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    Against Her Gentle Sword: Fighting for Love and Freedom in a Woman's World: Against the Matriarchy, #3
    Against Her Gentle Sword: Fighting for Love and Freedom in a Woman's World: Against the Matriarchy, #3
    Against Her Gentle Sword: Fighting for Love and Freedom in a Woman's World: Against the Matriarchy, #3
    Ebook119 pages1 hour

    Against Her Gentle Sword: Fighting for Love and Freedom in a Woman's World: Against the Matriarchy, #3

    By Alan Stroe

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    About this ebook

    On an island ruled by women, young men must duel each other with stun swords to impress young ladies and attract romantic interest.

    Dario, a boy yearning for freedom and equality, is selected to duel in front of the girl he loves. He has no desire to fight his friends, and little chance of winning. Will he refuse to duel, suffering punishment and humiliation? Or will he ruin his chances of winning her heart through an embarrassing defeat?

    His problems get more complicated when a former ally hijacks his revolutionary plans, turning them into an evil power grab. Real, deadly fighting breaks out for the first time on the island.

    "I loved the characters and the writing, it was quick, witty, and fun." —Reviewer

    "Against Her Gentle Sword is the most exciting romance I have ever read." —Danielle Urban, UniversalCreativityInc14

    "If the idea of a young-adult dystopian novella without the graphic violence of The Hunger Games sounds appealing, check out Stroe's Against Her Gentle Sword." —Jessica Wren

    "The sword fighting is super awesome." —Melissa Ownsbey, Goodreads

    "The perspective taken in Against Her Gentle Sword is unique and memorable." —Charlotte Jain, IndieYAYA blog

    "The theme has novelty and the style is quite humorous." —Reviewer

    "Reminds me of Shakespearean comedies." —Reviewer

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTiberian Press
    Release dateDec 20, 2014
    ISBN9781507011201
    Against Her Gentle Sword: Fighting for Love and Freedom in a Woman's World: Against the Matriarchy, #3

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    • 5/5
      A really intriguing dystopian novel that follows a boy who has to duel some of his friends in front of the girl he is in love with. I couldn’t stop reading from start to finish, the storyline was masterfully written and the theme of the story was original and unlike any I’ve seen before. The romance and emotional moments were unforgettable and I am so glad I found this book. Highly recommended.

    Book preview

    Against Her Gentle Sword - Alan Stroe

    Against Her Gentle Sword

    Against the Matriarchy – Book Three

    a novella by

    Alan Stroe

    Copyright © 2014 by Alan Stroe. All Rights Reserved.

    DEDICATION

    ––––––––

    To every boy who has loved selflessly, and to every girl worthy of such affection.

    Contents

    The Last Day of School

    The Young Matriarchs

    The Musketeers

    The First Duel

    The First Rendezvous

    The Savage Semi-final

    The Happy Final

    A Brief Happily-Ever-After

    The Renegades

    A Disastrous Audience

    Conundrum

    The Hunt

    Armageddon

    Counter-plan

    The Fallen

    The Trial

    Training

    The Last Duel

    Swarming

    The Last Day of School

    ––––––––

    Some philosophers of the Old Era argued that beauty is relative, while others vehemently opposed the notion. Centuries later, psychologists settled the matter when they discovered that humans, even as infants across cultures, prefer average proportions and symmetry. It is not our intent to resume this ancient debate here. It is enough to state this much: in the year when our story begins, a senior high school student named Gwendolyn was universally considered to be the most beautiful girl on the Colony’s island.

    Her beauty is noteworthy not for its own sake, but for the devilish, universal effect it had on the school’s male population; perhaps not coincidentally, but rather causatively, Gwendolyn’s undeniable physical beauty was remarkably devoid of vanity and paired with an altruistic character. The Colony’s educational system went to great lengths to cultivate such values, of course, just as they tried to eradicate violence from society. The Colony’s leaders and law enforcers were always recruited from the female students who best demonstrated these qualities. Born of a maternal line that had given several high-ranking officials, and even a governor or two, Gwendolyn was a prime example of the type most appreciated by the Colony’s senior leaders. She was also an accomplished electrofencer, another prerequisite for a Protectress License.

    Halfway through their senior year, elite senior girls were recruited and tested for the prestigious Protectress License, which gave them the right to bear electroweapons in order to uphold the law and order in the Colony.

    At the end of the year, senior boys anxiously hoped to be selected for an electrosword dueling tournament—the first and only time in their lives when violent behavior would be tolerated, even celebrated. The prize: a chance to catch the eye of one of the young, desirable protectresses and marry well. The selection process was a rather mysterious procedure, haphazard and bureaucratic at the same time. Most of the tournament candidates were selected by the new protectresses wishing to include them in their personal competitions. The selections, however, were also subject to approval by the mysterious and feared Assurance of Quality Reproduction committee. Among other duties, AQR had the power to approve or deny selections and Reproductive Licenses.

