Book 3: Where It Ends [Legolas]

Chapter 29

Somehow word got around Erebor about the spar between Linnéa and Legolas. Not only had King Daín, Dwalin, and Gimli arrived to watch, but so had the advisors and quite a handful of warriors. Bumbur and Glóin were among them too. The princess wasn't dressed in royal attire. It looked like she was about to leave Erebor on a mission with her pants and tunic. He too dressed down since the Elf was sure this fight wouldn't be straight forward. Both were given practice weapons to choose from to fight with. When someone commented that this wasn't a true spar, the king interjected,

"Both of them are very skilled warriors. I will not have either of them slicing each other up in the process."

Linnéa twirled the battle ax in hand to test out its weight. The lack of real metal threw her a bit. It had been decades since practicing with a training weapon. But King Daín had been right to push for the non-lethal weapons. This wasn't a normal spar like the one they had months ago. Both of them fight hard for different reasons. Which led to the decision to holster the ax to the back and take up a blade in hand to match the one Legolas had grabbed.

"Challengers, come to the center," Dwalin announced.

The prince and princess took up their spots only a few feet separating them.

"You will start on my mark and this will only end if one of you concedes, is bested, or there's a draw."

Legolas nodded in understanding. The Dwarf stepped back.

"Begin!"

Linnéa's weapon struck first to clash against the Elf's in a short, quick burst. The contact didn't last, the prince knocking it aside. She performed the action a second and then a third time. Just to further prove how hard they were about to fight. The first one sent a vibration up Legolas's arm and forced him to hold the hilt tighter. A smirk twitched at the corner of her lips in an almost 'come for me' expression.

Legolas returned the attacks with quick motions, and he backed her up along the ring. The prince aimed low yet her arm swooped down to halt the attack before the training weapon smacked against the shin. Linnéa managed to roll herself around from the motion to put space between them. The hard fight riled up the crowd. There were near misses on both sides. King Daín kept his eye on the guest to witness his style of fighting. His technique matched those that Elves relied on for their fancy, fast footwork, but there was also a brutalness to his attacks, which made the old Dwarf wonder if it had something to do with their princess. Had he adapted, which wasn't common for their kin, to not be limited to one manner of fighting in their months of traveling together?

Linnéa threw the sword to stick into the ground and switched to the ax. Now there was a reason for Legolas to worry a bit. Her skills shined through by the way the weapon twisted and sliced in her grip. It forced the Elf to duck a few times and take multiple steps back. Now the Dwarves seemed to be howling at the change in tactic. When Legolas did find the right momentum, he managed to push the ax out to shift closer to the princess. His arm hooked around her neck and dragged her down to catch his opponent on the bent knee face up. Yet instead of being caught in a defenseless and exposed position, Linnéa used the bent limb to fold in her legs on herself. The legs trapped the prince's head between them, which in turn threw him over to the ground with her.

The move not only surprised the one trapped in it, but the crowd too. A move like that wasn't traditionally used among Dwarves. That move had been new to her repertoire, King Daín noted. Linnéa gripped Legolas's arm that held the weapon in a manner that didn't allow it to be used and also kept him down.

"I may have adopted some improvisational skills from a certain Elf," the princess stated from the look on his face.

"That's good," he commented.