Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Patricia ❯ Challenge ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter Four

Challenge

 

 

As soon as she was done, she got to her feet and dumped the empty tray next to the others and walked outside. She was headed for her chambers when she saw a soldier waiting outside her door. She scowled and instead headed for the forest, where she wandered through along the path avoiding the rattlesnake holes.

 

As she followed the path she was led to the same clearing that she had ended up the previous night and, again, there sat the prince. The moonlight reflected off his tan skin as he sat in the middle of the clearing.

 

She leaned against the tree trunk of the same tree that she had hidden behind the other night and just watched him. A wind blew, a hint of ringing chimes accompanying it. “Princeling, open eyes. We here now. All us wood nymphs,” the woman with green tinged skin said merrily.

 

The crown prince opened his eyes and looked around him for some sign of the wood nymphs. “Where are you?” he asked in his rich, entrancing voice.

 

A wood nymph touched Patricia's shoulder and motioned for her to join her and two others in her tree. Patricia was slightly confused, but obeyed. She sat in the tree branches between two nymphs, they all watched the prince. One elbowed her in the side and motioned for her to answer his question.

 

“We're all around you. In the trees,” Patricia said, trying hard to refrain from laughing as he turned and looked at the trees.

 

“Really? Then why can't I see you?” he asked.

 

“Magic,” another nymph called.

 

“Nymph magic or demon magic?” he asked.

 

“Nymph,” a third called.

 

They suddenly laughed and a wind kicked up. The trees around them began to sway and dance and soon they were twirling. When it stopped, Patricia was sitting in a different tree with a different nymph.

 

“What was that?” he asked suspiciously.

 

“Magic,” the second called.

 

“Why do you do this?” he asked.

 

“Fun,” came their reply.

 

“Which one of you was here last night?”

 

“I was,” Patricia answered, staring down at him.

 

“Do you know what became of the men that you led out here last night?”

 

“They were taken to a healer. They survived.”

 

The nymph next to her made a violent shushing noise. Patricia stared at her, but didn't respond to the prince's next question.

 

“How do you know this? Wood nymphs aren't supposed to know anything of human interactions.”

 

“Some do, some don't. No difference to us,” a new nymph called. “We have fun and if humans no fun, we leave lone.”

 

“You're tricky, but I think there's a human among you,” he said, turning to take in each of the trees while straining his eyes to try and see the tricky nymphs. “The healer that that looked after those men this morning, maybe.” Of all the rumors he had heard about them, he had never heard of them accepting a human into their midst.

 

“You very smart, prince. Not all nymphs here pureblood. Some part human too,” the first nymph laughed. “I three-quarter blood nymph.”

 

The prince gasped in open astonishment at their open admittance to their blood impurities. If he were to ever do such a thing, his subjects would not only riot, they would certainly massacre him and his family.

 

“Why do you interbreed with humans? How long has it been going on? When did it begin?” he asked eagerly, sitting down so he could hear better.

 

“First, your name,” a nymph called.

 

He hesitated, but then said, “Prince Ariest.”

 

“Prince Ariest,” several nymphs repeated, laughing among themselves.

 

Ariest flushed a dull pink as he said heatedly, “Look, I didn't choose the name, my parents did.”

 

Patricia smiled at his reaction. “I think it suits you, princeling.” The nymphs chattered among themselves and then unanimously agreed with her. Ariest really did seem to fit the prince well.

 

Ariest just seemed puzzled by the turn of events, but pleased that they weren't taunting him. His name had always been a source of embarrassment at court, the nobles laughing at him behind his back.

 

Now, he listened as they answered his questions. “Six decades ago, we nearly wiped out by demons. Handfuls of us left, so some disguise selves as humans and intermingle with them. Others take shelter in new trees and wait for rest to come back. Full nymphs return with their half bloods and leave them with us before returning to human world. Enough to start afresh.”

 

“Why would demons want to wipe you out? It hardly makes any sense.”

 

“We take their human away.”

 

“You what?”

 

“They had human prince captive. We help prince escape, because his people needed him. They kill us instead.”

 

Patrica glanced at the nymph next to her and was surprised to see a sad look reflected in her eyes. The nymph had apparently been one of the few to survive the demon attack sixty years previously.

