True Love Never Runs Smooth (Natasha Romanoff)

Chapter 26

TW: this will get gruesome

I made it to the center of the arena, standing about five feet from my cousin. His weapons of choice were two swords and I'm sure he had a knife concealed somewhere else on him. My weapons were the long sword that I had in my right hand, a smaller sword along my back, and, of course, Natasha's knife in my holster.

"Don't worry baby cousin, I'll make sure to make your death as quick as possible."

I couldn't tell if he was actually trying to make me feel better or not.

"Don't underestimate me too much. You aren't the only one who has been training."

He went to say something else but the sound of a drum beating three times stopped him. We both took a step back from each other.

Then the sound of two drums went off. We both tensed up and gripped our weapons a little bit harder.

After the sound of a drum beating once, the final hit, the duel commenced.

We began to circle each other, waiting for one to make the move.

I recalled back to my training, not sure whether I should take the chance to attack or not.

Seeing that he wasn't going to make the first move, I took the risk and attacked first. 

He blocked my hit with one of his swords and tried to attack me with the other but I was able to dodge it, he tried to go too high.

I was able to knock his sword off of mine and swipe at his right arm, causing him to drop his sword. I then kicked it as far away as I could, making us even. He had one sword and I had one.

This was too easy. He must be nervous because even Maria could've stopped that. He took a step back and I saw him do something in his mouth. The next thing I know, he crushed a capsule in his mouth and something changed inside of him. He looked angrier and like he had more drive.

He then charged at me like a bull, I blocked his hit but there was so much force behind it, he was able to knock me back.

His third weapon must have been some enhancement pill. For hundreds of years, we followed the custom of just using strictly weapons like swords or daggers. This nerved me because I didn't know how this would go. He was blinded with rage and had significantly more strength than I did.

He tried to charge again but I dug my feet in this time and was prepared for his strength. His sword clashed against mine but I was able to push him back with mine and I had the chance to slice him again, right on his cheek. That was two hits now.

I watched as the hit didn't even phase him like he felt no pain.

He charged again but after the first blocked hit, he was quick to try again and again. It was constantly him attacking and me blocking. He was too quick and too strong for me to try and even attack.

I could feel my blocks getting weaker and his getting stronger and faster.

He threw an exponentially hard attack at me and it knocked my balance off slightly but it was enough for him to get his first hit on me. Right on my left side, there was now a large gash there and I could feel the blood starting to pour out.

The hit felt like hell but it sparked another wave of energy from me and now the tables turned, I was the one attacking now. However, his power was significantly greater than mine and I only had so much energy. He was able to cut my leg when one of my hits wasn't strong enough which caused my leg to give out and my knee to fall to the ground. I was now an open target for him. He used the hilt of his sword against my face causing me to fall against the ground completely. The blood that was now coming out of my mouth mixed with the dirt below me. I started to get a bad feeling in my gut that maybe this wasn't going to end well.

I tried to get up and I was on all fours but I saw his shadow above me and next, there was a kick to my abdomen, launching me a few feet away. My vision started to blur as I rolled across the dirt. When I finally stopped rolling, I tried to get up again but my body was aching. I just wanted to lay in the dirt and accept my fate.

I looked to my side and managed to look right towards my friends. They all had concern in their eyes, they knew this was not going well for me. I looked to Natasha and she gave me a nod. A silent sign to get up and keep fighting. I then remembered what she told me, I'm fighting for what I love. 

I spit the blood that was accumulating in my mouth and stood up. I had no idea where my sword was so I pulled out the smaller sword along my back.

I barely had time to prepare myself before he attacked again. I was able to block the attack and then landed another hit against his shoulder but it of course didn't phase him.

I didn't know how I was going to win this. I was almost at my limit and he looked as if he just started.

He swung at me again with his full force and this hit was so powerful that he cut threw my sword. Leaving me with one weapon left, Natasha's knife.

I didn't even have time to try and pull her knife out before another slice came to my other leg. Now that my primary source of support had been hit, both my legs gave out causing me to fall to my knees. He didn't try to hit me again, instead, he circled behind me giving me a straight view of Natasha and everyone else. 

The next thing I knew there was a hand that threaded through my hair and pulled back, exposing my neck. Which his blade was soon against.

I felt defeated in this moment. I was completely defeated. It was almost impossible to get out of this hold. I looked at Natasha and gave her a defeated look. Concern filled her eyes and there was a silence that filled the arena, waiting for his next move.

I mouthed an I love you to Natasha and closed my eyes waiting for the moment. I could hear Natasha trying to yell something at me but she was simply too far to understand.

My whole body tensed as I felt him apply pressure. This was the end.