Lauren brought her fists up as she stood in front of Alistair, the grin on her face slowly fading. “I’m not going to light on you, you know,” she said. “Just in case you thought I would.”

“Please, don’t,” Alistair told her.

He brought his fists up too and he tried to cancel the thoughts running through his head. Lauren was slightly taller than him, but Alistair had a good thirty pounds on him that she didn’t have, some of which was the muscle he had been working on since Ghost took residence in his head.

Ghost: If this was a real fight, you would murder her. Look at her stance. One punch, or hell, a chop to the neck would end this. But we have to keep Kanda and her suggestion in mind. We already have enough attention on campus with your damn golden eye.

Alistair: I’m pretty sure the golden eye is your fault.

Ghost: You’re the one who fell from the tree, not me—

“Let’s go,” Yuber told them from the stands. “Respectfully, of course. There are more Mage Solo bouts to take place today and at least one of us doesn’t want to watch Fledglings beat themselves up for an entire afternoon. Speak for yourself,” Yuber mumbled, his voice changing. “I, for one, would love to watch these kids fight. Ahem!”

Yuber brought a hand over his mouth and narrowed his eyes, the look on his face clearly designated for the voice in his head.

“Alright, alright,” Professor Humboldt said. “Blackstar, Carmel, hurry this up.” He yawned and adjusted his fluffy sleeping bag. “More fights to come.”

Lauren tensed her fists again. “Don’t go—”

Alistair came forward with a strike. He pulled it back just in time, Lauren able to block it with her forearm.

“Fuck,” she whispered, yet she kept her fists up as she stared him down. Once again, the grin appeared on her face.

Ghost: Watch out—!

Lauren jumped for Alistair, who instinctively caught her in his arms. She slammed an elbow into the side of his head as Alistair fell backward.

“Oof!” He winced as the air was knocked out of him, Alistair suddenly struggling to breath.

Lauren scrambled on top of him and began squeezing his sides with her knees as the students egged the two on.

Alistair felt a surge of power as Ghost took over. He bucked Lauren off and then relinquished control to Alistair.

Ghost: She said not to go light on her.

Alistair: I’ve got this!

Ghost: Clearly, you don’t.

Alistair pushed himself off the ground just as Lauren came in again for a tackle. She hit him and the two rolled around again. This time, his elbow grazed across the front of her face as he tried to push the girl off.

“Ah!” Lauren yelled, blood streaming from her nose.

He ignored the messages coming in from Juno Zola, who demanded Alistair finish this.

After a bit more grappling, Alistair tossed her to the ground. He got on top of Lauren, his hands holding her shoulders down. His pant legs were hiked up now, showing his ankles. Since she couldn’t swing her arms, Lauren drove her nails directly into Alistair’s exposed flesh.

“Dammit,” he said as she drew blood, the sting instant and spreading.

Lauren spit in Alistair’s face, causing him to flinch back. She used this to flip him around and get on top of Alistair, where she sunk her knee right into his crotch.

“Ooooooo,” the students all groaned in unison.

“Fuck!” Juno cried.

“Language, Stonewind,” Professor Humboldt called to the boy.

“I’m done…” Alistair said as he tapped his hand on the ground.

Lauren remained in the same position, knee on his crotch, a devious look in her eyes. She shifted her knee slightly and spit more blood, this time right next to Alistair’s face. “Good job,” she told him.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Lauren stood, adjusted her short brown hair, and offered Alistair her hand.

Rather than take it, he remained on the ground, groaning at the pain in his groin, which had since spread to his lower gut.

Eventually, two of the students from Seraph’s Rest came to Alistair to heal him. He started to bat them away and then stopped himself.

“Just let me get up,” he told the two with a grunt. He did so, and with one last look at Lauren, who was being seen to by another of the students, Alistair hobbled to the sidelines.

Lauren: Sorry to knee you in the nuts like that.

Rather than say anything, Alistair simply gave her the thumbs up.

****

The matches continued, Juno tapping out in the first round as well.The first round over, both Lauren and Zola were called first for the second round.

“You’ve got this!” Juno called to Zola from the stands.

Zola, who stood across from Lauren, looked up at them and nodded.

“Must be hard to accept your ass got beat by a girl,” a voice hissed from behind Alistair.

Laertes plopped down onto the bench directly behind him.

