“Is there a reason you are disturbing me, Prince Bam Bam,” Youngjae sighed as he put down his quill pen.

“Lady Artemis is about to spar with Jackson,” Bam Bam shrugged, “figured you would want to spectate with the rest of the palace.”

Youngjae took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Come on, even sages need a break,” Bam Bam added, seeing the uncertainty on Youngjae’s face.

“I am not a sage yet,” Youngjae reminded him to which Bam Bam only scoffed.

“You are the most dedicated apprentice Junho has. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you taking a small break.”

Youngjae sighed again.

“When was the last time you got out of the royal library?”

Youngjae gave him a pointed look.

“Seriously. Come on out. I’m sure you would love to see Jackson get dusted by Lady Artemis a few times.”

Youngjae stood up and stretched before putting his glasses back on.

“I have been swayed.”

By the time Bam Bam and Youngjae arrived to the training grounds there was a pretty large crowd surrounding the sparring pit. It was mostly comprised of apprentices and soldiers, but a few of the house servants managed to sneak out on their break. Regardless of their status, they all moved out of the way of Prince Bam Bam, and consequently Youngjae by association.

“Is this what your life is like every day,” Youngjae asked as he watched the mass of people return to their spots.

Bam Bam leaned against the rail outlining the pit and smiled.

“Yes, my dear Youngjae. It is one of the many perks of being a prince.”

Youngjae simply nodded in acknowledgement. He supposed that with all the stress Bam Bam and Jackson experienced there were bound to be a few advantages.

“I wonder what’s taking so long,” he mumbled a few moments later.

“Princess Artemis has to choose her weapon,” a voice announced to his left.

Youngjae turned and smiled as he recognized the voice of his older brother.

“Shouldn’t you be making some poor soldier regurgitate his lunch,” Youngjae commented as he enveloped his brother in a hug.

“Shouldn’t your nose be in a book,” Jaebum replied as he mussed his hair.

“Bam Bam, how did you get him out of the library?”

“It was quite easy. I just brought up the very high possibility of Jackson getting his handed to him. Speaking of Jackson, shouldn’t you be hyping him up for the battle?”

Jaebum shook his head.

“That’s why he has Mark and Jinyoung. I prefer to watch things from an objective point of view.”

“Smart man,” Youngjae mused.

“You didn’t think you got all of it did you,” Jaebum teased.

“Of course not. You have to have smarts to be a general in an army,” Youngjae replied, “Even a commander needs some sense.”

“Has anyone seen Yugyeom,” Bam Bam asked as he scanned the crowd for the giant, “I don’t want him to miss this.”

“He’s escorting Princess Artemis through the armory,” Jaebum provided for the restless prince.

“Oh really? I wonder how that’s going for him,” Bam Bam thought outloud.

---

“Are you sure you don’t want to take his place, Commander Kim,” Artemis asked as she inspected their armory.

She was perusing the impressive building in search of her weapon of choice. The young commander had decided to join her while the prince waited for them outside the door. She recalled him saying something along the lines of keeping things interesting by not looking at each other’s weapons. Commander Kim chuckled as his steps matched hers.

“I am quite sure. I have no desire to test my skill set against yours. That is a task for Prince Jackson and his generals. I prefer to spar with Prince Bam Bam,” he disclosed as Artemis came to a stop.

“Just how old are you Commander Kim,” Artemis posed as her eyes fell on a pair of twin swords.

“Prince Bam Bam and I are the same age.”

Artemis raised an eyebrow at the Commander.

“Are you joking by any chance?”

“No, princess,” he denied, trying not to smile.

“If that is the case, would you mind if we dropped the formalities? I find them a little suffocating,” Artemis admitted as she inspected the swords. They looked brand new.

“Not at all. My full name is Kim Yugyeom,” he helpfully supplied.

“Yugyeom huh,” Artemis repeated, “Do you mind if I call you Yugi? It’s friendlier, and it gives off an air of closeness.”

Yugyeom flushed at the implication.

“Not at all Lady Artemis. If you feel that comfortable with me, by all means refer to me as Yugi.”

“Great!”

