Chapter 2

The ride was swift, ventilating Arthur and Carmen's chainmail, removing some of the heat and anxiety that lingered on their shoulders. As they reached the outskirts of the town of Cantalian, they slowed there horses and tied them to a nearby tree, concealing them from one side by a thick brush, increasing the chance of evasion. Arthur's dismount was yet again rushed and sloppy as he literally slid off the saddle with his left foot getting caught in the stirrup resulting in a very painful, very heavy thump onto the ground. A smirk flew across Carmen's face.

"Well, aren't you the elegant one? Want some help?" "No. I do not want your help. In fact, I reached too far for my sword and merely misjudged the distance, that's all. Not to mention that we still have the element of surprise…"

All but three seconds had passed between Arthur's statement and a sharp grasp on Carmen's left shoulder. Startled, he glanced to his right and saw that Arthur had been restrained by the same mysterious set of hands. Arthur, still dazed by his "accidental" fall, fought pointlessly as his best efforts resulted in his opponent getting a better hold of him. Carmen glanced up and saw a dark man, grasping both Arthur and himself. He then tilted his head back and saw several other men, all bulky, all with fierce faces. First thought in Carmen's mind was don't waste energy in futile fights that you know you are not going to win. He gave Arthur a look but he was too busy flailing to notice his suggestion. Carmen threw down his blade in surrender. The man seemed to notice this immediately and kicked it toward his group before thrusting Carmen aside and reaching inside his pocket for his weapon. A dagger, sinisterly curved for an easier slide across unsuspecting throats? A throwing blade, expertly balanced for a steadier aim? A rock. Carmen restrained his look of disbelief as the man raised it high above his head, the murky, oversized pebble struck Arthur's helm with such force the ring seemed to echo for several seconds before fading into nothing, rather like Arthur's consciousness. Carmen's heart skipped a beat as the man's head turned slowly to face his. As he started toward him, Carmen flung his overturned arms out in front of him, parallel to each other.

"Smart move" grunted the man, grinning in pleasure at the sight of his enemies forfeit. As the man fastened Arthur's and Carmen's hands together individually, a slightly more slender man in lighter, more elegant dress than his bulky friend. He spoke in a monotonous tone that had clearly been repeated several times as the sense of rehearsal was strong.

"I think you're smart enough to figure out who we are. I also figure you know you don't have a chance of escape, victory or rebellion. So if you please…"

He gestured softly forward with his hand as the first man lurched Arthur onto his broad shoulders as he carried him over to his horse. What was more wondrous was the idea of a horse able to carry such weight, as it made more sense in Carmen's mind of the man carrying the horse. Carmen-ignoring this strange unnatural thought- rose to his feet and followed the convoy back to the village of Cantalian. The walk was long and tiresome. Carmen felt somewhat jealous of Arthur as he slept whilst Carmen had to spend minute after slow minute trudging through mud, slush and god knew what else. He wondered if he stopped, would they knock him out and save him the journey? No he thought. He'd just hand scrubbed his tunic before the assignment. There was no way a little walking would outweigh the strength needed for cleaning. Just keep walking he thought.

Finally reaching the village, Carmen noticed the villager's part in fear as the raiders walked through. Children ran wailing back to their mothers who embraced them with open arms rushing them inside protecting them from an invisible battle almost crying themselves. The men stood, ashamed of both themselves and their "rescuers" as they were paraded through town. Eventually, the horsemen formed a circle in what Carmen gathered was the centre of town displayed by a statue of some sort. Both he and Arthur (who was now wide awake) were thrust into the circle, left to rotate freely as they found their feet. The grunts seemed to find this amusing as several deep laughs came resonating around the circle. Carmen and Arthur thrust themselves into a back to back fighting position, customary to the situation. They circled Arthur and Carmen intimidating them, like wolves stalking a pair of deer, helpless, defenceless. The gesturing man slid off his horse, brandishing his blade before throwing Carmen his. Carmen caught it confidently in one hand at the hilt. He undid the strap connecting the blade and the sheath allowing it to drop silently into his other hand that he used to strap it securely to his belt. The blade made a soft metallic sound as it glowed in the twilight. His face slightly surprised but ready.

"What? You thought we were complete savages? Well maybe a few of us are but some of us follow the code of respect, owed to any knight of any kingdom when faced with no escape but death. One has the chance to defend himself and prove himself worthy for life after death. You're owed at least that much. One on one. To the death, no mercy, no restraint"

"Thank you. At least manners are still present here. May I ask your name sir?"

"Perci-Percy sir. And yours?"

"Carmen. It's a pleasure Percy"

Carmen stood his sword upright in the grass as he walked toward his adversary. Percy looked confused but a face of confusion turned into a face of impression. He followed suit, mimicking Carmen's every move until they met in the middle, there they shook hands before swapping their left gauntlets and removing all upper and lower plate armour until all was left was a thin layer of chainmail, cushioned by a wafer thin layer of softer tunic.

