The Charm of Deception- Chapter Four, Part Two

The blade whizzed so close to my head that I could feel the breeze off it. I leapt out of its reach and swung my sword around, as quickly as I could, toward his exposed side. Aldik blocked my blow easily, and threw me backward. I regained my balance as he attacked with an overhanded blow, and locked my arms over my head.

I stepped forward, my arms trembling under the force of his blade bearing down on me, and slid my toes behind his ankle. A moment later I shoved on our blades as hard as I could, throwing my shoulders toward him. Aldik slid his arm under mine a moment before I jumped forward, and swiftly jerked his forearm up, throwing our blades from between us. Causing me to crash into his hard chest, my shoulder and face first.

He grabbed the shoulder of the tunic I was wearing over my dress, and yanked me away from him, throwing me toward the edge of the clearing. I stumbled backward several steps, before falling flat on my back. The tall, un-clipped grass of the clearing prickled my cheeks. I couldn't be bothered to move.

"Get up." Aldik's gruff voice.

I whimpered and lifted my throbbing head. "No."

"Up!" Aldik dug the tip of his boot into my side. "No time for snoozing on the battlefield."

"No time for fighting when I have a hangover." I murmured under my breath as I rolled onto my side, then pushed myself to my feet. I tightened my grip on the training sword, and turned toward Aldik.

"I heard that."

I frowned.

"It's not my fault that you drank more than your share."

"Well..." I wasn't quite sure how to answer that. I didn't have to. All that I needed to do was block, before his sword whacked me in the head.

Aldik was usually helpful like that. He didn't make you answer, when you didn't know how-- rather, he simply swung a sword at your head.

I grunted as I pushed against the blades, straining to gain enough leverage to push him backward, blood visciously pounding against my temples. I finally gained enough space, and twisted to the side, quickly. I brought my sword around on his side once more. He, again, blocked the blow easily, as he turned toward me. "Not bad."

He wasn't breathing half as heavily as I was. I jerked my sword away, and made a pass at his right shoulder. He blocked. A second blow, as quickly as I could, at his knee. A third blow at his left shoulder quickly followed. He blocked each. "Better."

He grabbed my right forearm, holding my blade away from his body with a single hand on the hilt of his sword, and pulled me closer to him. I tried to pull myself free; but his grip was like iron-- unwavering and impossible to break, even though the sweat on my forearm should've made for an easy escape. I glared up at him as he smirked. "But still not good enough."

He gave me another push. I stumbled backward once more, tripping over his foot, falling for the very same trick that he'd just taught me. I glared as I fell onto my back, and found the tip of his wooden sword pressed against my neck. "You'd be dead, My Lady."

I felt my face get hot, and I narrowed my eyes further. He removed his sword from my neck, and smirked at me again. "Oh, that's simply terrifying."

I crossed my arms, throwing my sword down by my side. He lifted an eyebrow.

"I don't know why you insist on glaring at me like that. It scares me so much." He said sarcastically. "Get up."

I hesitated. I didn't want to get up. I was tired, and I was sore, and my head hurt-- and now my arm did too.

"Up!" He nudged me with his toe again, before walking back out onto the clearing. "You boys, too. Get up."

"We don't feel--"

"I don't care." He cut Char off, but added. "My Prince."

Char glared. He looked scarier than I did, I knew-- and not even he scared Aldik. I doubted that anything could. Aldik was never afraid.

"Up!" Aldik insisted, kicking Char's legs, considerably harder than he kicked me. "And jump in, whenever you men feel like the little girl could use some back up."

I pushed myself to my feet. I'm not little.

"Ready?"

I nodded, once. My chest was still heaving, but not burning for air, as before; my head was starting to calm. I drew the back of my arm across my face, clearing the sweat from my eyes, as he advanced.

I blocked his blade as it came down over my head, again as it came toward my side. He pulled his sword away, before swiftly swinging it at my legs. I jumped, letting it pass beneath my legs. As I landed, I leapt to the side, trying to swing my blade around at his legs. My legs got bound in the skirts tucked inside the pair of trousers I was wearing, and I stumbled, nearly falling on my face. Aldik's large hand, in the center of my back, helped me along.

I threw my arms out in front of me, trying to save my face as the ground rushed toward it, taking care not to land on my sparring sword. I slid as I struck the grassy slope, my cheek stinging with the impact. I rolled on to my back as quickly as I could, my fingers finding my sword without the help of my eyes. I lifted the sword over body, protecting myself against the attack I figured was coming.

It didn't come.

