I waited for everyone but they sure are taking their sweet time. After a few more minutes and everybody is starting to pour in. The kids who were having fun with their wooden swords were suddenly shy and scared of all the men coming inside that they all clustered behind my knees, trying to hide themselves. I chuckle at their reaction but they are kids, and kids are scared of the unknown. Even adults are scared of the unknown and change. That's why most people don't want change in their life.
I simply told them to go home for today and we will continue their training tomorrow. They all pouted, which is cute, but I strongly gave them my deadly stare, and they all panicked. They placed their wooden swords in their places and they ran from the arena. I looked after them and they were waving at me, so I waved back. I saw everyone looking at me and I raised an eyebrow.
"Got a nice view or something? Is this all of your recruits, prince?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Yes. That's all of them. I personally handpicked my guards. I don't pick men who I know are not capable of keeping up with training. Especially the ones with Henry." he said, spitting venom at me.
"Well, you are right in that regard. Henry is no easy teacher, that's for sure." I mumbled to myself.
"What was that?" the prince asked. I didn't get his name so I will keep on calling him a feisty prince.
"Nothing," I looked towards his recruits and said to them, "So, can I have all of you sit on the bleachers and watch me kick your prince's ass?" They all stared at me as if I am a psychopath.
"What? You guys don't believe me that I could kick his ass?" I asked them as I pouted at their initial reaction.
The look on their faces was priceless. They all looked constipated for keeping their answers to themselves. Let's stir the pot a bit more, shall we?
"Bummer. Oh, well. Sit on the bleachers because you're going to get a show no matter what. What do you say, feisty prince? Care to dance?" I seductively asked him as I removed the jacket I wore when Gus made me come out of the arena.
I am only wearing a sports bra right now and I could immediately see some of his recruits were looking at my chest. After several months of training and eating healthy, my chest matured as I did. Usually, they get smaller the more you exercise or work out, but mine took the opposite route and became bigger. They are a cup larger than when I arrived at Brundtland.
Claude cleared his throat and the recruits looked away at my chest. They started filing onto the bleachers and when everybody was settled in except for the prince and Claude, I walked up to them.
"Are you down for the challenge or you scared to get beaten by me?" I taunted him even more.
It's a trick to defeat your enemies faster. The angrier they are, the sloppier they'll get because of their tunnel vision. Then again, he shouldn't be drawn to my taunts, especially since he is a foot and a half taller than me. And he has more muscle mass than me. I'm also guessing that he has, to some extent, fast reflexes and agility. His strength is undoubtedly higher than mine, I can guarantee you that. I think my conscience is telling me that I bit more than I could chew.
"Why not? But let's put down the conditions first. If I win, we're using this place to train them. No questions asked." he smugly said.
I scoffed. "I don't think you're in a position to negotiate with me since this is my place, but sure. But if I win, I don't care if you're a prince, but I want you to give me a tour of your country. I'll even throw a bonus and offer to train your recruits." I countered him and he blatantly laughed at my face.
"You? Train my recruits? Sure, that is if you win. Deal?" he said as he held out his hand for me to shake with.
I grabbed his hand and said, "Deal."
I grinned at him and turned my back after he let go of my hand. "So, what are you good at? Hand-to-hand combat? Or do you prefer to fight with a weapon?" I asked him as I walked over to the armory.
I know he was following me when I asked the question and he immediately went to get a double-edged sword. Typical. He's a prince so he should be fluent in the art of swordplay. Well, two could play at that game. He got one sword, I will use two medium-sized ones to combat his huge ass sword. I could also use the same sword as him but I'm craving to use two swords this time.
His eyebrows rose when he saw me wield two swords.
"Interesting choice," he commented on my weapon choice.
"And yours is typical and boring. This will be fun." I countered him and we started our dance.
The first rule of any frontal combat, whether hand-to-hand or with a weapon, is to wait for the opponent to strike first. Observe and find their weakness, and the prince knows this. We were dancing to the tune of the battle. No one is willing to give up their advantage and I was starting to get irritated by this. So far, I am not seeing a weakness in his stance. Oh, well. Might as well wing it and win this fight through sheer grit and determination.
I charged and he immediately went to block me but I kicked him in the gut instead. He was definitely surprised especially since I made him fly off the ground and he landed quite the distance from where he was standing just a while ago. When he landed, I heard everybody go "Oooooh!".
" I love your recruits," I told the prince to taunt him further.
He got up and he is starting to see red. "You're going down, missy. And I am not going to be gentle when I'm done with you."
