When Emrada walked into the courtyard, everyone went so silent, you could have heard a pin drop. She glanced around the group. I gulped and tried to hide behind Tye. Tye raised his eyebrow, sidestepped and, grabbing my shoulders, he steered me in front of himself. He massaged my shoulders,
"Relax, Adelaide. It'll be fine," he said quietly. I said nothing and he kept his hands there. I saw Emrada coming towards us. She stood in front of me,
"Well! Who's this?" she asked,
"This is Adelaide, Emrada." he said,
"What's she doing here? It's not every day that a girl comes in here," she said, looking me in the eye,
"She wants to become a Keeper, Emrada," Tye said, kneading my shoulders. I tried to shrink back to avoid the piercing stare of her ice-blue eyes, but Tye held me where I was,
"Hmm..." Emrada thought for a second, "Are you sure she'll be able to make it? She's a girl! Shouldn't she be getting married soon?" I glared at her but Tye told me to stay quiet,
"What if she doesn't want to get married? And what difference does being a girl make?" Tye snapped. Emrada raised an eyebrow,
"What if she isn't strong enough?" she said,
"Oh, don't you worry about that. I'll help fix that," he said, wrapping his arms around my shoulders,
"If that's the case then, I'll leave you to it," Emrada said, spinning on her heel and walking towards the middle of the courtyard, "Partner up!" she yelled over her shoulder. Tye glanced at me. I raised an eyebrow at him,
"Partner?" he asked,
"Sure," I said,
"Cool," he shrugged and raised his arms in a blocking position,
"Alright! Blocking positions everyone!" Emrada yelled. I copied Tye and raised my arms the way he had,
"Now what?" I mumbled. Tye heard me and snickered, raising an eyebrow at me,
"Fight!" Emrada yelled from across the courtyard. Tye looked at me, smiled and took a swing at my head. I ducked and rammed my shoulder into his gut. He grunted in pain,
"Ow Adelaide! I shouldn't go so easy on you!" he grunted. He took another swing at me, this time at my chest. I blocked him with my arm held him there and kneed him in the groin. He exclaimed in pain and called down a curse on me,
"You pox ridden scum! That hurt!" he yelled. I smirked,
"Maybe you've learnt that girls aren't as weak as they look," I said, making a nice smart-ass comment. He glared at me, bending over and clutching his stomach in pain. He sprinted towards me and tried to grab my legs. I felt his fingers brush my leg and I tried to dodge but I didn't step far enough. He grabbed my legs and tackled me to the ground. I swung a fist at his head and felt it connect with something. I heard Tye groan and he loosened his hold on my legs. I slipped out of his grasp and stood up but he tackled me again and held me down. This time, I couldn't punch him so I turned my head and bit him. He shrieked and let go. I stood up again and this time I was ready for him. He came at me again. This time I punched him in the jaw and kicked him in the shins. He doubled up and I pushed him to the ground and sat on his chest. I looked up then and noticed Taylor and Emrada standing at a distance, watching me. Taylor saw I was looking and waved. I waved back,
"Nice work Adelaide. Tye, you really need to learn that you can't trust a girl," Taylor commented. Tye grumbled and swore, freeing one hand to make a rude gesture at Taylor. I grabbed his arm and pinned it to his side, putting my face next to his ear,
