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The room was made of gray squared stones and big arched windows through which the sun came in shining. Very pompous furniture with detailed handcrafted woodwork of vines and twirls at every corner. The walls were covered with big paintings of dark hooded entities, heroically posing in fields, ships and castles, all standing above dead bodies.

They did not resemble one another, the only connection was the dark cape and the hoods adorned by golden details and small runes and sigils.

In the center of the room a red round carpet and 4 chairs stood in a semi-circle pointed to a fifth that was a throne.

All adorned with a bright red stone in its handles.

Two men in dark robes brought a third man in commoner clothes and threw him before the chairs.

Once the man entered the carpet circle the other two turned and left the room.

The man was old with his gray hair and wrinkles, scared and walking cautiously in the direction of the throne.

The sunlight that shone through the window began to fade, a darker ambience took place in the room.

The chairs were now occupied by humanoid shadows, in the center throne something else appeared.

Its clothes resembled the dark robes in the paintings but were much older and worn out. It was not made of flesh or bones but what seemed to be a mixture of both, it was not a physical body as it seemed almost ethereal.

It’s eyes were completely black under the hood and just a dim red glow could be seen coming from them.

It was sitting down on the throne imposingly looking down towards the man that had entered the room.

On the 4 chairs were the shadowy figures, indistinguishable dark shapes oscillating.

The man prostrated himself in front of the throne and waited silently.

One of the shadowy figures spoke in a resounding and unearthly voice “You failed”

The man raised his head and turned to where the voice came from.

He began to explain fearfully “It was not my fault… I sent Callas as ordered, he was the one that failed us... there is an unknown mage helping Allard, a mage more powerful than we anticipated”

“How powerful?” Another shadow asked.

The man turned towards it and continued “It is uncertain… but this mage was able to fend off two rune users without even showing itself, it used a bound spell that Callas have never heard of before” He paused for a moment fearing the reaction that his next words could cause “he must be the one that dealt with the shadow fiends and defeated Callas inside his lair.”

The shadows flickered.

“How did he break into the hideout?” The shadow continued inquisitively.

“I believe it was the portal stone, the attack was at the same time of the ambush at the mines. He probably got inside through it.”

The shadow figures flickered once again “Is this mage one of the Allardian court mages, one of the few that survived?” Questioned another shadow clearly knowing what happened in the mine.

“Perhaps it’s Ursula’s family… she is a crafty one, if given time to prepare she can prove a worthy foe… or maybe someone from her house is stepping up to her status” One of the shadows spoke out.

“We investigated all noble families in Allard, none had such prodigy amongst them… Bounding spells are not that common either” said the man confidently. “This mage might be an outsider, someone hired by the king”

Another shadow spoke for the first time “Which also meant you failed to identify this mage… It is known that the Allard families hide their secrets with their very lives, you might just have missed them until now.”

“No… you must understand that I did all I could… even now, I sent Gilliath to stir conflict in Allard. As we speak an army of orcs and goblins are preparing to assault the city of Brigantium, it will surely hinder their defenses now that most of the court mages are gone, without that city their supplies will run dry if a war erupts” Explained the old man desperately.

The entity at the throne moved for the first time, all shadows seemed to quietly turn towards it in respect.

An ethereal dark voice echoed with a deep tone through the room “You lost our foothold in Longart, your lack of results will not be forgiven”

“My lord… please if you give me another chance I will certainly…” before he could complete the sentence, shadows erupted around the dark entity and they grew bigger and bigger. The old man knew what would come next and began to step back.

Trembling and mustering all his power he erected a mana barrier between him and the throne. Very thick and extremely strong.

He then quickly turned around and began to desperately run with all his might to the exit.

After just a few steps he heard a shattering noise and felt a hot sensation in his chest, quickly spreading all over his body

Looking down he saw a spear made of black fire, piercing his chest and burning his body. The pain became unbearable as the flames burned his skin and organs from the inside out.

