The Emperor's Concubine

Chapter Fifty-Three

I walk through the palace with Cethin and Jax, admiring the weather outside.
"What should we do today?" Cethin sighs.
"I don't know about you two, but I was going to read." I shrug, smiling amused.
"Don't be like that, we should go out and play!" Cethin rolls his eyes.
"Play? Don't you do that everyday already?" Jax scoffs.
"Well yeah, so it'd make no sense for me not to play today, keep up!" Cethin scoffs back, snapping his fingers repeatedly.
"Why don't you two go train?" I suggest.
"Nah, then what'll you do all by your lonesome self?" Cethin clicks his tongue.
"I just said I'm going to read-"
"Oh what's that?" Jax exclaims, "You're gonna train?"
"You changed your mind?" Cethin shouts loudly.
Maids and butlers look over, startled by their voices.
Cethin and Jax lock their arms with mine.
"Come on, let's train then!" Cethin loudly exclaims.
"Huh? H-Hey wait! I didn't agree!" I protest, attempting to break free from them.
They drag me off down the hall, ignoring my cries of objection.

I sit on a bench, adjusting the cuffs of my training uniform.
Jax and Petunia come out from the knights quarters after changing. They wear simple brown pants with white tunics, matching my uniform.
Petunia fixes the leather gloves on her hands, fastening them tighter.
"About time. I expected the princess here to take forever to change." Cethin groans, standing up.
"Don't talk like you're any better, didn't you spend an hour to fix your hair this morning?" Jax scoffs, holding his hand out to help me up.
"Hey! Not an hour, forty-three minutes actually." Cethin proudly grins.
"So an hour basically." Petunia rolls her eyes.
"Come on, no fighting. Hurry, let's just train quick. I want to go check out a book before sundown." I tighten my ponytail and sigh.
Jax picks up a training rod and throws me it.
I look down at the rod and back up at him.
"What's this for?" I ask.
"I think you're ready to start training with weapons." Jax shrugs.
"R-Really?" I look down at the staff and excitedly back up to him.
"Yeah, c'mon. I'm not gonna teach you it ever again, if you try to argue with me during my lesson though."
Jax walks to an outdoor training ring with sand over the ground. I hop over the safety fence and follow Jax to the middle of the ring.
He teaches me the basics of posture and easy blocking moves. A few hours go by as I have fun with the lesson.

"Ugh, my god!"
I turn to see Cethin sitting on the fence with Petunia sitting beside him.
Cethin groans, tired.
"What's the matter?" I ask.
"It's so boring! God, I can't believe this is taking this long. Nothing good even happened yet." Cethin groans, whining.
"Shut up, fine then. We'll have a duel, how's that?" Jax scoffs.
"Oh a duel! That's excellent, how about me and you, Jax?" Cethin exclaims.
"No, cause then Luna's just gonna leave if she gets bored. Cethin and Luna should go first." Petunia interjects.
Jax hops out of the ring, throwing Cethin his wooden rod.
Cethin grows ecstatic as he hops off the fence, sprinting to the middle of the ring.
"Hey! You're just sparring! No major injuries, no aims above the neck, play fair and go easy on her Cethin!" Jax shouts, watching from the side.
"Yeah, yeah I got it! Let's start!" Cethin jumps into position.
"I can't believe I get to see what you're like when sparring." I smile, jumping into position as well.
"Shame I can't use all my strength. Don't cry if you lose."
"Don't go too hard, this is for fun." I roll my eyes.
"I'll go so easy on you, a baby could take me on." Cethin snickers, grinning happily.
"Three, two, one, spar!" Jax shouts.
Cethin lunges swiftly attempting to hit my leg. I block his attack, barely making it.
"C'mon! You're missing all the moments to counter attack!" Jax shouts at me.
Cethin's body dances and twists elegantly as he spins the rod to attempt to hit me on all ends.
Given how I've seen how he can fight, shockingly this is hardly anything close to his normal strengths.
"What's even open for me to attack!" I exclaim.
"C'mon Chicky, don't be weak, find a way and fight!" Cethin shouts, trying to sweep me off my feet.
"Good, good! Excellent blocking, you're matching his speed now! Continue to block until you find a way in!" Jax shouts.
I jump, blocking his attacks again. My body being pushed back closer to the railings as he continues to attack.
I focus on blocking as I'm approaching the railings quickly. Just then I finally find it.
An opening.
I stab my rod into the ground, crossed with Cethins rod as I dig his down into the dirt.
Using the leverage to jump, I twist his rod out of his hand and throwing it up in the air. I jump on the fence, catching his rod in my other hand.
I cross the rods, holding them between both sides of his neck.

