Below the Peak (Sola)(13)
“The first one with a sword pressed to the neck loses” the captain stated.
“Sir, what happens one member survives, but the other doesn’t?” someone amongst the crowd asked.
“If one was attacked and manages to dispatch the attackers yet the rest his comrades were killed. Would that still be a victory?” the captain retorted.
“No, it wouldn’t be sir” the one who asked the captain replied timidly.
Seemingly indifferent, the captain pointed at her and Hagen then to two other people, “You are up.”
Nara’s heart thumped hard as she and Hagen, and the other two boys stepped at the centre as everybody else stepped aside. She glanced at Dusty, the larger of the two opponents. His height and size dwarfed his partner. He was also the one she and Hagen should watch out for. He was very good with a sword that even the captain praised him once. It was one and only compliment he had ever given. She wouldn’t lie, she had felt a tinge of jealousy felt a toward Dusty. Well, she didn’t need to be praised for knowing that she was good. She believed she was good too and she would prove it to the captain by winning. Determination gleamed in her intelligent eyes.
The other boy stood beside him, his mouth pursed and hand holding the sword tightly.
“Are you ready?” Hagen asked, sounding anxious despite the confidence he showed with his stance. Fingers clenching around the handle of the sword, Nara curtly nodded. “Yes, I am.”
She charged first, sword high as she headed for Dusty as Hagen did to the other boy. Dusty met her head on, blocking her sword and thrusting his sword. Nara twisted her body to the left, the sword cutting the air sharply and making a whooshing sound. Nara gasped faintly, eyes widening at how she merely escaped the sharp blade that would have pierced her chest. She charged again, and Dusty countered the attack. It was like a dance they did, but that involved sharp swords with quick feet and hand movements. When she stroked, Dusty mirrored her with additional impressive blows of his own. Metal clanged against metal. Tiny droplets of rain dropped on her forehead and slid down her face as it did her opponent yet they went fiercely against one another. The thrill that she might die with a single mistake pumped through her veins. It felt too real like she was on a battlefield when it was just a friendly match. She could get addicted to this kind of great rush.
At the corner of her eye, Nara saw Hagen going at it with the other guy. The other guy seemed to be on the defensive side whereas Hagen attacked more. The two-opponent kept a fair close distance between each other, their backs to each other, unlike her and Hagen who were more apart.
“Manni” Dusty shouted, then surprising her when he spun. She was suddenly fighting the other opponent, and he was going against Hagen. The change had her blinking, slowing her for a second giving the opponent to bring his sword near her neck. She blocked by a breadth and pushed back the blade with her own. Speed was the guy’s strength, he moved and twisted too fast on his own legs, he kept her on edge, sending her heart into a wild race. Nara didn’t let that be a deciding factor in the match, she countered with skills of her own. Her hand twisting and striking in unlikely places, keeping the guy on his toes too. Nara twisted in a way she was behind the guy and brought the sword to the back of his neck. When she thought, she was going to sweep the man out of the match, Dusty thwarted, pushing the blade away with the tip of his blade. The blades had been dangerously close to slicing his neck.
Nara ground her jaw.
“Shit!” someone cursed loud. Nara stole a look, and it was no other than Hagen. He had a sword pressed to his neck. His face an angry storm, with hands stretched out in surrender. The crowd cheered.
What the heck? Nara couldn’t understand how he was down already. There was no sword in either his hands. It was cast down just a few steps behind the other guy. How and when did this happen? Nara pushed the frustration back in her mind. She couldn’t start thinking about this when it was now two against one. I must get that sword She thought, taking a guarded stance. Hagen glanced at her then started talking to his captor, waving his hands. Nara didn’t wait for another hint, she dashed forward as Hagen made a distraction. She got sooner before Dusty realised what she was doing, kicking up the sword in the air then grabbing it with the empty hand. The guy pushed Hagen aside and spun and came to a screeching halt, feeling the blade pointed to his throat just below his chin. He gasped aloud and stared at her, scared. She held the sword there while the other she had it pointed toward Dusty whose expression was of pure disbelief. It was a dirty play, but she didn’t care.
Her hands didn’t falter, Nara stood confidently, her eyes boring into the guy’s own. Manni’s mouth trembled as his eyes slid down to look at the steel blade. “I yield” his voice trembled and said in a small voice. “Please let me go.”
The silence that followed was deafening as everyone waited for her to say something.
“Go” Nara ordered before she spun, crossing the blades as a shield from Dusti’s blow. She had sensed him coming, felt in her bones and tiny hairs on the base of her neck. They were face to face, only a few inches apart for their forehead to touch. Dusty pushed against the barrier she set, his jaw hard, forehead burrowing, determination gleaming from his dark gaze. Nara glared and gritted her teeth as she pushed back with all the strength in her body. Now it was a battle of will and power. Dusty pressed harder. Nara grunted when her arms shook from pain. He was strong, too strong. She did her best to maintain even though her hands began to move back, closer and closer to her chest. He groaned and pushed again with force until the back of her fists rested on her chest, the blades on each side of her neck, resembling large sharp scissor legs about to cut off her head.