••••••
You had only been in the castle for a span of two full days and Lord Haruka was already nagging Izana about your appearance. On the evening of your third day, Izana happened to be in a rather irritable mood. The recent ventures of his younger brother and a fort in the northern side of the kingdom had finally reached his desk in a thick stack of paperwork.
Fort Laxo had been unresponsive for the last few months, so Zen, like the vigilant man he is decided to take a trip there. According to the report, the guards had fallen ill due to the bandits who had sold them questionable wood. Izana didn't need to outline how ridiculous that was, it was too easy. The fort that he had clearly put under his younger brother's jurisdiction had somehow fell susceptible to petty trickery and he was suppose to be concerned about what pole Lord Haruka had up his ass?
Usually the councilman was better at reading Izana than most. So on the most part he wasn't so irritating, today however all caution had been thrown to the wind.
He came marching into Izana's office with a red face, and a scowl permanently implanted on his face. "Your highness what is the meaning of this?!" He folded his arms, and Izana slowly looked from his paper work to him.
"What?" He asked, if that wasn't enough to outline his terrible mood, Izana didn't know what would be.
"You mean to tell me the guard you have chosen to appoint as your royal guard is a petty commoner who has never even undergone basic sword training?" Haruka's brows had been pinched together his foot tapping against the carpeted floor. "She has to be taught by other guards of a lower rank how to properly hold a sword? That's the guard you chose to protect you? Prince Izana you are aware that you are the future king? Your life is important! We can't have someone isn't able to protect you in power simply because she's a woman!" Izana's eyebrow twitched.
Before he took in a sharp inhale, massaging the temples of his head. "Haruka" that seemed to have done the trick, Haruka suddenly clamped his mouth shut. Apparently Izana's recent complacent behavior made the councilman forget his place and the fact that as the first prince of Clarines he outranks him. "Are you insinuating that I chose her simply because of the factor that she is a beautiful young woman?" Izana wasn't an idiot, he expected this response from some of the small minded men in his court. Haruka included.
And under better circumstances he would handle it with the prestige and grace he prides himself on. Those circumstances weren't met today. Izana was out for blood. "Do you see me as such a small-minded man that I would put the safety of myself and my country in jeopardy just for a pretty face?" He couldn't help but compliment you at times, and with your absence he felt more comfortable speaking of you in such a manner.
Many may have not seen it as vulgar but Izana knew better than to see a woman for simply her looks.
If they only knew the brains behind the face, the wit behind the lips and the danger behind the smile. Maybe they'd be in as much awe as me was.
"Of course not, I was simply—" it was too late to save himself and Haruka knew it.
Izana carelessly tossed his pen down on the desk and leaned back, "what was the name of the guard you had chosen for the position? Never mind that, he was the blonde with all the muscle am I correct?"
"Konami, yes" Haruka nodded.
"Fetch him, they'll have a sword fight right now, if he wins, I'll agree to place him in her position." There was venom laced deep in his challenging tone. Haruka blinked, taken aback by the confidence he had in you.
"Surely you don't mean that, she's only learned how to hold a sword three days
ago—"
"If you're so confident that I'm wrong, to the point where you would barge in my office without permission then you shouldn't be worried about how much practice she's had." Izana countered right away, as he pushed off his seat and grabbed his coat, placing it over his shoulders and motioning for Haruka to lead the way.
Hesitantly, Haruka obliged, turning around and making his way down to the training grounds. He was sure that Konami would win, the man has been using a sword ever since he learned how to walk. So why was he so nervous? Was it Izana's cold glare, or the way his blue eyes watched him as if waiting for him to grovel at his feet. He had so much confidence in this woman it was insane, there was no way she would win... so what was the prince really thinking?
Nevertheless, Haruka complied with his request as they entered the training grounds.
A few of the soldiers were scattered around, Konami was spotted at the door drinking some water while the girl was socializing with a few soldiers and laughing at something they said.
"Excuse us" Haruka announced, the chatter instantly died down and all eyes were on them. Izana looked towards you, and instantly you straightened. Getting the hint, he was pissed about something. "Prince Izana has proposed a match between the castle's finest swordsman Konami and his potential royal guard. This will test her progress and see if she will be deemed the royal guard." A few whispers were exchanged between the guards. Some who had come to know you and like you complaining about how it wasn't fair for you to have to risk your position with three days of training against a master swordsman.
"This match will begin in ten minutes, everyone prepare" Izana announced without an ounce of emotion in his tone. His eyes then went to you and he nodded to leave the room with him.
Pinching your eyebrows together you followed after him, bowing at Haruka before slipping out of the door. Haruka went to address Konami on the match while you went to stand beside Izana who stopped walking at the end of the hall.
"Please tell me this is a lie" you said, stopping infront of him.
Izana shrugged, "I grew bored."
You blinked, before placing your hands on your hip. "Your highness, you do know that I'm the one guarding your life? Is it a really good idea to spite me?" Your lips were pressed in a thin line with an expression as if scolding him. Izana found that amusing, though if it was Haruka or anyone else on the planet he'd be put in a worse mood than he already was in.
The prince leaned against the wall, "are you saying that you won't win?" He asked.
"Konami is stupid talented with that sword, I learned how to use one yesterday, and I have to beat him in a sword fight?!"
"Who said it was a sword fight?" Izana quirked an eyebrow.
