The Heir of Taran (Damian's Love Story; Lucia FanFinction)

Chapter 9

"Damian, I think it is best if you go for a walk for a while. You seem distracted."

Bruno can't help but notice that Damian had been staring at nothing for some time now. He has been this way since he opted to stay behind a few nights ago. But a large part of the reason he wants Damian out of the office was because of the flock of women peaking through the double doors. They had been shoving and arguing amongst themselves just so they could caught glimpse at Damian. Even though Damian never spared them a single glance, they still hover near him hoping for a chance.

And Damian striving to be a gentleman in order to please their mother, would not be able to raise his voice nor harm any of this women. The Lucia effect not only affects His Grace, the Duke, but it already spread through Damian and sometimes to Bruno. Bruno has no qualms in educating some hapless lass who doesn't know any better. He even threw water at the face of a noble lady not some time ago and took a scolding from Lucia. But after that, whenever their mother is present, he becomes more docile.

Damian could hear women squeal and whisper and it suddenly irate him. Without a single word, he stood from his desk and silently walked towards the balcony.

"I'll leave the rest of the work to you, Bruno."

And with that, Damian leaped from the balcony towards the groud. His jump was three-storey tall yet he landed with grace.

He headed towards the stables but made a mistake of taking the route that passes the south gardens. A group of noble women were taking a walk and has spotted him. And it seems like they had started to follow him.

All he wanted was some peace and quiet.

Ah, he does know a place. The wisteria tree.

He made a sharp turn to the right. There was a secluded path that cuts into the forest until it leads to the sword arena at the back part of the palace and beyond that would be the forest where the tree is located. The ladies would not dare follow him since they'll loose sight of him pretty easily. They'll only get lost and wonder aimlessly until they are spoted by the patrol knights.

As he was exiting the forest, Damian heard the clashing of swords and a feminine yell. Normally, Damian would ignore this since only knights would have access to the grounds. But something told him to take a quick look. As soon as he entered one of the sword arenas, he saw a flash of silver locks and light blue hair doing battle.

It was the princess and he could guess that her opponent was one of her guards. Now this is a rare sight. You would think someone of her royal status would only have knowledge about etiquette and literature. It was refreshing to see a woman handle a sword and be extremely proficient in swordsmanship.

Just like Ted, Damian thought.

The longer he watches the match, the uneasy Damian felt. It was strange that Damian could predict the counter moves of the princess. Every parry, every counter, everytime she tightens her grip on the leather handle, even the footwork, Damian has already seen this countless times before. Nostalgia was sweeping his entire body as he recall all those nights at Ixium.

As the blue haired man swings his long sword in a downward movement, the princess dodged it to the left and took a step forward while swinging her sword towards his midsection. Her opponent tried to block it with the scabbard. He seems to be a double sword wielder by the way he always held a sword with only one hand.

But since his grip of the scabbard was weak due to it being wide, the princess easily knocked the scabbard away with shear force and ended the mock battle with her sword just inches from his throat. The man surrendered and bowed down to the princess.