Cayden
William was a giant, towering above many of the men in the arena, his long wild locks falling in front of his face and his emerald stare directed towards my beloved Kara. We never talked much about his opinion towards her, but ever since we were kids, he had been skeptical of her abilities, always pushing her to the edge. Maybe it was an attempt to build character and mental strength through taunting and degrading remarks. I never quite understood his intentions. The same demeanor was apparent on his face and the determination in his eyes was apparent, though he was otherwise calm with not a hint of sweat drops on his muscular body.
The same could not be said for Kara. Her slender body was trembling and sweat droplets ran rapidly down her tanned skin. The sun was particularly punishing that day. It had been long since such a heatwave had loomed over the capital and I suddenly felt particularly bad that I had decided on this day for the tryouts. I should have known that William was going to pull something like this.
I am sorry dear sister
I stepped between the two, figuring it would only be fitting that I overlooked the fight between the two. After all I did feel responsible for putting my sister into that position and not stopping William from pushing her so hard during the training and not being convincing enough afterwards.
"I will count down from three."
The arena, which had been filled with screams of excitement moments before, went completely silent. Only the mild wind blew past the contestants and the bystanders who were standing in anticipation, waiting for the battle to take place. The sound of my voice rung through the training grounds, echoing loudly in my ears as the noise returned to my ears. I looked at the two contenders, secretly rooting for my sister. As if she saw the concern in my eyes, her expression completely shifted. The last drop of sweat fell from her chin and she suddenly seemed.. calm? Determined? I couldn't put my finger on it, but I felt a chill going down my spine as I looked into her eyes, both due to my concern for her but also because I felt slightly terrified at the burning cinders in her eyes. I noticed she was looking straight forward, not even paying attention to the worry my face showed, not even looking at me.
"Three."
"Two."
Shit
"One."
It was as if my mind stopped working when I had finished the countdown. Time seemingly seized to exist, and I was physically and emotionally stuck in-between my sister and one of my best friends. She was staring at him and he at her, the same expression painted on both their faces. It was only as they withdrew their swords that I was able to pull myself away from the middle of the arena and back towards the rapidly growing audience. The ringing of their eager screams filled my ears and erased all ability to think clearly.
Their two swords connected, and I saw red filling my sister's eyes, not because of any apparent bleeding, but because of the frenzy she was in. Her entire person had changed from a fragile trainee and into a ferocious animal. For all I knew, the Kara that I had been before me this morning was gone.
She lunged forward and he stepped back. This continued on for a good while and I was surprised that she did not seem to tire out. Considering the state her body had been in moments before the battle, she should have been cramped on the floor by now.
But she was not. Her lunges were confident and filled with determination. Though she was not particularly strong, her agility shined through and I commended her for her skills - mentally of course. But there was something else about her that seemed different. Like she was in some sort of trance, all caught up in the heat of the moment. She was not just striking to hurt him but attempting to kill. Her otherwise beautiful movements became scarier and more pressing by the second. I could see Williams expression turn from showing certainty in his face to appearing slightly worried and much more serious.
His cocky demeanor however still showed. Instead of stopping the fight, he merely continued dodging her attacks and attempting to counter them. He swung his arms, causing the movement of the sword to form large swings that pushed Kara further back towards the edge of the arena. She started struggling to push him back, however managing to duck underneath one of his swings, placing herself behind him. Her quick moves made for the perfect opening to strike him from behind. She lifted her sword, her eyes burning with fire of passion and the want to defeat him, and that's when it happened..
Kara
As if blessed by the god of war I struck quickly and precisely once the battle began. William was predictable and underestimating me once again. Unfortunately, he too was able to predict my movements and I heard the cling of our swords touching one another. It was this sound that repeated itself again and again in my head when my rage started increasing. I started seeing red, channeling every single discouraging comment and arrogant look he and others had given me.
"She can barely lift a sword," I had heard my father say a long time ago.
Show him.
"I know she's not as strong as the others.." Now I heard Cayden's voice
Convince him.
"Cayden we all know you're just giving her special treatment." William.
Defeat him.
"She's not strong enough."
Kill him!
Before I knew it, I was behind him, my hands barely gripping around his body, ready to end him.
And then I hesitated, for just a second.
Next thing I knew, my body was flying through the air. The impact of his elbow slamming into my stomach had knocked me to the ground. I heard a cracking noise as my face connected with the dirt. I barely noticed the bitter taste of iron in my mouth when William turned around with a victorious, broad smile planted on his stupid face. He approached me with rapid speed, his sword in his right hand. As per reflex I grabbed the handle of mine, tightening the grip around it. Oh, how I wanted nothing more than to wipe that annoying smile off of his face.
My legs shook as I failed my attempt to get back on my feet and I felt back to the ground helplessly. I could still feel the adrenaline pumping through my body, but the rage was gone, and I felt more like myself all of a sudden and with that came the feeling of weakness that I had felt during training. His speed slowed down as he came closer to me, taking his time as he clearly considered the battle already won. I was pushing myself further back, but to no avail and that was when I got the idea.
The crowd only grew wilder as he came closer to me, their cheers filling the city streets as if something out of the ordinary had occurred. He had done the possible and beaten a woman. This wasn't anything knew, but it was about to be. I could feel his heavy breath on my face, as he lifted me from the ground with one hand and grabbing my chin in the process.
"Not so certain that this was the brightest idea now, are we? Perhaps you should learn not to speak before spoken to, little one. After all, you have no place in this.."
His badmouthing seized and I noticed the look of defeat on his face when he fell to the ground, holding his male parts. I might have even spotted a few tears in his eyes? To think that such a brute would be defeated by the mere strike of a knee to the groin, how priceless.
The arena then went completely silent.
I quickly maneuvered on top of him, locking his body into place with my legs - as if it would even make a difference if he managed to get up -, pressed my sword against his throat and waited anxiously for the countdown from Cayden.
Cayden.
My brother was standing dumbfounded and eventually tried to hold back a laugh, counting down from ten.
Five..
Four..
Three..
Two.
One.
I barely noticed the shift in my brother's facial expression and the crowd cheering my name, clapping and celebrating, as I was consumed by darkness.
Comments (0)
See all