Chapter 19:                                            Challenges

"Are you crazy!" Nat took Sam's shoulders and shook her. "You can't go alone. He is a coward. He has proved this often. He won't go there alone. He will be with his friends. They will kill you!"

"Maybe."

"MAYBE? You must be insane. Why have you agreed?"

Sam returned Nat's intense gaze. "Shall I leave her to his mercy? That is a question of honour. I couldn't bear leaving her to him."

"I won't allow this." Nat's voice was just a growl now. "I won't allow you to be killed."

Sam got free of his grip. She raised her hand and put her hand on his cheek. "Remember what I told you that night, one year ago? I wont die. It's not my time to die. I know it."

"But what if the vision of your death isn't true?"

"It is true. I know it. I will die when I'm grown up. Not as long as I'm a child. Now calm down. I am prepared. We have trained all of last year together, and I had special training at home. You have seen me fight. You know what I can do."

Nat still looked worried. "I saw you fight. I know you are stronger than most of us. I won't worry about a single, fair opponent. But Damian is everything but fair."

"Nat, I am born a warrior. From the day of my birth, I was prepared to protect my people. If I can't handle a single 14 year old boy, everything I represent is a lie, a joke."

"Have you even told Moana what you want to do for her?"

"No, because it's not her fault. She has nothing to do with our fight. He challenged ME. Not her. She wouldn't be in this trouble without me."

"That's not true. She is a girl who wants to be a knight. She would have been in trouble without you as well. People like him always do such things. When do you want to fight?"

"I don't know yet. We will meet soon and decide the time, place and weapons. We have to choose a setting where we aren't interrupted"

Nat snorted. "Of course. I would be bad for him to be watched while he and his friends kill you."

Sam embraced him out of the blue. "I wont leave you. I swear. Don't worry my friend. I am not ready to die." 'I can't let him come with me. If it is a trap ... I don't want him to die because of my pride.'

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Sam was waiting in the park near the pages' wing. She knew it very well by now. She had spent a lot of time there the last year. She sighed and looked up at the sky. It was nearly midnight. The stars were glowing bright. The longer she stared up there, the more stars she could see. She realised that she was searching for something. She didn't know what, but she had caught herself quite often watching the sky lost in thoughts she couldn't remember later. It had started a month after her breakdown. 'As if the stars were hiding a secret. My secret. My destiny written down in their movements. If only I could understand.' She shook her head to get free of her thoughts. 'It's not the right time for this.' She turned around an froze. 'Damian!'

He was leaning against a tree, staring at her intensely. She returned his gaze. He was not that bad looking. Ok, he was quite handsome ... somehow. Black hair, bright blue eyes with a hint of green in them. And he was strong. She could see it not only in his shape, but in his movement, as well. 'He will be a dangerous opponent. Why is he staring at me like that? I don't see hate in his eyes. He is looking at me as if I were a rare animal. It makes me nervous.'

Damian moved slowly towards Sam. 'She is worth the effort. She will give me a good fight. I saw her practising with her friends last year. She is good. If she was a boy, I would make her my friend.' He started to grin. 'But at least I will have fun.'

"You are late." Sam's voice was calmer than she felt.

"No. You are early."

"Bad excuse. Well, I don't want to waste more time. Where do we fight and what weapons do we use?"

Damian smirked. "No weapons, if you agree. I thought about a hall I know, which isn't used. If you agree we can fight there."

'I have a choice? That's strange. Well let's see how long he acts like this.' Sam frowned. "I agree with your choices. When do we meet?"

"I would say ... in a week. So we will have time to get prepared."

"Fine. I will be there."

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          She was running through a dark corridor.

          She heard noises. There was a fight.

          Finally, she arrived at a door. She opened it slowly.

          She saw her father fighting with somebody she knew. With someone he used to fight.   

          With someone he trusted. But this time it was different.

          Sam felt danger in the air. She could hardly breathe.

          She wanted to shout. She wanted to warn him.

          Not sound escaped from her lips.

          Suddenly everything went dark. She heard the sound of a sword cutting through flesh and

          bones. She heard her little brother scream. She heard her mother's cries. Then suddenly

          ... silence.

          Someone took her in his arms and ran away. She felt a pain at her backside. Then the

          person carrying her fell down, throwing her away.

          Sam was falling for what seemed to be an eternity.

          Blood all over her.

Sam opened her eyes. She felt cold, although the nights were still warm and although she was covered with a blanket. It came from inside. Sam raised her hand to her cheeks. No tears. Her tears were frozen deep  inside of her. 'Today I will have to face Damian. But why? Is it really necessary to fight? If he wants me to bow to him, why don't I simply do it? It wouldn't really hurt me.'

Sam sighed. 'I wish I was more of a peaceful creature as my people are, as my parents were. But I am born as a fighter. I guess that's my destiny. Violence. Hatred. If only I could get rid of it. It kills my personality bit by bit. Someday there might me nothing left of the person I've once been.'

