“You didn’t even say the rules!” Hector said.

“Rules? Right.” Jocasta jumped in excitement. “For young guys, I think a battle of pure strength will work.”

“You mean, no spells,” Mallory suggested.

“Yes! No spells! First person to knock the other out of the ring three times or just straight unconscious wins.”

“Okay.” Hector nodded. “In that case, can we get some privacy before the match?”

“Sure.” Jocasta shrugged. “We’re gonna start the match soon. So, whatever it is you need to do. And have a good fight!”

She jogged out with excitement.

“Something told me she was planning this from the beginning,” Mallory said.

“What was that?” Hector asked.

“She just reeks of schemes.” Mallory shuddered. “But, at least she’s actually selfish. It’s worse when someone’s pulling off a scheme for the greater good. Like Luther, you know?”

Hector shuddered. “Yeah.”

Jon agreed.

Hector reached behind his neck and pressed it. The top half of the armor relaxed into clothing, and he pulled it off.

Jon watched Thalia mouth the word cool, and Milo rolled his eyes.

“I’m gonna take my seat,” Milo said. “Make you sure you don’t lose to that glorified bodyguard, or I’ll stop training under you. And worse, I’ll think less of you.”

“It’s not about winning!” Hector said.

Milo was already walking out of the curtain, ignoring what Hector was saying.

“Do you need me here for moral support?” Mallory asked Hector.

“Maybe.” Hector handed Mallory his golden top. “I think there’s something else I want to talk about first, before I go out there.”

“Sure,” Mallory said, flicking the shirt before attempting to fold it properly in his arms. “What is it?”

“I… need to find the words,” Hector admitted.

“Okay. Take your time.” Mallory stood, waiting for Hector to speak.

Jon wondered if Marsha had any of the guards waiting in her corner. He was quite curious.

“I’m gonna go,” Jon said.

“Alright.” Mallory gave a thumbs up. “We’ll find the kids and meet back up in the seats.”

Jon nodded. He looked at Hector, wondering if he should even wish him luck.

“Good luck, Hector,” Jon said.

“Yeah. Thanks.” Hector nodded. “You too, in case I don’t make it to your fight.”

Jon departed from the curtain and walked across the loud stadium. It had gotten more full, and the crowd was definitely more riled up than before.

He spotted Milo and Thalia sitting pretty high up. They looked so different from the rest of the crowd, he was glad it was so easy to spot them.

Jon traveled across the arena to the opposite side, where there was a smaller room with a curtain in front of it. Two guards stood on either side of the curtain.

Jon looked at either of the guards, seeing if they would stop him from going in. Aside from some looks, they didn’t seem too interested in doing so.

He pushed open the curtain and walked inside.

He caught a glimpse of black hair. Realizing it was Marhsa’s, he suddenly covered his eyes.

“Jon?”

Jon nodded, still holding his hands over his eyes. She had worn her headwrap for so long, he was ashamed at seeing anything underneath.

“It’s alright. I’m covered up.”

Jon pulled his hands away. As she said, she had put her head covering back on.

“They didn’t tell you I was changing?” she asked.

Jon shook his head.

“Man, those guys are bad at their job,” Marsha told him. “They didn’t even have the decency to let me know you were coming in.”

“Sorry,” Jon said.

“No worries,” Marsha said. “You seemed embarrassed. Even more than me.”

“I… yeah,” Jon admitted.

“I will say,” Marsha continued, “I haven’t shown anyone how I look under here in a while. I get so used to it, it starts to just feel like my face. I suppose you must think it foolish.”

Jon shook his head.

“I mean, if you really want to. I could take it off. If that would make you feel more comfortable. I should probably get used to opening up to more people.”

Jon didn’t want to tell her what she should or shouldn’t do. He already had enough of that with Hector.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“For the fight?" Marsha responded. She adjusted her head wrap. “Sure. I suppose it is a bit sudden, but I am always ready for action. So, in some sort of sick way, Jocasta was right being able to send me out. I mean I’d do anything for this woman, but-”

Marsha crossed her arms. “Sorry. I suppose I should learn some more information about my opponent. How strong of a fighter is he?”

“Strong,” Jon said. He didn’t know how to emphasize that point. Anyone was stronger than Jon was, as far as he knew.

“Can you do spells?” Jon asked.

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“No. Not a lick of it,” Marsha said. “Can he?”

Jon nodded.

“Well. Thankfully, most of these matches tend not to have spellcasting anyway,” Marsha said. “I wonder if that will be incorporated into the ruleset.”

“Don’t you make the rules?” Jon asked.

“Ehh.” Marsha shrugged. “I mostly enforce them. Jocasta gives me tons of suggestions, then I try to rule them out. Generally-”

“Hello, patrons!” Jocasta yelled from the arena.

“It’s time, I suppose,” Marsha said. “I know I might not win… but I hope I can learn something from this. Wish me luck.”

“Good luck,” Jon said.

Marsha gave him another nod, then walked out from the curtain. She gave Jon a soft pat on the shoulder as she went by. It felt warm.

Jon left after her, looking for Milo and Thalia. They weren’t sitting where he had spotted them before.

He shifted through the audience with his eyes until he could see the both of them in the third row, incredibly close to the arena. Mallory was now with them.

Jon jogged down the steps, paying attention to Jocasta as she bellowed to the crowd.

“Attention, attention, to my lovely crowd of patrons!” Jocasta announced.. “Today, I have a special feature for everyone here!” “We’re going to have an incredible amateur event, right here, right now!”

The crowd cheered in response.

