Author's Note: Heya :D Shorter chap this time, buuut next one will be longer again. Plus... someone *very conspicuous wink* is going to make another appearance ^^

So enjoy, Ladies and Gentlemen, and please review! (Your reviews are actually the main source for motivation for me so thaaaank you for every single one I received in the past and will receive in the future :) ... ugh, getting too emotional here. Better watch the church scene to get all funny and weird again :D)

The Game is On

Today was the day. They didn't explicitly say so, but Victoria knew it was. A casual close combat Fighting Contest? Certainly not. After seven weeks she'd already been in training, their instructors were finally starting to sort out, to narrow down the choices for the new Kingsman, and she would definitely not let herself be the first one to leave.

How they all lined up in the sports hall, standing at attention while Mr Walters was speaking, was normal, the palpable tension in the air was not.

"The one that brings his, or her, opponent to the ground wins the round. 2 out of 3 won rounds equal one won fight, obviously. The one with the most won fights wins. We'll start alphabetical order." He glanced at the list on his clipboard. "So let's begin with... Albert Camden and Victoria Davies-Norwood. Go and put your gloves on."

Even though they were trying hard to conceal it, Victoria could see the glee in some of the boy's faces. In Alasdair's there was concern. Albert's expression was as stony as ever.

Victoria ignored all of it.

This was her chance to prove that she was indeed suitable for being a Kingsman. She had already surpassed all expectations in the theoretical part of their training - she'd made 97%, just like Albert. Only Alasdair, with his impossible 100%, had achieved a better result than them - and now she had to do the same with the practical one. Now sacrificing her sleep would finally pay off... with a bit of luck, though.

If she could have chosen her first opponent, it certainly wouldn't have been Albert. He was one of the best fighters of this group after all, always highly concentrated, always fighting in this cool manner of his that allowed him to keep a level head, stay in control of every single motion of his body... Still Victoria wouldn't let him intimidate her.

As she and the dark-haired boy put on the sparring gloves from the equipment table Mr Walters had prepared for the candidates, she quickly remembered her training with Alasdair. Parry, hit, kick... Duck, hit... Duck, kick, kick, yes that was a good one... Parry, kick-

"You seem nervous.", Albert next to her interrupted her thoughts in his usual monotonous voice.

Victoria didn't even glance at him. Of course, he deemed her nervous. Everybody must seem agitated in his aloof eyes.

"Don't worry,", he continued to Victoria's dismay. Since when did he actually talk so much to her?

"I'm not a brute like Edmund. I will make it quick."

At that Victoria arched a brow. "Not if I beat you to it."

Albert laughed. Victoria froze, looked at him with slightly widened eyes.

Albert normally didn't laugh, he never did, at least not in her presence. Alasdair once even suspected him of having some medical condition that prevented him from doing so. Of course, he had just been joking but it could be true, since the dark-haired boy had really never laughed. And yet he did now. It was just a short, quiet laugh he let out here but still... It almost made her hair stand on end. Apparently, the prospect of her beating him in close combat was truly amusing him.

Still having an indication of a smug smile on his face he looked at her. "Good luck.", was what he said. 'You wish.', was what he meant. Then his face went as blank as usual again and he walked back to Mr Walters. Victoria kept tugging on her gloves, allowed herself another moment to calm down. The neutral mask she was wearing hopefully hid how much she was fuming inside.

She should be able to ignore the venoms of any of her fellow candidates by now, and she actually did... but not yet with Albert. She wasn't used to be ridiculed by him. He did show his disapproval of her being here and a general aversion towards her with his eyes and gestures, but he usually kept any negative remarks to himself. Or at least he only let them loose when he thought she couldn't hear him. And now he was throwing his mockings right into her face. Suddenly, the chance to punch him became even more attractive to her.

More or less calm, she eventually followed him back to their instructor.

Stretching their limbs, they listened to Mr Walter. "Remember: Your goal is to bring your opponent to the ground. Nothing more."

While he spoke, Victoria let her gaze wander over her 'collegues's gleeful expressions once again. She exchanged a look with Alasdair, who looked quite stern now, determined even. He gave her an subtle nod. He knew what she was capable of. He believed in her. The only one who did except herself.

"As soon as the other is down, you back off. No more fighting. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir.", the two said with one voice.

"Alright. Get into position. On my mark."

Just like she had done it in so many training sessions - both the regular and the one's with Alasdair - she adopted a solid posture, her stronger leg slightly forward, arms tense but not raised. Albert made a little less effort, visibly positive about his victory. His hands were leizurely at his sides, though, noticing how the bones at the back of them protruded a little, Victoria knew he contracted the muscles in them, especially in the right one. He was going to hit her with that hand. His legs were in the wrong position for it, hinting at a punch from the other side, however, the muscles in his thighs were twitching, scarcely perceptibly but still, implying that Albert was planning on changing their position. A feint after all.

