Underground Royals

Prologue

"Come on Bella! Don't let him recover!" My uncle instructs from the sidelines.

My opponent lunges at me and I duck to the ground before dashing towards his head and pushing it down. While he is disoriented I lay punch after punch on his stomach, forcing him to bend further, before hooking my elbow between his head and his neck and twisting my small body, causing him to fall bellow me.

Just as I'm about to deliver my final blow he punches back, sending me reeling towards the nylon ropes surrounding us. I hold my ground and punch his face, my ring - the Sterling ring - leaves a bloody cut running from his cheekbone to his chin. I kick my boot into his rib for good measure before standing and wiping the blood off my hands. I would have done worse, but he was one of my uncle's body guards and he wouldn't be happy if I returned him handicapped.

I walk out of the ring with my head held high and a proud smirk on my face. My uncle claps his hand on my back, in a rare display of affection, before turning me around to examine any injuries. However, besides some blood stains here and there, I had no other visible tokens from the fight. It was after all how I was trained: to be sneaky, insipid, the best... to kill.

"You're improving Bella, but I saw the hesitation in your eyes. Never hesitate. It could be the difference between survival and death." My uncle reminds me solemnly, before turning away and leaving me alone.

I silently curse him before rolling my eyes. My uncle is a firm believer in the fact that nothing is ever perfect and that there is always room for improvement, but I always find myself hoping for a little more positive reaction after a good fight.

I'm lead out of the basement which had been fashioned into my own personal training facility, by my old governess who instructs me to take a shower before I start the rest of my day.