Frances's+Story

=Frances's NaNoWriMo Story= toc

Chapter 1
The blade slowly crept across his sleek throat. He was simply no match for it. He stared into those menacing grey eyes. The eyes stared back, but they spared no mercy. The next second, he could feel his heart stop. The anticipating crowd erupted into cheers and applause. The challenger had won, and was smiling behind the hood of his cloak. No one knows who this guy is. All they know is that he comes into town and to duel with some of the country's best fighters. Multiple people, whether they were noblemen or peasants, have fallen to his feet. He has spared no mercy to any of his opponents. Many have put a price on his head, but only to have them murdered instead. In conclusion to the duel, he would only scamper away after taking the victim's money. They call this man Mark for his signature M he slit into his defeated opponent's cheek. When he was finally alone in his abandoned cottage, he lifted up his cloak and started examining his winnings. He revealed himself to be poor Anne Marie, a lonely orphan of age 16. She didn't know who her parents are, much less where she came from. She was living with an old man who had taught her self-defense, but he was murdered after refusing to pay taxes to the harsh ruler, Prince Ludwig Laurent. King John Laurent was really the one in charge of the kingdom, but he was so old and frail that Ludwig was running the kingdom for him. He was notorious for his harsh laws and punishments. The price for stealing was 5000 gold coins, and depending on the severity, sometimes even branded with the royal stamp on to your back. The poor citizens of this country, called Tiberius, live in despair. Their only means of entertainment were watching children throw rotten food at criminals. If they were especially lucky, they might have been able to witness a duel. In this country, dueling was the most popular sport and form of entertainment. Alas, many people have died as a result of this. Many people had thought about rebelling against Prince Ludwig before, but they always resented this because the actual king had been a kind ruler. Once, the city of Tiberius had been a beautiful place prospering with scholars, cuisine to die for, and peace among everyone. The king requested that the citizens respect his sons, and so they loyally obeyed. Now at this time, after winning the duel, Anne Marie changed into more causal clothes and started counting her winnings. “Tch…” she scoffed. “This guy had only 1000 coins with him…I suppose that’s enough to last me another week or so…” She turned to a corner of the abandoned hut, where a large trunk lay. She opened it, revealing its contents, which consisted of piles of golden coins, diamonds, and other precious jewels. She sighed and lay back onto her soft mattress. She was quite lonely in her little shack, because her only companion, Logan, the old man’s son, left 3 years after the old man was murdered, which was when they were both 10. She lived alone since then, living off of whatever she won from her duels. Anne Marie left her cottage and started heading towards the market. She enjoyed strolling around town, where she could watch the wonders of human drama. She pick pocketed an apple and read a nearby sign. DUELING COMPETION A DUELING COMPETITION WILL BE HELD IN THE KING'S HONOR ON OCTOBER 21. CHAMPION WILL RECIEVE RICHES BEYOND HUMAN IMAGINATION, AND A SPECIAL REWARD ON WHICH ONE CAN ONLY IMAGINE. ALL WHO ARE INTERESTED, OR WANT MORE DETAILS SHOULD REPORT TO THE CASTLE BEFORE SUNDOWN ON THE 14TH. ALL ELIGIBLE CONTESTANTS MUST BE MALE TO ENTER. NO EXCEPTIONS. She snickered to herself. She was amused at why people would compete for glory, fame, and gold when you could earn it for yourself. She threw away the apple core and headed back to her little cottage in the forest. When she arrived, however, she received quite a nasty shock. When she opened the door, she dropped her sword in astonishment. The building had been ransacked. Everything had either been destroyed, stolen, or damaged severely, beyond repair. She darted upstairs to her bedroom. The curtains were torn, the bed split in two, and worst of all, her prized trunk, which usually lay at the foot of her bed, was gone. All her money and earnings were gone. In its place was now a scrap of paper. She knelt down in agony to read it. If you want your precious trunk back you'll have to beat me in the dueling tournament. Anne Marie crumpled the paper, obviously distressed. She didn't want to compete in the tournament, but she had no choice. She had no money, no bed, nothing, but the clothes on her back and a few coins. She exited the cottage, pat it one more time, pulled the hood of her cloak over her head,and headed off towards the castle.

Chapter 2
Anne Marie looked up at the castle doors. They were huge, intimidating, and did not look inviting. She pulled the hood of her cloak closer to her head. The large, buff guard in full armor was guarding the castle, and gave her a mean glare. "Halt!" he grunted. "Name, and reason for being here?" "Ahem...um...my name's Mark." she said in a low voice. "I'm interested in the dueling competition..." The guard looked at her for a second, grunted, then opened the gates. "Welcome, darling!" greeted a rather flamboyant man. "My name is Felix, and I'm the head of the tournament. Follow me please~" She slowly crept into the castle. The doors slammed behind her.