The Burmecian rain battered down hard as the warriors punished themselves in their continual training to achieve their very best fighting state for the upcoming tournament. They were all aiming for the top prize, which would be a large sum of gil, a large golden trophy with a Dragon emblem engraved on it and the title of the strongest Burmecian warrior. It was a prize all Dragon Knights dreamt of winning.
Although Dragon Knight duties were still being upheld in Burmecia, the warriors were taking all of their spare time to spar and to train. Fratley and Freya often saw each other to spar with each other and Frato remained home and trained alone or with his father.
This continued for a few weeks until one evening after the daylight guard had finished. Everyone was making their way to the front of the Royal Palace as usual for their wages. The same large crowd had gathered in the front courtyard but the poster had been removed from the corner and had been replaced with a small wooden stage: which looked more like a box than anything else. One of the male castle servants stepped onto the stage in very scruffy, wet blue robes.
"Excuse me..." The servant called out, but was drowned out by the murmuring of the Dragon Knights. The servant shook his head and then tried again. "EXCUSE ME!" He said in a much louder and clearer voice, catching the attention of most of the Dragon Knights. "His Royal Highness has asked me to convey the following..." The servant then took a second to clear his throat. "The qualifying rounds of this year's tournament will take place this Saturday at the Royal Arena. You are expected to arrive here at nine o'clock. For those of you on duty at that time you will be excused and given a replacement for the duration of the tournament. If you do not turn up and you are a participant it will count as a forfeit and you will be disqualified. That is all." The servant then took a small bow of respect to the Knights before walking off the small stage and into the Palace. Conversation soon picked up again in the group of Dragon Knights.
"Now we'll see if all our training has paid off." Fratley said with a small grin.
"And enjoy ourselves while we're at it." Frato added. "Come on, there's no point waiting around here any longer." Frato then began making his way outside of the gate.
"I'll catch up with you later." Fratley called out as Frato walked out of the gate. He then walked up to Freya, who was stood a very short distance away talking to Gray.
Gray smiled at Fratley as he slunk behind Freya, who was too busy talking to notice him. Freya finished her sentence before noticing Gray's smile and turning around to see Fratley's smiling face only inches away from hers.
"Aah! Fratley! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Freya gasped in surprise.
"I didn't sneak up on you." Fratley replied, still grinning. "You were just totally oblivious to what was happening around you."
Gray gave a little chuckle whilst Freya frowned slightly at her boyfriend. The frown disappeared off her face after a few seconds as she couldn't stay mad at Fratley for too long and she knew he was only joking with her.
"So what do you think about the tournament Fratley?" Freya asked in a slightly more cheery mood. "Are you going to win?"
"I don't know. I wouldn't think so. There are several tough Dragon Knights entering and I daresay there are several tougher than me!" Fratley replied.
"If anyone can do it out of this year's graduates it's going to be you Fratley." Gray reassured Fratley. "I'm entering too; we might have to fight each other."
"I might have to fight a lot of people I don't want to." Fratley answered. "But it's only a tournament. Let's just enjoy it."
"You're right Fratley." Freya said firmly. "I think it's time I should be heading home."
"Me too, I need to catch up with my brother. I don't want him getting into trouble again." Fratley added.
"I'm going to stick around here for a little while. I'll see you again some time." Gray said with another smile.
Fratley and Freya then left through the castle gates and walked to each other's homes together.
The day of the tournament finally came, and for the first time in his entire life Frato was up early. He leapt out of his bed with a smile of sheer excitement plastered on his face. He quickly got dressed into his light blue shirt and baggy dark blue pants. He didn't have to worry about putting on any armour as that was to be provided for him at the Palace.
Frato heard some quiet footsteps and Fratley's door creak open before hearing Fratley shriek "AAA! I'm up! I'm up! I'm up!" very quickly. Frato then heard the door shut and some more footsteps.
Lion-heart opened the door to check if Frato was awake and his eyes widened with surprise to see his adopted son already up and fully dressed.
"Well, that's a first." Lion-heart said calmly but slowly. "I wish you would get up like this more often!" He said before shutting the door and walking away.
The same mad morning rush ensued as the brothers got themselves ready despite Frato's early start. Fratley dressed himself in a yellow shirt with some baggy brown trousers. The three then started making their way to the Royal Palace for the qualifying rounds.
As they approached the Palace they saw more and more warriors walking alongside them ready to try out for this year's tournament. They entered the front gate of the Palace and passed the guards who nodded in acknowledgement as they ticked them of from their list of who to expect.
The guards pointed out the way to the arena inside the castle, and it turned out be on the western side of the palace. The arena itself was an area of flat slate in one of the palaces courtyards. The courtyard was surrounded by massive stone figures of Burmecians. A stone chair was placed at the eastern side of the arena for the judge which was sheltered by the hand of one of the humongous statues.
The royal bells sounded and were struck nine times, just like they did every morning at nine o'clock. After the ninth bell rang, the same servant who had made the announcement came walking up to the Dragon Knights in his same messy blue robes. He cleared his throat and spoke aloud to the group.
"It is time for the qualifying rounds of the tournament to take place. The first few combatants will be taken through this exit to put on their armour and to receive their weapon." The slave explained, pointing to the opening he had just come through. "You should know the rules, the winner is the Burmecian who draws blood from his opponent first or who disarms his opponent. Forfeit is also another method of losing. You need to defeat two opponents consecutively to qualify. If you lose, you have failed to qualify and you will be sent home or back on duty. We will take care of any injuries, should they occur."
