My personal maid, Lorelle, walked into the room. She smiled.

"M'lady," she greeted.

"What do you want?" I asked flatly, pulling off my leather jacket.

"I'm here to give you your clothes." Her blue eyes twinkled, silky brown hair set in a bun above her head. She was beautiful, and she would've been married by now if her status was just a bit higher. She needed to work. She probably needed to support her parents, her siblings. Who had time for marriage?

Pants and shirts were slung over her right arm as she walked over to my wardrobe and began setting them neatly in there.

"I've never seen you smile before," I heard Lorelle say.

"Excuse me?" I raised my eyebrows coldly. "What are you talking about?" I fell back on my bed with a thud, resting my arms behind my head.

"You'd look beautiful if you smiled. And people wouldn't be that afraid of you."

I looked up at the ceiling, letting out a deep breath. I didn't reply. Why was everyone so interested in my life? "You're not that bad," she shrugged, still not looking at me.

I sat up and glanced at the weapons along the shelves. She peeked over her shoulder consciously towards where I was looking, but shook her head with a small smile, "You have a soft side deep down."

"Is that right? Well then you don't know me," I waved her off carelessly.

She giggled. "I think I can tell who you are by listening to Prince Xavier," her cheeks flushed. "He's been walking around, announcing he has a new lover."

I felt my face start to burn, my eyes narrowing. "Did he mention anyone's name?"

"Of course—it was Adalia, the world's sweetest assassin." I jumped off the bed, my vision blurring with anger.

"I'll kill him. I'll poison him. I will shoot him, and when he dies I'll kill him again."

I barged into his throne room where his slim body lay across his throne lazily, his head propped up on his fist. His royal blue cape lay around the throne carelessly, brushing the floor with its neat black trimmed edges.

"You're dead."

"Why?" he asked. "Couldn't handle the truth?"

"You're dead."

"Your face is bright red."

"Dead, I'm telling you," I snapped.

"Want to play checkers?" he drawled, a teasing smile appearing across his lips.

"Never in my life," I snarled. "Stop spreading lies about me." He didn't answer. "Stop smiling."

"Why do you care so much about what I'm doing?" he pouted.

"Just stop saying things about me. I don't appreciate it." I was debating whether the King would be pleased or not if I got rid of his son forever.

He seemed to go into a deep thought, squinting at me, his lips pursed. The silence seemed to go on for hours, when finally, Xavier sighed.

"Alright."

"Good." I jutted out my hip, arms crossed over my chest. My boot tapped against the floor.

"Father says you're leaving in a week," Xavier smiled, a dimple appearing in his left cheek. "Do you need help with anything? Should I arrange for someone to go with you?"

"Why do you care?"

"I'm just . . . wait, don't do that."

"I mean, do you . . . do you care about me?" I continued to imitate him, feeling a sudden surge of power. "Do you?" I asked with as much ice in my words as possible.

"No," he said abruptly. "I mean . . . as a friend. Because you protect our kingdom." his face flushed. "Okay, I'll stop. Don't tap your shoe either. It's irritating."

"I know you're madly in love, but do a better job of keeping it a secret."

His cheeks reddened.

"I rest my case, dear prince." I curtsied, and backed out of the room. "Have fun dealing with your servants." I gestured to the two girls who were eavesdropping on our whole conversation, when they should've been calling him to dinner.

I set up my plans on my desk, candles lining the edges for light. A cool breeze blew in through the open windows and I held the papers down. I was planning my little scene outside one of the rebel bases. I had to make it realistic and smart, so they wouldn't hesitate on taking me in. The papers in front of me were maps to a few discovered rebel bases. The King couldn't just attack them all and kill everyone; he knew better. If he did so, there would be so many uprisings that the whole kingdom could turn against him. It was a risk he wasn't willing to take. Instead, he was slowly killing them off from the inside, cutting down their roots, wearing away their base, with no solid evidence that it was him doing so.

I ran a hand through the loose, wet, hair that fell around my shoulders, wavy from the tight braid it was always kept in. I stood in a nightgown that reached my ankles, my bare feet uncomfortable on the cold stone floor. Thunder cracked and lightning flashed through the windows as rain slapped the ceiling.

A hard knock made me jump, my train of thought crashing.

"Come in," I muttered. Lorelle appeared, poking her head in.

"Hello, m'lady," she smiled.

Why was she always smiling? "What do you want?"

"To ask if it went well with Prince Xavier."

I froze, looking at her with hidden wonder. Why would she even dare? "What business is it of yours?"

"Because I'd like to help you out."

I nearly choked on air. "I don't need anyone's help," I said coldly, recovering. I turned away from her and tripped on the edge of the gown. Angry and annoyed, I stood tall, although my ego was slightly bruised.

