I'll tell you this, I panicked.

I didn't want the baroness to finish me. I pulled back my attacks and I regreted it. Besides, this woman irritated me. I did not like her continuous jeers and sneers. I did not like how she provoked me. And most of all, I did not like how I underestimated her.

I ran for the sword as the internal clock in my head ticked. The world around me lay still, save for the beating of my heart. Elsa's eyes shone in a malevolent way as she prepared to finish me. I could afford a short stop though. I stopped before her and shot her a mocking grin. Her eyes were focused on the place I was standing on before.

"We'll soon see who'll be grinning next," I said, knowing full well she wouldn't answer me.

Her slowly eyes turned toward me. I blinked rapidly, struck with disbelief. She was still looking at me, I didn't imagine things. My heart jumped out to my throat when her body s.h.i.+vered and trembled. She seemed as though she was trying to break free of the spell. I've terribly underestimated the baroness.

I regained lucidity as the ticking of the clock intensified. I ran for the sword.  I picked it up right after the spell effect dissipated. Elsa screamed, quite an alluring scream I must add, then straigntened up. She cracked her neck as she walked toward me.

"You want to play?" she asked, hopping on the b.a.l.l.s of her feet. "Let's play, ugly boy."

I ran at her and swung my sword. She dodged and answered with a thrust, which I parried and answered with a kick toward her left leg. She jumped back, smiling all the while, then beckoned me forward.

"Come at me, ugly boy," she said. "Or are you afraid of hitting a woman?"

I gotta hand it to her. That woman knew how to provoke a man's ire, but in all her excitement, she forgot to tighten her guard on her right flank. She was within jumping range too. It was my turn to surprise her.

I jumped to her right side and thrust my wooden stick toward her liver. It was a move I practiced long ago for duels. It required perfect timing and endless practice, but I had used it so much before it became second nature to me.

I knew my hit would connect. She had left an opening in her guard that would finish the fight. She'd take a hit to her liver and fall to her knees. No one stays up after such an unexpected hit.

I realized, however, that as I thought of my certain victory, my attack didn't land. The baroness was still close to me. I just didn't seem to move as fast as I wished to be. In fact, I was moving slower than I'd ever been. I felt as though I was moving under murky water.

I looked at the baroness, and saw her grinning.

She punched me on the nose. My body slowly leaned backwards. The pain I experienced was excruciating. I felt it travelling from my deformed cheek to my jaw then to my teeth. I felt it expand upwards too. It slithered through the back of my head, expanded behind my eye sockets, and concentrated at my nose bridge.

It all culminated in my head then, in an explosion of excruciating agony. Then I felt my body being flung backwards. My back slammed against the wooden boards. My head throbbed, my nose hurt hurt badly. I

Just who is this baroness?

"You lost, ugly boy," she called out to me, pointing her wooden sword at my throat.

She had me down for the second time. I blinked at her furiously. I was still in shock from what had just happened. I wiped blood out of my nose then grinned at her.

 "You'll have to tell that to my unconscious body," I said.

Elsa swung her stick at me. It was a quick flip of her wooden sword actually. Had I not antic.i.p.ated her attack, she would have knocked me out cold. I brought my arms forward to guard and simultaneously kicked the baroness on the knee.

The stick hit my arms and Elsa cursed then jumped back. I got to my feet and raised my arms in a guarding position. I was still within her range. She did a quick faint with her stick then tried to stab me.

The beauty of wodden swords is that you can actually grab them. I grinned at her as I grabbed the sword then pulled her toward me. She toppled forward, and I met her advance with my shoulder.

She squealed then fell. She was on her back, two feet away from me. I threw her wooden stick outside the ring then advanced toward her. She got up quickly enough to dodge a stomp I directed at her stomach.

She retaliated with a kick aimed at my head. I took the hit in my forearms then aimed a kick at the baroness's anchor leg. Her knee bent forward and she fell to the side. I rushed behind her, then crossed my arms around her neck and pulled back.

Elsa struggled, tried to elbow me but missed. I kept pulling back, trying to get her to the ground. I needed her to pa.s.s out and finish this fight. She tried to elbow me once more but I jerked my arm back forcefully, making her scream in pain.

As we were both falling, I suddenly realized that I couldn't move as I wished to, and I saw Elsa break free from my grip. I was submerged in that invisible liquid once more. I couldn't move quickly enough to grab her.