"Shall we begin?"

"By all means…"

Both retreated to their swords, drawing them from the soil with elegance, both adopting the same stance. They both started to walk clockwise around the circumference of the circle before striking forward. Percy attacked vertically. Carmen read this from Percy's hand placement before his lunge therefore allowing Carmen to dodge left and exploit the opened gate that had been left by Percy. He brought his blade up sharply following the position of his body allowing for a smooth, precise cut at Percy's right thigh that was harshly smashed away by Percy's blade that appeared to have jumped from one side of his body to the other in an instant. He's fast. The sharp clang of metal rung through the air.

"Such a violent noise for a weapon so beautiful. Such a shame."

"I couldn't agree more" replied Carmen, smiling as he had had the same thought not seconds after Percy had stated it.

Percy's blade scraped the mud and stones within it making an invaluable mistake. Carmen read Percy's foot movement. His back leg had been thrown forward to add extra power to his disabling slash. Carmen had studied many fighting styles in his time as a knight and it seemed that this…Percy had a vast knowledge of many that he had studied and had had enough practice to combine them effectively into his own hybrid style that intrigued Carmen greatly. However it was sloppy and not perfected. The instant his foot shifted 45 degrees Carmen knew to dodge the opposite way of the strike. Before Percy's blade had left the ground, Carmen used his armoured boot to jam his sword into the ground, immobilising both the weapon and the fighter as long as he wished to hold on to his sword. Carmen was enjoying the helplessness of his victim as he brought his sword quickly across the top of Percy's wrist causing his sleeve to rip and his hand to be slathered in a layer of blood. Carmen wanted to prolong the battle so he released the blade from under his boot as he hadn't had this good of a fight for a long time. He felt elated. So much so that all cheers and calls from Arthur and Percy's raiders seemed too quiet to notice unless he focused on the sound intently.

Percy attacked again this time horizontally with both hands which supported Carmen's idea of a three move match giving him the valuable information he needed to win, aiming for what Carmen assumed as his ribcage. Although Carmen's reaction was somewhat slower than before, his blade managed to guide Percy's down its length forcing Carmen to change the position of his sword to vertical, parallel with his body behind his back whist still in full contact with Percy's blade. Carmen had practised this many times with Arthur on the training grounds of Camelot as he thought it was the most useful so naturally he chose to personalise and perfect it. As soon as his body position was exactly 90 degrees with Percy's, he quickly turned another 90 degrees to come face to face with his adversary after knocking his blade edge away with his right hand form behind his back whist grabbing Percy's hilt with his left. A quick jerk forward allowed Carmen to disarm Percy's blade and bring it swiftly horizontal to his neck whilst Carmen's blade hooked around Percy's back, pressing the tip onto his lower right shoulder blade, restricting his arm in case of any hidden weapons he wished to introduce such as the infamous dagger to the leg.

"Finished?" gasped Carmen, struggling for breath.

Percy had a quick attempt to move, testing the limits of Carmen's prison; however, it was for too strong.

"Yes. I yield. It's been a pleasure. We will leave and not bother you gain. You have shown me something of which I have waited years for. Defeat on the battlefield and well mannered at that. Therefore I thank you for the battle, it was most enjoyable and a vigorous test of character. I apologise to the villagers, we did not mean you any harm. You see our main objective was to lure both you and the prince out here for I have scoured the land in search of a challenge and I have been unsuccessful…until now. Now I have a reason to train, a motivation. Our paths will cross again young warrior. Until then"

"The pleasures all mine sir and is that a promise?"

Percy gave a quick smile before launching himself onto his horse and instructing his team to leave the village and never return unless told to. As Carmen watched the men ride into the sunset, his gaze fell on Arthur who seemed to be completely dumbstruck, mouth agape in disbelief.

"Oh forgive me sire I forgot to ask…would you like a fishbowl?"

"Why you little?...when did you learn those counters? Were you planning on telling me? Well? Did you?"

With each word Arthur swung his sword at Carmen forcing him to re-enact the moves he had displayed earlier for educational purposes. They both stood completely still as an arrow whistled past their ears and slammed to the floor with a soft thump. Both heads turned to face the rooftops from whence the arrow had been conceived. There, drenched in moonlight was a dark, slender, feminine figure with the silhouette of a bow and quiver.

"Impressive. Why don't you teach me some of your "moves" while I'm here? We could make a night of it. I bet there are some things I can teach you…" the voice was soft, teasing and playful. Carmen barely dodged another arrow as it soared past, glinting in the moonlight. He felt a sharp pain in his arm. A splash of blood. Tearing of his skin.