Training for the dragonslayers was like a finely spoiling pitcher of milk

Training for the dragonslayers was like a finely spoiling pitcher of milk. At first it was their favorite thing to do, for each had learned to enjoy swordplay and the like from their upbringing. But then they learned what Master Dilandau was really like. How he belted them for doing the simplest mistakes, and hardly ever praising them for the things they could do. No one quit though, and each had his own reason for doing so, but each reason in turn boiled down to the fact that they did care for Master Dilandau. Not in a queer way, but rather in a family sort of way. In his own way, each dragonslayer felt that Master Dilandau was trying to push them to the peak of perfection- he was just doing it in a different way.

"Duck, now thrust, thrust damn you! You're all a worthless pile of shit. How can you call yourselves dragonslayers?" Dilandau's ever-piercing voices echoed in the dimly lit training area. "Idiots, every one of you. Looks like I'll have to show you how it's done." Dilandau unsheathed his blood-red sword and said "Chesta come over here" he belted, while the other slayers let out a sigh of relief.

No dragonslayer wants to be a sparring partner for Master Dilandau, especially when he was in a foul mood. Each bore the scars of the swordplay- especially poor Chesta, who wasn't very good at that sort of fighting. Wearily the blond stepped up to fight, and fight he did. Every time Dilandau tried to jam the sword into him, Chesta blocked with ease. Finally, Chesta dried to drive for the heart. Dilandau swatted that attempt away as easily as could be. By this time, Chesta had caught on to what was happening.

'Oh fuck, he's just been toying with me.' He thought, looking at his master's face. In his eyes was a spark held only by an experienced fighter. They shone with a blood lust only quenchable by victory. Chesta knew he was done for. Faster and faster the blade was thrust at Chesta, so fast he could hardly keep up with it. And then disaster struck. A piercing scream ripped through the training area, and Chesta fell to the ground clutching his ribs along the thin red line where sword had met flesh. The others ran to help him, but Dilandau stopped them.

"Get back to work all of you. I'll drag his sorry ass to the infirmary." Dilandau screamed at the rest of the dragonslayers and left, literally dragging Chesta along. Only one thing was on the minds of the other fighters as their instructor left- I hope I'm not next.

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"Oh, that felt so good," Angela sighed as she stepped out of the shower. After all that had happened in the past few days, she had been drained both physically as well as mentally, so a shower was like entering heaven itself. She slipped into a pair of pants and a tight blouse and started to braid her long hair.

'Wow, at home Father would never have let me wear pants. I would have to wear skirts all the time. But he's not here anymore, so I have to make my own decisions.' She stood up and looked in the mirror, checking her appearance while driving such thoughts off for the time being. At last content with her appearance, Angela walked into the hallway, and tried to get her bearings.

'Ok, if I came from this way, than the door should be right down this hall, or was it that one? Damn. Why didn't I pay more attention when Chesta explained the layout of the castle? I guess I'll just have to pick one.' She thought and took the hallway to her right.

After about five minutes of walking down the same hallway, Angela heard some voices and, hoping whoever it was could help her find her way, followed them to the now-occupied training room where the slayers were debating on who should spar against who after Chesta's accident.

"Fine, I'll spot with Dalet, and you," Migel instructed, pointing to Gatti, "will spar with Guimel. Got it?" The others nodded, and, as Angela watched with interest, each began sparring with their respective partners. After a few minutes, Angela had learned two things 1. None of the dragonslayers actually knew how to sword fight and 2. Whoever was showing them how to fight knew nothing about swordplay. She knew she had to correct their hideous mistakes, so she promptly walked in, picked up the nearest sword, which happened to be Dilandau's, and walked towards the nearest pair, who happened to be Gatti and Guimel, causing all motion and sound in the area to cease abruptly.

"Do you two even know how to hold a sword properly? Did anyone teach you the best way?" Angela asked an awestruck Gatti, ignoring the stares from the other dragonslayers. She couldn't blame them though. They probably thought she was crazy, since women weren't supposed to know how to hold a sword, let alone be able to fight with it, but she waited for Gatti to answer her anyway. But before he could answer, Miguel stepped in and tried to look like a powerful second in command by shooing who he thought was a woman worthless on the battlefield.

"Princess, I…"

"Miguel, just call me Angela, it is my name after all."

"Alright, Angela, this is a man's place and women shouldn't be fighting here. They could get hurt." Angela stiffened and narrowed her eyes at the young warrior. She knew she was far from being a novice like him, and decided to prove it to him- the hard way.

"So," she said coolly, trying not to lose her temper, "You think women shouldn't be fighting, eh? Well, show me just how well you fight by sparring against me, ok? Don't worry I'm sure a dragonslayer like yourself should be quite a warrior. Do we have a deal? As long as you go easy on me, of course."

Miguel smirked at the princesses' gall. She actually thought she could cut it against him, the second in command of the elite dragonslayers? Fine then, he'll let her have her fun, but then he'll overpower her easily.

"Fine, you've got yourself a challenge. These are the rules, there's only two rule number one, no blood, and rule number two, aside from rule number one, there are no rules." Miguel explained and unsheathed his own sword, ready to fight.

By this time, the rest of the dragonslayers were no longer just taking small peaks at the commotion around the princess, they were now crowded around the two, making a human ring for the battle about to take place. With a cry, the two fighters faced off.

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Well, maybe this story will finally get some action in it, ne? I'd just like to thank lilygirl2001 for being the only person (besides SSJ Chocobo) to review. C'mon, people, I need your ideas. Where should the story go from here? Think about it and get back to me in a review. See you next chapter. PS. Sorry to all of you who are Miguel fans, I just needed someone to be an ass, and I chose him.