The Untamed Princess

Chapter Thirteen: The Thrilling Duel

Sending the message that he didn't intend to go easy on Ming Yue, Zhao Weisheng moved first.

He darted forward and, with a brief flick of his wrist, sent his sword rushing in towards her from her left.  She turned and parried the blade away quickly, spinning around on one foot to bring her back face to face with the prince.  She lunged forward, quick as lightning, but he leapt nimbly backwards, taking himself out of reach.

Weisheng stepped to the left, intending to come at Ming Yue from the side, and her eyes followed his movements.  He swung his sword in a wide arc, only for it to be met by her own and, as each pressed forward, ignoring the flashes of sunlight bouncing off their blades, they found themselves only a hair's breadth away from each other, separated only by the two thin, glittering pieces of steel.

Suddenly feeling remarkably uncomfortable, Ming Yue pushed her sword against the prince's and used the momentum to leap backwards.  Then, once again, she took up her fighting stance, and the dance between the two of them continued as, gradually, they became oblivious to the spectators around them.  Soon, the only noises that could be heard were the ringing sounds when two swords clashed, as the rest of the camp were stunned into silence.

Meanwhile, Captain Feng was gaping like a fish.  He turned to Luo Jian, who was simply watching in silence.

"This woman," he began.  "Who is she? She is holding her own with His Highness in a way that I have never seen."

Everyone was so lost in the scene unfolding before them, that nobody noticed another important guest being escorted to the training field by one of the soldiers who had been on duty at the gates.

Prince Zhao Li Jun wrinkled his brow in annoyance at the lack of response to his presence but, before he could voice his displeasure to his right-hand man, his attention was unwillingly caught by the two people engaged in swordplay on the field in front of them.  He recognised his brother instantly, of course, but it was the second figure that immediately captured his gaze.

To his amazement, the person matching his brother blade for blade on the field was a woman.  He couldn't see her face from this distance, but her lithe form moved confidently, with speed, accuracy and, most of all, grace.  Li Jun moved forward, straining his neck to get a closer look.

Weisheng and Ming Yue continued, oblivious to everyone but each other.  By now, Weisheng had surmised that he would be hard pressed to gain the upper hand when it came to technique.  Consequently, he resolved, his two advantages over the woman in front of him were his size and his strength.  Moving forward, he suddenly pressed the attack, letting loose a series of withering blows and, sure enough, he felt Ming Yue's sword arm weaken.

At the same time, he scuffed at the ground with his right boot and sent a fine mist of dust flying up towards her.  Distracted, Ming Yue let down her guard for a split second, and Weisheng seized the opportunity.

Spinning the hilt of his sword in his hand, he changed the angle of the blade, so that it was outside of Ming Yue's own, then moved forward, spinning 180 degrees as he did.  Now behind her, he held his sword lightly against her neck as his left hand snaked around her waist and pulled her back towards him.

"Do you concede?" he whispered in her ear.

"Cheat!" she whispered back.

"Ouch!" he said, in mock indignation.  "Did you really expect me to lose in front of my own men?"

Neither of them moved for a moment, until they became aware of the sound of applause.  Stepping apart quickly, they looked at each other as they breathed heavily from their efforts. Ming Yue started to laugh.