It took only a moment for him to die but the screams and struggle told everyone that it was an extremely painful death. He continued to burn until nothing but ashes remained.

“Tessai, you will be personally in charge of Longart from now on, prepare yourself and do as you see fit. I expect results…”

“Yes my lord I will go to Allard and establish myself at once.”

“And now, to the important part of our gathering... have you found it yet?” The entity asked the room.

A few moments of silence took place until finally one of the shadows spoke.

“No, whatever passed the barrier 2 months ago is still to be identified, we sent many scouts into the rift inside the Endher but it seemed to be closed already, nothing was found.”

The entity remained silent.

“Could it still be lost inside the forest?” the second shadow asked

“Or it never crossed it in the first place” added the other one.

“What if it was something strong enough to survive the passage? A being that could have escaped on its own” said another shadow.

“It’s been almost 2 months of search with no results. If such a living being survived the traverse it would have brought attention by now, something that big wouldn’t be able to hide in plain sight like this. Also do not forget that the half breed was near the area at the time. He might be the one that found it” The fourth shadow said

“It’s possible, he could have traveled inside the Endher if he wished to, I’ve heard he’s done it before” The third shadow commented.

“But didn’t he die in his disciple's hand?” The first shadow asked.

“Did we find the body?” The third shadow replied.

The entity at the center moved once again “Find the disciple and the body of the magus, revive him if you need to, but find out where is the item that crossed the realm!”

The shadows flickered simultaneously as if in agreement.

The sun shined once again inside the room as the chairs and throne were completely empty again.

-------------------------------- The Trio's view

Askjell’s body was showing subtle signs of mana enhancement.

The norseman rushed forward swinging his sword with extreme speed and power at the boy, he was a completely new adversary.

But Riou wasn’t playing around, the noble couldn’t hit him even with the enhancement active. The boy masterfully dodged and deflected every attack, no matter how fast or powerful it was.

Askjell continued on his attempts, he slowly seemed to push Riou to the edge of the arena where he had no space to move so freely. Once he was trapped, the norseman thrusted his sword towards the boy’s heart with all his might.

His intentions were clear.

Riou parried his attack and pushed the blade to the side. But Askjell with his inhuman strength was able to continue the motion, he generated enough power to overcome the parry and swing back at Riou in an attempt to surprise him by surprise.

Noticing the danger the boy brought his sword up horizontally, forcing the opponent's blade to slide over the edge of his steel sword until it hit its guard.

Askjell miscalculated his swing, only the top part of his sword was touching Riou’s sword near its core and gravity center. That allowed the boy to create a massive leverage which Askjell, that even with the mana enhancement, he was not able to prevent.

Riou pushed his own sword against the noble’s, pressing the opponent’s blade towards Askjell’s body. The norseman was unable to attack Riou for he controlled both swords easily now with that leverage.

“Look how he dominates the opponent's sword with lesser strength, flawlessly executed. The man is completely exposed to Riou’s weapon… he was doomed the moment the boy straightened his sword and deflected that last swing” Said Therese to Leona.

Riou, in a quick movement, using his better position, bumped the noble sword to the side and out of the way. He followed by thrusting his sword towards the man’s face, stopping only when its tip touched the man’s nose.

Askjell froze once again, even with physical enhancement he was not able to win against a regular boy. He was furious with the thought of the shame that would come from it.

The boy now forced him to drop the sword

Reluctantly Askjell complied.

“Say it!” Commanded Riou.

The Norse man took a step back looking around.

The crowd was silent watching without believing their eyes. The nord searched the balconies and saw no authorities. The guards were clearly not of the king’s army and all spectators he could see there were of his own entourage… a thought crossed his mind.

Taking another step back, the disarmed man shouted to his companions.

“This farce has gone long enough! To arms! This commoner has no right to challenge me! This is not a duel, this is an execution now! Join me, my brothers in arms, I call upon your oath to fight with me! Let’s wash our honor with his blood!”

