The Duel

"HOW is it?" asked Erena.

"She doesn't have good luck at all. Her opponent is a fire user," Andrew replied. He had already gotten today's list of matches. Annabella's name was recorded in the next match.

"What do you want to do now?"

"Depends on Anna. If she focuses on what I teach, she can at least defend herself."

"Why are you the one who's sputtering anyway? Anna who is supposed to fight able to sleep happily." She looked at Annabella who was sleeping without caring about the noisy atmosphere in the colosseum.

"How can she sleep in this situation?" He approached Annabella who was sleeping on a bench while waiting for her turn.

"Anna, wake up!" he demanded.

"Don't mess with me," Annabella fumed with her eyes closed.

"Wake up, Anna! Today is the day of the duel! Didn't I tell you to go to bed early last night?" Andrew's anger was mixed with shock.

"I can't sleep because the girls' dorm was too noisy last night! Don't disturb my sleep!"

He flicks Annabella's head out of anger.

"It hurts!" fumed Annabella. Her eyes were wide-open from being flicked by Andrew.

"Get up!"

"Alright," Annabella muttered.

"You're going up against a fire user."

"She's gonna burn my ass," Annabella said with a sigh.

"If anything happens, don't be afraid! Don't be nervous! What's important is to make sure that she has no chance of hurting you. Understood?" Andrew advised.

"Understood..." replied Annabella in a lazy tone.

"Where's your sword?"

"Here..." Annabella raised her sword.

"Your shield?"

"This..." Annabella pointed to her iron shield.

"Why does he look so nervous?" Annabella whispered to Erena.

"Maybe he's worried that your opponent is gonna burn your ass," said.

"Your turn after this. Don't let your guard down," Andrew instructed for the last time.

The speaker announced that the fourth match of the day was over. It was Annabella's turn to face her opponent.

"Alright!"

"Let's go, Andrew. Let's take a look at the crowd. We will see you from the audience in the first row of seats. You'll be able to see us easily."

They sat in the front row of the seats so that it would be nice to see Annabella more clearly. The seat next to Andrew was filled by someone.

"I apologize, Lord Astal. I didn't feel your present..."

"That's fine, Andrew. I came as a spectator. It would be a loss not to see this fight," Lord Astal said with a subtle laugh.

"The next match is between Wilda Fermos and Annabella Valiant," announced the speaker.

His announcement drew cheers from the crowd made up of academy students and parents of the participants.

Two girls appeared at the scene of the fight. A short golden-haired Annabella with a sleepy face and a stocky girl with a face without a hint of a smile.

Her eyes were stretched as wide as possible to dispel the drowsiness. She wriggled a little to get rid of laziness. Annabella's mouth almost gaped when she saw the huge colosseum. She felt so small, let alone facing an opponent twice her size. She spotted Andrew and Erena in the crowd. She waved her hand at them.

Andrew cover his face at Annabella's gesture while Erena only carved a smile at Annabella who was waving at them.

"You all see that golden-haired girl? Her face looks calm when confronted with her opponent.

"If she wins, it's her luck."

"Who cares? She looks so cute. Isn't that right, Haziel?" He asked his twin's opinion.

"That stocky girl?" his twin replied.

"Where are your eyes? That golden-haired girl."

"My golden princess!" screamed the twin.

"I can't wait to see what power she has," said a man with a sweet smile.

"She's a human girl from Earth," replied the man with glassed eyes. His fingers lightly touch the spec he was wearing.

"What?" Everyone was surprised by the fact of the glasses eyes man word.

"It's not surprising that Frielan found out about it. Oh, Eidan! What are you doing here?" asked the smiling man.

"Bored," replied Eidan.

"Maybe Eidan wants to see Lord Andrew's new apprentice fighting today."

"How do you know, Frielan?" asked a nearby girl.

"I know everything."

All eyes focused on the fight that was about to take place.

***

ANNABELLA threw a smile at her opponent to soften her heart. And sending her a message that does not harm her but is in vain. Her opponent remained with a sugarless face. Doesn't that smile prevent the aging process?

"The fight starts now!" announced the spokesman.

"Hi, my name is Annabella. You can call me Anna. I don't like violence. So, we'd better nicely settle this, shall we?" Annabella tried to reason.

Wilda did not heed Annabella's words instead she continued to attack her by using the fireballs that appeared from her palms. Annabella defended herself by using an iron shield rather than being hit by the fireballs.

However, the shield she was using was getting hotter and hotter causing the hand holding the shield to feel blistered.

Then, Wilda attacked her with a sword. Annabella defended with the existing shield again. Wilda's repeated attacks caused Annabella to lose her balance but she defended with the help of the sword in her left hand. Wilda again distanced herself from Annabella.

Is it stopped already?

Annabella lurked behind her shield. She was shocked when her opponent breathed fire in her direction. She took a step to the right. The flicker of fiery breath almost hit her shoulder. Annabella could feel the heat of the fire.

Every time she was attacked by Wilda, Annabella defended with her shield and parried with her sword. She also dodged and defended when her opponent's attacks appeared. The fireballs that attacked her caused the iron shield to get hotter. Unable to stand the heat, she threw the shield to the ground.

"Wanna me burn your ass?" she said. Her hands were covered in flames.