"Lord Haruka, by the way, how close are you two? Because he's a giant pain in the ass and I don't want to say that infront of you if you guys are like... father, son thing." You knew you had insulted him regardless, and a part of you didn't really care if they were close. Though you hadn't formally met Haruka, you'd heard of him and it was comforting to know that you weren't the only one with a particular distaste of him.
Izana smiled, genuinely smiled, it didn't take him drinking tea, or wine when times got especially difficult to lift his mood. Just a few sentences between you two and he felt much lighter. Though, the headache he had was still there. "I'm aware how much of a pain he is, he's been getting on my nerves lately as well" he threw a glance back at the entrance of the training ground. "It's why I proposed this whole thing to begin with, I want you to humiliate his prized soldier for my entertainment."
"You're a sick person" you sighed, lowering your shoulders.
"I believe the term was morally twisted" he cooed and you chuckled.
You knew there was no chance in hell that you could beat Konami in a sword fight. But if the fine printing said it didn't have to be just swords, then you had hope.
"You know" you started, turning Izana's attention back to you, "when I was younger, my brother use to do these things to me too. He'd teach me how to throw a punch the first day then pin me against the best fighter we had the next. I use to get beat up really bad—atleast they were mainly girls." You chuckled softly, enjoying the outside breeze sneaking in through the open doors and brushing your hair off your face. "He said it was the fastest way to get stronger, that when you first go somewhere your job is to find the biggest and the baddest and then establish dominance, put them in their place. Then the rest will follow you, without ever having to waste your breath."
"He sounds like a charming man" Izana chortled sarcastically.
"You do realize you're doing the same thing right?"
"I gave you three days" he argued. You rolled your eyes, it was practically the same thing. "If you feel so underprepared I could easily get you out of this situation. I'd hate to see you lose."
You chuckled, "I do a lot of things, your highness, lose isn't one of them."
Izana loved the way you spoke sometimes, "so you're taking the challenge?"
"I never said I wasn't, though, the idea that I would be humiliating Lord stuck up, kind of makes me all tingly inside." You gleamed, a grin dancing across your face gushingly. Izana could only stare, in awe by your confidence in yourself. "However," you started, "if we're determining if I'm strong enough to beat the royal guard we aren't doing it with some stupid fake wooden sword," you said again, then turned to him. "May I use your sword?"
Taken aback, Izana blinked, before nodding. The question hadn't fully registered across his head. And it was times like that that he truly recalled that you were indeed a thief, someone who wasn't use to the cushy life of the castle. Where you only draw your sword out when it's necessary. Even now, dressed in loose clothing you probably had a few weapons on you. Because you couldn't feel safe without them, regardless of the two of you were drinking tea in his office or sparing with fake weapons. It was a default setting.
"Y/n... how many weapons do you have on you right now?" Izana asked as he slipped off his sword and handed it to you.
"Six." You answered calmly.
•••••
You and Konami weren't necessarily friends, but you did recognize each other. Konami wasn't like these other guards, he was able to easily accept you as a soldier and a fighter. He didn't have some superiority complex over you being a woman or anything. Infact it's him who helped you learn how to use a sword the most.
"Lord Haruka" you said, once stretched with your hair tied up in a bun to avoid any distractions. "It's unfair that I'm tested with only three days worth of progress against a master right?" You asked, turning to look at the man.
Haruka furrowed his eyebrows, he knew that was obvious so why would you need him to admit it. "Yes, but if you want to guard someone as important as his highness you need to always be prepared. Not all circumstances will be comfortable, a lot of the time swords won't even do much." He admitted and Izana smiled beside him.
Sometimes things just worked out perfectly.
"I agree," you nodded, "with that said, let's treat this as a real fight." You said placing your wooden sword down.
"What?" He asked.
"You're the one who said not all circumstances will be comfortable right?" You asked looking from him to Konami who was just as lost as everyone else. "So, let's treat his as a real fight, real wounds, real blood, and... real weapons." You took out Izana's sword, watching as the blade gleamed under the fluorescent light.
A violent wildfire of whispers echoed across the training area. "Surely you can't mean..." Konami started and you shook your head.
"That's exactly what I mean, frankly I'm tired of all this doubt. A lot of you have big mouths with no merits to speak on." You calmly spoke, your voice leveled and dangerous, daring one of them to speak. "This is a trial right? To you it's a mock battle but to me it's real, so, Konami, come at me with the intent to kill."
"Your highness!" Haruka whirled towards Izana who hadn't been able to wipe the grin across his face.
Izana turned to Haruka, "you heard her," this was the danger—the thrill that first drew him in. He knew you would thrive here. "Of course we will intervene if this goes too far, but if not, what's the harm in putting her to the real test?" He asked, making sense of your gutsy attitude. Because no one here knew the true origin of your past. No one but Izana knew that you most likely grew up facing worse dangers. Places where your life was really on the line. No one but Izana knew that you had danced on a field of flames and came out without a single burn but giggling and laughing.
The same smile appeared across your face that he saw that night. A gleam at danger, as if you flashed a big, toothy grin at death itself.
The rest of the guards were left speechless at your declaration. But if the prince allowed it then they would comply. Konami was given a real sword, and a reason to take this serious. No pulling punches because he knew while this wasn't that big of a deal to him it was to you. And the look in your eyes told him that he might really end up with his head severed if he took you declaration lightly.
Haruka who was among the people left speechless only stood back and watched. Could he have underestimated this woman?
•••••
Why are all my characters crazy?