I stand out of breath as I look down at Cethin, who looks up at me out of breath and grinning.
"Yes! You shut that bastard up! Yes! My student! Oh how you flourished!" Jax shouts joyfully.
Jax and Petunia run to the side of the railing we stand at.
"That was incredible, you learned to use your surroundings." Petunia claps, amazed.
"I don't think it was all that great." I laugh lightly, embarrassed.
"Nope, that was excellent, good job Chicky." Cethin holds his hand out to me .
I smile, jumping off the fence and shaking his hand.
"I can't believe she beat you." Petunia snickers.
"H-Hey! I went super easy what do you mean! She's also a newbie, I can't just kill her!" Cethin rolls his eyes, "If we did go harder on her, I'm sure she'd be fine."
"Fine then." Jax speaks up.
We all look at him as he thinks.
"I'll spar with you." Jax says.
"H-Huh?" I exclaim, "Wait, I could barely keep up with Cethin and he was going easy!"
"Just do it." Jax stretches, picking up the rod.
"It won't hurt to try for fun to see what it's like versing him." Cethin shrugs.
Cethin pushes me towards the middle of the ring, ignoring my objections.
"The emperor's going to be mad if she gets hurt." Petunia sighs.
"That's why it's for fun! Jax is gonna go easy on her anyways!" Cethin snickers.
"Are you sure? I could barely keep up with you." I say as Cethin forces me into position.
"It's gonna be fun, don't worry!" Cethin pats my head, instantly sprinting out of the ring.
I turn back to Jax who calmly poses.
"Two, one, spar." He deeply speaks.
His eyes appearing different.
Instantly, he hits my rod, crossed with his. His hit pushes me back, my feet dragging back in the dirt.
"H-Hey!" I shout.
Jax swiftly lunges at me, his light swift movements almost unnoticeable.
I'm soon pushed back to the fence.
I sprint, jumping over the fence. I turn around and Jax jumps over the fence, lunging at me.
I quickly block his attack.
"H-Hey! I'm out of the fence! Stop!" I shout, attempting to push him back.
"What the- Jax!" I hear Cethin shout.
"Real life doesn't have pauses until someone wins." Jax growls out.
My eyes widen as his voice and expression seem like a different person.
"Jax!" Petunia shouts.
He pushes me back more and more.
"Stop!" I shout.
Jax's eyes glaring manically. He continues to attack, ignoring everyones pleads.
"Jax, enough!" Cethin shouts.
Cethin instantly grabs Jax from behind by his waist.
"Don't get in my way!" Jax shouts.
He slips out of Cethin's grip, kicking Cethin's stomach as he continues to attack me.
We approach a grassy field. The uneven terrain getting to me as I tirelessly defend myself.
I stumble slightly, instantly Jax hits the rod out of my hand. The rod flies far away from me.
A sharp pain whips my face, causing me to fall as I roll down the hill.
"Luna!" I hear Cethin and Petunia shout.
I gasp, wincing in pain.
My cheek, cut and bleeding. My blood drips onto the green grass.
"You can't be weak!"
I snap my head up to see Jax still running to pursue me.
Taken over with fear, reminded of all the beatings from King Weslium's staff, I freeze.
Jax instantly sprints down the hill, jumping to hit me again.
"I-I said stop!" I scream.
I throw my hand up, feeling the warmth rush from my chest out to my hand.
A bright light appears as I instinctively throw my hand up. The light beaming out of my hand, forcefully hitting him in the core.
Jax is thrown back. I stare at my hand as I notice the gold haze dissipate.
"Luna!" Cethin runs to me quickly.
I stare, shocked as I watch Petunia check Jax's body.