Hyejoo stood in one of the central rows of the arena, her body straight and stiff as it could be. She surveyed her surroundings as much as she could, moving only her eyes. More than ten rows of people stood there today, waiting for King Taeyong's speech. Among the about one hundred people, she could count the women with her fingers – including herself.  

The wait made her grow nervous by the passing second. Her heart thumped hard in her chest as she closed her eyes and tried to fill her mind with positive thoughts. Was everyone going to be fair and play by the rules? She knew it was wishful thinking to hope that among that many people, every single one planned to play fair. 

"Welcome, everyone." Taeyong finally showed up, his presence and aura fierce as always. "It warms my heart seeing so many of you here today, willing to fight for the future of Shanliang. For that, I thank all of you." 

A round of applause and cheers from the spectators on the bleachers erupted, calming down after Taeyong raised his hand. 

"I hope you fight with all your heart and might today. I expect to see an intense and passionate competition, but above all, fairness, compassion, and honor, as are the values of this kingdom, which I am sure you all stand for." 

"In the first trial, you'll be competing against each other in a one versus one sword duel. If you lose, you are automatically eliminated." Deadly silence engulfed the arena. "You are forbidden from directly attacking your opponent with your weapons. If you do so, you are automatically disqualified and you will be facing the authorities. You win if you either disarm your opponent, or pin them down in a way that would make it hypothetically certain that you could perform a deathly move."  

Hyejoo gulped. No one was actually about to try going for direct attacks... right? 

"Two names will be called at a time, announcing the dueling pair. I wish you all the best of luck, and I will enjoy observing each of you in this competition."  

The contestants gathered by the edge of the arena, and were divided in two groups. A guard called a young man's name from Hyejoo's group and one from the other group. 

After a couple minutes, the young man from her group walked out of the center wearing a triumphant smile. Rightfully so, as he showed amazing dexterity that won him the fight. He was good. Watching contestant after contestant display such mastery with the sword, Hyejoo grew nervous about her own abilities.  

Chaewon appeared in her mind, making Hyejoo's lips grew into a smile. How Hyejoo wished she was there to watch her win and complete every single trial ahead of her, no matter what they could be or how hard they could be- 

"Hyungjoo." The guard called. 

Hyejoo proudly stood up, quickly fixing her clothes. The remaining contestants had their eyes fixed on her, as she walked towards the center of the arena.  

The sun was high in the sky, blinding her for a few seconds. When her eyes got used to it, she found her opponent standing a few meters of her. Hyejoo had to think twice if she was about to fight a man or an orc. At least a head taller than her, his body was covered with muscles bursting from his tight uniform. He was bald and ugly, with large, indelicate features.  

His hand held a hammer instead of a sword. Was that allowed? Hyejoo thought for a moment if she should fight with her two swords. Was it worth it to reveal that so early in the competition?  

The judge stood between them. Before he spoke, Hyejoo looked around, finding the crowd silent with a mix of expressions, from excitement to worry. Her eyes found Taeyong on his balcony. His eyes were on her, and he gave her a smirk and a nod with his head. 

"Prepare yourselves... Begin." The judge said, and with it, heavy, loud steps shook the ground. 

Hyejoo looked ahead and the man was already running towards her with his hammer high in the air, his mouth opening to let out a deafening grunt.  

She frowned and dodged him with ease. He was clearly strong, but too slow. With such impulse on one swing, the man lost his balance and tripped on himself, landing with his face on the sand. The crowd gasped, and Hyejoo had to hold her laugh. 

As he rolled on his back, Hyejoo finally unsheathed her sword, and when hr was about to stand up, she stepped on his wrist, pinning his armed hand down to the ground. His big eyes threatened to jump from his eye sockets when the tip of Hyejoo's sword touched his neck. 

"Hyungjoo wins!" The judge announced, making the crowd shout and applaud.  

♚♚♚

"That was easy."  

Hyejoo jumped and turned around, her hand on her chest. 

"Damn Lucas, you scared me. What are you doing here?"  

"Came here to congratulate you, so, congratulations on passing the first trial." Lucas smiled at her, patting her shoulder. 

"Thank you. But as you said, it was easy... too easy. I couldn't even show my skills properly, and I wanted to cause a good first impression to Taeyong." Hyejoo sighed. "I even wondered if I should use both swords when I saw my opponent." 