Artemis sheathed her swords and tightened the holster to fit her waist. The tunic they gave he was a little big, but it would have to do for a match at such short notice. She was battle ready, and Yugyeom couldn’t help smiling in admiration. The colors of Chrysinth suited her whether she knew it or not. The deep red seemed to come to life against her dark skin. Artemis looked regal where others would look silly dressed in all red.

 Artemis her heels and started back towards the door. But her walk slowed to a stop as another thought crossed her mind.

“One more question Yugi.”

Yugyeom turned to face her.

“Yes Lady Artemis?”

“Is the prince an arrogant opponent?”

Yugyeom stifled a laugh.

“Why yes he is. What pray tell, prompted this question?”

“I just need to know what level of intensity to spar with,” she smiled as she checked over herself again.

When Artemis and Yugyeom returned to the sparring pit they had noticed that they had garnered quite an audience for a friendly sparring match. Artemis stopped and looked at the small crowd. She easily spotted Prince Bam Bam standing with what looked like a sage and general.

“Word sure does travel fast,” Yugyeom stated as he looked at the crowd.

“Hey Yugi,” Artemis whispered tapping his shoulder.

Yugyeom looked away from the crowd long enough to acknowledge Artemis.

“Who are those guys standing next to Bam Bam?”

“Oh those guys? That’s General Jaebum and his younger brother Youngjae, sage in-training,” Yugyeom helpfully explained to her.

“He looks so young,” Artemis mumbled to herself

“He’s actually a year older than Prince Bam Bam and myself.”

Artemis did nothing to hide the surprise on her face.

“What kind of kingdom is this,” she muttered.

“No need to worry Lady Artemis. Something tells me you’ll adjust to the insanity with ease.”

At that moment, a raven-haired man walked to the center of the pit and silenced the crowd. He was dressed in garments similar to Jaebum, so Artemis figured that he must be a general also.

“Good evening all. As I’m sure you all have heard by now, this evening the palace of Chrysi has been graced by none other than the beautiful Princess Artemis of Almandi,” he announced, bowing as his arms pointed in Artemis’s direction.

Artemis smiled and waved to everyone, trying not to appear uncomfortable in front of the mass of people.

“Almandi, much like Chrysinth, is a warrior nation. That being said, Artemis is quite skilled in combat. This evening she has agreed to show us her skills in a duel.”

The crowd cheered enthusiastically, and for the first time that day Artemis felt like she was really welcomed into the large palace.

Jinyoung let the crowd cheer for a few more moments before calming them again.

“She will be dueling none other than the nation’s son and prince, Jackson of Chrysinth,” Jinyoung finished before directing the crowds attention towards Jackson.

Artemis’s eyes followed Jinyoung’s hands more eagerly than she would care to admit, but she was curious to see how her opponent would make his entrance.

Jackson was kneeling on the ground with a brown cloak covering him. Everyone watched in utter silence as they waited for him to move. He stood quietly and the cloak fell of his shoulders making a small cloud of dust at his feet.  He turned around and looked at the crowd before yelling the words everyone had waited to hear.

“It’s time to duel!”

The crowd went crazy. Soldiers were picking up apprentices and hoisting them in the air. Servants were screaming like they forgot to tend to the king and queen. While Bam Bam, Youngjae and Jaebum all wore an amused smile on their face. Artemis watched it all in amazement. She was shocked at the warm applause she received from the crowd and how everyone seemed genuinely happy to have her at the palace. But that welcome was nothing compared to their reaction to Jackson. It was like the atmosphere went from warm to a July afternoon in seconds.

“Will both parties please come to the middle of the pit,” Jinyoung requested.

Jackson stalked to the center of the pit with Mark matching him stride for stride. Artemis was curious yet again as she saw the redhead seemingly appear out of thin air and walk beside Jackson. ‘Where did he come from,’ she thought as she watched them. Yugyeom waved a hand in front of her face.

Artemis shook her head and looked at Yugyeom.

“Are you ready Lady Artemis?”

“Of course,” Artemis responded with a wry smile.