She clenched her fists. 'But if I'm supposed to die, I will take the person with me who caused this. I will kill the murderer of my family. I will kill the slaughterer of my people. Maybe it's the best my line dying out with me. How could I give birth to a child knowing that it would only have to take over the same burden I took from my father.'

She got up and opened her chest. She looked at the weapons inside of it. 'It's strange. My ancestors created these things to increase their power, and they got destroyed by them. And all the following generations spent their lifes to guard what they inherited, because if they didn't do it and these weapons got into the wrong hands, hell would break loose. If only I could destroy them. I know they are part of my own power. Losing them would mean losing a part of the control over my people. But it would be worth it. Even if it meant losing everything?'

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"Where is Sam?" Nat nearly screamed.

Cori looked at him surprised. "I don't know. She left an hour ago. I think she wants to be alone. That's nothing special. Why are you so.."

"Damn it. She's really meeting him."

Suddenly, Cori was worried. "Whom?"

Nat glared at her, not knowing if he should tell her. "Damian. He challenged her. He said he would let go of Moana if she wins. What he wants if she loses I don't know. But I can imagine what it could be."

"You're telling me that she wants to face him ALONE? He will trick her. He will beat her up together with his friends."

"I told her that. But has she ever listened to my advice?"

"Yes!"

Nat growled. "Well, this time she didn't. She will meet him ALONE, at a place nobody else knows, where they aren't disturbed. Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" He hit the wall with his fist.

Moana was about to open the door of her room to go outside, when she heard someone shouting. 'Isn't that Cori and that strange guy ... Nat? The one who's always with the strange girl. Sam, I think. Feli talked about her. I should listen more when she talks to me.' Mo didn't know what to do. Should she go outside and disturb the two, or should she wait until they were gone? Honestly, she was a bit afraid of Nat and Sam. Nat was so cold and he never really laughed. And Sam  was always so direct and she had such an intense gaze. Before Mo could make a decision she heard Nat saying something about her and her sponsor. 'What ... ?'

"And what are we supposed to do now." Cori looked helpless. "Wait until they find her dead body?"

Mo gasped. 'DEAD BODY? What the hell is going on here.'

Nat shook his head. "I still can't believe that somebody at his age wants to kill another child."

"Remember the dog. If it wasn't him and his friends who sent it to kill us, who else could it be?"

Nat looked in her eyes. "Maybe the secret isn't a secret anymore. Maybe we will have to face him earlier than we all thought."

Cori starred at him. "You think he has finally found her? B...but ... he doesn't know that she has survived. Only we and her people know it. How ... ?"

"Maybe he sensed the sword. Maybe he heard about a strange girl with moss green eyes living in Tortall. He knows where her mother came from. He knows that by law of her people children belong to the mother and to the family of the mother. If I was searching for her, I would search for her at her mother's family. I'm surprised he hasn't done it yet."

Cori lowered her eyes and whispered. "He has already. Some months after ... they died. My uncle told me. Sam arrived much later. That's why he doesn't know she's here."

Nat rubbed his forehead. "I guess we should be careful. It might be an unfounded worry. Maybe it was really Damian and his friends who tried to kill one of you. Remember, a page with blond hair. That limits the number of possible victims. Let's search for her. We have to alarm the rest of the group. The palace is a maze. We need all the help we can get."

Both turned around and ran towards the library where their friends were studying.

Mo was still standing in her room. Her face was pale. 'Sam is in danger. Partly because of me, but mainly because of someone else.' She shook her head unbelieving. 'What is going on here? First I'm sponsored by this arrogant jerk, then somebody who I thought didn't like me at all fights for me. She is risking her life without even telling me a single word about it. And finally, I hear that this person is in great danger, in danger to be killed? She's only eleven years old. What has she done to deserve being threatened like this? What am I supposed to do now? It sounded like a secret. If she really is in danger, I shouldn't tell anybody. But I need someone to talk to. What shall I do? Who can I turn to?'

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Sam was sitting on the floor of the hall where she and Damian decided to fight. Her eyes were closed and she looked calm and concentrated.

Damian entered the hall slowly. He always felt strange around her. He often caught himself watching her. He thought a lot about her. She was a fascinating creature. He didn't really know who she was. He was able to estimate everyone else. Everyone but her. She was hiding something.

Sam slowly opened her eyes. She looked calmly at her opponent.

Damian stared back. Those moss green eyes. He never saw eyes like hers before. They were unreadable,  powerful, frightening.

She got up, ready for battle. She only waited for him.

He put his usual sly grin back on his face. "I've waited long for this. LET'S GO." And with this he started to attack her. He tried to hit directly at her face ... and found himself on the floor. 'What ...?' She had used his own speed and forced it against him.