Lucas chuckled. "Save that for later."  

Hyejoo frowned. 

"Let’s go watch the rest of the duels." Lucas pulled her with him towards the stairs to the bleachers. 

Save what for later? 

♚♚♚

Three days before, Hyejoo stood in the middle of the arena, with dozens of people fighting with the same individual goal in mind. Today, as the sun was on its way to meet the horizon, Hyejoo stood in front of Taeyong, with only six more people - another woman, and five men. But officially, they were six men and only one woman who was not herself. 

They were the finalists, about to start the last trial.  

Hyejoo completed the second trial two days ago, and much to her surprise, they had nothing to do with fighting. It was a quizz. All those hours spent having intellectual conversations with Chaewon about history, politics, economics, philosophy and religion had really come in handy. Hyejoo could listen to Chaewon talk for hours, never getting tired and always learning new things. 

As for the third trial, completed the day before, each contestant – only fifteen at that stage – discussed and created a war strategy privately with Taeyong. And again, Hyejoo recalled what she learned with Chaewon, impressing him with her creative strategies, which might have seemed reckless at first glance, but were actually quite well crafted and thought out. Along the trial, Taeyong also presented hypothetical situations that could happen during a war, or situations about the kingdom, like crisis, starvation or revolutions, and asked Hyejoo what she would do about them. Every time she answered something, Taeyong would smile at her, nodding along her explanations. When the trial was over, Hyejoo could only thank Chaewon. Hyejoo had done so well because she had learned from the perfect example of a future queen. 

"Congratulations on making it to the last trial. As you can see, behind me there's a corridor. It's the entrance of a maze." Taeyong spoke, hands behind his back. 

Hyejoo had noticed the corridor of tall bushes, which lead to two paths in the end, and she had wondered about it.  

"There's only one way out. Your goal is simple – find the exit. Fighting is allowed, but always remember – be fair and honorable. It continues to be forbidden to attempt to harm your opponents significantly. And pay attention. The maze may have its own surprises." 

Taeyong took a step forward and motioned with his hand for the contestants to approach him. 

"If you wish to give up, fire this into the air. A guard will find you and bring you to safety." Taeyong gave each one a small tube. Must be fireworks. "Alright, you're set and ready to go. Good luck."  

Instead of running inside the maze, Hyejoo let the others lead the way. Some actually took a run, disappearing into the tall corridors. She took a deep breath and looked back. Taeyong smiled at her and subtly pointed to the right with his finger. Hyejoo smiled back and entered the maze. 

As Hyejoo took a step ahead, a chill ran down her spine. This was the last trial, the one which would decide the winner. It was also the most difficult and presumably the most dangerous. Taeyong's words kept ringing in her head.  

Fighting is allowed. The maze may have its own surprises. 

What kind of surprises? And were the others going to fight for real? Hyejoo didn't want to hurt anybody, but she would, if she had to defend herself.  

Hyejoo fixed her high ponytail and took the first turn on the right as Taeyong advised her. She dove deeper into the maze, trying to engrave each turn in her memory. 

The sound of metal with metal echoed in the air. Hyejoo grabbed the handle of her sword as an instinct, but the sound didn't seem to come from anywhere near her. But what if one of them ambushed her? She needed to be prepared to defend herself, so she unsheathed her sword and grabbed it firmly, resuming her way.  

She had been running non stop, looking around at the bushes and trees, trying to find any sort of clues. Until now, she hadn't found any dead ends or peculiar obstacles. Wasn't something supposed to happen? Hyejoo's heart started beating harder with anticipation of what could happen any second. So far, it had seemed too easy for what the King had made it look like. 

As she advanced through the maze, the sounds seemed further and further away, until it became silent again. Silent enough for Hyejoo to hear the quick steps coming her direction. She stopped and raised her sword.  

"Get the hell out of my way!" He shouted, shoving Hyejoo, making her trip and fall to the bush wall.  

The sky was darkening, making it impossible for Hyejoo to understand who it was, but he seemed to be in some sort of panic. 

She stood up. If he ran in the direction Hyejoo had just came from, did it mean where she was going was a dead end? Maybe he didn't explore enough? She decided to give it a shot, and hurried her pace.  

