CONQUERING THE CONQUEROR

pt.19

Without warning Draco then gripped his sword with both hands and swung, hoping to catch Xena off guard.. He was nearly successful but Xena was just barely able to get her own blade up in time to block the sudden attack. However the impact of the hit was so strong that it caused the Conqueror step back as she was forced to adjust her footing to a wider stance for leverage before pushing forward and down on her weapon to gradually force Draco's blade down as well.The two fought to overpower one another for a few moments until Xena began to appear to be gaining the upper hand. Though as she forced her opponent's weapon lower, Draco saw a momentary opening in her defenses and took advantage as he took a hand off of his blade and sent a powerful fist right into the side of Xena's head. The hard shot dazed Xena for a second, forcing her to drop her guard. But that was all the opening Draco needed as he landed another hard hit to Xena's temple which dropped the Conqueror to a knee as the world around her became out of focus for a couple seconds before she squeezed her eyes shut and reopened them to restore her vision. The sequence only took seconds at most, however it was long enough for Xena to not see Draco's knee coming at her before it was too late and it smashed into her face. The force of the hit threw Xena back as she laid on the ground with blood now streaming from her new shattered nose. However she didn't have the time to worry about the pain in the middle of her face as threw up her sword in a defensive position and blocked Draco's downward swing at her. With their weapons still locked together, the Conqueror threw out a kick into the warlords stomach and shoved him back. As Draco stumbled back slightly Xena kicked back up to her feet. But as she landed she felt her balance waver slightly as the effects of the hard hit to her head that she had previously received returned in a momentary spell of dizziness. She again shook her head for a second to try regaining her composure but like it had before, this very slight opening was all Draco needed for him capitalize on and take advantage of the golden opportunity that now presented itself before him. Taking his opening before Xena was able to react, Draco lunged forward in an attempt to cut Xena down. But despite her momentary lack of total clarity, the Conqueror was still able to avoid his attack as she blocked and side stepped Draco. She then spun to follow Draco's movements as he moved passed her and readied a counter attack. She had just finished planting her foot from turning when a sudden sharp pain emerged and time appeared to slow down as Xena looked down on see Draco's sword buried nearly halfway into the center of her chest. Her breath caught in her throat as Xena slowly raised her head to look at Draco who learned in close to taunt her over his now inevitable victory over her.

DRACO
I bet you never would have imagined that it would be me of all people who would be the one to conquer the almighty Conqueror.

Draco laughed as Xena coughed on the blood that had begun to rise up in her throat. Her body beginning to weaken and her eyes grew heavy as she heard a rapidly fading voice in the distance that she was unable to distinguish as her legs gave out and she sunk to the ground in front of Draco. The warlord withdrew his blade from the Conqueror's chest and let Xena's body fall to the side before serving Xena's eyes close as the darkness claimed her and heard a voice coming up behind him.

LEONIDAS
No!

Draco turned around and saw Xena's top ranked soldier rushing toward him. The large man roared as he ran in swinging his massive two-handed blade. Draco just managed to step out of the way of the swing as Leonidas quickly put himself between Draco and the fallen Conqueror.

LEONIDAS
My lord, can you hear me?

Leonidas glanced back at Xena's unmoving form as he called out to her, hoping for any kind of reaction but got nothing to signify that Xena was still alive in response. This caused Draco to laugh which received an intense and vengeful stare from the topically even tempered and reserved Leonidas.