Death and Howls Part Six: The Clash of Blades!

A knock had me rushing to the door, a pacing Acer yanked me outside. His hair had been twisted into a ceremonial bun, his other hand shoving ivory armor into my chest. Confusion mixed with the grogginess of simply waking a second ago, his lips moving a mile a minute. Being too drowsy to catch his words, his hand slapped my cheek. Waking up instantly, his berating became clear. 

“I need you to be my partner in the Clash of Blades, he got into an accident with his dragon." Yawning groggily, I tugged on the armor. Acer looked stressed out, his trembling hands presenting me with a matching ivory helmet. Noting his matching helmet, his slender fingers twisted my hair into a much smaller matching bun. Luna came out with my case, her nimble handles tying my helmet onto the case.

“See you there, Dar.” She chirped cheerfully, Felina bouncing up to me in one of my shirts. Felina smashed into my legs, her tail wagging as I crouched down to her level. Ruffling her messy hair, her purr had my ears perking up. Happy to see that she was doing better, Acer cleared his throat. Standing up straight, his foot tapped incessantly. Huffing in annoyance, he dragged me to our dragons. Hopping on, his foul mood was apparent in his seemingly permanent scowl. His slap still pissed me off, his expression softening to a solemn grimace.

“Tell me the real reason that you don’t have a partner.” I interrogated calmly, his wet eyes meeting mine. “Do you need me to kick his ass because I can.” Shrugging my shoulders with a goofy grin, his broken smile making me feel a bit better. 

“He said we couldn’t be friends anymore because of my pregnant girlfriend. Then he went on to call her derogatory names.” He explained in a heated rush, his hands gripping his saddle. “Don’t worry about kicking his ass.” A fit of laughter burst from his lips, disdain mixed with disbelief in his eyes. Catching my breath from my fit of laughter, some wisdom needed to be thrown his way. 

“Forget him. He is a freaking loser not looking past his prejudice.” I advised him with another hearty chuckle, his expression softening into his natural smile. “At least you got to him before me. Let’s just say it would be clear who won.” Chuckling to himself, hope flickered to life in his eyes. 

“Victory is almost guaranteed but do behave. Thanks for being my friends.” He spoke honestly, his eyes twinkling brighter than they had in a while. “Most people cut me off and you insist on being like my brother.” Silent tears stained his cheeks, the fallout of supposed friends would be a difficult trial. Parting my lips to speak, he shook his head. Respecting that he desired the comfort of silence, the trees became what had to be neutral territory. Rows of cabins circled a giant pearly white arena, excitement brightening my features. Calling my name, he pointed to the stables run by a few elves. Descending into the clear circle, his personal stable hands watched us hop off of our dragons. Watching them take them away to take care of them, Acer nudged my shoulder. Spinning on my heels to face him, his boots dug at the dirt.  

“I can’t thank you enough for filling in. We need to take home the trophy to shut them up.” He announced with clenched fists, his lips twitching in a snarl. “I meant to ask. How is Felina holding up? My mother wants to buy her a few dresses.” Felina opened up her heart, the two of them were together when we went off for battles and training. Flashing him a bright smile, his snarl shifted into his natural smile. No answer needed to be said, the fact that his mother was smiling again made it all worth it. Coming upon a shadowy figure at an ivory desk, Acer filed the paperwork for us as my sharp gaze took in the myriad of races milling about. How could this be the only area of peace? No one was talking to each other but they were being civil. Such an odd sight was freaky to witness, Acer forcing a quill into my fingers. Dipping it in the ink pot, the tip danced across the line. Motioning for me to walk next to him, races of all kinds waited on golden benches to be announced. Leaning against the wall in the back, a nervous grin twitched on his lips. Where did his confidence go? The energy shifted in the air, a pair of black armored elves marching by. Leaning in to whisper into my ear, Acer seemed to be shaking in his boots. 

“Those guys win every year.” He bitched under his breath, my brow cocking. “I swear to god that they are using a cheat spell to speed them up. You can use any type of magic but healing.” Happy to know the rules, a mystery has seemed to prevent itself. 

“So we kick their ass and destroy what keeps them winning.” I suggested casually, all eyes falling on me. “Damn, I didn’t think I was that loud." Shooting me death glares, I didn’t think that I had gone too far. The trick was to get the competitors talking, their unclear minds proving to be advantageous. Trumpets rang out, Acer patting my shoulder to tell me to move. A masked handler moved us to the front of the line, another fanfare of trumpets had us stepping into the center of the arena. The voice announced our names and kingdom, Luna and Felina waving at me. Blowing a kiss in their direction, Rosy and Melda cheered for Acer. Spinning around in her golden leaf dress, the stress melted off of Acer’s face for a second. His loving gaze proved that he loved her with all of his heart, another fanfare telling us to exit the arena. Dark energy swallowed the arena, the dark elves coming in. Brushing past them, cold ruby eyes met mine. Shivering in their icy presence, the bastards had to go down. Hearing the names Morodreth and Torgath, Acer looked visibly shaken. Images of him getting his ass handed to him played out over the stadium had me noticing all of his errors. Tuning out the rest of the introduction, the dark elves stared me down in an attempt to intimidate me. Nice try, idiots. Another fanfare of trumpets announced the first fight, our names being announced alongside the ogres. The dark elves snorted across from us, my patience wearing thin. 

