A Kingdom of Bloodshed

*¬*Chapter Three*¬*

Crack! Her fist collides with the side of my cheek. The impact from her punch sends me stumbling back a few steps before I catch myself. Ducking to avoid the other punch she's thrown my way, I take a swing of my own, landing two swift hits into her mid section before I dive and roll. Landing on my feet and shooting up so that I'm balanced on the balls of my feet. There's murmurs of approval from the crowd. Tara growls and whirls, gasping a little as the air is returned to her lungs.

"You bitch. You think that just because you won the last two fights, that you'll beat me? Ha! I'm undefeated. I'm the best fighter in this court. You can't beat me, I don't care where you were born."

She talks too much for someone who's overly arrogant about her fighting abilities, she wastes a lot of time talking. Bouncing lightly on my feet, I watch her, seeing the way her body moves, which side she favors more- her right- how she plans to be one step ahead. I watch her.

Tara takes a step towards me, frustrated that I'm just standing there. "Well? Say something you idiot! Or are you mute?" I keep quiet, I won't let her bait me.

"Oh I figured it out, not only are you stupid, but you're mute as well. This should be a piece of cake then." She takes another step towards me, her arms up by her face. Tara's eyes are dark with anger. I'm not sure why she's pissed at me. I simply hit her after she hit me.

Inhale, exhale.

Tara takes a swing, I dodge to the left. She swings again I dodge to the right. Growling, she keeps swinging, it's the same pattern. Left, right, duck. Left, right, duck. Because she's taller than me, she leaves her midsection open alot and doesn't rely on her legs. It's all upper body strength. I can't win there. I have to hit her where she's weaknest, even if it's a cheap shot.

She swings again and her knuckles just graze my cheek. I feel the sting of the hit for a moment. Roaring in frustration, Tara whirls and rushes for the wall of weapons. By the gods help me...

Grabbing a dagger, she whirls again. "Ok, enough games. Now it's really time to play."

She wasn't kidding, She attacks me with a vengeance, it's difficult to keep up. To keep avoiding her hits. If she's swinging with the dagger, she'll hit me with her free fist. Blow after blow I take, stumbling back but I manage to keep my footing.

She gets a hit in on my face. I feel my eye swelling shut almost immediately.

Fuck that hurt. Again and again she swings at me, her brute force is enough to nearly knock me on my ass.

"Oh my god she's beating her. Tara might actually win. I'm shocked the someone from the Dawn court isn't a better fighter."

"Yeah I know me too, I thought she'd be better."

I hear their words, I hear the disappointment. I've never felt this disappointed in myself before, I've never known this kind of shame. I don't like it. My parents would be ashamed of me.

Althea. I hear a voice whispering to me. Soft, gentle, almost like it's trying to coax me along.

Althea. You can do this. Tara swings again while I'm distracted by the voice and her punch sends me flying. I hit the back wall with a loud crack. Blinding pain sears through my spine. The world spins for a second, people blurring together then fading away. I see the vague figure of Tara charging me.

Althea. You have fae blood in you, the spirit of a warrior. Do it. Do it now! Who the hell is that? She's getting closer. I can see something gleaming in her hand.

A dagger. She's gonna hit me with the dagger.

Go warrior blood. You can do this, you can beat them all.