There was something a little lecherous about the three of us standing idly by as the only two women fought. Lance made no move to come for me. I didn’t move for him. I could have, but I didn’t want to risk it. He could have too, but I’m sure he was playing his own game. I was safe for this round already. Maybe he wanted to watch the girls fighting.

Katya was speed. She was agility. She was lithe like a stoat, never ceasing her motion. Everything was movement and quickness with her. Lauren was bigger, longer limbed. Her fighting style was more classical. She fought as Lance did in many ways. She made more powerful attacks, was more judicious with them. Her footwork was amazing. Her comfort int he suit was growing better and better.

I watched, unsure of who to root for. Unsure of who was likely to even win.

Katya danced around Lauren.. She darted in and out, always moving. Her sword a blur as she struck at Lauren. All her attacks were quick jabs, testing, exploring, looking for the one moment of weakness. It must have been exhausting for Lauren. It was difficult to defend against such constant motion. I wondered how Katya could have such endless energy. The lithe creature showed no signs of fatigue. If anything she only seemed to be gaining ferocity.

Lance shouted. "Come on, Lauren! Show her what a true Boston noble can do! Make her regret coming here!"

Katya's jaw remained set. She was constantly searching for an opening. She had no time to pay attention of Lance’s prattle. She launched a series of rapid thrusts. Each one aiming to find a gap in a different part of Lauren's defense. But Lauren parried each strike. She was unshakable. Her problem was getting a chance to level a blow of her own. I watched, impressed, as Lauren’s sword moving almost lazily to deflect the blows. The woman was unshakable. I had seen enough of her to know that.

The two circled each other, the clash of their swords ringing out in the arena. Katya's speed was incredible; she moved like a shadow, constantly feinting, her feet barely touching down on the dusty floor. But Lauren was unyielding. She started making more aggressive cuts, trying to head Katya’s dodges off, leading her as a skilled archer might with a bird in flight.

It had the feel of a fight that would end quickly. Katya would find a whole, disrupt Lauren, and then bombard her into submission. Or Lauren would just land one of those swings. Katya’s small form could absorb little more than one of those attacks.

Suddenly, Lauren took a step back, letting Katya overextend herself. In that brief moment of vulnerability, Lauren swung her sword in a wide arc, the blade cutting through the air with a hum. Katya barely managed to deflect the blow, the force of it pushing her back several steps.

Lance shouted again. "That's it, Lauren! Keep the pressure on her! She's no match Boston blood!"

Katya recovered quickly. She danced left, then right, then rocketed forward. Her movements were a blur as she closed the distance once more. She attacked with a frenzy. Her strikes came faster and more aggressively. She was trying to take advantage of Lauren’s adjusted stance. But Lauren was ready. She met each blow with a solid parry, her sword moving with unhurried care.

Lauren feinted left, then swung right. Katya had committed herself. In another moment she might have been through Laruen’s defecnes. Instead, Laruen’s sword connected with Katya's side. The impact sent Katya stumbling, and Lauren seized the moment. She stepped in, her sword arcing down in a powerful strike. Katya tried to block, but Lauren's strength was overwhelming. The blade hit Katya's shoulder, the force of the blow sending her sprawling to the ground.

Katya lay there for a moment, dazed. Then, with a look of resignation, she rolled to her side and struggled to her feet. Mario's voice boomed, "Katya, to the sidelines!"

She nodded, her expression once more unreadable. She almost looked like she didn’t care. I noticed her limping as she walked away.

Mario strode into the circle, his voice booming, “Round one has concluded. The four still standing will advance to the next round of combat.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

He looked directly at me. I was acutely aware of having passed the round without even parrying a single blow. I felt the weight of everyone’s eyes on me. My cheeks glowed under Mario’s gaze, but I wasn't embarrassed. I had a vague plan, and the first round had unfolded exactly as I had hoped. No one viewed me as enough of a threat to engage, and the result was that I was already through. I wouldn't be ejected this day. Even better, for the first time since the competition had begun, I was technically better than second last; I was in the top four.

