Work Text:
"Remember.. Don't rush. Watch his style and determine his weakness first."
Emma nodded absent mindedly. Her body jostled when the squire double checking the armor tightened the straps of her breastplate. She could feel adrenaline already coursing through her blood, pumping her muscles ready for battle. The King and the Queen sat on one side of the arena under the fancy royal tent, surrounded by the advisors and the luckier nobles. From where she stood, she could see their worried face and their scared whispering to each other.
Across the arena, her opponent, a burly guy clad in armor decorated with gold shove his squires aside after they handed him his sword and shield and walked into the arena with an arrogant attitude. His gait cocky and confident, so sure that he could defeat Emma with ease.
The man started to riled up the audience, circling and banging his shield with his sword, and the arena shook with their roars and some jeers. Emma tuned the noise out and focused her sight on her opponent. He was a seasoned warrior, renowned for his mighty prowess in battles. Every kid in every village in the kingdom had heard of him and strived to be him. Emma herself had heard many tall tales about the man and she could see that it was not just empty tales. His muscles were bulging with power and the way he slashed his sword said a lot about his experience.
But they didn't call Emma the Savior for nothing. She had lead the army into many battles herself. She single handedly expanded her kingdom by conquering two others when she was only 20 years old. Her battle prowess was not exactly unknown, but she rarely showed them in an arena such as this. In wars, the enemies were usually coming in every direction and she would have to fight for her life. In such chaos, rarely she got to enjoy a one on one fight outside of practice sessions.
When the squires finally put her sword and shield in her hands, the weight of them making her more excited with every breath that she took. August, her trusted strategist that she took with her into every battle, went on and on with advices and tips about the opponent. Emma already tuned him out long ago, the only thing that matters right now were her sword, her shield and her opponent.
Emma nudged August to the side and grinned cockily, "Relax, August. I got this."
August just harrumped, unimpressed. "Don't be too arrogant, Savior. Never underestimate your opponent."
Emma smiled and nodded. August sighed and asked, "Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Emma answered, her body itching to get into the arena. August clapped her shoulder as a sign of support and shove her forward. She stumbled for a few steps then threw a glare over her shoulder. August, the jerk, just grinned and gave her a thumb up.
She straightened and walked into the arena. The roars of the audience magnified when they finally saw her. Emma let the noises washed all over her body, igniting the fire in her blood. When she stopped at the center, her opponent faced her with a glare and a mean smug look. Five years ago, she would have trembled at the prospect of fighting this man, but now she just felt excited.
Hushed fell from the crowd when the King's Advisor stood and put up his hand. He was a very frail looking man with spetacles and his voice trembled when he first spoke. Emma and her opponent turned to faced the royal tent to hear the declaration before the battle begin.
"We are gathered here today because a challenge has been issued. These.. savages..," he spit with disgust, "come into our land and dare to make demands from us."
The crowd and the nobles roared in indignant. Emma watched The Queen sneered at the arena. The King's advisor fixed his spetacles and continued, "They demanded our surrender. Our freedom. They demanded that we give them our Princess!"
Emma did not think the crowd can get any louder but they proved he wrong when they heard about their princess. She watched The Queen grabbed the princess' hand and hold on tight: a mother afraid to lose her only child. Princess Regina sat beside her parents with back straight and showing no emotion on her face. But Emma could see the underlying worry in her brown eyes, in her rigid posture, and the clench of her fist. Emma knew she didn't like being a bargaining chip in the power struggle between two kingdoms.
The demand that came was simple: surrender or war. In the east border of the kingdom, an army lie waiting for the final order to attack. One word and this kingdom could be turn to ashes. The messenger from the enemy camp gave two days for King Henry to give the final answer, making the advisors and army generals scrambled looking for solutions in the impending doom. Queen Cora would not ever surrender without a fight, however Henry knew that his army couldn't rival the massive numbers of enemies waiting at his doorstep.
When the deadline finally came, King Henry still had no answer. But fortunate for him, the messenger came back into the throne room bringing a glimmer of hope in the form of a letter. The letter had read that they had change their mind and wanted to avoid war if possible. Instead they issued a challenge - the best warrior from each side will fight in the arena. If they lose, they would gracefully retreat and leave Henry's kingdom alone. But if they win, they wanted Princess Regina's hand in marriage.