"Ooh, kinky. I do like it a little rough, don't you?" I grinned naughtily and he started throwing blow after blow using his sword. His blows were heavy as hell and it is taking everything in me just to block them. I did bite more than I could chew. He is a monster when he is provoked. Still, I kept receiving and blocking his hits until he is tired. That's another thing. If you know you're at a disadvantage, do an endurance test instead.
Wait until your opponent gets tired while making sure you don't get tired blocking their blows. I conserved my energy until I finally found the opportunity I needed. He is falling into some weird habit of doing the same pattern of strikes over and over again. I confirmed it when he did the same pattern thrice in a row now.
When he was about to do a right thrust of his sword, that's where I started my counter-attack. I sidestepped and immediately went behind him and kicked him hard until he fell, hard. I kicked the sword away from his hands and immediately thrust the swords down on the ground. One on each side of his head while I sat on his back and stepped on his hands to stop him from using them to get me off of him.
I leaned down and whispered in his ear, "I win, feisty prince. You owe me a tour of Monaco."
I got up and off of his back, I took the swords from the ground, put them in the to clean bin alongside the sword that the prince used, and went to help the prince up. He was reluctant to let me help him get up at first but he took my hand and I helped him get up. He dusted himself and then we heard claps from the bleachers. The prince gave them a deathly glare and they stopped clapping all at the same time. I laughed in his face and simply asked him, "You really hate losing, don't you?"
"Don't add fuel to the fire, missy." he threatened me.
"Or what? I already beat your ass. So, should I be concerned that Henry trained you and your guard? Do you even know what Henry is?" I asked him.
He looked at me up and down before saying, "He's an assassin. Or was an assassin. He did not hide that from me since he was one of the few assassins that my family trusted."
"Henry, you bastard. Why didn't you tell me about serving the royal family of Monaco?" I grunted to nobody in particular but the prince asked me,
"Who are you? And what is your relationship with Henry?" his brows were creased in a funny way.
"I am Guinevere Snow. Henry took me in when my parents were murdered by the Scarlet Witch." I answered and before he could ask me more, I asked him, "Who are you? I know you're the crowned prince of Monaco but who are you? What's your name?"
"Marco Lorenzi. Eldest of Pierre and Mathilda Lorenzi."
"Well, nice meeting you Marco. Don't expect me to call you your highness because I don't give two shits about your title." I held out my hand and he shook them. I turned my back on him and looked towards his recruits and yelled, "I expect each and every one of you here at 8 AM sharp starting tomorrow morning. I will be training you the way Henry would. And if you don't know me, my name is Guinevere Snow. You can all call me June for short."
After I said that, someone raised their hand. I nodded in his direction, permitting him to speak his mind out.
"Are you also an assassin? Claude said we are going to be trained by one so I was wondering if you were one." his voice got smaller and smaller until he was whispering to himself, which I still heard.
I just smiled and answered him, "Yes. I am an assassin. Why do you think I am training you?"
"Well, if you are one, what is your moniker?" he asked innocently.
I do not know why he sounds so innocent when he looks like he can break me in two anytime he wants.
"I was Lady Violet. Does that answer your question? And if that doesn't give you assurance, my mother was The Spider and I was personally trained by the Tin Man, Henry, himself ever since my parents were murdered. I did my first assassination when I was 14 and I gained my reputation as the best in all of the south by the age of 17. Now, unless you are from there, I doubt you heard of me." as I said that, they all shake their heads profusely.
I got confused and then Marco went filled up my confusion with his facts.
"Just because we're from a different country doesn't mean we don't keep up with the assassin world. We hire assassins all the time since we are a small country that could easily be invaded by bigger countries that want to expand their territory. Everybody wants to meet Lady Violet in the flesh back in Monaco. But you said, was. Are you no longer Lady Violet?" the prince asked.
He became very tame after he lost the fight. I shake my head and simply said, "No. I decided it's time to leave her behind for a new name and a new purpose."
I looked back at the others and said, "Tomorrow at 8 AM. Don't be late. If you don't have a place to stay, there are plenty of rooms in the house. I'll ask the maids to prepare them."
"What's your new name and purpose?" Marco asked again.
I could've ignored his question but I decided against it. I turned my head back and answered him, "The Bloodhound. My purpose is to hunt down those who betrayed me and my trust. I will hunt down those that killed my family and broke my heart. I will hunt them down even if that is last thing I do."
And that's the end of the discussion