That made her giggle. I scrunched up my nose, fed up with her liveliness. Should I have scared her off in the beginning?

"Was he mad? I heard you said a few things to him too." She covered her mouth, hiding her obvious smile. "Did you really accuse the prince of—"

"I was getting him back," I said dryly. "Now if you're done, please leave." I gestured towards the door, not kindly.

"He looked like he had it bad for you. Well, I wasn't there, so I shouldn't know. Not saying it's true," she waved her hands dismissively, "but that's what I heard from the other girls."

"Well, they lie," I said, suddenly defensive. "Rumors spread like a wildfire, you know."

I could see the twinkle in her blue eyes. She was trying to break down my barriers, to get inside and see who I was, but I wasn't going to let her. "Goodbye," I said abruptly and to the point. Her smile faltered. She sighed, turning on one heel, and, shoulders drooping, she exited. I rolled my eyes and dropped in a chair, my eyes tired from the late night reading.

A few minutes later, I heard another knock on my door. "Do not enter," I groaned, running a hand through my hair. The door opened.

"You caused quite the uproar," Xavier announced, strolling in. I got to my feet. Suddenly, the lightning crashed and the wind whistled. The flames blew out. We stood in the dark.

My eyes slowly adjusted. I blinked. His shadow moved towards me. We faced each other. He leaned closer, like he was going to tell me a secret. I froze.

And then the thunder cracked and we jumped apart. I stepped back.

"Goodnight," he said after a second.

I turned my back to him and sat in the plush chair again. "Goodnight."

I unsheathed my sword with a sharp 'cling!' and motioned for my opponent to come at me. The sun was rising and the grass was wet and slick with mud from last night's storm. The weather wasn't cold, but icy. I wore a loose dark tunic that I tucked into my brown pants so I could move easily, my black boots specially made for this ground. I had on fingerless gloves so I could have a good grip on my weapon.

My opponent, a large guard, ran at me with his sword. I sidestepped casually, slamming my leg against the back of his knees, causing them to buckle. He fell on all fours. With a sharp kick to his back he was laying face first on the ground.

"Oh come on," I kicked him in annoyance, "that was too easy, even for you."

He stood up, grumbling. "My shift starts in the afternoon. It's too early."

"Fine. Bring me a worthy opponent," I said, putting a hand on the belt hanging from my hips.

Relieved, he walked away as I watched him hit the back of the head of a lower rank guard and point at me. The lower rank pleaded a little, but the guard that fought me and desperately failed wouldn't take no for an answer.

The lower rank came to me wide-eyed, and unsheathed his sword. We circled each other. My one rule was to never attack first.

He lunged and I ducked, landing a blow with my fist to his stomach. He struck my cheekbone with the butt of his sword and I rolled backwards, rubbing it. He grinned victoriously, but I shook my head. It wasn't over just yet. I leapt, hitting his arm with a rough blow. He took in the pain and swiped outward. I retaliated immediately, lashing out with my fist knuckle which connected to nose. He clutched it, blood seeping throat his fingers as I delivered a roundhouse kick to his hard back, and he landed on the floor.

He stood up, holding his nose, voice muffled.

"I'm not sorry," I said with a sigh, my ego getting the better of me. "When you fight me, don't hold back. I wanted to teach you a lesson because I knew you were taking it easy. And I won't murder you if you make me bleed. That's why I fight, inexperienced guard." I stalked off to find a better opponent.

"Nice bruise," a voice drawled behind me. Don't look back, I warned myself. "Did you punch yourself? I knew you had no control."

Anger flared inside me, making me jumpy, but I quickly pushed it aside. Now was not the time to argue, especially with everyone watching.

"If you want an opponent who can actually do real damage to that pretty face, I could find one for you."

I kept walking, when I heard the clang of a sword being unsheathed. I could hear it cutting through the air. Right as it came down, I whipped around detecting where it was coming from. Xavier was a lefty. He attacked from the right. I spun around, bringing a knife from my belt up just in time to stop the sword from beheading me. The two metals clanged.

"Stop following me," I said calmly, my face stony.

"I, Prince Xavier of Astodia, challenge you to a battle." I stopped, a smirk forming on my lips. There was no way I could not refuse that.

"Challenge accepted." We stepped back, putting our weapons away.

Xavier unclipped his cape, catching it before it fell on the ground. He tossed it to a nearby guard and rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, revealing his bare arms. He was wearing fingerless gloves and dressed in a white shirt and brown leather pants like he was prepared for this. He smirked, watching me take in his appearance. I held the sword as an extension of my arm. My form was always flawless.