 

“That…that would make sense. An enemy supposedly captured my grandfather when we were on the brink of a civil war. I just never knew the details about how he escaped, no one did. I…thank you on behalf of my family,” he said politely. “I'm sorry that you lost so many of your kin for our sake.”

 

They laughed cheerfully at this. “No need to feel sad. We perfectly happy now in new forest. Contending with new demons no different than before.”

 

Ariest looked up at the trees, thoughtful. “Its amazing how resilient and peaceful you lot can be compared to the humans that are always destroying each other.”

 

The nymphs laughed again, but said nothing more. A wind came blowing through and they all turned to look in the direction that it was coming from. As they stood and got ready to leave, someone called, “Prince Ariest. Prince Ariest. Get back here you brat.”

 

Ariest looked down the path that he had come by earlier and sighed. “My guards call me, I must go. I hope to meet you again, wood nymphs, and I hope to meet your human friend, whoever she is.”

 

The nymphs laughed at his words, but did not contest them as they left one by one. As the one next to Patricia was about to leave, she said, “Careful whom you trust.” Patricia got no chance to ask what she meant before the world spun around her and she found herself back in her room, standing before her vanity. There was a man standing in her doorway.

 

* * *

 

“A challenge from Emir, hm?” Yuntuan repeated slyly to the guard that had appeared before him that night. “What happens if I refuse?”

 

“Then you will be stripped of your rank and sent to the prisons,” the guard replied curtly.

 

“Sounds like fun, but I happen to like my rank. Emir was challenging me, correct?” he asked.

 

“Yes…sir,” he said in a restrained voice. Even though the second in command made him sick, his captain had ordered him to show Yuntuan the utmost respect until the duel and he wasn't one to disobey his captain's orders.

 

Yuntuan picked up a glass of wine next to him and swirled its contents about, considering his position. “Your captain is a very noble man to challenge me for the sake of a few whores. I can't help but wonder if he is taken with one of them. The little healer perhaps?”

 

The guard said nothing.

 

“No? Perhaps not, but we'll see.

 

“Tell Emir that I refuse and if he even attempts to remove me from my rank I'll reveal his little secret,” he smiled contemptuously here. “He'll know which one.”

 

“Sir,” the guard said stubbornly. “You're violating a direct order from the captain. You will be sent to prison no matter your rank.”

 

“I never said I was refusing the challenge, I merely said that I refuse to fight the moron. No, I think the little harem healer will do nicely. I'll fight her instead. Now go, you're ruining my evening with your foul odor.”

 

A vein throbbed dangerously in the guard's temple, but he did as he was told and left Yuntuan's personal chambers to report to Emir. He was slightly surprised when Emir didn't protest to Yuntuan's change of the duel, apparently the secret threat was very real.

 

“Go, tell healer Patricia that she will be fighting in my stead,” he said wearily.

 

“But, sir, she's a woman. She's never been taught how to fight, let alone handle a sword,” the guard protested.

 

“Go,” Emir said more firmly.

 

The guard ignored the stares that he was receiving for heading to the harem portion of the camp, but instead concentrated on finding Patricia's quarters. He found them at the very end of the last row. Sighing, he knocked on the door and waited…

 

And waited…

 

And waited…

 

And waited…

 

And waited…

 

He knocked twice more before he turned the handle and found it unlocked. Pushing the door open he called, “Patricia? Patricia, I'm coming in.”

 

As soon as he stepped into the room, something crashed into the wall just above his right ear. He froze. Patricia was rumored to have deadly accuracy when it came to the occasional bow and arrow shooting contests that were held and he didn't want to see if that rumor transferred over to common everyday items with his head as target practice.

 

“Is there something I can help you with, soldier?” she asked stiffly, stepping out of the half darkness beside her vanity. “You do remember that the harem has been disband, correct?”

 

“I know that,” the guard said shortly. “Captain Emir sent me to tell you that you're to stand in for him tomorrow during the challenge.”

 

“Oh, is he finally taking me seriously and staying off his feet to let his wound heal?” she asked, moving towards the closet and opening the door. The guard tensed for a moment, convinced that she was taking out a weapon, but relaxed when all she brought out was an article of clothing.

 

“No, the second captain refused the challenge and requested you himself,” the guard said, watching her every movement.

 

Patricia suddenly smiled. “Let me guess, he called me a harem girl?” she asked sarcastically, already knowing the answer to her question. She laid the cotton dress on her bed and moved back to her vanity and picked up the lipstick.

