𝓐𝓷 𝓘𝓼𝓵𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓖𝓾𝓲𝓵𝓽 (𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓱𝓪𝓭𝓸𝔀 𝓠𝓾𝓮𝓮𝓷: 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓣𝔀𝓸)

Mal and Carlos

"All right, boys. Let's line it up. Carlos, you're with me. Let's go," Jay said. Brooke was watching from the balcony with Jane and a few other cheerleaders. "Assemble. Salute. Lower the point. Masks down. En Garde!" with that they started. "Keep your center!" He slid under Carlos. "Eyes on your opponent! Up and over."

Two fencers blew past everyone else with ease. Their intent was clearly on Jay and Carlos,"Get em guys!" Aziz called. Carlos and Jay took off their helmets to look at the two in shock.

"What's going on?" Jane asked looking up from her tablet, she had clearly missed something.

Her usual emotionless voice broke though the clanging of swords, "Lonnie and Cece schooling the boys," she said pointing down. Being with Carols had done wonders for Brooke but every now and then there was a moment where her tone was flat, and her face was blank. Jane liked the new Brooke better and was hoping that soon enough the new her was the more common her. 

The two unknown fencers took off their masks revealing the warrior and the princess. Lonnie had tried this every year. Cece was a new one though. The cheerleaders and Brooke clapped though her face stayed set in stone.

Jay laughed, "Not bad."

"You should put us on the team."

Chad interrupted. "We can't," he looked apologetic, "You tried this before, it's the same every year, Lonnie," he reminded them. "You're girls."

"So?" Jay asked, "If they can fight, what's the issue?"

"The rule book," he pulled a pocket-sized rule book out of his back pocket, "Section 2, paragraph 3, 11-4. "A team will be composed of a captain, a co- captain and eight men." You're captain, I'm co-captain so they can't be on the team."

"Okay, yeah, but you're down a man! I mean, since Ben had to leave to do all that king stuff," Lonnie argued.

Cece stepped up too, "and another since Eli left." Eli had been a transfer from another realm, called Andalasia, last year. He was a great fencer like his father King Edward, but his mother Nancy had wanted him to come home and finish his royal training, seeing as his coronation was soon as well. Being the good prince and son, he was he did so.

"I know that, and I even brought it up to the coach last week," Chad had tried to be a better person since Audrey had broken up with him. For the most part it had worked, this was simply him trying not to get Jay in trouble. If he wanted to be a jerk, he would have let them on the team so he could be captain, "You kick our butts every year, but they won't let us put you on the team. I just don't want you guys to get in trouble."

"Jay," Cece pleads with her hands clasped together and her lips taunt in a pout.

Jay winces and shakes his head, "I'm sorry. Coach trusts me. I'm not gonna stay captain if I just throw out the rule book," it sounded pain filled.

Lonnie was agitated, "If my mother thought that way, she would have lost the war," she snapped and walked away. Cece just stood there with a broken-hearted glace at Jay. It broke him.

Jay sighed, Chad looked at the rule book and threw it over his shoulder, "All right, guys. Practice is over. Let's go."

After practice was over Brooke glided gracefully down the stairs to meet Carlos, "How'd I do?"

"Amazing," she answered with a soft smile. Her watch beeped, "I do need to help Ben with something now, but I promise I'll see you for dinner Pup."

"Okay Beasty," he wrinkled his nose with a smile touching her forehead with his own. She smiled leaning into the feeling before gliding away.

~~~