Chapter 440

440 Dance Of The Shields(Part Three)

***CONTENT WARNING: LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE***

Marco watched Skye gracefully step up onto her shield with an inner smirk. He didn’t have cuffs on, and no one but a few would be able to tell if he used magic or not. The only problem was who would notice..

It was obvious that the Highlanders were suspicious of him, but he could easily persuade his father to dismiss any claims that they made. The real problem was Jin Laos. If Genie and the Highlanders stepped forward with Skye and Tidas backing them, then his father would be forced to publicly side with them.

The connections that Alcon had with Sai and the Highlanders were too new, and therefore precarious. Not only were those bonds made by Skye and Tidas, but to brush them off now would send a bad message to the other kingdoms. Meccano, Ital, and Sync might think that his deals with them could be easily compromised or broken, and they might break them before he has a chance to fulfill his plan..

Even if he wanted to, Marco would have to reframe from using his powers.. ‘I’ve invested most of my life into this.. I Will Not let anything or anyone ruin it now.. I’ll have Skye all to myself before next year’s Summer Games.. I just have to be patient..’

As Marco lept onto his shield, he looked over at Skye, and nodded to her. Skye mirrored his gesture, but her eyes held an icy blaze as she started to move. Step after step, the two stared each other down like the enemies that they were.

Tidas, Murdoc, Amara, and Genie all watched with clenched jaws as Skye burst into a run. She had taken off her shoes before they had started so she could move faster, which earned her disapproving looks from the older nobles. Her skirts were hiked up so high that most of the blood stains from Murdoc’s head wound were hidden in the folds.

Marco barely acknowledged Skye’s uptick in speed. The only reason that anyone thought he had noticed was because his pace sped up as well. As Skye quickly closed the gap between them, Marco started to futz with his suit jacket..

As Skye came up behind him, she lept forward with her body weight shifted to the front. She wanted to plow into Marco with all of her strength, but what he did had caught her completely by surprise.. At the same time that Skye had jumped, Marco twisted his upper body as he slid his jacket off, and let it fall behind him: right into Skye’s face.

.....

Skye stumbled as she pulled it from her face, and nearly toppled over where the line of shields curved. With her body already swaying to the side, Skye bent and flipped. She twisted her lower half to the side so that when her feet landed, she was upright on a shield.

The spectators roared with amazement at Skye’s agility as she steadied herself, then started to pick up her pace again. Marco actually grinned as he matched her speed to keep a distance between them. Since his distraction idea had failed, he needed to move on to his next plan.

It was known that Skye was quick-witted, but Marco didn’t think that she’d see the next move coming..

As he circled one side, he glanced at a man on the other; just a few shields away from Skye. It was subtle, but Marco had nodded at the man, whom she had noticed nod back. Immediately understanding his plan, Skye completely skipped the shield held by the man, and picked up her pace again.

The crowds howled for Skye’s show of accuracy, but didn’t realize that she had avoided the spot on purpose. Only those closest to her knew that there must’ve been a reason that she’d jumped. Right as Murdoc was about to start yelling, Shasta yanked the man out of the lineup, and shoved someone of comparable size into his place.

As Marco passed by her, he glanced at the Vice Commander of the RMC. Shasta was glaring at him with her ears partially bent back. Lawrence was watching as well, so Marco simply passed by without a word or expression.

He only had one more plan, but knew that it wouldn’t work based on the results from his first two attempts to trip her up. One more of the Shield Barriers was on his side, but Marco doubted that he’d be able to make Skye lose her footing. She obviously played the game in the north, but he had hoped that the loss of her magic would lead to victory..

‘I suppose I’ll just have to be patient a while longer.. With all of these witnesses about, I probably wouldn’t have been able to get the shard into her neck anyway.. I just need to wait until they leave for Sai, then I can start..’

As the thought came and went, Marco slowed down his pace a bit, then started to unbutton his dress shirt. Most of the women in the crowds swooned when they saw the Crowned Prince’s muscular chest. He had clearly bulked up even more since last year’s Summer Games, which made his brothers wonder why.

As the overlapping voices talked about how attractive he was, Skye kicked up her pace to as fast as she could go unassisted. Since she had to prepare her body to use her Tank trait instead of growing with it like most others, she was in far better shape than most other Tank mages. Skye, Tidas, Zas, and Shasta were some of the only ones that trained their bodies alongside their traits.

