Evanna pursed her lips as she took in the appearance of the elf before her. His golden hair was pulled back into a half-up hairstyle, yet his locks came shorter than the other elves, finishing just above his shoulders. He was well built, with his stature possibly shorter than the prince's, but he was still tall.

His dazzling green eyes were quite a feature of his young, handsome face. Evanna knew that if the man smiled, the surrounding women would probably swoon. The warrior was attractive, but he was nothing compared to Prince Arawn with his striking features. His silk curtain of starlight hair falling graciously down his back, those piercing blue eyes, chiselled jaw, and, of course, his lean upper body was full of rock-solid muscles. Even though Evanna had fought against him, she still couldn't believe a prince was that…

Evanna's eyes widened, and she glanced up at the golden-haired warrior standing in front of her. He was looking at her with a peculiar expression on his face. She smiled sheepishly at him, but he rolled his eyes.

"I um, I'm sorry. That was very rude of me. Was I staring?" She stuttered. Oh, her governess would have tutted at her stutter.

'A lady must always appear poised, and if she is shocked, then use the cover of a fan. If a fan is not available, then one must keep their face completely emotionless until she is ready to respond elegantly.'

The elf sighed, "I am used to it."

Evanna blinked as words sizzled on her tongue; she tilted her head slightly. He must have thought she was staring at him because of his looks. The motion made her cheeks heat, and she looked away, mumbling her query, "Do you have a lot of people staring at you then, sir?"

"My name is Cedric. And, of course, men are left staring after they lose a battle to me, and why wouldn't a woman stare at me?" So came Cedric's deadpanned response.

Evanna looked back at him, her cheeks still rosy. "Well, yes, you are handsome. B-but that's not why I was staring!" She stuttered again. Were all men arrogant?

Cedric crossed his arms, showcasing his bulging muscles, "Oh?"

"We fought the other night," Evanna glanced down at her clasped hands in front of her.

"Ah, yes, now that you mention it, we did," Cedric replied casually.

Evanna looked up at him, shocked at his nonchalant demeanour. "I nearly killed you.." She whispered, her eyes now fixed on his face.

He chuckled, "But you did not. What I want to know, though, is how you caught the prince's eye?" He gestured with his hand to walk back across the gardens and not the area she wished to scout out. With a small sigh, she turned around and walked by his side.

Unlike her walk earlier with the prince, noble she-elves and servants tended to keep their admiring stares to a minimum, bowing their heads or scattering when his attention focused on them. Whereas, while she walked by Cedric's side, they openly gawked, but he would smile occasionally and bow his head at any that plucked up the courage to greet him. Evanna could imagine that Arawn's icy demeanour and rumours must be the reason for keeping these drooling she-elves at bay.

"So? How are you free of a cell?" Cedric reiterated his question when they came across another garden, where some servants giggled and walked past, blushing. Evanna rolled her eyes internally. Surely, they had seen the man many times before? She looked at him again to see what the fuss was about.

Okay, yes, he was handsome. But Evanna couldn't understand how she wasn't affected so. Maybe, she was too used to men. Not in a scandalous way! No. Her time spent on the road with Ger, Axel and Ronan must have been why she could easily talk to Cedric. They were handsome and athletic men, and she travelled with them just fine. Evanna had also spent many times at balls in pleasant conversations with gentlemen, all good looking, but they still weren't quite like the elves she had come across so far.

Shaking her head, she dismissed where her thoughts were taking her. As long as she stayed unaffected by men other than her husband, then she should be happy. She gulped and finally replied to Cedric's burning question. "I honestly do not know. If you wish to know, you should ask him," She suggested.

Cedric laughed, causing a few of the women nearby to turn their heads and sigh in his direction. "I cannot ask the prince such questions. Hmm, maybe it is something as simple as your beautiful looks," He shrugged and glanced at her with amusement filling his features.

Evanna sighed, "I doubt it has anything to do with my looks."

Cedric shook his head, "You are quite the innocent little lady. Unless," he narrowed his eyes at her, "you are not telling me the truth?"

Evanna shook her head, "Nope, he just got impatient, and somehow I ended up out here."

Cedric raised a brow at her, "And you don't find that suspicious?"

Evanna's brows drew together at his question. Of course, she found it suspicious, but what was she meant to do? This was why she was looking for an escape, but she couldn't very well tell him that!

