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Lord Elwin chuckled. "Yes, the impact won't be the same if I tell you," he agreed. "Now come, Princess - attack."

Amora took a deep breath and changed her stance slightly, thrusting forward towards Elwin's shoulder. It was a weak attack at best, and he easily deflected it - and then without warning, he struck forward and hit the princess in the stomach. She gasped, more surprised than anything else, and instinctively her sword shot forward, and she hit Lord Elwin squarely in the chest.

At the hit, Elwin took a step back and rubbed at his chest, chuckling. "There, that was better," he smiled warmly at Amora. "Now I want to see more of that, all right?"

Amora was still shocked that she had actually not only attacked, but also hit Lord Elwin, and seemingly so easily ...

"How did I ..."

"Instinct overcame fear," the young lord smiled. "Now come, it's time to be serious."

And without any warning this time, he darted forward and attacked once more.

Amora's hand faltered slightly as she smiled a bit at Lin's praise, and she cried out as Elwin's wooden sword came down on her wrist.

"I was distracted, stop taking advantage of me!" she told him, feeling a bit cross.

He just chuckled. "Stop letting me."

Conversation stopped as Elwin continued to attack Amora, and once more Amora reverted to defense rather than offense. But now that Elwin had gotten used to her defensive movements, he was beginning to see opportunities to strike - and did so every chance he got.

Amora was feeling trapped now. She was being forced more and more backwards, into a corner, and she knew that she was fast losing this battle - even if it was only a mock fight. Her heart raced in her chest, and for a moment she even forgot that Lin was there as well - and then suddenly something inside her snapped. Almost as if a physical barrier had been broken. She dug her foot into the floor, refusing to back down any longer, and began to fight for true. Everything about her, from the way she stood, the way she held her wooden sword, to the way she moved and the expression on her face; everything was different, changed now to the fighter she was supposed to become. She pushed forward now, attacking just as strongly as Elwin, forcing him back despite his greater size.

As they continued, Amora somehow seemed to be getting the upper hand, and Elwin had to keep stepping backwards to maintain the space between them. Amora's face was set with concentration now, attacking just as much as she was blocking. The previously silent room was filled with the clacks and crashes of the wooden swords. The fight increased in intensity until both of them were little more than a blur - and then suddenly there was a loud crack, and Amora grabbed her shoulder and cried out.

"What-"

Elwin lowered what remained of his wooden sword and wiped the sweat from his brow.

Amora turned to Lin, one hand on her shoulder, her face an expression of shock. "I - I'm fine," she said shakily, peering beneath her hand. "Just ... just surprised is all ... I ..."

There was no blood on her hand, or on her clothes, and when she tugged down the collar of her shirt her skin was not broken - probably thanks to the shirt itself. "What ..."

Lord Elwin nodded. "You're going to have a bruise there," he murmured softly. "But now you should understand what happened the last time ... Your Highness, you are not weak, nor are you unskilled. What happened was that your trainer was using an old sword, and you were so strong that you broke it ... the tip of the sword landed in your chest. In your heart, to be precise. So it is not lack of care, nor lack of training, nor lack of strength, that caused your accident ... nor were any of those things the reason you cannot hold a sword anymore. It is simply your fear ... fear of your own strength."

Lord Elwin nodded at Lin. "Yes. At least, that was what I had suspected. As I said earlier, I have never before seen Princess Amora weilding a sword - today amazed me as much as it did her, I believe. But I had heard stories of how she used to fight and train, and I suspected what she has now confirmed: that she has lost none of her skill, but simply locked it away."

Amora was still holding her shoulder. She still didn't understand everything that was going on - she had no idea how she had fought the way she had, or how she could have broken the wooden sword Lord Elwin had been using, or any of it.

Amora nodded, rubbing her shoulder still. "And if this is what it feels like with a wooden sword," she murmured, "then I can see why I forgot it ... it would have hurt a lot more than this ..."

Lord Elwin smiled. "I have to say," he murmured, "I am quite proud of you for having made it this far. Now come, pick up the real sword, and let us see how your body reacts to it now that your block has been broken."

As Amora did as he told her, he himself headed over to the weapons rack to get his own sword.