"Hear ye! Hear ye!" Trumpets sounded and the bustling of the noblemen and peasants filled the arena. "Clear the arena! Your King, King Frederick the Fair, approaches! The tournament will be starting!"
Yelps, whistles, and gasps rang out. The arena for the tournament emptied quickly as the King and Queen stood before their chairs. Noblemen and their daughters rushed to get seats as close to the king as they could. Ladies of the Court had chairs below the royal family so that the men competing in the tournament could see every Lady of his majesty's court. One by one, knights and mercenaries of high skills came out when announced. A knight gave his Lady a flower; another gave a napkin with their family seal, while the others simply took a chance to kiss a soft hand. Lastly, they called out the man in whose honor the tournament was being held.
"Now enters our champion against the demons and the dark in this world, Lord Cedric of the House of Romulus, last of the Romulus line. We gather today to witness your skills and talents first hand! First King of the Germans, King Frederick, wishes for you to take the hand of one of his Ladies of the Court! Upon the chance that you defeat our own kingdom's finest warriors and knights, this shall be your prize!"
The crowd roared with delight as Cedric bowed, one knee to the ground, towards the King, and more importantly, to the Ladies who watched, blushing. All the Ladies, but one, were red cheeked from his stare. His grin faltered as his green eyes locked onto the frightened brown ones. The sweat on her brow and paling complexion told him all he needed to know. For some reason, she remembered him. It was the first time in over a hundred years that he had seen anyone break from the spell and its memory-altering effects. He would have no time to toy with his competitors. It was unclear if she thought of last night's events as a vivid nightmare or reality. Sighing a curse under his breath, he managed to grin again as he stood.
Out of the five total fighters, he and the ogre-sized brute were the only ones without a helmet and ensemble of metal. Thought unlike his giant cohort, he depended heavily on his agility and dexterity to win his battles. He was far stronger than the men next to him, but he was partial to the dance of swordplay. The smallest knight was wearing more armor than necessary for his size and with the array of daggers in his belt it was clear he favored close combat. On the opposite end of the lineup was the oldest competitor in brightly reflective armor. He dismissed the old man and shifted his attention to the mountain of flesh next to him. Sweat poured from the mildly obese brute, he would prove harder to take down without exposing his true strength to the observing audience. The last knight was a mercenary knight of average appeal. He war his family seal with pride, but the armor he wore looked poorly maintained and ill-fitting for this tournament.
Again, his smirk failed him as his eyes fell back to the girl. She visibly flinched as their eyes met and his jaw twitched in annoyance. While he was distracted by the Lady's fearful stare, the ogre-of-a-man took advantage and swung his two-handed mace and slammed it into Cedric's shield. Thrown like a doll, he landed on the arena floor in a cloud of dust. The onlookers shouted and laughed at the feat. They cheered on the larger man for taking the first strike in the game and on Lord Cedric! Cedric huffed, tossing the bent shield to the ground as he brushed the dust from his pants. He would have to abandon his shield far sooner than he had initially planned.
"Whoa!" Cedric shouted. A shorter opponent made a swing and he simply sidestepped for the miss. "I haven't drawn my sword yet. What dishonorable twits you all are."
The smaller knight retreated to give his larger companion another chance to challenge Cedric. Yanking his sword from its sheath, he blocked another blow from the massive mace with his blade. Cedric's feet slid, pushed back by the sheer force. This man clearly had some experience in small demon hunting. A shimmer came to Cedric's green eyes and his grin grew wide. He flawlessly back flipped to gain some distance in order to catch a better glimpse of the four men, two of them clearly braver than the others. The audience whistled and clapped at the acrobatic stunt.
Taking an offensive stance, he flicked two fingers, beckoning the brute to come. As if a dog called by its master, the large brute charged towards Cedric, mace readied for another try. Crouching low to meet his approach, Cedric waited for the swing. Elegantly, he leapt above the ground-skimming swing, and with massive strength, Cedric hammered the hilt of his sword into the back of the ogre-like man's head. There were gasps hovering in the air as all watched the large bulk frozen for a moment. Cedric walked past the man and focused on the other competitors, while everyone watched the brute's eyes roll back. He fell forward, knocked out in a dust plume on the arena floor.
The squirrel-of-a-knight came from behind the impeding paladin-armored guardsmen, anger seething from him as he closed in for a second attack. He aimed high at Cedric, who swiftly dropped to the ground and swung his leg around, knocking the mousy man off his feet. The roar of laughter that followed fed Cedric's ego as he dashed forward, locking his sword with the claymore of the mercenary guardsmen who had patiently waited for his turn. He was too slow for Cedric's taste, and after exchanging several ear-shattering blows from both knights' swords, Cedric managed to get behind the man. With a wicked kick to the lower back, Cedric brought the guardsmen to his knees and one swift knock of the hilt dropped him to the floor.
Two down and two to go.
Irritated by the rat-sized knight, he finally exchanged blows again after the second retreat. On the third hit, Cedric's strength and force knocked the man's sword free from his hands. Seeing that the knight was too stunned to react, Cedric took the opportunity and landed a punch through the haphazardly open helm. Like a miniature tree, the squirrel fell back on his heels, out cold.
One left.
"Ah! This is more like it!" Cedric twisted his sword about as he approached the last opponent. "I take it you prefer the one-on-one battles?"
"I am much older, and content to wait, but yes. I do savor the one on one battle." Unlike his fellows sprawled on the ground, this knight had lighter armor and his weapons of choice seemed to be two short swords. "I must admit, after watching how quickly you dispatched the others, I am a bit wary, Lord Cedric. There is a reason everyone calls you the Demonic Knight. You fight like a demon, that's for sure."
