Safehaven

Chapter 25

On our way, we managed to bump into Antigone and Quinton. They too had both had an interesting period. Together, we all made our way down the halls and corridors. Antigone explained her lesson at "Secrets of Safehaven". To sum it up, the class was taught by a grouchy old man who had a grudge against children and hated anything that had to do with joyfulness. On the other hand, Quinton had a much better period. He had been lucky enough to have "Soul Mate Defense". Both he and Felix had a great time learning how to properly use a sword, though the boy now had several long cuts that ran from his wrist to elbow on both arms. They were just mere "accidents", he assured us. The 4 of us chattered all the way down to lunch. Already sitting down and tucking in, Jada and Sage sat in our usual corner. Their fwen and Pegasus sat beside them and were also enjoying the nice meal. We joined them and began to dig in. Today, it was rotisserie chicken and salad. Gwindol enjoyed the bones I threw over my shoulder. Though Sage's Pegasus seemed only interested in the green salad. I don't know how long lunch lasted, but it wasn't nearly long enough. My friends and I laughed and recounted our day so far and what we hoped would come to pass. But too soon, the bell rang, signaling that students should now dissipate and return to class. With my stomach full and content, I said farewell to my friends and continued to class. As Gwindol and I made our way to the staircase room, I reviewed my schedule. I only had 2 more classes to go. Right now, my dragon and I both had "Soul Mate Defense". Quinton said it rocked, so I had high hopes. Would I be doing swords too? Or did our teacher have something different in mind? I pondered all these questions in my mind. I stepped up the stairs on the stairwell and proceeded to walk down the hallway to my class. I stopped at wooden double doors with steel hinges. Inside, I could make our howls of laughter and whoops of joy. This was going to be a lively class. I creaked open the door and slipped inside, Gwindol at my heels. With all the commotion, nobody noticed us entering. I looked around and nearly toppled over. Instead of normal desks and a chalkboard, the room was full of shelves, laden with weapons. An entire half of the space had been dedicated to a thick mat that I guessed we would be fighting on. Only towards the back of the room were there tables, but no chairs. All in all, the classroom was huge and boisterous. Kids of all ages and sizes freely mingled with one another. Since there were animals like bears, birds, and pretty much everything else, I had to assume that this was an especially mixed class. No 2 people here were the same. No, it was a melting pot! I turned to Gwindol. "Holy cow, it's rambunctious in here!" I had to practically shout in order to be heard. Yes indeed. Gwindol's sharp voice echoed in my head. He didn't have to shout, since he communicated telepathically. Let us hope that things settle down once class starts. No sooner had he said that then a man dressed all in white came through the door. His robes, cloak, beard, and skin were all bleached white. Upon seeing him, all the children and soul mates straightened and stepping into a messy line. My dragon and I took our place next to some girl with a tiger and a guy with a vulture. There were several seconds of silence. The man walked up and down our makeshift line, inspecting every detail. His icy blue eyes only hovered on me for a millisecond. After going up and down the line several times, the dude stepped back, and smiled. When he was smiling, the man didn't seem too intense and scary. "Welcome, young ones, to "Soul Mate Defense"!" His voice carried everywhere and rang with gentleness and heartiness. "Today we will be beginning with sword play." Yay me, Quinton had been right. "My name is Mr. Bobelens, but most people just call me Bob." Several chuckles resounded. "Now, if you please, grab a sword and chest plate from the racks and meet on the mats on the other side of the room. Go!" Bob gave a slight smirk and shooed us towards the shelves with all the weapons. By the time Gwindol and I got there, most of the sword were being tested out and taken by the older students. I decided to check the back section of the racks, since only a few people lingered there. I found myself a double sided silver sword that was well balanced and swung nicely. The leather grip on the handle was hardened with age, but fit my hand nicely. I also found a worn leather chest plate, but it was hard and light weight. I buckled the armor on, grabbed my weapon, and headed towards the mat . It took several minutes for everyone to pick out their weapon, but we eventually made it. Bob stood before us with a golden sword that was encrusted with rubies and opals. The funny thing was, I didn't see his soul mate. Wasn't this class called "Soul Mate Defense"? Though I brushed that aside when the man began to speak. "Alright, listen up lollipops. This is no game. When we deal with weapons, there is no kidding around. Got that?" The class let up a few mutters here and there. "Got that?!" Bob repeated, a little louder. This time, shouts of "yes!" bounced off the walls. Looking satisfied, our teacher continued. "Today will be like an evaluation day. I need to see where you all are so I can sort each of you into a specific group. So, here's how today is going to go. I want you to each get a partner and duel. If you win, find someone else who has also won and do the same. If you are eliminated, I want you to go stand with all the others who have also lost. At the end, we should have around 3 different groups- amateurs, intermediate, and veterans. Good luck!" With that, Bob spun around and headed for the section where the tables were. As he swaggered to the back of the room, I caught sight of his necklace swinging around his neck. The red stone on the chair swung to the side, and I managed to make out a faint outline within. It almost looked like the outline of some sort of cat, but the necklace was covered up too quickly for me to see it clearly. But where was his soul mate? A gruff voice pulled me from my thoughts. "Hey, pipsqueak. Ya done staring off into space?" I turned and found the source of the voice. A thickly built boy with a goat by his side looked at me from under his bushy eyebrows, which closely resembled fuzzy caterpillars.  