The Trial

Chapter 10

Last day before The Trial...

as I walked toward them, rubbing my arm, Simon gave mason a tight nod, ending their conversation. "with today being the last day before The Trial, you are permitted to choose your own type of training for the day. do either of you have an idea of what you would like to do?"

"anything we can do to make these marble things go away faster?" mason asked, fingering the lump on his neck.

"it will dissolve quicker with an increased heart rate." Simon replied, and I immediately started making my race. "actual exertion is best." he directed at me, so I let my heart beat normally. 

mason turned to me and shrugged. "sparring?" 

"sure." I agreed, nodding.

"after lunch, we will need your final choices. all of them." mason gave Simon a questioning look, so he added "weapon. armour. attire. time. place. the last two are limited, but we can help with that choice if needed."

"I thought we could only choose the moment right before the guard starts to run with the princess?" mason half asked.

"It is any moment in the guards timeline for that day, but it is highly recommend that that particular point be chosen. as we know the princess is still alive and unharmed." Simon replied. 

"I'll take that point. it's what I've been preparing for." mason replied, after a moment of thought. 

Simon turned to me, so I nodded and said "said here." 

"are you both confident in your other three choices?" he looked more at me than mason, but we both nodded.

"alright. one of us will find the two of you when lunch is ready. stay on the grounds and do not go far." with that, he headed for the door.

"feel like showing me that evading you're so good at?" mason asked, sounding a little uncomfortable.

"sure. inside or outside?" 

"outside." he replied with a small smile, and, as we headed outside to the middle of the open yard, he asked "so how do you do it?"

"every movement typically begins in the torso. the muscles tense, before they move. even a twist of the foot starts in the torso."

"no way." he scoffed. 

"watch." I replied, facing him. exaggerating my movements, I said "watch my sides as I twist my foot. they tense up, because I'm redistributing my weight."

"okay, but how can you tell, when your opponent is all tensed up to begin with."

"it's still the same, but it's harder to see. the movements are more calculated and smaller in terms of being noticable."

"okay. can you show me?"

"sure. I'll take a stance and act like I'm going to attack." I exaggerated my movements again and said "my upper body is mostly tensed, so the movements will be smaller. do you see what I mean?" 

"yeah, but barely."

"the easiest way to tell which way they're going to move is in the chest and shoulders. see how twisting my right foot shifts my weight?" he nodded, so I continued. "let's say I'm going attack with my right hand. my shoulder will pull back ever so slightly, and I'll typically lead my right foot, since there's some distance between us."

"okay." he said, watching my movements carefully. 

as I took a step toward him, I said "I know I'll take three full steps, before I reach you, so my best option is to lead with my right, since I'm a righty. my fourth step won't be a full stride, so I'll use my right foot my as a pivot point and an anchor, pushing my body and arm forward from that pivot point." moving slowly, I did as I explained.