Clang! Slice!

Princess Hong and the Thorn King's swords clashed. Though Princess Hong was slightly weaker than the Thorn King, she felt a surge of energy after dealing with the sudden loss of her father who was lying still on the royal seat and blood dripping from the back of sword. The Thorn King was probably prepared for this as he was carrying another sword. Hong cried out of anger and leaped in the air before bringing down her weapon. The Thorn King smiled and blocked her attack.

"My my..." He laughed, "No wonder your mother committed suicide."

Hearing this, Hong's anger gave her more strength to bring him down one knee, "SHUT UP!"

The power she thought she had gained from her momentary anger was not enough and caught her off guard when the Thorn King swung at her.

"Hmmmmm...Not bad." He told himself, "You would make a fine captain of the royal guards; however, your burst of emotions won't get you closer to the royal seat."

"MUCH LIKE HOW YOU KILLED YOUR FATHER TO BECOME KING?!"

The Thorn King flinched at her question and stood completely still. The air seemed to grow dark as he glared at her menacingly. 

Did I step on a landmine? Well...PERFECT!

Hong stepped forward with her foot and ran before aiming her weapon in his chest. She successfully hurt him, but he managed to shift his body towards an area where her weapon would cause minimal injury. He bled, but his reaction was as if he didn't feel anything.

"Is that it?"

Hong let go of her sword and leaped away. Good thing she did because he had forced his sword into the ground so hard that the tiles cracked. The Red Demon was just fast enough to avoid death. Hong's weapon was still in her victim, but the Thorn King removed her sword and sliced it into pieces. Hong wasn't surprised as the constant wear and tear on her sword from battling side-by-side with her father eventually wore out the weapon. Even the constant care she had to maintain her sword was not enough.

She remembered that the swordsmith had explained to her that her weapon would only be good for a while and that she needed to be careful when facing a dangerous enemy. In all of her battles, Hong was careful enough and knew that her sword could impale a majority of her enemies, but her skills allowed her to deduce whom she could easily kill. Her training with her father had taught her enough in the battlefield and whenever she sparred.

Hong turned in a mad dash and ran towards her father. She knew that the Thorn King could kill her if he wished, but without a weapon, she was at a slight disadvantage.

I can't kill him with just my fists. Hong thought to herself, I'm sorry father!

She reached for the sword pierced into his chest and yanked it out. Hong turned to see that the Thorn King had ran away instead. She cursed in her mind before hearing the door on her side creak open. Hong's menacing face etched her anger towards the direction her enemy and ran towards the open door. She thought it was the Thorn King and had raised her weapon before barely stopping her attack.

"S...sister?"

Shiro was on the ground, shivering and her silent tears dripped down her face. Hong wasn't sure what made Shiro this scared and tried to pick her up; instead, Shiro flinched at her older sister's hand pushed her away before running. Hong stood still before realizing that the Thorn King was most likely gone from the castle. Jack had returned and both left the castle. Her one-eyed servant reported that the enemy soldiers had ambushed the soldiers at the border and it led to a massacre.

"Find the Thorn King! We must kill him and - "

Before she managed to complete her sentence, Hong stopped abruptly, and turned to the castle. 

Shiro?

End of Chapter 13........................................................................................................................