"You win!" Miles said, pleading for mercy as he struggled under the point of Henry's sword.
Henry pulled his sword away from Miles and dropped it on the ground next to him.
"Where is all of this energy coming from?" Miles asked curiously. "You've never fought so hard before, I thought you might actually kill me."
"Sorry," Henry muttered. "I'm just a bit distracted, and angry."
"Maybe you should be angry more often. We might not need any new recruits the way you're fighting today."
Henry ignored the compliment and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had woken up earlier than ever that morning, getting an early start on training. He needed something to channel his anger on.
Despite his aggression, Henry was exhausted. He didn't get a wink of sleep last night. Not after what he heard.
Yesterday before dinner he had gotten there early to surprise Princess Karolina. Instead he got a surprise of his own. He was in the other room but the walls are so thin, he overheard his fiancé's conversation with is sister.
So he knew all about Karolina's affair with his younger brother. It took all Henry had not to go over to his brother and plunge a sword in his chest. He had never felt such betrayal before. He wanted to break things, kill things.
More than anything he wanted to tell his best friend, Miles about it. However, something held him back. He didn't want Miles knowing that his own fiance had rejected him and instead shown preference to his younger, weaker brother. Telling Miles would only show weakness to his friend. He needed to keep up appearances.
On the way to the baths, Henry had an idea. Instead of beating his brother senseless, he would hurt him even more. He would pretend he knew nothing of their affair, nothing of their betrayal. Instead, he would be the best doting fiance he could be to Karolina. He would spend more time with her and offer displays of affection. To hurt Ralf even more, Henry would be sure to kiss Karolina in front of him as often as possible. Anything to plunge the knife deeper into Ralf's chest than he had done to Henry's.
After cleaning up, Henry found Karolina sitting alone looking out the window in the library. She didn't get excited when she saw him. Before she used to love spending time with him, annoyingly so.
Henry made sure to the spend the entire day with her. He took her for a walk around the gardens and shared a picnic lunch with her in the grass. He held her hand and complimented her beauty. And whenever possible he kissed her. The first time she seemed as though she would cry. Then after the next few times she just looked solemn.
When dinner arrived, Henry had another idea. After the meal was served, Henry stood up and proposed a toast. "I just want to say how fortunate I feel to have such a wonderful fiance as my Princess Karolina. Not only is she absolutely beautiful, but her loyalty and love is more than I can fathom. Cheers to my future bride."
The room toasted happily and when Henry sat down he turned and kissed Karolina as passionately as he knew how.
"Excuse me, I don't feel well," Henry heard Ralf say as he threw his napkin on the table and hurried out the door.
Henry noticed that Karolina was quiet for the rest of the evening. His evil plan was working.