No one attacked first. I suspected we had the same tactics in mind. Taking the opportunity, I attacked, slipping out my knife in the process. He dodged and crouched, sliding his leg under my feet. I lost my balance, landing on my back with a thud, but I was back on my feet just as fast. In annoyance, I flipped my blade around and tried to catch his bare arm, but he grabbed my wrist, twisting it around my back. He pushed my arm up and pain racked through my shoulder. I gritted my teeth as he whispered in my ear, "looks like I won."

Taking the chance I kicked his leg, ripping my arm out of his grasp and nearly dislocating it. He staggered backwards and I slammed my leg into his hip.

Unfazed, he grinned and swung the butt of his sword, hitting me square in the jaw. Alright, he was being merciless. Xavier was the only opponent that hadn't hesitated on landing blows hard enough to leave actual bruises, so I decided to not hold back anymore.

I didn't see the next punch. My jaw was throbbing as I staggered back with a scowl.

He was definitely getting me back for yesterday. I blushed, trying not the think about the awkward jump-apart moment last night.

I launched myself at him, realizing I'd have two big purple bruises on either side of my face by tomorrow. I faked an attack with my sword, pretending to come from the top but I switched mid-attack and brought my leg up, kneeing him in the stomach. He stumbled, losing his breath—only because he hadn't expected it. I delivered a roundhouse kick to his back and he fell on his knees, taking in breaths. But he wasn't going to let me beat him this easily. As I grabbed his sword which he'd thrown to the floor after I'd kicked him, he decided to make his move. Swinging his leg with all the force he could muster, he caught me in the back of the knees, his palms plastered firmly on the ground for balance.

My legs flew out from under me and I landed on my back with such a force that all the air whooshed out of my lungs. My sword landed just out of my reach, sticking out of the ground with a pride only Excalibur could match.

Taking his chance, Xavier pinned me to the floor, pressing my arms down. My legs were trapped under him. He was grinning in an 'I've beat you now' manner. Yanking my arm free from his grasp, I used all my weight against him and pushed his arm off roughly. My shoulder still ached from when he'd put it in that arm lock. Finding an opening, my fist connected with his nose.

He yelled out an "Arghh!" and fell onto his back. I leaned over, holding him down the same way.

"Got you."

"Not just yet." I realized I hadn't got his legs down just before his boots found my stomach, kicking me off onto my back. My head hit the ground, and I couldn't breathe for a moment, pain ripping through my skull.

As I watched him get up, I rolled onto my back from any further damage reaching my stomach. I reached down for my belt.

But it wasn't there.

I turned, hiding my horrified look as I realized he had it in his hands, laughing and swinging the knife belt in the air, one fist against his hip.

I staggered to my feet and decided to go unprofessional.

I tackled him to the ground.

Struggling, trying to get kicks or punches anywhere, we rolled around. I got hold of a knife on the belt. Yanking it out, and knowing Xavier would've done the same, I nicked his shoulder, making sure it wasn't too deep because if he died of blood loss the King would make sure I died of something much worse. I rolled away, getting to my feet, locks of hair loose from my braid, grinning from ear to ear with triumph.

But Xavier was the one laughing.

"What's the matter?" I asked, suddenly confused. My chest rose and fell, my breath heavy, and I rolled my shoulder, pain deciding to tap dance on every one of my nerves. He stood up, letting out a sigh.

"You're bleeding," he chuckled.

"I am?" I reached behind myself, trying to find traces of blood. Sure enough, my fingers brushed something wet and my hand came away scarlet. "When did you do that?"

He laughed loudly. "When you tackled me, princess. Guess who won."

I looked right into his eyes and punched him, and as he fell, he yanked me down too. I landed on him, hands on his shoulders. As we scuffled some more, Xavier suddenly froze, looking past my shoulder. His eyes widened.

I looked up to find Sadim Cane looking down at us. How long had he watched us grapple pointlessly?

"Break it up," was all he said, his look disapproving, and then strode away.

I looked back down at Xavier, dropping my fist. I let go of his collar and his head hit the ground. I looked around us to find everyone watching—guards, servants, the ladies and the gentlemen—everyone. I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed myself up.

"Get up," I told Xavier, who wiped his forehead on the back of his sleeve, his dark hair falling in his golden-brown eyes.

"Good fight."

I turned my back on him as the servants ran to his aid, the bucket of water and cloths to fix his wounds. They stood on each side, holding his arms to support him. I scowled in disgust. They fussed over him like a newborn baby. His look said he enjoyed it tremendously.

"I look forward to this again," he chortled, reaching out and pushing the back of my head. I tensed, wanting to punch his face in again for doing that. I mumbled curses under my breath which he evidently ignored. "Get that nasty wound cleaned up on your back. Please, it's gruesome."

I huffed.