The Shadow Walker

19. Playing With Fire

The next morning, I trotted into the training arena shortly after sunrise. I was wearing my trousers, my sweater, and my boots, and I'd braided back my wild hair. My swords were strapped to each hip, and my knife stowed in my sleeve. I felt invincible.

Elladan was already practicing with his longbow, but otherwise, the arena was empty. As I entered, he lowered the bow and turned to face me. His dark eyebrows rose as he openly examined my choice of wardrobe.

I placed a hand on my hip. "Do you approve, Elrondion?" I motioned to what I wore.

He scowled and turned back toward the target. "It is highly inappropriate."

"I fought you once in clothes that restrained my movement, and it nearly cost me the battle," I retorted. "That is one mistake I'll not make twice."

"You hardly need trousers to learn archery," he answered, firing off an arrow as he spoke. It landed dead-center of the target.

"I had rather hoped to spar with you first," I replied.

Elladan glanced at me, then slowly lowered his bow. "As you wish." He strode to the side of the arena, where he hung his bow up on a stand, and removed one broadsword from another stand, then another. "We will fight with equal weapons, however," he said.

I frowned, but nodded and removed my swords. Then I accepted the sword Elladan offered. It was far heavier than mine, and longer, and I struggled to hold it in just one hand. Placing both hands on the hilt, I spaced my feet apart and readied myself. "On guard."

Elladan swung at my neck, and I blocked just in time.

"So we aren't playing by the rules?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

He twirled and swung at my opposite side. "Orcs don't play by the rules."

I blocked. "Oh! Silly me. For some reason, I thought you were an Elf." I laboriously made a swing of my own, which he easily blocked. "But that explains a lot."

"Your tongue is sharp," he replied, "but thus far, you have done nothing to incite my fear." He made a shallow thrust, which I easily blocked, but lost ground in doing so.

It was time for Elladan to meet the Shadow Walker.

"Your form is good," I said, blocking his teasing swings, "and your movement is crisp. But, you've forgotten one crucial thing, Elladan."

"And what would that be?"

He gave a deep thrust, which I blocked, twisting toward him and blocking the following swing, bringing me well into his personal space. I smirked up at him. "Never underestimate your opponent."

I jumped away and swung with all my might. He blocked and attacked. I parried and thrust. He sidestepped, blocked, and swung. And so, our match went from teasing to dangerous.

Excitement coursed through my veins with every accelerated pound of my heart. We moved like dancers through a choreographed sequence. But nothing about this feral dance was rehearsed or monotonous. I lost myself in the complete focus, in the split-second reflexes and the gut instincts.

But Elladan's swings were powerful, and all too soon, my arms began to tire. My reactions grew sluggish, and the ellon did not hesitate to take advantage. Within moments, he cut a shallow slice in my arm, then stepped away and lowered his sword. Technically, having drawn first blood, Elladan had won the match.

But who plays by the rules anymore?

I leapt back in with a volley of swings and thrusts. His eyes wide with surprise, Elladan blocked each approach. "The match is over," he said between swings. "I won."

I countered with a vicious swing at his knees. "The match won't be over until I have no more strength to fight with."

So we fought.

Now, our dance was chaotic and lethal. There was nothing graceful about the sweat streaming down our faces, or the blood trickling from my arm. And there was nothing musical about the brutal clashing of our blades. Now, training meant little. Form was disregarded. It was just us, our swords, and our animal instincts.

My arms burned with the exertion of wielding the broadsword, but I battled on. The good news was, the broadsword blade was longer than that my little sparring swords. I was able to swing at his neck, though it expended more energy. But I was steadily losing ground, and before long, I backed into the wall.

Elladan locked his blade with mine and wrenched the sword from my hand. Then he tossed his own sword aside. Grabbed my wrists and pinned them to the wall over my head. Our sudden proximity was startling, and trying hard not to blush, I glanced up and met Elladan's smirk.

But he hadn't won yet. I still had my dagger.

"You fight with no reservations," he murmured down at me. "And though you are not strong, you are quick, and fearless." Elladan moved my arms together so that he could hold both wrists in one hand. "But, you have forgotten one crucial thing, Eda."

I looked up at him through my eyelashes. He was leaning down to even our height out, and we were so close that if I stood on my tiptoes, I could easily steal a kiss. I trained back a grin. "Oh? And what would that be?"

With his extra hand, he reached into my sleeve and pulled out my knife. "Never repeat strategies on the same person."

My grin dropped like a rock, but his grew as he backed away and released my hands. He examined the tool between his fingers, his smile fading to a confused frown. "Interesting," he murmured, glanced up at me, then back at the knife. "Is this-?"

"Give it to me," I snapped, cutting him off.

Elladan's dark eyes lifted to me once more, searching. Then, slowly, he handed the knife back, hilt-first. "My apologies. I meant no harm."

"Apology accepted," I muttered, taking the knife and pushing it back up my sleeve. An awkward silence settled over us, so I cleared my throat. "I am ready to practice archery, if you would still teach me."

"Of course." Elladan's tone was confused, but instead of pursuing the issue, he bent down and picked up our swords. While he put away the swords and grabbed his longbow, I went to the archery range, where he joined me a moment later.

As he handed me the bow, I said, "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked quietly, in his deep, gentle voice.

"For not asking questions." I tugged on the string, sighed, and said, "Would you help me pull this blasted thing back?"

He chuckled and leaned down to assist me. "Of course."