The Seeds of Doubt.

24. I'll Go Easy On You.

After lunch my headache had calmed down and the knight who I had fought had returned with a busted lip so we got back to work. "Alright rookies! We are going to be working on your hand to hand combat!" a knight announces, "Now get into pairs!" I quickly grab Oliver's arms who nods smiling. We walk out a little further from the group so we have enough room.

"Are you ready?" Oliver grins.

"I was born ready. But how hard are we going to fight? Are we going all out or what?" I ask with a smile.

"You can go all out but I'll go easy on you, okay?" Oliver smiles before he comes charging at me with his fist raised. I quickly duck and punch his stomach, feeling a little guilty for hurting him but we are training so I put it aside. I quickly move away from him keeping my guard up and my body lowered, I quickly kick out at him but he grabs my leg and  I fall to the floor with a thud. I quickly do a backwards roll as I escape his grip and get up again; I run up to him and quickly throw another kick which he doesn't defend that easily. I punch his face before I knee him in the stomach and he quickly moves groaning a little; I run at him again swiping at his feet and he lands on his back. I quickly press my foot to his chest, "Surrender?" I ask with a smile.

"Yeah. But know I was going easy on you." he says as I help him off the ground and I wipe the dirt of his back.

"I know, you always do." I smile.

"You're getting better at fighting. I'm impressed." Oliver smiles.

"Thanks. I guess it's because I'm striving towards something and all that. Should we go again?" I smile and he nods as we get back into our stances. I close my eyes a let out a deep breath as I put my guard into place, squeezing my fists together. I quickly run up to him and jump up in the air before I let myself drop onto him, pinning his arms down with my knees as we land. We stay like that for but  moment before Oliver flips me off him and punches my stomach. I draw in a deep breath and ignore the pain as I block a weak kick he throws. I throw a punch which he blocks and he throws a punch I block. I watch his movements knowing that we are quite equal since he's going easy on me and I see him take a step forward as he goes to hit me, I catch his fist and punch him in the face before pushing him away. He take another step forward and he swings his leg high aiming for my chest but I quickly grab his leg and push him down onto the ground. He grunts in pain and I step on his hand, "Give up?" I ask panting and he nods so I help him up.

"Let's take a break." he mutters and I nod feeling tired. We sit on the grass breathing heavily and aching slightly, I liked fighting and that was why I had begged Oliver to teach me. He had done a pretty good job but there was only so much he could teach me as we were both still young

. That's when we began to travel trying to advance our training skills by fighting monsters and beasts. We had never really come across hand to hand combat though, but of course there was the odd occasion where it was needed. I turned to Oliver who was staring up at the clouds, "Just so you know ..." I start which causes him to look at me, "I'm going easy on you."