by Ian Carter
"Begin!" The man called out as he thrust his hand downwards.
◆◆◆
Hayleigh jabbed her Blade at Kai, the point of her sword aimed at his throat. Kai stepped to one side and easily dodged the thrust. As her body sailed past him, Kai twisted his wrist and bashed Hayleigh's stomach with his sword's pommel as he stepped out of her reach. Hayleigh quickly leaped away and checked on her stomach with her hand. It was only one attack, but she already found herself behind.
"Hey, you're not as hopeless as I figured you would be," Hayleigh admitted. "I guess I should give Mason some credit. He can perform wonders even with the bottom of the barrel students."
"Hey!" Kai exclaimed. "Save the smack talk for when you get a hit in."
Kai prepared his sword and charged in on Hayleigh. He sent a sweeping slash aimed at her chest, but she easily deflected it away. He continued his strikes, trying desperately with each slash aimed at a new spot at her body. He probed her defense without mercy with nearly a dozen blows before he retreated backward on his heels. Though her defensive moves were nowhere near the quality of Masons, she still managed to block each attack easily. Frustrated, he decided to turn to plan B. A counter-attack.
"Well, we haven't brought you here to see you block my attacks. I think it's time to show me what you got," Kai said. "Show me something I've never seen before! Prove that you have something you can teach me."
"If that little barrage is all you can do, no wonder Mason brought me here," Hayleigh laughed as she juggled her sword between her two hands. "Here I come!"
Hayleigh once again ran at Kai, but this time she held her sword high above her head. Kai sighed. He didn't know how the best Silver Blade in the kingdom could telegraph such an overt overhead strike. Still, he had to be on guard.
As she got within a meter and a half, Hayleigh brought her sword behind her head and began her attack. Kai raised his sword above his head parallel to the ground to block the incoming strike. However, none appeared. As her hands had come down halfway, she had begun to slide through Kai's legs. As she started her descent for the slide, she released the grip on her sword and flipped her hands so that instead of a downward swing, she would produce an upwards jabbing motion instead. Before Kai knew it, she had thrust the point of her sword into his rib cage.
No sooner had Hayleigh finished her slide through his legs had Kai doubled over and fallen to his knees. He coughed and gripped at his chest as Hayleigh got to her feet and dusted herself off.
"I bet you hadn't seen that before," Hayleigh giggled as she gave a wink to Mason. "Be careful what you wish for Prince Kai."
◆◆◆
Terrell immediately began to sprint towards him as the guard of his Silver Blade glowed magenta. The first Stone of the duel had been activated. Kai readied himself and prepared to block the incoming attack. Remarkably Terrell pulled back his Blade into the same stance that Hayleigh had showcased the very first time the two friends had sparred. Kai could hardly believe the sense of déjà vu, but he couldn't allow himself to become lost in it. Sure enough, a hard wing began to come down towards him.
Kai faked dodging to the left before he rolled to the right just in time to evade the strike. He gripped Initiation tight and thrust his pommel into the side of Terrell's ribs before Kai leaped away. Terrell briefly fell to one knee from the surprise hit short of breath. Once he was a few meters away, Kai raised Initiation into the air and focused his gaze on his opponent.
"Lightning!"
At Kai's command, a lightning bolt erupted from the tip of Initiation skyward before it arced towards Terrell and crashed down upon him. Perhaps he imagined it, but the bolt did not seem as high powered as the one that he produced in Karsdal. He mused that the strength of the bolt that day must have been due to the heavy rainfall. He quickly shook the thought from his head to find Terrell, remarkably, standing stall and unhurt.
"How did you not take any damage?" Kai wondered in amazement.
"I heard about your heroics against the half-giant in Karsdal, Your Highness," Terrell explained. "It's the only offensive ability you have ever used, so I knew you would attempt to use it on me. So I did this..." He took his Blade and knocked it against his boots, which produced a surprising metal on metal clank. "I made sure to add grounding material to my shoes to ensure that your lightning would do nothing but give me a small tingle."
Kai quickly fell into despair at the news. His only offensive ability was rendered useless by some scraps of metal. Before Kai could fully recover mentally, Terrell again bore down on him, this time with sweeping strikes. They were powerful attacks, and it was evident that he was physically much stronger than Hayleigh. But she was the best Silver Blade in existence, so, by comparison, it was easier to parry his strikes than Hayleigh's.
Terrell unleashed a massive overhead slash that Kai blocked by placing his left hand against the flat side of Initiation. Terrell continued to push downwards instead of attempting another attack.
"Why do you resist, Prince Kai?"
As Kai struggled to maintain his block, his mind suddenly became cloudy. He searched his mind for a proper answer.
"I... I don't know," Kai stammered.
"Why are we fighting, Prince Kai?"
"I don't know. I don't know why we're fighting..."
"It would be better for everyone if we didn't fight, why don't you let me win?"
"I think... I don't want to die." Kai couldn't come up with any answers to such obvious questions. He struggled to keep up his block as Terrell pushed on with his suggestions.
"Why don't you want to die? What do you have to live for?"
