Chapter 11

Gods, was this kid annoying. Somehow Cain had managed to find them twice, and kept pestering them on and on... Finally, one day- the day before Matthew was supposed to leave- Legault had all but given up. But this time, both he and Leila were ready to kill him. Legault finally turned around. "You know what, kid? Fine. I'll give him a chance. It's better than having to run from you each and every day."

"And, I bet you'll find that-" Cain had been going on for a hot minute, and was ready to keep going on and on. He was getting more and more desperate the closer it got to the day Matthew was to leave; he had less than 24 hours left to convince Legault to give him a chance. In fact, it almost actually surprised him when Legault whirled around and finally agreed. "Oh, really? Awesome!" Cain grinned. "Okay, uh, you just wait right here. No! I'll send him to meet you in the courtyard. Just- just hang on." He was already backing away as he spoke, gesturing vaguely with his hands. It was hard enough to find Legault and Leila the first time, but twice in a matter of hours? Now that was just about impossible.

Legault snickered, and Leila groaned. What a waste of time. "I'll give you five minutes to be at the courtyard, and that's it," he said to Cain as the other turned to leave.

"He'll be there in two minutes flat," Cain insisted, and then whirled around. It wasn't Matthew they'd be waiting on... truthfully, he wasn't sure he could even make it to Matthew's room in two minutes. He tried anyway.

"Matthew!" Cain practically kicked the door down as he burst in the room, breathing heavily. "You- training- courtyard- now!" He gasped, out of breath from sprinting all the way there. The excitement in his eyes showed it wasn't an emergency, but rather an opportunity, and he practically dragged Matthew towards the door.

"Wh-Whoa!" Matthew exclaimed as Cain suddenly started dragging him out of the room. "Training? What?" Who would want to train him? Didn't every instructor say no? Whatever the reason, Cain seemed like he was in a hurry...

Well, he wasn't sure what he was really expecting, but this wasn't it. Next thing Matthew knew, some man was inspecting him out in the middle of the courtyard as Cain and a girl stood off to the side. Matthew could do nothing but stand there uneasily.
Legault clicked his tongue as he examined Matthew physically; outwardly, he didn't look like much at all. A little scrawny, kinda small... The way Cain talked about him, he had been expecting... more. Still, Legault knew better than to judge by appearances. Eventually he stepped away from Matthew and put a hand on his chin. "Hm..." He mused aloud. "I'll tell you what. If you can beat my top student in a fight, then I'll take you in."
The challenge caught Matthew off guard. Fight someone who was more trained than him.. and win? Before he could open up his mouth to protest, Legault smiled. "If I recall correctly, your friend here claimed you could kick her butt halfway across the courtyard." Matthew sent a glare in Cain's direction.

Cain stood off to the side, staring at Matthew proudly with his arms crossed over his chest. As Legault brought up what he'd said, his proud expression changed to one of sheepishness, and he waved guiltily as Matthew glared at him. Well, he had said that... "Heh... Do your best, snowbunny!" Oops. Probably shouldn't have said that embarrassing nickname right in front of Matthew's soon-to-be new instructor. "I mean... Kick some ass!" There. That sounded tougher.

Matthew suppressed a sigh as Cain called out his loving nickname. Great. Now he was about to get his ass kicked by someone he didn't even know, but they both now knew his nickname. What a last day in Ostia...
Leila smirked where she stood, next to Cain. It was obvious Matthew was both nervous and undertrained. He didn't stand a chance. At least now she could get rid of her frustration by three days being pestered for this. She moved over in front of Matthew, taking a few practice daggers from Legault.
Matthew took some as well. Throwing knives? He had never used these! What had Cain gotten him into? They moved out on the field, both Legault and Cain giving the two room.
As soon as the battle started, Leila kept her body low to the ground, legs moving fast as she charged at her opponent. Matthew, a bit overwhelmed by her speed, held up one knife in a defensive position as he was taught in knight training. This worked, but only for a second; the knives clashed before Leila dashed to the right, and, before Matthew could even react, kicked out and swept the teen's legs out from under him, and he fell. It was over hardly in thirty seconds.

Cain watched in excitement, but his grin soon faded as he saw Matthew getting his ass kicked. The moves that they'd learned in knight training wouldn't be of much use against someone like Leila... "C'mon, Matthew! Adapt!" He cheered from the sidelines, though it was too late really for the teen to do anything; Cain flinched as Matthew crashed to the ground. "Go again!" He insisted, refusing to let Legault stop them there.

"Oof..." Matthew grunted out as he hit the ground; he was getting real tired of getting knocked to the ground by everyone he fought against. As he got to his feet, Legault spoke up. "It's obvious you can't even use the skills a knight can, so why bother using them in this?" It was a bit hurtful, but helpful advice. Well, if he didn't use what he learned in knight training, then what? He felt a little bit at a loss as he stood up once more, and he two positioned for a second round. When Leila charged at him again, he used his knife to block her once more; the same trick wouldn't work on him twice. She was well trained, but not perfect, and she faltered for a second enough to let Matthew get a strike in. It didn't knock her down, and a quick retaliation got Matthew down once more. "Dammit," the teen grunted.

It went on like this for a little while. They went a few more rounds, and each one, though they got progressively a bit longer, Matthew was still the one who ended up in the snow. After about the fourth round which Matthew had almost won, Legault spoke up. "Alright. I've seen all I want."
Matthew got up from the snow once more, panting lightly. He hadn't been able to keep Legault's deal; he didn't win.

Cain was cheering on from the sidelines; truth be told, he was impressed by both of them, and his eyes seemed to shine as he watched Matthew adapt and fight in this different style. Yes... this was definitely the training they'd been looking for! He yelled for another round, seeing how close Matthew had gotten, but Legault stopped them before another match could take place. "W-wait a minute! Let them go again!" The deal was that Matthew would have to beat Leila, and he hadn't quite done that yet.

"I've seen all I want to," Legault simply replied back before he motioned Leila to come over towards him. When Matthew returned the practice knives, Legault turned to look at him. "You're pretty quick on your feet, kid." It wasn't a lie; he was surprised to see someone keep up with Leila. He'd think about it. The man slowly turned to leave without giving a definitive answer.

Cain frowned as Legault refused another round, but he bounced on his feet eagerly when the instructor approached Matthew... and said only a few words. What was his decision!? "Wait, where are you going?" Cain cast a desperate glance towards Matthew, then chased after Legault. "If you don't say something to Oswin soon, Matthew will be gone by morning."

"Oswin's already made his decision, there's nothing I can say to him to change his mind. I gave you my time as we promised, now I expect you to keep your end and quit nagging us everyday," Legault sent a strong glare towards Cain, before he continued walking off. There was something about him now that said he definitely did not want to be bothered...
"But-" Cain started to protest again, but the glare made him go silent. If Matthew left, there wouldn't be a need to go nagging every day... It looked like he'd lost his bet.