Deals With the Devil

Sparring

A soft knock on her bedroom door pulled Adira from her dreams. She glanced over at Molly and smiled at her adopted sister. Molly was wrapped up in her blanket with her face buried deep in the pillows. Adira could even hear a soft snore from her sister. The person knocked again, slightly louder this time.

“I’m coming,” Adira said softly. She stood up and grabbed the robe hanging on one of her bedposts, wrapping it around her black nightgown.

As she walked over to the door, she put a stray chair back to where it belonged at the table and admired her new sword resting on the table. She went to run her hand through her hair, cursing under her breath when she realized that she had fallen asleep without taking her hair out of her ponytail that King Seth had put it in the evening before. Even without a mirror, she knew that it looked terrible.

“Good morning. I love your hair,” King Seth teased when Adira opened the door, confirming her suspicions.

Adira, of course, flipped him off. “Since you couldn’t have known about my hair, what brings you over to our room.”

King Seth picked up the duffel bag that was lying at his feet. “Quickly change into one of the outfits and grab your new sword. Then I’ll show you.”

He tossed the bag to her before shutting the door. Adira barely escaped being hit by the flying bag. But the thud of it hitting the ground aroused Molly from her deep slumber. While Molly slowly woke herself up, Adira moved the bag to her bed and slowly unzipped it. Two piles of clothing were folded neatly inside. There was also a black cloak rolled up and tucked beside the two piles.

Adira pulled out each of the articles of clothing and laid them out on her bed. There was a red tank top, a black t-shirt, two pairs of new leggings, a black skirt, a pair of spandex, and a black t-shirt dress.

“What’s all of this?” Molly asked suddenly, causing Adira to jump slightly. Shee peered over Adira’s shoulder to take a closer look at the clothes.

“Clothes. King Seth brought them a minute or two ago,” Adira explained. “Which combination should I wear today?”

“Definetly the tank top and skirt. Add your boots and the cloak? You’ll look absolutely stunning!” Molly said grabbing the said clothes. She shoved them into Adira’s arms and pushed her towards the bathroom. “Go change. I’ll fold the rest of these and put them away for you.”

Adira took the clothes and slipped into the bathroom. When she returned, she wore the outfit Molly had picked out. She also brushed out her hair and pulled it into a simple, but neat, ponytail. Molly had also changed, but she wore a pair of jeans and a navy blue shirt. The girls worked together to hide every single one of Adira’s daggers into their respective sheaths.

They had just finished sliding Adira’s sword into the second sheath on her belt when they heard another knock on the door. Adira opened the door to reveal the same visitor as before. Instead of his signature formal outfit, King Seth was wearing a pair of old black jeans and a faded grey t-shirt with his sword resting on his left hip.

“Are the two of you ready to go? We have a short hike before we get where we’re going, but it will be worth it. I promise.”

The two girls nodded before following King Seth through the compound and out into the forest. As they walked deeper into the forest, they saw the occasional soldier standing guard or tiredly walking backto the compound. All of them bowed slightly and gave the girls knowing smiles. The trio walked in silence until they saw Lord Sadiki a few feet away, also heading to the large clearing. In this clearing, the girls saw a wide building where dozens of soldiers were gathered.

“I see you are going to show off your sword fighting skills to the ladies, King Seth,” Lord Sadiki teased, bowing low. His hand dropped to the hild of his sword. “I would be more than willing to give you a proper beating.”

“You haven’t been able to best me for a few months now, Lord Sadiki. Anyways, I was planning on showing the girls around and testing Adira on her supposed skills.”

Adira continued walking in silence, hiding a smirk as the men glanced at her. Both nodded as they took in her reaction to King Seth’s taunt. Or rather, her lack of one.

“You might learn a thing or two from her,” Lord Sadiki added as they entered the stone building and passed the large circles with an even number of people inside and a couple of people standing or sitting on benches around the outsides. “This girl of yours knows how to keep her cool.”