Kai blankly stared as the intersecting Blades above his head. As his strength slowly faded from his arms, Kai couldn't come up with a reason. Why was he putting himself through his? This mission was such a bother. Maybe the right thing to do would be to let Terrell win after all? The urge to fight seeped away from him.
"I don't have a reason to live, or have someone to live for," Kai admitted. Terrell smiled and lifted his Blade from Initiation and forcefully kicked Kai in the chest and knocked him onto his back. Kai stared at the sky and slowly moved his hand to Initiation's grip, but didn't grab it.
Mason, rose to his feet in the stands. He called out to Kai with all his might.
"Kai! Snap to your senses! He is doing something to you that makes you give up. Don't let him do this to you!"
"That's right, you have nothing to live for," Terrell continued, ignoring Mason. "Since you have nothing to live for, you have no reason to keep putting yourself through all the pain. Live under all the expectations. Am I right, my prince? Wouldn't it be nice to be relieved from your burdens? Doesn't the pressure of leading the kingdom weigh upon your shoulders like a boulder? Why not allow me to steal your worries, your burdens, and your fate? I think it would be merciful of me to relieve you of all of those things. If you reflect, Your Highness, you may agree with me."
"You're right, I think," Kai wondered aloud. "Being a prince is so taxing. Millions of people rely on me, and none of them like me." The fear of being hated by his citizens flowed through his veins. "I am held to such a high standard. I have to eat a certain way. I always have to act so nobly in public. Maybe you're right. Maybe I should let it all go."
"I would be honored to take your place, Your Highness. You can allow the weight of it all to just fall from your shoulders like a heavy winter robe. Entrust it to me."
"Yes, why don't you do that," Kai confirmed. Terrell gave a solemn nod and stepped over Kai's head.
"I would wish you well, Your Highness. But you reap what you sow."
Terrell lifted his Silver Blade into the air as the foreign dignitaries began to cheer wildly. He had assured the end of the royal family. As Terrell's arms reached their zenith, a familiar voice shouted out from the stands.
"Prince Kai, he's controlling your mind!"
Mason's voice brought back Kai's mind, and focus snapped back to his eyes. The point of Terrell's Blade now d
escending towards his face, Kai quickly rolled to the side to dodge the blow. Just as the tip of Terrell's Blade pierced the sand, Kai gripped Initiation and swung a haphazard swing directed at Terrell's foot. The strike connected, but unfortunately for Kai, it was the Blade's flat side and not the edge. Terrell yelped in pain and made an angry slash in desperation, but Kai had already rolled away and begun to get to his feet. Terrell spat on the ground in disgust as Kai regained his composure.
"Thanks, Mason!" Kai yelled and gave a thumbs up. He only directed a glance in Mason's direction, but it was enough to see that Mason had nearly passed out from the panic attack he just went through. Kai gave a bit of a laugh as he faced Terrell once more.
"You could do a lot of damage with that Stone there."
"Unfortunately for me, once someone is aware of its ability, they become immune to it," Terrell admitted. "You're the first to have ever managed to break free from its bindings. You truly are a troublesome prince. If I let you live, every..." Terrell realized what he was doing and stopped himself, but it was enough for Kai to figure out.
"You! You're controlling the council! You got some of them under your control, and you're the one causing this chaos! I knew my father was a good and fair man!" Anger bubbled up from the depths of Kai's soul. "I will show you no mercy for putting the people of my kingdom through this!" Kai rummaged through his pocket and found his spare Stone. He quickly ejected the Lightning Stone and replaced it with a new one.
"Invisibility."
The dragon flames flashed black briefly before Kai disappeared before Terrell's eyes. Terrell gripped his Blade tight and muttered to himself. His Stone's yellow glow signaled that each of the Bladesmen had activated their second Stone of the duel.
◆◆◆
"Does she pass?"
Mason's words subtly jabbed at Kai's pride as he finally managed to stand, his ribs still in awful pain. What annoyed him, even more, is that Hayleigh had already sheathed her sword. She assumed he couldn't continue.
"Why is your sword put away? I'm not done."
"Oh, you're done," Hayleigh rebuked him. "You probably already have some cracked ribs. His Highness would have me hanged if I kept sparring with you and something worse happened."
"Dammit," Kai angrily slammed his sword into the ground, which caused a wave of pain to radiate around his chest and make him yelp in pain.
"Prince Kai, please settle down," Mason instructed. "Acting in anger will only cloud your judgment and make you prone to mistakes. The winner of a duel is often the one who keeps their emotions in check." Mason took a second and looked Kai up and down, before giving a thumbs up to Hayleigh. "So, think you can learn a thing or two from her, Your Highness?"
"Whatever," Kai sighed. "If I can learn some cool moves, then it might be worth having her around."
"Perfect. What about you, Hayleigh? Do you think you can stick around and show him some moves?"
Hayleigh glanced over to Mason before she rolled her eyes, walked over to Kai, and again stretched out her hand.