Instead of replying to her thoughts, she threw a different question at him, "You said men are left staring at you when you beat them in a fight.. I didn't think you were that great. Does that mean all the guards here are not well trained?"

Cedric stopped and turned on his heel, placing his hand on the hedge next to her. Evanna halted from walking any further. "That is quite the accusation, young miss,"

"I am not much younger than you. And, it must be the truth. I beat you the other night," She replied with a cheeky grin on her lips.

"I am 90. Younger than most here, but older than you. And if that is the case, then let me make amends to you now," Cedric stated and began marching towards the open grass grounds in the middle of the gardens.

Evanna hastily chased after him, "We cannot fight!"

"You have dishonoured me, and so I must fight for it back," He replied in a clipped tone.

Evanna rushed around him and placed her hand on his armour. He looked down and raised a brow at her. "I did not mean it in such a way, Cedric. I am not from these lands, and a duel between a man and female is forbidden!" She whisper-shouted, worrying about the consequences she has put herself in.

Evanna knew that there was no such law in Direwood; Arawn already stated to her that the she-elves had more equal rights than the humans when it came to fighting, so why wouldn't it differ when it came to duels.

Cedric placed his hand on his chin in thought. "If I gave you a sword, would you try and kill me again?"

Evanna's mouth dropped open, "No! Why would I do that!?"

"Because we are sworn enemies?" He looked at her like she was crazy.

"Um…. Well, I did not realise that was the case?" Evanna replied, perplexed at his statement. Although she was technically on her enemy's land, for some reason, she did not see Cedric as the enemy.

"Well, now I know you will not try to actually kill me. Let us train!" Cedric clapped his hands together with a warm smile on his face.

"I do not have the correct attire," Evanna replied as she glanced at elves passing them by who stared at the pair equally.

"Ah, have no fear, I will not injure you that badly," He winked. Evanna looked down at her dress and shook her head; it would be a first, but she shrugged anyway. Maybe practising in a dress would be beneficial for a time when she finally escapes?

"Perfect." Cedric began unclasping the armour around his chest. Once he did, the metal was placed on the side, and he ordered another guard to come forwards.

Five minutes later, Evanna stood across from Cedric, holding two swords that she swung skillfully around her. Although it hadn't been very long, she missed playing with her blades. If only the ones she held right now were hers. These ones didn't seem as light, so she worried her techniques would not be as accurate.

Either way, she would use it as a training practice, take hr time first getting used to swinging the foreign blades and-

Cedric ran towards her without any announcement made, completely throwing her off guard. But although she was not 100% ready, her quickness and agility made up for it. She dodged out of his way, doing a roley-poley to the side, already dishevelling her pulled-back hair. But, unfortunately, one of the emerald clips already flew onto the path.

Oops.

Evanna turned and deflected a blow immediately. It appeared that the training session was a bit more intense than when she and Ger initially fought. However, it did not faze her as she continuously dodged his attacks. But this made Cedric angry. Something Evanna knew she could use to her advantage. She decided to play with him and watch his temper rise.

By using that tactic, they fought for another ten minutes. Evanna evading his attacks and occasionally attacking back. But she watched as his stamina decreased quicker after repeating combo after combo to outsmart Evanna's fighting tactics. But she was merely blocking him and smirking when she found him analysing her face. This, of course, made him angrier and his attacks sloppy.

By now, their fighting had gathered a crowd, but Evanna was not distracted by such things. Instead, she looked at objects to use as a means to finish the fight. She looked to the side and saw a bench nearer the wall that dropped to the rock. With a swipe of her sword, she bounced off Cedric and turned to the bench, he followed quickly behind her, but she stepped to it and spun mid-air, bringing her swords back down towards him.

The force of her swords and body pushed into them, flung his sword to the side. He fell back as she lunged forwards and landed elegantly next to him, pointing her blades at him. By this point, she was breathing a little heavily. The swords she played with were heavier, and it was hard fighting in a dress!

A round of applause erupted from the small crowd; Evanna glanced at them and smiled sheepishly before helping Cedric up. Evanna grasped onto Cedric's hand when her eyes landed on a figure who dispersed the crowd from his mere presence. The prince stood there with his arms crossed, an unimpressed expression on his stony features.