He had won his match against Lars after kicking dust into the other boy’s eyes and following this up with a throat punch that should have gotten him disqualified. But as Alistair had since noticed, the professors had yet to make any calls, even when Chane stomped a girl’s hand and did so even after she tapped out.

Once Alistair ignored Laertes, he tried the insult again, harsher this time. “Such a pussy…”

Alistair shrugged him off, yet Juno couldn’t help himself.

Juno slowly turned to Laertes, looked up at him, nodded, and released a burp that caused the other boy to scowl with disgust. “Plenty more where that came from, fuckhat,” Juno said.

“Stonewind,” Humboldt said, the professor seated two rows before them. “Behave yourself.”

Professor Vale’s hazegeist scolded him next. “You must remember your decorum in a public setting.”

Juno waited for Professor Yuber to say something, but he never did, the man distracted with a conversation he was having under his breath.

“Watch this,” Juno told Alistair and Finnian, “and be ready to plug your nose.” He squinted a little, shifted to the side, and released a squeaker of a fart.

“Fuck you,” Laertes said as Juno and a few of the other students giggled.

Juno grinned. “Like I said, plenty more where that came from.”

Laertes didn’t respond, but once a smell wafted over the area, he moved.

For his part, Alistair simply shook his head and held his breath. For his part, Finnian pinched his nose and shut his eyes for a few moments while the students murmured.

Ghost: Flatulence is a tactic, yes, but not one I’d recommend. One time, after stepping out of the dark, I scared someone that they not only farted, they shit their pants too. And I still had to kill them and dispose of the body. It wasn’t pleasant. Oh! Look at Zola go.

Zola moved on Lauren at full speed, surprising the other girl. She feigned like she was going to punch her, but kicked Lauren in the side instead.

Upon recovering from the strike, Lauren tried her dive and grapple technique like she had against Alistair. She was met with a literal uppercut, one that had her flying backward and landing in a heap, the girl out cold.

“Ooo…” Juno said, echoing the students around him. “I’m so glad Zola is our friend and not an eney.”

Zola turned back to the stands, a thin smile on her face as the results were read. She didn’t gloat like some of the other had, nor did she raise her hands into the air in victory or pumped her fists, like Laertes.

Zola simply nodded, turned back to the stands and took the steps to the top. She sat next to Alistair and he could feel her trembling through the wooden seat.

“You good?” he asked her.

“I’m fine. Sorry. I just don’t like displaying this side of me.”

“You’ve been in a lot of fights, yeah?”

Zola nodded. By this point their moment was over, Juno taking over the conversation as he often did: “Dang, Zolski, you whooped her ass. Like, wow. For real. That was amazing!”

Alistair watched as the students from Seraph’s Rest helped Lauren to her feet.

“I’m so ready for all this to be over,” Zola said, cutting Juno off.

“Just a few more fights now.”

Laertes was announced next, his fight against Chane Brashlung ending pretty quickly once Laertes overpowered the clearly intimidated Chane, who didn’t even attempt to block incoming strikes.

The third round began soon after, Zola quickly beating Arnez with a well-timed punch. Laertes won his match, and a boy from Professor Vale’s coterie named Justin just barely beat his opponent through a powerful slap.

After everyone was healed up, Professor Yuber stood to address the coteries: “The final match will be a three-way bout rather than a round-robin sort of thing. Zola Landvik, Laertes Undergast, and Justin Tomus, please make your way down to the battlefield. It’s funny when you call it a battlefield. I know, it is—” Yuber cleared his throat. “Well? Get on with it, Professor Humboldt has a nap he needs to get to. Kidding, Meadris.”

“No, you are not,” Humboldt said, his mouth agape. “It’s about that time.” He yawned. “Yeah, about that time.”

Alistair turned to Zola just as she got to her feet. “Don’t worry about Justin,” he told her quickly. “Go for Laertes first. He’ll try to cheat.”

Juno nodded in agreement. “Agreed. Laertes, then Justin. Or better, wait, holy crap we’re going about this all wrong—let the two of them beat each other senseless, and then clean up the scraps.”

“I like that idea,” Zola said. “Fin?”

Finnian huffed a positive response. “Juno’s got the right idea here. Good luck, Zola. Keep low, let them do most of the fighting, and then sweep in for the kill.”

“Good luck!” Alistair called to her as she headed down to the final fight.