"An honorable prince will always take the hand of a beautiful woman and kiss it, especially if she just kicked his ass. Kiss it." Kai looked into her eyes and saw something. She seemed short-tempered, irritable, and catty. She was the complete opposite of Mason, but he wagered it was good to have someone like that to teach him how to deal with that kind of fighter. Kai silently looked away as he reached and took Hayleigh's hand in his own. He glanced up at her begrudgingly before he pecked the top of her hand with his lips.
"Good," she continued. "In addition to training you, I'm going to hammer into you some manners. I'm going to turn you into a prince that I'll be proud to serve. Eventually." Hayleigh took back her hand and began to walk over to the refreshment table tucked to the side of the arena floor.
Or at the very least," she said with her back to both Kai and Mason. "Maybe I'll end up lighting a fire under your ass."
◆◆◆
Terrell stalked the arena floor with his gaze, looking for a hint of Kai's presence. Even though his opponent was invisible, he wasn't silent. If Terrell paid attention, he could see a stray footprint or hear a clunk from his opponent's armor. But there was nothing but the sound of a light breeze flowing through the arena. Was Prince Kai just standing in place, recuperating?
Annoyance washed over his bald head. How could that snot-nosed prince break loose of his mind control? No-one had ever managed to, and all it took was that idiot attendant of his to bring him back. He made a mental note to torture Mason mercilessly upon the end of the match and to track down and steal Mason's Gold Blade and melt it down into a crown.
Most worrisome, the hopes of easily winning over his guests to help him eked away little by little with each second the match proceeded. He needed to wipe out this sham of a prince, and quickly.
He surged forward to where Kai had stood upon, activating invisibility and swinging his Blade horizontally but hitting nothing. He once again readied his Blade and looked for a sign. The sandy surface was tightly packed, and the light breeze was disturbing what little loose sand there was.
A few rocks pelted the right side of his face. He instantly turned to face that direction, but still saw nothing. He looked around for a sign of Kai's presence after briefly checking his face, but he found nothing. Irritated, he reached into a pouch and pulled out a small black orb. He scraped the sphere against the bag and tossed the ball in the general direction the handful of rocks had come from. It sailed through the air without a sound, but when it hit the ground, a massive explosion erupted from the point of impact. Sand, rocks, and dirt flew in all directions as the smell of gunpowder filled the air again.
Mason was horrified. Kai and Terrell hadn't set rules at the beginning of the match banning anything. Terrell had planned to use them all along, and since there hadn't been any stipulations, it was technically legal and fair. He scanned the field and looked for a sign of Kai's presence, but he too came up empty in his search. The explosion had not reached its target.
"I've got a lot more where that came from, Your Highness," Terrell called out with a hearty laugh. "Eventually, I'm going to kill you, or I'm going to make the ground so damn uneven you won't be able to dart around like a damn water bug!"
He scraped another bomb against his belt pouch and tossed it in the opposite direction of the first blast. The predictable explosion shook the air in the immediate area, but so did the lack of indication of where his opponent was. Terrell again reached into his pouch and pulled out two more bombs.
"You can't be lucky forever!" He stood still and closed his eyes to take in the sounds around him. Suddenly, Terrell gripped a bomb in each hand, brushed each of them against his pouch, and tossed them in the same general direction. A fire erupted from two different spots, shortly delayed from one another, and this time, he landed a successful hit. Kai's body was flung backward from where he had been and fell to the ground in a heap. He had been far enough from the detonations not to be seriously hurt, but close enough to be hit with enough force from the shock wave to send him flying.
Groggily, Kai rolled onto his back and gripped Initiation tight once more.
"Invisibility." The words escaped his lips, but the familiar sensation of going invisible was missing. He lifted his Blade to see that the black color had disappeared from the dragon's flames and that the Invisibility Stone had shattered, leaving pieces all over the immediate area. He had lost his last remaining advantage.
"I'm sorry to see that you can no longer run and hide like a coward," Terrell called out to Kai as he began to jog towards his downed opponent. "You haven't even experienced my second Stone, Your Highness. You're in for a world of hurt."
Kai struggled mightily but recovered to his feet and began to process his options. He had lost the use of both of his Stones, and he didn't even know what Terrell's second Stone was. His eyes searched across the arena floor, looking for a way out of the situation. His mind came up empty. He had run out of ideas.
"If y
ou have anything, Mason, I'd love to hear it!"
Mason looked on as Terrell closed to within ten meters of Kai. He had also been racking his brain the entire match searching for a strategy to beat Terrell, but he had been coming up empty. Mason moved forward towards the edge of the spectator area but immediately had his path blocked by several Bladesmen employed by Terrell. He was unable to help his prince, with his mind nor his body.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness! I don't have anything, but I will keep thinking!"
"Damn." Kai tightened his grip on Initiation as he slowly backed up to give himself time to think of a way to handle his incoming opponent. As Terrell closed within a few meters, he telegraphed a massive swing. As Kai positioned his Blade to block, he stepped on a rock produced from one of the explosives, which made his ankle roll. Kai yelped as he fell backward, but still had enough sense about him to keep Initiation in a blocking position. Terrell's attack finally arrived upon him, but Kai helplessly watched as the Silver Blade sliced directly through Initiation and narrowly missed his falling head.