 

“Yes,” he answered slowly.

 

“He thinks I'm weak and that I'll be easy to defeat as I'm a woman with no apparent training in the sword arts,” she said casually.

 

“Apparently,” the guard.

 

“Tell Captain Emir that he has nothing to worry about,” she said, throwing the lipstick out her open window and laughing when it hit a drunken soldier, who was stumbling towards one of the other ex-harem quarters, in the head.

 

The guard looked over his shoulder to see what she was laughing at and saw a disoriented drunken soldier. He shook his head and looked back at her. “Very well,” he said, then walked away and directed the drunk towards the forest.

 

“Now all I need is my sword,” she murmured to herself. “And to get it, I need to track down that bastard brother of mine.”

 

* * *

 

“Gimme your sword.”

 

“No.”

 

“Gimme your sword.”

 

“No.”

 

“Fine, gimme the sword you stole after I left.”

 

“No. You left it behind, so it was fair game. I got it fair and square.”

 

Patricia pursed her lips at her brother's refusal to give her her own sword back. She had managed to track him down to Helen's quarters where she had confronted him about her sword. Her brother was proving to be more stubborn about handing over her sword than she had anticipated.

 

She had never realized how much he had wanted her sword, nor how happy he had been when he had finally gotten it when she had been forced to leave it behind. Sighing, she said, “Look, hand my sword over and I won't punch you in front of your girlfriend.”

 

William turned scarlet, but it was Helen that answered for him. “Patricia, he's a skilled warrior, you can't hurt him. He's probably twice as strong as you are.”

 

Patricia actually laughed at this. “I'm the one that always won the stupid wrestling matches he started to prove he was stronger. Besides, I'm the only one that can wield that sword. Tell her, William, when the last time you drew that sword was.”

 

James flushed a deep crimson, but didn't protest her words. “Patricia, you left the sword behind, so I took it.”

 

“I don't care, William,” she sighed. “Draw the sword. If you can do so I'll back off and you can have it for keeps, but if you can't, I get it back. I need it for tomorrow and I won't use any other blade.”

 

William turned a deeper shade of red as he seized the hilt and tugged on it. The sword remained firmly in its sheath. He didn't say anything as he took the sword from his belt and shoved it unceremoniously into her hands and stalked by her out of the room.

 

Patricia sighed and drew the blade slightly to see its condition. She was rather pleased to find that her sword was still in perfect condition. Turning slightly, she called, “Thanks, William. I owe you one.” He paused in his steps briefly, but didn't turn around.

 

She glanced back at Helen as the older woman said, “You didn't have to humiliate him like that.”

 

“He's my brother. You wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you,” Patricia sighed. “This sword means a lot to the both of us, but it chose me to be its wielder.”

 

“That…doesn't make sense,” Helen said slowly. “A sword can't choose its wielder.”

 

Patricia sighed. “Like I said, you wouldn't understand.” She looked back at her brother's retreating back and added, “If anyone needs me, I'll be in the practice yards until later this morning.”

 

* * *

 

As Patricia swung her sword in an arc over her head, several early rising soldiers gathered around the practice fields and watched as she performed exercises that only high-ranking officers could manage after years of practice. Some leaned together and talked amongst themselves at her sudden skill.

 

“Healer,” a gruff faced guard called to her.

 

Patricia spun in a circle and sheathed her blade in one fluid movement as she faced the guard. “Yes?” she asked politely.

 

“Are you the one that healed the prince?” he asked.

 

“Yes, I am,” she said, tensing slightly.

 

“How did you do so? That other healer said that the slash to his chest was too deep to treat.”

 

“I healed him, and how I did so is my business alone.”

 

“You needn't be so snappish. The prince told me to ask you to join him for breakfast.”

 

“Tell him I respectfully decline his invitation.”

 

“Its not an invitation, its an order.”

 

“Well, tell him I still respectfully decline.”

 

“I'll take you there by force if I have to.”

 

“And I'll stab you in the thigh if you even touch me.”

 

The guard turned red in the face at her words. “You dare to threaten a guard of the royal-”

 

“No,” she interrupted him. “I dare to threaten a male that dares to threaten me.”

 

“Why do you resist?” a soldier called to her. “Any woman of your status would jump at the chance to have breakfast with the crown prince.”

