Kept up

She chuckled seeing how determined Kei was exactly and she sighed before taking a blade from him and he smiled brightly with a cheeky grin and Xania chuckled, seeing they siblings were actually bonding, something he knew had not happened before, from what Violet had told him before and from what he himself had seen many times, ever since he first showed up in her life. 

Violet looked at Kei's determination and she took her stance as he tied her left arm behind her back with a training gear and one of the guards nearby tied his since everything had to be equal in the training matches and they could only use their dominant hands in the match and the swords were wooden, so that no one would hurt themselves. 

"Are you guys ready?" The guard asked and the two looked at each other and then back at the guard before nodding and the guard smiled. 

"Alright, one, two, three and... Start," He said as he pulled back and the two lunged at each other, their wooden blades clashing with each other, capturing the attention of a few other passing by soldiers, who all stopped to look at their practice match. 

They all couldn't help but smile at the view in front of them, since that was the first time, they had actually seen her bond with one of her siblings and were even more surprised, when Violet was keeping up with Kei's pace, since none of them knew that she actually paid attention to the abilities that a royal in their family should have, nor had they ever notice her training much before. 

Kei smirked as she lunged at him and just as he believed he had the upper hand, she flicked over him, hitting his blade, making him stumble back and his eyes widened at her speed and agility. 

As their match went on, it captured the king's attention, since he was passing by to go to the throne room, for a meeting with a few other allies from neighboring kingdoms and his brows furrowed and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, when he saw and he leaned against a pillar, waiting to see the outcome of their match, which caught his curiosity. 

Many acknowledged the king's presence, but he raised his hand, stopping them from greeting him verbally, since he did not want Violet and Kei to notice him and lose focus on the match, for he wanted to see the genuine outcome of it, and they all understood. 

[combat skills, partially activated.]

[Skills, enhanced.] 

As the match continued, sparks of small flames came off of the wooden blades as they clashed and those around them, ones they were slightly oblivious to, couldn't help but keep watching and the king's eyes narrowed as he looked at both of them, intently, since that was his first time, seeing her in combat, a skill he had no idea she had. 

Kei and Violet were lost in the match, her movements matching his own at almost at the very same rate, which caught others by surprise, since Kei was just as a good fighter as Luca, their older brother. 

As the match continued, Violet's eyes narrowed as they shimmered and her movements got more precise and she began gaining the upper hand in the match and even Kei was surprised as her movements got faster than his. 

The king's eyes narrowed as she moved so fast around kei that he barely sensed her and she lunged at him, hitting his blade out of his hand and he fell against the ground on his back and she stood above him, looking down at him with her eyes narrowed, gently placing the wooden blade on his stomach, showing she won. 

"My win," She said with a smirk and he left staring at her before chuckling and the ones around them, genuinely impressed with her clapped and she reached out her hand, which he took and she helped him up from the ground. 

The guard opened up both of their hands that were tied behind them and Kei brushed off his clothes, before exhaling deeply since he was a little bit drained, after the match with Violet and he looked at her, before chuckling. 

"Well done, your win indeed, Violet, I have to say, I am quite impressed, I never thought that you would be that good, but I did notice as the fight went, you got better and kept up at my pace, have you always known to fight like that sis?" He asked with a smirk, waiting for her response. 

She looked at him, seeing the genuine curiosity in him and she remembered always practicing by herself and with some of the other soldiers growing up, since it kept her occupied and lately, she got better but why, that she couldn't tell him at least, not in detail. 

The very question Kei asked, was also one her father was curious about since he never knew she could fight either because he never trained her personally, like he did with the sons. 

"I just practiced growing up, observed and I got better gradually, you can say, I adapted to my surroundings," She responded and Kei chuckled heartily.

"You made yourself around like some sort of creature there sis, but I understand, you simply helped yourself due to..." Kei said, trailing off as he lowered his gaze slightly. 

Violet looked at him, as did Xania, since both of them knew where he was getting at and Violet did not want him to feel bad about something he had no control over, but she never did think the day would come when she would actually be standing beside one of her siblings, equally. 

"Not your fault, don't worry, leave the past right there, go and relax, we have a lot to prepare for tomorrow," She said and he looked at her then smiled a little, before nodding. 

"You are right, I almost forgot that everything offically starts tomorrow, you go and relax as well, I will see you later, thanks for the match, " He said and she nodded. 

Violet turned around to leave and she saw her father, bracing against the pillar, then bowed her head slightly to him, before walking past him, heading to her chamber and Kei left to go prepare as well, while the king sighed, with a lot twirling inside of his mind, before heading off to the throne room.