If she was using that spell again, I might as well counter it with one my own. I willed my brain to think of one word. Even thinking got slower when Elsa activated whatever spell she had. She stood and coughed for a while, as I urged my brain to think solely of one word.

Thank my stars she couldn't move after she broke free. It gave me time to formulate that word clearly. She looked at me, her face contorted in an expression of extreme anger. She then directed a shaky foot toward my face.

"Stop!" I finally managed to mutter inwardly.

I felt the invisible liquid effect dissipate. Then I jumped to the left. Elsa's previous kick missed, but she followed with another kick that caught me in the right ribs. I coughed out and fell to my knees. Elsa held me by my hair and drove her knee up my face.

I brought my arms together to block the following attack. The barones was strong, fast, and decisive. I couldn't help but admire her fighting prowess. Even though she lost the wooden sword, she had her limbs as replacement. My bones complained as I guarded her kicks and punches. I retaliated with my own, but my hits rarely connected.

We exchanged blows for a while. Neither of us used our respective spells anymore. Using them consumed our energies faster. We focused on antic.i.p.ating each other's attacks then, Elsa's kicks versus my quick punches and sneaky kicks.

She kept on performing this spinning kick attack. Every time she'd done so, I'd find a foot plastered against the back of my head. This move alone annoyed me. It was difficult to predict and she usually used it after feints, which I fell for quite often. I was beginning to get tired, started losing focus too.

Elsa was also getting tired. Her kicks and punches were getting slower, wider. She aimed a kick at my right side next. I took the hit but made sure to grab her leg in the process. I heaved her off the floor and slammed her against the wooden boards. She groaned but still managed to guard against my following punches.

I can't recall how long we struggled on the floor, exchanging blows, grunting, sweating. She landed some solid kicks. I kept pounding at her sides. She parried some, and taken others, but she'd always give back more than she received. We rolled on the wooden floor, taking turns at being on top.

She was a fierce one, this baroness of MilkWeed. Not for one moment, did her eyes falter as I tried my best to get the better of her. She gritted her teeth and endured pain. My body felt heavier. My blows rarely connected. My swings became too wide, too weak. On the other hand, the baroness also seemed to miss many of her strikes.

"I think you've had about enough, my lady," a gentle old voice called out to us. He wasn't speaking loudly, but we still managed to hear the man.  

We stopped fighting, and looked toward the source of the voice. I lifted my head, to see a dozen servants surrounding us, and an old man standing beside the square arena. He was smiling without showing his teeth. His wrinkled fat cheeks folded on each other as they fell beside his face.  We were both out of breath. My bones ached and I was pretty sure I'd broken a rib or two.

"I think it's time you got off of me," Esla said in between wheezes.

I was still sitting on top of her belly, my right arm folded, still ready to land another blow. Elsa was lying on her back below me. Her cheeks had grown red. Her wet hair stuck to her forehead in messy tangles. She had trouble breathing.

As she wheezed air into her lungs, her chest heaved beautifully. I sighed when she breathed out next. My eye was focused on that part of her body. The old man spoke again but I didn't hear a word he said.

I was observing Elsa's chest rhythmically move up and down when her face suddenly appeared before me.  She smiled as I jumped back, surprised.

"Mr. Darkstar," she said in a coa.r.s.e whisper. "Would you mind?"

I shook my head and got to my feet. I stretched my hand to help the lady get up, but she brushed it away. She got up then limped toward the old man. They exchanged some words while I sat down cross legged and steadied my breathing. I observed the baroness all along.

In front of me was a strong and wild woman. She fought beautifully and never gave up. I shuddered to think on what would have happened if we fought with real swords. The fight would've ended as soon as she made the first move.

On the other hand, she was of n.o.ble birth. I could help but think: What did she invite me here for? Why do I always meet beautiful women, only to learn they have a dark, crazy side to them?

 "You're coming along, ugly boy," the baroness called out to me, s.n.a.t.c.hing me away from my ruminations.  

I collected my sword and limped behind the old man and Elsa outside. We found a two wheeled, one horse carriage waiting for us in the dark, cold night. The old man drove it toward the manor, as Elsa and I sank into the carriage's hard, wooden back.

The cold breeze would've been refres.h.i.+ng if I hadn't just received a beating. I s.h.i.+vered as I shot the lady beside me a sideglance. That old man had brought her a heavy cloak, bear skin by the looks of it. I envied her warmth then. We soon reached a backdoor. I followed them in, then up some winding stairs.  