They walked to the center of the pit, and when they finally reached the middle, Artemis wished she had brought Cheetah with her. She had never been this close to so many handsome men at one time. Artemis looked from Jackson to Yugyeom to the redhead to Jinyoung. It made no sense to her for every single person of power to be that good-looking. ‘It must be something in the water here,’ she deduced remembering Youngjae, the sage apprentice.

Artemis managed a small smile at the two strangers which seemed to trigger Jinyoung’s manners.

“Pleasure meeting you again, Lady Artemis. I hope you enjoy your stay at Chrysi,” he said bowing in respect.

“It’s nice to see you again too, Jinyoung,” she returned with a bow of her own.

 Then she turned to face the eerily quiet redhead.

“I am General Tuan. You can call me Mark,” he stated with a polite bow.

Artemis bowed back slightly put off by his brief greeting, but even so satisfied with his introduction.

“We will do a simple sparring match. The first one to completely disarm their opponent wins,” Jinyoung explained to everyone.

Jackson let out an audible sigh.

“Is there a problem,” Artemis asked.

“Oh no, I just don’t think there is any way for me to come out on top here,” Jackson disclosed.

Jinyoung simpered at Jackson’s choice of words, but he didn’t dare laugh. Artemis did though.

“Are you referring to me being a woman?”

“Yes.”

“Well I have a simple solution for you,” Artemis proposed.

Jackson raised his eyebrow, and the other three men looked on with curiosity.

“You better fight to win,” she said with a competitive glint in her eye, “because I intend to.”

Yugyeom clapped in approval taking that as his cue to leave because, Artemis didn’t need to be escorted to hand out an whooping. Jinyoung whistled, clearly impressed by Artemis’s resolve, while making his exit. Mark only gave Jackson a sympathetic pat on the back before making his way to the railing with the other two men. They joined the others and waited for the bell to sound with the rest of the masses.

“So how was it escorting Artemis,” Bam Bam asked Yugyeom as soon as the others joined them.

“It was quite entertaining. She is certainly different from the princesses I have encountered. Overall I think she will make Jackson a better person,” Yugyeom replied with a fond smile.

“She’s going to give him a proper beat down isn’t she,” Jaebum asked no one particular.

 “Let’s just say the chances are really high,” Bam Bam commented with a mischievous grin.

“That’s the only reason I came,” Youngjae added crossing his arms.

“Wait what,” Jinyoung said confusion evident on his face.

Mark also looked on with interest.

“Artemis has been training since she was 14, and according to her mother she is skilled enough to lead an army of her own. I would even go as far to say she enjoys all aspects of combat,” Bam disclosed to them.

“Well that explains a lot,” Jinyoung chuckled, remembering Artemis’s advice for Jackson.

“This can’t be good,” Mark sighed.

True to everything discussed about her skills, Artemis unsheathed her swords as soon as the bell sounded and settled into a battle-ready stance. Jackson was half a second behind her in unsheathing his sword, and Artemis could have easily ended the match before it started, but where was the fun in that? They circled each other for what seemed like forever, and Artemis was growing tired of just staring into each other’s eyes so she lunged towards Jackson. He barely dodged the attack, stumbling a bit to regain his balance which was unlike Jackson.

“He could have easily disarmed her right there,” Jinyoung mumbled recalling his match with him a couple of days ago.

Artemis thought the same thing as she watched Jackson find his footing. He had yet to attack her and he was making no moves to disarm her. So she attacked again this time using her close proximity to converse with him.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Her swords clashed against his as he blocked her advances.

“I am not fighting you,” he responded in between attacks.

Artemis growled and managed to use her strength to move his sword away.

“Why not?! This is supposed to be a sparring match.”

Jackson got more and more nervous as they continued to fight. Her advances were becoming harder to block with each passing minute.

The boys looked on with increasing curiosity as the couple continued to fight.

“Are they talking to each other,” Yugyeom questioned as he squinted his eyes.

“No, Yugyeom. They are arguing,” Mark answered with a hint of a smile.

“About what?”

Jinyoung gave the younger soldier a knowing smile.

“I’ll bet a week’s worth of dessert it’s about why Jackson hasn’t tried to attack Artemis yet.”

“Well you can save your dessert, Jinyoung. Everyone here knows why Jackson isn’t fighting her.”

