Daeron felt his almost still heart start to race as he heard the words exit his 'guards' mouth, it had been a long time since he'd received the warning from Nissa but he had never forgotten. How could someone forget when they were told a faceless man was after them and would try to kill them. Daeron held his sword tightly as he watched the man in front of him like a hawk, he didn't know how long the man had been following him, days, weeks, months, but he had been waiting all this time for the right moment.
Daeron looked around and he could see why this would be an opportune moment, the bridge was packed with people making it hard to escape and he was separated from his allies. Though there had been moments before when that had been the case making Daeron theorise that perhaps the Faceless man had joined their group when they escaped from Pentos "Why did you take so long to try and kill me?" Daeron asked though he didn't truly expect to be answered.
"A man made many attempts but a man was immune to them all," the Faceless man stated which made Daeron frown.
'He must've tried to poison me on the ship, but because my body is near death and runs cold it must've counteracted it,' Daeron reasoned though he couldn't be sure if this was the truth. However, he was brought out of his thoughts when the Faceless man edged forward with his spear in hand and thrust it, which Daeron parried off to the side avoiding a blow that would've pierced through his leg. However, looking closely at the metal tip of the blade Daeron could see a liquid shining on its surface 'More poison?' He thought to himself as he backed up, he'd need to watch that just in case he was wrong about the poison. While some people had stopped to watch their fight a lot didn't care and continued about their day as if this sort of thing happened all the time.
The spear was thrust forward again and Daeron smacked it off to the side again while stepping forward 'He's picked a poor weapon to fight with,' Daeron thought to himself, in such a crowded space a spear would only be a hindrance but he wasn't going to criticise his opponent for giving him an advantage. He swung his sword up diagonally in an attempt to slash him from hip to shoulder but the faceless man leapt backwards, he went back fast and high, much higher than Daeron thought a normal person could do. As the Faceless man leapt back he changed his grip on the spear and threw it straight at Daeron who was still mid swing 'Shit!' Daeron thought to himself as he saw the spear flying towards him, he had to drop onto the ground to avoid the spear about to impale him.
A realisation washed over Daeron like a bucket of cold water, he wasn't fighting against a warrior, this was one of the best and most trained assassins in the known world and that would be how he fought, not like a warrior but as a man who's sole job was to kill him. Daeron rolled to the side as he avoided multiple knives being thrown at him all of them no doubt having some kind of poison on them, Daeron crawled behind a stand before he pushed himself up and peaked over the top only to see the Faceless man vaulting over the stand kicking Daeron in the chest and sending him through the wall of a shoddily constructed building behind the stand.
Daeron stood up just in time to parry a large dagger aimed directly at his heart. What followed was a flurry of rapid slashes that were barely defended by Daeron, he was at a disadvantage due to the length of his weapon and how confined the shack they were in was. However, from their exchange Daeron was able to discover that the Faceless man wasn't a warrior, while he had talent with a blade he was not on Daeron's level.
Blocking an overhead slash, Daeron parried it off to the side before shoulder barging the Faceless man out of the shack and back to the stand where Daeron followed up with a thrust, the Faceless man avoided this by flipping backwards over the stand which led Daeron sword to be pierced through the wood of the stand.
"Take your fight somewhere else!" The man who had sold Daeron the book complained as if this happened all the time. Daeron ignored him as he went to pull his sword out of the stand but when he did he saw the Faceless man reach for another dagger.
Daeron dodged another dagger as the Faceless Man threw it towards him, feeling the wind cut through the air inches away from his body. He quickly stepped back again while pulling his sword out of the stand, on the defensive, trying to defend himself against the Faceless Man's attacks. The Faceless man then stepped backwards into the crowd and disappeared from Daeron's vision 'That isn't good,' he thought to himself as his grip on his sword tightened.
Daeron stepped forward and he looked around rapidly as he tried to find where the Faceless man had disappeared to but the bridge was busy, and so now he was forced to fight on defensive as he had no idea where the Faceless man could strike next. Daeron felt his paranoia spike as he looked around quickly, his eye caught every glint of light that reflected the afternoon sun and yet he couldn't find him.
