"In the book, Vince and Victoria took the route through the Dark Forest in a carriage, with Victor and their father following behind.
When the two carriages got separated, Vince and Victoria got ambushed by bandits and thieves. When the two guards attacked to defend Victoria and Vince, the carriage man took off with the horse and carriage out of fear. Leaving Victoria, Vince and the two guards without a ride.
The bandits were able to disarm the guards and take every piece of valuable item in their clothes. When the bandits saw Victoria, they took advantage of her. Vince bargained with the bandits and told them to leave his sister alone in exchange for his golden brooch. One of the bandits by the name of Ellen, took the brooch and punched Vince in the face, making him unconscious. When Vince woke up, he sees his sister getting raped by one of the men. This enraged Vince, causing him to awaken his powers. Excalibur. With the sword he was given to, by his biological father, he slayed every single one of the bandits.
When he thought that he finally caught victory, he looked over to Victoria and see that she was already dead. She was stabbed in the stomach and it seemed as though she didn't go down with out a fight. She struggled to stay alive while fighting off her abuser.
News spread through out the kingdom about Vince's awakening and how he slayed thirty armed men with his sword. The event was called Victoria's Purge. The death of Victoria became poetic, and instead of respecting her death, the kingdom romanticized it, saying that a woman's death is worth a thousand blades. Setting high examples of love to all men and women in the kingdom. And after that day, many letters of marriage requests were sent to the Everdeen household, for the hand of Vince Vaughn."
*But I have no intention of dying today.*
Victoria balanced herself on her horse as she readied her sword.
*Before I left, I told the stableman to send in a group of knights to chase, after me. When he ran to the training grounds to summon them, I instinctively left!*
Tears of disappointment ran down Victoria's eyes.
*Why did I do that?! I should've waited for backup before I headed here! Now my chances of surviving are low!*
But Victoria snapped herself out of it.
*Shut up Victoria! Your not gonna die, you've fought many opponents before in your past life as Emily, you even made it to the Nationals for Christ's sake!*
*I CAN HANDLE THIS!*
Then Victoria saw a group of men up ahead. It was the bandits!
"Hey boss! Look, another ones coming! " one of the men from the crowd pointed.
Victoria stopped her horse and analyzed the area.
The book was right, but not quite. There were forty plus men. But not all of them were armed. It seemed as though only the more buff guys had the weapons in hand. About thirty of the men were not fully armed, and and only twelve were.
*This is doable. I just have to stall long enough for backup to arrive.*
"Well, well! It's seems as though we've hit jackpot boys! It's a girl! "
A buff looking man exclaimed as he eyed himself on Victoria. He bit his bottom lip as he looked at her up and down. The man looked to be in his forties. He had one silver tooth, black unkempt hair and a scar on his left eye.
Victoria looked behind him and saw Vince, brutally beaten up and swollen.
He's unconscious.
Victoria got off her horse and went near the man.
"Tell me your name Sir. " Victoria said, trying to keep her composure.
Though Victoria was tall, the buff man still towered over her.
"Oho! Is this little birdie looking for some fun? " the man smirked.
"Well, that entirely depends on your name." Victoria enticed.
"The names Rico, why you askin'? "
"My name is Victoria, and I'm looking for one of your men. His name is Ellen. "
All the men in the group looked to their right, all their eyes were focused on a young boy, that looked to be the same age as Victoria. The boy had dirty blonde hair and blood covered hands.
Victoria looked over at Vince again and drew a conclusion.
*So he's the one who beat up Vince.*
"You say your name is Victoria? What's your business with my son? " Rico asked suspiciously.
"I'm here for a duel. Me against your son in a game of sword. "
"Pfft! Hah! Hear that boys?! Little girl here wants to play!"
All the other men started to laugh in unison, except for Ellen, who seemed to be displeased.
"What makes you think a girl like you has a chance of winning against a game of swords with my son? " Rico asked in amusement.
*With these skinny untrained arms? Probably none.*
"The chances are slim, but I didn't come here empty handed. If I win the match, I get that boy on the floor. "
Victoria pointed at Vince, who was still sleeping unconsciously on the dirt ground.
Rico turned to face Victoria. His eyes were now lost of amusement, and he now faced Victoria as an enemy.
"And if my son wins? " Rico asked.
"He can have my hand in marriage." Victoria replied.
Rico, along with the rest of his crew raised their heads in bewilderment. Especially Ellen, who's eyes were widened in shock.