Adira subconsciously rubbed her stomach as she watched some of the warriors fight. Then she rested her hand on the hilt of her sword while Lord Sadiki went over the rules of the sparring grounds. Five very simple rules that had to be followed at all times by every single person. Not even King Seth was exempt from these rules.

When going for the killing blow on a living partner, lightly tap the spot.

Always be a good sport. This is training, not an actual battle.

Always have a trainer or a fully trained mediator watching you spar.

Listen to the trainer or mediator. They want to help you get better.

Have fun!

“Will we be switching hands today, Lord Sadiki?” King Seth asked as he walked into one of the circles.

“Possibly. Adira, to start off, I would like for you to stand opposite King Seth with your swords in your right hands,” Lord Sadiki explained. He rubbed a clear gel onto the blade of her sword while King Seth did the same to his own blade. “This will protect your blade and prevent you from severely injuring King Seth.”

After Adira nodded, Lord Sadiki sat down on the bench next to Molly. Adira walked into the ring and took her place across from King Seth. Both of them had their swords drawn and at the ready. When Lord Sadiki gave them the word, King Seth made the first move, striking at Adira. The ring of steel striking steel caused nearby spectators and warriors who had just finished sparring to come closer and watch. Adira bounced lightly on the balls of her feet while she watched and waited for King Seth’s next move. They both eyed the other in almost complete silence.

“Come on, Your Majesty!” Show this little girl who is boss!” Most of the warriors cheered at this one’s words.

Instead of taunting and angering Adira while motivating King Seth, it seemed to do the opposite. When King Seth glanced over at the man who had spoken, Dira darted forward, seemingly unfazed by the rude comment. She faked a strike at his shoulder, but at the last second, she hit King Seth’s right hand with the flat side of her blade.

“Switch hands!” Lord Sadiki shouted, much to King Seth’s relief. While Adira hadn’t broken any of his bones, his wrist stung from the amount of force she put behind the blade when she struck him.

Adira taunted King Seth with a few, half-hearted blows while he switched hands. The growing crowd cheered when Adira nearly dropped her sword. They leaned in closer when King Seth started to gain the upper hand. After backing away from King Seth, Adira looked to Lord Sadiki and dropped her free hand to her dagger. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lord Sadiki nod his head, approving of her switching of weapons. With a smirk, she sheathed her sword. As she slid her dagger from its sheath, the entire crowd of spectators laughed at her.

“What do you think you can do with that little knife, little girl?” another one of them teased, earning more chuckles.

King Seth was slightly amused at her tactics, but he eyed her warily. He knew she had more daggers in hidden sheaths all over her body, but he had no clue where they were. She also was clearly smart enough to know better than to give him the advantage of a longer blade without having some kind of a plan. The two of them began sparring again with Adira blocking each of his strikes with ease. A few strikes later, Adira slipped around him. She held her dagger against his throat with her hand holding his left wrist.

The crowd was dead silent as they watched as Adira released her hold on the King and held out her hand. King Seth smiled as he shook her hand.

“I believe that most of these men and women will need you to show them how it’s supposed to be done, Adira,” Lord Sadiki said approvingly as he stood up from his seat on the bench and walked to the circle. “However, I suggest that they all get back to work, or there will be no lunch for them.”

Everyone scrambled to get back to their own sparring rings. If you missed lunch, there was no food until supper, especially if Lord Sadiki told Chef Ambrosia not to feed you. This was one of the worst fates for any warrior who spent the day training.

“You aren’t too bad with the sword, Adira, but you are obviously much more experienced with that dagger of yours,” Lord Sadiki thought out loud as the four walked back to the front of the building. “You will need to start training with all of your weapons. Perhaps we could see how you do with knife throwing.”

“Come on, ladies,” King Seth said, leading the girls away from Lord Sadiki, who was headed back to the compound. “I’ll show you around and explain the different machines and courses.”

For the rest of the day, King Seth showed the girls around the entire sparring grounds and compound. He also introduced them to other people who helped the compound run as smoothly as it does.