Daeron, still holding his Valyrian steel sword in a defensive stance, slowly started to consider that perhaps the Faceless man was gone and would try and attack him later but a gut feeling told him that this wasn't the case. Daeron quickly looked around and saw that the Faceless Man had stepped from behind the crowd and was now trying to sneak up and attack. Daeron quickly turned, trying to get his sword up in time to defend himself. But before he could, he felt the dagger dig into his back, cutting deep into his skin. The Faceless Man withdrew the dagger, his work quickly done. Daeron felt the blood seep through his shirt, and he cursed before spinning on his heel and swinging his sword trying to cut the man in half but said man had already moved back into the crowd.
Sweat started to pour off of Daeron's brow as he looked around even more desperately. Daeron knew how close he'd come to death just a moment ago, had he not noticed the Faceless man behind him and moved slightly the dagger in his back would've undoubtedly been fatal. 'This assassin is a smart one...' Daeron thought to himself as his eyes rapidly moved around. The Faceless man in such a short time realised their disadvantage in a straight fight and immediately turned the tide of their fight in his favour by using the crowd to his advantage.
Daeron felt the blood from his wound start to flow down his back 'I need to force him out into the open.' Daeron thought as he started to limp back across the bridge to the western district, once he got off the bridge and out of this packed area the Faceless man would lose his advantage and be forced to fight Daeron in a straight fight.
Daeron kept a lookout as he walked slowly through the crowd, he considered trying to jump over the edge of the bridge into the water but buildings covered both sides of the bridge and he couldn't find any gaps he could slip through if he theorised that if he tried to get through one of the buildings the Faceless man would take advantage and attack.
Daeron walked slowly as he tried to look for any suspicious behaviour but he knew it was in vain, the Faceless men were perfect assassins they had no identity and would essentially become whoever's face they wore, at least that's what he read.
Daeron decided he couldn't do anything like this so he started running as fast as he could with his injuries, he pushed past the people in the crowd as he made his way across the bridge. People shouted and even pushed back at Daeron as he ran but the young Targaryen was only focused on one thing and that was to get off the bridge.
*Whoosh*
Daeron ducked barely avoiding the dagger that was thrown from behind him, he immediately turned around and saw the Faceless man. Daeron smirked, he knew that once he started running the assassin would be forced to attack him and if he was able to avoid the attack he'd have the advantage as long as he didn't let him slip back into the crowd.
Daeron rushed towards the Faceless man who slipped another dagger into his hand and lowered his stance, Daeron swiped his sword aiming for the man's midsection though the Faceless man rolled underneath the strike while slashing at his leg. Daeron stifled a groan before pivoting on his feet and spinning around launching into an overhead swing that managed to cut the Faceless man's back as he got up from the roll.
The Faceless man kicked backwards which Daeron sidestepped and then kicked out as his other leg sent him to the floor. However, the Faceless man fell into a roll before quickly crawling behind another market stand, by the time Daeron got there he was gone, he immediately went on guard as he looked around readying himself for any attack that might come. At this point the people on the bridge were starting to realise this was more than just a disagreement or a drunken fight and were starting to panic and leave, some even tried to call guards but the Long Bridge was a rather lawless place.
Daeron smirked as he held his sword in his hand, as the people ran the crowd started to thin and eventually the Faceless man would have no choice but to reveal himself. Daeron kept a sharp eye out as people ran past him, bumping into him while they tried to escape from where the fight was taking place.
However, Daeron had made a fatal mistake and he realised this when a dagger was buried in his chest by a young harmless-looking woman. He had been so focused on looking out for the guard that he had been travelling with that he neglected to remember that he was dealing with a Faceless man, a person capable of changing their face. Daeron gripped the Dagger before it could be pushed any further into his chest but he quickly felt blood filling his mouth, he growled before gripping the Faceless man's arm and smashing his head into her nose which sent her stumbling back.
He ripped the dagger out of his chest before throwing it at the Faceless man who tried to pluck it out of the air before it reached her. While she may have gotten the drop on him he had finally drawn her out and now he would end her. With the strength he had remaining he launched himself towards the faceless man with his sword thrust in front of him, the faceless man sidestepped the thrust but Daeron was prepared for that and put his left foot forward and pivoted on his feet spinning around and turning while his blade swung with him. Unable to avoid the blow the faceless man tried to parry it with the dagger but she wasn't able to fully deflect it so the Valyrian steel blade ripped through her defences and cut a line through her belly almost deep enough to disembowel her.
