Bran still held the princess by the shoulders. His mind raced through every possible situation. He started with what he knew about the princess. The public had as much info on her as they did the king, almost nothing. Thus she was labeled with the generic princess image that many got from fiction and novels. Yet here she was, wielding a legendary sword and dressed in full armor. Bran's first thought was to stop the fight and inform the king who was just a dozen meters away. That worked for him but not for the princess. He remembered what the king had said earlier in the meeting chamber that morning.
'Girl if you dare interrupt, or shame me again in any way you will end up just as your mother.'
-I have a feeling they didn't just kiss and make up
His lazy afternoons would be soiled by guilt if he sacrificed another for his own well being
Considering there was no current Queen of the Alden Kingdom Bran slashed that idea.
-Is this still my test? No that can't be
-They wouldn't let the grand prize risk their life in the tournament. On top of that no one would trust a rookie officer with the princess of the most powerful kingdom.
The princess's only option was to kill or be killed, she had planned it this way, and Bran realized this fact immediately.
The next topic of interest was the sword. The Blademaster would never go anywhere without his prized blade, the only way to get it would be either to steal it, defeat him, or....
Bran looked at the young girl curiously
"How do you know the Blademaster?"
She stared back at him resolutely
"I'm his successor"
"for how long have you trained?"
His voice was now rising slowly in anticipation.
"six years" she replied
-Jackpot
This whole mess is survivable, we even have a small shot at victory! Though it will still only be my victory because the king will still kill her wont he?
"you know your father won't be happy about this." he said hesitantly
"Don't worry, the old man will back me up"
She talked as if it were nothing, as if her life wasn't in danger.
-Agh! but you got me in this mess too, what about me! Why would I risk my life for your self-interest! I'm supposed to sit in the battle tent organizing the battles, not participating in them, AGH!
"Oh, and could you let go?" she requested
Bran was on the verge of tearing his hair out when the gamemaster blew his horn signifying the one minute warning until the match start. He took a deep breath and looked back at the Princess.
"Hey listen, this is what we're going to do."
________________________________________________________________
After the meeting in the chamber, Grace sprinted through the corridors of the castle back to her room. She was tired of her father's control over her life and was ready to fight back. The day that the Old man had declared her his successor was the happiest she could remember. He passed down his blade "Albus" to her and she gave a great big bear-hug in return. The sword glowed white and Grace caught her self staring.
"It's quite beautiful isn't it?" he sighed
the old man watched her expression with satisfaction
"The reason we trained so hard on endurance at the start wasn't only to prepare you for long battles"
Grace snapped out of her trance and gave her attention back to the old man
"The blade glows white because it's steel is fused with the purest lum in the kingdom. Straight from the mine your father found itself. Since the sword is mainly flat the effect is that of a shield-type magical stone. Usually magic stones have to be charged through the powder they're made from. However the powder in this blade is so pure it actually doesn't need to be charged. Instead it feeds off the wielder's energy."
Grace's eyes widened in alarm at these words.
"Don't worry it will only use your energy when you will it too. And what if you run out of energy? Well then you just pass out. Think of it as taking a infinitely long jog until you collapse, mind you aren't going to feel too good when you wake up hehe."
They both shared a small laugh and enjoyed the rest of their afternoon in the woods.
Grace pulled the sword out of a concealed hole in the stone wall of her room. She placed the radiant blade in a leather sack and equipped the armor the old man had lent her for training. Then she concealed her identity and made sure she hadn't missed anything checking her reflection in the large mirror near her bed.
Not bad if I do say so myself she thought with a grin on her face
Now both physically and mentally prepared Grace rushed back out to the square, this time she would be the one to decide her fate, not her father.
She just barely made it to the registration desk and the receptionist looked up at her from under his spectacles with raised eyebrows.
"You're not serious right?" he asked incredulously seeing her appearance.
Grace was determined to stay silent, one little peep would mean discovery and she was in no way ready to explain her current appearance to the guards or her father.
There was a slight pause as it seemed like the guards were having trouble deciding what to do with her. Finally after some time they escorted her to a large tent and placed her by a boy around her age wearing an officer's uniform.
-ah, it's 'sleepyhead'
The officer in front of her had messy brown hair and a kind face. There was a drowsy aura around him that made her feel like yawning
Everyone had heard of the boy who had become an officer at age nineteen and Grace was no exception.
-Huh, wait, does him being here mean he wants to marry me? Heh, while you're definitely not the worst choice here I'm going to have to reject your offer, you're just not my type
Grace spaced out, absorbed in her fantasies.
Then the boy unexpectedly broke the silence
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"Hey it's going to be a rough ride but nice to meet you"
She jumped at the sudden speech but quickly brought herself under control.
