Welcome back, it seems you're quite interested in the first conflict of the story. That's alright, no story can't exist without a bit of antagonism, and there will be plenty in this tale. For now, I hope you're satisfied with what's about to happen. Now, where were we? Oh yeah, Ava was walking down an alley, doing no harm to anything or anyone. That's when something, or someone, entered the same alleyway as her. At first, she paid no mind, it was of no concern to her, and it was hard to see in the shadow. However, Ava stopped after getting a better look, and it was clear that there would be trouble. Out of the shadows came out a chubby twelve-year old boy with messy black hair and a brown complexion. He was wearing a white shirt under a brown jacket, pants, and shoes, but that's nothing compared to what he was carrying. On his right arm, he was carrying a longsword, and the surprising thing was that the weapon was suited for a fully-grown adult. This dangerous young man's name was Thane, and lets say that he knew Ava in a bad way.

“Well, well, well. Nice to see you again,” says Thane with a sinister smile on his face while blocking the alley.

“Can't say the same,” answers Ava with a scowl.

“Ouch, way to sour our friendly conversation.”

“You're robbing me.”

“I like to call it a business transaction.” Thane puts a concerned, but very fake expression, “Then again, you seem to be in a hurry.” He wears back the same smile as before, “So, let's get down to business.”

“Let me guess: I give you what you want and you won't hurt me.”

“Correction, if you give me everything that you have, I won't hurt you as much.” It was mainly to maintain his reputation as the most dangerous child in the area because, in his mind, it would help him control others through fear.

“You forgot the third option.” This confuses Thane, since he didn't give any other option, so it makes him suspicious.

“What third option?” Ava turns around while looking over her shoulder.

“I run away, and you eat my dust. Again.” She was less heavy, knew the area, and has managed to escape him several times. Unfortunately, this would be completely different because Thane was prepared for it. From a side alley comes a wooden cart that crashes on a wall in front of it, blocking the way for Ava to escape. Surprised, but unharmed, she can see two boys quickly climbing the wagon. They have wavy orange hair with a bang covering an eye, almost pale complexion, and freckles on their faces. The amazing thing about them is that they're twins, and the only way to tell them apart is the position of the bang. What makes it terrifying is their ominous smiles that they give to Ava, which is to be expected from Thane's lackeys. It wasn't anything new to the cornered girl, they're always following the bigger boy out of convenience and fear. Therefore, they have met multiple times.

“You were saying?” asks Thane with a sinister smile on his face. All Ava could do at that moment was sigh at the situation. It was supposed to be a simple errand, and now it turned into a complete hassle. She never saw the need to fight him, but Thane kept trying over and over. This was the moment when enough was enough.

“Fine,” says Ava while turning around. Once Thane and Ava see each other in the eye, she starts to prepare by equipping her sword on on her right hand and the shield on the left one. With a middle guard and both weapons ready, she gives Thane what he was waiting for. “You want a fight? You got one.” The boy grabs his longsword with both hands and prepares to have some fun.

“It's about damn time,” says Thane while keeping an evil smile on his face and charges straight towards Ava. She reacts quickly and intercepts by crashing against Thane. They both struggle to push each other off their feet, but the bigger boy pulls away from her. Ava loses balance for a moment, and Thane prepare for a swing of his longsword. He attacks, but she manages to avoid damage by jumping back. The boy dashes forward, throws a thrust to her stomach, but she parries with the shield, and strikes with it. While Thane was stunned by the blow, Ava attempts to land a cut with a vertical swing, but is interrupted by a kick to the stomach. He swings upward, which is blocked by her shield, but the blow is so strong that it pushes her back. He chases after his target and throws a massive downward swing, but is easily avoided. Trying to take the opportunity, Ava steps forward and attacks with her sword. Thane recovers quickly and blocks with the longsword, followed by a shove with his shoulder to create distance. He's not exactly the smartest boy when it comes to combat, but he understands that one of his advantages is the reach of his weapon.

Unfortunately for him, his understanding of that one thing doesn't fix his stubbornness, since he attempts another big downward swing of his longsword. Ava easily parries the attack with the shield and thrusts with the sword to Thane's face. One would have expected a grim end to such a despicable child, but it was not today. Oh no, for you see, Ava stopped the attack half way to the target. The boy is stunned, worried by the blade that is right in front of his face, but worry soon turns to confusion. He attempts an upward swing and she easily avoids it by moving away from Thane. They scowl at each other, and there was no need for words to show their contempt for one another.

“Why did you stop?” asks Thane out of suspicion for his enemy.

“Because I won,” answers Ava.

“You didn't.”

“Why not?”

“I'm still standing.” Not only was Thane standing, but he doesn't even have any injury that would be considered life threatening.

“I could have stabbed you.”

“Why didn't you?” Thane's question softens Ava's face. The glare leaves and is replaced by a profound expression.

“I'm not that kind of person.” It is a curious thing that Ava says that, when she has done immoral things. However, taking a life, is a fine line that she hasn't crossed and never considered doing so. This puts Thane in a momentary shock, to hear that his enemy never considered killing him.

“Whoa, I don't believe it,” says Thane, and his usual smile returns to his face. “You're actually stupider than I thought. You had that one chance to end the fight, and you stopped because you think you're better than that.”

Ava is unfazed and doesn't respond to the insult, even when the boy is barely holding himself from laughing out loud.

“That was really funny, and I thank you for giving me something to laugh at later,” after Thane finished saying that, a sky blue light surrounds the boy and his weapon in an aura, leaving Ava shocked. “As a reward, I'll end this quickly.” Thane lifts his weapon over his head, and the same energy that surrounds him, is now empowering his sword.

How about we stop it here? I know it is very tempting to see what will happen to Ava, but I like to leave a cliffhanger. One could say that it is my attempt to make you, good Reader, come back for more of my story. Never worry, I'll be here whenever you're ready to continue.

Until next time, Reader.