As I looked up, I saw Aldik with his back to me, fighting Char. He forced Char backward, nearly out of the clearing, and turned towards Wyl, who was advancing on his right side. Their blades collided once-twice- three times, before Wyl was thrown backward.

I ran into the fight as Aldik turned his attention back on Char. Aldik blocked Char's blade, and held it over his head with his blade, as he turned to look at me. He leapt backward, still holding Char's blade, dodging mine as I thrust it toward his middle. He grabbed a fistful of my tunic and gave me a shove.

As I gathered myself up for, what seemed, the hundreth time that day, I saw Aldik clean Char's legs out from under him. Wyl was advancing again. Aldik caught his blade, and gave the swords a fierce shove, making Wyl lose his balance. Before he could fall, or regain his balance, Aldik caught a fistful of his tunic and swung him in a partial circle, letting the momentum carry him backward-- into me.

I grunted as Wyl's bulk fell on top of me, sending us both to the ground far more quickly than I'd gone down before. Aldik didn't play nicely with the boys. Wyl gasped, putting his hand on his chest, seeming to have trouble catching his breath.

"Get off me!" I snarled, digging my elbow into his back, as I did my best to squirm from beneath him.

He rolled to the side, and began to push himself to his feet. I jumped up before he could, and threw myself at Aldik as quickly as I could; faster than I should've been able to. Wyl was still gathering himself up, as I was bringing my sword down over Aldik's turned back. He whirled around.

I heard the dull thud of a wooden sword striking soft flesh, before I saw his blade coming toward my middle. My side erupted in agony, as the momentum behind his sword carried me in a partial circle, before throwing me to the ground and stealing every speck of air in me. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move.

I held my side clumsily, my sword long forgotten, and stuggled for a breath. A single breath would satisfy. Instead, it seemed that the harder I tried to draw a breath, the more air leaked from me in a silent groan.

"You've killed her."

I writhed on the ground, as gentle hands pulled me onto my back. Aldik's face bent over me. "Rana? Rana, say something for me, dearest."

"Air." I could barely hear myself hiss the word out. My chest burned so very badly.

"Yes, sweetheart, you need air. So you should breathe....Now."

"I...can't." I couldn't. My chest was too tight; trying too hard to wring my body of oxygen.

Aldik put his hand on my side. A fresh wave of pain shot through my body like a hot iron. I gasped. Suddenly, free of its spell, my chest began heaving as I panted for air. "Don't touch it!" I yelped, clawing at his hand, before a fit of coughing struck me.

I pressed the palm of my hand against my side, hard, as I tried to still myself. Each time I coughed, it send a spasm of pain up my right side. I was getting light headed. I rolled on to my left side and closed my eyes tightly, trying to block the pain out.

Slowly, I managed to make myself stop hacking, and regained my breath. I carefully opened an eye, to peer out at the world. I still had a sharp ache in my side, which throbbed each time my blood pulsed; But it didn't feel like I was dying any more. Maybe I'm already dead.

No. I wasn't. Wyl, and Char, and Aldik were all with me, still-- Aldik on his knees, leaning over me; the princes standing behind him, carefully looking over his shoulders. Aldik carefully pulled me onto my back once more. "Better?"

I nodded slowly.

"Let me see."

I shook my head weakly.

"Yes."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I'm...wearing... a dress under...under this." I swallowed hard, and blindly groped for the hem of my tunic with my free hand. I tugged on it as my fingers found it, pulling it up so that Aldik could see the dress underneath.

He cursed. "Well..."

"Someone help me up." I was disgusted at how weak my voice sounded.

All three of them helped me. Someone grabbed my shoulders, someone else gently pulled on my free-arm, a third set of hands slid under my back and gently lifted. I gasped as my side stretched, a moment before I landed on my feet. I bit off a whimper, and nodded, jaw clenched. "Thank you."

"Come on." Aldik's hand was on my shoulder, gently massaging. "Let's go get you looked at."

"No." I shook my head, carefully twisting away from him. "I'm fine."

"You're not." Aldik argued. "I whacked you a good one. I know I did, because I didn't realize it was you."

I frowned at him. I knew he always went easy on me, compared to how he sparred with the boys. I always complained about it. About him not trying, like he did with Char and Wyl. Moments like these, when he accidentally hit me as hard as he hit the boys, made me glad that he usually didn't whack me so hard; I still wouldn't admit it. "I'm just fine."

"You're not--"

"I am."

He frowned. "Are you sure?"

I nodded, still pressing my hand into my side. "I am."

He hesitated. I took his silence as consent, and stiffly walked to the edge of the clearing, where Wyl and Char's outer tunics and my gold purse sat, and sat down. "But I think I want to just sit here for a bit."