Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron, WEP does. How sad for me...

Beta: Dawn

Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Setting is DotU in looks and flavor... but it is AU but not really out OCC... just different. Hope you continue to enjoy the ride - but watch out, it's going to get bumpy!

Author's Notes:
- I am not an expect in medieval weapons or fighting. Be kind to me if you happen to be. I did try to do some research.
- Just so there isn't confusion from the previous chapter, Olen says he senses Keith is from a Noble House. THIS has nothing to do with the VF canon that has Keith being of Arusian descent. How then does Olen sense Keith is of a Noble House if he's not of Arusian descent? Ahhhhh... that is part of the mystery of this story. You'll have to keep reading if you want to know the answer.

Chapter Fourteen

When Olen had sent them to their designated stations, Keith already had in mind his choice of weapons for the first round. Moving to the wall, he looked over all the weapons there: maces, flails, long swords, falchions, pikes, shields, spears, and more. Keith looked at the shields and bucklers and selected one of the small round bucklers that felt right in his hand. He thought it would be better for him than one of the larger shields. With the buckler in his left hand, he moved to the swords and selected a medium broadsword. Hearing Olen call out the one minute warning, he turned to take his position near the middle of the field and looked to see what weapons Lotor had selected. He wasn't surprised to see that Lotor had chosen a long sword and a mace. The combination was unthinkable to a human as the long sword was a two-handed sword because of its weight and size. Keith realized he would have to be very careful since the sword was capable of cutting off limbs with one blow and the sword would be many inches longer than his own. The length of the sword added to Lotor's already extended reach, only making his advantage greater. However, he couldn't dwell on Lotor, he needed to fight his battle and make adjustments as things progressed.

The gong sounded. Keith nodded in Lotor's direction, and both men moved forward. Lotor let out a war cry and ran toward Keith with the long sword raised. Keith was able to deflect the blow and round on Lotor to make a thrust with his own sword. Lotor was ready and positioned the mace to take the blow. The men circled each other more warily now, making short thrusts and small forward rushes. On one such rush by Lotor, Keith was able to wound Lotor on his arm that held the mace.

Lotor looked at the minor wound and then back at Keith. Snarling, he said, "You may have shed first blood, but I will shed the last." The gong sounded and the men moved back to the edge of the arena. Keith and Lotor both kept their weapons, and just used the time to collect themselves.

Allura watched the fighting with her hands gripping the rail. Occasionally she would make small cries of distress, but most of the time she was silent with her gaze riveted on the two men engaged in a duel for her hand. The only time she looked away was to occasionally check the sand left in the hourglass.

At the beginning of the fifth round, Lotor decided to make a bold move. Making a run at Keith, he feinted with the sword and was able to get the mace under Keith's buckler and connected with his ribs. Lotor gave a satisfied laugh as he heard the commander wince in pain.

Keith staggered back at the blow, bending slightly at the waist as he worked to control his reaction to the pain.

Smiling at Keith, Lotor said, "It's only a matter of time, Commander. It's only a matter of time."

Unwilling to be baited into a bad move, Keith continued with his plan, maneuvering quickly. He worked at making strikes when there were openings and dodging Lotor's sometimes wild moves. When the gong sounded the end of the last five minute round, Keith walked back to his wall. He tried to keep his movements as brisk as they had been, but he knew that blow had taken something out of him.

Reaching the wall, he dropped the buckler and lifted a small shield off the wall that would attach to his arm. He wouldn't be giving Lotor any information he didn't already have. Keith could see the small patch of blood on his left side where the spikes of the mace had broken the skin. He needed the shield to provide better coverage and protection for his side. He would lose a little in terms of maneuverability, but then, the blow to his side had already done that. Picking up his sword, he turned to see that Lotor had swapped his long sword for a broadsword like he had. He had also dropped the mace for a flail with three spiked balls attached to the chains. Lotor was already swinging the handle of the flail around, causing the spiked balls to spin at a fast pace. Yes, he thought to himself, it was a good thing he had switched to the shield.

Moments later the gong sounded and the shield was put to immediate use. The sound of the metal hitting metal reverberated around the arena. Both men drew more blood in this round, and the sound of their heavy breathing could be heard on the platform when the round ended.

Ending her self-imposed silence, Allura asked. "How long did the previous two challenges last, King Olen?"

Olen moved next to her on the rail, but kept an eye on the timer. Speaking quickly he said, "The challenge involving Queen Tendra lasted all of the short rounds, plus eight of the ten minute rounds. My challenge lasted the short rounds, plus two long rounds." Seeing the time running out, he moved back to the gong and sounded the call back to battle.

Allura closed her eyes for a moment. Who knew how much longer this would go… She heard a cry of pain and looked up quickly to see Lotor grab his thigh and call out an enraged curse at Keith. She smiled. She had to keep confident that Keith would prevail.

Her smile was gone by the middle of the fifth ten minute period. Lotor and Keith had gotten in close quarters battling, and Lotor had managed to knock Keith's sword from his hand. The prince was now attacking him furiously, and only the battered shield was keeping Keith alive.

Keith could see his sword a few yards away, but any move in that direction was thwarted by Lotor. Well, if he wouldn't let him get the sword, then he'd just have to attack with his shield. Making a quick move as if to go for the sword, Keith caught Lotor off-guard. Putting all of his strength into an upward lunge with the shield, he managed to topple the off-balance prince.

As he fell, one of the flail's spiked balls caught Lotor above the eye, opening a bloody gash. As a result, Lotor lost his grip on the flail as he tried to soften his landing. It didn't work and both men landed heavily with Keith on top. Sensing an opportunity, the shield was off of his arm in just a few moments and he straddled Lotor's chest with his leg pinning the prince's sword arm. Basically, Lotor had no weapon except his empty right hand with which to fight Keith at the moment. Finally, in a dominant position, Keith laid into the downed prince battering his face. After taking numerous blows that would have knocked out most men, Lotor was able to use his extended reach and land a solid blow to Keith's face. As Keith fell to the side from the blow, the gong sounded. Neither man moved. Each breathed heavily and tried to clear their head.

As Keith rolled to his good side and moved to sit up, the world spun around him. Shaking his head, he reached up and touched his eye. It was already swelling, and he knew that it would be black before too long. He wouldn't be able to take many blows like that and live, not if Lotor was able to get to a sword. He took some comfort in the fact that Lotor still hadn't moved. But he couldn't relish the moment long, he needed to get a new shield and find his sword. He picked his sword up on the way to the wall and soon selected another shield. Some small daggers caught his eye. He knew that if he had just had one of those in his boot earlier, the round would have been over. Well, maybe next time, he thought as he put the dagger into his boot.