The Mayor of Diam decided he wanted to see my afternoon training. The guy really annoys me. Firstly, he doesn't seem to have a name, it's just 'Mayor' or 'Mayor of Diam' if you want to get familiar. Secondly, he's fat. People are obviously starving around him and he has the nerve to eat some kind of pink glazed pastry at my training session.

"Put on a fine show, my good man Mick-elangelo!" he shouts from the edge of the centre.

"Think he'd be willing to help?" I mutter to Sir. He gives me a side eye but I can see a smirk under all his hair.

"I agree that he is a pain, but you'll have to put up with him." Sir scans the town centre, taking in all the people coming to watch. "He may wither around Nephusim but the man is rather charismatic, by kingdom standards. He'll make for a good front so the three of us can focus once we're at the Battles."

I've decided just to agree with Nephusim and Sir when they say I will make it to the Battles, or when they say anything. Doe said I should listen. Even if it means being a puppet.

"So what are we doing this afternoon?" There aren't any weapon stands in the centre and Nephusim is MIA. "Are you and I gonna spar?"

"You'd lose."

"Are you sure about that?" I poke him in the arm. His face is clearly telling me to drop the subject, but I never was very good at taking hints. "C'mon! The Mayor said he wanted a show."

Sir quirks an eyebrow. "You'll live to regret this."

"I'll add it to the list," I murmur.

Sir huffs at me. "Think fast, boy." Before I can blink, he swings his cane at my head. Old dude is fast! I barely dodge.

"Hey! No fair!" I yell, jumping back as he swings again. "Why don't I get a weapon?" Nephusim took all the weapons I came with to who knows where so I have nothing on me, I'm and empty gun if you will.

"You think anyone will care once you enter that Field?" Sir taps the end of his cane against the ground. He straightens his back and neck and I've never noticed how hunched he usually is. All stretched out like this he's taller than me, not by much but enough to be imposing. "Thinking fairly will get you killed, boy."

Ok, maybe the height isn't that imposing.

"Then let's go."

I have to get the cane from him. That way I'll have the upper hand.

"Stop thinking." Sir swings again, but at him ankles this time, sweeping me up. I land on my back, but have to roll right quickly because Sir swings his cane down like an axe. I have just enough time to get to my feet and see the dent he's made in the ground before he's swinging again.

Old dude is strong too. Shell.

"I haven't moved. You're losing." I try not to cringe at Sir's tone of voice. It's grave at best and- "Enough thinking!"

He whacks me right in the head with his cane and I whack the ground with my face.

"Ow."

"See now," Sir hunches back down and leans against his cane, "If you weren't think you wouldn't have been hit."

I get up on my knees and elbows. The ground and my head are spinning, uuhhhh.

"I'm gonna be sick."

"Lie on your side," he doesn't sound all that interested in my pain. "We need to work on that thinking habit of yours."

"Why?" I shift onto my side and squint up at Sir. "No one at home ever tells me I think too much. You have to be wrong."

"Trust me, I'm not saying there's a lot going on up there but it is too much."

"Just like ho-ahh!" Sir rams the end of his cane into my shoulder and pushes me onto my back. "What are you doing!?"

"Do you know what your most basic instinct is?"

"Umm- Ahh, hey!" Sir rams the cane in hard.

"Too slow, you're dead."

I grip the cane and try to push it up. "You say I think too much and now I'm too slow?!"

"Yes, this isn't a joke. Use sarcasm in front of me again and I'll have your tongue out, do you understand?" He twists his cane.

"Yep, perfectly, crystal clear!" I glance down at my shoulder and Sir's cane has broken the skin.

"I don't know what 'crystal' is but I'll assume it's good for your sake. Nephusim is training you to be in the mindset suitable for the e-rounds, and you'll humour her because the poor woman has a job and a set way to do it, but where you are now and where you need to be for the Battles is a journey too long for a week, too long for two. Now what is your most basic instinct?" He relieves some of the pressure off this cane.

"Breathing?" I can hear my own pulse. My head still hurts from getting hit.

