~* SLAYERS: FALLEN STARS *~
Oh man, so many things happened the last three months since I've been here. Lets see, I got a full time job... That only lasted about two weeks... and that was back in September. Spent a month wondering what on earth went wrong while looking at my options. My aunt suggested on taking up my cousin's offer to go to Florida to have fun and possibly find a job. Got an interview at the end of October, got the job, and now, I am currently going through the arduous task of packing up my life and moving there. Had a couple of meltdowns and some nice big fights with some family that probably guaranteed me not coming back (though I know that after I'm gone a month, they'll be doing everything they can to get me to visit!) I'm calmed down enough now to FINALLY put up this chapter. This particular chapter has been with me through the whole ordeal. No really, it has. The notebook and notepad I use to write when I'm not on my computer when with me to and from my two week job and to Florida! So did part of the next chapter.
Anyways, enough about me. Enjoy!
Chapter 53: Courtyard Contest Part I
All eyes went straight to her. Even Zelgadis finally let up his stare on Aldrich.
Everyone knew that Alyssa had improved with the sword at a rate that only a genius could, but no one thought she was ready to take on someone who had been a master of their weapon for years. It was one thing when it was done out of necessity with not much art form involved, but it was an entirely different game when going up against a single opponent who sees their weapon as an extension of themselves, that had the potential of thinking several moves ahead and can quickly change their strategy without warning.
"Miss Alyssa…" Amelia could not believe it. "You could get hurt! You don't have to do this."
Alyssa opened her mouth to say something, but Aldrich stepped in and beat her to it. "And why not? Its just a contest between friends, and I'm sure everyone here is willing to stop immediately if someone got hurt."
He gave her an assuring nod, and Alyssa could not stop the blush that invaded her cheeks right then. She only wanted to help diffuse the tension, not create another worry. Aldrich had picked up on her intent.
"That's very true, Mr. Gates," Christine agreed. "But if she's a novice, it might be best if she did not participate."
"She's not a novice, M'am!" Jean said, attempting to remain polite as he was rather excited at the idea of Alyssa joining in. "I've seen her fight off monsters with Zelgadis' Astral Vine on her sword! She's very good!"
Krista asked what an 'Astral Vine' was, and Jean proceeded to explain.
"I still think you should sit this one out," Amelia said worriedly to Alyssa. "Just come up to the balcony with the rest of us and watch."
Pokota maneuvered his way between Christine and Lina and bounded into Alyssa's arms. "I'm not going to bother fighting either, so don't feel bad, Alyssa."
"Oh yeah? Still scared, Pipsqueak?" Lina leaned in on him with a mean grin.
The prince turned away and huffed. "Well, I don't see you jumping at the chance either!"
Alyssa gently placed him at her feet, and he stared up at her, confused. "Its okay, I'll be fine," she assured him.
"But Alyssa…"
"Oh, knock it off, Runt! Let her fight," said Lina.
"Miss Lina!" Amelia gasped. "You don't mean that!"
"Of course I do." The sorceress grinned again. "We need an even number, and no one else is volunteering."
Pokota whipped around and shook his hand shaped ears at her. "What are you?! Heartless? I can't let her do that! If I have to, I'll fight!"
Lina caught his ear-fists as if to wrestle with them. "Stop being so over protective! Its not like she's your girlfriend, you know!"
Pokota flushed and pushed back as hard as he could. "I know she isn't! But that doesn't mean I should let her!"
"R-really, its okay! I can handle myself!" Alyssa said to them feebly while waving her hands in front of her. She was now wearing a cringing smile, and Aldrich was apparently wearing one too, along with most everyone else. Zelgadis merely rolled his eyes.
Amelia stamped her foot. "Miss Lina! Mr. Pokota! Stop it RIGHT NOW!" She had switched to her commanding royal voice, and the both of them stopped to look at her. "This is unacceptable behavior! We're guests here, and you should act appropriately!"
