Don't You Come Crying When They're Rippin' Out Your Throats (Sequel to AsHollow)

23 - I Swear I Feel You Near Me, But Your Scent Will Induce

We had been fighting for what felt like at least twenty minutes now, and I was starting to get tired, feeling beads of sweat dripping down my face as I tried to keep my eyes focused on her so she wouldn’t get the better of me – but it was getting hard now to do so. 

Rose however didn’t seem in the least bit tired, other than her breathing becoming a little faster, everything seemed fine. She smirked at me as she stepped back, putting her sword at the side.

“Do you want to take a moment to catch your breath before you die, Princey?” she purred, taunting me.

“Oh fuck off darling,” I said, surprised that my voice didn’t come out a little more cracked and tired than I thought it might.

She chuckled, folding her arms and looking towards The Cardinal, as though waiting for confirmation to continue with what she was doing, or waiting for him to do something to me himself - I wasn't too sure.

We had both gotten our fair share of cuts when we'd been jabbing at each other, sparring in the room to try and trip the other up. Along with the sweat dripping down my face, I could feel trails of blood mixing in with it from where her blade had caught my cheek, the blood on my hands and arms too smeared up and down from where I'd wiped and scratched it, trying to get it off so they wouldn't see how much I was bleeding, or the many different cuts littering me. I'd given Rose a deep one across her cheek, which made her angry half way through and she'd then proceeded to stab my side, a section I could feel my shirt sticking to a lot. She wasn't as bad as I was, but I couldn't work out why they wouldn't just kill me already... This way I could get out without them, find my friends and then storm this place with the palace guards - why were they leaving it all to chance again?

"Why the hell won't you just kill me already?!" I said, standing up straighter and snarling in The Cardinal's direction, wanting him to answer my thoughts.

"Why, my dear boy, that wouldn't be much fun... After all, you have cheated death numerous times, it wouldn't be fair. You were supposed to die all those years ago with your filthy, scum parents and then I would have taken the throne and ruled over this city with no bother. But no, you just had to live, had to make everything harder and take more time, more effort into planning what was going to happen to you - and that wasn't very nice of you to do so.

"Then you somehow managed to avoid the killing from your birthday ten years later, which really did put a spanner in the works - until you were declared missing by all the guards who were searching for you, cue my grand entrance as the kind leader who took a city burdened by the loss of their rulers under his wing. You even managed to cheat death again when we tried to cut off your head and your ever so lovely friends came into the picture and caused a lot of fighting and blood to be spilled... So, when you think about it really, everyone that's died at the hands of my men and I is really your fault for not dying the first time round."

I couldn't help but let out a loud laugh, "You're trying to pin you being a fucking psychopath on me?!"

"I am no such thing, Laurence, and even if I was you and everyone you've ever loved have made me this way," the smile that was on his face suddenly dropped and he stood up.

He walked down the couple of steps and took a sword from the side, swinging it around a little. I held mine tighter, ready for anything he was about to do to me, ready to defend myself once again for another attack.

I was watching him closely as he paced around, circling me. I kept my distance from him, ready to strike should he even come near but he didn't seem too bothered, a smirk suddenly dancing over his features. I opened my mouth for a witty comment when something came down on my head and I crumbled to the ground, pain striking through my skull.