A Duel

You approach the arrogant noble and challenge him to duel. Judging by the self-satisfied smirk on the prince's face you suspect that that was exactly what he had been hoping for. To make this upcoming demonstration more interesting, you offer him something he could never attain on his own. "I, Bruce King of Kalion hereby offer you Prince Iasos, third son of Thebes, my crown if you defeat me in a duel to the first blood drawn." The gasp of surprise from all assembled tells you that you have their attention; your men try to hide their smiles, they've heard this before, and never once been disappointed by the results.

"Also, I swear to all assembled here that I am not here as a hostile army to either your Alliance of Nations nor the city state of Athenapolis, however should I lose, I pledge to fight for you as an independent Rider." In an effort to help this prince grow as a man, you add a final condition. "For your part, your majesty, should I win this duel, you will relinquish your position for the period of a week and meditate to my mother Athena on the wisdom of humility." There is a chuckle from the assembled parties, but Prince Iasos is too caught up in what he thinks will be a glorious victory to realize that you are pointing out his most obvious character flaw.

"Do you accept these terms?" Your voice is carefully polite, and the arrogant prince is eager to accept before you come to your senses.

"I, Prince Iasos will make you regret your offer and will gladly accept your throne," his eyes flicker eagerly to Alexia taking in her slender figure and pretty features, "and all that comes with it." You have to win the duel now. If you lose, poor Prince Iasos will be dead the first time he lays hands on your deadly companion.

You remove your amour as the prince does the same and order your warriors back giving you and your opponent room. You draw your twin longswords while the prince selects a shield and a short sword. Even before the formalities are exchanged Prince Iasos charges, perhaps naively hoping to knock you to the ground. You've seen this technique before, you've even seen it work against inexperienced duelists, but his prideful arrogance makes this even easier than you predicted.

Rolling to your right, you duck effortlessly under his shield then turn with cat-like speed swinging your swords in a double arc that leave a bloody X across Prince's exposed back. You graciously call for a physician to treat his wounds as you carefully clean your blades. The prince glares at you as he is helped away; you ignore the fool, making no reference to how easily you put him in his place, but those scars will always be a reminder to the prince that he should never underestimate an opponent no matter how much he wants a prize.

You put your amour back on and make apologies to the stunned envoys for the delay in negotiations.