Clashed

Chapter Four

"Ugh!" I grunted.  Once again, Thrisiton had knocked me down in training, only this time with a kick to the jaw.  Thrisiton was the King's sword trainer and an old friend of mine.  

"Really, Elandriel," Thrisiton said as he walked over to help me up.  "Is that the best you can do?"

I rubbed my jaw from his kick and smiled.  I had forgotten Thrisiton's secret blow, his twist and kick.  He would get me in a spot where our blades were locked and once I bore all of my weight in the blade, he would use it against me.  He simply twisted our blades with my force and then delivered a hard kick to me.  He used to aim for my stomach, but now he seems to be less considerate, regardless of who the opponent is.

"Oh Thrisiton," I said standing up to face him, "You should know that I will not give in so easily."

I took a slash at him with my blade, but just as quickly as I retaliated, he countered my attack.  The fight was back on.  Just like in the past, Thrisiton and I countered each other's advances countless times before I had finally been able to disarm him.  I elbowed him in the gut and knocked his sword out of his hand.  I kicked his legs out from under him and pulled my dagger out of my belt.  I pressed it against his throat and smiled.  

"I had spoken too quickly," he smirked.  He let out a small gasp as I pressed the blade close enough to draw a few beads of blood from his throat.  I cocked my eyebrow at him and released him from my blade and let him up.  

Thrisiton rose and picked up his sword and sheathed the blade.  I wiped off the small beads of blood from my dagger and resheathed it.  Thrisiton and I stared at each for, panting a few moments and then we laughed together, like the old days.  

A few days after I had arrived in Mirkwood, King Thranduil had me train with Thrisiton.  Thrisiton was the most renowned swordfighter in all of Mirkwood. He had fought in the war for Middle Earth and the Battle of the Five Armies.  Thrisiton had long dark hair with two braids on each side of his head.  His eyes were a deep, mysterious blue and, like most elves in Middle Earth, had tall, sharp facial features.  His lips were full, but his top lip was thinner than his bottom and whenever he fought, it seemed as if his eyes were flickering like a cat's. 

When Thrisiton met me, he assumed I would not last very long in his training.  After three months, the pupil had almost surpassed the teacher.  I had learned his fighting style, how his swift and graceful body moved.  How his blades were an extension of his body, not just a weapon and I used it to my advantage.  I created my own fighting style based off his, but with my own moves.  Soon, I had finally beaten my teacher.  On that day, he was the proudest elf in all of Middle Earth and continued to be, even after my banishment.  Even after my return, he confessed that I was still his prized pupil.

"You never fail to impress me, dear Elandriel," Thrisiton said to me.

"It pleases me to hear that, Nil mellon," I replied with a smile. 

We walked together back into the main portion of the palace and talked about how I had lived among the race of men.  He asked how I had managed to continue my training and how I kept in shape with the withdrawal of elvish food.  I answered all of his questions with simple replies.

"When are you going to have your braids redone?" he asked after a moment of silence.  I had not had true braids in my hair since the day of my banishment.  Before my banishment, I had kept all of my hair braided back since it made it easier to fight in battle.  I had two reversed braids on the top portion of my head that met into one and went down the back of my head until the braid met the second set on the lower half of my head.  Then it turned into one solid, thick, connected double braid that traveled all the way to my waist.  Once I had been banished, I removed my braids and had not redone them since.