"I hope you can do that but I can't allow you to do it," Annabella retorted.

Wilda struck her with a fireball but was dodged by Annabella with an easy move. Andrew who saw the fight was somewhat surprised by Annabella's action of not using a shield. At the same time, he was also stunned that the young girl dodged the fireball happily.

"She's dancing?" said Lord Astal.

"I don't know," Andrew replied.

Wilda increased the number of her fireballs to strike Annabella but her opponent was able to escape them.

"You're good throwing your fireball. But my expertise is dodging your fireballs," Annabella said as she avoided her opponent's attack.

"Try this!" Wilda continued to exhale fire breath at Annabella in rapid succession causing Annabella to be unable to dodge.

Annabella has knocked away from where she was standing. Her body slammed into the wall of the colosseum. The fire hit her armor. Her vision was already blurred. Is this how she died? She closed her eyes.

"Anna, my sweetheart! Come here, honey!" called her father.

"Yes, Daddy!" cried Annabella adoringly.

"Why did you hit your classmate?" her father asked.

"He wanna eat my hair!" said ten-year-old Annabella. Her eyes were deliberately raised to look cuter to avoid her father scolding her.

"Oh, dear! You should not do that, Anna," said her father with a chuckle.

"Are you angry?"

"I shouldn't be angry. My cupcake is so cute!" Annabella's body was tickled.

"I'm ticklish, Daddy..." Annabella squirmed with excitement.

"Listen to me, my sweetie. You must not hit your friends," her father advised.

"What if they wanna eat my hair?"

"Just don't hit them, okay? It's not good to fight. No matter what happens, don't use what you learn from me. When the time comes, you can use it freely. But for now... Don't use it at all, okay?" A pinky finger was pointed at her daughter.

"Pinky swear!" The little finger was already joined to her father's.

Memories of his father flashed in her mind. Her father's orders rang in her ears. Has the time come for Annabella to use the self-defense that her father taught her when she was a child?

Please help me, father...

Annabella got up to her feet with the help of the sword. Her body was leaning against the wall with the sword as a place to cling to.

"A Valiant never gives up, Anna!" She blew out the spirit within her.

"When you're facing your enemy, don't show them you're afraid. You're born to win."

Her father's advice rang in her ears, fueling her to become stronger as she trained with her father.

The shield armor she was wearing was taken off as it made it difficult for her to move properly. She now only wore a t-shirt, pants, and buts. Annabella felt relieved when she took off the armor that was stretching her. She stretched her joint. The stinging in her body was gone.

"Let's make a deal!"

"What?" Wilda frowned.

"You know... I'm just a human girl with no freaking power like you. So, to be fair... Fight me with your bare hands. Sword is okay for me. Deal?" Annabella tried to reason once again.

"Oh, come on! It is fun to fight a weak person with no power at all? Your armpits don't even sweat. How is it?" She continues.

"If you insist, I have no choice. We use a sword." Wilda agreed. She pulled out her sword that was tucked into her waist.

"That's good!" Annabella picked up the sword that was stranded on the ground.

"Anna... Why did you take off that armor?" A voice broke into her mind. Annabella searched for the voice playing in her mind.

"Yes, Anna, it's me, Andrew. I can read your mind," Andrew said.

"Telepathy! Great! I took it off because it made it difficult for me to move freely. It's heavy. Don't disturb my concentration," Annabella explained.

She approached Wilda who was in the center of the field. Her stride seemed assured. This was the time she could apply what her father had taught her. She did not like fighting. Since her father died, every night when she could not sleep, she would go out to practice behind her house.

"In battle, your sword is the only friend you have. Trust it, feel it and hold on to it."

His father's advice always rang in her ears.

All right, sword! I believe in you. We will win this fight.

Annabella strike Wilda first but was blocked by her opponent with the sword. The sound of swords fighting and the cheers of the crowd mingled.

In the audience, Andrew was transfixed as he watched Annabella's agility in attacking and defending with the sword. It was as if she had been using the weapon for a long time. The attacks from her opponent were easily dodged and parried without any problems.

Andrew could see that the teenager had switched hands while using the sword. Sometimes on the right and sometimes on the left, when the girl was in danger. He thought the girl didn't know how to use a weapon but he was wrong. The girl had been trained in the swordplay.

"Interesting... A human girl like her can handle a sword very well. Her swordsmanship is like an elite knight. Her movement is impressive. She is not just an ordinary human girl from Earth," said the man with mirrored eyes.

"Who cares? Attack her, big girl! Yeah!" cheered the pink-haired girl.

"Tch! Anyone can do that," snorted a blue-haired girl.

"Based on what I see, she looks like dancing with the sword."

"Frielan, stop with your theories."

"I'm used to it," Frielan replied.

At the same time, Annabella stopped attacking Wilda when she saw that her opponent had a hard time dodging her attack.

"I was just warming up," Annabella said calmly.

"Oh, yeah?" Wilda charged at her again but was ducked by Annabella.

"For your knowledge, I've always practiced with a dummy that my father made out of iron. This is the first time I fought with a real opponent. The feeling is more exciting."

A smile was etched on Annabella's face. It was not cynical, nor was it sweet. It was more of a smile that was difficult to interpret.