However, Daeron wasn't done and he lifted his injured leg and smashed it into the Faceless man's injured stomach sending her further back. The Faceless man drew several small throwing knives from inside her clothing and threw them all at the same time at Daeron while he charged at her. Daeron deflected most of them but one of the knives made its way into his shoulder, though he didn't let that stop him as he swung at the Faceless man aiming to cut her from shoulder to hip. The Faceless man ducked in time before trying to run away and disappear back into the crowd 'Not this time!' Daeron thought as he lunged at her, tackling her through the wooden walls of the building behind her and into what looked like a tavern.
Daeron groaned as he felt his wounds throb in pain as they crashed through a table and into the ground. The whole inn stood up as they saw Daeron and The Faceless Man come through, some started fights of their own while others tried to make themselves scarce. The Faceless man punched Daeron in the face before kneeling him in the stomach, this was enough to weaken his grip and Daeron was promptly thrown off him, the Faceless man then reached for another dagger but soon realised he had none left so he looked around for one he could use. However, before he could Daeron grabbed him by the foot and yanked him off balance sending him crashing to the floor, he then pushed himself up before trying to locate his sword.
He couldn't find it as the commotion in the tavern had started to intensify, Daeron looked at the Faceless man started to get up and ran over kicking her in the stomach "What do you think you're doing!" A man yelled at him in Valyrian as he grabbed Daeron by the shoulder and punched him in the face sending him tumbling back a bit. Daeron had no clue what the man's problem was but it didn't take long for him to figure it out 'He disguised himself as a pretty young girl, no wonder they're attacking me.' He finally figured it out.
Daeron avoided another punch before sending back one of his own and easily knocking the man out, it was clear due to his soft body and wrinkles that he wasn't much of a fighter. When Daeron turned back around he saw he'd lost track of the Faceless man and started to look around in a panic 'There!' He thought to himself as he saw the Faceless man holding her stomach while walking towards her dagger that was on the ground. Daeron rushed towards her pushing the patrons of the tavern out of the way, the Faceless man was about to reach it before Daeron tackled her once more into a table and onto the floor, she slammed her fist into his side multiple times though Daeron didn't budge and instead caught it before shifting her onto her stomach, he then slammed his elbow down on to her outstretched arm and an audible snap could be heard throughout the entire tavern.
The Faceless man didn't scream or even wince instead she just shifted herself using her newly broken arm as leverage and pushed Daeron off of her. Daeron didn't give up and grabbed a chair before smashing it over her back as she tried to get up, though it was to little effect, instead, she finished getting up before grabbing a mug from the table and hitting Daeron in the face with it.
Daeron felt his anger start to rise and when she tried to hit him again he caught her wrist and pulled her close while slamming his knee into her stomach. He then grabbed her by the throat and slammed her down on the floor, Daeron could see her dagger was just a few feet in front of them so he grabbed it and slammed it down into her unbroken arm. It pierced her arm and pinned her down to the wood, Daeron then started to punch her again and again.
*Thud*
*Thud*
*Thud*
*Thud*
Daeron rained down blow after blow turning her face into a bloody mess of broken bone and flesh, her face quickly became unrecognisable and after another dozen punches she stopped moving and went still though Daeron didn't stop and he continued smashing his fist into her face until his fists started to hit the wood below. The patrons watched in pure horror at how Daeron pummelled that poor girl to death with his bare fists, they gave him a wide birth as he stood up and collected his sword, some even shook with fear as he got within a few feet of them but Daeron didn't care he had won and that was all that mattered.
"I guess he is a Faceless man now," Daeron said with amusement in his voice before he started laughing, much to the patron's continual horror.
(AN: So there's the fight, hope you liked it, I'm trying to buff the faceless men a bit. Btw anyone who complains about Daeron struggling consider the fact that he's never fought an assassin of the calibre of a faceless man before and his talents lie solely in swordplay, in a straight up sword fight Daeron would win no question, but this wasn't a straight up sword fight. Also I know Daeron was pretty badly injured, there's a reason why he was still fighting pretty effectively despite that. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
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