"Come on, Evan! Kick his ass!"

From behind his protective mask, Evan Thames watched his opponent carefully. This match had been going on for a while... he was weary, but he didn't let that weigh him down. He registered every movement the other young man made, shifting his weight, adjusting his grip on his rapier accordingly. His breathing was slow and controlled.

For a split second, he looked away from his opponent, casting his gaze to the scoreboard. It had been a best of three, and he had won one round already. But, his opponent had too. This would be the deciding bout... first person to get five hits on the opponent won. Currently, he had landed two hits, and was two away from losing.

Without thinking, Evan moved a hand to his chest. Beneath the padding he had to wear, hung around his neck, was a pendant... a lucky charm. He ran his fingers over it...

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on his arm. It sent a message straight to his brain: pay attention!

"Whatta you doing, Evan, whatta you doing?" his friend Sam called out from the onlooking crowd. Evan had already been asking himself the same question.

Crap, I'm an idiot!

While he was distracted, his opponent had used the opportunity to land a hit on his forearm, right beneath his hand. The referee blowed his whistle - the signal that someone had recieved a point. Alright... make that one away from losing.

As the scoreboard was being changed, Evan stepped back, bringing his sword around in front of his chest. His opponent's guard was top-notch... suddenly, an idea popped in his head. He began to back up... then once again, he looked over at the scoreboard. Evan tried to sell it, make it really look like he had gotten distracted again - and the guy bought it.

When he heard him move, Evan struck, lashing forward with all the speed he could muster. The very tip of his rapier struck his opponent in the arm, right in the same spot Evan had been hit in. Pressing his luck, Evan lunged forward again - poking the guy right in the center of his chest. Bam! Two hits for the price of one. That had evened things out.

Hearing the whistle blow twice, Evan grinned, though no one could see. His opponent was backing up now, bringing up that same impenetrable guard.

"Nice move." he said.

It was clear that he was trying to be sporting, but was more than a little upset about what just had happened. To match his opponent, Evan began to move too, taking short, quick steps to constantly adjust his position. His foe did the same, though he continued to back up as well. The air was electric... the last hit would decide the winner.

Alright... how to break his guard a second time? Using the scoreboard trick again was a bad idea. No one would be fooled by that twice. Hmm.

Evan began to wonder why his opponent was putting so much space between the two of him. Normally, that'd be a defensive maneuver, but... Evan was getting the feeling he was being baited in. He observed his opponent's guard... it had been entirely dropped.

Sheesh. How stupid does this guy think I am?

His suspicions confirmed, Evan again pretended to be a lot dumber than he was. He headed forward, sword lowered, but stayed on his toes enough, as to not look too obvious. When he got within range, he brought his sword up with a flick of the wrist - just in time to catch his opponent's sword as he thrusted it forwards. Evan pushed back with a stab of his own, slipping his body to the side. The two rapiers moved along each other, but one hit air, and the other made its mark.

The whistle blew for the last time. Evan had hit his opponent for the fifth time, with a parry of excellent form. Applause broke out - clapping the hardest of all was Sam.

"Yeah!" he slapped the person next to him on the back... a complete stranger. "Did you see that?"

Two more students took the strip - the long, narrow platform where matches took place - as Evan hopped to the floor, pulling his mask off of his face. He passed his rapier away to one of them. It hadn't been his choice to take swordfighting lessons, no, his father was behind the decision. But he had taken to them like a fish to water.

He quickly worked on removing the protective padding he wore on his limbs and torso, dumping it all in a communal hamper when he was done. Right about when he finished, he saw Sam budging his way towards him. The gymnasium was pretty packed - it had been opened to the public as part of a fundraiser. 

"Evan!"

Sam greeted him with a high five that segued into a handshake, then a chest bump - a secret maneuver crafted over years of friendship. Though he hadn't met Sam at these lessons, it was where they had hung out the most over the years. It was summer now, and that meant both of them were out of the academy.