Tidas had told Skye after the Mage Trials that ‘the magic can only be as powerful as the vessel that wields it’. She had taken it as if she wanted her magic to grow, her body needed to be made stronger. Factoring in that she would eventually have every trait: Skye trained her body just as rigorously as her magic control.

As she come up behind Marco again, Skye had made it a point to bob side to side as she was running. He was excellent at recognizing patterns, and she hoped that he would notice her swaying. It was a hassle to pull her skirts side to side like she was struggling to carry them, but it was all a part of her ploy..

Marco did think that Skye was struggling to keep her skirts up, and planned to toss his shirt at her. He was going to stop in front of her, and push Skye off as soon as she dropped her skirts again to remove it. But when he threw his shirt at her, Skye bobbed to the side out of sync with the pattern she’d been moving in the entire time.

As genuine surprise showed on his face, Skye lunged at Marco, and knocked him over the side. As he hit the ground with a loud thud, Sheri appeared out of nowhere, and rushed to his side. Marco had landed on his arm, and dislocated his shoulder.

Skye hopped down right as Marco had hit the ground to make sure that a Barrier didn’t topple her. While they had been playing by the Highlander rules instead of how it was played in the movie, Murdoc had added the rule about the main point being to purposely try and knock the other competitor off. Hoping that he could’ve done actual damage to Marco.

It wasn’t just what Skye and Tidas had told him about the Crowned Prince that had Murdoc hating on Marco. He could clearly see that the man was out for himself instead of for his people.. ‘Men like that don’t deserve ta rule over others..’

As Sheri helped Marco to his feet, she asked Skye to come over and heal him. She hesitated at first, but grew curious when he said that he’d pay a visit to Dr. Stein instead. It surprised her to hear Marco refusing her aid, but Magnus overrode his objections.

Marco watched her approach him with an inner smile.. ‘Those blood stains on her skirts suit her.. Blood becomes her..’

After Skye had smiled at Sheri, her expression deflated when she looked at her brother- in-law. Placing her hands on his arm, she started to funnel her magic into him. At first, it all seemed normal. Then, for a split second: Skye felt his magic..

A nervous tremor ran up her backside as the realization cemented itself; ‘H-His magic is the Same as Richard’s.. How?! Even when I sensed it before we left, his didna have so much Dark magic mixed in.. Did...Did he touch the Spear?!’

Not thinking, Skye locked eyes with Marco as she whispered; “Yer gonna die if ya go after it..”

Marco flashed a small smile at her; “Is that concern you’re showing me? Why Skye, I didn’t know that you cared so much about me.”

Skye scoffed; “Tis not You I worry for, but yer actions.. I willna let ya have yer way.”

Marco’s smile stretched into something devious as he replied; “Oh, Little Lass.. You won’t comprehend what I want until it’s too late..”

Skye froze as her heart sank into her stomach.. ‘That voice...D-Did he just call me Little Lass?! Oh shit..’

As Tidas came up and wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulders; Amara, Murdoc, Petrie, and Wallace all stood behind her with piercing gazes. They couldn’t hear what Marco had said to her, but the expression on Skye’s face was unmistakably fear. Tidas squeezed her shoulders gently, then stepped in front of his wife.

As he stared down his brother, murmurs started to become louder and louder..

“Are we sure that those rumors weren’t true?” a random noble asked.

“She looked awfully worried when she went to heal him..” someone else commented.

“True, but there’s nothing romantic behind it,” Genie assured them.

“I think she just likes the attention that acting the whore gets her,” Karena stated louder than any of the other comments.

Most knew who had said it, but no one was willing to point the finger at her.. At least no one human. Shasta, on the other hand; was sick to death of her shitty attitude. She didn’t want to aggravate Magnus further, so she walked over causally, then spoke in a low voice to her..

“If I hear one more nasty word out of your mouth, I’ll tell Magnus Everything that you did to me.. And I’ll do it publicly. This is my last warning to you: Keep. Your. Mouth. Shut.”

Not waiting for a reply, Shasta turned her back on Karena, and walked back over to Lawrence’s side. Karena wanted to scream at the bitch, but Draco appeared at her side with a reminder..

“Don’t forget that King Magnus has warned you already. If you make him angry, he’ll punish you.. And that’s not including what your husband will do to you, should you cause a scene..”

Karena’s fury only grew at her guard’s warning. As she looked between Skye and Shasta, Karena secretly decided to strike against them without Draco’s help.. ‘Marco’s not the only one who knows the hidden passageways.. I’ll get them back on my own..’