The Ghost of a Prince

Prologue

This wasn't how Valerie had expected her summer to go.

She hadn't counted on a small crowd of fairies staring at her and the man in front of her from the tops of trees. She believed she had heard someone mutter something about a bet but hadn't taken the time to dwell too much on it.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her relentless heart. She tightened her grasp around the leather of Excalibur's grip and shifted her weight from one leg to the other changing into combat position. She shook her shoulders, still unaccustomed to the weight of her armor.

Standing in front of her was Arthur smiling wide and kind. His blond hair shining under the sunlight; his blue eyes, almost identical to her aunt's seemed several years younger as he played around with his sword. Valerie rose an eyebrow; he chuckled, shifting into combat position. His demeanor changed; he was taller despite the position he was in. Valerie take a cautious step back, intimidated by the former king.

"Are you ready?" he pried, looking at the girl up and down, a hint of amusement in his voice. Valerie rolled her eyes; Excalibur tightly held in her fingers. She wrinkled her nose when the wind blew her face.

"Are you?" she returned; Arthur laughed. She turned her head to her aunt, who nodded, a soft smile in her lips.

"Let's settle this," Arthur's voice resonated. Valerie took a deep breath, watching how Arthur looked at her aunt, "Morgana, would you do the honors?"

"Do them yourself." she smiled. Her voice resonated above the hushes of the fairies. Arthur laughed.

A green butterfly flew between them. Valerie gave the first steps towards Arthur, stopping in her tracks, eyebrows furrowed to look at him up and down. Arthur rose an eyebrow, looking at Valerie for less than a second before lunching towards her. She dodged it, returning the hit and aiming the sword at the former king's neck.

He prevented the hit, her sword crashing against his own. The sound of steel filled Valerie's ears while she tried to keep her breathing as steady as possible. Most of her attention was focused on the movements on the king, barely giving her the time to dodge and find a response to the fight Arthur was putting up against her.

It was strange how effortless he made it seem as he moved time after time against the girl who struggled to keep up. Normally he would be criticizing each and every single one of her movements, telling her what she was doing wrong and how each of her mistakes and openings created a new window for her life to be put in the line. Now, as he was fighting against her, it was easy to understand where all those corrections came from. He moved swift and effective knowing where to attack each time; putting Valerie in a tight to position as she struggled to find the opportunity to fight back.

He moved towards her, with enough caution that she was able to stop him from targeting her left side. Her grip around Excalibur tightened as she moved her sword around his, tangling it. Arthur smiled, and Valerie found herself empty handed, Excalibur somewhere in the grass under the expectant eyes of the fairies. The air hitched in her throat.

He stepped closer to her, a sly smile on his face that felt like the wordless version of an 'I told you so'. She moved back with each step he gave towards her. Valerie did her best to keep her attention in him as her eyes moved around hoping to find where the sword had fallen.

Once she saw the familiar steel dropped a few meters behind Arthur, she took a step back and took off her left glove. There was a slight raise on Arthur's eyebrow when he swung the sword in her direction. The sound of metal scrapping metal made the girl recoil.

The corners of Valerie's lips twitched when she pressed the glove and threw it at Arthur's face, taking advantage of his temporary confusion to sneak by his side and grab her sword.

The singing tune of the fairies' laughter filled Valerie's ear when she aimed for Arthur, now with the familiarity of Excalibur back in her hand. He stopped her attack and pressed against her, forcing the girl to take a step back. Her feet dragged against the grass, creating a dent in the otherwise green field. Valerie steadied herself, only for Arthur to lunge back at her. She dropped to the floor, dirt getting in the nails of her now gloveless hand.

Valerie rolled to the side, trying to stand up as fast and as close to Arthur as it was possible. Her gloveless hand holding tight as much dirt as she was able to grasp. It was cold to the touch, and she hoped it would work.

When Arthur was close enough, Valerie rose her fist and threw the dirt at the man's face.

"Shit!" he complained, taking a step back and raising a hand to clean his face and rub his face.

The sword with the hand was up. Valerie slid her leg behind his foot until she he felt on his back. The metal of his armor resonated when it hit the hard floor beneath.

He finished rubbing his eyes. Valerie stepped on the hand that held his sword while she pressed a knee against his armored chest, preventing any further movement. She held Excalibur in her hand, aiming the point to the former king's neck. Her chest rising and falling with each passing second.

There was a strange silence in the air. Arthur looked at her, Valerie maintained her face as serious as she could, keeping her balance and the same position, waiting for any reaction. For him to push her, declaring the fight was far from over. Valerie's heart was going even faster, in nervous anticipation. He smiled. Valerie glanced briefly around her, unsure of what to do to that.

"You won" Arthur declared.

It took a few seconds for those ears to sink into Valerie's consciousness. When they did, her face lit up with a smile, the cheers and claps of the fairies who had watched the small spectacle reached her ears. She stood up, leaving him enough room to rise.

He gave her glove back to her, patting her in the back when she put it back on.

Hello Everyone!
As you can see, Valerie's story continues here, this story follows 'The Man in the Cave', so if you are somehow stumbling upon this first, I suggest you read that one beforehand. If you read a man in the cave first and you are here to continue, welcome back! I hope you enjoy this!

Also, if you'd like to see like character/book playlists or something like that, let me know. I hope you love reading this story.  Have a lovely day!