Project Castle (scene)

“One more time,” Perri ordered, wiping the sweat off her brow. Ananias groaned, already exhausted from the last four “one more times.”

“Come on, Slacker,” she said, giving him a daring look. “Do you want to keep pulling the team down?”

She was hitting a nerve and she knew it. But it was working, he could feel his anger rising, jonsing for another fight.

Ananias took a deep breath. “Ready?”

Perri tsked at him. “Never give your enemy a warning sign for an-”

Ananias swung his sword, managing to catch her off guard. Despite her surprise, Perri managed to block his attack with her sword.

“Nice try, Slacker,” she remarked, pushing his sword away. “Now thrust.”

He obliged, lunging towards her and aiming for her torso with his blade, feeling unnatural the whole time. She parried his attempt.

“Good.” She gave a short nod. “Now riposte.”

Ananias frowned for a moment. Riposte was one of the terms he always forgot.

“Why can’t we just disarm?” he thought. “Wait. Riposte is a parry plus attack, in an attempt to disarm.”

“Wise up,” Perri ordered. She lunged towards him, mirroring his earlier attack with better precision.

He blocked, turning her blade to the side and launching into a counterattack.

Perri blocked his counter. “You’re holding back.”

“I’m following the rules you taught me,” Ananias grunted, following her parry with another attempt to thrust his blade.

“Use the rules to fight,” she retorted, blocking and using her next attack to force him backward. “And stop holding yourself back. You know what you’re supposed to do, now do it.”

He gritted his teeth, digging his heels into the stone floor and holding off her current attack. Where she’d gotten the burst of energy and strength from, he’d never know.

Ananias wiped the rules from his mind, allowing his instincts to take over. He thrust, letting Perri’s counter spurn on his next move. He stepped forward, forcing her to move towards the back of the training room as they continued their battle.

Perri smiled as he backed her into the corner, twisting her blade to disarm him. Ananias nearly dropped his sword but managed to regain a firm grip.

“Good,” Perri gave a nod. “You did better recovering your-”

A rumble broke out in the castle, causing both of them to fall quiet. It grew louder, accompanied by a shake. The sconces on the walls rattled.

Ananias could feel himself beginning to panic, and a small wind began to flow in the training room. His stupidity, the fact that Perri would be able to see that he was the source of the wind, only made him panic more. More wind came with it.

The rattling stopped, but a breeze was blowing around the room, circling Perri and Ananias.

Perri’s eyes were wide, taking in what had just happened and zeroing in on the wind around them. When she realized what was going on, her gaze narrowed.

She disarmed Ananias with her sword, catching his blade with her boot and launching it upwards into her free hand. With a firm toss, she threw his sword towards the open door, letting the heavy metal slam the door shut. 

He wasn’t sure what was happening and began opening his mouth to explain when she dropped her sword and grabbed him by the collar. With a firm push, she slammed him against the wall.

“Are you out of your mind?” she hissed. “Using magic in the very house of the man who banned it?”

“I didn’t mean to!” Ananias replied, his panic at an all-time high. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“Then start!” she ordered. “Or you’re going to get us all killed.”

“I-” he froze, her meaning washing over him. “Us?”

She rolled her eyes, releasing her hold on him and stepping away. “Please. I thought you’d have figured it out by now.”

She gave a wave of her hand and the entire room darkened except for a small ball of light above them.

Ananias’s jaw dropped. “You have magic?”

She released her hold, allowing the room to return to normal. “General Nethra was my mother.”