About 12 of the noble’s guards shouted in response, quickly getting their swords and shield ready. They immediately advanced upon the arena, climbing it from all sides and surrounding the boy.

Riou lowered his sword and looked very seriously at Askjell.

Leona’s eyes widened, the wolf stepped forward in the direction of the Arena.

Noticing her disciple’s movement, Therese quickly touched her shoulder to stop her. Someone else was already in motion.

Riou was about to step forward when a shout broke out from the spectators “Enough!” a feminine voice said loudly gathering everyone’s attention.

A gorgeous blond walked elegantly into the arena. She passed the boy and went towards Askjell.

His face was distorted as he was cornered and furious because of the humiliation.

*SLAP* resounded through the whole garden.

Eileen hit Askjell vigorously with her open palm, the noble brought his hand to his face. Eileen turned around and faced all the men that were about to attack Riou.

“Are you not men of the north? So why do you act so shamefully? How can you willingly accept such a petty request? Do you have no honor?” She said displeased with them all.

“You are not men of the North, leave! You are not welcomed here anymore” Eileen said loudly and eloquently to all of the norsemen present there.

The men in arms looked at each other in confusion, but as some of them began to step away, all followed, sheathing their weapons and leaving.

Askjell looked around, not believing his eyes that his men accepted the princess command so easily.

She looked at Askjell for a moment with revolted eyes and turned back going towards Riou.

Infuriated, Askjell rushed towards the princess. As soon as he stretched his arm to grab her, Eileen turned, dodging his hand.

She stepped forward and with all her might punched Askjell in the face.

The noble fell down on his back, flat on the ground below unconscious.

Eileen then finally turned towards Riou, despite being happy for his concern towards her, she felt she needed to set things straight.

“Thank you for helping me... but this was unnecessary, I wasn’t asking for your help when I went to talk to you.” She said seriously to the boy who was still in the center of the arena.

Riou nodded “I know… It’s just… None of this was my intention… but he kept pushing and pushing...”

The princess knew how formidable Askjell was to piss people off, like her brother, he knew how to get under someone’s skin. “I know…” she said smiling at him once again.

She became serious once again, “Why do you run everytime I turn my back?”

He shook his head “I don’t know what’s going on with me Eileen… I’m not feeling quite myself lately” the princess immediately got concerned for his health.

Therese was approaching and listening to the conversation, she squinted her eyes looking at him. Without taking her eyes off him she whispered to Leona.

“What do you see when you look at him? Does he resemble any of the clans?”

“No, he looks like a regular human boy, he does not have any of the clan’s traits” whispered back to her.

“So you don’t sense the youngsters' fever within him?” she continued in a low tone.

“Now that you mentioned it. Do humans suffer it too?”

“I don’t think they do, but something is amiss with him” Completed Therese pondering on that fact.

“Do you think he needs a shaman?” Leona asked concerned for his well being.

“Maybe, but for the moment, go to the city and find some Markaj, the yellow fruit from the purple crown tree, there should be some in this city. We can use it to ease his symptoms. Bring it to the tavern, we will wait for you there” She said to Leona.

“Understood” Leona replied, immediately leaving as ordered.

Riou grabbed the Rapier from the side of the arena and gave it to Eileen once again.

“You should take better care of a legendary sword. If you lose it one more time I will have to confiscate it” He said joking at her.

The princess was still concerned to his health but nodded and smiled “It won’t happen again, I promise”

Therese was intrigued “He gave it to the princess? He knows it’s the legendary metal but the way he treats it is the same as any ordinary object” pondered Therese puzzled by his disregard for his own weapons.

Riou seemed much better now he talked to the princess, Therese was able to tell that his anger was finally gone after meeting the girl.

-------------------------------------- Back to Riou’s view

After the event in the arena ended, Eileen, Therese and Riou went to a more reserved place to talk.

