The Prince and the Tomboy

Chapter One: Old opponents

Annabelle's POV

I thrust my brass hilted sword towards his stomach. My opponent swings his sword up and our swords ring. He then tries again aiming his sword towards my right side and I angle my sword defensively so it glances off to the side causing him to stumble forward. I pivot so he doesn't hit me. My sword catches the light for a second, temporarily blinding me. My opponent quickly recovers spining around, lifting his sword blocking mine. I wrench it back using the momentum to keep it swiging forward with lots of power. His knee's bend slightly under the weight but his strong arms hold. I pull my sword up again but my wrist catches and I feel a sharp jab of pain and grit my teeth. I dance back and flex my wrist, contemplating my next move.

Tim has definitely improved heaps since our last duel. He must train hard.

I try to catch my breath for a moment but then I'm then sent quickly into action as the duel continues. I see his muscles straining as Tim jumps forward swinging. I parry as quick as I can, pushing his sword slightly to the side. Then he stumbles forward again. Grinning I step behind him, grabbing his leather armour and holding my sword near his throat. He struggles for a second then he drops his sword in the surrender motion and the small crowd around us cheers. I let him go and he turns around. He looks a tad defeated, I thought to myself.

"Good job Timothy," I say holding out my hand smiling. He shakes my hand with a smile of his own.

"Not good enough apparently Anna. You still manage to beat me every time," He says ruefully. I give a small laugh.

"Timothy you are one of the best guys in the village with swords. You give me a massive challenge every time," I say modestly. That statement is very true. I'm not invincible and I have a feeling Tim might be one of the first to beat me. Still he shakes his head.

"Which you overcome every time!"

I grin at that. That's only his fault.

"Stop challenging me then," I say laughing slightly. Tim has been challenging me to duels since we were twelve and in almost seven years he hasn't managed to beat me.

I wave goodbye to Tim and walk over to my friends Jordan, Sam, Janine and Elizabeth.

"Wow you actually won Anna,'' Sam said to me. I shoot him a challenging glare.

"Ha ha very funny Sam. If its such a surprise why don't you duel me hmm," I say raising an eyebrow and place a threatening hand on my sword hilt where it rests in it sheath. Sam quickly shakes his head and I hide a smile.

"Nope, learned my lessons last time," He says quickly. I grinned evilly at that. We'd met Sam five years ago when he moved to town. He challenged me to a fight and let's just say, he didn't come out of it very well. He swallowed his pride though an became our friend after that.

"If you two would stop bickering, some of us would like to congratulate Anna," Janine chastised Sam and I. I hug her smirking at Sam over her back. He rolls his eyes. I laugh on the inside. Sam likes to act so mature when, really, he's just as immature as the rest of us.

Jordan pats me on the back.

"Well done Annie," He smirks. I scowl at the nickname. He's been calling me Annie since my trainer mucked up my name once when I was nine. Unfortunately Jordan was there.

"Don't call me Annie," I practically growl at him. He dosn't look scared by my threat.

"You're so tiny Annie I can't take you seriously," He says in a cute voice, ruffling my hair. I ignore him and give Eliza a hug. I turn back to face the rest of my friends.

"I should probably go see Edmund and tell him the news," I tell them. They wave a quick goodbye and I start walking in the direction of Edmund's house.

I began sword training when I was seven. I had an unfortunate event with a dress and decided I wanted to be as boy like as possible. Edmund was a retired knight and offered to train me with swords. I worked hard for years, trying to get the strength to handle a full sword. My determination made me not settle on being a capable swords woman and to keep on going until the sword was like an extension of my arm. Almost every boy in the village has duelled against me, except for a few smart ones because every person who duels me has to learn to swallow their pride when they are defeated. I knew that one of these days, determination would lead someone to defeat me, I wasn't stupid. Edmund taught me well. He taught me not only how to use the sword, but to respect it as a weapon and not a toy and respect of other fighters. I know that one of the first people to beat me will probably be Timothy.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when I hear my name.

"Annabelle? So it's a girl," A tall guy was saying to his companion snootily.

"Yea. Apparently she's one of the villages best fighters," The other person said. The first guy snorted.

"What right does a village girl have to train with swords. Really, it's embarrassing," He states in a contempt tone. I feel my red hot temper flare up inside me and my face flushes with anger. I force myself to calm down and take a few deep breathes then walk over to the two boys. I tap the tall one on the shoulder.

"Excuse me," I say sweetly. He nods and motions for me to continue.

"You weren't by any chance talking about Annabelle, the one who won the duel today, where you," I ask him politely. He nods, not noticing my attire or weapon. His friend does though and I see amusement on his face.

"Are you a friend of hers," The first one asks, raising an eyebrow. I laugh. If only you knew, I thought to myself.

"No, not at all," I say sweetly.

"What's your name," He says holding out his hand.

I stop smiling and narrow my eyes.

"Annabelle," I say. His expression shows shock for a moment then his face hardens and he sneers.

