Chapter 9 - Trial by Combat
By Prince Johnathan of Jupiter
~~BGM Choice: Drift on a Dream from Happy 2B Hardcore Chapter 6~~
Sean and Darien stared at each other from a few yards, standing in the private gardens outside the sitting area where Serena and Lita sat watching them. The pair stood in their respective armors - Darien's being a black with silvergray trim, John's being green with gold-yellow trim. Their swords were at their sides, tight in their scabbards.
"Who are you?" Darien asked him, stareing him down with those cold blue eyes.
"I am who I am. All you need to know is I am." Sean replied. He didn't know who this man really was, or what right he had to challenge him.
"That's not good enough. For all I know you could be a Negaverse spy."
He smirked at that. "If anyone could be the spy, it's you. Disguising yourself to sneak into the castle..."
"Enough!" Cried out Darien, his hand to his sword. "You will tell me who you are right now, or I shall prove you the spy that you seem to be."
Sean's eyes grew cold at that comment. "I am Johnathan Logan, Prince of the Kingdom of Jupiter, and betrothed of the Princess Lita. Now may I have the pleasure of your name before I run you through?"
"Darien Sheilds, Prince of the Earth and betrothed of the Princess Serena, who is the future Queen of this Kingdom. I will not acknowledge your claims to royalty unless you can best me in combat, Sir Johnathan."
Sean, who was never one to back down from a challenge, nodded. He'd bested Lita, and she was the best fighter in all of Jupiter, and they were known for their combat skills. "So be it."
They drew their swords simultaniously, as in the air between them the remains of sakura blossoms spin on the wind, and a hollow whistle can be heard.
On the patio, the two princesses sat worried, Serena with her gloves in a tight grasp, Lita biting the edge of her lower lip in worry. "Darien's one of the strongest knights on the Earth," Lita said in a whisper, "It should be a close fight between them."
"I know," Serena replied, her long ponytails flicking a little from the wind. "I heard about how Johnathan bested you in the Arena of Thunder. Do you think he can stand up against Darien?"
Lita, who knew all of John's secrets, including that he was really from the Earth of the Future, and there for technically also a Knight of the Earth, replied, "I know he can win. He's better than I am, and that's saying a lot."
The two warriors stood silently, swords drawn in salute to each other. John's was the curved katana that Lita's father had given him, and Darien's was a thicker bladed straight broadsword. The light made the two blades to be of blazing light. Lita considered, then as a way to signal the fight, so she stood, and looked to them both, and began to sing...
"Emotions touched, with feelings running high. It seems right, no need to run and hide. Relive fantasy on reality to the other side of life... As you take me away, one feels into a fantasy. I find, with you I break free... as I drift on a dream, I pray to you with hands held high, I find with you I believe......."
As song entered Sean's head, he grinned, letting his mind bring the technological beat to his soul, and when it got to the right point in her song, Sean lept forward, executing a cut toward Darien's chest. Darien parried off the blade with his own and riposted with an arcing slash down on Sean's shoulder. Sean raised his blade to block, and sparks flew between them. Darien was obviously taking this fight seriously.
Sean pushed back from their lockup, and entered into a beat-beat-feint-thrust combination, which Darien executed a parry-parry-riposte-lunge counter. The fight was on, as the two girls watched helplessly as the two men seemed to have a mutal desire to murder each other.
The heat was on, and it was Darien's turn, moving beat-parry-riposte-parry, and John tried to counterattack as fast as he could. Darien was good, and Sean admitted as much to himself. But he knew for Lita he had to be better, as in his mind, the techno-beat strengthened, and he began to move with the 140+ BPM (beats per minute) of the music, as the two began to look less like swordsmen in combat as a pair of artists gauging each other's skills in dance.
Their moves became syncronized as they steped back and forth along the path, their swords humming through the air before clashing together as cymbals in a marching band, an explosive sound as both men continued to vie for each other's respect. Their skills could be gauged easily, with Darien showing a clearly western style of dueling, while Sean's asian influences flourished with the occasional cry and spin of the blade after a parry.
Darien executed an excellent thrust, to which Sean backfliped through the air, spinning to the ground and bringing his sword to rest against his forearm. He then rushed forward, and after passing Darien he turned and tried to strike at Darien's side. He failed as Darian backspun and parried off the blade with his own, and the pair stood with their arms streched, their blades behind them.
The two engaged each other again, this time more to see how much stamina they had as the blades spun as the dance picked up again. As the match got longer, the two began to perspire, the sweat stinging their eyes, but both refused to back off now. This time it was Darien's turn to lead the attack, moving with a technique Sean had not seen before, and he did his best to keep up.
Finally Darien had him backed up near a wall, where Sean desided to be fancy, turning his back on Darien and running up the wall before kicking off and flpping back behind Darien, who turned and the two brought their blades together. John adjusted his head, his neck cracking abit as he did so. Darien raised his head, and from his free hand, he drew forth a red rose, throwing it toward Sean. Sean ducked under the rose, his blade coming off from Dariens, as from his boot he drew a shorter blade and as Darien swung down with his sword, Sean blocked with the dagger and then parried with his katana.
