Faye heard the announcer as her confusion turned to anger. She didn't know what was going on, but she felt she'd been cheated. Whether that was the man she paid's intention or not, wasn't known, but in that moment, Faye felt deceived.
She pushed her opponent back, trying to push him off his center and cause his balance to wane. Unfortunately, the man's muscular appearance wasn't just for show. He stepped back, but continued to grin at her as he grasped his sword. He didn't seem concerned with Ryder, causing Faye to glance over.
It was then she saw that Ryder's hands were useless and broken. He seemed to be mouthing something to her and she wondered why he didn't just call out. Maybe it was because he didn't want Crimshaw to hear…
Faye sidestepped as Crimshaw came in with another attack, this time ready for it. She turned, lashing out with her own blade. She kept her strength in check, not wanting to injure the man too much. Her blade, new and sharp, cut into his flesh easily. The man's blood flowed out of the gash in his arm.
He glared down at the wound, then turned his attention back to Faye. The smirk from before was gone, replaced with a look of anger. It was as if he was blaming her for fighting back?
The surroundings roared out, excited that the fight wouldn't end quickly due to the new challengers inexperience. It was understood within the surrounding crowd that Faye was not a veteran fighter. Her age was young and her armor looked brand new. Her sword looked as if it had never seen a day of fighting. Seeing her defend and even retaliate in blood against their champion caused the excitement to grow ever more.
Finally, Crimshaw began to study Faye and her stance. He backed away, gripping his sword tightly.
Faye also stood, facing her opponent. She wasn't sure how talented the man before her was, but she knew one thing for sure. He was classed. But, what was his class and how far had he advanced in it? What did it grant him?
The man finally shifted his face from a frown; his lips slowly began to turn up at the corners as he smiled, this time showing off the rotten and missing teeth.
"You're not bad, girl. I'm gonna have fun beatin' you…."
Faye kept her focus as her opponent tried to bate her into anger. A memory played in the back of her mind.
"Sometimes, you'll have to fight something other than a beast. Sometimes, you have to fight people." An older graying man stood off to the side as he gave Faye tips on her weapon fighting. "In those times….it's best not to think too much. Think after. Regret after; when you're still alive to regret. Just...survive."
The man's voice never fully came into Faye's mind as she focused on her opponent before her. She felt her nerves calm as she readied herself. She rushed forward, slashing with her sword.
Whether due to being caught off guard or because his skill didn't match hers in that moment, Faye once again felt her sword slash through flesh, this time deeper.
She heard a curse and turned to attack again, only to find her opponent swinging for his own attack. His eyes were crazed as he cried out in rage.
"Dumb bitch! I'll fucking kill ya!"
Faye stepped sideways, attempting to dodge his reckless attack, but found herself unable to do so. Blood dripped from her shoulder and down her arm as she readjusted her grip on her sword. The blood would cause it to be harder to hold her weapon if she allowed it to continue to drip downwards. She hurried to answer Crimshaw's attack with her own. Due to his reckless attacking, it wasn't difficult for Faye to find an opening to attack in. She swung her sword gracefully, once again making contact against the flesh of her foe. She didn't stop and continued with another attack before Crimshaw could recover from the first.
Crimshaw cried out in anger as the first slash caught him on his back, then the second caught him on his chest as he turned to answer her attacks. Blood dripped heavily from his wounds. He didn't wait to consider his wounds, instead once again coming at Faye, swinging wildly. Faye used her sword to block, but found herself lacking the strength to keep him back. His sword still cut into her shoulder. Faye's knees buckled as she used the momentum and hurried to roll away. Her opponent was much stronger than her, in a test of strength he won easily. The only was she'd win this fight was if she continued to out maneuver him.
She raised her sword once again and rushed toward her opponent.
Ryder stood back, watching Faye and the man that was to be his murderer fight a devastating battle. His heart shook with each slash given and taken by Faye. His mind was a mess, he couldn't understand why she was there. Why she was dragged into this? Even if someone knew of her involvement with trying to collect the debt, they wouldn't have targeted her, would they? No! It didn't make sense to.
He grimaced as the pain in his hands throbbed. They'd broken his hands to keep him from casting any spells. His voice had also been sealed with a silencing item wrapped around his throat. They really had guaranteed he wouldn't be able to fight back. So, why would they then throw in another opponent?
He shook his head of the useless thoughts clouding his mind. It didn't matter. What mattered was he'd somehow dragged a young girl into his mess. He couldn't let Faye lose her life either to this fight, or worse, to this gang. Even if they won, they'd still have to answer to the gang. They wouldn't just let them go! These thoughts plagued Ryder's mind as he once again settled his attention on the battle at hand. Whatever the Scorpions were planning, he swore he'd do whatever was needed to get Faye free of their influence.
Faye ducked to the side as Crimshaw's bloody figure swung wide. He was growing tired, she could tell. She used the opening caused by his own attack to counterattack, her blade this time not slashing, but instead stabbing forward. In the beginning of their fight she'd had her reservations about fighting another person. She didn't want to kill anyone. She didn't want to become a murderer. But, something in the back of her mind told her that was wrong. A lesson that she knew, but couldn't recite. But slowly, she lost her reservations about seriously attacking the man before her. It became clearer and clearer to her that he was not holding back. That he would kill her if she gave an opening. Slowly, the shackles of her humanity, her reservations against causing fatal damage, were thrown off. Finally, she struck with her full power, full potential. Her blade slid into the man unarmored gut like butter. It was as if his body was meant to house her sword. The feeling of ease of which she stabbed that man sickened her. But also…she felt elation. She had won. She was alive.
The man did not stand after being stabbed, there was no dramatic stand still after Faye's fatal attack. No, instead, her attack was fast, her blade slid in his gut, then back out again. The man lost his footing and tumbled down. He lay on his stomach, blood oozing out of his gut as she struggled to continue living. He seemed to have lost his mind for a moment as he tried desperately to hold the blood freely flowing out of him with his hands. His eyes shifted from those of anger and rage, to those of fear and panic. Finally, he lifted his head to look at Faye and her heart jumped into her throat at she recognized that look in his eyes. He was going to ask for help. Before she could decide whether to help her foe or not, however, his eye line drifted back down as he slowly collapsed into the dirt below.
It was unknown how long the man's heart continued to beat after he collapsed, but by the time Faye hurried forward, finally coming out of her daze, he was gone.