"So I have no right to train with swords hmmm. Well if you think so, I challenge you to a duel tomorrow at midday," I growl at him. He looks shocked but then he snorts again, rolling his brown eyes his gold hair catching the sunlight. If we were in a slightly different situation I might find him attractive but in our predicament, he's far from it.

"You have no right to challenge me but, I'll humour you. I accept," He says in a sure tone. I shoot him one last look of disgust and stalk off fuming.

How dare he insult me like that. I'll show him. Argh he's the worst of them all. He's so sure and arrogant and spiteful and argh. I kick a pebble and watch as it bounces down the street.

I practically run the whole way to Edmund's house. I knock on his door, still angry. He opens the door and let's me in, watching my actions. I stalk through his house to the small training area out the back. When I reach it, I wrench my sword out of its sheath and start attacking the wooden practice pole viciously, mumbling insults under my breath. I continue whacking the wooden pole until my arms are too tired to hold the sword up. I collapse to the ground exhausted. Edmund gently helps me off the ground and guides me inside to a seat.

I take a breather for a few minutes before explaining.

"I won," I started. Edmund raises an eyebrow. I knew that look. He was expecting something completely different and was now confused.

"Then what where you angry about then," Edmund sure enough asks me.

"Some visitors heard about me. I was walking past and one was insulting me, and then when I challenged him to a duel, he just said I didn't have a right to challenge him but he'd humour me," I say in an annoyed tone. Edmund shakes his head.

"Some people have no respect for women and their rights," He says sadly.

"You're telling me," I grumble. Edmund didn't have to push through an invisible barrier to be accepted.

"Do you feel better now," Edmund asks kindly. I nod then give a small grin.

"Apart from the fact my arms feel like they're going to drop off," I say good humoured. He laughs.

"Well I should head off, Mother will be expecting me soon," I say.

"Good luck tomorrow Anna," Edmund says as I walk out the door.

As I walk down the street I think about the duel tomorrow. Who was this visitor? He must be with the group that arrived earlier today. They must be traveling to the castle for the princes birthday ball in a weeks time. Everyone from the age of seventeen to twenty one had to attend, the rest had a choice. There was a rumour going around that the prince was going to choose a bride at the ball. Most people scoffed at the rumour though. Rumours were just rumours after all.

I came onto Main Street and the traffic increased. I smiled at the people who greeted me or congratulated me on today. I made my way down the street to my mothers shop. She sold herbal remedies. Her remedies has a reputation for working. I walk into the back of the shop.

"Hello Mother," I say to her. She looks up from the herbs she's grinding.

"Oh Bella. Could you take over the counter for a few minutes she asks. I nod and go behind the counter. I hear a ding and see Alexander's friend walking through. I cross my arms and wait for him to get to the counter. He looks up and starts when he sees me.

"Annabelle," He says surprised. I raise an eyebrow and he shakes himself and tells me what he needs.

"Could I have a cough medicine please," He says.

"Sure," I say and bed over to rummage through the cabinet to find one.

"I want to apologise for my friends behaviour. He was being very rude," He says. I straighten up and hand him the medicine. He was being very nice to me considering he wasn't even the one insulting me.

"Yes he was but you don't have to apologise for him. If anyone should its him," I say. "Oh and that's ten silver coins." He fishes the money out of a ouch and I put them in the jar.

"Seeing as you know my name, what is your name," I ask.

"Liam," He says, holding out his hand. I shake it.

"Well Liam minus the fact you have a horrible friend, you seem like a good person," I say straight faced. Liam laughs.

"Usually he's not so bad. But today he was complaining about everything. in fact after the duel he'll probably get the manners he's trained to have back and come apologize," Liam says rolling his eyes. I give him a sympathetic look. Liam says goodbye and leaves the shop.

My mother comes in from the back smiling.

"Who was that Bella," She asks smiling.

"Liam," I say cautiously, not sure what she's smiling so brightly about.

"Is he going to the princes ball," She says. I shrug.

"Presumably. Why?"

She smiles brighter.

"Because sweetheart, balls are good chances to find potential husbands and Liam seems like a very nice young man." I cut her off there

"Whoa whoa back it up a bit. Potential husbands? Mother I'm only turning nineteen in just over a week," I exclaim.

"And you became an adult at seventeen. Marrying at nineteen or twenty isn't unusual," Mother explains. I shake my head quickly.

"No Mother! I'm not getting married," I say in a panicked voice. My mother sighs.

"At least I tried."

I look at her apprehensively

"I'd rather you didn't try," I say, rolling my eyes. Mothers.

"It's my job as a mother," She says in a tone that suggests she's stating the obvious. I quickly change the subject because I have a feeling I may loose that argument. See what I mean though, Mothers.

"So," I say trailing off, looking for a topic.

"Do you have my dress for the ball yet," I ask genuinely curious. My mother dragged me along for a fitting a month ago. The person measuring poked at my slender muscled body going on about how nice making a dress for my size would be. I was quite embarrassed.

"A few have arrived," My mother says carelessly. I nod not thinking about her words, but then they sink in.

"WHAT," I splutter. My mother looks at me confused.

"What what Bella?"

