Robert and his comrades were already at the courtyard. He was still wearing a gloomy face but nobody dared to approach him. They were all waiting for Bruce but for some reason, he was nowhere to be found.
Gosh! Did he bring them here just to sit?! Why the hell isn't he hear?! What exactly is going on?!! Why's everyone acting strange??
"Hello guys." A familiar and soft voice said to them, relaxing their already tensed nerves.
They looked up to see who it was and a sigh escaped their lips which was mistook by Elen.
"Y'all don't want me here?" She asked and they shook their heads whick made her smile in relief.
"I'd like to spar with Robert." She announced and everyone shifted their gaze from Elen to Robert. If only Bruce was here. If only!
Everyone looked at Robert with an expectant gaze but he simply sat there with a hood covering part of his face.
"Hmmm. Is he alright today?" She asked.
Well, obviously. Couldn't she see how disheveled he looked that moment? And thus, Amadeus gave her a reply.
"He's sick so you can spar with me." He said said and she smiled.
'Oh, so you took this to your advantage right? Amadeus really is an asshole!' They commented in their heads.
"Okay. I'd love to." She said and made her way to the courtyard, waiting for him.
She saw some guards sparring and decided to spar with them. She had already prepared her sword but someone's sword blocked hers.
'Great! What's with obstructing me all of the time. Do people in this kingdom really find that as a hobby?' She thought to herself.
She was about to open her mouth to speak but the man simply removed his hood, silencing her.
'I should have known. Only him would do that.' She said mentally.
"Nice to see you again, my lady." Bruce said and she smiled.
"My pleasure."
"You were planning on sparring right?" He asked and she nodded.
"I was actually planning on sparring with Robert but he's ill, so Amadeus' the one to spar with me." She said and the man made a smirk.
'Ill huh? That guy....I thought we spoke about this.'
"Okay then. Can I ask you to spar with me?" He asked and she was contemplating for a bit.
"Amadeus would be totally fine with it." He added and Elen hesitantly nodded.
The truth was, sparring with Bruce was like fighting a monster. His physique was much more huge than Roberts' and she didn't know if she could even last a minute! Well, for someone like her, she wouldn't last a minute so she only prayed to the gods to give her all of the strength she had, hidden in her.
Without wasting another second, Elen launched her attack, clashing her sword with his.
'Wow! That asshole's wife really is a warrior. For a moment, I was caught of guard. That man got married to a devil like him.' Bruce said mentally, but it didn't make him lose focus. He still was aware of what was happening.
Elen found his fighting just like Amir. The slight difference was that, he didn't lose focus, or more like he had control over his focus. She was looking for a weak spot but she found none, it was as if he had control over his senses, his mind reacted faster than his body and Elen found it very amusing.
She was looking for an opening, even just a little bit but she found none. She couldn't find anything she could use to her advantage. He was just to fast! Just to furious! He was fast and furious.
Elen had memorized his movements but it didn't even help one bit! It was making her lose her focus but she needed to win this. She couldn't lose. This fight was important and she could use it in the future.
Bruce was still wearing a smirk on his lips. He could see she was getting tired but she was still keeping herself from falling. She was still standing her ground. This battle was fierce and anyone who would look at it that moment, would mistake it for a real battle. He could have easily gone soft on her but he knew she needed it. With just one glance, with that look in her eyes. He knew she was determined not to lose this duel which made him wonder 'Why?'. Why does she need it this much? Is she perhaps using this to build herself?
Elen could see he was lost in thoughts, despite that fact. He didn't seem to lose focus, making Elen wonder. Who the hell was this man?! Is he really a human?! How could he still be in control of his actions when he's deeply thinking?! I want to learn to do that too!!
It was getting fiercer, no one was willing to drop their sword. It was as if their life depended on it. Bruce wasn't even unleashing his full strength and she still couldn't keep up with him. It would have been better off sparring with Robert. Gosh! This was just too much for her to handle!
Thankfully, Elen found an opening where she could bring him down but even at that, she didn't know if it'll work. It's just a speculation.
She wanted to try what she had done with Robert the last time, in the hopes it would work on him too but her hopes were shattered when he reacted before her.
