"Let the game begin." Prince Theodore smiled.

Ella gave herself a little toast inside. The corner of her lips tugged upwards as she wiped the single tear that settled on her cheek with her shoulder. She was rejoicing, and why wouldn't she?

Everything was going exactly as she planned.

If Ella wanted, she could have bashed the king's men with her bare hands, a sword wouldn't be necessary, but she was smart enough to know that she was out-numbered and also wise enough to know that King Ernest's men laying lifelessly on the ground would become his newest pet peeve. Her combat skills wouldn't have gotten Ella anything other than her headless figure.

Of course, squeezing teardrops from her eyes was the hardest, especially when she felt no remorse. Not from the royals.

Never from the royals.

Ella had never allowed, not even her closest friends, to barge within the fortress she had built around her heart, she knew she was all alone in this heedless and menacing world as she did not have the amour-of- a father to protect her from all her vulnerabilities nor an affectionate mother, not anymore, to tend to her stinging wounds.

Thus, wearing her fragile heart on her sleeve could be the beginning of Ella's journey to doom.

The Royals, on the other hand, Ella began to loathe with every fleeting second. She never let her dearest mates, make her shred her precious tears in such a way, who on this motherland were the Royals, to achieve that privilege?

Ella's ears throbbed from the screeching sound that Prince Theodore's sword made as he dragged it along the stairs and onto the marbled surface. His sword left a deep, distinct line on the floor that followed him as he advanced forward. Ella knew what he was trying to pull. It was a demonstration of power and mightiness.

With the way his fur-coated lavish cloak mopped the ground as he stepped closer and closer to Ella and the way his large figure refused to acknowledge any human who crossed paths with him, Ella knew her bad books were going to have a cocky addition.

When he stuck out right in front of Ella with a distance of no more than seven feet she could notice his feline features. His round-doe like eyes that sparkled like stars in the night sky. His large and tall nose that complimented his entire face breathtaking and a toothy-grin that resembled that of a bunny.

Ella mentally gagged to the sight of his glimmering attire, beneath all that glitter he was probably as average looking as any commoner she had ever met, she persuaded herself. She could hear the blaring pace of the guard's heel who sprinted towards the Prince to fetch the flashy jacket that he took off.

And boy was Ella wrong.

Ella's eyes widened as she attempted to absorb the sight of the bulky man that stood in her view. No, he didn't look like any commoner, he was beyond anyone she had ever witnessed. He was mesmerizing even when he wasn't pounded under the heavy pile of shimmering fabrics.

She shook her head back into her senses.

Ella focused on her sword and the posture she positioned herself into for the battle that awaited her.

Truth be told, Ella was a little scared and not of the possible death, she could encounter in his hands, but because she didn't know what she was in for. She didn't know how he fought, his special skills, or if he planned to go hard on her. Of course, she wouldn't know that had she been fighting someone else, but he was royal, and she expected accordingly of him.

To Ella is losing, without even putting up a real fight, worse than death, which is why she was so eager to at least strike him out even if it's by a little and for that she needed to know what exactly he was capable of. Ella hadn't seen how he looked like before, she had only heard of stories of a merciless Crown prince of The Mubeven Empire who had only one goal.

To be the next king to his people.

He was a beast-known for his love of gore and not paying another thought before finishing his enemies off. It made Ella think that how someone seeming so angelic could own such a devilish personality.

"BEGIN!"

The host shouted, causing Ella to run and attack his legs to force him down. She whipped her sword down to his calf causing blood to seep through his skin. Prince Theodore backed a little on the impact since he wasn't expecting her to make the first move.

He studied how she preferred to kill more than to save. Prince Theodore might not look like it, but he was very analytical. He examined each every move of his enemy before he picked up on the lacking spot and ended his rival once and for all.

But Ella,

Ella was so swift she gave him no time to process, and he liked it.

He dodged a couple of blows Ella threw at him as he kept moving back till half his feet were hanging by the edge of the ring.

But that was as far as she could get, this time it was Prince Theodore who showcased his moves. He slammed his bigger, heavier sword on Ella's. She could feel the pressure on her arms, her legs, her entire body. This feeling of dominance was foreign to her, and she wanted it to remain that way.

Foreign.

She tried to push back his sword, it resulted in putting Ella and Prince Theodore in very close proximity. She stared in his brown orbs trying to hunt down his next move, but to Ella's demise, she couldn't read him no matter how much she tried there was no answer, and she hated that.

Ella felt her sword flying out of her grip and landing on the ground far away from the ring. She opened her mouth in disbelief, but was quick to recover herself and stepped back in the instant motion.

Prince Theodore inched towards Ella slyly as he held his sword directly inclined to her face.

Ella on the other hand, stood her ground, she did not move even by the slightest. Prince Theodore used his sword to put Ella's silky lock behind her shoulder that twirled in front of her face, he found her curly strands adorable and unusual. He had never seen hair like that before, not in Mubeven and definitely for the first time in Dalia.

Ella felt the pinch of the cold metal on her chin as Prince Theodore used his sword to lift her face upwards, this way she could directly match his eye-level. He enjoyed her honey-brown orbs that shone in the sunlight like yellow sapphires and her modestly hooded lids. He continued gazing at her long lashes that downcast upon her eyes in a suave manner.

"Say, what is your surname dear girl?" Prince Theodore asked Ella as he noticed her raised eyebrows and hands clutched into fists.

Ella shushed up for a while as she essayed to make sense of his odd question.

Why would he ever want to know and that too her last name?

"It's Adler, your Highness." Ella replied hesitantly

"How does Theodore sound?"

"What?" Ella questioned as her heart started racing again, sweat begins to form on her temple as she urged to hear him more clearly once more.

"How does Gabriella Theodore sound?"

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