"Excuse me but a couple of dresses have arrived! How many did you order," I say in a slightly despaired voice. My mother was lucky she even got me to a fitting. It was only because she said she was only getting one dress.

"Oh relax Bella. Some are just casual dresses for around the castle. Like formal dinners you will have to attend. There are only a couple ball gowns," She says carelessly. I think over her words.

"Hang on Mother. Why would I have to attend a formal dinner? We just have dinner in the informal dining room don't we," I say trying to remember the wording if the official letter sent to everyone. Yep definitely no formal dinner.

Mother looks like she said something she shouldn't have. She waves it off but I can still see the tension in her shoulders.

I clear my throat. "I might go visit Jess and Eliza," I say to her. She nods smiling.

"Say hello to Elizabeth and Jessica for me," She calls out just as I leave the shop.

"Will do," I call back.

I met the twins Eliza and Jess when we were nine. They were in the shop with their mother when I ran in crying to my mother. Just before that I had tripped on the kind skirt on my dress ad all the boys where laughing at me. While my mother comforted me, they came over and comforted me as well. When I felt better and had changed into some trousers and a shirt I kept at the shop, we went and played together out in the village. We have been best friends ever since. That was also the last time I ever wore a dress.

"Hey Anna," I hear. I turn and wave when I see who it is.

"Hey Sam," I say. He runs a hand through his already disheveled blonde hair causally.

"What are you doing," He asks. I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Do I really have to tell you everything in doing Samuel," I say teasingly. Sam rolls his eyes.

"Anna, I'm one of your best friends," He says. I pretend to scratch my chin thoughtfully.

"You're one of my best friends are you," I say in a thoughtful. Sam mocks a look if horror.

"You don't mean to say I've been living a lie," He exclaims dramatically and we both laugh.

"I'm going to see Jess and Eliza," I finally tell him. He nods.

"Well," He trails of then I jump in.

"Oh Sam you should have met this visitor. His attitude about me was like, argh," I growl frustrated, running a hand through my dark brown hair. Sam rolls his eyes.

"Like mine was," He asks and I shake my head.

"Worse," I tell him and he looks surprised.

"Let me guess, I'll he watching a duel tomorrow," He asks and I nod.

"Yep."

He grins widely.

"I'm betting on you," He says seriously and we both laugh.

"And here's the guy who thought I would be horrible the first time we dueled,'' I tease him and he rolls his eyes.

"God I was stupid back then,'' He says and I nod my head in agreement.

"Well I'm going now. You coming,'' I ask but Sam shook his head.

"I can't. Daniel wants me to work this afternoon,'' Sam explains and I nod. Sam is the butchers apprentice.

We say goodbye and I walk down the street. A slight breeze blows and lifts my unruly brown hair off my shoulders. I tuck a piece behind my ear and open the gate to Jess and Eliza's house and walk up the path.

Jessica opens the door and smiles.

"Hey Anna," She greets and I smile.

"Hey Jess. Can I talk to you and Eliza," I ask and Jess nods and lets me in.

"Sure."

I walk to their bedroom and its ajar slightly so I walk in. Eliza's sitting on her bed drawing something.

"Hi," I greeted her casually as I walk in. She looks up and grins.

"Hi stranger," She says smiling. I sit on her bed and groan. Jessica closes the door and quickly sits on her bed. She takes one look at my now angry face and sighs.

"What happened Anna?" See my friends take one look and they know somethings up.

I tell them about what happened and they both look annoyed. Eliza trains with a bow and Jessica rides horses.

'How dare he,'' Eliza states angrily.

"Thats what I thought,'' I told her. We sat fuming.

''So when is the duel,'' Jessica asks and I laugh. They know me so well.

"Tomorrow.''

They both smile.

"We'll be there,'' They tell me and a grin. I glance at their water clock and gasp when I notice the time. My mother will be expecting me for dinner soon.

"Gotta go. See you tomorrow,'' I tell them quickly and they say goodbye.

I run down the street to my house and quickly go in. I roll my eyes at the silence because I now know my Mother isn't even here.

I go and sit on the couch and wait for her to arrive. I don't even attempt to start cooking because the last time I coocked... Well, lets just say I haven't cooked since.

Author's Note

Ignore small spelling errors, minor grammatical errors and any other slight problems please.

Reviews

[Amaya Sullivan]

I know you said to ignore the spelling and grammar, but there are a lot just so you are aware.

Also, you need consistency for her nickname. Her mother calls her Bella, but her name is Annabelle. I think it would be okay if her name was Annabella, but Belle would be the nickname of Annabelle. What does she look like? I can't paint a picture of this character, so I am assuming she has short hair.

You seem to know a lot about sword fighting as you describe it very well. I how you have Annabelle all over the place. Most boys never stay in one spot, so they are always on the move. It describes her energy and tomboyish attitude.

When she encounters a friend, describe how knows this person. It's from her POV, so tell me when and how she met Sam as she seems to have had a run in with him in the past.

I felt it was rushed the confrontation between the guy (Prince) who was criticizing a girl sword fighting was a little off. The description of his reaction needs a little work.

I love this story, and I can't wait to read how you are going to have her duel the Prince. Keep writing.