A Game Of Pawns

Chapter 19

I think we were all tired. The journey here had been a bit more eventful than we had hoped. Lucky for us, Saris had the forethought and pockets to bring food from the cafe along. He mentioned only finding bread items, but no one complained. We ate the baked goods greedily. Blueberry muffins, cheesy bagels and banana bread filled our empty stomachs. I closed my eyes as I chewed, letting the stress from the day leech from my body as I simply enjoyed the food. I heard a chuckle to my left and opened my eyes as Zack's laughter grew louder.

"I still can't get over the fact that you put food in your pockets," Zack said through a fit of laughter.

"What's wrong with that?" Saris asked, defensively.

"You do it all the time. Ever since I met you," Zack said. "I bet there are so many crumbs in there that you could throw it out like birdseed. Can you imagine?" He said, looking at Demi. "It'd be like a shmorgishborg of old gross food crumbs that he's been hoarding for weeks!"

"I use bags when I have them," Saris said, but he was chuckling too.

Zack's laughter hit a peak after he compared Saris' pockets to a buffet and asked how much the dine-in fee was. "For you?" Saris said to Zack, "a hundred bucks!" We were all laughing by this point and it made me thankful for being a part of a group that didn't need to be serious all the time. We didn't talk about tomorrow, strategy, fighting or anything. We just relaxed like friends in the park; if parks were full of gravestones and dead bodies.

After eating, Saris and I found an area where most of the headstones were ground level so we could train. Zack said he wanted to watch and keep giving me pointers and Demi said that she wanted to watch too, which made me anxious. Zack was one thing, but I wanted Demi to think I was competent; or you know, cool. Last night, Demi had turned in early and, while she might have seen me train with Saris, she wasn't in my field of vision, watching me, so I didn't think much of it. But now, she had front row seats! I was so nervous that I'd make a fool of myself in front of her that I made several mistakes right away and Saris scolded me every time.

"Come on, Xander," Saris said after easily getting past my guard and tapping my arm with the flat of his blade. "Get your head in the game."

"Sorry."

"Next time don't get hit!" Zack said helpfully.

"How about this," Saris said, resting his sword on his shoulder, "we had a long day and could use some time to relax. So, impress me and we can be done." I nodded, grateful that we could end early...if I can do good enough.

"You got this, Xander!" Demi shouted.

I felt my face get hot but it also gave me some courage and focus. She wasn't judging me. She was rooting for me. I took a deep breath and said, "I'm ready." Saris leaped towards me, faster than he ever had before but I saw where he was attacking and blocked it with my shield. Saris turned to attack again but I swung my sword and he had to block instead of attack.

"That's the way," Saris encouraged through gritted teeth, holding off my attack.

This bout continued and lasted a lot longer than usual. I could never hit him. He was too good. But he also had trouble hitting me and I started to feel more confident in my ability. He was going so fast. Maybe as fast as he was when he sparred with Demi and I felt like I was holding my own. I didn't think that I'd win. I was nearly out of breath and Saris, while sweating, didn't seem too bothered. But just as I started to feel confident and strong, I made a mistake. I thought Saris was attacking my right when he actually went left and the bout was over.

"Do that good every time and you've got a real chance of winning," Saris said. "That was the best fight you and I have had yet."

I put my hands on my knees and panted, "you still beat me."