Emma heard that Queen Cora was furious when Henry readily accepted the challenge without consulting with her and the council first. Even today, Cora sat stiffly with a pinched mouth and ignored her husband entirely. Not once had she glanced in his direction. Princess Regina also seemed to ignore her father, staring blankly into the arena. More than once Emma caught the princess looking at her, frowning in contemplation. Emma gave her a wink each time and her heart soared when Regina blushed prettily then instantly averted her eyes.
"But we will not surrender without a fight," continued the King's Advisor. "King Henry and Queen Cora have entrusted the future of our kingdom to our Champion! And The Champion will fight for our freedom!"
The roar of the crowd were deafening if not for the heavy iron helmet on Emma's head. The only thing that's louder right now were her heartbeats, pumping the fire in her blood to every inch of her body. The King's Advisor gave a signal that the battle will begin shortly. Emma turned to face the man in the golden armor, her grip on her sword and shield tightened in anticipation.
She could hear August and her men shouting encouragements behind her. Her opponent flexed his muscle and widen his stance. Emma stole a last glance at Regina and saw the brunette was staring at her and biting her lips. Then, Emma closed her eyes and took a few deep breath to calm her mind.
At the signal, the man charged forward with an angry shout. Emma could not do anything but stand her ground and raised her shield to block the sudden attack. When the sword clang with her shield, she could feel the tremor of the collision even to her bone. It seemed like the man decided to just attack and defeat her with brute force. August's stupid advice to study the opponent's movement and find his weakness was useless after all. She did not have time to even think, the roar of her blood deafening her eardrums. And Emma just let her body instinctively blocked and dodged the attack with the shield and sword.
The man's sword was big and heavy but he wielded it like it weight nothing. He relentlessly advanced forward with every swing while Emma had to step back every time like a coward. They circled the arena in a flurry of motion, only clangs and thuds accompany their dance of madness. In the stand, half of the crowd sat staring in enrapture and the other half standing and shouting in excitement.
Finally, one mistep from the man in the golden armor gave Emma an opportunity to attack the open left side and nicked him under his arm. He jumped away in shocked. Emma grinned under the helmet and watched him shook himself and get into the ready stance once again. He blinked away the sweat in his eyes and raised his shield in front of him. One nick and he suddenly get into defensive mode. Weird.
Emma contemplated her next moves. She was already aching all over from taking the brunt of the earlier attacks. Although her shield and armor took the most of it, she could feel bruises forming all over her body. Tonight will be one hell of a night. August better had a bath ready at the camp when they were done here. And rum. Lots of rums.
She let the man waited for a while longer before she attack. When he was starting to fidget in impatience, she took a few steps forward and swing her sword high. He instantly raised his shield and she took that opportunity to kick his knees hard. He feel forward with a grimace. Emma attacked again and again. And although he blocked each one even while on his knees, Emma could see the dents in his armor and that he was starting to get angry. Emma suddenly stopped the attacks and took a few step back to distance herself.
The man was confounded at first, but when he realized no further attacks came, he instantly get on his feet. His eyes gleamed with fury at being humiliated and he roared while banging his sword to his shield. In this moment, he looked like a lion in a cage, wanting to get out. He threw his shield, or what's left of it, down. He roared again and the crowd roared with him.
Emma followed his action and threw her own shield aside. Without it she would be a bit vulnerable but the lesser weight would help her be faster. The man realized being defensive only make him looked like a coward so he decided to continue with the brute force attacks. Emma's agility helped her to dodge and blocked the attacks with ease. She also noticed that his attacks seemed to become slower and sluggish. The heavy sword and the wide movements must have made him tired.
"Stop being a coward and fight me!" shouted the man while swinging his sword down. Emma blocked it over her head with her sword but the sheer force of it making her fell to her knee. The man suddenly lifted his sword, take a step to the side and in an instant use his golden boot to kick Emma in the head. She fell to the ground with a cry. The clash of armored boot and her helmet made her ears ringing incessantly.
