Rosalie's Kingdom {OLD VERSION- INCOMPLETE}

Chapter 32

I'm definitely going to die.

Ro walked into the center, stopping a few feet away from Deidra. The first ranker had a wicked looking bow in her hand, one that Rosalie had only seen once before. "Rosalie," Deidra said, nodding her head politely. "I hope we agree to not hold back anything."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Ro replied with a smile.

"Good. At this point, I'm not entirely sure that I can beat you," she confessed. "We are well matched in our skill and strengths." Their smiles were genuine; there was no need to act a part. It was a friendly match, and they would stay friends regardless of the outcome.

"I'd like to welcome everyone here to our humble school," Lilith said. "We are sure to see the duel of the century today, and I think I speak for all of us when I say I'm really fucki- sorry, I'm really freakin' excited to see how it's gonna go down.

"On one side, we have Lady Deidra Blakely defending her position as first ranker. A little background for you all, she has held this position since first coming to the school when she snatched it during the trials in six seconds." She paused in her speech to let the applause die down. "On the other side, we have her royal highness and third ranker Princess Rosalie Ailia Céleste responding to Deidra's challenge."

That came as a shock to many, as they thought Rosalie was the one to challenge Deidra and not the other way around. "Now that that's all well and done," Lilith continued. "Let's get on with the show!" Cheers sprung up around them from the seats in the colosseum-like arena. "Ladies, please shake hands!" The two rankers complied and stood ten paces apart as the rules dictated. "Ready your weapons!" Ro drew her blades and let her face fall into her mask of impassive calculation. Deidra held her bow up with a hand reached behind her, ready to grab an arrow the second she could. Her face reflected Rosalie's own, with a small smirk lifting up before dropping into 'battlemode', as Lilith would call it. "On my mark!" The crowd became hushed as they waited.

"START!"

Rosalie ignored the flare and focused on Deidra, who had already nocked an arrow. It was fired quickly at her, but she managed to knock it out of the way with the flat of her blade. Another three arrows were fired at her, one after the other. A purple shield sprung up with the arrows clashing harmlessly. Ro used her cast as a jumping off point to vault easily over her shield.

She leapt through the air, gracefully rolling to the ground behind Deidra, who had spun around with a long knife in one hand and her bow in the other. Their respective blades met at Ro's crossguards. "That flip was well executed," Deidra commented.

"Thank you. I have to admit, I didn't realize you could fire so fast," Ro replied. They smiled at each other before Ro broke apart to swing her right leg at the other woman. Deidra caught her by the ankle and flipped Ro over. She recovered quickly and sprung to her feet. "It was worth a shot," she said.

Deidra drew another knife and attacked. Their blades clashed again and again, neither one managing to land a good hit. A small smirk lit up the first ranker's face. It threw Rosalie off slightly, but it was enough for Deidra to send the girl's swords flying out of her hands. Ro flipped into a sloppy back handspring that fell into a roll.

Bouncing back up, she used her cast to draw three of her ten knives and launched them at Deidra. The first ranker dodged each one easily and Ro cursed.

"I've never been a good aim," she called out while drawing more knives. Deidra laughed and drew more of her own in her hands. They flew at Rosalie with the strength and accuracy she knew the ranker possessed. It was terrifying.