Part Five

I sighed and looked around. The crowd hadn’t settled down any, from what I could tell. I spotted a young woman standing in the center of the circle. She was holding a flail in one hand and a small shield in the other. I tilted my head back and forth, sizing her up. She looked just a tad shorter than me and had her brunette hair tied into a ponytail. She didn’t seem too harmful. The spiked ball and chain of her flail seemed small enough that the weapon didn’t look all that harmful either. I nonchalantly walked toward the girl and slowly pulled my sword out of its sheath. I stopped in front of her and rested the tip of the sword on the ground, folding both hands over the pommel.
“You don’t have to do this you know,” I said indifferently, leaning forward slightly. She simply smirked and started swinging the flail back and forth. I shrugged and gripped my sword by the handle and waited for her to make her move. She twirled and swung the ball at me from the right. I blocked the short chain with my sword, but then a swift leg sweep threw me on my back. I saw the flail flying towards my face and rolled out of the way. I jumped to my feet and narrowed my eyes at the girl. Maybe this won’t be so easy after all. I charged with my sword, but then changed directions and, instead of jabbing the girl, I slashed at her from the left. She blocked the attack with her shield and swung her flail at my head. I ducked and flung my sword at her feet. She jumped over my sword and twirled again, this time swinging her flail at me from the left. Waiting a few seconds longer than I did the first time, I stopped the chain with my sword again, letting it wrap around the blade, and twisted it downward to shove the sword into the ground as hard as I could. That managed to yank the flail from her hand entirely. Before she could make a grab for it, I kicked her. She blocked the kick with her shield, but the force knocked her back a few steps. She rushed at me and the glint of a dagger warned me of the new weapon. I brought out two daggers from my belt and turned just at the last minute so her dagger slid just past my face. I hit her dagger hand with my fist, causing her to drop the weapon. I brought my elbow up and caught her chin hard enough to knock her to the ground. She wiped some blood from the corner of her mouth with a glare. She hopped to her feet and made a dive for the flail again. I pounced on her midair and we both crashed to the ground. I put her in a chokehold, but she threw some dirt at my face, causing me to let go. She clambered away and yanked my sword out of the ground. Ok, I could handle the hidden dagger and maybe the dirt, but taking my weapon and using it against me? Now that’s just cheating. I realized I was still holding my two daggers. Deciding to throw tactic out the window, I ran at the girl. When I was close enough, I threw both daggers at her, one high and one low. One hit the ground near her feet and she dodged the second one. While she was avoiding the daggers, I tackled her. I wrenched my sword from her hand and held the blade sidelong against her throat. She glared at me and huffed with exhaustion. I carefully stood up, keeping the sword pointed at her. I wasn’t going to kill her, so I scanned the crowd, unsure of what exactly I was supposed to do now. Unfortunately, my opponent had to answer that question for me. Without me seeing her, she evaded my sword and grabbed me from behind with a chokehold. I shoved the pommel of my sword into what I assume was her stomach and spun around to deliver an uppercut to her face. She landed on her back unconscious. I sheathed my sword, stepped away from the girl, and headed toward the double doors. They opened and the cleanup crew rushed past me. I walked inside and Nathalia met me with a huge grin on her face.
“I knew you could do it,” she said cheerily.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I sarcastically replied. I really wasn’t in the mood for any more games. If she was going to risk my life like that, I’d at least like a say in the matter.
“You up for another challenge?” She actually had the nerve to ask?
“What?!” I asked in disbelief. “Of course not! I’m up for a hot meal, shower, some rest, and maybe a side of apology! That’s what I’m up for!” I nearly screamed.
Nathalia could make me mad quite a bit, but I was getting fed up with her games.
She simply smiled at me, that evil little all-knowing smirk that drove me crazy. “Be proud of yourself, you just won us 350 rupees.”
I blinked. “I did?” I couldn’t really think of anything else to say. 350 rupees weren’t exactly easy to come by. Thorae used gold and rupees alike and, while gold is of greater value, rupees were still a fairly valuable form of gain.
“You sure did, kid,” Nathalia patted me on the back. “Apparently that girl you just knocked out killed the last person she fought.”
That didn’t make me feel very comfortable. I wasn’t sure if I was more worried about being killed in my sleep for beating the snot out of that girl or about Nathalia eventually pitting me against people stronger than that. I shivered. I didn’t really want to continue fighting. It’s true, part of me found the whole experience thrilling, exciting even, but I didn’t want to have to deal with another near-death experience today.
I sighed and asked, “ Do you really want me to keep fighting?”
Nathalia seemed to ponder the question. “Generally, yes. You don’t have to fight again today, however I do expect you to fight as many battles as I tell you to. Got that?”
“Yes,” I replied with my head bowed.
“Good, now how about we get some lunch?”
Lunch? I was surprised that it wasn’t even midday yet. “Sure thing, boss.” I answered wearily. I really wanted this day to end already.