 

Patricia drew her sword faster than any of their eyes could follow and chucked it at the soldiers. Her sword whizzed by his cheek and sliced the skin down to the bone. The sword sunk deep into the wood of the Dinning Hall and quivered slightly from impact. “Say that again,” she challenged him.

 

The soldier raised a trembling hand to feel the cut and withdrew his hand to find it covered in blood. He took a few stumbling steps back and then turned and fled from her sight.

 

A ringing clapping filled the air as someone laughed. Everyone turned to see Yuntuan flanked by his two guards. “Well done, Patricia. I didn't know that a whore could possess such strength, let alone hurl a sword as heavy as that like it were a feather.”

 

He slowly made his way over to her sword and lightly placed a hand on the hilt. When he made to pull it out, he yelped and backed quickly away. Patricia quickly crossed the training yard to her sword, vaulted over the fence, and yanked her sword from the wood.

 

“This sword is enchanted. Once unsheathed, it'll burn anyone who touches its hilt and attempts to use it. Anyone that isn't its chosen wielder, of course,” she said simply, without the slightest hint of smugness.

 

Yuntuan backed away from her slightly, but instantly grinned again. “Has Emir bowed out of his own challenge to me and sent you instead to face me? How cowardly our captain has become that he sends a whore to face me in his stead. What is this army coming to?” he asked with a mock air of sadness.

 

Patricia ignored him as she inspected he blade. As usual it was clear of any mars, even after slicing that one soldier's cheek right down to the bone. Looking up at Yuntuan, she replied, “What are you talking about? I'm the healer that always has to patch him up after a battle. He was injured, so I made him stay back. Captain Emir was insistent that he fight you, so I said I would do it instead.”

 

The soldiers that had appeared to watch them laughed slightly at her words. Everyone hated Yuntuan, but no one was crazy enough to insult the second-in-command under Emir.

 

Yuntuan flushed a dull red in anger as he started to say something else. Patricia didn't listen as she walked back to the practice ring and vaulted over the high wooden fence. Turning slightly she asked, “Are you coming or are you too afraid to face one little whore?”

 

She laughed when he turned a faint shade of purple. “Coward,” she taunted him. “Come on. You're the one that chose to come to the practice field, now fight me.”

 

The prince's guard watched in amazement as the harem girl taunted the second in command, and with such confidence. Not even the highest general had the guts to taunt Emir or Yuntuan or even make a snide comment in their presence.

 

“What's going on here?” a deep, rich voice asked from behind the guard. The guard spun quickly to face the prince and bowed.

 

“My prince, she's standing in for the captain for a challenge he issued to his second-in-command,” the guard said quickly, but their attention was diverted as Patricia began speaking again.

 

“Are you afraid or do you just remember this sword now?” she asked Yuntuan. “Do you remember what it did to your men of its own accord when they attacked me?”

 

Yuntuan regained his composure. “Yes, I remember you now. You're that girl that begged me to make her a harem girl.”

 

Patricia's eyes narrowed in hate and disgust. Something crackled around her, swirling around her body and her sword, picking up speed and wind as it got stronger. She took a deep breath and it calmed. “I never said that and you know it,” she said calmly. “Now get in here and face me like a man.”

 

The prince stepped closer to the practice field trying to get a better look at the girl. “That's…the healer from yesterday isn't it?” he asked quietly.

 

“Yes, sire,” the guard said.

 

“What is that sword she's holding? Is it an enchanted blade?” he asked, taking in the crimson and gold blade she was holding at her side.

 

“She said it was, sire,” another soldier answered.

 

“It is,” William said as he stepped up next to them. “It reacts only to her and right now she's pissed. I'm amazed that the sword hasn't taken control of her yet. She must have gained substantial control of her anger over the last three years.”

 

Ariest and his guard looked at him in horror. “An enchanted blade that takes over its chosen wielder?” the guard asked.

 

“Not control exactly,” he corrected himself. “It's more like it's overpowering her because it's giving her the strength to fight something else.”

 

They gave him a confused look, but looked back to Patricia as Yuntuan vaulted over the fence with a drawn sword. The fight was about to begin and this was something that they wanted to see for themselves.

 

Patricia held her ground and brought her sword up in front of her as Yuntuan continued to advance on her. Yuntuan brought his sword down on hers and was shoved back as Patricia took the offensive. She slashed to the right, brought her sword around in an arc and slashed at Yuntuan's chest. Her sword connected solidly with his skin and ripped a wound the length of his left hip to his right shoulder. She sprang lightly back, grinning at him.

