The Way We Fall

Chapter 77 (Roche)

The first day of fighting was packed with activity. The first fight was fairly uneventful. Two knights entered the ring. Firearms were not allowed in the arena, but swords, daggers, and any other melee weapons were fair game. The first two knights were new recruits, so they stuck to swords. Their fight was mediocre, an impressive clashing of swords, but their movements were stiff and not smooth. It only took moments before they met in a parry and one of the fighters managed to fumble his way through a disarming technique. As per the rules, there was no killing or intentional maiming. A simple sword held to the throat and a croaked, "I yield" from the disarmed knight was enough to end the match.

"Pathetic," Tigris mumbled as Roche latched on her breastplate, "This is embarrassing to watch. I'll train them twice as hard next week."

"They did alright," Roche soothed, quickly tying the leather cords. "Lift your arms."

Tigris obliged with a huff. "It's not alright. They were barely holding onto their swords! And they swore to me yesterday that they were progressing well with their training, the liars."

"They were telling you what you wanted to hear. Who would speak out against you, princess?" Roche replied with a smirk. Tigris shot her a snide look.

"They know a thing or two about respect, at least. Maybe you need to learn a lesson from them."

Roche rolled her eyes, tying the cord tight enough that Tigris grunted.

Two more knights entered the arena. A flash of curly dark brown hair caught Roche's gaze. She fumbled with Tigris' helmet as her eyes latched onto a familiar slim figure entering the ring. Her jaw dropped.

"Is that Finn?" Roche gasped. Tigris side eyed her, smirking.

"Did you think he wouldn't fight? He's a knight too." Tigris chuckled.

Roche gaped as Kai handed the prince a large broadsword. Finn spun it with a feline grace that made his opponent, a fairly new knight, pale.

"He's so..." Roche struggled to find the right word.

"Scrawny? Weak? Nerdy?" Tigris snorted, crossing her arms, "Yeah, but he can fight. I made sure of that."

A bell tolled and Finn shot forward. The new knight only had time to lift his sword to parry the lightning fast strike from the prince. Finn's forest green, dreamy eyes sharpened with predatory focus. He danced back, avoiding a weak stab from the knight before plunging in with a quick swipe of his blade. Finn caught the knight in the stomach, sending him stumbling back a step, his glasses clanking against the inside of his helmet.

He pressed forward with an unrelenting barrage of blows so quick that Roche could barely see him move. The poor new knight was pale, his brow sweaty. He ducked under a wide swing of Finn's sword that made Tigris hiss in disapproval. The knight rolled to the side, shifting to reveal a pair of daggers palmed in his hands. He chucked them at Finn's chest. Finn batted the blades out of the air with his sword, and Roche's jaw nearly hit the ground.

"Holy shi-" Roche was cut off as the new knight used the distraction to barrel forward, sword extended, attempting to catch Finn off guard. But Finn had foreseen the trick. He feinted to the left but swung his sword in a tight arc to the right. The new knight grunted as his sword was thrown to the ground by the maneuver. Before he could recover, Finn slammed the flat of his blade into the man's stomach.

The new knight folded forward, his knees hitting the ground with a mighty thud. Finn extended his sword, a perfect millimeter from his opponent's jugular.

"Do you yield?" Finn's voice was steely, not even slightly tired.

The new knight answered quickly, "Yes, my lord. I yield."