The Misplaced Prince[COMPLETE]

Personal Guard

She had more power in that slim body than one would comprehend looking at her. She sent him crashing back to the ground, and straddled his waist before he could blink. As if intent on quickly demonstrating that this was to be a fight in every sense of the word, she then proceeded to drive sharp, painful fists in lightning quick succession all over his body. He grunted, stunned under the onslaught, and it was several seconds before he drove up to his feet.

She slid off of him like a cat and faced him the moment he was up, circling him, her eyes darting over him keenly, her slim body ready for assault. Her reactions were exquisitely honed so that when he started for her, she darted around him and answered his blow with a blow of her own before his could even land.

Speed had always been his forte, but it sank in that she was phenomenal. This wasn't like the fight they had had in the Gentleman's Ring. Over here, she was fearless about the consequences of displaying her power. On top of which, this land...the very air...seemed to have imbued her with an inhuman speed so that every time he reached for her, she disappeared from under his arms as quick as lightening, landing blow after blow while he was jerking his head trying to keep sight of her. And she wasn't even using those knives yet.

He found himself at the defensive, twisting around, his senses sharpened as he tried to guess where she was coming from. He managed to snatch a blow as it came towards him, and they faced each other, caught in a near embrace. This would have been the perfect opportunity for him to land a blow on the nose of any other opponent, incapacitating him, but he hesitated with her, her hand crushing in his fist. Her eyes narrowed in an instant, and using his own hand as a leverage, she spun around on an axis, sending both her legs kicking into him, one on is chest and one of his jaw, sending him flying to the ground.

God, she was fierce.

He jumped up, bumping his fist on his chin to irritably wipe off a fresh flow of blood. Her glowing eyes followed the motion. She had so far stayed away from his face, but he didn't doubt she could mangle him if she so chose. It might have been against the code of nature that he might have grown up with, but he admitted that she--a woman--was much, much better than him at this, and not even because he wasn't willing to hurt her. Had he really wanted to overpower her, he would have been hard pressed to succeed.

The oddest thing was...it didn't embarrass him, to be overpowered by a woman. A part of him sparked a flare of pride to see her like this. This was obviously her element. She enjoyed brutal physical fighting, and God, she was breathtaking as she regarded him fiercely, her senses obviously sharpened to a fever pitch. Her hair frazzled around her face as she studied his every move, the only hint of softness on a deadly frame.

"Come on, then, darling." he murmured, and as he'd expected, her eyes brightened with annoyance at the address before she came to him at a run, jumping and twisting in midair, landing a bone crushing blow at his cheek with her elbow. He staggered to the side.

The noise of the crowd filtered slightly through his consciousness. Someone was urging him to blaze 'the chit'. He flexed his fingers. He couldn't summon the fire for the life of him even if he wanted to, and apparently despite being trounced by her, she did not inspire the emotions in him that bought on the flames.

She came at him again, and he reached around her, grabbing her hair and jerking her close to his chest, using her own momentum to set her off balance. She crashed against him and froze momentarily as she locked with him with her hands caught between them. He used his strength to hold her steady, ignoring the yelling from the people, his hand closing tightly around her braid, and looked down at her face inches from his. His breathing was heavy, and her own fell sharp and short from her lips, the air between them mingling.