Authours notes:

Some info for you guys. A Shogun is a military dictator during the kamakura period. Tanto's are japanese samauri daggers. dowary is the money put forward by the brides family as a bargain for marriage exteremly common during the joseon period. 

Chapter 6 

The days following the announcement of the competiton and the royal decree announced to the great families, the people and a calling to all the greatest warriors of Qing, Joseon and kamakura. All three nations had come into a freenzie of training and purpose unfortunately it wasn't all for just the Princes hand. The dowary meant a large majority of participants wanted the land and power, more than the strong and beautiful princess. 

Amber, since the arrival of the Emperior and his envoy had barely a moment to spare or thinking about training. She had taken to practicing her night training much to the anger of the Princess guards and her brothers however she was never to give up her control over herself. "Princess, you have spent so many sittings with us, I would barely believe you battle skill unless I had seen it myself. Are you not bored of all this danity work?" The Empresses had taken a great liking to the young Princess and was waiting for Amber to crack but she had held her pose for the last week without complaint and showed better needle work than the Emperiors royal semtress herself. "No, Your majesty. Needle work requires precision and concentration. With time and effort needle work can allow me to better many other skills." Amber's answer was examplary and perfect for a Queen or Emperess. 

"Well I am utterly bored of all this, If I have to talk about how lovely the rice cakes are with the other queens I might die." The second half was said low enough only Amber could here making her giggle. "I know for a fact our sons and your brothers are sparring away outside. How about a bet ladies?" The Empress spoke to the whole room. The Queens of Joseon and the madames of Qing. The Princesses as well. A hum of agreements went around the room and the Queen mother called for a board to be brought into the room and paper. "Okay we will right out each Princes name, everyone will add there name under whom they think will win. There are 11 of our Princes currently training and your own 12 Princes correct your majesty?" The queen mother turned to the Empress. "Wait we have to add two more fighters." The room looked at her pointedly. "Firstly I believe the captin of the Princess guard is helping them train, Hyun Joon is it?" THe Empress spoke cautiously. "Yes, he will be there. But who is the other?" It was Luna who spoke and the Empress looked at her with a pained smile. "The only person,I would bet my rule on." The room had a large in take of breath at her statement. "Princess Amber, if I ask will you fight as well?" The immedate nod made the queen smile. 

The names were written up and the ladies moved from the private room to the view platform in the training area, the noise the ladies made and the cooing from the Princesses caused the men to realise they were being watched. The Princes all turned about bowed to the Empresses and Queens. "Listen up!" The Empress shouted down over the courtyard. "Myself and the queens have come to a great disagreement, we have been trying to work out the greatest fighter among the Princes and royal guards. We decided we could only find out if we watched but being here for a short while I realised watching you train will not show us. So I have decided we will have a winner take all prize. The winner can choose any favour from a Princess of their choice. It was appealing to many of the Princes" 

"Empress if you command it we must partake. However the board behind you, what is that about?" It was Prince Onew, he was much smarter than any of the other princes and had achieved what no man had ever done in their life time which was gaining favour from the emperior after angry to the point he was almost exiled. Deciding that it wouldn't be best to inform them of the bet Amber spoke up. "We complied a list  of everyone and which people believed who would be the victor." She spoke firmly but her gentle voice made her speech soft and calming. "There are ony 24 people here training. I cannot see the names but there is obviously 25 names written on the script." Onew was never as trusting of the situation but took joy in realising they fun this could be. "I have hand picked someone to fight for me, however the others are skeptical they could beat all 24 of you." At the statement the Princes of Qing came under great confussion. "What do you mean they could beat all of us." It was the 3rd Prince. "Who is this great fighter? You believe they could beat the 4th Prince as well." 

At the sound of is title TOP perked up. He had taken to sleeping on a rest platformed and offered the other princes help on their form but didn't practice. "Who do you think can beat me?" He looked up to the viewing area. The Empresses quietly nudge Amber and told her to go down. On the way to the courtyard Amber detoured to change into easier and more moveable clothing. Amber slide from behind the Empress and climb over the balcony barrier, she elegently flipped to the ground and rose to watch the Princes gaze at her cautiously. "Afraid of the competition?" She asked looking at each opponent she may have to face. "You have to be joking, I know she can fight. But she is so small." Jackson began but was cut off but the whistling sound of death stars whizzing passed his ear nipping the flesh and plowing into the wooden practice model he had been training on. "Small but highly skilled and dangerous." The second brother spoke pulling the small stars from the wood. 

