Forest Kingdom Trilogy 1 - Blue Moon Rising

seeping through his armour.
    'Getting old, Champion,' said Rupert thickly. 'There was a time you wouldn't have given me a chance to recover.'
    The Champion smiled. 'I'm still good enough for you, boy. Come on, let's see what you can do.'
    Rupert moved cautiously forward, his sword sweeping back and forth before him. The two fighters circled each other warily, and then came together in a flurry of steel too fast for the eye to follow. They sprang apart and circled each other again, their steel-clad boots striking sparks from the bare stone.
    Blood rilled down from a wide cut on Rupert's forehead, filling his eyes with crimson. The Champion had another bloody rent in his chain-mail. Rupert wiped blood from his eyes with the back of his hand, and couldn't parry the Champion's attack in time. Fresh blood trickled down Rupert's sword arm, making his grasp slippery. And so the fight went. Rupert used every trick he knew, all his strength and skill coming together in an exhibition of swordsmanship that had the guardsmen crying aloud in appreciation. Again and again he threw himself at the Champion, his sword a bright blur on the still morning air as it rose and fell, rose and fell. Rupert gave everything he had, and it wasn't enough.
    He never stood a chance.
    The Champion parried his every blow, allowed Rupert to tire himself out, and then moved in with a flurry of hammering blows that left Rupert lying battered and helpless, face down on the blood-smeared cobblestones. He was dimly aware of the Champion crouching before him, and then tears started from his eyes as a strong hand grabbed a handful of hair and lifted his head up.
    'Sorry, Sire,' said the Champion quietly. 'But you should have known better than to beat Harald in public. Next time, you will know better.' The hand released Rupert's hair, and the cobblestones jumped up to meet his face. The Champion's voice seemed to come from far away. 'We ride in half an hour, Sire; I expect you to be in your saddle and ready to leave. If you're not, I'll have you strapped to the unicorn.'
    He walked unhurriedly away, and one by one the guards followed him, leaving Rupert curled around his pain. The courtyard chatter slowly resumed. For a long while Rupert just lay there, and then there was the sound of running feet, and two gentle hands were holding his shoulders. He cried out wordlessly, and shrank away from the hands, afraid of more pain.
    'Rupert, love, what have they done to you?' said Julia.
    Rupert's mind slowly cleared, and he became aware of Julia kneeling beside him.
    'What happened, Rupert?'
    'I wanted to win,' he said thickly, and spat blood on to the cobblestones. 'Just once, I wanted to win.
    Help me up, will you?'
    Slowly, leaning heavily on Julia's supporting arm, he got to his feet, and she guided him over to the nearest wall so that he could lean against it. His head swam madly, and he stood quietly while Julia cleaned the worst of the blood from his face with a silk handkerchief.
    'Waste of good silk, that,' he said, trying to smile.
    'Who did this to you?' demanded Julia, her voice shaking with fury.
    The Champion,' said Rupert. 'I shouldn't have turned my back on him.'
    'I'll kill him!' said Julia, and Rupert quickly grabbed her wrist.
    'No! Don't even think it, Julia. He wouldn't kill you, but he'd have no compunction about scarring you a little to teach you a lesson. You're good with a sword, lass, but I'm better, and he walked all over me and didn't even raise a sweat.' He realised he was still holding her wrist painfully tight, and let her go. 'I'm not badly hurt, Julia, except in my pride. He was careful not to do any real damage. I should have known he wouldn't let me get away with beating Harald.'
    'You beat Harald?'
    'Yeah.' Rupert grinned, wincing a little as fresh blood seeped into his mouth. 'I beat him. I did everything but sign my initials on him.'
    Julia laughed, and clapped her hands together. 'Oh, I'd love to have seen that!'
    'Bloodthirsty wench,' Rupert growled, and then laughed as she nodded demurely.
    'Why did the Champion attack you?'
    'Partly to keep me in my place. Partly to undermine my authority with the guards. And partly because he has to prove he's still the best, even after all these years as Champion. As he's got older, he's needed to prove it more and more.'
    Julia frowned thoughtfully. 'I think I'll have a word with the dragon about this.'
    'Thanks for the thought, but no. I want to beat him myself.' Rupert pushed himself