Two corridors and four doors later, we got into a wooden anteroom. Wooden benches were set against the walls. Clean towels were neatly placed on each corner of the room. There was another door beside the one we got in from. Steam leaked from the cavity between the door and the floor.

"Nothing like a good bath after a figth," Elsa said. She turned to me and smiled. "Don't you think, Mr. Darkstar?"

I nodded. I wasn't sure where this was all going, but I had no strength to argue.

Elsa dismissed the old man, who bowed then left. She turned to me, still smiling, then pushed the door. Steam covered the new room I found myself in. Hot and moist air welcomed us. It felt welcome after that short ride in the carriage. If I'd stayed one minute longer out there, the cold nightair would've gotten into my bones.

Elsa disappeared inside the steam. I slowly walked forward, inspecting the place. Four marble pillars stood at each corner of a rectangular pool. The entire room was covered in ivory marble. The pool in the middle was vast. Steam came out of the hot water inside, covering the entire place in a haze.

"Take your clothes off and get in," Elsa said. I turned to look at her.

Lo and behold, a very beautiful, shapely, beaten up woman was standing before me, naked as sin. Her round b.r.e.a.s.t.s stood proud on her lean torso. Her legs, full and strong, took up three thirds of her body. I thought no woman could stir me up since that fated day, but this one… This one had something about her…

Her confidence. Her strength. And most of all, her alluring body. They all stirred something inside me that I hadn't felt in a long time.

"Are you going to ogle all day? Or are you getting in with me?"

She headed for the pool and got inside, swaying her hips slowly and seductively as she went. My eye never left her as she slowly descended into the pool. She submerged her head under water, then came out like a nymph out of a hot spring, eyeing me with l.u.s.t.

I quickly undressed and joined the lady in the pool. The water was hot, soothing to my aching bones. The pool wasn't very deep. I could stand and it would barely reach my shoulders. She was standing in a corner, her arms spread over the edge of the pool.

"Of all the gifts my father left me," Elsa said as I swam toward her. "This one is the most precious."

I didn't need to ask why then. The more I swam, the more I felt my energy coming back. My tired shoulders fought the still water quicker now. My legs didn't feel limp and heavy anymore.

"Try dipping your head in," Elsa suggested.

I did, and all the pain I felt before vanished. The throbbing of my head disappeared. Some part in my deformed cheek felt as though it was being mended. I swept the water off of my face, to find Elsa in front of me. She observed me with admiring eyes. She ran a finger against my face, smiled then said.

"You're not so ugly after all," she said. She ran her fingers against my left cheek then. They slid through without any resistance.

"It's a shame," she went on with her coa.r.s.e, s.e.xy whisper, "that this fountain cannot regrow organs. You must have been a very handsome man before."

I brushed her hand away and ran my own fingers against my face. The scars were gone, even the shattered bones on my left cheek were mended. I smiled and met Elsa's twinkling eyes. For a moment there, my happiness took me to a good place.

A beautiful woman had just given me a priceless gift. She looked at me with l.u.s.tful eyes, and I met them with equal longing. Her nose was against mine. I could feel her breath shortening. I felt air exit her nostrils as they flared.

I slid my hand on the nape her neck and brought her closer to me. Her full lips felt soft against mine. Her neck felt vulnerable as I pulled her closer to me. She was no longer the strong woman who almost beat me to death. She was now a tender, l.u.s.tful, shapely woman who I desired. Her nipples brushed up against my chest. Her full legs scrubbed against mine. She threw her arms around my neck and answered my kisses with a fervent exchange.

I pushed her against a pillar in the corner as our lips were engaged in a primal dance. Her hands travelled down my stomach, then a little further down the line. She artfully placed her fingers around my shaft and stirred that primal longing I suppressed for so long. I bit on her neck, and she moaned.

I liked that coa.r.s.e voice of hers, so I bit harder, suckled on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She moaned louder and pulled me toward her. We exchanged l.u.s.tful looks, short breaths, then more kisses. I heaved her up then, away from the pool, and on the warm marble floor. I got inside her there. She was moist, warm, and tight.

All the thoughts of Elsa's hidden agenda, her motive from inviting me in, our previous fight and her strange spell, vanished then. I couldn't think of anything then. I could only focuse on listening to her moans, feeling her fingers close in on my hair as she twisted and screamed in pleasure.

I didn't know where this encounter was leading me, but so far I deserved a f.u.c.king break.