OtherWorlde Academy

OW Tournament Battle 1 Part 4B: Shaya vs Ianthe

Andas the crowd stamped their feet on the count of One,the battle began before Shaya even knew what hit her. Ianthe movedfaster than she was expecting as a ball of fire came hurdling towardsher. She just barely back flipped away before the fire struck thestone wall behind her.

"Oh,it really has begun," she smirked to herself as a bemused glintflickered in her eyes. And the familiar need to tease and tauntsettled in.

Andlike putting on an old hat, she shifted from the quiet,calm Draculinato the trained warrior that had been honed since birth. And as Ianthecharged towards her, her sword drawn, Shaya ran at her as well. Thedistance between them lessened as black mist swirled around her rightarm, traveling down to her open palm.

Quicklyit took form, lengthening out, solidifying. And as Ianthe swung herblade, Shaya swung her arm and a sudden echoing clash resonatedthrough the arena.

Ianthe'seyes widened in disbelief as the slithering shadows along Shaya'sarms had formed into an intricate black sword.

"Whatthe?!" It was obvious that Ianthe wasn't expecting that. "How didyou?"

ButShaya simply sneered as she pushed closer to Ianthe. "You haveheard, right? I am a Draculea," she laughed as she planted her footinto Ianthe's belly, pushing her away hard.

ThePorter Spider snarled, narrowing her eyes as she stumbled backwards,holding her stomach. She hadn't fallen over like Shaya had intended.But then again, she wasn't using her full strength either. She wantedto battle, not maim or even kill. Ianthe was still a fellow student,and hopefully they could come away from this with mutual respect. Ormaybe friends.

Thenagain, with the brutality they probably both had planned for theother, that was going to be a long shot.

Roaring,Ianthe charged again and Shaya met her. Their swords clashed,deafening the cries of the crowd. Focusing on the battle alone, Shayano longer heard the crowd. No longer saw their faces. She only sawIanthe, as her vision tunneled.

Withevery movement and swing of the sword Ianthe made, Shaya counteredwith her own. The battle was fierce, and both were accomplishedswordsmen.

Ianthelaughed. "I didn't expect a princess to handle a sword like this."

Shayaknew Ianthe was trying to get under her skin. It was common knowledgeamong her friends that she didn't like to refer to herself as aprincess. Theirs was a dead monarchy among the living. Then againamong the undead, they were infamous and still viewed as royalty.

StillShaya couldn't help but feel the familiar shiver race up her spine atthe reference. But she didn't let on that it irked her. Instead shelaughed as she spun away, bringing the butt of the hilt on the backof Ianthe's back between her shoulders. "What? You've never heardof a warrior princess?"

ButShaya shouldn't have been so cocky and as Ianthe stumbled forward,she recovered quickly and slashed her blade across Shaya's right arm.

TheDraculina, alarmed by the sudden pain electrifying her nerves, cursedloudly as she hissed at Ianthe. But she knew it was her mistake.Ianthe scored a blow because Shaya underestimated her, got too cockyand confident in her own skills.

Grittingher teeth in agony as she leapt backwards, avoiding another directswing of Ianthe's blade. There was no way, she was going to let thePorter Spider have the upper hand. Her right hand shook while hershadow sword dissipated and dissolved back into her being.

"NOFAIR! WHERE'S THE REF!" Helena's voice could be heard over theroaring crowd. "FOUL! FOUL!"

"Hush,Helena," Stefania hissed as she grabbed at her younger cousin,while the young straw haired blonde tried to climb over the barrierthat separated the spectators from the competitors. "This is battleand Shaya knows what's at stake."