    By tradition, the selection notifications were delivered at the end of the last day of the school year. Perhaps nowhere was the excitement greater than in senior Homeroom C—Gwendolyn’s. The boys of Homeroom C had shared the same classes with her for the past four years. Surely, most of the C boys rationalized, she’s bound to be interested in someone, surely someone she sees all the time. Why not me?

    Dario, the shortest boy in Homeroom C, was no exception. The silent, unseen barrier between female and male classmates was generally very difficult to overcome, except for the most congenial and extroverted of boys. Doubly so, with a girl as desirable as Gwendolyn. Desperately so, for an introverted boy like Dario. Over the previous four years, he had amassed a huge collection of little positive signs from her: quick glances, chance eye contact that he was always eager to meet and quick to interrupt, the occasional innocent brush as she passed by him in the hallway, or a warm smile—anything at all. He had written them all down in an encrypted journal at home. After four years, the thickness of the journal made a very compelling case. His gut feeling seemed to concur, but not constantly and not without doubts. The journal, though, was always a reliable, pleasantly tangible anchor for his thoughts.

    The last day of school of his senior year found Dario in an optimistic mood. When their homeroom teacher stepped into their class of thirty girls and boys with seven exquisite envelopes in her hand, he was certain one of them had his name on it, put there by her request. Of course, he wouldn’t know that for sure until the end of the competition. So he had made a plan: he would seek eye contact with her in the instant he heard his name. If she had put him there, and if it meant anything to her, if he meant anything to her, surely her eyes would seek to meet his.

    Slowly, solemnly, the teacher handed out the envelopes, one by one. Some of them went to his friends. With each name being called out that wasn’t his, Dario’s confidence dropped a notch. At last, only one envelope remained. His breathing stopped, and his heart skipped a beat. The teacher seemed to have stopped on purpose. After the longest second of his life, Dario heard his name. He breathed out again then casually looked toward a girl at his left, a protectress, a desk away from Gwendolyn’s. Just as he was about to move his glance to a new, safe location, his peripheral vision caught the movement he was waiting for. A head turn. There it was! And then, contact, with the most beautiful pair of eyes he had ever seen. Something to take home to his journal, along with a fancy envelope with his name on it.

    He opened it. He skipped the trivialities and read the date and time. He looked around for his also-selected buddies. As soon as the class, day, and year were declared over, he went over to them.

    Florian, when are you fighting?

    Saturday morning.

    That surprised and worried him. He cared about his very athletic friend. He most definitely didn’t wish to take him on in a duel.

    Me too. When’s your fight, Murray?

    Saturday, Murray replied carelessly.

    What time? Morning, afternoon, evening?

    Let me check... morning. You?

    Me three. It’s a disaster—we’ll end up fighting each other. He looked around for signs of undue interest in their conversation. We need to talk. Let’s meet at our place, by the waterfall.

    The Young Matriarchs

    ––––––––

    As she left the school grounds, Gwendolyn could no longer contain her happiness. There’s something I really need to share with you, she told Adelle, her longtime friend and fellow protectress. She waited until she felt Adelle tuning in to her more intimate emotional wavelength. I’m going to choose a fiancé this year.

    Adelle took a few seconds to recover. So soon? You’ve just earned your Protectress License!

    I know, Gwendolyn replied serenely. Isn’t it great? Enough with the daydreaming. Finally.

    Why the rush?

    I guess my, umm, clock must be ticking faster than yours. She laughed. Adelle shrugged. Speaking of, that crazy tournament is coming up. I can’t wait!

    I don’t think I’m going.

    It was Gwendolyn’s turn to be shocked. Are you serious?

    Yes. The whole thing sounds preposterous, especially the Defeat Ritual. I’m sure there’s a good reason for it, but it all seems so... improper.

    It’s meant to give the elite a more objective way to choose quality mates. Dueling ensures masculine traits don’t disappear completely.

    Okay, but what about that ridiculous ritual? Adelle insisted.

    I’m not sure about that either. More incentive? Or a way to get an idea of the whole... deal. Gwendolyn beamed. You can’t tell me you’re not at all curious.

    Yeah, maybe a little bit, Adelle said with a guilty smile.

    And you haven’t even thought about being a selector this year?

    I’m definitely too young, the always-mature Adelle said confidently. And the boys even more so.

    Maybe. Maybe not all of them. Gwendolyn’s thoughts flew. Who would you have picked if you were a selector?

    Adelle smiled again. She looked behind to make sure they were not within anyone’s hearing distance. Can you be discreet?

    Gwendolyn gave her the ‘I can’t believe you’re asking me this’ look.

    "Okay. Samuel would be one. And Caius... Maybe even Florian. I like strong guys.

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