*It may seem reckless to offer my hand in marriage, but this would be a safer route to take. If Ellen does win the match, then Rico wouldn't allow any of his men to touch me. Unless of course he's the one who'll be doing that.*
"Did I hear that right? The Lady Victoria of the Everdeen Household, is willing to bet her hand for my son? "
"Not for your son, but for my brother, who you've just beaten to a pulp. " Victoria pointed at Vince.
Rico smirked at his odds.
"So, do we have a deal? " Victoria said as she extended her hand to Rico.
Rico paused for a moment and looked over at Ellen. Ellen just stared back at Rico with his jaw opened ajar.
"Alright, we got a deal. " Rico reached his hand out to shake Victoria's.
"Ellen, come over here! Show the lady here what you've got." Rico ordered.
Ellen got up and took out his sword. Victoria readied her stance and waited for him to strike.
Since her body is a lot weaker because of the lack of experience and training, Victoria is going rely heavily on speed.
*Observe, maneuver and strike!*
Ellen came towards Victoria at full speed, with his blade upfront. Victoria swerved away from his sword and swung her blade next to him, making his left side injured.
Some of the men in the group gasped, as they witnessed what happened.
"Tch, dumb luck. " Rico commented.
But with Ellen's every swing, Victoria was able to land a hit on all his attacks, she was able to land 37 cuts on his body. But because of the lack of experience in Victoria's body, she was also getting tired.
*If I keep going like this, I'm going to tire myself out. I may be able to land several hits on him, but his attacks are just too strong. I didn't want to give him serious injuries but I'm afraid I have no choice.*
Victoria changed her stance, her sword in front and her eyes fixed on Ellen.
*I've got to immobilize his movements!*
This time, she strikes first, but her stance was lower, focusing on the lower half of the opponents body. When Ellen swung his sword towards her, she ducked and pierced her blade through the top of his knee. This caused Ellen to fall.
"ARGH! "
Victoria regained her posture and was ready to strike the finishing blow.
"WAIT! " Ellen said.
Victoria paused. Her eyes looked down at his. His face was desperate and covered in dirt. His hair was a mess and his clothes were all torn from her cuts.
"Please don't hurt me." Ellen pleaded.
Victoria stared at him, her eyes getting lost. Her guard was down and when she realized it, Ellen made his move and jumped on her.
Ellen pinned her to the ground, completely immobilizing her. If Victoria was still a healthy Emily, she would've easily been able to escape Ellen's grasp. But she put the last of her energy into the final attack, and now that her adrenaline has crashed, she could barely even move.
"Looks like my son wins My Lady. I have to admit, if you didn't fall for his charms, you would've been the winner. "
Rico signaled the men to move Ellen away from Victoria.
As Ellen was moved aside and treated. Victoria felt an overwhelming sense of defeat.
*Am I gonna die like this, just like in the book? Is Vince gonna wake up and see his sister get raped by non other than Rico? Was I a fool to think that I could change my fate?*
Victoria could feel her eyes well up in tears.
*Am I...just gonna die again?*
"Don't start crying now My Lady, you've just agreed to marry my handsome son! You should be leaping for joy right about now. " Rico joked as he reached his hand out to Victoria.
"Come on, get up. The filthy ground is no place for my future daughter in law. "
*What?*
Victoria looked at Rico in awe, since she didn't expect such words to come out of such a man. Risking her life in order to change her fate had paid off.
Victoria raised her hand and accepted Rico's help. As she finally got up, she felt her legs tremble out of exhaustion, but she was still able to stand.
"My men will help you take your brother home. As for the engagement, we will pay visit to your house in a couple of weeks. As you can see, we are not in anyway presentable to your family. " Rico said, his voice much more softer and gentler than before.
"Wait! I'll come as well! " Ellen spoke from behind, his cut clothes were replaced with new ones.
For some unknown reason, Victoria was drawn by his voice.
*Now that I look at him, he looks kinda familiar.*
"Ellen, you're still injured. " Rico hesitated.
"It's okay, I'm fine now." Ellen replied, standing straight and ready to go.
*He does look fine! But how? I'm pretty sure I dug in deep into his knee with my sword. Was it not as deep as I thought? Ugh! I really need to practice.*
As one of Rico's men was about to carry Vince, Victoria stopped him.
"I'll carry my brother."
"But My Lady you're still exhau-"
Before Rico could even finished his sentence, Victoria hoisted Vince onto her back.
"I see that you've still got your strength My Lady." Rico said in admiration of her strength.
"I'll be leaving. " Victoria replied.
As Victoria headed home with Vince on her back, two of Rico's men and Ellen, followed behind to escort her. Not that she needed the escort.