Chapter One: A Hard Lesson
She smiled with anticipation as a shiver ran down her spine. Her heart pounded with excitement as her right hand clenched the hilt of her sword. Hand to hand combat always stirred her blood. The sound of swords clanging against each other, and the danger of being maimed or killed if a wrong move was performed, is what thrilled her about hand to hand combat.
Her opponent was not an easy foe to defeat, which made this particular upcoming battle that much more exciting. She loved a challenge, and her opponent was certainly a challenge. Not once has she defeated him in battle, and today, she was determined that she will defeat him.
He unsheathed his sword and stood in his "ready-for-battle" stance, knowing that the smile beaming from his opponent’s face meant that he would be in for a challenge today. The desire and fierce determination in those green eyes could not be mistaken. Every time they duelled, her green eyes would flare with the same desire and determination to defeat him. Though he has defeated her many times, her stubborn streak gave her the determination to keep trying. He wished that her stubborness would be put to better use in her studies and meditation instead of these duels.
She cried her war cry, signalling that the battle has begun.
She advanced, swinging her sword sharply to the left and right, up and down, hoping to disarm her opponent. He blocked her rapid swings, knowing that she would perform this reckless onslaught. He had warned her many times that this was a reckless and unneccesary attack, yet she still used it.
She couldn’t help but grunt in frustration. He blocked her sword with such ease that it irritated her. She knew that he would be able to block her moves, but she just had to try it one more time.
After a few moments of not getting anywhere with this maneuver, she decided that a switch in tactics was needed. So, with the last swing, she tried to disarm him by bringing up her sword in an upward thrust. He easily blocked the oncoming blow, pushed her sword to the side, and swung his sword in an arch to attack her left side.
Seeing this quick move, she swung her sword across her body to the left to block the attack as she raised her left hand to punch her opponent in the jaw.
Just as her punch was about to connect, he caught her fist with his free hand. She gritted her teeth as she pushed her strength into her fist, hoping that her opponent will loosen his grip. However, he was able to hold her fist at bay by adding his own strength to his hold, making it difficult for her to break through.
Not able to break through his strength, she quickly brought her arm back and thrust out her open hand to his chest. He quickly dodged to the side, missing the oncoming flow of energy. A boom sounded as the invisible energy wave hit the poor, defenseless tree, causing a hole to form in the trunk.
"Damn!" She screamed in frustration, and advanced again. Again, he blocked her vicious upward attack, but instead of being on the defensive, he used his wrist to twirl his sword to make her lose her grip.
She gasped in surprise as she felt her sword fly out of her hand. Seeing her surprise as an opportunity for another attack, he took his free hand and slammed his open palm to her stomach. She felt a painful blow to her stomach and found herself flying through the air. She landed with a thud on the ground a few yards away.
A little dazed, Selena shook her head to clear it. She gasped when she saw her opponent high above her, driving his knee towards her chest. She rolled out of the way just before her opponent was about to drive his knee through her heart. She flipped onto her feet just as he yanked his knee out of the deep hole he had created. He twirled around and charged towards her.
She thrust out her hand towards her sword a few yards away. Seconds before his sword was about to connect with her flesh, the sword reached her outstretched arm. She was only able to bring up her sword to block the blow.
They came to a standstill as they both pushed all of their weight onto their swords, hoping that the other would buckle under the pressure. Her brow dripped from sweat as she continued to push all of her weight onto her sword. She struggled to keep her arm up as she felt it weaken under her opponent’s weight.
Aware that she could not keep up with her opponent’s strength, she suddenly let down her guard. She leaped away and sent fire discs towards him. She landed a few feet from where her opponent was standing, waiting for the smoke to clear.
She gave a yelp of surprise as she felt a hard knee to her back, sending her face first to the ground. She flipped onto her back to only see the tip of a sword pointing to her heart.
She growled as her opponent helped her to her feet.
"What went wrong, Selena?" He asked as he handed her her sword.
Selena sheathed her sword. "I did nothing wrong, Melachus," she replied as she casually leaned against the tree trunk to catch her breath.
Melachus sheathed his sword and crossed his arms. He knew that she would never admit to her mistake. "Then why did you lose?"
Selena rolled her eyes. "I lost because I was fighting you," came the curt reply.
"You could have beaten me," Melachus went on as he stood next to her. "First, you charged in too quickly. You used the reckless tactic that I have warned you many times about."
"But Master," she started.
"No, Selena, I will not hear your argument," Melachus interrupted with authority. "You know very well that tactic is very dangerous. That stratagem leaves you very wide open to a deathblow. Luckily, you are very skilled with the sword. However, I do not want you to use that maneuver again."
Selena sighed. "Yes, Master," she mumbled, knowing that arguing would produce less desirable results.
"You know of the other mistakes you made?"
Selena again sighed, knowing that he was not going to let up on her today. "I was not patient enough."
"And?" He prodded.
"And?" She asked.
"What is the rule for practice duels?"
Selena sighed heavily, knowing that she was about to receive a lecture. "Do not use magic during practice duels. Only use magic in the training dome," she cited.
"Why is that rule to be followed?"
"So I will learn to discipline myself," Selena recited, "but you had me in a pinch," she quickly added.
Melachus shook his head. "You could have found a way out of your predicament."
"Well, I did only what came to my mind, and thus, I performed a spell," she argued.
"What is the other purpose of the "no magic during practice duels" rule?" He asked, crossing his arms.
Selena winced inwardly. She hated when he crossed his arms and had that "authoritive" look in his blue eyes. There was no mistaking it: he was very displeased with her. "So that I will not always rely on my magic," she replied solemnly.
He nodded with approval. "Very good."
Selena threw up her arms in frustration. "Fine, Melachus! I admit it! I was wrong using my magic, okay?"
Melachus sighed. He was happy that she admitted to her mistake, but was not happy how she had reacted to his scolding. He wished that she would learn that magic was not always the best way to deal with things.
TO BE CONTINUED.........