 

Yuntuan growled and shot straight for her. Patricia raised her sword and blocked Yuntuan's attack. He pushed her back and made her stumble. Taking advantage of her moment of unbalance, he lunged forward and brought his sword around in a downward arc and sliced her chest from shoulder to hip. For her credit, she did not scream for all the pain that exploded through her body. She stumbled back and tripped over a loose stone.

 

As she fell, William narrowed his eyes at the second-in-command and was half tempted to vault over the fence and help her. He knew, though, that he didn't have his sister's strength or sword, so he stayed rooted to the spot and settled for glaring hatefully at the man that was tearing his sister's body open.

 

Yuntuan stepped back, smirking, and allowed Patricia to get to her feet and gingerly touch the wound she now bore across her chest. She grimaced as pain shot through her body and then looked up at Yuntuan, suddenly smiling. “It's been a while since someone was able to wound me like this. Guess I'll have to take it up a couple levels to defeat you.”

 

Without warning, she struck, her hand flashing in a complex overhand pass that brought her blade within inches of Yuntuan's unguarded side. Only a quick step back saved him from losing an arm. She swept her sword up and under. Though Yuntuan turned to the side, he still caught a glancing blow that tore at the thin shirt he wore and left another wound across his chest.

 

Patricia lunged forward again and he feigned back, then struck out at her side. She twisted her torso midair and propelled herself into a roll that sent her crashing into the ground. Rolling several more times, she regained her feet and immediately attacked. She faded, and then lunged to the side and the front, coming at him in a straightforward strike. Yuntuan met her: their sword hilts locked.

 

The soldiers that had gathered cheered as they watched in amazement. The girl really was something else if she could go against Yuntuan and match him blow for blow.

 

Breaking away, she came back instantly from the side and knocked his blade away. The flat of her blade struck his cheek and cracked the bone. Yuntuan moved before she could spring away and brought the flat of his blade smartly against her ribs, making her gasp for air.

 

Jumping out of range of his next attack, she touched down barely a foot away from him. Yuntuan lunged forward to follow up his advantage. Patricia brought her sword up in a half circle and parried his blow, though it jarred her arms to do so.

 

Sweat dripped down her forehead and into her eyes, blurring her vision and making it difficult to see Yuntuan. She stepped back and wiped the sweat away on her blouse.

 

“Patricia, look out!!” she heard her brother call.

 

Jumping back blindly, she tripped and went down once more. As she did so, Yuntuan's blade passed within a centimeter of her face, slicing some of her hair away.

 

Landing, Yuntuan stood directly over her. She kicked up at him and kicked him in the balls. Yuntuan bit back a scream of pain and quickly drew away from her. She leapt to her feet again, grinning wolfishly at him. “Don't get careless just because I let my guard down,” she advised him.

 

“I'll do as I please,” he growled, then attacked.

 

Yuntuan again lunged forward, though this time Patricia swung her sword at his exposed stomach, having learned by this time that whenever he lunged forward, he left his stomach unprotected. Not having time to block or move from the blades path, his sword sank into her shoulder while hers sliced open a deep gut wound. Both fell back, panting and sweating profusely. Blood poured unheeded from their wounds as they waited for the other to make the next move.

 

Patricia advanced and brought her sword through another half circle. Yuntuan brought his sword up to defend himself. Their swords clashed, producing a clear ringing sound. His sword shattered.

 

As he pieces of his former sword fell to the ground Patricia swept her sword around and smacked the blade against his legs, knocking them out from under him. Standing over him with her sword at his throat she said, “Yield or die.”

 

Yuntuan smiled a smile that made her blood run cold. He was up to something and nothing good could come of it. “I choose neither.”

 

Patricia frowned as she brought her sword around to strike the final strike. Before she could deliver the killing blow, he said, “Kill me and you'll never see your precious sisters again.”

 

She froze, mid-strike and stared down at him. Seized by a sudden rage, she gripped the hilt of her sword tightly and brought it down on his leg. The blade passed through his skin, bone, and calf like it was butter and lodged itself deeply in the dirt below. Lightning crackled around the blade and entered Yuntuan's body, making him writhe and scream in pain.