A loud, painful shout, along with the sound of leaves made Hyejoo turn her head to its source. Did someone get hurt? Hyejoo rushed and tried to find the way to where the shout came from.  

As she turned right, one of the contestants was stuck in a net trap, almost two meters high from the ground.  

"H-Help me!" The other woman cried, trying to set herself free. 

Hyejoo hesitated. It could be an ambush. If she was really in trouble, she could simply fire her signal and she would be brought to safety as quickly as possible. But would she feel proud in taking victory that way?  

Shaking the fear and doubts away, she approached, and with her sword, she cut the net, making a hole large enough for her to escape. 

"Thank you..." She muttered, trying to catch on her breath. She was about her age, with short blonde hair that shone even under the dark sky. 

"That's okay. So this was what King Taeyong was talking abou-" 

"Watch out!"  

Hyejoo ducked, hearing the swing of a punch just above her head. She quickly got up, turning to face the person, leaving her sword a mere inch from his neck. 

"Play fair isn't exactly on your dictionary, is it?" Hyejoo spat.  

The boy, maybe younger than Hyejoo, smirked.  

"King Taeyong isn't here to judge me, and I'm not going to let you try and play the moral game. Take that sword off my neck." 

Hyejoo chuckled. "I'm playing no games, kid. Take a step back and leave, if you don't want to get hur-" 

Hyejoo turned back as she heard a yelp. Another man, this one taller and way scarier than the boy, held the girl from behind. 

"You two, fire your signals and don't move, or else I'll start with her and then you two will suffer your share."  

Only then did Hyejoo notice the knife pressed against her neck.  

"Pff, stupid bluff. I'm out." The boy scoffed and turned around. 

"I'm the one who isn't playing any games!" 

The knife pressed harder against her neck, making her yell in pain. 

"Stop," Hyejoo warned the boy, and he somehow obeyed. "We'll all fire the signals if you let her go." 

She kept his eyes on the man's, dropping her sword to the ground and taking her device out of her pocket, putting it in clear sight for everyone involved. 

"As soon as you let her go, I'll fire it." 

The man frowned and let the girl go in a harsh movement. Before he could understand what was coming his way, the girl shot her foot backwards directly at his groin, making him bend over in pain, giving Hyejoo enough time to grab Chaewon's sword and hit the man's shoulder with its handle. 

"Run!" Hyejoo told them, while the man was still holding on to his hurt shoulder. 

She took off in a run herself, but not fast enough. The man seized one of her ankles and pulled it towards him, making her fall flat on her face. Her sword escaped from her hand with the impact.  

"You're a dead man!" He shouted, jumping towards her. 

Hyejoo tried to stand, but the most she could manage under twice her own body weight was to turn around to face him. 

He managed to catch his knife from the ground, and held it right in front of her face. 

"Nice scar you have there. What about getting another one, little boy?" He threated, pressing the knife against her left cheek. 

With a large hand squeezing and a knife on her face, Hyejoo could use some help, but the ones who could help were already long gone. Instead of trying to push him away, Hyejoo used her hands to probe the ground around her.  

Giving him a smirk, Hyejoo knocked him out, hitting him hard on the back of his head with a rock.  

Hyejoo gasped for air as she pushed his motionless body away. She allowed her lungs to get some air before getting up. She grabbed her swords and was about to proceed with her mission when she stopped and looked back. The next second, three guards appeared in a run. Two of them had their swords pointed at him, in case he woke up, while the other tied his hands behind his back. Taeyong was not one to joke about disqualification. At least, he was going to pay for what he did. 

♚♚♚

After running for another five minutes, Hyejoo found it. A guard by the end of a corridor. Hyejoo took a deep breath and ran towards him, noticing his face when she got close enough. 

“Hi, Hyungjoo.” 

“Ten...” Hyejoo stopped and supported herself on her knees, panting. “Did I... Did I win?” 

“In fact... you were the last.”  

She raised her head to look at him, her heart so heavy she was about to fall on her knees. 

“King Taeyong never said the winner was the first one to arrive, did he?” Ten asked with a smile. “Your mission was only finding the exit. Coming out first means you will be the first to take the true final trial. But if one doesn't complete it, the chance will be passed on to the next in line. Today is your lucky day, Hyungjoo. None of the other contestants were able to pass thus far. Come with me.” 

