The Dark Realm

The Duel

Luke ran away from the pale soldier. He stopped when he realized that he was acting like a coward. He hadn't trained so hard just so he could run away from battle. Luke stood his ground.

His opponent swung his sword like a crazed madman. The clash of metal could be heard all over the battle field, now two swords more made that sound. Luke gulped nervously. One wrong move and it was all over. He just wanted to survive, not kill, so he didn't even attempt to lay a hit on his opponent.

The pale soldier noticed Luke's hesitation and went for the kill. He leapt forward. Luke swiftly blocked. His training had paid off.

Max noticed the soldier fighting Luke and overpowered his own opponent. He stormed over to the two. He had been watching and waiting to see Luke in the battle. He wanted to be the one to crush Luke. Luke could have wrecked his plans just because of some useless weakness known as emotions. No Luke had to go and Max was going to do it himself.

"Stand aside. Leave this one to me." Max looked down at his soldier with an air of superiority. The pale soldier frowned slightly clearly not liking that he had to give up his fight, but listened to his king.

"What the hell do you want with me?" Luke asked as he readied his sword. Max gave him a sadistic grin.

"You are interested in my wife. By having, uck, feelings for her you nearly screwed up my plans and for that you must be punished." Max admitted to the blond.

Luke gulped as he looked at Max's sword. It was long and dark, similar to the other swords the Dark Army used. Max's was more decorated than the others though. It had a black hilt with diamonds and rubies imbedded in it. Luke wished his seer powers had been a little more accurate so he could at least know whether or not the dark sword was Max's or another soldier's. He hated how vague his powers were.

"I don't have a thing for Lilly." Luke lied to Max. He wasn't that obvious, was he? How come everyone seemed to know how he felt about his best friend? He couldn't be that obvious... Right? But even Max seemed to know, just like Mr. Parker said he would. Max lunged and Luke blocked. The two started to engage in battle.

"Oh please, you expect me to believe a lie like that? You're so obvious that I'm shocked that she hasn't realized it." Max told him with a snarl. Luke glared at his opponent. "It's sad really... To think that you thought maybe you stood a chance with her."

Luke found this odd. It wasn't as though Max actually liked Lilly, so why did it matter if Luke confessed to her if Max believed that she didn't reciprocate Luke's feelings. Max's plans wouldn't have been in any danger. Luke concluded that Max was just trying to get in his head.

"Oh really? If it doesn't matter how come I could have screwed up your plans?" Luke nearly smirked as he called the king's bluff. Max simply glared more.

Max lunged forward, the point of his sword aimed at Luke's chest. Luke dodged by stepping sideways. Unfortunately for Luke Max got a bit of his shoulder, ripping a hole in the blond's shirt and creating a scar. Luke hissed with pain. He blocked Max's sword before he could really jab it in and make it worse.

If this wasn't a serious battle Luke would have made a reference to The Princess Bride, by saying that he wasn't left handed or quoting Inigo Montoya's famous line. Now was definitely not the time, although the thought did cross his mind. He had to admit that he was a little proud with how well he was doing, but he couldn't let himself get cocky about it. That could lead to death.

"I wonder how your precious Lilly will react once she finds out that you perished at my hands." Max snarled. The sound of of clashing swords grew as both young men struck as hard as the could, one aiming to wound and one aiming to kill.

Max swung the hardest and had pretty good aim. He was bulkier and stronger than his opponent but Luke was quick. He managed to block and dodge quite easily because he was scrawny and fast. Luke left himself wide open as he struck Max in the side. Max wasn't able to block in time. Luke didn't do as much damage as he would've preferred because Max was still able to use a sword. He was only slowed down.

Soon the battle would have to end, but which of the two young men would emerge victorious?