(8 years later)
...
Layah the first daughter of the emperor, awoke from her sleep to the thundering voice of her maid, Lydia. She rubbed her eyes and turned her head to see Lydia walking toward her with a displeased expression on her face.
"Your highness, it has clocked 12 already. You need to get out of bed and stop sleeping. Your father will kill you if you come late to the welcoming party of your future husband." She explained with her fingers curved, and Layah scoffed at the word, husband.
She honestly didn't agree to the marriage, but her father, whose taste for power was unending, disagreed and forced her to agree to it. The emperor never liked her because she was the daughter of his first wife, whom he hated. He only has love for Elva, who was the daughter of his concubine. Another problem in her life.
She sighed and got down from the bed, then made her way into the bathroom to see that Lydia already had the tub filled with hot water and petals in it, which gave it a fine fragrance.
She unhurriedly took her clothes off and went to the tub, then relaxed inside of it and rested her head back, a deep breath exiting her nose as she closed her eyes.
Two young maids sent by Lydia walked into the room and took their seats at the edge of the tub, then, carefully and gently, they began to wash her body.
The bath was finally over after about twenty minutes, and currently, Layah was clad in black pants and a shirt, which she wears for training. It makes her look like a man, and the soldiers often mistake her for a fine man during training.
"Your highness, can't you skip training today? Your father will be heavily angry if he discovers you went for training on such an important day." Lydia warned, but Layah shrugged, showing she didn't care.
"It's none of my business. I didn't agree to this marriage, plus there are still five hours before the banquet begins, so let me make something out of it." She said and ambled towards her sword collection, grabbing a fine one with its head golden in color. A smile ensued on her face, and she buckled it around her slender waist, then made her way out of the room, ignoring Lydia, who was staring at her with a tired expression on her face. "Such a stubborn girl." She remarked, but Layah ignored her and made her way out of the room and down the hallway.
She strolled towards the large yard where the soldiers train, and the moment she stepped in, they all stopped their training and turned to face her, then took a deep bow in respect. "Your highness!"
She nodded at them in response and walked to stand in front of all of them, a stern expression evident on her face.
"You, Alucard! It's your turn!" She pointed at a young man with short black hair and gray eyes within the crowd of soldiers, and the young man bit his lower lip. He sighed in his heart and slowly walked out of the crowd to stand in front of her. "Your highness, can you pick-"
"Shut up and get ready." She glared at him, and Alucard smiled awkwardly. He drew his sword, then took a battle stance, ready to battle with her.
Layah drew her sword and, with a smirk evident on her face, she rushed towards Alucard and their swords clashed, making a clunking sound. Layah smirked at him, and before he knew it, she stomped mercilessly on his feet, causing Alucard to hiss in pain. He raised his head and his eyes widened on seeing her foot flying towards his face.
He quickly covered his head with his arms, but that didn't stop Layah from sending a violent kick to his head, which had Alucard stagger back and fall to the floor.
Layah landed on the ground and flung her sword, brutality sparkling in her blue eyes. "You better fight Alucard! I won't spare you," she warned, and knowing she wasn't joking, Alucard quickly leaped to his feet and grabbed his sword, this time with a grim expression on his face.
He won't let a woman beat him. He was only going easy on her because she was the princess and a girl at that, but since she wants it like this, then fine. There is no way he will allow her to humiliate him. "Humph!"
He scoffed and instantly launched towards her, stomping his feet on the ground and jumping into midair to defeat her with one strike.
Layah smirked in disdain at this and, with not that much effort, she swung her sword and struck it into the ground, then, with a spin, she sent a kick to Alucard before he could land on the floor, kicking him brutally in the stomach.
This sent Alucard back, causing him to fall on the floor with his hand clutching his belly. He spits blood from his mouth, but Layah grabbed the sword she had struck into the ground and dashed towards him.
"Alucard, get up!" one of his fellow soldiers yelled his name, as they knew Layah to be a heartless person who always stands by her words.
Fear flashed in Alucard's eyes, and he quickly leapt to his feet. But even though he narrowly escaped her sword, he still ended up getting a slash on his arm, which tore off the arm of his clothing.
Layah turned around to face him, and she slightly shook her head in mockery. "You're too weak, Alucard. You couldn't even battle against me, a tiny woman." She arched her brow at him, and Alucard's jaw clenched in anger. "Sure, I will. Your highness." He bowed in respect and clutched his wound with his hand, then returned back to his position.
"Anyone want to fight me?" She asked, and one of them, who seemed to not be happy about what she said and did to Alucard, stepped forward with a displeased look on his face.
"I will fight you, your highness. However, I want us to make a bet. Are you up for it?" He smirked, and Layah arched her brow at him.
"Sure, I am up for it. What is the bet?"