The princess' nerves were quickly unraveling to the point where she did not even bother with a fake smile. Pokota was a little disturbed by the distress that suddenly showed up on her face when she berated them. That told him Hunter was definitely up to something for sure.
With an uneasy smile still on her face, Christina turned to her son. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea, Dear."
Lina let go of Pokota's ears but not without one last shove to her right. The prince was too fixated on Amelia to give any resistance, so he fell against Alyssa's feet.
"Its not like there's gonna be any magic involved," Lina assured her hostess, "and like the kid said, she's really good at handling an Astral Vine against monsters. Go ahead and let her."
As much as Amelia hated to admit it, there was something in Lina's voice that said she was not doing this on a whim, like she could have added, 'just wait and see' at the end of her statement.
The princess calmed herself and managed to put on a somewhat pleasant face again. "Okay," she sighed and looked over to Aldrich. For a moment, Zelgadis' warning about the man echoed in her mind, but she mentally shrugged it off. "Are you still okay with this, Mr. Aldrich?"
"I'm still not sure what the fuss is all about, but I personally want to see what she can do," he said with a very carefree tone that suddenly changed into something more thoughtful when Alyssa happened to look at him. "I have complete confidence in Alyssa."
She could not even get out a thank you, she was blushing too hard, and the way his lovely blue eyes appeared less frigid than usual gave her goose bumps on the inside. Perhaps somewhere during their time apart she finally touched something that allowed the inner fire she always felt while in his arms to finally show. It often took a passionate kiss from her to force it out.
Then Alyssa felt herself go completely red when she thought of the dream again.
"Then its settled!" Hunter quickly said before anyone else tried to object, even with his mother giving him worried looks. "We will start as soon as Mr. Egan comes back."
Amelia sighed again. "Then the rest of us will go to the balcony now." Her words sounded about as rigid as the day she arrived at the Darrems.
Lina noted her stiff tone and wanted to say something before she headed up, but then Gourry pulled her aside, concern written all over him. "What is it, Gourry?"
"Who's the swordsman that's been following you like a lost puppy?" he asked.
Her face grew red again, this time out of embarrassment. Of all the things he could have remembered, it had to be the snarky comment Pokota made about Gourry protecting her in the Miasma Forest a minute ago. "Ugh! It was just a stupid joke, Jellyfish! He meant yo-!"
She stopped short as Pokota walked by with a smug look on his face.
Lina threw her hands up and let out another frustrated groan. "Forget it!" She pushed the swordsman towards the fountain. "Just give it all you got!"
"But Lina!" Gourry whined, "Who's been following you? If they're bother you, let me help!"
The sorceress quickly turned around and walked away with out a word, trying to hide her flushing face from him. He really is like a lost puppy! she sighed. Why did I have to fall for him?
Samira put a hand on Gourry's shoulder. "No need to worry. No one is actually following her. It was just a joke, like she said."
"It's a very bad joke, in my opinion," he said disbelievingly. He sounded so serious that Samira could only smile to keep from laughing, not wanting to work him up any further.
Krista had wished Jean good luck with a wink before bounding off to the outside stairs that were just inside the ground level porch. Hunter addressed her in that same harsh reprimanding tone he always used whenever he thought she was acting very un-lady-like. Krista was startled into a stop, but gave him a sweet "Yes, Big Brother," before continuing up the steps.
Christina led little Marian while the five year old kept staring at Samira. Amelia quietly began to follow, glancing over at Zelgadis who did not moved the whole time and was now focused on Alyssa again.
"Hold on, Your Highness." Hunter walked into her path to block the way without being too obvious. "I just had a great idea. You can be the referee."
The princess caught the chimera flinching as she glanced at him again, then looked back at Hunter. "Couldn't you do it instead, Mr. Hunter?"
She did not intend for it to sound like a plea, but it definitely was one. She did not want to have to judge between the two of them. And Hunter knew it.
