Saving Her Kingdom

♡ Chapter 55

Chapter 55

My father was determined to win this fight. I could see it in his eyes. Technically, he had a lot more to protect than his opponent. Lord Rutherford just fought for a delusional revenge. My father's eyes were as sharp as daggers as he analyzed Lord Rutherford's every steps. The latter's eyes were the same, except they had an evil intend in them.

For a few seconds, that seemed like eternity to me, nobody made a move. Until Lord Rutherford swiped at my father's left arm out of nowhere. My father blocked the attack at the last second, making the swords clash together briefly. My eyes widened. I hadn't realized how experienced they both were and how expertly they would fight.

Lord Rutherford didn't wait a second more before faking at his opponent's left arm, and aiming at his hip right after. My father retaliated immediately, blocking his blows and swiping at his knees. Lord Rutherford managed to defend himself just in time. My father continued, aiming at Lord Rutherford's right arm this time, only to be blocked once again.

At that moment, I understood that they were clearly at the same level of expertise. The outcome was completely unpredictable right now.

Lord Rutherford let out a taunting chuckle. "Are those old rusty bones loosening up?", he asked, leveling his eyes to the ones of my father.

"Are yours? You're older than me, if I may remind you," my father retorted, and aimed a hard blow at Lord Rutherford's sword, making him tremble slightly at the force, before pressing on it by adding his weight.

Lord Rutherford leapt to the side, spinning around, and instantly swiped harshly at my father's shoulder. But my father ducked, and unexpectedly aimed at Lord Rutherford's hip right after, making him take a step back to escape the sword. My father managed to come up again, only to block another blow coming at his waist right after.

During the following minutes, all I could see was a blur of incredibly fast blows. My father and Lord Rutherford kept dodging, blocking, ducking and spinning around each other. It happened so fluently and I couldn't help but think that they had already sparred together in the past.

When I looked at their movements, I could see a slight anticipation each time, almost as if they expected where the next blow would land. Except it wasn't sparring anymore, it was a fight to death.

Suddenly, Lord Rutherford charged forward, taking my father off guard and crashed his sword against that of my father, immediately leaning to the side and landing an unexpected kick in my father's ribs. I breathed in sharply. That was a dirty trick. My father's eyes narrowed, as he took an unsteady step back. It hadn't missed his notice either, and from the look in his eyes, I could tell that he would perfectly accommodate to Lord Rutherford playing dirty. It almost seemed as if he had expected it.

I squirmed in Fabian's arms, having forgotten the dagger in front of my throat with the scene playing in front of us. Thomas, having also been distracted by the fight, gently plucked the dagger from Fabian's hand as soon as he saw me move, freeing me from his grasp.

"I'm sorry, Lady Anna. I didn't mean to do that to you," Fabian whispered to me with troubled eyes.

"I know, Fabian. It's alright," I reassured him, walking over to Thomas, directly in his arms.

I turned around, my eyes staying glued to the fight and my back towards Thomas, whose arms wrapped around me from behind. "I think your father has a small advantage. Lord Rutherford is getting angrier and his movements a bit sloppier," he murmured in my ear, setting his chin on my shoulder.

I noticed that Lord Rutherford attacks were indeed less sharp and precise than in the beginning, which surely had something to do with the fact that he had seen me being released just a moment before. My father continued to block his blows relentlessly, adding a few attacks on Lord Rutherford too. They had each landed some blows on the other, and although my father's injuries weren't too deep, there was still a bit of blood seeping on his clothes.