“Where is Bhalrom? I need to talk to him” said the boy as he looked around as they walked through the castle toward his room.

Eileen shook her head “Bhalrom, Lilly and Serena are in Brigantium. But more importantly, you will tell me what happened inside the mine, where did you go? Why have you just returned now?”

They entered the guest room that the boy was using, he sighed and sat down on the bed “After I went inside the mine I tried to follow the mages. I ended up finding Ursula exhausted and helped her out. Then I went back for the others. But I found a portal, thinking it could have been made by our mages, I followed it. Unfortunately it closed as soon as I stepped inside. There I found another black hooded mage that mentioned the name Callas the Undying and a master that once lived in the city of Iris. I got out of their hideout and found myself in the coast village to the north of the Capital, took me a while to get back here with a caravan”

Riou paused and looked at both of them “So, have you heard that name before? Callas the Undying?”

Eileen shook her head while Therese thought for a moment finally saying “I heard of such a name, it belonged to a death mage… it was said that he used the lives of children to increase his own lifespan… I don’t recall anything else about him”

“I see, so, do you know anything about runes on a person's body that can store mana and allow common people to become mages?”

Eileen widened her eyes “You mean like the ones in those mages that attacked the castle? They were so powerful and yet they were not even mages?”

Riou nodded “Thugs trained to use magic through the runes.”

Therese seemed concerned “Do you think Argos can do that as well?”

“I bet they are the ones that invented it in the first place. The twilight council is working with Argos, it would not be strange if they exchanged this kind of knowledge” Answered Riou.

Therese clearly became even more preoccupied after hearing that. The war with Argos would prove problematic if the amount of their mages suddenly increased.

“What’s going on in Brigantium that required Bhalrom to go there?” Asked Riou.

“An army appeared from the forest in the north… Goblins and Orcs are riled up approaching Brigantium. The First army was sent there to help in the defense of the city.” Said the princess

“Who is in charge of the defense of the castle here?” questioned Riou.

“The green and yellow banner” Said Eileen already knowing what Riou would say next

“This is not good… we can’t trust Rodrick and his men… he is not directly under orders of the council, but there are reasons to believe he is being used by them” Said Riou.

Suddenly a knock on the door, it was a guard with a summon for the boy and the princess, urging them to go to the throne room at once.

--------------------------------- Moments earlier in the throne Room

Askjell barged in shouting “This is an outrage!” the guards quickly surrounded him, but the king allowed him in. The norse quickly passed through the guards and continued amidst the knights and court mage.

“I’ve never been so insulted!” He approached the king with some bandages pressed against his nose

.

“What happened Askjell?” asked the king preoccupied.

“I was assaulted by one of your servants and I expect capital reprimands to be taken upon him!”.

The king frowned “What? What happened? Who attacked you?”

“The princess’ servant, he came and attacked me out of nowhere, spouting nonsense about how he should be the one to challenge the princess instead of me. King Elrik, he clearly is out of his mind to attack a noble and must be punished at once...” Askjell was about to continue on his speech when he noticed the king’s hand to restrain himself and listen.

“The boy is back? I didn’t even know he was in the castle... Guards, go get Riou and the princess.” Said the king, eager to hear what happened to him in the mines.

Rodrick smiled “My lord, I think this clearly shows how the boy overextended his permanence in the castle grounds. After disappearing for days he returns just to cause a commotion with our esteemed guests, he clearly should not be forgiven so easily for such an insult, after all you did for him, this is how he repays your kindness?”

“Enough all of you… we will hear him before any decision is taken” said the king angered. Askjell and Rodrick were clearly displeased by the lack of immediate action against the boy.

------------------------------------------

When Riou entered the Throne room he quickly noticed Askjell near the king.

The boy’s blood boiled once again “That bastard won’t quit? What did he do now?” Therese who was coming along in the back immediately became concerned once again as Riou showed signs of anger.

