Being the eldest rajkumari, Bela has many duties before her. She has a responsibility she needs to uphold to live up to her name.
Suddenly she is in the middle of a conflict with her heart on the line and entire kingdoms to please. The smallest of...
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Sweat dripped from his hair, stinging his eyes as it trickled down. Or was that blood? he swiped an arm on his forehead and came away with damp skin. It wasn't blood. Yet. He raised his head, eyes levelling with a knight's sword. the blade glinted in the lamp light, flickering its reflection on the walls of the indoor sparring area. the knight's shadow lengthened on his slumped form. The knight himself huffed slightly, but overall was still not out of breath. His warm breath fanned on Nidal's face.
The sword retracted from under his chin. The knight fell on a knee. Finally, their eyes levelled. Kaleigh's warm dark gaze met Nidal's green eyes. Compassion and pity flowed in them which annoyed Nidal more than being enamored. He pushed himself up, wincing at a sharp pain in his ribs and everywhere else, really.
"Again," He barked, He swayed and picked up a fallen blade, testing the coarse handle in his palms. It wasn't his official blade, as that one had been sent for polishing, but any one of the Armory weapons were good enough to practice on.
"My legs aren't strong enough." he muttered to himself as he arranged his body in a dueling stance. "Don't go easy on me, I know you hesitated last time." He ordered Kaleigh. His knight's gaze hadn't wavered, but he could sense another emotion building up, guilt.
If there was one thing he hated more than his own knight pitying him, was Kaleigh feeling guilt for Nidal's decisions. The next time he attacked, he didn't bother letting his knight rest for a second thought. He hacked and parried and blocked, desperately seeking out energy from his depleting reserves. His leg slid from under him twice, causing him to fall off balance and barely manage to save his arms from getting lopped off by Kaleigh's blade. The constant back and forth stole away at his skin several times, nicking his skin where the blade had already scratched several times before.
His skin burned and itched as he dueled but he wouldn't let that stop him. He had to duel with the Heiress of Torukaz by dawn. He had a few hours to practice before the hour of the duel. It wasn't that he was out of practice, he practiced fights consistently everyday. The main issue plaguing his mind was the fact that heiress Reagan was the best dueler of the generation. He had sent spies to her kingdom, who regularly kept track of her schedule. They always reported that her technique and speed was unmatched in all the empires. Torukaz was infamous for the quality of duelers they trained and Reagan oversaw much of the empire's defense system.