The man swiftly kicked her in the stomach while she was down. Emma curled into a fetal position to protect herself. The man then continued to jeer and mocking her after kicking her body a few more times. He circled the fallen savior and laughed. He faced the crowd and raised his hands as if he was already won.
Emma coughed and spit out the blood. Then, she took off her helmet and threw it aside. Her ears were still ringing but she clenched her jaw and tried to get up. The man was still riling the crowd and did not noticed that Emma was already standing at first. She gingerly picked up her sword from the ground and gripped it tight in her hand.
The man turned around when a few people in the stand started to point at the savior behind him. He grimaced when he saw Emma still standing, even though she seemed to favor her right leg and her face was a bloody mess. He grunted and charged forward with his sword swinging high.
Emma rooted her feet on the ground and tightened her grip on her sword with two hands. She didn't know if she could take anymore of the force from these attacks but she would be damn if she didn't try. This was her last chance. And she had to take it for the sake of her kingdom.
And also Regina.
The time suddenly slowed down for Emma. She tuned out the noise from the crowd and gave her full focus on her opponent and his next attack. She could see the ripple of the muscles under the golden armor when the man charged forward. She could hear her own ragged breath. The sweat beading on her forehead. The taste of her blood in her mouth. The swing of his sword slicing the air above her head.
Rather than blocking the attack, Emma crouched further and lowered the sword making her shoulder and back vulnerable. When the big sword finally fell down, she could feel it slicing through her armor and biting the flesh underneath. She cried out in agony and gritted her teeth, fighting the instinct to get away. Instead, she thrusted her sword upward.
Her sword, a gift from her father when she turned 18 had seen many battles alongside herself. She had used it to kill hundreds of enemies and wounded many others. In the battlefield, it had been the most trusted friend and companion. Every night after every battle, she cleaned the blood from the blade with care. Her father had told her that a warrior must always trust and take good care of their sword. And so far, it had not failed her yet.
She watched the blade of her sword thrusted into the stomach of the knight in the golden armor. The red ruby on the guard catched the sunlight and its gleam almost blinding her eyes. His blood trickled down the sword onto her hand. When the guard of the sword almost meet the armor reddened with blood, Emma heaved upward once more. Then she grabbed the armor and pulled her sword out. She took a step to the side and let the body fell forward with a heavy thud. Her movement made her grit her teeth in pain. Damn, she forgot about her injury.
She stood over the body and tried to stand tall despite her injury. She realized that the crowd had grew silence. Shocked and despair fell upon the arena like a wave. She turned slowly to face the royal tent. King Henry and the advisors had their mouth gaping like a fish. Queen Cora was already on her feet and striding forward into the arena. She made a gesture and a red fireball appeared on her hand. Without a warning, she furiously threw the fireball towards Emma.
Emma lazily flicked away the first fireball. But Cora was relentless and she continued to throw fireball after fireball towards her. After a while, Emma was forced to erect a magical shield around herself. Despite the shield, Cora continued to attack. Everyone else around them just gaped in shocked and astonishment.
Emma could already feel her shield weakening little by little. It did not help that she was already injured in the first place. Her magic was not unlimited and she was still learning how to control it. The continous attacks starting to irritated her. When one of the fireball, now blue and more like a fiery arrow, managed to pierce her magical shield and almost singed her ears, she retaliated by exploding her magic outward, its great force sent everyone to the ground. Her magic was so powerful it crackled the air surrounding the arena.
Seeing her mother on the ground, Regina ran into the arena to aid her. Henry and a few of the royal guards also rushed forward following the princess after they shook off the initial shock. Emma instantly freezed the guards in place. She could hear the peasants in the stand running away to save their own life. The advisors and the nobles under the royal tent mostly still rooted to their place.
She felt August and her own guards arrived and made a circle around the royals. She put up her hand and the guards all stood at ease, although eyes still wary of any confrontation from the surrounding people.
Emma limped forward towards the royal family with August hot on her step. "It's over. I've won the challenge," Emma said when she was a few steps away. Regina looked up and glared at her with hatred and contempt. Cora was knocked out cold by the blast. Beside her, Henry mostly just looked resigned.