"Keh," Cedric paused, admiring the sense of honor the man had towards his own skills. "It is hard to gauge one's skills with such clumsy opponents."
"Let me be the judge of that." The knight charged forward, his blades extended out behind him as he raced toward Cedric, who stood unmoving.
For an older warrior, he was just as fast as the small knight. Cedric slid backwards, missing the first swipe of a blade and almost failed to gauge the second swing that followed it. Much to Cedric's surprise, the knight dropped, knocking Cedric's legs out from under him with a skilled kick. Reacting on instinct, he managed to firmly land a hand on the ground and flip himself upright, saving himself another bath into the dusty dirt. It appeared he had misjudged the range of skills that this aging fighter possessed. Again, he came at Cedric, and Cedric blocked the dual onslaught of the two short blades as efficiently as he could. Sweat crawled down Cedric's cheek as he guessed which swings to dodge or block with the sword. This knight clearly devoted himself to mastering the technique of hiding his second blade behind the other, a talent rarely seen in the kingdom.
Once more, Cedric caught a glimpse of the young girl's watery brown eyes. A stinging sensation sliced across his abdomen and he pushed himself back to gain distance. Rubbing a hand across the cut, he could feel that it was skillfully shallow wound. The old knight was breathing hard from his efforts, a smile across his face as sweat dripped from his chin. Cedric scoffed in annoyance, spitting at the ground as his anger seeped forward.
How annoying. I hate using any of the incubine skills. They always do this to me! So damn distracting!
With uncanny speed, Cedric closed the gap between him and the knight.
Startled by the increase in skill, the knight faltered. He yelped, dropping one of his short blades as Cedric knocked him off his feet in a tackling motion. There was no mercy in Cedric's next move, a punch directed into the man's face. A crunching sound could be heard, crisp, and clear. He had broken the knight's nose and the audience was quiet after this last defeat. Cedric snorted in dissatisfaction as he walked towards the king and knelt before him. After a short pause, the arena filled with cheers and laughter. Under his fake smile, Cedric was fuming. He hated the very idea that a human girl distracted him and a human warrior landed a cut on him.
She will be bait, nothing more.
"Lord Cedric, our Demonic Knight! The savior of the lands!" King Frederick liked keeping the crowd shouting. "I now ask you, please choose a Lady from my Court for your own bride! May you live long and prosperous! May the House of Romulus stand strong in future generations!"
With that, he stood to look at the selection of women the king was offering to him. It was appalling to see the unpleasant choices that the Court allowed in the ranks. His eyes fell upon the prettiest of them all, a petite blonde-haired woman. Her body curvy with milky skin, she batted her large blue eyes at him to acknowledge his stare.
This was the girl they wanted me to choose. The one they have gone overboard on to make her standout.
Shaking behind the blonde-haired Lady was the girl from last night. Clearly, she was the bland background for a songbird despite being taller; the brown-haired girl was without a doubt from the farms. It was a tad excessive considering that none of the other girls could come close to outshining their shorter cousin.
"Your Majesty, I chose that one." Cedric pointed in their direction.
"A fine choice! Cassandra is our best Lady of the Court!" The blonde-haired woman squealed happily, clapping her hands. "She is our most beautifu-"
"Not her, the lovely Lady behind her." He was trying to hide his annoyance at the assumption. "The taller girl, with the rosy lips and hair so long that it would put the Princess' to shame; I want her to be mine."
"B-But she is only a cousin! From the farms!" A nobleman pushed himself forward, gripping the taller girl's arm. "You cannot be serious, my Lord!"
"Come now, Lord Cedric!" Even the King seemed ruffled by the selection made.
Someone had paid well for his daughter to be the pick of the litter today.
The King bellowed on. "Cassandra is a far better choice! She has been at the top of the court since she was a small girl here in my kingdom."
"Your Majesty," He knelt, being as dramatic as possible while giving the King and his court the gravest stare he could muster. "You must understand. I do not wish to marry a Lady as fragile as she! I travel across the land, taking paths that no one else would dare to brave, hunting demons as you all know. What I need is a Lady who can stand tall by my side! If she is from the farms as you have said, then my heart yearns more so to have her as mine!"
Gasps and uncomfortable shifting could be heard from the audience as stares were exchanged. The nobleman's paled face revealed that he had failed to consider the conditions his daughter would be living in with such a person. The king stroked his beard, staring down at Cedric from his pedestal. Cassandra began crying as he heard her whispering urgently to her father, frightened now by the very idea of traveling in such peril. The taller girl still had her gaze on him. She had not dropped her eyes from him the entire time since he had entered the arena. His blood boiled as he felt himself enjoying the deep stare of her eyes on him as her bottom lip quivered like a leaf in the wind. Anger only steamed up one word in his thoughts.
Bait.
"But, Sire, if you insist, I could take Cassandra as you wish." A smirk snaked across his mouth as he shot a mischievous grin at the panicked blonde, sending her into a bigger fuss.
"No!" The nobleman, stunned by his own response, stumbled on his next few words. "Angeline is a fine girl! She comes from a small village and is a very skilled archer! She can out-shoot any man here, and has done so many times. It would do me proud for you to take my niece over my own daughter! If you desire her more so, she is yours."
"Very well!" The king smiled at the change of plans. "Angeline is a strong and well-mannered girl. She is fit for travel and danger unlike the other Ladies here. She is yours, Lord Cedric."
"Thank you, King Frederick!" Cedric tilted his head, avoiding the panicked look on Angeline's face as large tears streaked down her cheeks. "Please have your men ready my horse, and a horse for my Lady. I must be off as soon as possible."
You'll be gone soon enough, my pet.