The Present

The crowd was impressed with the tiny but agile warrior on stage. He has reached the semifinals by finishing all his opponents in less than 5 minutes. But now, he met a tough opponent, and they passed his 5-minute mark.

"What's wrong, li'l kid? Getting tired already?" Alaine's opponent asked with a smirk.

Alaine, who was in an attack mode, suddenly took a deep breath and relaxed her stance. The "he" that the crowd thought was impressive was actually female in men's clothing. "Ah," she affirmed. "I'm running out of breath already so I have to finish this soon."

'This is bad. I'm already reaching my limit. If I don't win, then I'll have to think of another way to complete my mission,' she thought to herself. 'Don't worry, self. Remember all your efforts 'til now. You've become a spy for the Queen despite having weak lungs since childhood!'

The two warriors on stage didn't move for a while, one in a defensive stance, one in a seemingly relaxed state. But even so, the tension was not less. It felt that just one slight shift could be the end for the other.

"If you're tired already, then let me help you get some rest!" While saying this, Alaine's opponent suddenly charged towards her. He quickly changed from defense to attack, hoping to catch Alaine while still in a relaxed stance.

Alaine's eyes widened, making her opponent think that he'll win soon. As his sword neared Alaine, she quickly took a step back, lowering her body as she pivoted on one foot to the side of her opponent. By the time the warrior changed the direction of his sword, Alaine was already half crouched beside him and slashed behind his knees, causing him to be unstable and kneel on the ground. As he fell, he then felt another dagger on his throat which caused him to freeze.

The crowd was stunned, not many seeing what really happened, as it was too fast for them, but seeing the little guy holding a dagger on his opponent's throat, they gasped in surprise.

Alaine's opponent dropped his sword and shield, a clear surrender. The crowd cheered as the referee announced Alaine as the winner. Alaine stood up, and gave a salute to her opponent. People came up the stage to help the him off the stage. As he was nearing the edge, he said, "You're good, li'l kid. I thought I didn't underestimate you, but in the end, I still did. I'll remember your name from now on."

Alaine once again gave a bow to his direction, even if he cannot see it. She did not reply. Not that she did not want to, but because she was seriously tired. She wanted nothing more than to lay on the ground, but there was still another match coming, and she did not want to show any signs of weaknesses. Not until she was hidden from public view in her resting area did she collapse on the bench. She wanted to watch the next match so she'd know more about her opponent, but with her physique, she needed all the rest she could get.