Dawning Skye

182 Warrior Princess(Part Two)

“Let’s kick it up a bit!” Shasta yelled as her hits slowly began to overwhelm Skye.

Pushing herself to her limit, Skye kicked up her speed to match Shasta’s. They switched off between offensive and defensive, but Skye couldn’t keep up the pace. While blocking one of Shasta’s swings, she couldn’t get her arm up high enough in time. Her fist came into perfect contact with Skye’s cheek, sending her flying.

The princess bounced and rolled towards the makeshift walls and slammed into one hard. Maevis had been watching their fight. She knew someone was bound to go flying at some point, so she’d changed the innermost layers of the walls to something a little softer than what the rest was made of.

Neither Skye nor Shasta had noticed the thick layer of moss lining the bottom half of the walls. It was ridiculously dense, which Skye was grateful for. If Maevis had left the granite-like walls as they were when they’d started, Skye’s body would’ve most likely have been broken in several places upon impact.

Shasta hadn’t meant to send Skye flying. The speed at which they were fighting required a certain amount of force behind it to maintain. Worried, Shasta took a few steps towards the princess to check her. Hearing her footfalls, Skye lifted her hand up to stop her advance.

Healing herself and catching her breath, Skye stood up and said with determination, “Again!”

Shasta scoffed with a smile; “You’re gonna keep me here until I have to carry you back, huh?”

Skye grinned as she cheerfully replied, “Most likely.”

“Don’t overuse your magic! If you do, you won’t be able to heal yourself!” Maevis bellowed out from on top of the wall she sat on.

.....

“Got it! Thank you!” Skye called back politely.

Skye walked towards Shasta with a curious expression as she asked; “That zippy thing ye did when ye fought Tidas: can ye show me how to do that?”

“Zippy? You mean an accel burst?” Shasta corrected with an amusement on her features.

“Sure, whatever.. Can ye teach me?” Skye pleaded with puppy dog eyes.

Shasta sighed; she could see why Tidas had a hard time saying no to her. Skye wasn’t just beautiful, her mannerisms were adorable. If she didn’t have Lawrence now, Shasta might’ve considered hitting on Skye herself. She chuckled at the thought, confusing Skye a bit.

After Shasta explained and demonstrated how she dug her foot into the ground, she had Skye do a few practice runs before they began their sparring again. It turned out to be a good decision when Skye’s first three attempts had her face-planting into the moss on the walls. The taking off wasn’t a problem; it was the stopping. The closed off ring wasn’t big enough for Skye to practice slowing down, but the whole thing had given her an idea..

“Let’s go again. I think I got an idea,” Skye stated with impatience.

“Are you sure you don’t want to practice some more? Maybe the other four have left? We could do some drill in the main-”

Skye cut Shasta off; “I think I’ll be ok. I want to try this before I lose it.”

Shasta glanced up at Maevis for an opinion, but all the fairy did was shrug her shoulders. It annoyed Shasta that she didn’t back her up. Skye was obviously at her limit. She was breathing heavily and unevenly as she fidgeted in place. It was late enough that the lights had flickered from someone nearly shutting them off. It was one of the reasons Shasta had suggested running laps instead of sparring. She figured they were the last ones there.

Shasta took her position as Skye took hers. A dense silence filled the ring as they nodded to each other. Skye braced herself as she watched Shasta dig her foot into the ground, preparing to launch herself. As she sprung forward and reached the center of the ring, Shasta caught a glimpse of Skye’s smirk as she was lowering her hand..

Just as fast as Shasta had been, Skye zipped past her. As soon as she stopped and turned back, Skye was nearly in her face. Shasta barely dodged as she immediately leaned backwards, flipped, then crouched down. The second she’d completed her dodge, Skye was inches from her.

Shasta was leaping and dodging Skye’s attacks for a good eight minutes before she’d realized that the princess’ speed was decreasing. Even with how cold it was, Skye was sweating from her exertion. Thinking she had a moment, Shasta focused on her surroundings.

Skye was using accel burst far too precisely for her first time. As her line of sight fell on the ground, the princess’ tactic became clear. Large, angled pieces of rock created a perfectly spaced circle along the outline of the ring.

Skye was using them to propel herself forward, but with no discernible pattern. Her next jump depended upon how she had landed on the previous marker. As she neared a stone, she’d kick off the ground and twist her body so her feet landed on it. It was ingenious to think of on the fly like she had. Shasta grinned broadly as she realized that Skye would most likely become her favorite sparring partner.

Her amusement died as Skye came within centimeters of landing a blow. Shasta barely had time to shift and leap out of the way as the princess sprinted past her. She then immediately rebounded back, forcing Shasta near the wall that Maevis sat on top of.

Slamming into Shasta to stop had jarred Skye, but she stayed on her feet. She punched at Shasta in a pattern, which the veteran fighter quickly realized. When she went to strike Skye, she blocked it with her right hand, breaking the pattern she’d been making on purpose.