"Keep winning like that, man, and you're a shoo-in for the varsity team." he said, returning to pushing his way through the crowd. Evan shook his head apprehensively.

"Yeah... I don't really think taking four hits is that great, though. It's only, like, three hits in the real leagues... right?"

"Hell if I know." Sam shrugged. "So, Clare should be getting out of her painting class soon... we're meeting up at the baths, remember?" that last part was spoken quietly, nearly lost in the chattering of the crowd. But Evan heard it. He smiled, looking around to see if anyone else had heard... no. Good.

"How could I forget?" he whispered back.

The baths... they had been making those plans for a while.

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Reaching the double doors, they pushed their way out into the busy city streets. Crisp air met the two boys. It was just as flooded with people outside as it was indoors, but, that's just how it was in Dewton - most populated city in the world, capital of the Empire of Valoria.

To accompany the large amounts of people, horse-drawn carts, and newly invented automobiles, the streets were wide, paved with stone bricks. Tall buildings, the tallest you'd find anywhere in the world, lined them like walls on either side. And even further above, higher han the rooftops, were great airships, cigar-shaped blimps and dirigibles suspended in the sky. Some of the largest buildings had huge landing pads and mooring masts designed to be used by the airships... they were quite the way to get around.

Chatting about the matches, Evan and Sam headed to an alleyway. The latter had parked his prized car there. A well-dressed man, a long time assistant of Sam's family, was leaning on its side. When he saw the two boys coming, he pulled on a pair of goggles, climbed in the car through the open roof, and began to start up the engine.

"Hey!" Sam waved to his assistant, then slapped a hand down on the hood... he couldn't help showing his machine off at any opportunity that sprung up. "So, you wanna come with me to pick her up, or..."

Subconciously, Evan moved his hand to his chest, playing with his good-luck charm. Without the protective padding covering it up, he could see it clearly... it was a small piece of wood, carved in the shape of a face with a scary expression. It hung from a loop of twine.

"Nah." Evan said. "I've got other plans."

As he climbed into his car, Sam gave his friend a knowing look. "Still trying with her?"

"Yeah, yeah..."

Playfully, Sam rolled his eyes at Evan.

"Well, best of luck... I'm sure it'll turn out better than last time!"

With that, the two were on their way. The car made a putting noise as it moved, and bumped up and down on the uneven street. Pulling out of the alley, it disappeared into the traffic.

Evan took a deep breath... then set off.

----------------------------------------

The young man navigated through a sea of colorful tents, which fluttered gently in the soft breeze. Hanging above strung from tree to tree, were lines of banners with bright, vibrant designs. This marketplace, situated just by a river, was one of a kind in Dewton.

Evan stopped in front of a red-colored tent. It was wide, and unlike most of the tents around, was not open on the sides... a simple wooden sign hung in front of the entrance, two words carved on it in all uppercase letters: UBANGI FORTUNETELLING.

The teen was pacing around... a fierce debate was going on in his head.

No... she'll say no... but maybe... no. Not a chance... but what if she did? She wont... but it's worth a shot... no... it's pointless.

He spun around on his heel, completely prepared to walk back home and mope. But he didn't budge... no. He grit his teeth.

Confidence... confidence... confidence... I just have to be confident! Girls love confidence!

Summoning all his courage, Evan forced himself to be confident. That was the key: all that he needed. Confidence!

A second wind taking him, Evan confidently strolled forward, confidently pulled aside the curtains that served as doors to the tent, and stepped inside... confidently, of course.

It was gloomy inside the tent. Given the dark color of the fabric it was made from, not a lot of light made it through, and what did was stained dark red. The tall candles that were set here and there were the only sources of illumination, their smoke tinted with strange, herbal scents. This tent was a permanent fixture, so there was some furniture inside - a low, circular table covered with a velvet tablecloth, seats that were little more than cushions, and shelves lined with assorted oddities such as small totems and jewelry.