I wasn't sure if this would help my father's gambling negotiations, as the nobles in the stands would undoubtedly share the story of how I had reached the top four by simply standing aside and cowering. Mario continued, “The five defeated will face off first, to give our victors a chance to gather themselves and recuperate. SOME of them greatly exerted themselves.” He shot me a hateful glance as he said this.

Lauren, Gideon, Lance, and I moved to the sideline, standing together not far from Mario. The other five gathered themselves and entered the arena. The tension was higher now, as one of these five would be sent home today. If I was truly feeling competitive, I should be wishing for Katya to have poor luck and find herself cast out. She was easily the best of them, and her removal from the competition would increase my vague hopes of eventually winning the Griidsuit. But in reality, I was tense for her, already rooting for her.

Leona was very much the worse for wear, moving awkwardly, her chest piece sizzling and sparking, bearing damage from the incredible blow Lance had delivered. Lance leaned slightly, speaking to me out of the side of his mouth. “Do you like the new trick I picked up? You're not the only one gaining attributes. My, my, I did some damage to her suit, didn't I? I wonder what would have happened if I'd hit her in a joint, on a limb maybe. Competitors do get maimed in Choosings. Sometimes they even die.” He turned his head just enough so I could see his eyes on me. The threat was clear. I would be facing him in the next round, after all. His eyes were hungry for violence, cruel. He was everything that was wrong with the noble class, a vicious cliché.

The five in the ring spaced themselves out. My eyes remained locked on Katya. Mario stepped up and barked, “Once two have fallen, this round is over. Those two will face each other in a separate round. The loser of that round will be ejected from the Choosing.” Mario raised his cloth again.

I had no problems deciding who I was rooting for in this round. Katya was easily the best of them. I wondered about her limp and how it might effect her.

The five faced each other, their heads turned just enough so they could watch him drop the starting flag. Katya stood ready. I thought I detected just a hint of tension in her. If I did, it would be the first time.

What happened shocked me at first, but as it continued, I was able to make some sense of it. As the flag hit the dirt, they all sprang into action, but not in the pattern I had expected. I had expected to see each moving to strike the figure opposite them. Instead, I witnessed a prearranged plan unfold. Katya immediately found herself the target of the all four of the other fighters.

Her superior skill was quickly swamped. She backpedalled and parried, there was no chance to make an offence move with four swords coming at her from every angle. I watched Katya, marveling at her steel. There was no panic there. She might have all the odds against her, but she was taking care of business as best as she could. As I reflected, I understood it wasn't all strategy. Katya may be a noble, may be a princess, but she was an outsider to them. The other four were children of noble houses, nobles of Boston, part of the inner circle that Katya couldn't penetrate. It wasn’t just her skill that had made her a target.

I felt a sudden kinship with her. She wasn't that unlike me. Despite her noble blood, she was an outsider here. To them, she was foreign and odd. How different was that from the way they saw me as low-born and common?

Katya was clearly doomed. She had no possible way to defeat the four of them, despite how much better she was than any one of them. But Katya was smart. As I watched her make her decision, I realized she was smarter in the moment than I could have been. She made a decision in the heat and stress of the moment, under all that pressure, that hadn't even occurred to me as I watched from the safety of the sideline.

She streaked into the heart of them, essentially giving herself up, exposing herself to blows from both sides. But the move stunned them, gave her an opening to strike before any of them could react. She made like a bolt for Leona, weakened already from the damage Lance had delivered. She hit Leona hard, the kinetic energy exploding from her sword, sending Leona shrieking, tumbling head over shoulders to the ground.

It was another moment before Katya took two or three hard blows, energy exploding from each impact. She spun in the air from the blows, but landed well as she smashed to the dirt. She had given herself up. But she had been doomed any way. The choice she had made, sacrificing herself to take Leona down, guaranteed her the most vulnerable and weakest possible opponent for that final round. She had hurt Leona more with her sudden attack. She had played the odds.

By the Oracle, she was ruthless.

As much as I admired that, as much as it buoyed my spirits, it pained me that nonetheless, she was only one mistake away from being ejected.