With a grin and an uppercut from her left hand: Skye landed a punch squarely on the bottom of Shasta’s jaw. Skye had hit her with enough force to lift her up off of the ground. She bellowed out a warrior’s cry as she connected the hit, sending goosebumps up Maevis’ spine.

Shasta’s back hit the wall hard before she slid the few inches down to the ground. Her ears were ringing from the impact, but only for a few moments. Tilting her head up, Shasta was met with an exhausted, but smiling Skye. The dim glow from the stadium lights and her battle-worn state made Skye look like an intimidating warrior.

Between heavy breaths, Shasta chuckled as she said; “Tidas is gonna shit himself during the trials..”

Maevis fluttered down and instantly started going off about the fight. She grinned and poorly demonstrated their movements with her hands as she chattered away. After Skye and Shasta had caught their breaths, the three woman discussed the various ways Skye could use her other traits with conjunction with her Tank trait. The idea that Skye would be capable of a unison attack solo was astonishing to the two Fae.

It was some time after eleven o’clock when the three came out of the arena. Klaus and Ronnie had taken the horses to the competitors’ stables due to the cold. The crisp, cold air felt good on Skye’s skin as she led Thoth out of his stall. She petted him a few times before apologizing for making him wait. He was nuzzling her affectionately as Shasta came out with hers. She glared at the devil horse that had attempted to kill her before speaking with Skye.

“I’m heading over to a friend’s tavern for some good food and drink.. Would you like to join me?”

Skye quirked an eyebrow at her new friend as she smiled; “Really? Yer not sick of me yet?”

Shasta returned the gesture and quip; “A little, but not enough to refuse a meal. You did really well today, and.. I kinda owe you an apology.”

After explaining what she’d seen, and what she believed due to it; Skye explained about holding Lawrence’s arm and why Marco was carrying her. She also told her about his amulet that contained Ether magic, and what had happened to Tidas in the medical ward. Once she’d finished, both Shasta and Maevis fumed and ranted.

Klaus and Ronnie were in shock at the stories and all that they implied. The Crowned Prince was a future king; their future king. They were training to be Skye’s personal guards. Both men contemplated the possibility that their loyalty to Skye over anyone else could cause them terrible consequences once Marco took the throne.

If he coveted Skye enough to order them to lock her away or bring her to him, they would have to choose between their loyalty, and their lives. They hadn’t talked to Marco themselves, but the vibe he gave off was more than just intimidating.

Klaus and Ronnie had talked about the various situations in which they could die in service to the princess. Neither knew if they could handle torture, or if they could take an arrow or the like for Skye until it happened.. But they would do everything they could now.

As the three woman discussed the future king, Klaus and Ronnie had agreed between themselves to wake early enough each day to train before their daily duties. Right as they were finishing up, Skye walked over to them with a soft grin and asked for one last favor before they left her for the night.

“I would like ye to go back to the palace and inform me husband that I won’t be home for a couple more hours. Shasta wishes to treat me to a meal, and Ima not dumb enough to turn down free food after training for hours on end. Also, make sure Peggy is notified as well; I don’t want her worrying over me.”

Hesitation clear on their faces, Skye added; “I have both Shasta and Maevis with me, so I’ll be fine. Ye two need to rest as well.. I already feel bad for keepin’ ye out so late, so no arguments, alright?”

After sharing a quick look with Klaus, Ronnie replied; “So long as those two swear not to leave yer side til yer back at yer own quarters, then aye.”

“I won’t be drinking, so you need not worry. Plus I don’t see anyone being dumb enough to mess with the Vice Commander of the RMC,” Maevis explained.

“Oh, you’d be surprised..” Shasta chortled as she spoke.

“Shh! You’re not helping!” Maevis scolded.

Skye huffed loudly, drawing everyone’s attention; “I swear we won’t do anythin’ to cause a fuss. Now go before me husband starts sendin’ search parties out for me!”

The two young men bowed to their princess before mounting their horses, and taking off towards the palace. Skye walked back over to the two Fae with a smile as she grabbed Thoth’s reins, and mounted him. Shasta followed suit, then offered Maevis a ride on her shoulder. Maevis smiled and chuckled before asking sarcastically, “Since when are you nice to me?”

Shasta’s jovial expression went flat as she said; “I don’t have to be if you’re gonna-”

Maevis cut her off; “I apologize! I’ll take the ride as long as you do carry me like a rag doll again.”

“...Fair point; I apologize too. Just hard sometimes, considering how we met..” Shasta replied with a cheeky grin.

Skye perked her head up; “You and Aero chased her out of Fae territory right? Why? All I know is that you tried to take over the Fae kingdom. Why?”

Shasta scoffed as she readied her horse to leave; “That is a tale better told over a drink..”