Lita steped forward and looked closer at the pair, as did Serena who was now holding a napkin between her teeth pulling on it slightly out of nerves. The two of them could see this was escalating beyond just a respective duel but it was becoming personal between them. Sean's muscles were weakening from the heavy pace they were keeping, and if he wasn't careful, his guard was going to drop. If that happens...
Just then, Darien sliped in with a quick maneuver, and Sean's sword was knocked from his hands. The gleaming Sword of Jupiter flew through the air, till it slammed into the ground a few meters away, and Darien moved his blade up toward Sean's throat.
"Accept your fate, Pretender... you're no match for me."
Sean's eyes turned to slits as he heard that... Darien seemed to have forgotten the shorter blade he'd been using, which he quickly used to parry off Darien's blade, flip to his feet, and execute a spinkick to Darien's head. Darien steped back a pace and leaned backward to Sean's foot arched dangerously close to his face, and with his free hand, Darien grabed his leg by the ankle, and pushed, sending Sean sprawling, and his smaller blade sent from his hands.
"I won't go down so easily Darien... not one bit." Darien lunged forward with a downward chop of his blade, but Sean pushed off and rolled along to the side, grabbing his short blade as he rolls and brings it up to the ready along his arm as Darien turned on him.
"You run like an old woman, kid..." Darien glares slightly getting annoyed at the fact that the boy was besting him.
"And you complain like one." Sean returned, shifting to the offensive, slipping up under Darien's guard and places the back of the tanto to Darien's throat, glaring. "But while your technique is flawless, note that if I were the enemy, I'd kill you right here."
"You're right on that... but look down."
Sean's eyes glanced downward, and he saw a rose poised to strike him in the belly had he moved any closer. "We'd have joined each other in death..."
"An... interesting perdiciment." Sean backed off first, lowering the blade.
"But it proves you're not of the Negaverse." Darien goes to retrive Sean's blade and returns it to him. "But it wasn't the fact that you didn't kill me that proves it."
"Then what was it?" Sean asks as he returns the tanto and the sword to their respective homes, and Darien resheaths his broadsword.
"The fact that you put the back of the blade to my neck. Only a warrior would know if they didn't want to seem threatening to use the back, where no blade could harm you, even by accident." He then reaches out his hand. "Well fought, Prince Johnathan."
Sean smiles and takes Darien's hand. "Well fought, Prince Darien."
By Prince Johnathan of Jupiter
~~BGM Choice: Drift on a Dream from Happy 2B Hardcore Chapter 6~~
Sean and Darien stared at each other from a few yards, standing in the private gardens outside the sitting area where Serena and Lita sat watching them. The pair stood in their respective armors - Darien's being a black with silvergray trim, John's being green with gold-yellow trim. Their swords were at their sides, tight in their scabbards.
"Who are you?" Darien asked him, stareing him down with those cold blue eyes.
"I am who I am. All you need to know is I am." Sean replied. He didn't know who this man really was, or what right he had to challenge him.
"That's not good enough. For all I know you could be a Negaverse spy."
He smirked at that. "If anyone could be the spy, it's you. Disguising yourself to sneak into the castle..."
"Enough!" Cried out Darien, his hand to his sword. "You will tell me who you are right now, or I shall prove you the spy that you seem to be."
Sean's eyes grew cold at that comment. "I am Johnathan Logan, Prince of the Kingdom of Jupiter, and betrothed of the Princess Lita. Now may I have the pleasure of your name before I run you through?"
"Darien Sheilds, Prince of the Earth and betrothed of the Princess Serena, who is the future Queen of this Kingdom. I will not acknowledge your claims to royalty unless you can best me in combat, Sir Johnathan."
Sean, who was never one to back down from a challenge, nodded. He'd bested Lita, and she was the best fighter in all of Jupiter, and they were known for their combat skills. "So be it."
They drew their swords simultaniously, as in the air between them the remains of sakura blossoms spin on the wind, and a hollow whistle can be heard.
On the patio, the two princesses sat worried, Serena with her gloves in a tight grasp, Lita biting the edge of her lower lip in worry. "Darien's one of the strongest knights on the Earth," Lita said in a whisper, "It should be a close fight between them."
"I know," Serena replied, her long ponytails flicking a little from the wind. "I heard about how Johnathan bested you in the Arena of Thunder. Do you think he can stand up against Darien?"
Lita, who knew all of John's secrets, including that he was really from the Earth of the Future, and there for technically also a Knight of the Earth, replied, "I know he can win. He's better than I am, and that's saying a lot."
The two warriors stood silently, swords drawn in salute to each other. John's was the curved katana that Lita's father had given him, and Darien's was a thicker bladed straight broadsword. The light made the two blades to be of blazing light. Lita considered, then as a way to signal the fight, so she stood, and looked to them both, and began to sing...
