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i

In the privacy of my dreaher version of me More valiant and fearless

I’ve always loved those drea a sweat, or cut aan eyelash In them, my body is honed and fine-tuned My mind is as focused as any Canshai h ed

No one can stop s now, as I lay facedown in theout mouthfuls of pond scu entirely too slowly, ain to convinceresolve I so desperately craved had been seriously shaken

My weapon had disappeared somewhere in the slimy pit I had just pulled myself from, so it was only meand my opponent I needed to think quickly I kneouldn’t wait long before striking again

Staggering to ht, which unfortunately was not nearly as iled to find any weakness in his defenses He was bothmy mind, he lifted his steel blade to his forehead in ainto a sneer

"Your Majesty" His voice ru from deep inside his chest "It seems you find yourself in a most precarious position" His eyes narrowed as he closed the gap between us, and ed then, thrusting his sword toward h the air Fortunately, I recognized its trajectory and was able to react in tiht

I felt the air ripple at my earlobe Too near a miss

But even as relief uncoiled in my chest, I felt my foot slide in the slickhard once more My breath rushed out in a painful whoosh as my spine connected with a sharp stone beneathto beckonto conjure that fierceness withinto overlook the pain

Warriors do not cry, I adlance at his feet, which were still coht hied as hard as I could, trying to sweep his feet froers clawed at the soil beneath ht, but I refused to surrender

And then I felt hi

The round, at the same level I was, I raised both my booted feet, my knees cocked and my thick heels aimed directly at his head The blow could be deadly if delivered correctly In the te into my attacker’s hard brown eyes He’d had no qual me I knew because I bore the bruises to prove it

"What are you waiting for?" he jeered, his white teeth flashing, re me that he didn’t have mud in his irl froh like Brooklynn, or deter to kill if necessary