They both drew their blades and bowed to each other. Septimus keener to begin instantly whipped his blade under hers and knocked it out of her hand. Isolde looked at him in surprise.

"Do you yield?" he snorted, his confidence at an all time high.

"Surely my Lord would be a gentlemen and gave a Lady a chance to a fair fight?" she smiled sweetly.

Prince Septimus was not usually one for second chances but he was feeling generous as he kicked her sword back over to her.

Again they positioned themselves and Septimus once again whipped the sword out of her hand, he looked frustrated at her "My Lady, this is embarrassing"

"My Lord, this is my first duel. One last chance? At least let me try and get one hit in" she asked knowing exactly what she was doing.

This time he simply held up his sword and rolled his eyes as if he was already bored. Now Isolde had him exactly where she had wanted - over confident as this time she struck first with such a force it had caught the Prince off guard as he wasn't holding much ground after the two previous false starts. Now the fight was truly on as they clashed into each other, blocking each other's attacks.

They kept eye contact as they tried to anticipate the next move, Isolde was trying to pace the fight, she didn't want to tire so quickly. Septimus on the other hand was getting fed up of her blocking all his hits which came relentlessly, one after the other beating down onto her. Septimus pushed his blade onto her own and used his weight to push Isolde to the ground.

She quickly rolled out of his next lunge and was up on her feet again, she gave him a push to the ground as she ran behind him. Isolde jumped onto a nearby tree stump as he stalked angrily over to her, clearly not used to being pushed into the mud. This time, she used the height to her advantage as he had to her and counter attacked with blow upon blow. She could see sweat building up upon the Prince's brow.

"This is why you don't wear leather to a duel" she smirked "Do you need a break my Lord?"

"Don't waste your worries on me Lady Isolde, I'm not sure how much longer your weak frame can continue for" he growled back at her, the frustration written over his face. Septimus then knocked her off the stump with such a force that Isolde didn't even remember reaching the ground but felt the paid on the side of her forehead instantly followed by the warmth of blood trickling down her face. She laid for a moment next to the rock that had indented her skull and felt the wound to assess the damage but she knew she would not have much time against the dark Prince. Isolde tried to get up too quickly and stumbled as her head felt dizzy from the blow. She could hear Annabell calling her, begging Septimus to let her help her mistress.

Isolde then felt him tug her hair bun as he pulled her into him using her hair as a leash. He was the closest he had been to her, she could smell the sweat and feel the warmth of his skin on her neck as he whispered in her ear "Now would be a good time to yield"

But Isolde was far too stubborn, she knew she would never yield. She pulled her elbow up and forcefully struck it into his ribs. He let go of her hair and pushed her back into the playing field as he caught his breath.

At this point, the duel had now been going on for nearly an hour and they were both feeling it. Both of them hurting, tired and in need of a drink but unwilling to quit. It was at that moment, the Prince made a mistake in his perfectly choreographed steps and slipped enough to alter his balance. Isolde seized her moment and kicked the back of Septimus's knees so he fell to the ground. She then twisted behind him and pulled out her pocket knife. She held it to his throat and pressed hard enough for the first few droplets of blood to show. Isolde could feel the pulse in his neck getting faster by the seconds. She then muttered in his ear "If you attempt to move, this knife ill pierce deep into your throat. Do you yield?"

Septimus with his pride wounded did not answer. Of course there was probably a way he could get out of this but would he really want to risk her being right? This is not how he intended to die, he would become King and not some lowly courtier, a woman at that would be the death of him today. However, deep down he couldn't help but feel impressed. No one had ever beaten him before.

"I said, do you yield?" she pressed into his throat again.

"Fine, I yield!" he muttered.

"Drop your weapons then" she ordered

"Weapons?" he questioned innocently

"Come my Lord, I counted five separate items on your person when you arrived" she answered. He rolled his eyes and removed each weapon. Confident that it was now safe, Isolde removed the knife and pushed him off.

Septimus stalked a few paces away from her and removed his jacket. Isolde ripped a piece of her sleeve and held it to her head. She then held out a piece of fabric to him as a peace offering for his neck. Isolde was also frightened about what would happen next, she didn't think the Prince would take so nicely to being beaten especially by a woman.

"I must say Lady Isolde, you have left an impression on me" he finally broke the silence between them "I will look as agreed into the deeds of the land"

With that, he went towards Annabell who was making her way over to Isolde and took the reins to his horse and jumped on. He then trotted over to Isolde and held out his hand to her. She took the offering as they both shook hands, his grip tight around her small hands. He let go and galloped into the direction he came from.