"I'm afraid there's no way I could do it, I'm participating," he reminded with over-kindness that made her want to choke. "Please, if you could, Princess. I know you will be a fair judge."
Filia happened to appear at the balcony just in time to meet up with the rest of the spectators and see Amelia abruptly turn from Hunter and stomp over to the opposite side of the courtyard where Alyssa and the other volunteers now stood.
"What are the two of them doing down there?" she curiously asked.
Pokota was on the balcony railing waiting for Amelia to come up when the dragoness spoke, compelling him to look down. He caught Hunter's little smirk then saw Amelia.
"Hey! I thought you weren't playing!" Pokota called out.
"Her Highness will determine the winner of each match," Hunter answered for her.
"What?!" the prince shouted. "Since when?!"
"I only asked as a favor, and her Highness accepted," but the smile on his face said otherwise.
"Its true, Mr. Pokota," said Amelia, "I did accept it."
It came out like she was reinforcing the fact that that she only accepted, favor or not. Pokota crouched on his perch and grumbled, his ear lowering like a sulking dog. Whatever he's up to, he better not hurt her!
When Torrin arrived moments later, they drew numbers on little pieces of paper, put them in a small pouch, and gave it over to Amelia for her to shake it and hold it out for everyone to choose. To give the contest a sense of mystery, nobody was allowed to show their numbers until it was their turn. Afterwards, Amelia called for whoever had 1 and 2 to step up.
It was Samira and Gourry.
"Before we begin," Hunter announced as he tucked away his numbered slip, "I want to lay down a couple more ground rules. You may use the entire courtyard. There are no out-of-bounds, except for the main entrances, and no vaulting to the next story."
"Aww, Big Brother!" Krista cried out disappointedly. She had anticipated an acrobatic show, impressed by what she heard from Jean.
"That's too bad for us then," Jean whispered to Samira, a little disappointed himself. "I really wanted to try out some of my new moves."
"Better to wait for next time," she whispered back as she glanced over to Amelia then Lina who was giving her a small nod. "This contest really is not about us."
"What do you mean?" Jean asked.
Samira looked back at him and simply said, "We will find out soon."
Hunter called out for the first two to take their place at each side of the courtyard.
Samira took out her swords and crouched into position, the same one she took when she first appeared in front of Torrin and Gourry at the Spring festival, with one arm above her head and one below. Gourry took his own sword out and held it in front of him with anticipation.
Amelia solemnly lifted up her hand and gave them the signal to start.
For a couple of minutes, they weaved around each other with Samira on the defensive. She wanted to keep it as entertaining as possible and hopefully help lighten Amelia's mood. Amazingly, Gourry picked up on her intent (though the reason escaped him) and put on his best sparring face.
Everyone was quiet except for Krista, whose gentle gasps each time the desert woman blocked or evaded Gourry's expert strikes echoed and intermingled with the sound of metal and stone-scraping steps. Her mother had her mouth open and eyes wide like saucers, making her seem almost childlike herself.
At one point, Samira managed to wedge Gourry's sword between two stones on the path and use her own swords for balance as she attempted to twirl around and give him a good kick in the face. He quickly let go of his hilt and placed his arms in front of his face just in time, but it gave her a good springboard to flip onto the top of the fountain. Krista could not help but squeal at that point.
"Nice one!" Jean shouted.
Even Amelia appeared a little impressed, since she rarely got to see Samira train with the others even at the palace. Samira remembered Zelgadis mentioning Amelia's old clumsy justice antics from their past adventures and knew she would have loved the chance to learn from a proper teacher.
Making a mental note to offer the princess lessons in the future, she stared down the swordsman in front of her for a moment to see if he would make some comment about her move being unfair since she was currently out of his grasp. But like a good sportsman, he made no complaint, just stood there waiting for her next move. Not that Samira expected him to do so, Gourry was currently in the zone where it was tough to distract or de-motivate him. It was simply impressive when he switched personalities like that.