Sleepyhead was looking her way with a nervous smile.
She nodded back to him and returned to her thoughts. However he didn't let up, he asked for her name, book, and favorite color.
-Is my cover blown? Is he already trying to hit on me?
-It feels kind of nice to have someone interested in you, though now is not the time for such feelings
To get him to shut up Grace pointed toward the nearest red patch of wall on the tent.
At last it was their turn in the arena and Grace took short confident steps into the center. Then she saw the other contender enter from the opposite side. She looked back at Sleepyhead who seemed like he was about to s*** his pants.
Grace took Albus out of the bag, that's when things started to get weird.
-don't worry leave it to me, the bigger they are, the har-
Sleepyhead forced her to the wall
He didn't look mad or angry, instead there was a glint in his eye as he asked her how she knew the Blademaster. When he heard her response the glint remained, no, now it shined brighter than before. She grew wary of his grip and asked for him to release her.
-Sleepyhead doesn't look too sleepy anymore...
Now the boy seemed to be dealing with some great internal struggle, then he finally turned to her and said he had a plan.
-You are actually quite antsy aren't you Sleepyhead
Grace looked on amused.
So David's taking on Goliath, this is going to be painful to watch
______________________________________________________________________________
The horn blew once again for the start of the match and the crowd roared. The boy walked slowly to the center of the battleground and....sighed?
"Hey what does he think he's doing up there?"
"Is this a Joke?"
The boy was picking up small rocks and handfuls of sand. The sand went to his right pocket and the rocks went in his left pocket. The massive man on the other side watched in complete confusion. The sun was directly above in the sky and the heat waves bounced off the dry earth. Everyone was quiet, watching the boy pick up dirt. The large man had waited long enough, he decided to finish it right then and there. Swinging his double mace with unbelievable speed he aimed the spikes at the boy.
*swish!*
*THUD*
The steel balls struck the ground with inhuman force. A great cloud of dust and sand rose from where the boy had been standing. Then from out of the cloud the boy ran behind the man and flung a pebble at the back of his mammoth-sized head. The sound of the pebble hitting the ground echoed across the stands as all watched in a stunned silence. The man's hand touched the spot where the pebble had made impact. He then clenched it into a tight fist and turned. Fury was etched into every wrinkle and line in his face. Again he ran at the boy with amazing speed swinging the mace like a toy.
*swish!*
The boy made another attempt to dodge, successfully avoiding the first steel ball but failing to do so for the second. It wasn't a clean hit but the ball grazed his shoulder and he spun to the ground. The man quickly brought the mace down for a crushing final blow.
*THUD*
Another cloud of dust rose up and once again the boy emerged from behind, throwing an even larger stone this time. Many in the audience began to snicker and laugh with this bizarre scene unfolding before them.
"GRAAAAA!!"
The man couldn't take being mocked or made fun of, and by some insolent child no less. In a blind rage he charged the boy.
The veins in his head were popped out diverting his sweat in the intense sun. His bloodshot eyes held only one purpose and that was to completely destroy the being in front of him. His intention was to leave nothing behind other than an indistinguishable stump of meat. The Man's foot work became sloppy and he swung horizontally at the boy's head slightly losing his balance at the same time. The boy ducked easily avoiding the spikes however instead of running away he ran straight at the giant man wrapping his arms around his torso. The man stumbled backwards already off balance. When he recovered he grabbed the boy by the neck raising him up and stared him in the eyes. Gasping for air the boy writhed and struggled.
"That's what you get for toying with me boy! What? are you trying to say something? I cant hear what you're saying, HAHAHA-"
The man never got to finish. As he laughed the boy reached into his right and left pockets and threw the load of sand and the rest of the rocks into his mouth and eyes.
"AAAAAGGGHGHGHG"
Now it was the man's turn to choke and splutter as the rocks stuck in his throat and the sand scraped at his eyes. He dropped the boy who then calmly walked to his opponent rubbing his neck. The boy took off his jacket and tied the sleeves around the mans large legs. Then when the man already blinded, and off balance tried to take a step he found himself falling forward at at rapid rate due to his weight. The boy took a stance and connected his foot with the man's face in one swift kick, instantly knocking him out. There was a stunned tremble to the air and then the crowd stood on their feet and went insane. Shaking the windows of the surrounding buildings with their cheers. The boy sighed again and sat down using his opponent as a seat, rubbing his sore foot and tender shoulder together. The many looked to see how the king reacted to such a incredible turnabout of events.
He wore a forced smile through gritted teeth.
-Don't worry boy I have more planned for you, just you wait...
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