"Wrong. It's to live. When your mind checks out, your body will continue to fight. There is no thinking when you're living. If you're thinking then you're surviving and you will spend the rest of your life surviving." Sir takes his cane off me very suddenly. "Get back on your side. You can't think about what you're doing because if you do you'll remember it and you'll wonder what else you could have done."

Wait, so… "You're gonna teach me how not to regret? That's my biggest worry?"

Sir sighs and he sounds so aggravated I almost flinch. I just turn my face into the ground. "How hard have you thought about the fact you will have to kill someone?"

Oh.

Oh crap, no.

I'm sorry, I hate swearing but…

"I've mostly been thinking about me being killed." I keep my face to the ground and close my eyes really tight.

"Hmm. I did too when I first went to the Battles. But you will have to kill someone who has a family that loves them just as much as yours loves you," Sir sits down next to me. I open my eyes enough to see him rubbing his forehead against his cane with his eyes squeezed shut. "People who spend their lives surviving never live. You were born to live, Michelangelo. I can tell that after just a day. I envy you, and I will try my hardest to help you live through these Battles. You're going to need all the help you can get."

"I think the first thing I need help with is this shoulder. You broke the skin." I reach up to wipe some of the blood away. Sir quirks a brow at my shoulder.

"So I did. Do you know what the second thing will be?"

"Can I get over my concussion before you tell me?"

"I'm not sure what that is, but no."

"Ok, so pizza isn't a word here, neither is crystal or concussion. It's good that I'm getting a grip on how to speak here. I gotta ask Nephusim how that works."

"I see your humour is back." Sir's tone is so dry I feel itchy. "Do you know what your first mistake was?"

"Thinking?"

"You walked one stage with weapons in your belt." Sir stops rubbing his head against the cane. All of him goes really still.

"You're freaking me out."

"I believe you when you say why you stuck your stupid hand up at the representative ceremony. But the King won't. I promise you he'll think you're an opportunistic fighter who didn't want to pay the entrance fee. Over a thousand people entered and payed the fee. Obviously some of that money goes to running the Battles, but most of it goes straight to the King and the man is tight with his money."

"It isn't a huge amount of money is it?" I sit back up and shuffle to face Sir. "I mean, a King has got to be rich anyway, right? One entry fee won't hurt."

"If it were different ruler maybe. But King Ahriman worked hard to stop monetary motivated volunteering."

I snort. "Did he kill them?"

"Yes." Clearly Sir sees whatever look crosses my face because he continues very quickly. "In the Field. The whole Field is almost completely controlled by the King's magician. Some drowned, froze to death. A couple of rock slide."

"Great, so not only are the people trying to kill me but so is the place."

"I'm going to let that sarcasm pass." Oh yeah, that. Gotta be careful about that. "You have one thing on your side."

"What?"

"You're too dumb to play dumb." I stay quiet. Frankly, now he's just being rude. "No comment?"

"I like my tongue."

"So I've noticed. The King doesn't like being lied to; it's second to being cheated of even the slightest dollar. Every monetary volunteer either was dumb enough to say so, or a very bad liar, and not immensely popular."

Oh yeah, we gotta put on a 'show'. I shift my eyes to just over Sir's shoulder to look at the Mayor. He isn't watching. He's badgering some poor women about something. The guy is really animated about whatever he's talking about, in just the time I've been watching him he's nearly hit three people with his swinging arms.

"Do you think I'll be alright?" My voice barely makes it above a whimper. What a time to get philosophical, huh?

Am I being philosophical? I never really understood what all that was about but Donnie said I had a pretty good grip on it. I guess I'm just not good at definitions I guess… now I'm repeating myself. Perfect.

"If you work hard enough."

"That doesn't really help."

I really shouldn't be happy… Maybe I'm not happy but more calm but I don't know why and this is all really confusing because I've got so much going on in me and there's so much going on around me and I'm rambling.

Sorry about that, I'll work on it. Right after everything else.


This took a little while. Life happened. Also I got the first six seasons of Scrubs. Heaven help me.

R&R please. :)