Something New: A Series of Oneshots

Fencing Part Two

"In our first round we have newcomer, Princess Elena, against The Beast!"

"Elena?!" Fransisco and Luisa shouted in surprise. Elena smiled to herself. It was now her time to prove her grandfather wrong. She looked up to the area they were sitting and smiled, before looking at Gabe for some support. He smiled back and nodded. Elena nodded back then turned to face her opponent just as the announcer said to begin.

The Beast, as he was called, came barrelling towards her, but she dodged him quickly and tapped him with her fencing sword. One point to her, zero to The Beast.

She knew she had to be quick, as The Beast was big and tired out easy. Using this strategy, she easily scored all three points in a row.

Her second opponent was The Viper. Gabe instructed her that footwork was going to be Elena's strength in this. Her cockiness got in the way though and she ended up missing the first point, but quickly regained it and the second and third once remembering the all-important footwork.

The final round was held the following day, against Sir Cassius of Brazendell. The air was tense, and both opponents were prepared for competition. Elena, now wanting to win for her mother, and Cassius, wanting to win to keep his father happy.

"En Garde," the announcer said. Elena and Cassius raised their swords, both staring intensely into each other's eyes as they did, "Begin!"

The two moved quickly towards each other, both also trying to hit one another. Neither succeeded, although Cassius managed to push Elena back. Once again, Elena moved forward and was about to get the point, but Cassius was too quick for her and he ended up tapping her first. One point to Cassius, zero points to Elena.

For the second round, Elena put her footwork into play and managed to almost instantly gain her first point. Both were equal now. The third round, her flexibility came into play, moving into the splits to dodge the oncoming tap and instead managing to tap Cassius first yet again. Two points Elena, one point Cassius.

It was just before the fourth round begun where Elena saw Lord Elrod, Cassius' father, mime something to him. He tapped his wrist. Elena knew she'd have to look out for that now.

The fourth round begun and almost immediately Cassius went for her wrist but missed. Unfortunately, Elena leaned back a little too far when avoiding Cassius and that caused her ankle to give way from under her.

She didn't feel any pain at first, but by the time Gabe had run down to her she was fighting back tears.

"Lena," Gabe said quietly, worry in his voice. His princess was injured. Something that she had said wouldn't happen. Not that he entirely believed her when she had said it, but he was still a little surprised since she had been doing so well.

Carefully, he lifted her into his arms and took her into one of the first-aid tents, the referee having allowed them a few minutes to regain and regroup. Thankfully, they only needed the few minutes they had, to make sure Elena's ankle wasn't broken, and so she could receive a bit more support from her Abuelos.

Just as Cassius was about to receive the third point, Elena came back to fight. That point would be hers and only hers. It was difficult, moving with only one good ankle, and it definitely caught up to her. She almost lost if it wasn't for her quick thinking. The day before, in the morning before the tournament, Gabe had tried to teach Elena one of his moves. The Leaping Stag as he called it. She hadn't gotten the hang of it, but she knew now that it was her only chance of winning.

She jumped just as she was about to be tapped and arched her back a little to reach Cassius from where she was in the air. With a bit of difficulty, she did it. Gabe couldn't believe what he had seen. No one could for that matter. Elena had won.