Freeing Starr✔️

Chapter 35 ~ Rumors in the castle

Oomph!

I winced as I landed hard on my back, knocking the air out of my lungs. My back groaned at the impact as I rolled over and laid there defeated.

Leon, who was the cause of my pain grimaced as he loomed over me and asked, "you alright?"

I huffed and nodded, accepting his hand and pulling myself up off the floor. Then I dusted off my shirt and straightened up.

"Again," I muttered quickly getting into position and throwing a kick at his midsection.

He was ready for me, quickly deflecting my kick and swinging a fist directly at my face, obscuring my vision.

I stepped back and braced my arms in front of my face to absorb the hit, grunting when his foot came out of nowhere and slammed into my side, causing me to stumble backwards.

"Sorry about that," he muttered.

I huffed in annoyance and shook off the pain, quickly swinging out my fist at his face. He deflected it easily and stepped away as I lifted a leg to swing out at his face. He grabbed a hold of my leg and drove his elbow down with force, causing me to cry out in pain.

I reflexively swung my hand out to hit him as I forcefully pulled my leg away, hurting myself in the process.

I hopped on one leg as I placed some distance between us and growled in frustration. No matter what I did, I couldn't land a solid hit on him and it was starting to piss me off. It made me feel weak and pathetic.

He eyed my leg worriedly, "did I hit you too hard? Can you still fight?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, "constantly asking if I'm alright after purposely hitting me is very aggravating. If I can't handle it I'll let you know!"

I wiggled my leg dramatically to show him that I already healed then bent slightly and got back in position, "now let's continue."

Leon chuckled and shook his head, "you've become a lot livelier."

Because I felt comfortable whenever I was around you, I thought but didn't dare to mutter aloud. Instead, I grumbled, "Well I can't just stand here and let you pummel me to the ground, can I? Well you're still pummeling me but at least I'm putting up a fight... a weak one."

"You're actually improving fast. It's already been a week since we started and you're already at a high level. You're no longer a beginner."

I grinned cheekily, "I have the best teacher."

"And I have an amazing student."

With that said, I ran up to him and did an uppercut, hoping to knock him off balance which was ineffective. I swung my leg out when that got deflected then quickly pivoted and swung my other leg around when I saw him move to grab me again.

My leg missed his face but slammed into his wrist, causing a pop sound to echo throughout the room. I quickly backed away with a big smile on my face.

I stared at his hand that was hanging limply and jumped in excitement, "finally! I got a hit in!"

A smile tugged at his lips as he snapped his dislocated wrist back in place and watched me in amusement, "so you're not going to ask if I'm alright?"

I froze in embarrassment and chuckled awkwardly, "oh... are you okay?"

He chuckled and shook his head, lifting up his already healing hand, "I'll be alright. Let's call it a day and end here. You did good."

I beamed at him, "thank you! I can't wait to tell Stacy about it!"