Jackson touched his ear to feel and see the blood and began to scream. "Blood! Blood! She tried to kill me! Arrest her!" He croutched onto the floor and clutched his ear. The 4th Prince smiled at his antics. "It is a small nip. If she wanted to kill you I am sure she would have done so by now." He pulled jackson up and looked at the cut. The possiblity of having someone of the same skill apart from the Princesses royal guard and Prince Onew thrilled Top to the point he was jumping at the bit to start. "Shall we all choose one weapon of choice, and once the person has yield their weapon is fair game." he spoke firmly and saw the smirk on Ambers face. She was definitely calculating each opponents weakness. 

"Ladies first." Top stepped out of the way to the weapon racks. "Princes Jackson make your choice." Ambers statement caused a rawr of laughter among the Princes and observors. "Ya! I am a Prince of Qing you can't talk to me like that!" He began to shout at Amber but was silenced by V speaking up. "I am not very skilled so can I choose first, to give me a better chance?" It was a sweet an innocent statement however Amber could tell whatever he picked he would be highly skilled at. She nodded an okay and watched him gently pick up a bow and quiver of arrows that also countained twin daggers at the hilt. She realised he had the perfect form for an archer  and watched how he observed the fighting space rather than opponent she realise the size or skilled didn't matter for V as long as he could find the right vantage point. 

Hyun Joon and Amber had not spoken about the competition since the announcement and Ambers actions and words had become as cold as ice she couldn;t even face him without a sour face or a tear slipping from her eye. What hurt her the most was Hyun Joon believing that Amber didn't need comfort that she was strong enough to cope without him reassuring her, that she could handle watching him be with Luna. And this was the first time he saw Amber happy around him since the note. "Amber, I think it would only be fair to allow the other Princes to choose their weapons first." He spoke hoping she would actually reply to him than the solemn silence or bitter words of discussed. "That is true, but shall we let the Empress decide. I believe she has been watching each one of us well to decide the order of the weapon choose to the skill." The words were't bitter but it was not a direct reply. 

"Your majesty?" She turned away as quick as possible as she felt rage and sorrow build up in her chest. "Okay, the order will go as followed." 

"1st we had Prince V, second we shall have Prince BamBam, then kevin, taemin, Eric, yuta, jackson, lay, kai, suho, jonghyun, donghae, minhyuk, Jaejin, shindong. leeteuk, myungsoo, james, siwon, minho, kris, onew, hyun joon, top and finally Amber." The Empresses listed off and each Prince walked firmly after announcing each name. Bambam took a bladed staff and kevin some small throwing knives, both looked utterly confused when choosing their weapons Amber decided they would probably be the first out. Taemin took double hosltered swords and some small rubbered training stars. Eric surprised Amber in choosing some form of warhammer she had never seen before. He smirked as she passed and spoke. "These seems highly unfair for the Princess." He spoke out so everyone could hear him and watched as Ambers brothers snickered at his commentary. Onew looked at the Qing Princes and felt pity for their niavety.

"You should be happy she is giving you a sporting chance."   surprisingly it was Taemin who spoke out. Unlike his quiet and kooky nature it caused a greater fear among the opponents when someone so light hearted in his action gave a heeded warning. A visable gulp was seen from Bambam. Yuta reached for his comfortable samuri blade and jackson reached for a war spear but unlike Bambam he looked comfortable holding the weapon, almost happy about it. lay walked away from the weapon displayed and picked up some bandages instead. "I choose these." He helt them up and the queen nodded in amuse meant however his mother began to scowl at his choice and actions. Kai picked up the matching set to taemins and high fived him when they went back to stand in place. Amber realised it would be easier to split them up than corner them together especially with the limited choice of weaponary she would be left with. 

Suho choose four short blades and some ball traps, his choice although was confusing to the Qing princes made perfect sense to people who fought him on a serious level these were his top picks and the reason why he made so much money independently was from bounty hunting. jonghyun choose a cross bow and picked up his safety arrows. Donghae chose a water blade particularly light for someone of his frame however it mean he could do more damage with less power, he was planning on playing a long game. Minhyuk picked up and axes however walked over to a bamboo plant and hacked a thick, strong solid piece of bamboo the height of him. He returned the axe and lifted his shoulders as he walked passed a few confused guards. Amber had taken a great liking to minhyuk's style.

The continuous flow of princes followed each choosing their desired weapon until the top 6 were left. Many of their ideal options were taken along ago by lesser abled fighters and the array in front of them had less than the desired effect. Minho picked up the tiger blade no one dared to weild it but he was left with no other option he felt comfortable with, it was heavy in his hand and Amber new he would burn out quickly. "Oppa? Are you sure? It might be too heavy." Amber asked slightly worry. "The weight isn't the problem, the length maybe however burning out quickly won't matter if I can beat everyone quick enough." This caused a glimmer in Amber's eyes and she smirked watching him carry the sword pretending it was as light as a feather. Kris walked over and eyed the basic selection he picked up a swinging spiked ball and without even turn swung it hard at a wooden piler. the wood shattered and he eyed everyones reaction after turning round. Amber gratted her teeth at his immature action as a show of power. "This will do." She raised her nose up and waited for the next prince to choose there weapon. Onew stepped up and two everyone except Amber and hyun joon's surprised picked up two child sized training swords. "Don't want to cause anyone a fatal injury." He walked back to his spot patting Amber on the head as he passed. 

