The sapphire knight watched as the young queen selected the two slender weapons from the array of armaments offered to her.<br/><br/>If it was to come to that, If she was to have to fight for her life, then that would mean that a powerful enemy would have had to get through him...<br/>He banished that thought from his head immediately.  His queen wished to be trained.   It would take years to effectively train this girl to be an effective warrior.<br/><br/>Ama looked to his beautiful queen, and bit his lower lip in regret.  She was innocent, and this was the last time he would ever see her like this.  She was happy, and always eager to meet new people.  She was a good queen, who cared about her people more than she cared about herself.<br/><br/>And here she was, asking him to destroy all of that, here and now.  He would have to , if she was face to face with an assassin that would show her no hint of mercy.<br/>The knight protector played through events in his head, asking himself who would benefit the most from the deaths of the people on the list, and ultimately, Illyria.  He grunted.  No thoughts came to mind.  The neighboring kingdoms had been stalwart allies since he was a boy...  Surely...<br/><br/>No.  Kain could handle gathering information.  His brother was far better at such things than Amadeus ever could be.<br/>Ama was a warrior, First and foremost.<br/><br/>The stilettos the queen had chosen were beautiful, elegant, and deadly in the right hands, but were more or less intended as a concealed weapon of last resort.  She would need something a little bigger.<br/>"Those are good for opening letters my queen, or perhaps assassinating someone you really hate from the shadows..."  He murmured to her.<br/><br/>The knight looked over the weapons on the table, and considered each...<br/><br/>He selected a fine basket hilt rapier, a longer, more fight worthy version of her stiletto daggers.<br/><br/>Ama took a copper ring from his hand, and looked at it in his palm.<br/>It was old and dented, the soft metal covered in a bluish white patina from the many years of carrying it with him.<br/><br/>This was thing ring his grandfather had used to train Amadeus in the use of the slender blades, as his own first weapon.<br/><br/>He instructed one of the servants to hang the ring from a tree, dangling just about the height of an average man's chest.  They quickly did so, selecting a massive water oak in the center of the gardens.<br/><br/>Rapier's were not as big nor as intimidating as the more impressive two handed weapons, but they were quick, versatile, and could kill someone just a dead, if wielded in the right hands.<br/><br/>Where the young queen could see him, he stood in front of the hung ring, assumed a fighting stance, and slowed his breathing, controlling it with his will, relaxing his mind, and entering a state of heightened awareness.<br/><br/>With lightning quick speed, he stepped forward and thrust at the ring with his weapon, the slender blade easily sliding through the ring, raising it at little...<br/>The paladin then withdrew the weapon with a quick backwards motion with his elbow and waist, the ring swaying ever so slightly...<br/><br/>Amadeus bit the corner of his lip.  He was slipping.  back during his mastery of the weapon, he could withdraw the blade from a thrust, and the target ring wouldn't even be touched...<br/>Still, he did not say anything nor make any other expression.  He would practice in secret later...<br/><br/>"Dearest queen, accuracy is key with any weapon."  He murmured to her, and had her stand where he had just stood a moment ago.  "...Take this rapier, and hold it like this..."<br/><br/>He stood behind the queen, close to her, and slid the graceful weapon into her dominant hand.  Ama could smell of her perfume oil...  Her scent was heavenly...  But well disciplined as he was, he stayed focused.  He adjusted her arms and posture with his hands, with gentle, but firm motions...<br/><br/>"Now then..."  he said, low and deep.  "...Thrust at the ring, and try to do what I just did..."<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><script class="js-extraPhrases" type="application/json">
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