The Hidden Truth

The room went half silent as I walked back in. Some people were still fighting, but Roan and Nield were looking at me. A smile formed on my lips when Irini managed to hit a not paying attention Nield.

“Master Ti, would you allow Karen to switch partners with Irini?”

My smile disappeared when Master Mirmo said that. A certain dread filled me as I realized I could no longer continue my quest to become Roan’s girlfriend. The lightsaber teacher gave my master a bit of a strange look for just a second, but recovered quickly.

“Of course, Mirmo. Irini, please fight with Roan. Class, please continue practicing. Remember to open yourself to the Force. Let the Force flow through you and help you. Look for weakness in the other person. Listen to the Force.”

The class went back to their fights and I half looked up at Nield. His face was a grin and I saw a trace of sweat on his forehead. This was good. Perhaps, he was a bit worn-out and would make this fight easy. Well, easy wasn’t the accurate word. Easy and Nield didn’t associate with each other. With the best of luck, the Force, and skill, I could hope to wipe that proud grin off his egotistical face, but I did not permit my hopes to ascend to that high of an expectation.

I lifted my chin, straighten my back, and strode towards with an air of confidence. I would not dare give him any implication of self doubt before starting our battle. He bowed at me and although the move was customary, I knew he did it in mock respect.

“Ladies first, if you wish.”

A fierce, raging temper flamed my being. I lifted by wooden sword and studied him. Unlike my poor, but lovely Roan, he angled his blade to cover most of his upper body. He was a smart fighter. I noticed his two hand grip and the fact his right hand came first, implying that he was right handed, but if he was truly a smart fighter, this could very well be a lie. My suspicion grew when I saw his left foot was closer to me than his right. His knees were bent; a good position to start from if you knew nothing or little of your opponent. In conclusion, I didn’t have a clue as where to start.

“If you want, I’ll make the first move.”

I gritted my teeth. This would do at all. It was better for me to make the first move and possible gain control of the situation, but before I could fumble around for an excuse, he charged at me.

Normally, I would consider this a tackless move, showing recklessly and lack of skill, but the way Nield caught me in surprise, I was forced admit it worked well. He was not far from me to start with and the short sprint gave him strength and speed. He brought his sword underhanded from his right as if to cut off my left arm. I raised my sword, realizing I was too slow and too much in shock and too a step to my right to dodge him. This shift did not fool him in the slightest and he brought his stick upward and to my right. I parried the attack and stood my ground. He stepped back and brought the sword around and angled an upward blow to my left. I met his blade and tried to slide him off. His sword moved down mine enough to make me think I had won that round, but he withdrew his sword and aimed a stab to my left side. My ability in sensing the blow saved me from being touched and I realized I was sucking in my belly. With a hard breath, I relaxed my body and backed away from him.

This was getting worse. In about a minute, he had show far superior talent than me and I was going to lose.

“Tired already? I was going easy on you, you know.”

Easy! This was easy! Oh, I hate to see what was hard. My hands were trembling. I was trapped. I had already lost without a second round.

“Karen, Nield, why have you stopped?”

Nield turned around to face the teacher and politely informed her that he was just giving me a second to catch my breath.

“Do not stop until I have told you all to halt your fighting. Please continue.”

Nield gave a short bow and I silently cursed him. I instantly resolved to win this fight no matter what. A little humility wouldn’t hurt him at all.

I copied Nield’s entrance into the first fight and ran full head at him, suppress a war cry. Nield turned his head just in time and managed to put a foot out from under me and I nearly fell. He drew his stick and smartly hit me on the butt. I yelped in light pain and anger. My eyes blazed, blood pounded in my ears, and my cheeks burned. When this was over, I was going to punch my master for this little idea of his. What did he have in mind pitting me against someone who I couldn’t win? Furthermore, why set me up with someone who I couldn’t stand? Did he want me to learn emotional control? I knew that was a popular lesson for Jedi students to learn.

“Are you to fight or are you going to anger Master Ti?”

I spat at the floor in disgust and shot a look of death to Nield. I told him to shut up. He looked at me in surprise of my rude comment and said nothing. Still steaming, I raised my blade and attacked from the left, aiming for his left. He moved to block it. I was expecting that, and lowered my blade to smack his knee. I drew my sword near me and quickly attacked again, not giving him time to recover from the shock of the blow, and with a step to the right, hit his arm. His eyes closed in pain, but his sword moved and hit my now open left arm. We both looked at each other, questioning the motives behind our moves, and deciding it was all fair in the name of war. Instantaneously, we brought our sticks together and met half way between the distance between us and the length of our swords. The impact of the blow was so strong, I nearly let go of the sword, just to stop the jolt that was traveling up my arm.

“Stop.”

There was a distance voice in the room saying something about stopping. I didn’t pay attention to the sound, because all my focus was on Nield. He trilled his stick around in a flashy move, meant to distract me, and came in from the lower right. I ignored the false move and waited a tenth of a second before blocked the real blow from the upper right. I tapped lightly, leaning my weight back to gather myself lower. I sprung upward, feet leaving the ground, hardly noticing that Nield had done the same. Suddenly, I felt a strange feeling like a hand, grabbing my feet downward, and forced me to crash on the floor. Stunned, I looked up from the mats to see a similar image of Nield sprawled out on the floor.

“Impressive as that aggressive fight was, when I mean stop, I mean that instant.”

I struggled back to my feet, glancing around at the students. They had all watched our fight, or at least the second half.

“Class dismissed.”

I put away my stick and headed to my master, who was in a corner. He looked at me, showing no thought or emotion.

“It was aggressive, but that was a real fight. I expect more effort in the rest of your lightsaber classes. But, I think you need a shower and time to think over what you did.”

I nodded, dripping in hot, sticky sweat, and walked to nice shower.