A Princess Named Harry

Chapter 30

"Huh? Me?" Harry asked very confusedly. She was taken aback by the boy who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Who-who are you?" she asked.

The boy bowed to her and replied, "Greetings, Second Princess, my name is Gram Winslow."

Harry returned his bow. "H-hello," she replied. She had never heard of the Winslow family and wondered if he was from a noble family.

"Winslow," she said quietly. "Could it be that your family is from noble lineage?"

Gram smirked and replied, "Makes sense you've never heard of me; after all, I'm not from this kingdom."

He started to walk away, but Harry persistently followed him. She was intrigued by this person.

"You are from another kingdom?" she asked giddily.

"Yes, in my kingdom, my family is the Marquis of Winslow. We are the ones that have the closest relationship to the royal family, and I expect it to be the same in this kingdom too."

Harry gasped in astonishment, "That's incredible! Then, Marquis Winslow-"

"Marquis Winslow is my father," said Gram coldly.

"Sir."

"I'm not a knight yet, either."

"Gr . . . Gram . . . then . . . right?"

"I have no objections to that."

He quickly turned around and eyed Harry's scabbard. "I'd like to see you put that thing to use."

She looked at it and gripped it tightly.

"But," she replied. "I'm also . . . not . . ."

"Second Princess Harry!" shouted Gram. "I'll say this with my honor at stake." He suddenly pulled out his sword and pointed it at her. "Participate in a duel with me!"

Harry hadn't even spared with anyone yet, let alone duel before. She was incredibly nervous and scared but still wanted to at least try.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Terrance worriedly.

"Yes," answered Harry. "I'm quite anxious though, but I'll do my best."

She looked around at all of the spectators.

"It seems like we have a large audience," she laughed. Though, her laugh sounded more like a nervous hiccup than a laugh.

Terrance nodded, "Yeah, looks that way."

When word spread of Gram's match with Harry, many came to observe her skills. "It's nerve-wrenching, but it's also exciting!" she said cheerfully.

"Is that so?" Terrance asked. "Well, luckily, you won't be using real swords on account of this being your first duel."

"Ah, yes," Harry answered. "They'll be wooden swords, right?"

"Yes," Terrance replied. "But it'll still hurt if you get hit, so be careful."

"Okay," Harry responded.

They stood together watching her audience grow. "Well, good luck," he said slapping her back. This made her flinch and stand up straighter. She blushed and vowed to do her best.

Terrance went back to join Kahil in the crowd of spectators. With that, Harry's face grew serious as she stepped forward to face her opponent.

"Finally," sighed Gram. He clutched the wooden sword tightly in his hands. "Let's go, Second Princess."

Harry gripped onto her sword and copied Gram's stance.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Harry's hands violently trembled, yet she held onto her sword tightly. She swallowed and answered clearly and loudly, "Yes!"

Gram smiled a horrifying smile and shouted, "Here I come!"

Without another word, he lunged forward and swung his sword down upon Harry. She swung her sword up to defend herself. He was so fast and strong that Harry was barely able to push Gram back; his attacks were relentless.

"I'm surprised you're even able to withstand my attacks," said Gram as he swung at her even more violently.

She took a couple of steps back. Harry stopped and maintained her footing. Gram raced towards her with his sword raised high.

This position of the attack left his side wide open. Harry noticed this and decided to use that to her advantage.

She pulled her sword to her side, and when Gram came close enough, she gathered all of her strength and swung at his side.

The impact knocked Gram off his balance. Harry did not let this opportunity go to waste; she pulled her sword back and fiercely knocked Gram's sword out of his hands. The crowd roared, declaring her the victor.

"I won?" she asked uncertain.

They all ran to congratulate her.

"You won!" cheered Terrance.

"Congratulations!"

"Congratulations, Princess!"

Many cheers rang out for her, but amongst the crowd was a bitter spectator.

"Not so fast!" shouted a commoner named Nathaniel. "That was a cheap tactic you used."

"Huh?" asked Harry.

"Nathaniel!" shouted Terrance.

The boy ignored Terrance's rage completely. He gave Harry an icy glare.

"If you want to prove that you're a real swordsman, then beat me in a match, and just to show my kindness, I'll even give you two months to prepare."

He smiled and added bitterly, "Try your best, Princess Harry."