Samira glanced up at the audience in the balcony to see if they were doing well and saw Lina paying close attention to Gourry, as usual, probably thinking the same things she was about him. Then, she went on the offensive.
Gourry was quick on his feet deflecting Samira, who, for a few seconds, looked like a bladed wheel, then gave herself a bit of momentum on his last block and made one turn in the other direction before landing in a crouching position again.
"Can you do that?" Amelia suddenly asked Jean with some interest and not looking completely miserable for once.
"Not yet, but I'd rather learn how to block it," he admitted. "She always gets me with that one. It always wears me out when I try to get away."
"It'll take strength, Kid," said Torrin. "You'll have to grow a little, first."
"Yeah, yeah I know," Jean brushed him off. "Wouldn't hurt to at least try though. That's what contests like this are for, right your Highness?"
"I guess so." The gloom on Amelia's face returned as she watched the match more intently than ever.
Both Jean and Torrin looked at each other silently questioning what was wrong.
"Exactly what I was thinking," Hunter added cheerily as he stood on the princess' other side. "A match is a great way to try something new in a tight spot, rather than a normal practice where the move is expected."
Zelgidis who stood silently on the other side of Hunter did not like how he said that. Of course, it was quickly becoming apparent that he did not like how the man said anything. It reminded him too much of Aldrich. Speaking of which…
Aldrich was at the other end beside Torrin, smiling and commenting to Alyssa about the match, while Alyssa herself seemed to be in another world. The day was shaping up to be much worse than he thought it would be, having to worry about the both girls at the same time.
The chimera thought of what Torrin said earlier about not sensing any monsters nearby. If only he were a monster…
An uncharacteristic squeal came from Samira a couple of seconds after Zelgadis mutedly heard Jean say, "Now, they're going to end it." Then there was a metallic ping of something hitting the balcony rail just as Lina was just beginning to cheer and was cut off.
He was the last one to turn his head, but it was just in time to see Lina fall back like she had been backhanded square in the face and wound up laying on the tile floor, apparently stunned.
Pokota could not help himself. His giggle started small and he tried to covered it up with his ears, but it got bigger and bigger until it was pointless. He blurted out, "That's what you get for watching him too closely!"
Everyone else was a little too stunned as well to say anything, and Amelia who momentarily let her gloomy mask slip announced Gourry as the winner.
Jean was the first to find his voice. "I would've disagreed, but after seeing that, how can I?"
"Yeah, I don't think it would be a good idea to be biased when she wakes up," Torrin agreed.
Gourry immediately offered to help Samira up. "You okay, Sam?"
She shrugged at his nickname for her and sighed laughingly at herself. "I'll live. This was not the first time it happened. I was not always so graceful."
The both of them tried what would have been considered a fatal blow to end the match when something caused Samira to lose her footing, and in an attempt to compensate, accidentally kicked up what might have been a piece of loose cobblestone just small enough that it was hard for Lina to see and get out of the way.
"That piece of rock had some real speed on it!" Torrin said as a compliment. "I don't know if I could've flown that fast!"
"No way, Lina was just too slow!" said Pokota, still laughing.
"I heard that, you RUNT!" Lina growled as she groggily got back up. "WANNA SEE HOW FAST I CAN STRANGLE YA?!" And she proceeded to chase him all over the balcony while everyone else either laughed or stared.
As much as Hunter was enjoying all of this, he wanted to move along. "Better announce the next match, Princess."
Amelia nodded without looking at him and called for 3 and 4 to take their places. Torrin and Jean were next.
Jean bounded over to his spot impatiently with his cutlass out, and Filia called out to him worriedly. "Please be careful, Jean! It can be very hard for a dragon to control their strength in a fight! This isn't like practice!"
"Aww, Miss Filia!" He did not want to be mothered over especially in front of a girl, even if he never went against Torrin in a full-on match before. His eyes went straight over to where Krista was standing, and of course, she was fixated on him.