"I am going to stick with my own sword." hyun Joon shouted up to the Empress who nodded. "What he means is he will stick with his hand made, perfectly matching his height and weight blade that comes two hidden daggers and a hiddened extended spear end in the handle." She stared hyun Joon down and watched as he dropped the hidden daggers to the ground and release the spear end. "Happy Princess." The comment came across as smided but Amber still couldn't understand what hold Luna had over him. "Very." Top sounded a loud cough that drew both away from their staring match which most had become intensely amused by. "I think I will taking some bamboo too. For a change." In a suddened movement Jaejin was on the floor holding Top's legs. "Oppa no! Not the bamboo." To everyone's surprise the Prince's of Qing began to laugh. "Ya! Get up you fool." He nudged Jaejin. "Oppa! I am so hurt by your actions."  He stood and walked to the younger Princes. "Princess?" Top waved his arm over the left over selection. To everyone's surprise Amber picked up to twin tanto's. Amber had spent her days with the Queens and Princesses but her nights were layed out training with samauri sent by the shogun of Japan to fight in the competition. 

"If we all have choosen and everyone is ready, you have thirty seconds before you can fight." The Empress spoke over the training yard. Before she even stopped speaking Amber had managed to be sitting on the roof above the Queens and Princesses. She had also manage to steal the throwing knives and death stars from kevin and taemin. She also knew it would be more fun if she stole Suho's traps. She looked close to a magpie with her stole materials. "Hey! Thats not fair!" Kevin began to shout at her. "The Empress said nothing about stealing extra weaponary." The reply cause the Empress to laugh. "You can sit out." Amber continued. And the Prince sat on one of the resting platforms with a huff. "Are you not giving anyone a sporting chance?" Taemin shouted realising his stars were gone. "Hey, I am sitting up here so you guys can play for a while." The words were playful but taunting.

"Begin!" The Empress shouted. Before any of the Princes had a chance to attempt to take Amber down she vanished from sight. BamBam was the first Prince to stumble, Suho throw one of his blades at the wooden pillar next to him causing the younger prince to cower, He held the other blade to his neck until he yielded. He sat next to Kevin with the same huffing jesture. Amber had managed to climb down the outside of the training building and scale to the wooden platform the out Princes had sat on. "Interesting, some of your brothers can actually fight." She spoke to Kevin and Bambam neither realised she was their until she spoke and found her with more weapons that before, she had her tanto baldes along with a bow and Arrow, death star, suho's trap and one of the throwing blades. In Anger Bambam reacted. "You obviously more of a thief than a fighter." Amber smirked at him and took the bow and Arrow raising it to point at Eric without hesitation she shot so that the fabric of his sleeve sunk deep into the wood. She aimed again and did the same with his trouser leg. "Yeild, I never miss!" She shouted across the yard. With a large sigh he bowed his head. "I Yeild!" He dropped his weapon and tried to pull out the arrows but they were sunk so deeply in the wood that it had come partly out the other side. Before anyone could take aim at Amber she disappeared again. 

Top had taken a perch above the yard on the higher tower roof. He was impressed with Amber movements and her skill. She had no fear and was clearly a well trained opponent. The fighting had caused more of an audience with not only the Queens and Princesses watching in my the Emperior, king and Shogun. Many of the governors and outside warriors. Onew had taken on Taemin and Kai, it was more difficult with them tag teaming off each other. both holding double blades more deadly than the training blades onew held onto. "You know you could have gone after the Qing Princes first." Taemin spoke in a puffed voice and onew's foot work was more skilled and mean he had to keep changing stance. "You would be so unkind to your guests." Onew spoke back. "Where did your good graces go? The Shame!" Onew still manage sarcasm whilst fighting. He finally managed to tire them both down to knock taemin off his feet. "I yeild" With those words Kai quickly made a run for it but got caught by Minhyuk and his bamboo staff. It hit him firmly in the chest and knocked him to the ground. Kai dropped his weapon and yeilded.  Kris was struggly to keep control of the chained ball and lay came up close in pull punches at the crown prince. just as he was going to get a good swing in lay managed to knock him off his feet and pin him to the ground. "Do you yeild?" Kris spatted at the ground with a defeated groan he yeilded. Before lay had the chance to get up Jonghyun helt a blade to his neck causing him to yeild. 