Regina stand to her feet shakily and got up to Emma's face. "I will never go with you," she spitted out and pushed Emma's chest roughly.
"I've won, Princess. You must uphold the agreement."
"I've never agreed to this idiotic challenge in the first place!" shouted Regina, her face red with fury. King Henry scrambled to his feet and tried to pacified her daughter. If she continued to assault the savior, there was no telling what she would have done in retaliation. But the brunette just shook him off and continue to pushed Emma.
Emma grabbed Regina's hands and stopped the irritating assaults with ease. The brunette struggled to escape the grip but Emma hold fast. She roughly yanked her closer and gripped her chin. "Do you want war, Princess? Because that's what you'll get if I don't get what I want."
"Regina.." pleaded Henry behind her daughter. He felt so weak watching her daughter tried to stand to the enemy. "This kingdom cannot afford another war, sweetheart. We have to sacrifice for our kingdom. For our people."
"Yes, sweetheart," mocked Emma. "Isn't that what royal do..sacrifice themselves?"
Regina glared at her, "Don't call me that!"
"You will soon be my wife. I will call you whatever I please," spat Emma and release the princess. She watched the brunette's face turned from disgust to indignant to almost resigned. Emma smiled triumphantly. Regina clenched her jaw and lift her chin up. Always the rebel.
Emma started to laugh out loud but it stopped halfway with a hiss. She just remembered that her shoulder and back got sliced earlier and now she was paying the price. She almost whined and whimpered but stopped herself when she saw a satisfied smirk on the princess' face. She instantly clenched her jaw and straightened her back to tough out the pain for a while longer. The moment she did that, her face contorted in grimace. She needed that cold bath and rum, damn it!
Emma turned her head to address the king. "King Henry, I will grant you this day to regroup and tended to your family," she said while gesturing to Cora who was still lying on the ground. "Tomorrow I will come back to collect my prize," she winked at Regina and continued, " but know this 'Your Majesty', if you or anyone in your kingdom tried anything that I don't like, I can guarantee that you won't have a kingdom left to rule by sunset tomorrow."
Henry nodded and rushed to pick up her wife to send her to the doctor. Emma's guard all step aside at her command and she release Henry's royal guard from her magical hold. The advisors and the nobles all scrambled to follow their king into the castle. Regina also turned to follow her parents when she was stopped by Emma's hand on her forearm.
"I'll see you tomorrow, princess," whispered Emma with a soft smile. Regina shook her hand off and stalked away with fury in her eyes. Emma's smile just grew wider watching the fiery princess joined the pitiful procession into the castle.
"Fiery that one," said August from beside her.
"Yeah. Just how I like it."
"I guess that's one way to shut up the council's demand back home. What was it you said, Your Highness? The royal must sacrifice themselves for the kingdom?"
"They wanted me to marry and now, I have a bride. Problem solved. I don't need to hear them shouting in my ears any longer."
"Hmm.. I still don't understand why this one. I mean why not the princesses from our neighboring kingdoms? At least we don't have to lug around half of the battalion to get here," asked August sceptical.
"Dunno," answered the savior. "It felt right when I throw the apple core to choose the kingdom."
"You choose by throwing the apple core on the map?!"
"Lucky it works out, didn't it?"
August stared at Emma in shocked. The Savior just dragged half the battalion across the challenging mountain range and the thick forest that he was sure was haunted by trusting that her throwing skill will get herself a bride to shut up the council. Someone behind him coughed and he shut his gaping mouth with a click. He looked around and saw that the arena was already empty aside from their group.
He looked back at Emma and saw the person that everyone called The Savior. She stood tall despite the injury on her back, not wavering even then. Hell, the blood on her made her looked more badass and scarier. August felt pride blossomed in his heart. This royal, his master was the most powerful person he knew. He made a vow right then to uphold her dignity or die trying.
"Your Highness.."
"Yes, August?"
"We should go back to camp. When you've won earlier, I already sent a soldier back to prepare a bath for you. And I already hide a barrel of rum last night just waiting for your return."
Emma chuckled. "God.. August?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
.
.
.
.
"I can't move. I think all my muscles cramped."