“But first,” she continued, “We’re gonna have another special event. A battle of pros. The top of the top. We come here to escape the watchful eye of the elite, but now, watch them grovel and tear themselves apart before your very eyes!”

This sentence elicited another roar of the crows.

“First, in one corner, you’ll probably recognize her. Hell, you might even hate her. She’s the ever-watchful eye over our arena. The guardian of our battle. The keeper of the guard, the toll baron of the gates, and the women whose hands I gladly put my life into… Marsha!”

There were some cheers, and a couple of boos, enough to where Jon could hear them.

Marsha walked down to the center of the arena, unaffected by the sounds around her. She hopped onto the high stage, stepping patiently next to Jocasta.

“Man, she must have punched a lot of these people in the jaw,” Mallory noted.

“It sounds like they want her to lose,” Milo said. His hand was furiously scribbling inside of the notebook. It was too far for Jon to make out what he was writing.

“And in this corner!” Jocasta gestured to her other side. “We have the winner of multiple championships! The redheaded stepchild of the King’s Guard Mercenary group! The Golden Sentinel! And… the future King of Resden, Hector!”

The audience stood up and roared.

“Is Hector really that renowned?” Milo asked, looking around him. “I thought the acts of the King’s Guard were considered inconsequential and petty at best. Do they even know where Resden is?”

“Who cares about that,” Mallory explained. “A King’s a King. And who wouldn’t miss a chance to see a King get their ass beat.”

“Oh, true, I guess.” Milo accepted this with a nod.

“Too bad they're gonna be disappointed,” Mallory muttered.

Jon tried not to think too much about what that statement meant.

Hector walked steadily down the steps. He had taken off all of his golden armor, wearing a white long sleeve shirt and brown pants. Unlike Marsha, he looked clearly annoyed by it all.

He took his place on the stage, across from Marsha.

“Are we ready for a show?” Jocasta yelled.

The crowd cheered.

“Alright then! For the rules! We’re looking for a good, clean fight here! First to knock out wins! No magic! No spells! Just good old-fashioned fisticuffs. And without further ado!” Jocasta jumped backwards until she was at the edge of the stage. She raised her hand.

“3… 2… 1… Fight!”

She brought her hand down, then jumped off the stage.

Marsha ran first. She jumped up with her leg pulled close to her chest, ready to attack immediately.

Hector sidestepped the attack. She flew past him and skidded onto the floor.

She turned immediately after she landed, keeping her proximity to him.

She punched twice, with Hector blocking both strikes with his forearms.

Hector made a heavy swing in retaliation, but she had jumped back right after her second hit, and so Hector left himself wide open to a jump kick to the face.

“Ooh!” The crowd reacted while Hector reeled back from the hit. While he stumbled, she jumped up again, grabbing his head as she leaped over him.

She slammed him into the floor while he landed, gaining even more reaction from the audience.

“Why don’t you get her in one of your grapple things or whatever!” Milo called back. He had stopped scribbling in the notebook, but his forearm rested in its pages. Jon really wanted to see what was in it. He decided just to focus on the match.

“Is that it?” Marsha asked, watching Hector stand up. “Is this how hard you fight?”

“I’m not…” Hector brushed off his sleeves. “I’m not fighting very hard. I’m-”

“What?” Marsha ran at him again.

“I didn’t-” Hector braced himself for the next set of attacks. Marsha punched forward like before, but she didn’t pull back after the first few attacks. She kept the offense forward, staying close to Hector and keeping him on the defensive.

She attacked rapidly, eventually forcing him to hold his guard over his face.

When it was clear he wouldn’t let up, she dropped to the ground and kicked at Hector’s feet.

Even with his face covered, he got up, evading the attack completely. He landed with his guard opened up and his face revealed. Upon another swing from Marsha, Hector swatted it away, throwing Marsha off track enough to not make a second attack.

He returned with a hook from his other arm, forcing Marsha to tilt her head and body away from the hit.

Still close, she leapt again, kicking at his head several times and keeping herself in the air.

Hector blocked as many of the kicks as he could until her legs found their way around his shoulders. They wrapped around his neck so that she stayed mounted on top of him. She then started striking at him over the top of the head. Hector swayed back and forth, trapped under the assault.

“Ooh, she’s aggressive,” Mallory said. “Hector doesn’t usually fight people so aggressive. She’s not scared of him at all.”

“Marsha’s so fast!” Thalia said. “She’s always doing one thing than the next!”

“She looks like she hits hard too,” Milo said. “Impressive- I mean, a disappointing show for Hector.”

“Hector should be fine,” Mallory said, “but he keeps letting her get hits on him.”

“Letting her?” Milo was in disbelief. “He’s eating shit!”

“Not…” Mallory shook his head. “Never mind. Just watch.”

Hector moved around with Marsha still on top of his head. He finally tilted over, leaning Marsha onto the floor.

He suddenly leaped up, turning upside down and using Marsha as a spring. He came back down and tossed Marsha away from his head.

She landed, rolling backwards and catching herself.

“That was ridiculous!” Hector said, swiping at his hair. “You didn’t even throw me! You just kept attacking me! Like a cat!”

“A cat?” Marsha sounded taken aback. “I… I suppose! But why does that matter?”

“It’s almost cool!” He widened his legs and put his hands out in front of him. “And annoying! But that’s over. I’m coming for you now.”

“What?” Marsha asked. “This isn’t a game! We don’t take turns! Are you not taking this seriously?

“I am.” Hector rushed forward, throwing his entire body behind a right hook.