"Don't worry about it!" Torrin called back assuredly. "He's not big enough to throw any actual weight around, so it won't take much!"
Jean gave him a sour face and pointed a finger. "No way, Egan!" he declared using the Dimos' last name like, Lina always did. "You need you throw everything you've got at me!"
Torrin just laughed. "Not if you don't want me to slice you in half, Kid, and I don't think you want to be any shorter than you are now. I mean, what would your girlfriend say?"
"Torrin!" Filia yelled in a reprimanding tone.
As if she had been cued, Krista waved and shouted, "Good luck, Jean!"
Jean slumped his shoulders and blushed. "Oh, great…"
"Hmm, I guess I should've said girlfriends," Torrin teased as he took out his axe and knife.
Jean blushed even harder and stared him down. As soon as Amelia gave them the signal, the kid took off straight towards the dragon to take the first strike.
Torrin easily avoided his blade and gave him time to turn back around to tray again. "Woah, Jean, it's not smart to swing a sword in anger like that!"
On the third strike, Jean's blade was almost knock out of his hand by Torrin's axe and had to tumble away to avoid a counter-strike. "So? I've seen you and Mr. Zelgadis do it!"
"But we're more experienced than you and have more control," Torrin said like he was instructing a young dragon. "And don't forget, monsters are able to feed of that, just like they would do with their fear. It gives them strength."
"Oh dear," Christine gently gasped, "is that true, Miss Inverse?"
Lina who managed to calm down at this point walked back to her spot besides Filia rubbing the knot forming on her forehead, still in too much of a bad mood to heal it. "Yeah, I'm afraid so," she answered. "But they hate positive emotions. We actually immobilized a monster once by letting Amelia sing a very happy tune about how great life was, and we all joined in." The sorceress actually grinned a little at the thought.
"Then I wouldn't worry, Mother!" said Krista. "We're always happy here! No monster would want to have anything to do with us!"
"I'm not so sure," Lina mumbled to where only Filia and Pokota were able to hear.
She was currently tracking someone who was practically in charge of almost half the Monster race and possibly residing somewhere close by. The type of 'monster' they were after was much harder to detect and far too strong to take down with just a good attitude. Zelgadis' suspicion of a wanderer suddenly showing up was very understandable, though, in her mind it was very unlikely that Aldrich would have anything to do with what was currently happening on the peninsula. It would completely contradict his personality and fondness for Alyssa. But I guess, you never know…
Meanwhile, Jean was attempting to refocus and take Torrin's advice, but no matter how quick he moved, the dragon was able to easily counter with hardly any effort. So, Jean decided to take a different approach. He suddenly took off in the opposite direction and dove into a bed of plants where thick leafy vines climbed up a wall.
Torrin just stood there a moment, confused, then with a funny look, he cautiously approached the bed, carefully looking over the exotic flowering bushes that barred him from the vine wall. "This isn't going to work, Kid!" he called out with a partial laugh. "Dragons don't have to see you to fight you. We hear pretty well, too."
The Dimos heard Jean's body gently shift to his left but pretended not to notice. The average human would not have noticed, but it would not have fooled a trained fighter, human or otherwise. He reminded himself to give the kid a lesson on stealth sometime.
Another very soft rustle indicated something was moving up the wall, but still, Torrin did not give it any attention. After a minute of fake searching, he closed his eyes, lowered his small axe and knife, and sighed like he was frustrated
Just as he predicted, Jean launched out of the bushes.
The kid had used the wall as a springboard and one of the vines to swing out in order to tackle Torrin, but all Torrin had to do was duck, elbow him in the back, then quickly turn around and put the blade of his axe at Jean's neck to mock a fatal blow.
When Torrin's elbow caught him between the shoulder blades, the painful jab made him lose his grip and fall face forward into the cobblestone with a yelp. It shocked him so that it took him a few seconds to realize that something heavy was laying on his shoulder, and that it was Torrin's axe.