“It seems your loser friend brought you down a peg, Acer.” The one closer to me teased cruelly, the masked attendants tearing me away before I could crush his ego with a single swing. Sucking in a deep breath to calm myself down, a kick to the bottom of my case had my scythe landing in my eager palm. The green ogres raised their crude blades, their brown leather armor bouncing with each step as we crossed over the threshold. One swing from both of us had them flying into the air, another swing of our blades smashing them into the wall. Spinning our blades in our palms, the ogres struggled to their feet. Stumbling around, Acer nodded once. Dirt flew all around with every step towards him, a gust of wind blew our hair up as we tucked our blades under our arms. Smashing our hilts into the tops of their heads at the same time, the ogres hit the dirt with a dull thud. The crowd erupted with cheers, Luna and Felina jumping up and down. A belt around Felina’s waist made my shirt an adorable outfit. Acer picking me up and spinning me around whipped me back to reality. Bumping fists with me as he set me down, scarlet painted our cheeks. Doing a little dance next to me, the dark elves cursed audibly in the entrance. 

“Only a few more matches and you can have your revenge.” I promised him with a wicked grin, his eyes widening as I flipped off the dark elves. “We are coming for you. See you in the finale!” Blowing a kiss in Luna’s direction, pride glistened in her eyes. Holding her visible bump, the silky ruby skirt of her ruffled gown emphasized its shape. The weeks had her bump growing considerably, Acer clearing his throat to wake me back up. Several other teams fought hard for the chance to face the dark elven twins, my sharp eyes observing them sauntering in to face the giants. Grimacing at the fact that we would be facing hollow spirits, those people had been a hassle as of late. Acer hands grazing my shoulder had me leaping into the air, my annoyed smirk causing him to shrink back. Leaning against the wall behind me, the goal wasn’t to see how they fought but how they were cheating. Onyx lightning crackled to life, ruby water hitting my metal boots. Stepping onto a nearby crate, Acer hopped up behind me. The trumpets sang their notes, the breath leaving my body at them running next to each other. Leaping into the air, ruby water swirled around the wavy blade with a simple hilt. Inky lightning crackled around his twin’s similar onyx wavy blade. A fist smashed them into the wall, a ruby gem glistened in their helmet. Bones clicked back into place, a sly grin curling across my defiant face. Bingo! The culprit had been discovered, lightning turning the rising level of water into a death trap. The giants twitched in place, their bodies splashing into the water. Shaking my head, their cheating had to be the most obvious thing I had seen. The trumpets blared, the twins being announced the winners. A drain opened up, the water swirling into the ground. Hopping down, I rubbed my palms together. Taking our place in the entry, shadowy forms glitched on the other side. Shadowy blades spun in their palms, deep cuts showing off the tissues of their muscles. Swaying slightly, both of them hissed with joy at the trumpets tooting to life. Crossing the threshold, the two of them darted towards us. Popping up over our heads, sparks danced in the air with every violent clash. Sliding back with every blow, the weak point had to be somewhere. A flash in his eyes had me tracing the line of energy to his heart. Black smoke curled around their hearts, Acer catching what I saw. Splitting up, our boots crunched through the dirt. Jumping onto the wall, their blade nicked my cheek. Sensing their shadow magic, mine was much stronger. Landing gracefully behind him, my palm grabbed his head. Acer tossed me the other one, a quick smashing of their heads together had their eyes rolling back into their head. The trumpets shouted into the air, the cheers erupting once more. Waving up at Luna and Felina, their pride in me kept me going. Melda cried out Acer’s name, his cheeks flushing a deep red. Rose blew him a kiss, a goofy grin dawned on his lips. Noticing that he hadn’t worn his helmet at all, Rose being the reason. Walking out with him, shock rounded his eyes at my request. 

