Cloaked Beauty

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty – Celeste

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Drake Paton. That was the name of the knight I would be fighting.

The whole castle seemed so riled up and excited about it. Seems this Drake was quite popular.

I had asked around to get some info on the dude, and found out he had never lost a battle in his life. Clearly, he wasn't going to be easy to beat.

But, then again, this Drake Paton had never met me.

Still, I was beginning to get nervous. They said that after my father, Drake was one of the best. I didn't want to get conceited about the battle either, cause that would just put my guard down. Maybe some practice would do me some good.

Luckily, I didn't need to go looking for a weapon, since I was already caring one around. I had to explain to Derek what Grant had been talking about, and he wasn't too happy about it. Even he seemed to be doubting my technique, telling me about what he had seen Drake do, but I told him I would be okay.

There was a training room in the castle, so I decided to go pay it a visit.

When I entered the room, I noticed the matted padding on the floor and the steel walls. It suddenly went silent. All eyes were trained on me. Whispers began to emerge from all around. And then someone broke the silence.

A girl stepped froward, and I realized it was that girl, Ash.

“Come on everybody, quit the chattering. We all know that there's going to be a fight. No reason to make a big deal out of all of it.” Then she turned her steel gray eyes on the crowd. “So get back to work, now.”

“Thanks,” I said as everyone began to resume their tasks, though a bit of the awkward silence remained.

“Your welcome. Actually, I'm quite intrigued about this battle that's going to take place. Instead of rumors, I was hoping to get it from the source. So, care to explain?” I shrugged, anxious to begin training.

“The council didn't think that I'd be good enough as Derek's personal knight, so this battle is suppose to prove if I am or are not. I hear my opponents pretty though though. Any tips?” Ash smiled.

“Many, and you're going to need the heads up.”

“So I've heard.”

“There's a reason he succeeds, and keeps on succeeding. Drake, unlike many of the other knights and royalty in this castle, isn't full of himself. He knows to never let his guard down. The style of technique he has learned is from the best, and he has trained from a young age. Drake isn't going to be easy to beat.” A sigh escaped my lips.

“I kind of figured. He's really a big deal isn't he, no one can stop taking about him.” I settled my weight onto the other foot, fidgeting wit the anxiousness I still had. “Hey Ash, do you think you could train with me? Practice will probably help.” She nodded, and then quickly shook her head when she realized I was pulling out my sword.

“Whoa, hold it there little lady, I may be trained, but I have no death wish. If we're going to be training, we'll be using the wooden sticks over there,” she said pointing to the corner, where a stack of them were. “Got it?”

I nodded, and she didn't lead the way over there until I had sheathed my weapon. Ash grabbed two of them, and then tossed one to me. I caught it and swung it around easily.

“Come over here,” She said, leading us to another part of the training room. “We'll need space.”

And so we began our battle. It was custom at the beginning that we bow to each other, to show respect. Then, all respect would be lost when we started attacking each other.