Amelia called the match, and immediately Jean heard Krista very loudly say, "Its okay, Jean! You did great~!"
Then Filia had to put in her two cents. "You shouldn't have been so rough on him, Torrin!"
Torrin let up his axe to allow Jean to move, and he called back to her, "You can't coddle a hatchling! They'll never learn if you do!" Filia only made a face at him.
"I'm not a hatchling!" Jean said with some defiance, but his gusto was suddenly gone as soon as he tried to move and made another yelp that sounded more like a whimpering puppy.
"Sorry about that, Kid," said Torrin as he helped Jean up. "I guess my elbow packed a harder punch than I intended."
"I really thought that was gonna work…" Jean tried his best not to whine. "I managed to jump my oldest brother that way once."
"Oh really? When did that happen?" Torrin asked.
Hunched over, Jean carefully walked over to where Amelia was standing. "I was six, and he took me along on an errand Dad sent him on." There was an ache in his voice as he tried to continue. "We were on a boat about to leave for an island not far from home when was I playing on some rope that controlled one of the sails. He got mad and sent me below deck."
The Dimos let out a chuckle. "What did you do about it?"
"I snuck back up above to get back at him." Jean's freckled nose did its usual wrinkle in disgust, but there was a little smirk forming on his lips. "I knock him down. My brother wanted to send me back home, but the ship had already left the harbor."
At this, Torrin laughed even louder. "And I'm sure you got some help from the wind too!"
Jean whirled around. "Did not!-owe…" His back did not agree with him.
"Take it easy, Kid. How about you go keep Miss Filia company for the rest of the contest." Torrin took care to pat him on the shoulder. "Okay?"
Jean moaned in reluctant agreement and allowed himself to be directed towards the outside stairs.
Filia was heard hustling around to their side to help. When Torrin saw the worried look on her face, he gave her an appeasing smile. "Sorry about that, Tulip. Make sure he's okay."
She put a hand on her hip as she was handed Jean's arm. "If you messed up his spine in any way, we're going to have a talk later!"
"Not to be cruel to the kid, but I think I might enjoy that," Torrin answered then gave her a quick kiss. "Honestly, I'm sorry," he said a little more seriously, "but I do need to talk to you later about something."
Filia blinked at him curiously, and her hand fell away from her hip. "alright…" She turned to go back up the stairs with Jean, then turned back for a moment. "But I'm warning you…" she shook a finger at him.
Torrin put his hands up in defense. "I understand!"
In the meantime, Hunter told Amelia to hold off announcing the next match until everyone was in place. He did not want anyone to miss it, just in case. There was no trick being done, at least at this point, so it was completely up to luck.
Amelia was staring at Zelgadis nervously when Hunter finally gave her the go ahead. "Princess, the next match please."
She did not jump, but her eyes quickly darted from the chimera to Hunter as she nodded. "Number five and number six, please take your places."
Aldrich began walking towards the middle of the courtyard, but when he noticed no one else was doing the same, he happened to glance back.
Everyone else was looking at each other expectantly, except Alyssa, who was staring at the ground.
He had a good guess why. "Is something wrong, Alyssa?"
She looked up at him and gave him an unsure smile. In a very small voice. "I-I...don't know...if I really want to fight you…"
For those of you who don't know, I have gone back and heavily revised the first five chapters and posted them on DeviantART and on the Beloved Enemy Xellos/Filia forum! It took a lot longer than I expected and found some horrific mistakes, so there are parts that are totally revamped (like this one half finished sentence I found that made no sense whatsoever). So yeah, that was part of what I was doing during my three month absence. I think I became somewhat of a grammar and punctuation Nazi in the process! Yikes!
I won't be putting up the revisions here until I get close to the end, so if you're one of the ones that put me on watch and you see alerts for older chapters, then you know that its the beginning of the end! So, please, send a review, or even just a hello! You never know when It'll be over! ~NB~
