章節 20: Some Things Never Change
"Marco...how in the name of the gods did you become a Hero?"
Leo Baldew stared at Marco like he was a bug that had crawled onto his dinner table.
"I had a trial like everyone else," Marco said flatly. "And I passed."
"He manipulated me into being his Patron," Reina chimed in.
"What!?" Fury washed over Leo's face as he shot a deadly glance at Marco, then turned to Reina. "Did he threaten you? Did he cause you harm? Did he...do anything untoward?"
"What? No!" Marco cut in. "I'm not the coward you think I am, Leo. I'm a Hero like you and you have to accept that."
"I refuse. What did you do to Princess Reina?"
"He discovered an intimate secret of mine. I am forced to sponsor him for my own safety," Reina said, playing up her vulnerability.
"How dare you!"
With a ring, Leo released his sword from its scabbard as he advanced on Marco. This earned instant reactions from the surrounding Heroes.
"No fighting in the market!"
"Leo? You're back?"
"Who's the little guy, and what did he do to Leo?"
As the flurry of discussion broke out, a crowd began to encircle them. This made Leo pause. He stood eyeing Marco keenly as if deciding how best to skin him. For his part, Marco's eyes were darting around, looking for anything he could use as a weapon. The surrounding Heroes were pretty much all carrying weapons of some sort, but he didn't like his odds in either asking to borrow them or trying to snatch them.
For a tense few moments, everyone waited for someone to make a move.
It ended up being Reina who broke the stalemate.
"Sir Leo, please, do not sully your name on my account. You know The Bastion's rules state that combat can only happen on the training field."
Leo nodded with understanding, then sheathed his sword. "You are correct, your highness. I apologize for my lack of discretion. Marco! If you truly think yourself worthy of being a Hero, get your weapon and meet me on the training field in half of an hour. Do you accept?"
A duel with one of the top Heroes in the kingdom, someone Marco had actually fought with before and lost each time. Clearly "no" was the wisest answer.
And yet…
So many eyes were fixed on him and the crowd was growing by the second. These were his fellow Heroes, the people he had worked so hard to stand beside. If he showed cowardice now…
"I accept."
"Then I will see you on the field."
Leo gave him one last hard look before leaving. Then, the crowd similarly gave Marco one final, curious gaze before breaking and returning to the hubbub of the market.
Reina was actually the only one who stuck around. Well, Terri as well, but she didn't have much of a choice.
Marco stormed over to the smug princess. "What was that?"
"I do believe I promised you an explanation of the Everlasting Flame. Well, I've come to deliver."
"And brought Leo with you!"
"Yes, I believe he will provide excellent motivation. Such an honorable man." She then pushed past him and went over to Terri, who had insisted on carrying Marco's recent purchases. "So are these the new clothes? Oh, yes! That purple is divine. Was that your choice Terri? Excellent!"
Terri blushed and opened her mouth to respond but Marco stepped in between them.
"Hey! You mind explaining to me how I'm supposed to fight Leo without a weapon? Or what you've been doing all day? Or...literally anything?"
Reina sighed and fanned herself with a piece of parchment. "Marco the Impatient is what they should call you. Very well. Take this to the blacksmith, that should take care of your weapon. As for the rest, you will see during your battle with Sir Leo...if you live."
With that, she beckoned Terri to follow and left happily chatting with her handmaiden. Marco shouted after her even though he knew his pleads and insults were falling on deaf ears.
****
It took the blacksmith almost a whole half of an hour just to deliver the weapon. After handing the burly man Reina's letter, Marco was made to stand in the blazing hot workshop and wait with the other Heroes who came for weapons. He tried to make conversation, but no one would really have anything to do with the shorty who got on Leo's bad side. So for about twenty minutes he stood baking and stewing over Reina's little surprise.
When he finally arrived on the training field, Marco was sweaty, irritated, and most of all, confused.
A crowd had gathered on both sides of the field, leaving a space in the middle. Any battle featuring Leo Baldew the famous Sword Of Dawn, even a practice match, was an event worth watching. But Marco didn't concern himself with the crowd or the potential humiliation. He marched straight towards Reina.
"Explain."
She took one look at his face and smiled. "Do you like your new weapon! I had it made especially for you."
Her grin grew even brighter when she saw his complete lack of enthusiasm. She was enjoying this way too much. He tried his best to ignore it as he pressed for answers.
"Why this?"
He drew the sword and presented it to her. The handle was black with silver studs and had a curved sheet of black metal that went over his knuckles as a sort of guard. On that guard was engraved a silver Irelios sun, just like his chest-plate. In any other circumstance, Marco might have appreciated the simple-yet-elegant craftsmanship. There was only one problem: the blade was curved.
"It's a saber," Reina said as if that explained everything.
"I know that. But why a saber? They're made for combat on horseback. And why this?"
He held up the other item, a round, silver shield the size of a dinner plate.
"A buckler."
"I know it's a buckler!" Marco shouted. "Please just tell me why you chose these for me."
"I noticed you like to slash your sword around wildly. We will work on that, but for the moment just know that a saber is a slashing weapon. It should suit your manner of attack very well. As for the buckler, it will compliment your rather...defensive style of combat."
Marco pondered this for a moment, and then went to ask another question.
"Marco! The time for talk is over. Let us begin."
Leo's summons cut his chat with Reina short. The crowd hollered in agreement. Marco could delay no longer.
Reina got close to him and whispered in his ear. "I wonder Marco. What is your justice?"
Then, she shoved him towards Leo.
Leo took it as a signal, and strode towards the center of the field.
For the first time since they had reunited, Marco took a really good look at Leo. Somehow, he was every bit as irritatingly dazzling as he was in their youth. His build was strong but lean, reinforced by a full suit of white-and-blue armor. His bright blue eyes were soft but also looked like they were studying Marco for every possible weakness. And at that moment, Marco felt like he was revealing a lot.
When he reached the center, Leo got into a combat stance. He raised a full-sized shield with his family's crest on it, a white sword on a black background. When he drew his longsword, it produced a ring that sounded like a heavenly choir. In response, Marco gripped his puny buckler tightly. He had already drawn his sword so there was no intimidating sound he could make with it.
Reina took a spot to the side of the two combatants, cleared her throat, and declared "This shall be an honorable practice bout between Leo Baldew–"
A round of cheers and applause interrupted her. It went on for longer than Marco would have liked.
"–and Marco Flores."
Silence, save for Terri who gave a light and awkward cheer.
"The match will proceed until one party is disarmed or surrenders. Death is obviously an unacceptable outcome, so if for any reason I believe one party is unnecessarily endangering themselves, I will declare a winner myself. Do both parties agree?"
Leo nodded, and so did Marco.
"Then...begin!"
Within a second of Reina's yell, Leo was charging at Marco.
Marco let out a wild battle cry as he ran forward to meet his foe.
This made Leo reveal a look of surprise. Even more so when Marco lashed out with the first strike!
Marco remembered Leo's fighting style well. He always took the initiative in hopes that he could overwhelm the opponent and end the fight quickly. By making the first move instead, Marco hoped to throw off his rhythm.
He gave a quick slash, his saber smoothly cutting through the air at Leo's left side.
Before he could see what happened, Marco felt his sword clang against metal. Then, Leo's shield was in his face.
Crack!
Marco was thrown back onto his butt. Leo stood over him, sword pointed.
"Some things never change," Leo said cooly. "Marco, you don't have what it takes to be a Hero."
Marco must have had a furious look then, because Leo's expression actually softened a bit.
"I'm sorry if that's hard for you to hear," he said even as he kept his sword pointed. "But you proved it yourself when you ran away from battle and made up a story about orphans to excuse it. I thought that you would still become an honest man. You could find decent work, raise a family. Yet here I find you extorting Princess Reina. I cannot let that stand, so I will say it again to make it perfectly clear. You don't have what it takes to be a Hero. You can scheme your way into a finding a Patron, trick her into giving you weapons, and even get the Everlasting Flame's gift. But on my family name of Baldew, I swear I will never allow you to stand alongside real Heroes!"
Marco met those blue eyes. He hated them. He hated how everyone always said they looked so kind when he could plainly see the arrogance within them. For all his talk of doing right, Leo always forced his ideals on others. He was little more than a bully. And Marco had enough bullies in his life. That's why he always dreamt of being a Hero, to have the power to stand up to the bullies.
Yet here he was, on the ground. The bully had won. But for some reason…
There was a burning sensation in Marco's chest. It felt slight at first, almost like he had to burp. But as he thought about bullies and how Leo was pushing him around, it grew. It made him want to act, and act now!
Suddenly, he was the one moving faster than the eye could see. In one swift move he swung his buckler upwards, knocked Leo's sword away, jumped to his feet, punched Leo in the face with the guard of his saber, and finished with a downward slash.
Clang!
Leo's sword appeared to block the blow. Now the two men were face-to-face, swords clashing. Leo's nose dripped with blood, Marco's face was wild with thrill.
"I guess some things do change!"
創作者的想法 
Blame_Your_Fate
Blame_Your_Fate As always, thanks for reading!
Just wanted to leave a quick update to say that chapters will be slower this weekend, as I'm on a trip. Sorry! But I will be doing extra chapters the week of the 28th to make up for it!
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