Chapter 26: Twenty-six
"I'm ready for battle," I said, as I placed myself on a combat mat. It was a large and square mat, with a red border and a white center. It was the designated area for duels, and it was the place where we would fight.
I stood on one corner, and I waited for Remy to join me. I looked at him with a confident and challenging smile, and I held my sword in front of me. I was not afraid of him, and I was not intimidated by him.
All eyes were on me and Remy, the teacher, had a whistle in his mouth and was getting ready to whistle He had a serious and stern expression, and he looked at us with a keen eye. He was watching our every move, and he was judging our every action.
But before he could blow the whistle, he suddenly changed his mind. He took the whistle out of his mouth, and he threw it aside. He had a mischievous and playful grin, and he looked at us with a spark in his eye. He had an idea, and he had a surprise. He wanted to make things more interesting, and he wanted to make things more fun.
"I've got a better idea, you're going to fight two against two," he said, with a big smile. He looked proud of his idea, and he looked excited by his plan. He wanted to spice things up.
I looked at him, not really understanding his idea, who was going to be my partner? I didn't know anyone in this class other than Zara and Lydia, and I didn't trust anyone in this class. I preferred to fight alone, and I preferred to rely on myself. I didn't need anyone's help, and I didn't want anyone's interference. I was a solo fighter, and I was a lone wolf.
"Your partner Aaliyah will be Lydia," he said, and then Lydia's gaze met mine. We both frowned, and we both groaned. We didn't like each other, and we didn't get along. We were bound to get in each other's way, and we were bound to clash.
"I can't have another partner," I said, a little desperately. I didn't want to be paired with Lydia, and I didn't want to work with Lydia. She was the worst possible choice, and she was the worst possible teammate. She would only drag me down, and she would only ruin my chances.
"No, you and Lydia are going to fight together, ," the professor finally said, and Lydia went off to choose a sword. He was firm and adamant, and he didn't listen to our protests. He had made his decision, and he had made his rules. He wanted us to fight as a team.
He probably wanted us to learn to cooperate, and he wanted us to learn to communicate. He wanted us to overcome our differences, and he wanted us to overcome our difficulties.
Lydia chose a sword that was fairly finely crafted, but looked effective. It had a silver blade, a gold hilt, and a ruby pommel. It was a beautiful and expensive sword, and it matched her outfit.
Lydia came and stood next to me, and Lila stood next to Remy. We were now two teams, and we were now two opponents. We faced each other, and we glared at each other. We were ready to fight, and we were ready to win.
"You'd better not disturb me, Aaliyah," Lydia said, in an almost threatening tone. She looked at me with contempt and disdain, and she spoke to me with arrogance and condescension.
She didn't scare me, and she didn't impress me. I looked at her with indifference and annoyance, and I spoke to her with sarcasm and defiance.
"I hope you don't get too lost," I said.
I have a feeling this fight is going to be a long one.
The teacher whistled and the fight began. I looked at Lydia, we weren't getting along and I had a feeling it was going to go badly. She had been acting distant and hostile towards me ever since we were paired up for this sword fighting class. I didn't know what her problem was, but I hoped we could put it aside for the sake of the assignment.
"I'll take Lila and you take Remy" I said to Lydia, trying to sound confident and friendly. Lila and Remy were our opponents, and they looked ready to take us down.
But Lydia didn't even take the time to listen to me and went straight for Lila, ignoring Remy completely. She charged at her with a reckless abandon, swinging her sword wildly and hoping to land a hit. She was clearly letting her emotions get the better of her, and I wondered what grudge she had against Lila.
Lydia tried a quick charge towards Lila but Remy blocked her attack with a simple blow from his sword before pushing Lydia back. He was protecting his partner, and he looked annoyed by Lydia's foolishness. He gave her a warning glare, as if to say "don't mess with us".
I quickly approached Lydia to help her and with a few agile blows pushed Remy back, then I approached Lila but bumped into Lidya. She had followed me, and she was still determined to fight Lila. She pushed me aside, and I stumbled to the ground.
"Fuck,Lydia, you're bothering me," I said, annoyed by Lydia. She was not only putting herself in danger, but also me. We were supposed to work as a team, not as rivals.
"It's you who's bothering me, can't you see that I want to confront Lila out of the way Aaliyah," said Lydia, as she pushed me and then ran towards Lila. She spat out my name with contempt, and I felt a surge of anger. What did I ever do to her?
Lydia threw a series of quick blows but it was far too slow to hit Lila, who couldn't stop laughing. She dodged and parried Lydia's attacks with ease, and she looked amused by her pathetic attempts. She taunted her with sarcastic remarks, and she smiled wickedly.
"Aaliyah and Lydia, you'd better get along rather than fight, you're giving us a ridiculous show," she said, as she pushed Lydia's attack away which made her step back and I caught Lydia before she fell. I held her by the shoulders, and I looked into her eyes. She looked frustrated and angry, and she tried to shake me off.
"Now listen to me, please," I said, sighing heavily. I was tired of this nonsense, and I wanted to end this fight as soon as possible. I knew we had no chance of winning if we continued like this, and I didn't want to fail the class.
"Okay, since I don't have much choice," she said, resigning herself. She stopped struggling, and she looked at me with a reluctant expression. She knew I was right, but she hated to admit it.
"We'll deal with Remy first, Lila doesn't seem to be serious and all she's done since then is defend without attacking," I said, all I'd done since then was analyse. I had observed their fighting styles, and I had come up with a strategy. Remy was the bigger threat for now, and he was more vulnerable to our combined attacks.
Lydia nodded, and then we both went up against Remy, me attacking and Lydia defending, so at last we looked like a team. I used my speed to surprise Remy, who stepped back, then Lydia struck a blow that hit him. It wasn't for the moment, I smiled as it looked like me and Lydia could work together without getting angry.
We continued like that, me attacking and Lydia defending, until we knocked Remy out with a well-placed blow to his ribs. He groaned and collapsed to the floor, and we cheered. We had done it, we had defeated him.
"Well done," I said, raising my hand and Lydia tapped in with a big smile. We high-fived, and we felt a rush of adrenaline and joy. We had overcome our differences, and we had worked as a team.
"It doesn't change anything in our relationship," said Lydia, wiping the smile off her face and turning a little colder. She quickly sobered up, and she reminded me that we were still not friends. She still had issues with me, and she was not ready to let them go.
"You finally seem to be getting along, it's going to get interesting," said Lila, while Remy was still passed out on the floor. He will not wake up before a moment. She looked at us with a challenging smile, and she raised her sword. She was ready to fight us, and she was not going to hold back.
The air had changed, and it looked like Lila had decided to go into attack mode. She moved forward very quickly and in one blow almost knocked Lydia out, but I used my sword to counter her blows. She was fast and furious, and she was aiming for our vital spots. She was not playing around, she was trying to hurt us.
"You saw me move, incredible," she said with a smirk. She was confident and cocky, and she was enjoying the fight.
This fight was clearly far from over. It was going to be a tough battle, and we had to stick together.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone