AN: Here is the next chapter of Shunned one. Sorry for taking so long, had trouble gewtting bete reader, until Cassidy Water Sage took up the job. Thnak again for the help Cassidy!
Wouldl ike thank the follwoing people for reviewing the last chapter: hisokauzumaki, ladygoddess8, sarahb, DayDreamer9, Lily887787, GuyverZero, Andivari, human kitsune hero, Heart of the Demons, fergnerd, BlackRoseFire, The Crazy Talk Kid, Darev, Darkness-Lightness, lost prince, Starwin, Nelo Akuma, yellow 14
000
Arc 2: Return of the Exiled Prince
Chapter 3: The Youth Games Begins
The final days of Will's training were intense. Susan had Will run laps, doing sword drill, spars and mystic training until the poor redhead was on the verge of collapse.
The good news: there was little chance Will was not ready for the games. Her skill and physical conditioning was much better now, though Susan made sure to remind Will that her winning the Labyrinth was questionable, when her opponents had a much longer preparation time then her.
This was what Susan was lecturing Will on; as they rode in the carriage to the where the games would take place. Kor or as he was known as in his current form, 'Huggles', was on Will's lap, listening to this lecture as well.
"Now remember Will, don't let yourself get over confident. You have improved far more quickly then many would have in such situations, but you're far from being the strongest around. At best, you on par with anyone you will be fighting. Also, make sure you do not tell ANYONE about Kor. He won't with you in the Labyrinth anyway, so no point bragging you have such a powerful partner," Susan told her daughter, who looked like she was trying to listen, but was failing miserably.
"Susan, your daughter has had this a thousand times already. I know you want to make sure you drilled this knowledge into her head, but I think you are overdoing it," Serenity commented, who was in her elvin form and sitting next to Susan in the carriage.
Susan let out a sigh upon hearing and said in an apologetic tone, "You're probably right, Serenity. I'm just worried about this being Will's first Youth Games. Between being considered a 'top contender' by being the one to kill Tony and also already having several noble families targeting her, I want to make sure Will stays safe."
"Mom, I'll be fine. You yourself said there are special spells in place inside the labyrinth to prevent anything serious from happening, and until that event comes up, I'll be with you, Kor and Serenity," Will told her mother, hoping to settle the dark haired woman's concerns.
Will's words seemed to help Susan a tiny bit, but a mother tends to worry about anything that concerns the child. The fact Will had enemies at such a young age only made this common parental habit much stronger then the norm.
The rest of the trip to the location of the Youth Games was quiet and short. The whole area was already filled with both spectators and those competing in the games.
As Will (with Kor/Huggles on her shoulder), Susan and Serenity got out of the carriage, Elyon came running up to them.
"There you are Will! Sign ups are almost closed! You need to hurry if you want to join any of the competitions, let alone the Labyrinth!" Elyon called out as they got close.
Will looked confused at this, since her mother had told her that signs ups had already been taken care of. The redhead looked to the older woman for clarification, who was looking a bit concerned.
"Elyon, your mother said she had taken care of having Will signed up for the final event. She should be at the top of the list. Are you sure you did not miss it? The sign up lists can get pretty long after all," Susan asked, hoping this was just a minor mix up.
Elyon shook her head no and replied, "I checked the whole list for the Labyrinth event, and Will's name is no where on it. I tried to find my mother and ask her about it, but with I can't find her. With the games about to start, she's all over the place!"
This made both Vandom women look very worried and knew they had to get to the signup stand as soon as possible.
"Elyon, let me and Will deal with this. You just worry about your own events," Susan told the young princess and then quickly headed off to the signup stand, with Will, Serenity and Kor/Huggles following close behind.
000
At the signup stand, things were just about close down when Susan and Will arrived. To Susan's great annoyance, McDohl was apparently the one in charge of registrations this year.
'This would explain why Will's name was not the signup sheet when Elyon checked it,' Susan thought bitterly.
Her beliefs that McDohl had sabotaged Will was only strengthened when he grinned evilly at Susan and said, "I'm sorry, Lady Vandom, but signups have just closed. I guess your daughter will have to wait until next year to compete."
Susan resisted the urge to shove a Lightning Blade through the man's chest, as she replied in a polite tone of voice, "We are not here to sign up. We are here to check the list. Sade said she had signed Will up for her contest already, but we just wanted to make sure."
To bad for Susan and Will, McDohl was not going to be so obliging and said, "I'm afraid not, Lady Vandom. That would be against the rules after the signups have closed. One might think you were trying to sneak you're daughter's name onto the list during the check, after all."
The lord of Traders Central was clearly too pleased to inform them of this for Susan's liking. She was about exercise a little of her Royal Knight status, when a familiar voice asked, "What seems to be the trouble, Susan?"
Susan, Will and Lord McDohl looked over to see Sade approaching the stand. McDohl was looking a bit nervous now, while Susan was thanking all the known gods for this little miracle. Things would get sorted out now, with the Sade now present.
"Nothing to worry about, Sade. Just making sure Will was signed up for the Labyrinth after Elyon said she did not see Will's name on the list. I know you put it on already, and Elyon must have just missed it by mistake, but we wanted to be sure," Susan replied to the queen of Meridian in calm tone of voice, but Sade knew what Susan was implying.
Not letting on she caught onto Susan's silent accusation, Sade said in a reasonable tone of voice, "Then let's settle your concerns, then, Susan. I assure you, I wrote Will's name on the first page before brining all the sign up books here myself. We'll just take a look at it and this matter."
With that, Sade gestured for McDohl to hand her the signup book of the Labyrinth event, which he did uneasily, and Sade opened up the book to find Will's name missing from where it should be and the name of McDohl's granddaughter Alchemy's name, conveniently in its place.
Sade looked over to McDohl and asked in a dark tone of voice, "Care to tell me why Will's name is missing? I know for sure I wrote it in here…unless you wish to call me a liar."
McDohl frantically shook his head and exclaimed, "N-No, your highness. I'm certain you are telling the truth. I have no idea how Lady Wilhelmina's name has been removed, but I was certainly looking it the matter at once."
"See that you do, Lord McDohl. If not for the fact that, that sweet girl you call a granddaughter would be upset to find out she is not in the biggest event of the games. I would remove her name as punishment for this occurrence. Make sure it does not happen again, or I won't be so lenient next time," Sade stated coldly and then added Will's name for a second time.
After that was done, Sade left with the two Vandom women and Serenity, while McDohl cursed his bad luck. He had been so close getting that filth out of the games, but then the Queen had to show up.
'Maybe I'll get lucky, and Alchemy will deal a humiliating defeat to the freak in the Labyrinth. If only that girl was not so nice toward those abominations that we call the half-elves,' McDohl thought angrily, before taking the all the signup books to the people would need them to set of the tournaments for the games.
000
Meanwhile, with the three women who were leaving the signup stand, Will asked in a curious tone, "Whose McDohl's granddaughter, and what's she like? I knew he had one from what little I heard back in Traders Central, but never really heard names of any of his family members."
After taking a moment to see if she could detect any traces of Will desiring to hurt the girl in question (and finding none) Susan answered, "Can't recall her name off the top of my head, since McDohl's son and daughter in-law rarely come to public events, but from I hear, his granddaughter seems to the opposite of her grandfather."
Will was confused as to why the rest of Lord McDohl's family never came to public events, when she heard several voices calling her name. Will turned to see all her friends fast approaching her.
When they got close, Hay Lin asked in a concerned tone, "Did you sort out the problem at the signup booth?"
Will nodded her head and watched as looks of relief appear on all her friends' faces. "That's good to hear. It's no fun just watching others take part of the games while you get stuck on the sidelines," Irma said as the other others nodded their heads in agreement.
"Speaking of the games, who is taking part of what events before the Labyrinth? Still wish I had something to do between now and then, but a certain slave driver would not allow it," Will asked, while gesturing to her mother.
Susan rolled her eyes at this and lightly swatted Will in the back of the head. This caused the group to have shot laugh, before Caleb answered Will question, "Well, Irma, Matt, Nigel and myself are entering the melee tournament, and Taranee and Elyon are joining spell dual tournament. Hay Lin and Cornelia are doing the same as you and just taking part of the Labyrinth."
Will was surprised that Cornelia and Hay Lin were not taking part of the smaller events, but guessed both wanted to save all their new tricks for the final one. This was true to an extent, but not entirely.
Hay Lin chose only take part of the Labyrinth because it was the only event that allowed her to make full use of her skills. Training to use Rouge skills and illusion magic in combination was best meant for stealthily attacks, not head-to-head contests like the spell dual tournament.
Cornelia on the other hand, wanted to make sure Will did not get an idea on how training she had done over the last few months. If the blonde was going to impress Caleb by beating Will in the final contest, she would need every advantage she could get.
No one but Cornelia's mother knew this secret desire though, so there was no way for anyone to help prepare Will for the coming showdown between herself and the noble blooded Druid.
"What about Aldarn? Is he still with his people in the elvin lands or is not just taking part of the Youth Games?" Will asked, making Caleb shrug his shoulders in response.
"Not sure, have not seen him since the hunting trip. If Aldarn is here, he'll probably join the archery contest and the final event. Watch your back in the Labyrinth if he is in there, because Aldarn is a natural sniper and took out his fare share of opponents in the last Youth Games doing just that."
This made Will gulp loudly, knowing that archery was something Elves were famous for, and with Aldarn being a Ranger that focused on that, then he was probably just as silent as he was deadly.
"Well, no matter if he is here or not, you all should watch your backs anyway. The Labyrinth is the most grueling event for such reasons after all. Now, I think you should all get your waiting areas and prepare for the first events. They should be starting with in the hour," Sade told the group and they all head off, with the expectation of Hay Lin, who wanted to take a look at the dormouse on her shoulder.
"When did you get this little guy, Will? Is he your familiar?" the young illuminist asked, while scratching Huggles/Kor on the head. The transformed dragon hated this, but kept his peace while Will answered Hay Lin's question.
"His name is Huggles, and he is my familiar. I got about a month into my training, thought he was bit aggressive when I first met him," Will told Hay Lin, secretly smile at Kor's suffering. He laughed at Will while he watched Susan drive Will into the ground during the last few weeks of her training and the redhead found this as a bit of payback.
"He is so cute, though I'm glad I left my own familiar back home, or he might try and eat this little guy," Hay Lin commented while continued to focus all her attention on the rodent/dragon, not noticing the smirk on Susan, Serenity and Will's faces.
They knew what would happen if Hay Lin's cat tried to eat Kor, since he would just change back to his true form and turn the tables. Though they would have stop Kor before he actually did eat the poor thing or have very upset Hay Lin, if the gold dragon did eat the poor girl's familiar.
000
An hour later, Will, Susan and Serenity were sitting in the stand that looked over the arena that surrounded the melee tournament location. The melee and spell dual took place at the same time, so Will had to choose between seeing one or other and had picked to watch the one that had most of her friends involved.
Susan wanted to ask if it was really because most of her friends were in this one, or if it because Caleb was in it, but held her peace. She would tease Will when the redhead was closer to admitting her attraction to the boy.
The arena was split into ten smaller fighting areas, so to not take too long to hold the contest. Will watched as the first round combatants come out and was surprised to see Irma, Matt, Nigel, and Caleb were among them.
There were three others Will recognized as well, but they were not a welcome sight. Uriah and his two goons, Kurt and Clubber, were also in the first round. To make matters worse, Clubber was paired up against Irma and Kurt was up against Matt.
Will knew her friends were good, but was worried that Irma and Matt be in trouble. Both were very skilled, but lacked the fighting skill of pure combatants like Kurt and Clubber.
Uriah's two goons maybe slow in terms of thinking power, but they made up for it in brute strength as members of the Fighter class. They also had weapons and armor suited for that massive level of strength. Both wear full plate armor and Kurt carries a great axe, while Clubber wields a large war hammer. That was why many think Uriah befriended the two; they compensated for Uriah's weakness of multi classing into Fighter and Warmage classes, until he built up his skill level.
As if sensing her daughter's concerns, Susan put her hand on Will's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Will. Matt and Irma might lack their opponents' level in pure combat ability, but the difference is not that great. Plus, Matt and Irma have other skills to compensate."
Will smiled at her mother, but looked a little worried until she heard a familiar voice say, "You really need to put more faith in your friends, Red. They'll have those two idiots beat in no time!"
Will spun around to see Roy was just sitting down behind her, along with her other old friends, Zerase, Grizz and Belcoot. Roy had his lap filled with snacks and drinks, which many would think he was holding for the group, but were really just for him. How the half-elf Rouge put all that food down and still had the slime and agile build needed to be a Rouge boggled the mind of all those that knew him.
"What are you all doing…" Will started ask, but Roy pointed to the matches before them and said, "Shush, the fights are starting…Candy Dragon Corn?"
Susan let out a small laugh while Will stared dumbly at Roy, before taking a handful of the candy coated treat and turned around to watch all the fights, mainly Matt and Irma's, since Caleb and Nigel had easy looking opponents right now.
000
With Irma, Clubber was looking very smug, as he readied his massive hammer for battle. "So you are one of the half-breed's friends? Time for some payback for what she did in the cafeteria," the powerfully built boy mocked, just before he charged forward and swung his large hammer down at the Arcane Hunter before him.
But even though Clubber had in strength, Irma made up for in speed and agility. She dove out of the way of the large hammer and got behind Clubber. Her opponent was a bit off balance at the moment, so this left him wide open for Irma to thrust her weapon at his back.
Since all weapons used in the tournament had to have the merciful enchantment on them, it meant Irma could strike at points that would normally kill a person, but only hurt them, not end their life.
Too bad for Irma, Clubber's full plate was very strong and blocked the strike. That was why it was ideal for large, but slow fighters like Clubber. The armor was thick and strong, making it hard for it to be pierced.
'This is not good,' Irma thought, as Clubber regained his balance and grinned evilly at her.
"You can't win, country girl, and when I'm done with you, your redhead friend is next. Uriah said we are going to break every last bone her…" Clubber started say, in an attempt to anger Irma into making a mistake, but instead caused him to lose the match.
Irma swung one end of her double blades sword so fast, it would have sliced Clubber's head off if not for her merciful enchantment on the blades. Instead, the enchantment made Clubber pass out by send a surge of magic flowing through his nervous system. He probably did not even realize what had happened when his body crumbled to the ground.
"Never threaten my friends!" Irma growled at the unconscious body, while the one refereeing the match declared Irma the winner.
000
With Matt, he was squaring off with Kurt. He was having a harder time then Irma, since all his physical abilities were good, but his main strength was that they were all well balanced, instead of excelling in any one area.
This meant that despite being more agile then Kurt, he was not able to make the stronger boy lose his balance and leave Kurt open to attack.
'I really need to consider increasing my speed training when the games are over,' Matt thought bitterly, as he tried to keep out of the way of the great axe Kurt was swinging at him.
"You can't dodge me forever, Olsen. I will win this match!" Kurt stated confidently and got ready to attack Matt again, when the young Bard quickly said, "Your shoes are untied!"
Kurt stopped and looked down, thinking they were, completely forgetting he was wearing armor plated boots that did not name laces of any kind. This left the stupid boy wide open to Matt's attempt to knock him out by, using the flat of his sword.
The blow struck dead on, but all it did was daze Kurt for a moment and look at Matt angrily. "That hurt!" Kurt growled out and got ready to slice Matt in half, when the Bard tried his trick again.
"Look! Your mom has brownies waiting for you over there!" Matt exclaimed and point to a spot behind Kurt.
"Really?!" Kurt said excitedly and the idiot turned around and left Matt with another opening to whack Kurt over the head.
This time though, Matt's sword shattered over Kurt thick skull and made Matt wonder what was Kurt's head made out, while of the now furious boy drop his axe and get ready to beat the snot out of Matt Olsen with his bare fists.
Matt was very scared now until he saw something else happening in Uriah's match and shouted out, "Duck!"
"Like I'm that du…" Kurt started to say, when the mace of Uriah's opponent collided with the back of Kurt's head. The mace slipped out of the owner's hand, which made it wined up hitting Kurt by accident.
This caused the one larger boy to finally get knocked out cold, much to Matt's annoyance. "I do that hitting purpose and he stays standing, but he gets knocked out by a random event?" Matt grumbled, while the referee of his match was talking with a few the other officials about what happened.
After five minutes of discussion, the declared Matt the winner, since Matt was still standing, while Kurt was not. It was less hassle then waiting for the idiot to wakeup and start the match over.
000
Caleb, Nigel and even Uriah had less eventful matches (despite his opponent losing he weapon and knocking out Kurt) and won with ease. The other matches went equally as smoothly for all of them until the last match before the semi-finals could begin.
Irma was now up against Nigel to see who would be up against Matt in their half the semi finals. Caleb would have the honor of pummeling Uriah, but the two combatants knew that did not matter if they could find him in the Labyrinth later, where they could do things to him that this tournament would not permit.
"So, Nigel, ready to see who the better double weapon user is?" Irma asked with a smirk, as she got her double bladed sword ready, while Nigel did the same with his Orc double axe.
"Oh, I'm ready, alright. Have to warn you though, I have been saving my little trick up until now. If you do happen to be as tough as I think you'll be, I might just have to use it," Nigel replied, clearly referring his Barbarian Rage.
Irma knew if Nigel used that, it would leave him winded and drained when it ended, assuming she could outlast the Rage. It was a powerful ability, and it would probably finish her before he ran out of steam.
'I have to beat Nigel before he uses his Rage; it's the only way to win against him,' Irma mentally concluded and waited for the ref to signal the start of the match.
When he did, both friends/opponents charged one another. Their double weapons were a blur of motion, both fighters making full use of both ends of their weapon of choice.
Both the Arcane Hunter and Barbarian were looking pretty even, as they slashed, parried and thrust at one another, but that was only because Nigel had yet to use his trump card.
After few minutes of being a dead lock for supremacy though, Nigel decided it was time to end the match. He suddenly had a wild and furious looking his eyes that made Irma think one thing before the next wave of attacks began, 'This is going to be painful.'
Nigel then charged forward and struck with such force, he shattered the blade on the right end of Irma's double bladed sword. The flurry of strikes kept coming after this, though, so the Arcane Hunter did not have time to worry about the damaged end of her weapon.
It did not take long for the endless assault to wear Irma down and by the time Nigel's rage ran out of steam, Irma had been disarmed and had an axe blade at her throat.
"This is…where you…give up…Irma," Nigel panted out, not noticing Irma's hand reaching for the dagger in her belt.
"I think not, Nigel. You forget I'm a rouge, as well as an Arcane Hunter?" Irma asked with a smirk and moved to strike Nigel while he was off guard. The one problem with this was he was not taken by surprise after all.
The young Barbarian caught Irma's hand before the dagger could strike and left the girl with any other attack options and forced to concede defeat.
"Good match, Irma. We'll have to have round two in the Labyrinth, where you can fight in the style you do best," Nigel said as he patted Irma on the shoulder, while they walked over to the sidelines to watch Caleb and Uriah's match.
"Yeah, even with my training as a Ranger, it's hard to keep up with you. Bet Taranee will be glad to hear you won…and mad I almost cheap shooted you," Irma said, adding a small joke at the end.
"Ah, don't worry about, she'll understand. Besides, you can dodge at least most of her spells," Nigel joked back, while Irma mocked shuddered a bit at the thought.
They both then sat down next to Matt on a bench and waited to see how badly Caleb was going pummel the orange headed boy for what he had done to Will at both the spell dual and her birthday party.
Matt were wishing it was him who got a crack at Uriah, but he knew that, in the long run, was more important he beat Caleb, instead of the one who had tormented Will.
'Uriah will pay soon enough; right now I need to impress Will by defeating Caleb. I just need to get past Nigel to do that. If Caleb beats Uriah quickly enough, Nigel won't have enough time to recover his last rage. That will prevent him from using it again and give me an advantage in our match,' Matt concluded in his mind, making sure to carefully plan his fighting strategy for the final matches.
000
"So, Caleb, ready to be shown who the better warrior is?" Uriah said in a smug tone, believing he could defeat the determined warrior before him.
"Anyone with a brain would know that will never be you, Uriah. Consider this match only a taste of the pain you are going to experiences by the time the games are over. You got a lot of people who want a crack at you for what you have done," Caleb said coldly, while getting into a fighting stance.
When the second the match began, Uriah charged forward and swung his blade in a downward arc at Caleb. Caleb blocked the attack though and countered with a slash of his own.
Uriah stepped back to avoid the counter, but was forced to focus on defense as Caleb kept up his assault.
The orange-headed boy had not expected such a furious series of attacks from the heir to the Russell family name. Uriah had been hoping the anger Caleb had for him would cloud Caleb's judgment and give Uriah the edge. This quickly being proven wrong!
'I can't keep up!' Uriah screamed in his mind, just as Caleb knocked Uriah's sword from his hand. Caleb moved in to strike at Uriah until he passed out from sword strikes, but Uriah managed dive out of the way in time.
Caleb pursued his target though and kept Uriah on the retreat so much, the head bully of Sheffield Academy could not even think of trying to retrieve his weapon. Even if he wanted, Uriah would have been defeated before he could try to use it.
Eventually Caleb finally managed to get his hands on Uriah and was about to start slashing away, when Uriah called out, "I give up!"
The orange haired boy knew it was only hope of saving himself a world of pain, since victory was determined by a person giving up, getting knocked out or being knocked out of the fighting area.
Anyone could tell Caleb was clearly focused on winning by hacking away at Uriah until he passed out, so Uriah decided to avoid that and gave Caleb the victory. Uriah knew he could get even in the Labyrinth if he found Caleb in that complex maze.
As the referee made Caleb's win official, the young warrior was tempted to just beat Uriah to a pulp anyway. But since that would only bring shame upon his family name, Caleb suppressed those urges and went to watch Matt and Nigel upcoming match from the sidelines.
000
Back in the stands, a certain elf and half-elf were very happy for Caleb's victory. Neither of them liked Uriah for obvious reasons and were glad Caleb could so soundly defeat him in front the whole kingdom.
"Well, that was interesting match. That Russell kid had his opponent literally on the run for most of the time," Belcoot commented, though he and the rest of his group were glad to see Uriah beaten.
News of Uriah and Will's spell dual and the final events of Will's birthday were wide spread knowledge and did make the four adventurers not like the only heir to the Dunn family name. If it were possible for them to do so, Roy, Belcoot and Grizz would have joined the melee contest just to get a shot at the spoiled brat.
"Caleb is a good friend of Will's, as are Irma, Matt and Nigel. Had Uriah faced anyone of them, you would have seen the same anger directed toward him," Susan told Belcoot, which made Caleb get even more respected from the four adventurers. Anyone who fought for Will with such intensity had their full support.
This did not stop Roy from having fun at Will's expense though and leaned over and asked Will, "So, Will, should Zerase be giving you 'the talk' while the rest of us ask what this boy's intentions are?"
This made Will turn a deeper shade of red then Roy or anyone one else apart of the adventuring had been expecting, making them realize a few things about Will and her feelings towards this boy.
Of course, that did not mean Zerase was not going hit Roy over the head with her staff for his stupid question, then made him shut up and watch the finals of the melee contest.
000
Both Matt and Nigel step forward to begin their match. Matt was feeling relieved that Nigel did not look back up to full strength yet from his late rage. If the young Barbarian was able used it against him, Matt would have even less chance then Irma did to win.
Unknown to Matt, Nigel would not have used his rage, even if he had recovered. Using the rage in the semi finals would leave him winded again and too weak to face Caleb. To win the entire contest, Nigel would have needed to win this match without his special ability.
"And…begin!" the referee said and allowed the two boys to fight.
Even with Nigel still a little tired, Matt was having trouble in this match. Nigel was much faster and stronger then the noble blooded Bard, putting Matt in a tough spot.
The fact that Nigel had a double-ended weapon made things even worse. It meant Nigel got a few more attacks in then Matt could with a long sword.
"You have done well to get this far, Matt, but it looks like it's going to be me and Caleb in the finals," Nigel said with a grin, as he and Matt locked blades for moment.
"Don't be so quick to count me out, Nigel. I have not lost yet!" Matt countered and broke away and tried to thrust his blade at Nigel's chest. Nigel dodged it though and kicked Matt in the stomach, knocking him to the ground.
Nigel then lifted one end of his Orc Double Axe to finish the match with one final strike. All those watching were certain this was the end for the young bard in this part of the competition, but Matt quickly proved those thoughts wrong.
'I won't lose! I must be the one to fight Caleb in the final match!' Matt yelled in his mind, just before he slammed his foot into Nigel's knee, making the young Barbarian wobble a bit as he tried to regain his balance.
This gave Matt time to get back to his feet and swing his blade in a downward slash at his opponent.
Nigel brought the center of the long shaft of his weapon to block the blow just in time, but did not expect what Matt was going to do as a follow up. Matt pushed forward with all his might and caused Nigel to stumble backwards, both falling to the ground and losing his axe in the process.
Matt quickly pointed his sword at Nigel's chest and said with a confident tone, "I believed I just won."
Nigel had to agree Matt was right, though he was glad Taranee was not here to see him get beaten by a Bard, even if it was Matt.
'There is also the fact that Matt acted like he did not just want to win the match. It was more like he needed to win. But Caleb has already beaten Uriah, so why would Matt…uh-oh. Is Matt going to…this is going to get ugly either now or in the Labyrinth.' Nigel thought as he got up and got ready to see just the first of many battles Matt and Caleb would have over the next few years.
000
Back in the stands, Susan, Serenity, Kor and Will's four old friends noticed that Matt's strong desire to win. For Susan, Serenity and Kor, she knew it was Matt's belief he needed to face Caleb and defeat him, so to gain more attention from Will and hopefully lose some interest in Caleb.
Will's old friends, on the other hand, were baffled Matt's fighting intensity, since they lacked the same amount of knowledge as the other three.
Will was the only completely ignorant of what was going on. She saw Matt's efforts as simply trying to show his skill to all those watching, like everyone else was doing. Despite her growing skills, Will was still a bit naïve due to her age and did not see this was more then a simple desire to do one's best.
'Wonder who will win? Caleb is trying to balance martial skill and magic, but Matt managed to beat Nigel, so things should be pretty even,' Will concluded mentally, while waiting for the final match to begin.
000
"Was not expecting you to make it this far, Matt. You really put a lot of training in for this years games, haven't you?" Caleb asked in a friendly tone, as he and Matt stepped forward to begin their match.
"You have no idea," Matt responded in friendly tone as well, but Caleb also noted a hint of seriousness to it. The young Fighter/Warmage brushed this off as Matt keeping his head in the game so to win the final match.
Caleb still mentally prepared himself as a precaution, but did not think Matt would come at him with too much force. Caleb did not know how wrong he was.
The moment the referee signaled the match to begin, Matt charged Caleb with everything he got. The force of his opening series of blows had Caleb on the defensive and it did not look he was going to turn the tables anytime soon.
000
Will was in a mix of awe and fright as the spectacle in the arena below. Matt's current display was impressive, but his ferocity was well beyond what she expected from the future head of the Olsen family.
"Looks like we got here just in time for the last fight," Will heard Sade's voice say, and Will looked to see a very tired looking Elyon and Taranee being helped by their families and Hay Lin's and Cornelia's families, to sit in the stands.
"How did the Spell Dual tournament go?" Susan asked, as she glanced away from Caleb and Matt's match for a moment.
"It came down to Elyon and Taranee for the winner, but Taranee had to forfeit. Her reserves of magic were too low to stand a fair chance against Elyon," Sade replied, sounding proud to claim her daughter was the winner of the Spell Dual at her first time taking part of the Youth Games.
Those who knew the two were glad to hear they both got so far on their first time in the games. Elyon was a bit expected to come out high in the ranking though, since she had magic reserves for both Arcane and Divine magic, giving her a good advantage stamina wise for spell casting. It allowed her to keep going where others would have run out of magic a lot sooner.
"So how did Irma and Nigel do before they got eliminated?" Hay Lin asked, wondering who beat the two warriors.
"Nigel and Irma were doing well until they faced off against one another. It was pretty even for them until Nigel used his Barbarian Rage to tip the scales. From what I can tell, that was what weakened him for his next match and allowed Matt to defeat him the semi-finals," Susan explained, noting a small scowl on Theresa Cooks face at the mentioning of Nigel using his rage.
"He should have been disqualified using that disgusting ability," the Paladin stated, getting a wave of cold glares from many of those present.
"Theresa, you said you would start being fairer to the boy. He is, after all, the one the guild had paired Taranee with to be her warrior companion," Taranee's father, Lionel Cook, told his wife, though he was one of the few that were not glaring coldly at her.
Lionel accepted Theresa's beliefs, but he did not support them. He often tried to convince his wife that Nigel was good kid; he just lived a different way then her. Of course, trying to convince a Paladin to accept a Barbarian was often like getting a gold and red dragon to get along.
There were many acceptations to this among adventuring groups for the two classes to get along and even been good friends. But for city based Paladins like Theresa, it was almost unheard of.
"How about we just watch the match and talk later?" Sade suggested, not wanting to start a small-scale war between Theresa Cook and those present.
Everyone, especially two certain girls, one having blonde and the other having red hair interested in following the Queen's advice. Both wanted to see how their mutual crush did in this final battle and see if he could win against the very determined Matt.
000
Back at the battle to see who the greater swordsman was, Caleb had finally managed to start counter attacking Matt and now the two were looking pretty even. Caleb's bastard sword clashed against Matt's long sword, both trying to gain the upper hand, but neither boy was giving the other an inch of ground.
"You are not fighting like you usually do, Matt. What's up?" Caleb asked so quietly, only Matt could here it. Caleb did not want the referee over hearing the conversation, since this was just between them.
"Do you expect me to believe you don't already know? This is about Will!" Matt hissed back, shocking Caleb so much, he barely blocked Matt's next attack in time.
After both boys exchanged attacks for a few moments, their blades locked again and Caleb asked, "What do you mean this is about Will?"
This only made Matt look a bit angrier and respond in a low growl, "We both have shown an interest in her, and I'll prove I'm the one who she should choose!" With that Matt pulled away and started brutal series of sword slashes at Caleb.
Caleb was able to fend off this assault, while he thought over Matt's words. They were like a slap to the face for the young Fighter/Warmage and made him realize something; he did like the redhead in that way.
Back when he and his father talked about it during the hunting trip and during Will's party when he and Matt both tried to be the one to dance with her, Caleb did not realize these feeling. But he did now, and unfortunately for Matt, this meant Caleb now had equal reason to win this fight.
With loud battle cry, Caleb launched his own assault and now sparks formed in the air as both blades clashed again one another.
000
Back in the stands, but far away from Will and the other were sitting, was Julian, Abele and the Olsen family were watching the fight and were quickly growing concerned.
"What's gotten into the two of them? I have seen them spar before and they never acted like this," Matt's father asked, while his wife looked horrified at how furiously her son was battling one of his own friends.
Both Julian and Abele knew what was going on though, but before they could explain the situation, Matt's grandfather spoke up. "I believe they have both come to a realization about girls. To be precise, a certain redheaded Vandom who we all know.
The two Russells should have known the old man would see what the cause of the battle was. Ted Olsen was a very observant man and probably realized that both boys liked Will from how they acted at Will's party.
Matt's father and mother on the other hand, had been taken back by this information. After a few moment of absorbing this new found knowledge, they came to a conclusion. They needed to hope Matt succeeded winning Will's heart.
They had nothing against Caleb and admit he was equally worthy, but they liked the girl and would not mind having her part of their family. There were also political gains to be considered as well, since Will marrying into the Olsen family would greatly help their goals of to improve the treatment of Will's race in the kingdom.
The Olsens needed a catalyst for such things and for Will to be Matt's wife could certainly provide that.
'Of course, the key factor that both boys have yet to realize, is that they need to do more then pummel each other to impress Will. Also, how does Will feel towards either of them? Susan is likely having Will choose who she wishes to marry when she grows older, instead of arranging a marriage, so how do we get Will to gain feelings for Matt?' Matt's father wondered, knowing his own wife was probably having the same thoughts.
Matt's grandfather and Caleb's parents could tell what the two Olsens were thinking and knew this was very bad. The Russells wanted Will to choose Caleb. The Olsens wanted Will to choose Matt. And the deciding factor was the girl in question. This was going to get worse before it got better, that was for sure.
000
Meanwhile, Matt and Caleb's match continued. The non-stop combat at such an intense level was starting to drain the two boys and was now breathing rather heavily. This did not weaken either's ones resolve though, and both kept trying make their bodies go the extra mile in the battle for Will's attention.
Matt, knowing he needed to start attacking in less common way if he was to win, jumped into the air and flipped over Caleb. While in the air, Matt continued attacking Caleb, but the brown haired boy kept up his defense until Matt was back on the ground.
When Matt touch down though, he swung his blade in an upward arc, but Caleb stepped back to avoid it.
Caleb then stepped forward once again and sent his foot connecting with Matt's chin. This caused Matt to stumble onto his back, while Caleb jumped in the air and was aiming to slam his sword straight down at Matt.
Matt managed to roll out of the way in time to avoid the strike that would have ended the match though and countered by swinging his own blade at Caleb's legs.
Now it was Caleb's turn to dodge, as he jumped into the air to avoid the attack. When his feet touched the ground again, Caleb lunged forward at Matt with a thrust of his sword, which Matt did as well.
If not for the merciful enchantment on their weapons, the two boys would have been killed in this maneuver, but like what happened in many other matches before this one, both Matt and Caleb passed out instead.
000
A few hours later, Caleb woke up the medical tent, with his parenting sitting next to the cot he had been sleeping in.
"Good to see you awake, Caleb. You and Matt had a lot of people worried after your match; it was like you two were possessed!" Abele told her son. She, of course, already knew why the two boys acted they way they did, but to get Caleb to admit to anyone she needed to play ignorant.
If she or Julian admitted they knew of Caleb's growing attraction to Will, he would deny it and it would make it harder to convince Caleb of more civilized methods of getting Will's attention.
The last thing both families wanted was a small war break between their sons. This made the Russells and the Olsens make a silent agreement, get the boys to romantically pursue Will, not beat each other to a pulp!
At the moment though, Caleb's concerns were not explaining what happened in the fight. He was more concerned on who won, which was made clear when he looked at his father and asked that very question.
Both of Caleb's parents hid their sighs of annoyance, while Julian answered, "It was a draw. After all things were considered by the judges, the gold metal was awarded to both of you. Nigel was given silver and Uriah was given bronze by default."
Caleb looked a bit angered at this, mainly at himself for allowing Matt to get blow in as well and vowed to make up for his mistake in the Labyrinth.
Seeing this made both Abele and Julian assume now was not a good time try and talk to Caleb about what had happened and led him the meal tent, since it was getting close to dinner time.
000
In the meal tent, Will, her friends and the families were sitting down to eat. Taranee and Elyon told recaps of the matches in their own tournament and everyone one was annoyed to hear the Grumper sisters did not take part of it.
It was unsure if it was because they feared facing off against Elyon and her Gifted powers or Taranee, who Will just found out was offered membership into the Arcane Order, an elite guild for Wizards. It explained what Taranee's father had said earlier about Nigel being chosen by some guild to be her warrior companion.
"I still can't believe you got offered membership, Taranee. I'm not an expert on guilds, but I heard that is one of the best ones. Why did they make Nigel your warrior companion? What ever that is," Will asked, since she never heard of someone being called that before.
"It's a new idea the guild and Nigel's Barbarian clan came up with, since most times magic users like me are weak at close combat. It especially helps members of the guild to travel to find lost and ancient magic, since they have someone watching their backs," Taranee explained, looking very happy to be allowed near Nigel and her mother could do nothing about it.
The others were happy for the dark skinned wizard, though they could tell Theresa Cook was less then happy with the arrangement. The Paladin sat quietly eating, while Taranee explained everything, but Theresa did show signs of being bit annoyed.
The brooding Paladin did not spoil the overall happy mood, which for two certain girls got even better when Caleb entered the tent. Both Cornelia and Will resisted the urge to call out to Caleb to sit next to one of them, but for two different reasons.
Will did not want to embarrass Caleb or herself by acting so foolish, while Cornelia was trying to different approach to getting Caleb's attention. The blonde haired Druid had realized that Caleb was not responding to blunt shows of admiration, so she was trying a more subtle approach.
'If being quiet works for Will, then it will work even better for me. After all, that is the only thing that is different between us, besides that tomboy look of hers. There is no way I can fail to get Caleb's attention if I do the same,' Cornelia thought, but then grew annoyed when Caleb immediately sat next to Will when he reached the table.
Elizabeth noticed that and whispered to her daughter, "Just be patient, Cornelia. You have been coming on strong for years, so Caleb will not notice a more gentle approach right away. Just wait and I'm sure you'll hook Caleb eventually."
Cornelia felt better after hearing her mother's words, but she hated watching Caleb be so close to the one girl who might be able to beat her at getting Caleb's heart. Though she had no way of being certain, she had good feelings the redhead was connected to how both Caleb and Matt were acting earlier during the melee tournament.
'If that is true, perhaps if I help Matt get Will, then he can help me get Caleb. But how to get Will to lose interest in Caleb, that is the question,' Cornelia pondered, while she ate and tried to come up with a plan to approach Matt with.
000
Mean while, Matt was eating with his parents at another table, who were having bit more success with their son then Abele or Julian had with Caleb earlier.
"Matt, I know it's hard to understand, but the current methods you are using are not the key to getting Will to pick you over Caleb. True, looking like you are worthy through show of skill can help, but you need more then that. You need to use a more gentle approach," Matt's dad told his son, who was only paying half attention to these word as he watch Caleb sit next to Will.
Matt's father let out a sigh as watched where his son's gaze was aimed at, while Matt's mother took a shot and talking to her son.
"Matt, be very careful as what you do. Really on too much on displays on strength and you will scare off. The way you fought earlier scared many of those watching; That most likely included Will. You're a Bard, Matt; make use of your real strength. Use your charm her, not your fists," Matt's mother explained to her son and seemed to have through to him a bit.
"I guess that's true…but what about tomorrow? If I find Caleb in the Labyrinth, shouldn't I still try to finish what I started?" Matt asked, clearly not liking being tied for first place in the melee tournament.
"That you should, son, but be sure to not get out on control like you did in your last fight with Caleb. Fight smart, stay in control of yourself and use you more subtle abilities. Magic is allowed in the Labyrinth, after all, and you don't want get into a head on battle with Caleb when he can use his combat spells," Matt's father cautioned his son.
After that, the Olsens went back eating, knowing that for now, there was nothing else to discuss. But what the Olsen did not know was that this rematch would only be the first of many intense battles to be fought tomorrow.
Old enemies would be challenged, friends would fight one another and new friendships would be made. It was going to be a Youth Games to be remembered, that was for sure.
000
AN: And there you guys go, hope you enjoyed it. Cassidy is working editing on the next two chapters, so I should new updates very soon.