Chapter 3
P arteis Island is the largest Island of the five, Its partially natural dirt land but seventy five percent of it is man made. There’s dock stations surrounding the entire island, enough for hundreds of ships to drop anchor. The swordsmanship building, named after the great pirate Melkai, is on the far left side from the entrance once you get past the security. It was a massive mansion from the old world preserved and then split into parts for all things sword related. The back has an old five car garage door that opens up to air the room out. This is where they would forge the swords, daggers, and knives. The front of the building is more for show for the people who can afford to be guests at the sword and fencing competitions. There are guards hired by the government everywhere surrounding this building to keep it safe from the bewildered.
I walk up to the doors but notice the wanted signs hanging on them. They’re looking for a female around my age. According to the sign, it’s the royal's daughter.
?? That’s so strange, I had no idea there was a daughter .
I keep that as a thought and walk into the massive foyer. There are paintings on all of the walls. These paintings were said to be worth millions in the old world. A Leonardo Da Vinci painting on the left side next to a Francis Bacon painting. On the right is a Vincent Van Gogh right beside a Pablo Picasso.
Each side has a separate staircase. The left side leads to a giant room where you go to bet on the men battling in the competitions. The poor and desperate sell themselves in the black market on Symbodia, the most dangerous island. Then the new owners bring their purchase here to battle each other to the death. It's a gruesome thing to imagine but the winners do win enough money to build a new life for themselves and they win their freedom back. The new world is a constant battle of survival.
The right staircase is my path as it leads to the ballroom where they hold daily classes and practices. Walking up the marble staircase I get a rush of adrenaline. I always love sword art for more than just the survival side of it but for the way it's almost like a dance. I have yet to find a partner that really dances well with me, every competitor I’ve been paired with are too simple minded. I guess that happens when these classes are for people in an upper class where many of the attendees do it for fun and to be thoughtless.
I have honestly been blessed to come into this life as the captain's daughter. There are too many other unfortunate situations where you struggle and fight outside in the market just for a day's amount of food. The feeling of true starvation, your weight gain not from engorging but from your insides swelling and eating itself to keep you going, to keep you alive. This I could not even begin to imagine. But a captain's daughter is still not enough to be thoughtless in these classes, in fact it barely gets me into them.
The only person who has gotten close is Ace. The way Ace wields a sword is unlike anyone I’ve witnessed before. He swings with a power that is fatal but a beauty that makes him intoxicating to watch. But Ace refuses to partner with me every time I ask. Though in some way we have always had a slight competition, so I saw it as him trying to push me. He always says “When you are truly ready, Abby, we will dance.” His words are as cold as the winter air on the ocean, but as promising as seeing land in the distance with only a few days of food left. He knew exactly how to get his way while keeping you on the string he dangles.
I continue up the stairs and walk down the hall. The hall has twelve foot ceilings with three eight foot by eight foot chandeliers covered in diamonds. There’s art painted mocking Michelangelo’s work all over the ceiling crawling down into the tops of the walls. This building truly is beautiful for all the chaos that occurs here. I reach for the door knob to the first room on the left, pause for a moment and take a deep breath. As I release the air from my lungs, I slowly open the door and walk into the ballroom. ?? This ballroom is stunning. Mirrors wrap around the entire room. There’s a gold lining in between every mirror leading into the ceiling, which comes to a point in the middle.
The ceiling is open, as if you are looking into the top of a birdcage. I wish I saw this thirty years ago, when it was new and better taken care of. I step onto the light brown and cream marble flooring and walk over to the group of people that happen to all be standing in the middle of the room. I glance around and notice everyones stuff is scattered up against the mirrored walls. Bags that hold their personal items, swords lying in their cases on the ground, coats, and suddenly I see a green cloak just lying there in the corner of the room. I swear it's the same cloak I saw earlier. I catch myself before someone notices I’m staring at it and look up just in time to see our instructor walking towards us.
The instructor, Ezra, is a tall, dark and handsome man with the most talent, aside from Ace, that I’ve seen come around. He was raised fencing before the world became more accustomed to swords. Ezra tends to be the one who partners with me every time I come, he's the only consistent person I tend to see from the island.
“Alright everyone.” Ezra has a gentle smirk then looks at me and continues, “Let's get started shall we?” I look around the room, I have never seen anyone here before which is very exciting. I like a new challenge.
“Today I will choose a partner to help me start this off, a little demonstration if you will.” He reaches out his arm towards me, extending his gloved hand. His head slowly turns to face me as he says, “Abigail, will you join me in the middle...” he says in almost a whisper, “For a dance?” Blood rushes to my cheeks but my excitement breaks the attention from my blushing to my eager jolt up in front of him. “I would be honored.” I smile.
“Everyone please give Abigail and I some space! She is quite the competitor and she will surely need it.” Ezra says as walks over to his side of the middle, putting himself directly across from me. Everyone backs up to the walls around the room to watch. We glance directly into each other's eyes, take a couple steps back and each put a hand on our swords.