She was planning on going behind him to lunge her attack but he was too fast! Just too fast that it felt like she was dreaming. Before she could get behind him, it seemed he used that opportunity to attack and he grabbed at her, pointing his sword on her neck.
At that moment, Elen gave up. There really was no use fighting him. He was just too fast and his strength was unbeatable. Fighting him is just like draining all the energy in her body because she'll eventually lose and she did....
She wanted to try one more time, maybe this time she could use her wits, so she pretended dropping her sword. He let go off her and immediately, she planned to attack him but he blocked the attack again. God knows how many of her attacks he had blocked! It was as if he knew every of her single moves.
She violently dropped her sword in frustration and took a deep breathe before letting it out. 'That was a power draining fight!'. She said mentally.
"You're giving up already?" He asked and Elen almost rolled her eyes. What?! She shouldn't give up?! Did you realize how fierce and fast you were out there?! I could not even manage to successfully lunge an attack on you! She noted mentally.
"Yes I guess I'm worn out and besides, you're not someone that could easily lose. Even after sparring for more than an hour, I can see you're still in good shape." She said, still slightly frustrated that she was just useless in sparring.
Bruce glanced at her and that was when he realized she was a mess. His thrill died down and his face turned agitated. 'Thank goodness Alexander isn't here! Else I'd be dead by now.'
He returned his gaze towards her and an apologetic look was on his face. "I'm sorry for not behaving like a gentleman, my lady."
"No worries because there's no gentleman in the battlefield, you have to fight with all your might. I was the one who's not strong enough." She said and he smiled.
"You're right. There's no gentleman in the battlefield but I'm still guilty for wearing you out. Had Alexa-" He paused for a moment. 'I can't believe I'm going to call that asshole 'his highness.' This is simply unacceptable.' He commented in his head.
".....had his highness being here. I'd be dead by now." He teased and Elen smiled.
"It's alright. I'll go to my chambers." She said and with that she disappeared from their sights.
Bruce ordered a guard to bring him a towel. He looked at the empty space where they had both fought and a sigh escaped his lips. 'She really knows how to fight but she lacked many skills. She needs to improve her agility and make her attacks more powerful in order for it to be effective.' He commented in his head.
"My lord." The guard he had ordered to bring him a towel said and without taking a glance at him, he grabbed it and wiped the sweat on his face and neck.
After that step was done, he went to the courtyard where the men he had instructed to wait for him were all glaring daggers at him. Most especially Amadeus.
'Haha. Not my fault though, I wanted to confirm something important.'
"You kept us waiting for three good hours! Couldn't you just tell us you won't be coming anytime soon?!" Amadeus said and he just smiled.
"I changed my mind and I wanted to spar with the princess so..." He said and they all glared at him except for Robert.
'What should I do with you?! You're so annoying! Why the hell are you even here?!' Amadeus commented in his head.
"Robert...." He called and he immediately snapped his head towards him with an arched brow.
"I thought we talked about th -"
"Just say whatever it is you have to say. I've been sitting here for more than three hours. Don't flare me up." He calmly said and everyone almost choked except for Bruce. Robert was the only one brave enough to talk to this man in that manner.
"Fine. I'll just ignore what you said and consider it as my apology." Bruce said.
"Okay everyone, time to get serious." Bruce said and everyone straightened their backs, except for Robert who lazily sat up. They all found his expression a bit troubling. It was unusual for Robert to stay this quiet and whatever it is that made him this way, they wanted it to stop because as at that moment, he had turned cold and you couldn't figure out his mood. Oh gods! We want our old Robert back! We don't mind his silly behavior anymore, just bring back the old Robert.' They commented in their heads.
Bruce let a deep sigh and began to speak. "I'm sure you know of Beowulf's plan?" He asked and they nodded. "I found out he's trying to gather more people on his side to help him bring down Alexander and take the throne." He calmly said and for a fleeting moment, his aura blazed before he spoke again.
"But that's not the problem here. The real problem lies with Alexander." He said and their eyes widened in shock. Even Robert who was seemingly not interested suddenly arched a brow with curiousity flashing across his blue eyes.
....