The Royal Deal

Chapter 90

“Pick it up,” instructed Alexcent.

“What?!” said Amethyst, trying to pick the mighty sword. “Are you loose in the head? You can already see that I am trying and it’s too heavy for me to pick up!”

“Just trust me and pick it up,” he said.

Alexcent had dragged Amethyst from bed early the next morning for the supposed sword practice. She could barely pick it up, much less swing it. And, suspiciously, it seemed Alexcent was having too much fun seeing her struggle. She glared at him. Alexcent walked to her back and brought his hand on either side of her and gripped her hands which were on the sword. He frowned.

“Welcome your new master,” he murmured, as though he was casting a magic spell.

The dark red jewel embedded in the pommel glowed and suddenly the sword in her hands was feather light. Surprised, Amethyst lifted the sword and swung it around, feeling as though the sword was made especially for her.

“How?” she asked him, astonished.

“Magic,” he said and winked.

Amethyst rolled her eyes. She tried to swing and thrust with the sword. She quite liked the feel of it. “I love this sword,” she said, “It is so comfortable.”

“Hm,” he mumbled.

“Since you have used it so long, it must be very strong as well,” she said.

“Yes, it might be,” he acknowledged. “You can have it.”

“What? No,” she said hurriedly, “But it’s your sword, you had it for the longest time. What will you use?”

“It’s just a sword,” he said, “I will have another made for me.”

“It’s alright,” she said, “I had one made for myself. It will arrive soon anyway.”

“That will be no more useful than a toy,” he said.

“How dare you?” she said jokingly, “The weapon seller said he would put in a strong mana stone for me and imbue the steel with magic.”

“Really?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, and I will be mighty with it,” she said.

“But I will love it if you just use this sword instead,” he insisted.

“Well, I could borrow it till mine arrives, if you insist,” she said.

“Just keep it,” he said, “Two swords are always better than one.”

She looked at the sword carefully. The sword would indeed be better if it was handled by the mighty Alec himself, it even had a beautiful jewel! But she could hardly travel with a sword as important as this.

“Shall we get started?” he asked.

His words broke her train of thoughts and she nodded seriously.

“It is important to be able to handle a sword skillfully, but more important than that is to spot the weakness of your enemy,” he said, “So your lesson will focus more on that.”

“Weakness?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said, “Everyone has a weakness. If you spot that then you have the upper hand in the fight. If not, you will be the one who gets hurt.”

“But if I am very skilled in swordsmanship, do I really have to worry about their weakness?” she asked, “I can just focus on doing the most damage or deflecting the blows.”

“Might be,” he said, patiently, “But you can only last so much in a fight. When you tire, you will lose. You might have less physical strength than the other person, but if the other person is burly, they are bound to be slow. That would be their weakness that you can use to your advantage.”

“One could build one’s stamina,” she suggested.

“True,” he said, “But Ash, this isn’t like sparring. When sparring, no one is trying to fatally hurt the other. But in a fight, the other party seeks to harm you. Your stamina and your strength can only protect you so long. You need to be able to spot their weakness and defeat them.”

Amethyst nodded. “So how do we find out the weakness of an opponent?”

“You have to keep a close eye on them,” he said.

“Okay, that’s obvious,” she said, “And then what?”

“Well, that’s it, isn’t it?” he said.

Amethyst tried to figure out whether he was mocking her. “What?” she asked.

“I mean when you look at them,” he said, “it’s clear, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s not,” she exclaimed, “Don’t tell me you look at a person and detect their weakness at just one glance.”

“Well, yes,” he said, as surprised as her.

“It must be a skill that only you have,” she said.

“I think anyone is capable of doing that,” he said, eyebrows furrowed.

“No, Alec,” she said, “It’s not something everyone can do.”

“Then how do people fight?” he asked, confused, “Wait. Is that why people are so weak when they fight me?”

“Why are you asking me?!” exclaimed Amethyst, “I hardly know anything about fighting.”

“I just don’t understand,” he said, genuinely confused.

Amethyst scoffed. “Show off,” she said.

“I thought everyone fought that way…,” said Alexcent mumbling to himself, “Wait, what did you call me?”

“Nothing,” said Amethyst hastily, “So, you see your opponent’s weakness at just a glance?”

“Seems to be,” he said.

Amethyst jutted out her chin and stood defiantly.

“If you are so confident,” she said, “Tell me, what is my weakness?”

Alexcent narrowed his eyes. “Well,” he said, “To put it bluntly, your weakness is this.” He wrapped his arms around her waist, tilted her head up and placed a kiss on her lips. Amethyst’s mouth parted a little and his tongue found hers. He pulled her closer to him and deepened the kiss.

Instantly, Amethyst’s thoughts scattered. She felt weak in her knees. His kisses always undid her. She vaguely heard her sword drop from her hands as she wrapped them around his neck and pulled him closer.

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