Rags to Riches. Really? (1st book of Really? Series)

Chapter 15

Ramont climbed up onto the platform and looked around before looking at me. He didn't say a word, but I had a feeling that he was second guessing himself because he might have known that it was actually me. And, since I was the "princess"... he had to fight someone he had sworn to protect.

"Come on, Buttercup, don't go soft," I drawled out, raising my hands to my face. I glanced at the ref. "Are you going to start it?" I asked, and the ref scowled and nodded.

"Don't use any weapons. If I call time, stop fighting. There aren't any other rules." He looked at Ramont. "For you, don't take off her beanie or hood. She doesn't like that and has sent some people to the infirmary when they did."

"I won't," Ramont promised. He stayed in the position that he was in, and I had no idea if he was going to move from that way or not.

The ref placed his hand between us and moved it down. "Fight," he said before backing up.

I took a deep breath and nodded my head as I watched him. I had no idea what Ramont will do or what he will say when we were done with this battle. I just hoped that he would not tell my grandmother.

If she found out about this... she might not want us after all.

***

I started to walk around Ramont after a couple of minutes, not knowing if he would attack or not. My whole body was as he watched me with those knowing eyes as if he knew who I was but didn't understand why I was here.

Ramont was the one that made the first move, and I ducked away from him, shocked. For an old guy, he moved fast, and I had a feeling that he had also been trained in hand to hand combat but far different than what I had been trained in.

I blocked the punch that he threw my way and ducked underneath his arm. My whole body was tense as I tried to find an opening, but I couldn't as he threw a slew of punches my way.

I grabbed his arm and pulled it behind him, and he grunted in shock. I placed my other arm around his neck and made sure that I was sort of near his body, just so that he could only hear me whisper and no one else. "Don't tell her, please. I'll explain later."

"Then my apologies," Ramont said. He shoved me back with such force that it shocked me. He somehow had gotten me on my back and was about to punch me before I rolled out of the way and jumped up again.

The crowds were cheering louder because it had been a while since someone had gotten me on my back, and I knew that this caused a lot of excitement for them.

"Not bad," I said, ducking underneath another of his punches and hitting him in the side. "For an old man."

"Not bad, for a girl," he said. He started to punch me faster than he had been, causing me to duck underneath his arm. He grunted when I kicked him in the side and took a step back.

After that, both of us attacked each other and tested each other's skills. He had landed some good punches on me, and I landed some good punches on him, and I knew that there would be many questions if we weren't careful.

All in all, it was me who was the victor, with me on top of him and him not able to move out of my grasp.

Ramont looked at me, shocked, with his lips parted. He stared at me with wide eyes because the crowds around us were cheering for me to knock him out, which I did not want to do.

I lifted my hands to my face and stared down at him. I took in a deep breath and watched as he stared at me with those wide eyes, and I could sense this... fear coming off of him as if he didn't know what I would do.

"Red," the ref warned, knowing full well that I either had to stand and say no or punch him in the head. He didn't move from his spot, knowing full well that I would throw a punch at him if he interfered with whatever I had planned.

I took a deep breath and punched the ground near his head, and he closed his eyes. "This is finished," I said, my voice carrying above the steady roar. "Attack me again, and I will knock you out. Understood?"

Ramont nodded his head. He stayed still while I stood and took my hand when I offered it to him. He grimaced in pain, and I knew that he would be sore tomorrow, and I was going to be sore as well.

The ref moved towards us and grabbed my arm, presenting me as the winner of the match. "Winner," he called out, and the crowd cheered. "She won both of her competitions. Is there anyone else that wants to fight her?"

No one said a word, and the ref nodded and let me go. He gestured for the person to bring me the money, and I nodded in thanks before they nodded and ran off to do something else.

Ramont and I walked off of the area just as two other fighters went up. He didn't say a word to me, still pretending that he didn't know me, and I was grateful for that.

It was bad enough that there were people who knew me as both Red McCowell and Mira Lamont but having someone close to my grandmother and who might work for me one day was worse.

I just hoped that my grandmother would never find out about it, and if she did, then I hoped that she would understand as to why I had done it, as to why I had started fighting illegally to protect my family and to make sure that they had whatever I could provide for.