The boy took a deep breath “Calm down… breath… let it go… he knows he can’t win so he is desperate… play along and he will trap himself in front of the king”

Askjell looked at him with disdain while Riou directed his attention to the king.

“You summoned me, King Elrik?” He said a few steps from the throne, between Ursula and the knights Rodrick and Rottcher.

Ursula was very surprised to see him alive and well and was very interested to hear what he had to say about his experience in the mine.

“Yes, I’d like to ask you what happened during the incursion at the mine… but that will have to wait for a more private session, it seems there are other issues involving you. Just came to my attention, that you attacked Askjell… is that true?” asked the king already knowing the answer for that question.

“If by attacking you mean kicking his sorry ass after he challenged me to a duel at the arena, watched by dozens of people, then yes” replied with a mocking smile to the norse nobleman.

The king had to smile to himself “Of course he’d put more wood to the fire...” thought the king knowing how that boy loved to get into trouble.

“Outrageous! My lord you can’t possibly believe that! He was the one who attacked me, unprepared! You can’t believe I’d lose to such a boy in normal conditions.” Shouted Askjell.

The king covered his face with his hand “Was there a proper challenge or not?” continued the king trying to get to the point.

Riou took a moment thinking on how to respond.

“Ask the dumbass over there, he was the one that called me to the arena” said Riou

“On what grounds did you challenge him?” continued the king at Askjell.

“He insulted me, your highness, then used the opportunity to use cheap tactics to win.” exclaimed Askjell to the surprise of the king.

“Why did you insult him?” the king asked Riou.

“I didn’t liked the way he was talking down on me”

The king contained himself and continued “Did you use cheap tactics to hit Askjell?”

“He’s the only one using cheap tactics”

Askjell was outraged.

The king held his composure.

“It is clear you hold animosity towards the noble, I need a better reason to why” Said the king.

Riou glanced at Eileen before addressing the king “I’m certain you’d feel the same way if you were in my shoes your highness” Said Riou calmly.

“That doesn’t help your cause, boy” replied the king pondering on the meaning behind his words. He knew all too well Riou was a smart one, he’d not get into such an issue for nothing.

“Do you see my lord? He continues to defy the hierarchy even in your presence, if we were in the north he’d be dead for disrespecting us!” Said Askjell looking at the smiling boy.

“We are not in the north, you better remember that Askjell. I have a high esteem for your family, but you are not helping yourself either with those bickering remarks” Said the king angered by the noble's way with his words.

“Eileen, what do you have to say about this? I believe you were involved as well”

Eileen stepped forward “Yes father, I saw the duel in the arena. I had to stop it when Askjell commanded his men to attack Riou after a defeat. They shouldn’t even be here as II banned them from the castle by their lack of honor during a challenge. There are no excuses for attacking a single man as a group after losing a duel”

Said the princess confidently to her father.

The king widened his eyes “Is that so, Askjell?”

Not expecting the princess' testimony so soon, Askjell was against the wall.

“Absolutely not, my lord! My men came to my aid after the boy attacked me when I was preparing myself, the princess intervened before I could do anything else. I came here right afterwards to search for justice, after all, I can’t have my future wife having such bad impression of me”

“Eileen did you see the duel being proposed?” Asked the king once again to his daughter.

Eileen thought on how to put it… but she was not there when it happened.

“They were already in the arena when I arrived… so I do not know what terms were discussed” said the princess regretfully.

“If you didn’t know what happened, and arrived as the fight was already ongoing, then maybe you should have waited to pass judgement so hastily. I agree that attacking a single boy is not the way to behave, but to banish a norseman and question their honor without knowing the contents that originated the challenge, is far too harsh of a judgement. You need to think how this will be viewed by our allies in the norse and even the other nobles on our court.”

But before Eileen could reply to that statement Riou spoke again.

“Then let’s cut the chase, I challenge his word in the throne room. I say he is a liar” Said Riou smiling looking at the noble.

Askjell's legs almost gave in when he heard those words. He knew he was no match for the boy.

