing this, Catarina stood and gestured to Charlesley to sit down and wait, as she walked into the office.
The office was decorated with an ornate wallpaper, luxurious chairs, tables, paintings and many of the sorts. But Catarina had no time to to look at the room, as she immediately walked towards the Minister's desk, and sat down.
She gave a small look to the new, young Finance Minister, he was shorter than her, lean and had a average physique, as she looked down at the small plaque with his name on it, Richter Gahlot. He had olive green hair, brown skin and dark brown eyes behind large spectacles, wearing a surcoat consisting of different shades of green.
"Good morning, Mr... Gahlot." Catarina had a slight stutter while saying Mr, still getting used to called a man younger than her that.
"Good morning, Dame Catarina, I'm sure we both should get to the point now, shall we?" Said Richter.
"Yes...we should." Said Catarina.
"Now...what should I...do with you? You're certainly not the type that'd be good at a job in the Finance Department." Said Richter.
"I...agree, Mr Gahlot." Said Catarina begrudgingly.
"I would send you back to your superiors to the army, but...I think your recent failures speak otherwise..." said Richter.
Catarina just stayed silent, all she wanted was a job that was similar to a Knight's, something that could get her active or moving, she didn't want a desk job counting numbers.
"Catarina...I'm giving you time here to convince me why I shouldn't make you a tax write off. Please don't waste it." Said Richter.
"I won't sir! I won't!" Pleaded Catarina.
"Ugh...you know how much I've got on my plate...with father's recent scandal and my appointment, our reputation is on the line..." said Richter.
"Sir...then I've got an idea that'll...surely...help your reputation sir!" Said Catarina in a cheery tone, ready to pitch her idea.
"What is it." Said Richter in an irritated tone, already wanting to write this idea off.
" I want my own unit sir, of skilled men and women!" Said Catarina.
"For...what? So you can recreate your failures on the battlefield or something?" Said Richter condescendingly.
"No...to deal with...counterfeiting." Said Catarina, adding pauses for dramatic effect.
"Counterfeiting? I mean it is a pretty common crime...but...where are you getting at?" Asked Richter.
"You want to forget the scandal and improve your reputation right, sir?" Asked Catarina.
"Yes..." said Richter.
"So, this unit will be that way! We can distract from the scandal, and make counterfeiting the new focus for the people, and I'll make sure we'll do good work, and then you'll be championed around the kingdom! "Destroyer of Counterfeiting!" "The Protector of the Nation's Wealth!" Explained Catarina, as she held her hands to horizontally, trying to form the the smaller sides of rectangle.
Richter was giving her a scrutinising look, so she made the rectangle wider.
"I'll...consider it." Said Richter, as he adjusted his glasses, and looked down at some papers on the deck.
"Is that a yes?" Asked Catarina.
"It's more of a maybe...now leave, I've got more important work to handle..." Replied Richter, as Catarina leaves, with a slightly dejected look on her face.