Falling in the Ring

tournament of the champions

After introducing the kid to the tournament master we make our way down to sign up. Victor decided he definitely wanted to take part. in the tournament, which was no surprise to me. We sign up and when we do so we get some explanation. There are 6 rounds, and only the 32 best get in; The first round is usually pretty easy, that's when the 16 worst get filtered out. The second round will probably be like one of my usual fights in the ring. After the third round, it starts to get hard, there are only eight people left. It is nowhere near as hard as the games though. The second to last game is hard to win, and then you have the two finalists. There are six rounds because the last is when you battle the ringmaster himself, no one here has seen him yet as this is a new round.

Victor and I buzz with excitement as all the bets start to come in and we have a drink. We are both quite confident and ready to battle it out in the ring. Fighting here gives an amazing feeling, it is like a drug. Sure, I enjoy fighting anyway, but there is a big difference. In the training centre, there were no consequences, which was fun for the first 12 years of my life. In the games, there were too many. Far too many. Some you never recover from.

It is time. The bell rings and all contestants make their way to stand in the ring. This is the part where they announce our first opponents. I don't know if I'm lucky or not, but my first opponent isn't Victor. I won't even be fighting Victor, unless we both make it into the final. My first opponent isn't even that good; he's a little boy, not strong or lean, and he doesn't even look that fast. I, however, know better than to underestimate my opponents. Everyone does that with me anyway.

I was right this time, my first fight was easy. And so was Victor's. And so were our second fights. And our third. The fourth is when I find a little bump in the road, of course, it is no surprise this opponent is good, he is one of the half-finalists. It is in this fight that I get injured, I never get injured. Usually, I don't let them, or there was that one time when they knocked me out so there was no use for it. I look at my right arm in surprise, there is no way. 

Luckily I pulled together and beat my opponent, I am a finalist. Now, it's Victor's turn to prove himself and move up to the finals. He takes his place up in the ring and even if his opponent is tall and very strong, he still towers over him. Victor looks almost scared when he prepares for the difficult fight ahead of him.  

Then the bell rings and the fight begins.  There is one thing I notice almost right away. 

He is as good as Cato himself.