The norse noble wanted to finish it by using his status and good relation with the king, but it seemed the boy had even more influence than he had anticipated. Another dire miscalculation on his part.

Now that had come to this he was out of options.

But someone went to his rescue.

“My lord! You can’t expect a son of our allies to fight against a commoner just because his word was defied… I plead on his behalf and support his claim upon the throne room. The boy has no right to question a noble.” Said Rodrick stepping up for the overjoyed Askjell.

“That was unexpected… he is showing his hand this early. Maybe he knows more about me than I thought?” Riou was surprised that Rodrick was openly challenging him. “I know he is involved with the council, but until I can prove it there is nothing I can do about him”

The king sighed “You are certainly a fast learner Riou… but Rodrick words are also valid, you have no status on this court and he supports Askjell’s cause. So does anyone wish to support the boy’s claim?” He said looking at Rottcher and Ursula.

“I don’t know enough of the situation to properly support either my lord… but if you ask me to choose a side, I’d side with the boy.” Said Ursula to the king.

Rottcher smiled after hearing her position.

“What else could you expect from mages? We can’t have anyone challenging whoever they want in the throne room, the noble is the one supported by the law and so it should be supported by us!” Said Rottcher.

The king leaned back on his chair “As a representative of the elements I can’t choose a side. The majority favors Askjell” he said in a heavy tone pondering on what to do to help the boy without incurring too much problems with the knights and norse nobles.

Therese began to step out of the shadows in the back and towards the center of the room, she would also add to the conversation when another voice spoke first.

“If all that is required is a noble to challenge, then as royalty I suppose no one will oppose me. I challenge Askjell to prove himself in battle.” Said Eileen confidently looking at the king. Elrik sighed deeply when he heard his daughter.

The king scratched his head, somehow the situation involving that boy always escalated in the worst manner possible, he glanced at the boy that seemed surprised as everyone else by the princess' words.

Therese smiled faintly and stepped back in the shadows once again, watching what would follow.

“As there is nothing I can say now to stop this nonsense… may the elements be the judge of your resolve” Said the king looking at his daughter.

Askjell smiled and walked forward to face Eileen, he immediately drew his weapon as he took position “Well princess, I think we shall have our duel after all”

He then turned to the king “The rites still apply to this, if the princess loses, not only will the boy be executed but she will also marry me” Announced Askjell.

The king remained silent with a serious expression.

Riou stepped back, giving room for the princess while looking straight to the noble.

As the princess unsheathed the rapier, everyone in the throne room was perplexed. The weapon was magnificent.

Eileen took poise as Askjell approached her.

He was not playing anymore, he immediately started to concentrate his mana to his muscles, there was no time to play. He wanted to end it quickly.

He was using just a sword, there was no shield to protect himself now.

Eileen was the first to move, remembering what she learned from her training with Riou about the new weapon and how to properly use it, she advanced with a swift movement. The princess went in with her sword down and in an upward movement aimed to hit Askjell's hands with the tip of the rapier.

Askjell dodged by pulling his hands near his body. But before he could retaliate, she continued forward, quickly pulling her sword up for a trust.

The norseman was barely able to block it.

He quickly countered trying to get Eileen out of position with a horizontal slash, it was not a very strong movement due the lack of proper distance, but still would cause a lot of damage if hit.

Eileen, expecting such a counter, used her blade to direct Askjell's sword upwards to avoid any danger. This move left his blade up and out of action, her Rapier was now inside of his defenses.

She thrusted at the defenseless noble’s shoulder. The piercing wound was deep, blood began to dye his clothes in a red spot that got bigger and bigger. He stepped away bringing his left hand to the wound to check it.

Therese nodded at herself with a faint smile after the hit landed.

He was still able to move his right arm despite the pain. Askjell smiled “Lucky shot, let’s see how you deal with this” Said the noble rushing forward with a very strong diagonal slash, he brought his blade from the upper right, aiming to Eileen's center defenses. He knew it was too much for her to defend with such a thin blade.