Ezra yells out the rules as we stare directly into each other's souls. It feels like a blinking contest though I suppose in real life, the first to blink is the one that loses. So it should feel exactly like that.
“Rules are simple, the goal is not to kill . Stabbing will find you a one way ticket to Symbodia Island. Small cuts are okay, as they teach a lesson. No slamming the head, cutting or harming in any way the face. You must stay within the large circle engraved into the flooring, every time you step out you lose a round. There are three rounds and winners prevail to the next level, losers are out all together and must sit against the wall and learn. We will show one round and then everyone will partner up.” He smiles with excitement and speaks low as he asks " Are you ready?”
I yank my sword out of the scabbard, my body loosens and I hold my sharp beauty out with both hands. I wink at him just before I respond “For this Ezra, Always.”
I wait for Ezra to take his first step towards me, I always let the man lead. Many get cocky and there’s nothing more fulfilling than de-crowning a man whose ego speaks for him. Ezra moves towards me swinging his sword right at my chest, I move my blade up to meet his. A loud bang sounds the room of the swords clashing. He moves again, faster this time kneeling down and turning his swing at the side of my thigh. I’ve been coming here for 20 years to train, since I was six years old. I’ve grown up with Ezra and have found him to be quite predictable after all these years. So I pivot my body away from his sword and swing mine at his arm but he quickly turns and blocks my strike.
Maybe he finds me predictable as well.
He smiles and rushes his body into mine knocking me on the ground. I slide close to the line and look up to see him quickly positioning his sword to strike towards my chest. This is a new move for him and I am a little taken, but I roll out of the way from the sword and wrap my leg around his right leg holding it tight and catapult myself backwards to trip him. From there I grab my dagger out of my boot and pull it to his neck and whisper in his ear, “I win.”??
Ezra laughs and yells out, “Okay everyone partner up and good luck to whoever is brave enough to pair with Abby.” I chuckle and get up, dust myself off and extend a hand to help Ezra up. “As fierce as ever Abby.”He mocks. Though, we both know under the laughter he’s making a statement.
“Me? You added more ground work to your routine. I was pleasantly surprised.”
I say but as I am looking into his eyes I see a man walking up behind me in the reflection. Ezra looks right at him and smirks. “I believe you have a partner waiting.” Then he slowly walks away.
I turn my body around to look at the man standing way too close for someone I’m just meeting. Though, I’m almost not bothered, he is absolutely stunning. He’s tall, and has to be around six foot four. Shoulder length blonde hair with pieces wrapped behind his ears. He has very broad shoulders and is dressed entirely in black. But the thing that stands out the most to me always are the eyes. His are the brightest emerald green I’ve ever seen. I’m staring him down but quickly interrupted.
??“So this is how you play with swords?” He says out of his strangely perfect shaped mouth. I immediately start to feel outraged, not that I’ve ever really been able to control my anger.
Did he just say play? Like I’m a child just learning to wield a sword?
“Play?! I guarantee you won’t be calling it play once I strike you out!” I roll my eyes. Obviously another rich boy talking with his ego.
“Oh love,” He says with a bewildered look on his face. He leans in close, his glare grasping a hold of my eyes and his lips just inches away from touching mine. He growls, “I’d like to see you try.” Chills run up my spine.
Damn that was a perfect combination of hot and challenging .
I am battling his ego and his looks in my head. Heat rushes to my cheeks and I know he sees me blushing. I’m actually speechless because I’ve never had such an encounter, especially from someone who looks like that. I need to pull myself together.
“Challenge accepted” I force out of my mouth to keep myself from being silent too long. Can’t have him thinking he’s gotten the best of me . ??I rush past him towards the circle, slamming my shoulder into his.
Shit that kind of hurt.
I refuse to let him see any sign of weakness.I just glance over quickly but he seems completely unbothered but notices me looking. He walks up slowly behind me, again penetrating any bit of personal space and he just stares at me.
??“You really shouldn’t stare at strangers, it’s rude.” He announces annoyingly loud so everyone can hear. I looked around embarrassed, hoping nobody was paying attention.
“Me? Staring? I'm only trying to figure out why you insist on standing on top of me. You think staring is rude and yet you've never heard of personal space.” I counter.
But clearly he doesn’t care about personal space as he moves even closer and just smiles, grabbing a piece of my hair that is dangling out of my braids and wraps it behind my ears. Immediately I can feel the saliva in my throat thicken, becoming difficult to swallow. My heart beat picks up and deafens my ears.
?? Who is this guy and why am I letting him touch my hair ? Oh god, can he hear my heartbeat pounding too? He's so close it seems impossible for him to not notice. Is he trying to throw me off my game?
I smack his arm away with my hand and snap out, “Excuse you.” He just chuckles and turns to face the fight happening currently in the circle.
“So, do you have a name?” I ask hoping to learn something about this mysterious man. He begins rolling up his sleeves, turns to me, smirks that same smirk he keeps flashing at me and says “I do.”
Just as he says that, the winner of the current round prevails with his sword held across his opponent's neck. Both men stand up and shake hands and begin to leave the circle just in time for my partner to walk into it.