As the servant finished, two Royal guards who were obviously not competing marched through the entrance behind him. In-between them, the King of Burmecia walked elegantly in a thick blue shawl and a cape with short pants made of a rich material. The three of them stopped in the centre of the arena and all of the Dragon Knights saluted the King. The slave quickly turned around and kneeled in front of the King.
"You are dismissed servant." The King said in a calm tone, and at his words the servant got up from his knees and walked around the edge of the arena and through the opening he had come through. The King then addressed the group of warriors in front of him.
"As part of the tradition of this tournament, I am to be the judge. I wish you all the best of luck, and that may the strongest knight prevail!"
The King then called out the names of the first four combatants so they could get ready and that there would be no delay between the first and second fight. The names did not have much significance to Frato, Fratley or Freya as they barely knew them.
A few minutes passed as the knights changed into their armour before the first two competitors steeped into the arena. They took their positions at the two corners of the ring and entered their battle stances. The King's voice then called out into the arena.
"You may begin."
The two knights charged at each other and a crash was heard as their lances were smashed together. They continued to try and beat each other, but neither showed much skill. Eventually one of the warriors drew blood from his rival and the King announced the winner of the match.
This continued as the next competitors entered and the King called out the names of the combatants for the third match. They all seemed to be recent Dragon Academy graduates and didn't seem to have much chance of winning the tournament. The other Dragon Knights watched the match intensely to see their rivals in action.
When the fourth match had finished and the winner was declared the King announced the next competitors. This time the announcement was of interest to Fratley, Frato and Freya.
"Will Sir Gary and Lady Freya please prepare themselves for their match." The King said clearly.
Freya calmly made her way to the back of the arena, and as she walked there she heard Fratley's voice calling to her.
"Good luck!"
Freya smiled to herself as she went to pick up her weapon and put on her armour.
The fifth match came and passed and had turned out to be rather dull. The King announced the winner and asked the next combatants to prepare themselves. Then, Freya and Gary walked out together and took their positions before readying their lances.
"You may begin." The King's voice echoed through the arena.
Freya charged and swung her lance straight at Gary, who just managed to block the attack by bringing his lance forward. Freya then brought her spear back and in a flash had blocked an attack from Gary at her leg. Whilst the two lances were still clashed together, Freya used her strength to force Gary's spear up above his head. Gary moved his spear away from Freya and had to hop backwards to avoid another swing from Freya's lance.
Gary moved forward slightly and their two lances clashed once again in another deadlock. Freya then once again overpowered Gary and pushed him back. Gary then decided to take a leap backwards before powering up his lance in a flurry of red energy. Freya saw that her opponent was preparing a Dragon Knight ability so she charged towards him to try and stop the attack.
Gary managed to prepare the skill in time and pointed his lance at Freya before shouting "Cherry Blossom!" Beautiful red petals were fired across the arena towards Freya. Gary gave a small smile as he saw the petals set ablaze and supposedly engulf Freya. The attack subsided, and Freya was not in sight.
Gary looked up and an expression of shock formed across his face as he saw Freya flying towards him through the air. He brought his lance in front of him just in time to block Freya's aerial attack but the pressure of her strike forced him onto one knee.
Freya brought her lance back and swung again only to be blocked once again. Gary quickly stood up before Freya pushed him backwards once more. Gary then decided to leap backwards a second time. Freya dashed forward as Gary jumped back and managed to swing at him as he landed. Gary attempted to block the strike but the force of Freya's attack managed to smash his lance out of his hands and cleanly onto the arena floor. Gary held up his hands in defeat as Freya backed off and held her lance by her side.
"Sir Gary has been disarmed. Lady Freya is the victor." The King announced.
There was a polite round of applause for the victory from the Dragon Knights as Fratley gave a little cheer. Frato clapped, but he was cursing quietly to himself. Gary shook Freya's hand to congratulate her before picking up his lance. The two went to the back of the arena to disarm themselves before rejoining the crowd. As Freya joined the crowd, she heard Fratley's voice once again.
"Well done, Freya."
Disclaimer: This writing is my original writing, so it is mine. The characters were taken from Squaresoft (or Square-Enix) so therefore I have no right to own them. Frato is my main original character, and is mine under all circumstances except the part that says he is half-Burmecian.
Author's Rant and Replies (so listen up): I am so sorry that I have taken roughly two weeks to update, but I have been away on holiday for two weeks and when I came back went berserk. (No log-ins!!!) The updates from now on should be much quicker. Also, essays are now accepted by all, just as long they don't piss me off.
Lollip0pstick: Woohoo! New reader! Please remain loyal! Just make sure you brush up on your spelling and grammar before making an essay though.
Breeze of Summoners: I see... anger got the better of you. Maybe now I see why you write so many violent scenes in your stories. Muesli is a cereal consisting of mixed nuts and fruit and isn't that popular in America from what I hear. It's quite common in the U.K. though. I hate writing conversation scenes that are too long and bland and they don't entertain. I devised a chapter plan on my holiday so chapters should be more action-filled.
The general theory is: Frato Freya – Fratley = Chaos.
As for Redwind, he lost his temper with Frato. And seeing as Frato is an arrogant moron I don't blame him. Goodbye!