"You know... I want to try something," I said.

I got up from my chair and picked up one of the fake swords leaning against the wall.

First I calmly examined it in my hands, then I looked at Ken and walked towards him, keeping eye contact.

As I approached him, I raised the sword and pointed it at him.

Without waiting a second, I swung my sword sharply and "stabbed" his chest.

He smiled slightly at me and stepped into the role. His eyes widened in horror, shock, surprise and disbelief... Slowly, his trembling hands gripped the blade of the sword... He looked down at the blade as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing, and then he looked up at me again, staring at me for a moment without words. Then he coughed and slowly slid off the chair onto the floor.

There was a moment of silence and then I laughed, "Hahaha, that was awesome! Your expression was amazing!"

He immediately stood up and bowed to me several times as if to the audience in the hall, "Thank you, thank you."

Then looking at the swords with a smile, he walked over to them and took one.

With a graceful movement, he pointed the tip of the sword at me. His gaze became cold and piercing. He looked unwaveringly into my eyes...

"Surrender," he said in a tone as cold as ice, "surrender... And perhaps I will spare you."

In response to his words, I stared at him in silence for a moment, then smiled wickedly and only tightened my grip on the hilt of my sword.

"Are you really suggesting I surrender? You? You piece of trash, I'll kill you before you know it."

There was rage and hatred in my voice, but not emotional, rather cold.

"Yeah? And how are you going to do that? I'm stronger than you," he said calmly.

"Shut up and fight!" I shouted.

I raised my sword and took a sharp step in his direction, but my movements were not as elegant as I had drawn them in my mind.

I stumbled and lost my balance.

Everything happened quickly...

I was about to fall, but in the next moment, I felt his hands on my back, catching me deftly.

How is he so fast?

"As you can see, I'm totally clumsy, hahaha," I laughed, looking up at him.

The expression on his face immediately softened with relief.

"It's not for me..." I sighed, getting to my feet.

But he just calmly said, "Let's continue."

"Continue?"

"Yeah..."

"Are you serious?"

I looked at him like he was an idiot. But his expression was completely serious.

"Yes..."

"I just told you it's not for me and I'm clumsy..."

"Just think of it as a dance..."

He pointed his sword at me again, as if inviting me to 'dance'.

"Oh..." I grinned playfully. "Does that mean you're asking me to dance?"

He smiled.

"Yes... I'm asking you to dance, Princess."

I laughed.

"Fine… Since you're asking me to dance, my prince, let's dance. Just be patient with me… like I said, I'm clumsy."

"Don't worry, I have more experience with this than you, so I'll help you."

"Help me?"

"I'll go slow. Just try to get into a rhythm with me, I'll take the lead."

"Okay, like I said, be gentle with me. This is my first time," I said.

"Sure," he replied calmly.

He didn't seem to notice my joke, but that was probably for the best.

"Try to block or dodge my attacks, or attack when you have the chance," he added.

"Okay..." I said. "But... don't you think we should just replicate the moves from some action manga?"

"There's no need for that. We're not doing a scene right now... we're just playing around."

"Hahaha. Playing around?"

You really are a child, I thought.

He slowly swung his sword in my direction, as if to give me a chance to dodge.

I took advantage of it and quickly dodged his swing.

Looking up at him, I found him silently standing in the same pose with his sword raised above the floor, as if inviting me to attack him.

Realizing his intentions, I obediently, though somewhat clumsily, swung my sword, aiming for his open side.

But he saw my movements and deftly dodged my attack, stepping back.

All this happened in perfect silence.

As we were standing in front of each other, we were simply looking into each other's eyes.

Then he swings again. This time his movement is a little faster, but he doesn't use all his speed, so I manage to dodge sideways.

"Watch out!" he yells.

I notice that he doesn't give me time to recover and almost immediately turns the blow back on me.

Luckily, I manage to dodge again.

"Try to block my next strike!"

He raises his sword again and strikes again, but I manage to block it.

He steps back and strikes again. I dodge, block, or try to counter.

This is how our "dance" continues.

And at some point, when I get tired and trip over something, I reach for him and he deftly grabs my hand with his. But he can't stop the inertia, and we both fall to the ground.

He's on top of me and I'm underneath him. His hands on the floor keep him from falling on me.

We are both breathing heavily, a little tired.

We just stare at each other without saying anything.

His face is not that far from mine... and at that moment a strange, wild thought comes to my mind... If he lowered his head a little... our lips could touch...

But I immediately dismissed the thought.

"You really are clumsy..." he said.

I didn't answer...

And we just stared into each other's eyes for a while longer...

"Should we get up? Or do you like this position?" I finally asked teasingly.

He blushed visibly, immediately stood up and held out his hand to me, saying only a quiet and awkward "Sorry..."