Sam stood next to him, fists raised, waiting for him to get up. 'No hate, no anger, no fear. Stay calm, watch your opponent. Concentrate only on the fight. Nothing else matters. Nothing else exists besides you and your opponent.' She repeated the words of her former training masters.

Damain quickly got up, watching her more carefully. Then he grinned again. 'I knew it. It will be a great fight.'

The fight started again. First, none of them was able to get a real hit on the other. Either they were able to block it, or they dodged it.

Damian was strong and already quite an experienced fighter. He was bigger, older, more ruthless.

Sam was smaller, quicker, more agile. She used his speed and movements against him. But her self- defence- skills were not created to hurt someone. Those who had invented these movements centuries ago only wanted to protect themselves, tiring the opponent until he stops fighting himself, or breaks down. But Sam needed more to beat Damian. She needed to mix up all she had been taught in her lifetime. She had to combine different fighting skills, created of different people in different places, in different ages. She still had problems with that. And it had been only a matter of time until one of them could hit the other seriously.

Sam gasped when she felt Damian's fist in her belly. Her knees weakened and she fell down. She suppressed the pain, and attacked his legs with her own, making him fall down as well. She jumped up quickly. It was to dangerous  to fight on the floor. He could pin he beneath him, using his weight. 'I'm not THAT stupid.'

Damian got up, now more slowly than the last time. Both opponents were breathing hard.

Damian's bottom lip was bleeding. Sam already had quite a colourful eye.

'I have to change my tactics.' "Not bad little girl. You are really not bad. But do you really think it's enough to beat me? I will win. You know it, and I know it. And after that I will take care of the rest of your friends. They will go, one by one. And I will take a special care of your beloved cousin and your pet, Nat." 'That should break her calmness.'

Sam's eye grew cold when she heard his threats. With a fast movement she was behind him. She wrapped her arm around his neck and whispered. "Nobody threatens my family. Be careful. You may not be able to control the forces you call."

Damian tried to elbow her, but she was already gone, and he felt her elbow in his belly. Then her fist hit his face hard.

Sam suppressed a gasp. Her fist hurt. She tried not to show pain in front of her enemy. Suddenly she felt his fist in her back.

The fight became more and more violent. Both were covered with bruises after a while. They became tired and exhausted. Their movements were slower and suddenly none of them was able to fight anymore. Both were lying on the floor, gasping for air.

Sam was the first who recovered enough to speak. "Who won?"

"No one."

"I can't accept that." She struggled to get back on her feet.

Damian stared at her. 'How can she get up? If her body hurts only half as much as mine, she shouldn't be able to do this. I know I hit her hard. Stubborn bitch.'

Finally Sam was standing again. The whole world was turning around her. She blinked and made a step towards Damian.

"Enough."

Sam needed a time to react. She stared confused at Damian. "You give up?"

Damian cursed silently and answered. "Yes. I give up. You are crazy. You can't be human. How on earth can you still stand?"

Sam was about to fall on the floor again, but she needed to know it exactly. "You will leave Moana to me and my friends. You will not harm her. That was the arrangement."

"Yes," said Damian with clenched teeth. He only wanted a healer and a bed. 'Not as funny as I thought. Oh gods, I wont be able to eat properly for a while.' He rubbed his jaw carefully. He heard a noise next to him. He grinned weakly when he saw Sam lying on the floor again.

She looked at him and finally seemed to feel as bad as he did. "I only have one question."

He groaned. "WHAT?"

"How do we get to our bedchambers?"

Damian blinked surprised. "I don't know."

"Maybe we should have told somebody where we are. All we can do now is wait."

Damian stared in her eyes again. "Why don't you hate me?"

Sam raised her eyebrows.

Damian cleared his throat. "I attacked you and your friends since you arrived. Each of your friends hate me. Why not you? Here you are, lying on the floor, beaten up by me. And we are chatting as if we were ... friends."

 Sam looked tiredly at him. "None of my friends knows what REAL hatred is. You are just a fool, Damian. You think you can stop a development which can't be stopped anymore."

Damian felt anger rising in him.

"Do you really think you will survive the Chamber of Ordeal? Do you really think your behaviour is the behaviour of a knight? Why do you want to be a knight Damian? When do you want to start acting like a knight? How can I hate someone who will be killed because of his own stupidity and ignorance? I am not the right person to judge you. There is something more powerful which will do it."

Damian didn't know how to answer. He felt so tired. He closed his eyes and waited for someone to find them.

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I HATE FIGHTING SCENES! Can you imagine how difficult it is to describe something like that in a foreign language? The vocabulary we learn at school is not about violence. At least not that detailed.

I hope I did a good job. Of course the idiot I promised fighting scenes in one of the earlier chapters. I guess insanity runs through my family.

And this time it is not a real cliffy. I hope at least.

Tell me what you think about it.