@stories.byalex

Alex opened her eyes to a dimly lit, spacious hall. Even if an ornate throne hadn’t been sitting right in front of her, she would have recognized the place immediately from the impractical lighting and the hideous pattern of the marble floor. She raised her eyes to the man sitting on the throne and smirked. “Well, hello there, your majesty.”
The king’s mouth twisted in displeasure as he stared down at the unapologetic young woman chained to a pillar in front of him. “Perhaps you should be more careful with the things you say about me.”
Alex only tilted her head and fired back, “Perhaps you shouldn’t oppress your people.”
“I will not be disrespected by some puny peasant!” The king’s face flushed red with anger and he gripped the armrests of his throne. “You will stand there, chained and defenseless, and die for your insolence!”
“First of all, I know I’m short, but it’s incredibly rude to call someone puny. Second of all, I’ve been free from these chains since we started talking. And third of all… I have no intention of dying.” She dropped her chains to the floor just as the cages around her opened and the king’s demons streamed toward her.
The first line was taken down by a slew of darts shot from the cartridges on her wrists. Seeing her deal with their companions so effortlessly caused the other demons to pause, giving her time to unfold her bow and dispatch a handful more. They soon realized that standing still was a death sentence. Alex converted her bow to a staff to meet the next round, twirling it in complex patterns and meeting her mark every time.
The king watched in horror as the ends of her staff ejected to reveal shining blades, and she cut through even more of his forces. His guards had assured him that she had no weapons, but they must have overlooked them due to the clever hidden sheaths she used. He scowled as it occurred to him that they likely made the mistake because they underestimated her (of course, he was guilty of the same mistake, but would never admit it). But clearly, that had been a fatal mistake, as she seemed to have no problem fighting through his horde of demons. With her staff twirling in one hand, she produced an array of small knives in the other and sent them flying into an oncoming group. Only a handful of demons were left now, so she broke her staff into two parts and left each end implanted in a demon’s chest. Alex sent the remaining few demons toppling to the floor with a few well placed knives.
Carefully stepping over the fallen demons in front of her, Alex smirked up at the king. As she reached behind her and pulled her sword from its sheath, he shrunk back into his throne. “How do you still have weapons?!”
Alex only tossed her brown curls over her shoulders and casually twirled her sword. “Now, where were we?”