What was most startling, however, were the eyes glistening with malice that took up residence beneath the caterpillars.  The eyes themselves were a sparkling, clear blue, but the pupils were what set me off.  Instead of the dark, cylindrical dots that any "human" had, this boy had the cold, menacing slits in the center of his eyes.  They almost resembled that of a cat, but not quite.  When I looked at the kid's goat, I saw the same eyes in it's skull, so it was probably the physical gift that the goat gave to his master, but without any of the hatred and rage.  The boy and his soul mate were nothing alike, which probably worked in my favor.  His hand hung loosely around the hilt of a bronze sword. "Come on, we haven't got all day." The boy stepped up and hefted his weapon. His goat belched. I glanced at Gwindol. He just sat next to me, looking intent. I managed to roll my shoulders and lifted my sword. I had to tuck my wings firmly on my back so they wouldn't restrict my arm movement. I took a step towards the kid, signaling that I was ready. With a grunt, goat boy and goat charged foreword. I had no idea how to use a sword, but I did know charging object+ stationary object= disaster. So right when the boy was 2 feet away, I sidestepped and brought the hilt of my weapon down the boy's head. There was a thick thud, and the kid took a spill to the ground. His eyes were rolled far back into his head. Had I knocked him out? I hadn't even hit hard! But to my relief, the kid slowly got to his feet after a few seconds. He glared at me menacingly. "You told me I had the strength, Myra!" The boy shouted at his goat. The animal only shook its head and moved on the join the group of other defeated kids at the other end of the room. After one more death glance at me, the boy followed his animal. I took a deep breath of relief. I had made it to round 2! Though even before I could congratulate myself on my small victory, another student came up to me. This time, a lean girl with a fox challenged me. Even before the fight started, I could tell that I needed to change my strategy this time around. The boy had been compulsive, even reckless! But this girl was cunning and patient. I could see it in her eyes. With a blood curdling howl, the girl lunged foreword and tried to go for my chest. Even with armor on, it hurt. The tip of the blade only grazed my chest, but the force of the blow caused me the stumble backwards. I regained my balance just in time before I hit the ground and was eliminated. Behind me, Gwindol muttered a few sparse tips. Bend your knees, so you have for balance. Lean foreword when you jab. It'll be easier to withdraw quickly. They girl took a few more swings at me, but I could tell that she was just playing with me. It was only after a few hits did I realize the kids mistake. She was too careful. Her movements were too predictable and planned out. She always went for the same place and hit with the same force. Could I use this against her? I carefully thought it out. On her next swing, I ducked under the girl's sword and leaped up. While she was still unstable from the missed blow, I slammed the flat of my blade against chest, forcing her back a few steps. She straightened and growled. Eyeing me warily, she advanced. She faked a lunge at my legs and changed direction enough to graze my forearm. A few drops of blood ran from a cut just above my wrist. Now I was angry. I took several swings at the girl, taking a step every time. Finally, I cornered her by the weapon racks. In an act of desperation, the girl took a large slash at my head. I blocked it effortlessly, and she stumbled. Her foot caught on a fallen shield, and the girl fell to the floor. I had won. I gave myself a little pat on the back. That wasn't bad, for a rookie. I looked back down at my opponent and held my hand out to help her up. After staring at my hand for a few seconds, the girl took it and I hauled up to her feet. "You're pretty good. Have you ever fought before?" All anger from our fight was gone from the girl's face. Instead, cheerfulness and joy radiated from her atmosphere. With her blond hair and green eyes, the girl looked very friendly now. "Not really." I smiled. "But you aren't too bad yourself." She and I chuckled for a few minutes. Side by side, we watched the rest of the remaining battles. When the last student fell at the hands of the last victor, Bob rejoined us from his corner. He made us get into our little groups and told us that this would be the group that we would practice with for the next semester. I couldn't believe it. I had made it into the veterans group! I had never even picked up the sword before! I was pretty happy with myself. But that was when I saw Mark. Apparently, he had made it too. How could I not have seen him right at the beginning? He and his grizzly bear looked smug. They had also worked their way into the veteran group. But before he could see me, the bell rang, and Gwindol and I practically ran out of the door. We managed to round the corner before Mark and his bear came out of the classroom. I leaned against the stone wall around the corner. Maybe this class wouldn't be as fun as I had thought. If Mark found out I was there, I was toast! If he decides to pick a fight with you, then you have the right to use all you've got against him. He's the one who is going to be sorry. Gwindol's voice echoed. That calmed me down somewhat, and I took a deep breath. The dragon was right. Mark was going to be the sorry one should the 2 of us ever fight. Some weight was lifted off my shoulders. I would make it through this semester, even if it killed me. Unfortunately, it almost did.