If she tried to block it her sword would break or go flying.

Askjell tried to anticipate her movements, he knew she couldn’t parry his attacks with that much power. And if the princess tried to dodge it, she’d have to lower her sword out of the way and step back, his following attack would certainly win him the match if that happened.

She dodged by stepping backward but differently than he expected, she did not abandon her guard. Instead she took a very weird stance, something the noble had never seen.

She brought her weapon to her chest, holding it in a vertical position very near her body, a position that no good attack could come from.

His swing passed near her midsection without hitting anything and before he could continue with his plan, her sword immediately moved. She once again had the advantage by being inside his guard.

The rapier was much thinner than the regular swords they were used to. In consequence, it was also very light and flexible. It allowed the princess to do many quick movements that weren’t possible with other swords.

He abandoned his attack and pulled back to avoid another injury. Askjell was having difficulty with Eileen’s sword, it bent, adapted and then it went back into form as if nothing had happened to it. When hitting or blockingit with his own sword, it didn’t break or dent as expected, that strange metal behaved as if it was alive.

And the speed to which her sword moved and its unpredictability were proving to be a challenge on itself.

He could not believe that even with improved speed and strength he was still not able to put pressure on her.

As the fight progressed, once again they ended up in the same position that got him wounded, so fearing the same outcome he quickly tried to use his sword to protect himself, preventing an attack from Eileen while he stepped back into guard.

The fight was turning into Eileen's favor more and more, she was quickly adapting and reacting to him, he was getting out of room and options.

All of his movements were being read by her and being promptly countered, his arms and torso were injured by her sword attacks, shallow cuts but damage nonetheless.

It was piling up, he was getting tired and his defenses began to open.

Eileen remembered words from her recent training session. “Feint, fake and deceive… this is a fight of wit as much as a fight of strength and skill.”

Riou fought with Eileen for 3 days in a row, until now, she didn’t have an idea of how much that had improved her skills.

And fighting Askjell, she couldn’t help but compare him to the boy.

Askjell was sluggish, without finesse, his attacks were wide and his style predictable… He sure had more strength than her, but it alone meant nothing as she relied on speed and precision.

The noble seemed like a walking target, she had to hold herself to not maim him permanently or even kill him.

For the first time, she did not see a challenger as a real opponent, she was holding back, taking her time fighting him.

“Were all the challengers so far this bad as well? He seems a better fighter than the others, but still… Why does it seem so different now?”

Askjell fell for her feint, his sword found nothing in the attempt of blocking and his hand ended up unprotected as his sword continued the movement to his side.

Eileen took her time to aim and pierce his hand, forcing him to let go of the sword.

He quickly tried to get it back but the rapier was already pointing at his chest and forcing him back up.

His shoulder and hand were bleeding, punctures on his clothes all over his arms and torso, cuts all over his body.

The king smiled “The winner is Eileen… Askjell lost. As tradition demands, judgement shall be passed.” Said the king looking at his daughter with pride.

Eileen stepped back and looked to her father “I want him to leave the castle immediately and never to return.”

The king nodded. He looked to the guards and pointed to Askjell, they came immediately and forcefully carried him away.

Askjell shouted while being dragged “You won this time princess, congratulations once again!” he shouted in a mocking tone, clearly stating that was not the last she saw of him.

The princess paid no mind to him and cleaned her sword with a swift swing to the ground before sheathing it once again.

She glanced at Riou after the fight was done. The boy smiled and made an impressed expression towards her, praising silently her performance.

The princess thanked him with a small nod, very pleased with her performance as well.

The king took a more comfortable position on the throne “Now that we resolved that matter… Riou, tell me, what in the name of the elements happened to you in that damn mine.” He said looking at the boy. Ursula’s eyes followed him as he took the center of the room once again.

“Well… where do I begin?” he said looking to the king