Percy was sitting cross-legged in the meditative position breathing deeply. He was garbed in his light, leather armor. He had no helmet, letting his messy black hair fall down his head. Percy breathed deeply as he gazed upon the two doors in front of him, leading to the arena.
While Percy might have looked composed outwardly, on the inside his mind was a whirlwind of different thoughts and emotions.
Was he ready for this? What if he lost? What if the Fire Lord ordered him to be killed?
And that's when a truly frightening thought cleared his mind.
What if the Fire Lord killed Paindao for harboring a waterbender?
Percy didn't have time to dwell on this thought as the gong rang signaling the moment Percy had been waiting for. He walked through the doors, momentarily blinded by the bright morning sun. The air was hot and humid, the sky was clear and Percy could see who he was fighting first. He almost burst out laughing at the irony of it. It was that soldier he had heard about the tournament from. His name was Lee or something.
"I guess this guy did get someone to sponsor him after all."
He was wearing standard firebender armor only without the white bone mask. Lee looked nervous until he saw his opponent. All Lee saw was some kid with a sword, he had never seen Percy fight and immediately dismissed him as some cocky nobleman's son or something.
Big mistake.
Percy unsheathed Riptide before stabbing it into the ground as he rubbed the dirt into his hands. It was a ritual for Percy, especially if he was nervous. Mentally engaging at the moment, no longer Percy. He was Perseus, the destroyer, emotionless and untouchable. He would not be intimidated by any opponent or circumstance thrown his way.
Percy stood from his kneeling position but left Riptide in the ground. Percy patiently waited for the second strike of the gong to signal the start of the fight as he reached out with his senses. He could feel the gallons of water at his disposal, running underneath the arena visible through the grates. All of this water, along with his saltwater flask resting like a backpack between his shoulders. Percy recognized what he was, a phenomenal swordsman and a prodigal waterbender, with the blessing of the fire bending Masters. He could feel his power thrumming in the water and in the hot air. He would not be beaten.
The gong struck again, the sound reverberating through the air as the crowd became deathly silent. Lee cocked his fist back, his face contorted into a snarl as he hurled a fireball at his opponent. Percy wasted no time as Piandao told him. Riptide was forgotten in the ground as he thrust his fist out, tearing through the ball of orange flames and sending a blue fire ball at his opponent, much to the surprise of everyone in the arena. His opponent was so stunned that he could do nothing as the fire ball smashed into him and sent him flying a couple of feet, before landing on the ground unconscious. Lee hadn't even gotten off an attack. The crowd was deathly quiet for three seconds as they tried to process what they had just seen.
Then they roared in approval. The sight before them was one that they all cherished. The image of a sapphire flame wielder, guarding their princess was too good to let up.
It took almost an entire minute for the guards to fight through the crowds to get to him. In that time Percy had sheathed Riptide and knelt with one knee on the ground. A half dozen guards surrounded him, fists cocked back ready to shoot streams of fire at him. During this time Percy was staring at the royal box and the Fire Lord inside it, as Piandao fought his way towards it.
Those were some of the most stressful minutes of Percy's life. Time seemed to stretch into hours as he waited. It seemed like an eternity for the Fire Lord to finish conversing with Piandao. Percy watched with bated breath as the Fire Lord stood to address the crowd, and more importantly the soldiers waiting for the order to kill him.
