Guardians: The Last Elder

Chapter 8: Cade, the Cuckoo boy

(A/N: Above is a picture of Josh, ready for a fight and just showing off those sexy arms. And THAT HAIR LIKE OMG. Okay, I'll stop now.)

"But a knife ain't just a thing, is it? It's a choice, it's something you do. A knife says yes or no, cut or not, die or don't. A knife takes a decision out of your hand and puts it in the world and it never goes back again. "

~ Patrick Ness (The Knife of Never Letting Go)

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As it happened, I never got the chance to meet up with Mr Blackwell. After breakfast, I tried my level best to rush towards him but the throng of children moving out the door made it a near impossible feat to achieve. When I finally did reach the dais, it was empty. Great, just my luck!

Now, I was with Vanessa and a few other people I didn't know, out in a sprawling field behind the Fort while two students dueled inside a ring. The cheers and cries of everyone as the clash of metals rang through the air was almost intoxicating. In merely few minutes, the guy, whose name I found out was Cade had defeated the other guy, Matt. Cade raised his sword in the air, grinning triumphantly.

Vanessa informed me that Miss Becker, who I had previously seen sitting beside Mr Blackwell in the dais during breakfast, was our mentor for Combat and Self-Defence. She stepped inside the ring, an impressed smile in her face. She was a tall woman with an imposing presence with broad shoulders, dark skin and hair that was tied up in a severe bun.

As Cade made to step out of the ring, a familiar drawling voice said, "Now, now, where's the fun in beating up a child, Cady boy?"

The crowd parted to reveal Josh, a smirk plastered in his face. Cade's eyes narrowed and he spit out, "I'm hundred times better than you'll ever be, Joshy boy."

"Better to prove it, don't you think? Or are you one of those -- 'all talk, no action'?" Josh said as he lazily shrugged off his jacket to reveal the white t-shirt he was wearing underneath it, its sleeves hugging his biceps. He grabbed a sword from a pile and stepped onto the ring.

"Is it just me or do I sense rivalry here?" I whispered to Vanessa.

"Oh, both of them are arch-nemesis," said another voice behind me.

"Kace! Where have you been?" Vanessa asked. "Both of them are going to fight again and it doesn't look like Miss Becker is going to stop them!"

"I was in the archery section with Josh but then we heard dueling was going on here. So we both came. And, yes, I tried my best to stop Josh but you know how he is. Wouldn't ever back down from a fight, that guy."

"God, they better not make me rush to the infirmary again."

"It's starting," I said.

Cade and Josh stood in the ring, facing each other, both their swords out. Miss Becker blew her shrill whistle to signal them to start. Without wasting a second, Josh lunged at Cade with his sword. But Cade deflected it easily enough. Josh attacked and parried while Cade maintained his defensive stance, grunting and grumbling, his mouth set into a grim line.

Josh was relentless and without mercy. He almost seemed to dance around, the smirk never really leaving his face as his sword glinted in the sunlight. I was almost mesmerized. Josh was a tall muscular (but not overly so) guy and yet, there was a certain fluidity to his movements that seemed effortless. Cade tried to pull off some lousy attempts at breaking apart his defensive standpoint and actually start attacking, but his attacks were getting sloppier. Plus, the fact that Josh was continuously mocking and insulting him was aggravating Cade, such that his movements were influenced more due to anger than strategic thinking, unlike his opponent whose eyes were calculative. Suddenly, Josh did something so quick I almost didn't catch it.