As his steel sword clashed with tremendous fury, Prince Alister Duckworth realized his self defense class would be a fight for his life.

  His assailant was Captain Rin Sabre, a young woman hailing from an esteemed family of sword fighters. She was everything he was not–intense, tall, almond eyed with short black hair cut into a jagged bob.

  Her body encased in chainmail moved with such efficiency in a way he could barely carry himself. Her captain's hat remained still on her head even as she battled with ferocity.

  The prince of fifteen years had messy but shiny blond hair, emerald green eyes and a round face. The weight of his chain mail made him move with the leaden grace of a deep sea diver. He moved his arms frantically but with one final parry, it was over.

  Sabre took her hilt and jammed it into his breastplate.

  "Oof!" he gasped as he somersaulted onto the ground.

  The dust settled in the courtyard. He glared at her, sitting on his bottom.

  Rin twirled her sword deftly. Her long face angled into a smirk. "Is that all you got, Prince Featherweight?"

  The young prince, not one to lose in a game of taunts muttered, "I wish my mom didn't pick you as my crown guard. I really dislike certain qualities of yours."

  Sabre narrowed her dark eyes with a wry smile.

  "Because I'm a girl?"

  The young prince shook his head defiantly. "Because you can beat the stuffing out of me without even trying. You're severe and scary and you even have more lip hairs than me."

  The steely captain flinched from his words.

  It seemed to Alister that his last remark struck a blow harder than a sword. His love of language was the only weapon he had.

  Rin's nostrils flared. "Well…fine. Clearly you think the pen is mightier than the sword, Prince Alister. But your insults will mean nothing when you're cut to ribbons by blood thirsty subdemons!"

  The blond prince stood up. He dusted himself off. "I think I'll manage. I do have superb bodyguards like you after all! And you are the most chivalrous ladyknight I know!"

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Rin managed a soft smile. At least he recognized her worth as a sword fighter.

  The prince grinned like a scamp. "How about we go one more round? I just remembered something that could help me."

  "It would be my honor," she said with a bow.

  The prince bowed to his trainer too, but a smirk came across his face. It was a 'you're going to regret this' smirk.

  Rin angled her sword perfectly at her adversary, but the prince merely untied a small cloth bag from his belt.

  With a tremendous grin, he held out the bag and spoke in a goofy and showy voice. "Why spend all this time chanting archaic magic words when you can have all the magic you want with these 17 Essential Spell Hacks in this Adventure Survival Kit!"

  The swords woman rolled her eyes in their sockets. A mischievous masked majester had paid a visit to their kingdom recently and he managed to snooker young Alister into purchasing a magic kit.

  Not only had the prince fallen for the potential scam, but now he was parroting what the tricky trickster had called an 'infomercial."

  "Why chant the words 'firey flamey igneous' to cast a dragon's fireball when you can breathe the fire yourself!"

  "More like firey flamey ignoramus," the young captain muttered.

  Carefully, the prince poured out a pile of red dust. "With my homemade magic dragon powder, you can set the world on fire…literally!"

  Without thinking, he inhaled it through his nostrils with a loud snort. Steam blasted from them. Already they flared with fire fitting for a mighty dragon.

  Rin Sabre braced herself as things were about to heat up in the courtyard.

  The prince bent over and hacked several fire balls. They hurtled through the air with none of the accuracy of a dragon's breath. Yet, they were still quite fatal.

  Sabre weaved past several balls of fiery excess before meeting the prince in the center of the courtyard. She held her sword ready to defeat her foe when suddenly, the prince roared. "GET BACK! I'M GONNA HURL!"

  His eyes bulged and Sabre knew it was time to clear the area. With a loud "BLAAAAAARGH!" the prince belched up a whole wave of fire.

  He scorched the dirt in front of him and fell backwards. The magical flames simmered down automatically, leaving him coughing and sputtering in the dirt.

  The pale face of Sabre entered his vision. There was a smirk on her lightly mustached face. "I guess it's even better that you use phony magic. You defeated yourself and I would have no honor cutting you down now!"

  Alister grumbled as he lay in the sand. "Sabre…get me some royal antacids. I have indigestion."

  Before she could answer, a page boy clad in a pink robe and blond wig approached them. "My prince, your presence is requested in the royal chambers by the queen."

  "Whuh…what for?" Alister demanded.

  The page had a face of solemn sorrow. "To pay tribute to your father. This is the first anniversary after he perished in the Battle of the Devil’s Hangnail."