Artemis continued her obvious attacks. She wanted this to be over, but she refused to win a match against a disengaged opponent.

“My mom did not raise me to put my hands on a woman,” Jackson grunted as Artemis continued pressuring him to fight.

“It isn’t your hand,” Artemis pointed out before sweeping her leg underneath him.

Jackson fell to the ground in a heap. Him and the crowd equally surprised by Artemis’s attack. The couple had been prancing around the pit for quite some time now, and to be frank everyone was just happy to see someone finally fall.

“It’s a sword,” she finished before helping him up.

“If I didn’t want to be hit, I wouldn’t have agreed to spar. I appreciate you being a gentleman, but I can take care of myself Jackson.”

Before Jackson could utter a response, he was kindly interrupted by Jinyoung.

“That was quite a match,” he announced and the crowd cheered in agreement.

Artemis sheathed her swords and listened attentively while Jackson dusted the dirt off his rear. It was actually quite comical, the way Jackson’s face remained plastered with confusion while he wiped the soil off the front of his chiton. Bam Bam and Youngjae looked on with barely veiled amusement as the nation’s son continued to dust himself off. Yugyeom, Mark and Jaebum, though they had much more experience in keeping a straight face, were also struggling to keep any signs of enjoyment from their face.  

“Today’s winner is the incomparable Artemis of Almandi,” Jinyoung declared, holding up Artemis’s hand.

The crowd applauded Artemis for her performance, and Jackson bowed to her, acknowledging Artemis as the superior warrior. When he straightened back up Artemis was right in front of him wearing a small smile on her face.

“You know this isn’t over right?”

“What do you mean? You won fair and square,” Jackson stated confusion still evident on his face.

“You wouldn’t even fight me straight up. This match doesn’t count,” Artemis hissed back.

Jackson remained firm in his resolve.

“I will not fight you Artemis.”

By this time Jinyoung had joined the couple and the remaining five were quickly closing in.

“Jinyoung why is he so stubborn?”

”Because he is Jackson,” he began.

“And a bit dense,” Bam Bam cut in.

Jaebum and Youngjae snickered at the comment much to Jackson’s disdain.

“Shouldn’t you be drinking tea,” Jackson snarled.

“I was. Then I heard about Artemis’s skills, and I just had to come see her in action.”

Jackson rolled his eyes.

“Okay and how do you explain Youngjae?”

“Apprentices need breaks too, you know,” Youngjae spoke up, making everyone laugh and easing the tension.

“So what was up with you during the match,” Yugyeom asked.

“I was not raised to hit a woman,” Jackson repeated for them to hear.

“That is true, but when Artemis picks up a weapon and challenges you, she is no longer a woman,” Jaebum countered.

“She becomes a worthy adversary,” Mark mentioned, “Her gender becomes irrelevant.”

Artemis nodded her head in agreement with Jaebum and Mark.

“I like these two,” she said smiling at the generals.

“Sorry to cut in, but I believe they are expecting us for dinner soon,” Bam Bam politely intervened, “And if you two want to clean yourselves up, we have to get going now.”

Artemis’s eyes widened as she looked down at the dirt underneath her feet and toenails.

“That sounds like a great idea Bam Bam. It was nice meeting you all,” Artemis called before she followed Bam Bam back into the castle.

When they had went back through the gates the boys really laid it on him.

“You know you lost more than that sparring match right,” Jaebum asked as they walked with Jackson.

Jackson only sighed in acknowledgement.

“I guess Lady Artemis is a tougher opponent than you were expecting,” Yugyeom noted.

“In more ways than one,” Jinyoung remarked with a chuckle.

“Who is this woman,” Jackson thought out loud.

“I have no idea, but I like her style,” Jaebum added.

“You did good Jinyoung,” Mark agreed.

“Of all the princesses on this side of the hemisphere,” Jackson began dramatically, “You had to bring me her.”

“Oh stop being such a baby. I think she’ll be good for you sire,” Jinyoung said with a pat on the shoulder.

 

 

 

A/N: Another one *in my dj khaled voice* Feel free to comment, upvote, and subscribe. 

-Jupiter >.<