Final Round

There was a thirty-minute break before the arena would be ready for the final round of the apprentice's bracket. Many were taking the opportunity to grab a bite to eat or find something to drink during the break.

Surprisingly enough, the final round of the apprentices' bracket was more popular than the knights'. Many looked forward to seeing who would move onto knighthood or secure an apprenticeship. After all, the kingdom's future safety was in their young, promising hands.

Henry sat outside on the training grounds with his elbows resting on his knees and his head held in his hands.

Trenton wouldn't allow him to practice for fear he was going to waste all of his energy, so all he could do was sit there and will away his nerves.

Trenton had a servant bring them turkey legs, but Henry was too scared to eat, so Trenton sat on a log, double-fisting the turkey legs, and devouring both in record time.

"That's not a sight I would expect to see from someone who's making it to the finals," a voice said behind both of them.

Henry's head popped up from his hands, and Trenton angled his head in the direction of the voice.

Alix strode up to them with his silver armor shining in the sunlight.

It was clear Alix was speaking about Henry, who was a ball of nerves sitting on the ground.

Henry quickly stood up, feeling disrespectful toward the knight who had gone out of his way to visit him during the break.

"Sir Alix," Henry greeted the knight. "Sir Trenton said it would be best for me to conserve my energy."

Henry quietly hoped Alix would turn his rage on Trenton for allowing him to be idle, but Alix did the unexpected.

"He's right," Alix responded, rarely ever agreeing with Trenton. "Your opponent in the final round's name is Polter. He has been known to easily overpower his opponents." He added, much to Henry's displeasure, "He hasn't had a forfeit, only total knockdowns."

Henry swallowed hard at the news, wondering if it was supposed to help him in some way.

Trenton tossed the bones of the turkey leg he had been eating into the bushes and stood. "Don't scare him, Alix," Trenton said. "He's going to overthink it next round."

"He needs to know what to prepare for," Alix retorted. "You've been relying heavily on what Trenton has taught you, but please consider what Maximus and I have taught you as well. You need neat swordsmanship to not waste energy and speed is going to give you an advantage."

Henry's eyes were wide with admiration and he nodded, grateful for the advice.

"Speaking of Maximus, where is he?" Trenton asked.

"He's celebrating his cousin's victory," Alix said. "He'll return by the time Henry's match begins."

At the mention of Maddox's victory, Henry's head was in the clouds once again. The privilege of kissing the princess's hand was too much for him to bear.

He pictured the lilac dress she wore and the way her hair reflected the sun.

Without meaning to, he was staring at Alix's head of blonde hair while he daydreamed.

Alix narrowed his eyes at Henry, misunderstanding his stare.

Trenton had to shake him out of it to bring him back to reality.

"You're looking worn out," he observed. "You need to drink more water before you go into the next match."

"In the meantime, I'm going back to the stands," Alix said before turning away. "Remember to be fast and keep your movements tight."

Henry gave his thanks and decided to go refill his water jug. He hadn't realized it before, but he was thirsty. Normally, working in the sun didn't dehydrate him so badly, but the stress of the whole event was wearing him out.

In no time, the horn for the ten-minute warning was blown, and Henry had to go to the opening of the arena. This time, Trenton stood with him, deciding he would watch from this opening so he could be closer to the action.

"Take Alix's heed but remember to trust your instincts," Trenton said as they waited. "They've brought you this far."

While they waited, Trenton helped Henry stretch out his shoulders, making sure he had a full range of motion. He offered his hand to Henry before he had to go onto the arena.

"Consider yourself my apprentice," Trenton said. "This final match is just to test your abilities further."

There was no doubt in Trenton's mind that a rich onlooker would fund Henry's apprenticeship now. No one expected him to make it this far, but he was glad he proved them wrong.

As Henry walked out, he held his head high, gave the audience the most charming smile he could offer, and waved one of his hands as they cheered. They didn't know his name but shouted the number 23.

His opponent soon appeared on the other side and the onlookers were just as excited for him to appear. They shouted the number 31 as he waved his hands at the audience. He looked to be around the same age as Henry, but he was a couple of inches taller and undoubtedly had more muscles. His hair was black, but his skin was pale.

Henry tried to remain confident, but it wavered at the sights around him. Insecurity rolling in, he turned towards the opening he just came out of and Trenton nodded at him with crossed arms and a serious expression on his face.

Commander Antoine of the Royal Knights of Peroda soon appeared as well. His face was stoic. He received just as many cheers, but his expression remained the same. He stood off to the side and stood tall as he observed the match. The claymore was in his hands just like the matches before.

From up close, he could see the claymore had a dragon etched into the side and the edge was sharp enough to cut a person entirely in half.

Soon the two apprentices turned towards each other and touched their swords together, showing their good sportsmanship, however, it immediately took a turn.

"I'm surprised a peasant made it so far," Polter said. "Are you even allowed inside the city walls?"

Henry was taken aback, but he still didn't let his guard down.

As they backed away from each other, he wore a grim expression, while Polter's seemed to be overconfident.

Polter quickly approached him and slashed his sword downward in a violent manner. The contact was loud and immediately knocked Henry's sword backward. He was lucky it didn't fall out of his hands completely.

Just as Henry righted himself, Polter put his sword in one hand and slashed Henry from the right side, narrowly missing him. If Henry didn't dodge, it would have sliced his stomach open.

Their swords clanked together a couple more times before Henry tried to thrust his sword forward. Polter pushed the onyx sword to the side.

"You're fast for a peasant," he said. "Did you get it from running away from monsters?"

Polter jabbed at Henry in return, who dodged it again and pushed the other sword out of the way with his own.

"Once a peasant, always a peasant."

Polter quickly brought his sword down again, this time hitting it against the metal armor on Henry's upper thigh. The blow was so powerful it hurt even through the armor. He stumbled for a moment but was determined not to fall.

He heard the audience collectively gasp.

This match seemed to last forever.

He felt weaker having not entirely recovered from such a blow to his leg.

In an attempt to gain the upper hand, he slashed his sword to the side, trying to deliver a body blow as fast as his burning shoulders would let him, but Polter blocked it with his sword.

Polter did an unexpected move and turned his body completely around, giving his blade a lot more power with the larger motion.

Henry used all his strength and both of his hands on the handle of his sword to try and block, but the blade flew backward and he felt Polter's sword come into contact with the bottom of his ribs, just below where his armor ended.

The contact caused Henry to fall to the ground, and he immediately knew the match was over.

"Stay down, peasant!" Polter shouted.

For the entire match, he didn't know where Maximus or Alix were sitting, but as he lay on his side, feeling the blood dripping out of his body, he made eye contact with both of them as they sat in the stands. Their expressions were grim, but Alix nodded in understanding.

The audience started cheering loudly for Polter, who had his sword raised in the air. He ran in a circle, soaking up all of the praise.

Trenton ran out of the entrance to Henry's side, and he kneeled next to the younger man.

"Don't worry, Henry," he said. "He has a lot of strength, and he's older than you. You'll get there."

There was a great deal of blood dripping out of Henry's side and Trenton tore the material of the tunic he wore so he could get a better view of the damage.

Trenton's expression went from sympathy to anger and he made eye contact with Henry.

"What is it?" Henry asked.

Trenton turned to Commander Antoine.

"Commander!" he shouted. "Poison!"