I kneel down and pray for victory. Each and every time Matteo wins and I would like to win just this one time. I look over to Matteo. He is just laying down and taking a nap. I am fairly sure that he isn’t nervous at all. At least not if he is resting.

“Stop staring, you are beginning to make me blush.” I glare at him. He hasn’t even started to get dressed. “I hate to break it to you but... you don’t stand a chance, I already have a wife.”

I almost walked over to him and knocked him on the head. Almost. Does he not know that he shouldn’t be broadcasting that piece of information? They announce my name and I exit the room. No need to respond to his comments.

My opponent just nervously walks into the ring. He is a decent dualist but nowhere near as good as me and he knows it. The official begins the match and he skitters around the ring. I just relax and wait for him to grow tired. If he doesn’t have a plan then I am willing to let him waste energy.

I lunges in and I quickly tag him with my sword. I would like to say the rest of the points played out differently but alas I cannot. The match ends quickly and decisively. I walk back into the waiting room and Matteo has gotten dressed.

“How did it go?”

“I won.” I say before sitting down. I should have a little while before they call me up again. The day slowly passes by as the number of contestants continues to dwindle. I look over to Matteo. This is the last match before the finals, I do not doubt he will win.

“Well... just wait for me to finish this and then you get your chance.” He says getting up one more time. I hear the judge begin to match but seconds later he stops it and awards a point to Matteo. This repeats two more times. “Looks like it is just me and you again.”

I kneel down and begin to pray before the match. They will give Matteo a small resting period in order to recover from the match but from experience I know that he doesn’t need it. He hasn’t even begun to break a sweat.

Thou lord that art in heaven. Give me the strength to beat him.

They call us up and we each walk to our positions.

We each draw our swords and wait for the judge to begin the match.

“Begin!” I instantly begin to attack Matteo. No reason to play on the backfoot, try to make him slip up. It is my only chance. Matteo dodges each and every attempt. He even begins to whistle during the whole thing.

“Relax, you are so tense.” I try to sweep him but he just back steps away from me. I then come in from above him but before hitting him I redirect my angle and slash at him. He just grabs my arm.

I struggle to free myself but he just hits me in the side with his sword. The judge ends the match and we walk back to our positions.

The next match begins and before I have time to react I see him lunge at me. I barely have time to react and dodge before it comes at me again. “Your reaction time is getting better, you must have been practicing very hard.”

Suddenly I feel his foot sweep me off the ground. When I look up I see his sword pointed at me. The judge awards another point to Matteo. I would like to say I did better the next match but I cannot lie to myself. I am exhausted and Matteo isn’t even out of breath.

I walk into the waiting room and collapse. I feel utterly defeated.

“You have gotten considerably better. Don’t beat yourself up over this.” Matteo gives me pat on the shoulder. I don’t even respond. I merely gasp for air. “You do need to work on that stamina, getting tired over something like this.”

He then begins to leave.

“Sir Luca?” I look up to see Francesca enter the room. I just cover my eyes. I probably look pathetic laying here on the ground after my defeat. I couldn’t even take a single point off of him. “You were impressive out there. How long do you practice?”

“Not long enough.”

“Doesn’t matter.” I choose not to respond. We just sit there in silence with is fine for me. Her presence is pretty calming. “Are you from Cara?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know your family.” I shake my head. All I know was that I was born in Cara to a noble family as their third son. They gave me up to be a member of the royal guard and from then on I trained to be absolutely loyal to the imperial family. I learned religion, duty, and some torture methods.

I was specifically chosen from early on to be at the emperor’s side.

“Do you wish to find them?”

“No.” I do not need them. They have long since chosen this life for me. I am sure they are happy just knowing that I was accepted. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin if I wanted to.”

“I hope you don’t mope around too much. You may not have won the tournament but you won my admiration.” I jump up but Francesca has already left. I want to chase after her but I restrain myself.