Shindong held up with his axe for a good while before he tired and leeteuk took the uper hand. Amber searched the area looking for her Prime target and was struggle to wonder where Prince V had gone. She climb to were Top was sat and took a seat next to him. "mind if I join you?" she asked sitting before he agreed. "Aren't you suppose to try and make me yeild?" He asked her with a small smile. "Well you knew I was coming and seeing as you didn't attack me, I let you go this once." He cause a small chuff of laughter, he looked at her for a short while, observing her observe other people. Her eyes glittered as she watched hyun Joon battle with Yuta. She sighed softly when Yuta had to yeild. "He is getting much better." she noted. "He over thinks his movements." Top noted. "It a japanese thing, our way of thinking is so different he tries to keep their fighting logic with his korean thinking it causes some friction in his action and movement. Sometimes you need to learn to let your body flow." She knew more about her brothers techniques than anyone, when they failed or needed to practice without shame or embarresment they came to Amber. She wasn't just their sweet sister, she despite her younger years and become a guide and teacher. 

"I apologise for BamBam earlier, he was slightly frought with you." Top looked her analysising every situation before she answered. "He is young and naive, I understand." She spoke softly more lady like than ever before. In a swift motion Amber pulled one of her tanto blades and blocked a arrow hitting the Prince. She flipped gently to glide down the roof and stand on the edge throwing her other tanto to the direction of the shooter. A small wail was let out and both the Prince and Princess ran in the direction to check if there were any casualties. They found Prince V holding his hand which had an obvious lasuration on it. "I am so sorry, it was a reflect." Amber attempted to apologise. "Don't apologise Princess, you have taught my little brother a good lesson." Amber eyes Top curiously with his reasoning. "Once you shot your arrow, hide." He ruffled V's hair. "Yeild? And get that looked at." V smiled cheerful and left for the platform. "What do you say for a small alliance? just to clean it up a bit out there." Amber's face light up in excitement as she nodded. 

He reached for the tanto blade that was dugged deep into the wall behind where they found V, handing it over he raised and eyebrow. "Those daggers aren't made to be throw like that. The balance isn't right." He stated. "I know." was all the reply Amber would be giving him today. She unsheathed the matching blades and helt them low on her sides. "Give me a boost?" She looked at him to help her and he automatically gripped her wasit lifting her up to the beam. The moment became oddly intimate. The was a prolonged pause before he released. "I will come in from above, you hit them from the side." He nodded slightly and left in his own direction.

Amber sored over the heads of the Jackson, jonghyun and Siwon, she manged to clean swipe Jonghyun ands siwon onto the floor before pointing her tanto blades at jacksons next. "Yeild?" He nodded and stormed off to the viewing platform. Siwon yeilded before Amber even pointed her knife and Jonghyun quickly followed after a short spat of hand to hand combat. Top managed to knock Minhyuk out with his own bamboo and had proceed to cornering Suho and pushing him to the point of yeilding. Donghae swooped quickly towarsd Top only just missing and slicing Top's bamboo in half. Top had a sinical glint in his eye as he kicked Donghae hard in the chest and manged to kick away the blade making their fight come to a quick end.

James had managed to wear Leetuek down to his knees and was yeilded on the floor, just as leetuek yield Jaejin swooped in a hit James over the head with Minhyuks disgarded bamboo knocking him out cold. "Opps!" He said in a comical format causing the on lookers to laugh at the antics. Minho was tiring quickly with his heavy swords especially with myungsoo moving quickly in an out of his continous attacked, Myungsoo had yet to even swing his axes at his bother. "Minho, yeild before you collaspe." He spoke softly not wanting to embrasses him. "No, I am fine." When he shouted fine he lunged forward enough for myung to take the upper hand and swift his wait to push him off balance. Minho fell to the floor and yeild wiping his face from sweat. Myungsoo was tired from dancing in and out of Minhos attack so tired he forgot to realise the other opponents and was hit on the back by onew's wooden training blades.

If these were real swords you would be dead." Onew stated clearly. "And if you used all your power I could well already be dead. I yeild." Myungsoo dropped his Axes and went to the viewing platform where he turned to watch the Queens and Princesses instead of the fight. Amber had begun to battle Jaejin His moves were fluid but disjointed and each movement was an esitmation of their opponents probably moves. she took her chance and spun quickly stepping into a flip and kicking jaejin back inot the wall. He dropped his weapon and smirked at the princess. "You are better at estimating your opponents move them someone who is paid to. I yeild." A spark had a lit in Jaejin's eyes as Amber held out her hand in offer of help.

Amber was about to lean forward and give mre strength inot helping him up when she spotted a shadow appear on the wall behind her, before jaejin knew what was happening Amber pulled against him hard and flipped herself to push off against the wall. in the quick movement herself and the shadowed attacker hit the floor. "You should know better than to sneak up on my Hyun Joon." Within and split second a knife came past Ambers head and pointed at hyunjoon's throat. "Yeild?" It was top. Hyun Joon in anger and moved to the platform.