"This is your dominant hand, yes?"

There she was, at the far end of the table... the girl who had been stuck in his head all day (and, well, most of the month). Evan called her Ellie... she sat across from a portly blonde woman, whose hand was laid on the table, extended out, palm facing up.

 "Yes it is." the woman answered.

"Ah..." Ellie shut her eyes and began to trace a finger over the creases of the woman's palm. She moved slowly... her face was clouded with thought. "I see..."

The woman leaned in, mystified. "What do you see?"

"Hold on..." the girl finished, then opened her eyes. She shifted her finger around, gesturing as she explained. "You have what we call an 'earth' hand... very rough skin, short, stubby fingers, wide palm... do you, by any chance, do garden work?"

"Why, I do!"

"Hmm... I figured." Ellie moved on, pointing at the different lines of the palm. "You see this line? Opposite your thumb? It has a break in it here, but is otherwise thick and smooth... let me guess, are you divorced and remarried?"

The woman nodded her head.

"Well, that explains it... expect no more big problems."

"Wonderful!"

From the entrance, Evan watched the rest of the palm reading session in silence. It was quite interesting to see the girl work. Evan was always skeptical about the whole fortunetelling thing... he had asked Ellie a few times if it was fake or not, but she always stuck to it being one hundred percent genuine. Made sense, Evan figured. It was like asking a magician how he did his tricks: a good way of getting nowhere.

When the session finally ended, the woman paid the fee and headed off... well, after a bit of squabbling about Ellie's prices. Evan made room for her wide frame, stepping further inside the tent - Ellie finally noticed his presence.

"Oh, hello!"

She flashed Evan a shining smile. The white of her teeth stood out against her deep brown skin.

"Back again?" she asked, giving Evan a curious look. She took the bills the woman had left, counted them, then slid them under the table. "You were just here this morning..."

Rising up, she tried to straighten the billowy, knee-length dress she wore. It was a bright, complicated garment, mostly red-orange, but with flourishes of black and yellow. Ellie had once told Evan that it was some sort of traditional style, back where she came from... he thought it looked nice on the girl.

"Yeah, yeah..." he stepped up to the table. "I just wanted to thank you... I won my match today."

"Hmm?" Ellie raised a finger to her lips, a tic that Evan had noticed was a sign she had forgotten something. The golden brooch she kept pinned above her heart had slanted to the side, so she adjusted it, looking down as she did. "Oh, the charm. It worked well?"

"Like a charm!" Evan had put a lot of thought into that one... but Ellie was confused.

"Huh?"

"It's, it's an expression." he said.

"Oh... ha." the girl crouched back down, looking under the table for something. "So, what will it be today? Palm reading? Tea leaves? Tarot cards?"

Evan waved her off. "None of that. I'm gonna be reading your fortune today."

She looked up at him. "Excuse me?"

Evan sat down at the table, closed his eyes, then waved one hand in the air, as if there was a crystal ball before him.

"The vision is foggy... wait, it's becoming clear!" he mimicked the whispy, undulating tone Ellie took on when she started a session. The girl watched with amusement."Tomorrow, you will..."

He had been hiding the other hand behind his back... he brought it out now. Held between his fingers were two tickets.

"Go to the carnival with me!"

Ellie smiled as she shook her head.

"Evan, how many times have you asked me out now?"

The teen lowered the tickets, opening his eyes. "Uh... is that your way of saying no?"

"Eight." she said. "And the answer has always been the same-"

"Yeah, yeah, your grandpa, whatever." Evan crossed his arms, cutting the girl off. "Come on! The carnival's late at night, we could go and he wouldn't even know!"

The girl sighed.

"You're awfully persistent, you know that?" she scratched the back of her head. "Okay... I'll consider it."

The widest grin in history slowly began to spread across Evan's face.

"You'll... you'll consider it?"

Ellie giggled. "Yes, yes... I'll consider it."

Fireworks went off in Evan's heart.