Ending her observations, Victoria fixed her eyes on her opponent's. He looked so calm, so prepared to win.

'You wish.'

"... Go!"

Albert's right palm shot up lightning fast, Victoria's pushed his forearm aside even faster, she added the left to it and that was it. His right arm was pressed against his body, so that he wouldn't even be able to strike her with his other one from such a distance. A classic trap.

The moment that followed was just as short as the action preceding it, but for Victoria it felt like an eternity, where, finally, after all this time, she could be the one gloating, gloating over the confused expression on Albert's face. Glorious.

Victoria shifted her weight and threw a spinning hook kick to Albert's head. It wasn't a perfect kick. A perfect kick would have knocked him out completely, which it didn't, but for now what mattered was that it sent him to the ground.

The bang of his impact with the workout mat resounded in her ears, particularly since silence prevailed around her, as she just indulged in looking down to her beaten opponent. Eyes widened, mouth slightly agape, he lay there on his side, holding his head where her foot had hit it... and visibly regretting underestimating her.

A short snort cut through the silence. It was Alasdair, desperately trying to sustain his laughter, which made it unexpectedly difficult for Victoria to not burst out laughing herself, especially when she took in the confused, awed, surprised and downright shocked faces of the others next to him. It gave her the most amazing feeling of satisfaction and, astonishingly, also relief. As determined as she'd been, she knew that even in her there had been doubts and the fear of losing once again.

But she made it. She made it at first try. It was just one little fight, but it was clear that it would change everything from now.

"Very good!", Mr Walters expressed his own bafflement in a cheerful tone. "1 to 0 for Victoria!" There was also a bit of proudness in his voice that certainly derived from his assumption that his training boosted Victoria's fighting skills to this whole new level and she was glad he thought so instead of growing suspicious. The fact is that she probably wouldn't have been able to win any round here without her secret training with Alasdair after all.

Naturally, even that wasn't enough to make her such an exceptional fighter to win all the rounds in this competition, but eventually, after 2 hours of throwing punches and kicks and parrying and simply everything she could find in her close combat repertoire, the ranking list Mr Walters read out to them made her and Alasdair beam at each other:

1. Albert

2. Hugo

3. Alexander

4. Edmund

5. Nicholas

6. William/ Victoria / Alasdair

7. Godfrey

She was not the last one. After weeks of being told to not be suitable for this kind of job, she was not the last one in this fighting contest, had beaten out somebody of the very same opinion about her. And she lay level with Bill, a sturdy, athletic young man, too! He had won more rounds - 9 out of 24 compared to her and Alasdair's 7 - but all three had won 2 fights, so, yes, Victoria counted them as fairly equal.

Indeed, she still needed to work on her close combat skills, definitely, but she'd been aware of that beforehand anyway. Besides, if she could achieve such remarkable improvement in only seven weeks, what would she be capable of in another month? Or in two? Oh yes, she could feel it. She would climb that ranking, beat out more and more of the other candidates until-

A tap on her shoulder let her turn around. It was Albert who stood there, his head held high and wearing his usual neutral face. From the corner of her eye Victoria noticed Alasdair tense up and narrow his eyes to slits. She herself stayed calm. Albert wasn't the type for revenge. At least she thought so.

"Yes?", she asked with a syrupy voice, crossing her arms.

Albert straightened even further - how that was actually possible would probably remain a mystery to her - and took a deep breath. "I just wanted to tell you that I underestimated you."

Victoria smirked. "Obviously. But clearly you have learnt your lesson, so... apology accepted."

At that he raised a brow. "This is not an apology. This is a warning." He stepped a little closer to speak in a low voice. "I will not do that mistake again, underestimate you. From now on I expect you to perform at the highest level, in every contest, in every training. The moment you perform less... I will strike."

Now with a stern expression on her face as well, Victoria held his gaze. "Same here with you."

They kept staring at each other. Then Albert raised his hand, held it out to her in the little space between them. "I'm looking forward to it."

Without taking her eyes from his she shook it once. Eventually breaking eye contact, he spun on his heel and followed the others who were already on their way to the dormitory.

"The heck was that all about?", she heard Alasdair say next to her as she still looked after the dark-haired boy.

"You should be glad about it. It's actually a compliment. They finally stopped ignoring us and began seeing us as the threat we are to them."

A smile spread over the blond boy's face, conjuring one to her own, as he looked towards the other candidates. "The game is on, pillocks."