“You need to take off your armor. I will summon rubber boots to give us a better chance.” I ordered bluntly, a simple okay becoming my response. Stripping off our armor, a snap of my fingers had rubber boots appearing on our feet. Dusting off our simple blouses, a splashing noise over us had us poking our heads into the arena. Rose clung to the railing, sheer panic paling Acer’s face. The trumpets wailed, Acer spacing out into some foreign head space. Smacking the back of his head, we needed to finish up or our lives would be taken. Such a freaking dumb rule. Nodding his head, a nervous smile quivered on his lips. The dark elves sauntered out, their blades resting on their shoulders. Ignoring their insults, the trumpets sang their song. Ruby water flooded over our boots, onyx lightning crackling across the surface. Shocked by how we weren’t cooking, I nudged his shoulders. Pointing the gems in their helmet, he nodded once. Splitting up, the twins were forced to fight individually. Choosing the one with water powers, lightning crackled up my arm. Splashing through the water, ash danced in the air with every violent clash. Doubling his speed, a kick had me rolling through the water. Pushing off the ground before any burns could form, my feet landed on a ledge. Acer flew in my direction, my arm catching him. Twitching from an electric attack, it was all up to me as he passed out. Dousing him in inky water, his burns hissed. The twins approached me, a spin of my scythe over my head had a thunderstorm rumbling to life. Using the rain to move discreetly, inky water mixed with my lightning. Aiming for their gems, the tip of my scythe stuck its mark. Backing up, they both laughed maniacally as I jumped onto the sole dry landing. 

“You missed.” They gloated over the rumbling thunder, a flash of lightning nearly striking them. “Did you expect to win without experience?” A fit of wicked laughter exploded from my lips, the ledge breaking as I leapt off with a devilish grin. Not realizing what they had lost, the darkness inside of me wanted to show them what I could do. Spinning my scythe in my palm to pick up speed, a single swing sent them flying into the wall. Sliding down with blood pouring from the corner of their lips, panic rounded their eyes at their bodies not healing. Summoning a gust of wind, ruby ribbons of water floated into the clouds. Snapping my fingers, the storm died out. My clothing clung to my skin, the twins sinking to their knees. Picking them up by their heads, true terror rounded their eyes. 

“Next time you would do well to train and fight fair.” I warned them stiffly, a bang of their heads together sending them into a rough slumber. The trumpets blared a final time, golden metals floating into my palms. Cheers and big smiles greeted me, my attention returning to Rose. Digging my boot into the mud, a push out of it had me flipping through the air. Landing gracefully next to Rose, my arms scooped her up. Asking where the medical space was, a masked attendant led the way to an ivory tent. Laying her onto the bed, Luna rolled up the hem of her dress. Ordering someone to get water and towels, the door of the tent blew open. Obsidian rushed to her side, his eyes falling on the severely injured Acer. 

“Let me take care of him. Please take care of my daughter.” He pleaded with a fright filled smile, his hand rubbing her shoulder. No pressure, I thought impatiently to myself. His arms whisked him away to the other side as Luna and Felina ran off to get the supplies I needed. Melda carried my bag over to me, her hands dropping it into my palms. 

“I owe everything to you, my hero. Let this be known that you will always be like a son to me.” She cried out while cupping my cheek, a warmth coming over me. Rushing over to her son, her tone went squeakier with every sob. Rose smiled up at me, the exhaustion wearing on her face. Luna and Felina skidded in with what I needed, the two of them working with me through the night to keep her comfortable. The time had come, a tuckered out Rose pushing with every contraction. Acer rolled off the bed, his bare feet pounded over to her side. Holding her hands, his kind words gave her the courage she needed. The grandparents took the other side, a soft smile dawning on my lips. Two sides had come together with the birth of this child, the head sliding into my clean hands. A blade of air severed the umbilical cord, weeps of joy echoed around the room. Cleaning out the airway, a shrill wail pierced the night. Melda summoned a birth certificate while I cleaned off the beautiful baby girl. Putting on a summoned cloth diaper, Acer joined my side. Burying me in a bear hug, his emotions soaked my shoulders. Clearing my throat, his attention turned to the adorable half elf and fairy baby girl with a pink tuft of fluffy hair. Scooping her into his arms, his sage eyes matched hers. Kissing the top of her head, his tears splashed onto her face. Bringing her over to Rose, I took a second to wash the blood off of my hands. Two inky haired elves hovered outside the flap of the tent, ruby eyes quivering in fear as I approached them. Their pointed ears pinned back, their palms were pressed together in the form of an apology. The silky waist length hair swayed with every profuse apology, shock rounding their eyes at me flicking them in the forehead.  

“Great. Apology accepted. Now go away.” I grumbled heatedly, their heads nodding. “What now?” Clearing his throat, the one that had to be Morodreth stepped forward. 

“We don’t have a home. We live off the money that we win. Call us broke assholes if you must.” He blurted out with a shameful averted gaze, his hand resting on his hip. “Maybe we could train under you.” Acer came out with his baby girl, the elf now essentially king. 

“I suppose but you will be on probation. Do you care to hold Fae Darwin Troth for me while I go discuss the terms with them?” He inquired while placing the girl into my arms, their dress shoes clicking away. Smiling down at her, her giggle twinkled in the air. Hope sure did burn bright with this new addition.