"Emotions touched, with feelings running high. It seems right, no need to run and hide. Relive fantasy on reality to the other side of life... As you take me away, one feels into a fantasy. I find, with you I break free... as I drift on a dream, I pray to you with hands held high, I find with you I believe......."
As song entered Sean's head, he grinned, letting his mind bring the technological beat to his soul, and when it got to the right point in her song, Sean lept forward, executing a cut toward Darien's chest. Darien parried off the blade with his own and riposted with an arcing slash down on Sean's shoulder. Sean raised his blade to block, and sparks flew between them. Darien was obviously taking this fight seriously.
Sean pushed back from their lockup, and entered into a beat-beat-feint-thrust combination, which Darien executed a parry-parry-riposte-lunge counter. The fight was on, as the two girls watched helplessly as the two men seemed to have a mutal desire to murder each other.
The heat was on, and it was Darien's turn, moving beat-parry-riposte-parry, and John tried to counterattack as fast as he could. Darien was good, and Sean admitted as much to himself. But he knew for Lita he had to be better, as in his mind, the techno-beat strengthened, and he began to move with the 140+ BPM (beats per minute) of the music, as the two began to look less like swordsmen in combat as a pair of artists gauging each other's skills in dance.
Their moves became syncronized as they steped back and forth along the path, their swords humming through the air before clashing together as cymbals in a marching band, an explosive sound as both men continued to vie for each other's respect. Their skills could be gauged easily, with Darien showing a clearly western style of dueling, while Sean's asian influences flourished with the occasional cry and spin of the blade after a parry.
Darien executed an excellent thrust, to which Sean backfliped through the air, spinning to the ground and bringing his sword to rest against his forearm. He then rushed forward, and after passing Darien he turned and tried to strike at Darien's side. He failed as Darian backspun and parried off the blade with his own, and the pair stood with their arms streched, their blades behind them.
The two engaged each other again, this time more to see how much stamina they had as the blades spun as the dance picked up again. As the match got longer, the two began to perspire, the sweat stinging their eyes, but both refused to back off now. This time it was Darien's turn to lead the attack, moving with a technique Sean had not seen before, and he did his best to keep up.
Finally Darien had him backed up near a wall, where Sean desided to be fancy, turning his back on Darien and running up the wall before kicking off and flpping back behind Darien, who turned and the two brought their blades together. John adjusted his head, his neck cracking abit as he did so. Darien raised his head, and from his free hand, he drew forth a red rose, throwing it toward Sean. Sean ducked under the rose, his blade coming off from Dariens, as from his boot he drew a shorter blade and as Darien swung down with his sword, Sean blocked with the dagger and then parried with his katana.
Lita steped forward and looked closer at the pair, as did Serena who was now holding a napkin between her teeth pulling on it slightly out of nerves. The two of them could see this was escalating beyond just a respective duel but it was becoming personal between them. Sean's muscles were weakening from the heavy pace they were keeping, and if he wasn't careful, his guard was going to drop. If that happens...
Just then, Darien sliped in with a quick maneuver, and Sean's sword was knocked from his hands. The gleaming Sword of Jupiter flew through the air, till it slammed into the ground a few meters away, and Darien moved his blade up toward Sean's throat.
"Accept your fate, Pretender... you're no match for me."
Sean's eyes turned to slits as he heard that... Darien seemed to have forgotten the shorter blade he'd been using, which he quickly used to parry off Darien's blade, flip to his feet, and execute a spinkick to Darien's head. Darien steped back a pace and leaned backward to Sean's foot arched dangerously close to his face, and with his free hand, Darien grabed his leg by the ankle, and pushed, sending Sean sprawling, and his smaller blade sent from his hands.
"I won't go down so easily Darien... not one bit." Darien lunged forward with a downward chop of his blade, but Sean pushed off and rolled along to the side, grabbing his short blade as he rolls and brings it up to the ready along his arm as Darien turned on him.
"You run like an old woman, kid..." Darien glares slightly getting annoyed at the fact that the boy was besting him.
"And you complain like one." Sean returned, shifting to the offensive, slipping up under Darien's guard and places the back of the tanto to Darien's throat, glaring. "But while your technique is flawless, note that if I were the enemy, I'd kill you right here."
"You're right on that... but look down."
Sean's eyes glanced downward, and he saw a rose poised to strike him in the belly had he moved any closer. "We'd have joined each other in death..."
"An... interesting perdiciment." Sean backed off first, lowering the blade.
"But it proves you're not of the Negaverse." Darien goes to retrive Sean's blade and returns it to him. "But it wasn't the fact that you didn't kill me that proves it."
"Then what was it?" Sean asks as he returns the tanto and the sword to their respective homes, and Darien resheaths his broadsword.
"The fact that you put the back of the blade to my neck. Only a warrior would know if they didn't want to seem threatening to use the back, where no blade could harm you, even by accident." He then reaches out his hand. "Well fought, Prince Johnathan."
Sean smiles and takes Darien's hand. "Well fought, Prince Darien."
