Tristan and Lily stood silently for a moment, gazing intently into each other's eyes. Suddenly, Tristan grabbed Lily's waist and drew her close, kissing her passionately. Although the kiss lasted only a few seconds, it felt like an eternity to them. They were left breathless and eager for more.
After the kiss, Lily asked, "what was that for?" her voice still trembling with excitement. She made an effort to maintain her composure, but it was obvious she was a little embarrassed by the unexpected kiss.
Tristan grinned in response to Lily's reply, then said, "I want to remember your taste, so I always leave a mark on my victi–partners." After taking a step back, Lily moved forward and felt a sudden surge of anger at Tristan's words. She balled her fists, gritted her teeth, and stared fiercely at him. "You most definitely said victim!" she snarled in a low and menacing tone. "Do you believe you can make me your victim?"
Tristan laughed, "oh, I don't need to believe it, I know I can," he said confidently. "But if you're so sure of yourself, why don't we make a little bet? A contest with no limits to the possibilities. The winner takes it all."
Lily pondered over Tristan's suggestion, her eyes squinted with deep thought. She found great pleasure in the excitement of pursuing and overpowering her target. Finally, she agreed, a cheeky smirk appearing on her face. "Alright," she said. "But just remember, I gave you fair warning."
Tristan was thrilled with her response. "Great! Let's begin," he eagerly replied.
*****
As they walked away from the open area, heading towards the trees that led to the river, Lily asked Tristan a question. "What do you want to bet on?" she said, glancing back to see him following closely behind.
Tristan replied, "I'll make you a proposition. If I win, you'll become mine. But if you win, I'll be your servant instead."
Lily was taken aback by Tristan's proposal and stopped in her tracks to face him. She looked him up and down, noticing his strong physique and fearless blue eyes. Despite her surprise, she was intrigued by his confidence and accepted the challenge.
They were standing near a waterfall that flowed down from a cliff, with a large boulder at the bottom. This was the perfect place for their duel. It was isolated enough that they wouldn't be interrupted or distracted during their fight, which would only last a few minutes until one of them was defeated.
Tak!
Lily felt a sharp pain and turned around to check if it was Tristan who threw a small stone at her head. Lily was angry and looked at Tristan with an intense gaze filled with contempt. Tristan, on the other hand, had a smug expression on his face, knowing that he had successfully provoked her.
After regaining her composure, Lily threatened Tristan, "You should consider yourself lucky I didn't throw something harder."
Tristan brushed off her comment and teased her, "Oh, come on, Lily. You know you would have enjoyed it. But let's get to the real challenge, shall we?"
Ignoring his taunt, they both got into their fighting positions, prepared for the battle ahead. Tristan had a sturdy build, shaped from years of fighting and killing, while Lily was agile and nimble, able to move quickly around her opponents despite her smaller size.
They circled each other, anticipating the first move. Suddenly, Lily charged towards Tristan with her fists flying towards his face, but he managed to dodge them with ease and countered with a swift kick to her stomach.
Lily doubled over in pain as the air rushed back into her lungs, causing her to cough violently.
Tristan grinned as he saw Lily's reaction to his attack. "Sorry, I should have warned you," he said sarcastically, "but next time, try to make it more dramatic and let out some blood like in the movies." He kicked her hard, causing her to roll across the ground and struggle to get up. She coughed several more times while trying desperately not to vomit due to how painful it was being kicked by him twice within such a short period.
Tristan was proud of himself for not discriminating against anyone, including hitting a lady if necessary. He watched Lily struggle on the floor nearby and tried his best not to laugh too loudly.
He walked toward Lily slowly with his hands behind his head; his eyes were locked on hers with an intense gaze, daring her to attack again. Lily glared right back at him with murderous intent as she stood and dusted herself off with her arms in front of her face as if bracing herself for another round of combat.
Tristan took note of this and smiled slightly, beckoning Lily to come closer. "Come on, we're not finished yet," he teased. "You can still win!"
Lily reluctantly but confidently made her way toward Tristan. "It would take more than that to defeat me. Do you think you can get to that point?" After getting past the initial shock from the first strike that had knocked the wind out of her, her voice was now filled with confidence.
"Naturally, no." Tristan gave a cocky response.
Lily was compelled to kneel in front of him by a snap of Tristan's fingers, and he then crouched down, grabbed her hair roughly, and brought her face close to his own.
Lily fought valiantly to escape his hold before finally giving up in despair. She gasped for air and looked up at him with eyes full of tears.
With displeasure, Tristan shook his head and clicked his tongue. "I suppose when we kissed you clearly didn't understand what I had done. You ought to have known better than to attempt anything without first learning about the abilities of your opponent." He stated before letting go of Lily's hair so he could seize both of her wrists.
Tristan branded her with his taming mark during their brief kiss before the fight, enabling him to control any woman he desired, even Lily at the moment. Also, it implied that unless she was able to murder him or Tristan was killed by someone else, she would be unable to free herself from his influence.
Lily's heart fell as she realized that despite believing she knew everything there was to know about Tristan, there may have been some factors that she had overlooked. She felt foolish inside and resentful of herself for being so self-assured by not using her ability when a single kiss between them left a mark on her. She did, however, appreciate the brief moment of the kiss itself as well as the taste and sensation of his lips against hers.
When she considered how cunning his attempts were to irritate her enough to cause her to lose concentration in battle, her lips curled into an amused grin.
"Would you like to know what it feels like to be mine?" Tristan grinned back at Lily as he watched her face turn from anger to amusement. He questioned, once more gazing intently into her eyes. "Or would you prefer that I demonstrate?" Tristan smiled and said in a flirtatious manner.