We reached the training ground. It was nothing like the palace back in Bisea. It was fully grass, unlike the palace which had a floor made out of stone. I saw many soldiers learning hand-to-hand combat in pairs. The instructor was screaming out instructions. Arthur and I chuckled as Ari imitated the yells. She was definitely making fun of him. Ari was still on my head and wouldn't get down at all. I guess dragons usually clingy with people they imprint with. I could still feel the burn mark and pain on my nose from her biting me. I was a little bit surprised since the instructor did not even sense us standing there. I was even more surprised that they continued to train even if dad stood there, waiting. I heard dad clear his throat which made the instructor jump. Everyone stopped and bowed down.
"I need to use this training ground since my son and I are going to fight." The soldiers all made space right in the middle with excited expressions.
"Dad, you mean me and Alex are going to fight." Arthur gave dad a confident look.
"Nope, you heard it right."
"What do you mean? You know I saw him first."
"Well, I am his father, so that gives me the right." They looked at each other intensely, then looked at me.
"Who do you want to fight?" They were in sync. I can't believe they were pinning that question on me. I scratched my cheek in nervousness. What should I do? I felt Ari's weight on my head. I got it. I grabbed Ari and put her on the ground. She looked at me, confused.
"Ari will choose who I should fight." Both of them looked at Ari, which frightened her. She ran and hid behind mom.
'Traitor.'
'They look scary.' I turned to them. I didn't really want to make a decision like this. I picked up a stick and made a line. Then I threw the stick up in the air, letting it decide who to pick. The stick landed on Arthur's side.
"I pick Arthur since the stick fell on his side." Arthur gave dad a 'he picked me' smirk. I didn't expect dad to calm down and accept my decision. If I had known, I would have just pick Arthur from the start.
"I guess Arthur and Alex will duel." He turned to the soldiers. Why were the soldiers still here? We went to the little space that the soldiers had made for us. Arthur gave me a confident smile. I could hear most of the soldiers hyping Arthur up by chanting his name.
Great! This was like three years old, all over again.
They were chanting his name because they knew Arthur longer. I didn't really mind, but they made me feel like I am some kind of villain.
"Go whenever you feel like you are ready." So what if I am not ready? I looked at Arthur, waiting for his move. He bumped his fist together and fire lit up. I watched as the fire spread all the way to his shoulders. His feet also lit up too. Since he brought up fire magic, I might as well do it too.
"You know Arthur, you aren't the only one who learned how to control fire." I created a flame on my right palm. I took a step towards him, then another. I was trying to provoke him, but he stood there. He looked pretty calm too. Dad taught him pretty well. I launched at him. He took out one of his arms to punch me, but I stopped right in front. I summoned water and put a thin layer over the palm of my hand before grabbing onto his hand. It helped extinguished the area my hand was on. I twisted his hand so I could bring it to the back but he kicked me right in the stomach that sent me flying into a group of soldiers.
I stood up as quickly as I can and stood in a defensive stance. I gave him an impressed smile. He was pretty skilled, but not enough. I saw the kick coming, so I blocked it in time. He rushed towards me and kicked me on the ankle. It wasn't strong enough. Arthur lost his balance and fell. I took this chance to jump on him, but he kicked me away. The soldiers cheered at Arthur's reflexive move. Arthur gained his posture. We circled each other.
I stepped on the ground a little hard, making a little hole where Arthur was about to step. As he tripped, I rushed over to him and jumped onto his back. He let out a grunt as he fell on the ground with me on top of him. I grabbed both of his arms and twisted onto his back. I pinned them down with my legs, knowing my arm strength wasn't enough. I pointed my index finger right at the back of his head.
"Alexander Covington wins!" I got surprised when dad said my whole name. I was so used to everyone calling me Alex. Arthur started laughing underneath me.
"You should teach me a few of those moves." He turned to me and gave me a wink. I gave him a nod. I saw Ari come over and jumping onto me. She started licking me all over my face as I laughed. "I don't mean to disturb your little moment, but can you get off? Your pretty heavy." I got off of him and helped him up.
"Well then, let's have dinner. I am starving." I looked at mom, then the sky. I guess it really was getting dark. I had all the soldiers congratulate me on my victory, except one. I wasn't too surprised since he was the captain that arrested me.
He looked at me in disgust. I don't know what his problem was from the moment I got here. I really needed to keep a watch on him. I was getting this bad feeling from him. Dad came over and led me inside. I looked back to see the captain still glaring at me.
"Something wrong, Alex?" I looked at dad. Should I tell him?
"Nothing."