Her head dropped as she took a long and deep breath, regaining her forces. Her stomach turned with nervousness. Just what exactly was this trial about, if none of the contestants before her had been able to complete it? 

Hyejoo followed Ten. When she looked up, she recognized the arena from the day before.  

“Good luck.” Ten said, as he stopped right before the entrance.  

Hyejoo nodded and entered the arena, stepping into the sand. She was welcomed by shouts from the bleachers, which were even more crowded than the first day.  

There was a single man in the arena, standing still. Hyejoo approached, confused. She looked back and up, to where Taeyong was supposed to be seated. There he was, with his smile that always seemed to hide a million secrets. He nodded at her, like he was encouraging her.  

“Welcome, Hyungjoo.” The man, probably the most handsome Hyejoo had ever seen, called. “My name is Jaehyun. I’ll challenge you for a final sword fight. I ask you to fight seriously, as I won’t go easy on you. Whenever you’re ready.” Jaehyun unsheathed his sword. 

Hyejoo remembered Lucas’s words from the first day. Save that for later. 

So, this was the time for Hyejoo to prove what she was worth. Finally, all those hours practicing and training with Lucas would pay of.  

Her lips grew into a grin as she fixed her ponytail. 

“I won’t go easy on you either, so you better be ready.” Hyejoo allowed courage and adrenaline to run through her body and mind. 

Using her left hand, she unsheathed her own sword, and with her right, Chaewon’s. Gasps and whispers echoed through the arena, and even Jaehyun widened his eyes for a second. It was not everyday people watched someone fight with two swords, was it?  

“Whenever you’re ready.” Hyejoo teased, getting into position, raising the swords up and bending her knees, ready to take any attack from him.  

Jaehyun launched at her, attacking her with quick blows. Hyejoo blocked every attack, trying to strike back with the other sword, but Jaehyun was way too fast, and with only one sword, he managed to block and attack at the same speed as Hyejoo did with both her swords. They moved so fast even the crowd had trouble keeping up with every move. 

Hyejoo didn’t know who he was, but he must be some high rank swordsman. His skills were no joke, and even Hyejoo was having trouble.  

Coming directly from the maze also had a toll on Hyejoo. She hadn’t rested for one minute, and she felt exhausted when she finished the maze. Her body ached from all the running and from the fight she had earlier, slowing down her reflexes.  

Jaehyun though, seemed tireless. Hyejoo wondered if he had an infinite amount of stamina, because if he was the last trial and Hyejoo was the last one finishing the maze, that meant he must have fought the other contestants before her. Wasn’t he supposed to be tired too?  

Hyejoo had to think fast of a strategy that would take him down, or else he would simply outlast her. He was the kind of fighter that prioritized speed and agility over strength. Hyejoo could try to hit him harder as to take him off balance, but strong blows were slow, and she couldn’t afford to be slow.  

Her arms burned with pain as he hit her hard time and time again. He was trying to drain her energy, and Hyejoo was allowing him.  

Even though Hyejoo knew she was giving quite a show with her two sword fighting skills, she wasn’t there to show off. Hyejoo soon realized that fighting with the two swords was exactly what was slowing her down. 

As she blocked a vertical blow with Chaewon's sword, she let her own sword fall to the ground. With a strong push, Hyejoo sent Jaehyun back and span right next, swinging her sword from below.  

Jaehyun blocked it, but he was caught of guard, stumbling back. Hyejoo took advantage of the momentum and using all her remaining energy and concentration, she hit him faster than he would imagine she could.  

As he kept taking steps back, not being able to attack her anymore, Hyejoo turned the game to her favor. She just needed the perfect opportunity... The millisecond when Jaehyun lost his balance as he dodged a straight blow from Hyejoo’s sword was enough. 

His sword flew from his hand as she disarmed him. 

The blade of her sword was pointed right at the middle of Jaehyun’s widened eyes, as Hyejoo’s body trembled and drops of sweat ran down her face. 

The silence from the crowd was interrupted with a single person clapping. Hyejoo turned her head to find Taeyong standing, smiling and applauding.  

Soon, the arena trembled as the audience broke in cheers.  

Hyejoo smiled, feeling her knees lose any remaining strength and her conscience fading away, with her eyes going shut. 

Chaewon... I did it. 

And she collapsed on the ground, surrendering to exhaustion.  

---

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter filled with action! ^-^