Parcae (BWWM) (Book #1 of the Falcone Series)

т є и

B r i a n

I saw Bambi's eyes widen in recognition as she stared at Richie. He and his family had just recently moved into the village, they weren't even introduced to anyone yet. However, I recognized his talent on his first day of training and realized he was just as skilled as Bambi.

I had her training alone with Fletcher now, not wanting any of the boys to know her weaknesses and strengths because they'd do anything to cripple her. She had made such tremendous improvements in just three days and I didn't want that happening to her. Hell, she made great improvements when I watched her spar with Fletcher twenty minutes ago.

I looked back up at the stage, both of them circling around each other.

"You got this Bambi," I heard Vinny whisper to himself as he bit the tips of his nails.

They continued to circle each other for ten minutes, neither one of them wanting to make the first move. I could see Bambi's eyes from here, zooming from Richie's feet to his fists, to the platform they were on and to his face.

"C'mon already!" I heard Neil Dumphy, the prick in training, yell. Bambi's head turned towards the sound of Neil's voice, which left her open for Richie's attack. He swung out and hit her square in the face as she turned back around. Her head flung back as she staggered backwards a bit, shaking her head and trying to regain her composure. He charged again, punching her stomach. She groaned as her whole body moved with the force he exerted from the punch. I could tell the wind was knocked out of her. I could hear the cheers of some of the men as Bambi quickly backed away from Richie and they began to circle each other again. I silently thanked God that she remembered that circling your opponent is a good way to stall and get yourself back together. Bambi's eyes zeroed in on Richie's feet as she slung her leg to knock him down. He anticipated this, but right as he jumped, she retracted her leg and double-fist punched his crouch, sending him to the platform floor.

Gasps were heard around us as she moved quickly, putting Richie in a headlock. She had him for a good 10 seconds before her grabbed her shoulders and threw her over him. She used the throw to her advantage, flipping in the air and landing right onto her feet. She was repeating what she had done with Fletcher earlier.

Richie's face was red with anger as he yelled and charged at her, she waited until he was about a foot away from her before she ducked. He was running at her with such a high speed that he tripped over her body, falling off of the platform all together.

Bambi crept over to look at Richie's body, which was face down in the dirt, knocked out.

There was a long silence, causing tension to fill the air, until someone yelled, "Way to go Bambi!"

This started a chain reaction; most of the young girls who were once on Richie's side ran over to Bambi's and cheered along with Tua and Vinny. I was beaming, a large smile on my face as I ran onto the platform and cheered for my niece. She looked exhausted, but she smiled weakly. She was victorious. Fletcher came onto her other side, lifting her arm into the air and whooping for his baby sister.

"How do you feel kid?" I asked her, still grinning like a fool.

"Tired, but like a champion," she grinned, hugging me tightly.

"Wait," she said as the smile left her face. She walked over to the side platform, jumping off and looking down at Richie. She flipped him over and started hitting his face so he'd wake up. Confused, I went and stood next to her, watching her revive her opponent.

He wasn't waking up from her little slaps, so she pulled back as far as she could, and slapped the shit out of him, making him jolt awake. He opened his eyes, closing them tightly again as the light entered his pupils.