Alex waited, excitement bubbling just under the surface. He watched his large friend's eyes dart over the room, no doubt searching for an escape, some way to get away from Alex. He had been finding them often lately, but it would be rude to refuse so bluntly. If Raoul chose that option, Alex was ready to challenge him.

He didn't. "Of course."

"Good," Alex replied, although he didn't mean it. He silently cursed the bigger knight for not giving him an opportunity to kill him. Yet, that was.

Alex lowered his dark eyes as he picked up his practice sword. It would be so easy to finish him here. He could even dump the body afterwards, and nobody would be any the wiser. Everybody knew the young noble knights favoured these courts, particularly the King's favourite, Alexander of Tirragen. Nobody would disturb them. "Then I suggest we start. Unless –" He allowed the hint of a sneer to creep into his voice – "Unless you need to warm up first?"

"No," Raoul replied flatly, picking up his own wooden practice sword. "Do you?"

In answer, Alex walked over to his older friend. "Guard," he whispered. Their swords locked together, and it began.

Raoul wasn't much of a swordsman. Oh, he could probably hold his own, but it wasn't enough against Alex. Alex was the best. Everybody knew it. Raoul couldn't even hope to come close. The stupid, clumsy oaf kept almost losing the pace at the beginning as Alex's sword whipped around his one.

"Too fast?" Alex asked contemptuously. His old friend's brow furrowed in concentration – the attempt to distract him hadn't worked. Left, down, right, down, left, up, down. Raoul broke away, panting. "Do you need your space?"

"I thought this was a practice," the bigger knight protested, wariness creeping into his dark eyes.

"It was," Alex replied smoothly, striking towards Raoul. The other knight brought his weapon up just in time, forcing Alex's back. The slender man gritted his teeth and held on.

The result was a splintering of wood and Alex was left staring at his ruined sword.

Astonishment was replaced by a slow smile. Alex reached down to unsheathe his real sword.

Raoul's protests were cut short as Alex began to attack. He parried Alex's blows – barely. The silver blade snaked in and out of Raoul's sword like a snake in grass. The larger man was clearly panicking now. Alex twined his sword around Raoul's. This brought the two old friends body-to-body, an advantage for Raoul. Now it was Alex's turn to worry, if only for a split second. His muscles screamed as he held on, but he was being forced to his knees. This was no good.

The slender knight broke away. In a swift movement, his sword had come to rest at the base of Raoul's throat. "Say goodbye," he threatened, mockingly.