Chapter 262: A Game Of Sticks, Part 3

Tip to tip twice, thrice even… and the score stayed stagnant, and the round remained seven. Every blow of the trumpet since, every charge forward, it was anything goes down there in that ring. 

Nobody was giving the other side an edge anymore, I don't think there's ever been an instance where there were more reruns around the field than there were actual rounds themselves.

"Another tip to tip, that's nine in a row for round seven!" blared the speakerphone from up high which was reduced to nothing but crackled static by this point. "The scores are still tied! The question still remains - who will be declared victor of the round?!"

In spite of a stalemate seemingly eternal, the crowd just got wilder and wilder with every rerun, they couldn't seem to just get enough, consumed with an excitement so thick and tense that the audience size tripled itself and the stands were now teeming with more people than ever before.

As for the judges themselves, not even they are spared from feeling the exhilaration in the air… no longer were they drawling and yawning all aloof in their seats - now they were literally at the edge of it.

"Come on Leon, you got this!" shouted the hunter for the umpteenth time already. "Tenth times the charm!"

"You Elf certainly knows how to put on a show, doesn't she?" The wizard eyed me from the side, a smile beneath that wizard-beard. "I've never seen Leon push this much before… I didn't even think there was anybody who could rival him."

Honestly, that sentiment goes both ways for me. Ash was the genuine article here, the Elf-Knight from another world with no equal, and yet somehow this random handsome devil was giving her an actual run for her money. 

If anything, he's the impressive one. 

But yet, alas…

"SHE DID IT! THE ELF FINALLY GOT A HIT, A SNAP!" shrieked the announcer in an almost monstrous gargle of words. 

"ROUND SEVEN GOES TO ESHWYLN! SHE'S IN THE LEAD!"

He was still only human.

"No!" The hunter slammed back into his seat, hissing in a sharp, painful, disappointed breath. "Damn, how did she - ? I was so sure…"

Not even the stands with its million pairs of eyes scouring down every angle of the field could accurately describe what the hell just happened. 

So far the consensus was that Leon dropped his lance first, with Ash still with hers drawn up in the air, it was practically a free hit on her… and then, everybody probably blinked at the same time or something because before anybody knew what happened, they were already whizzing past each other, with Ash's lance but broken blue pieces buried in the dirt.

With a five-point setback going into the final pass, you'd think Leon would start feeling the pressure weighing on him in tons - but it's more like he was reveling in it than anything. 

His smile peaked in both its charm and allure. I'm pretty sure some girls in the audience were swooning themselves to the floor at the very sight of it, but he wasn't looking towards his adoring fans no more. 

Those pretty-boy baby-blue eyes of his… had only Ash shimmering back at it. I could see it, as far away as it was, as brief as it happened, there was no mistaking that stare of his as anything else. 

I think Ash had earned herself more than just a fan… and if my experiences with Amanda's were anything to go by, I don't really got a good feeling about this.

For quite possibly for the final time, the trumpet blared its last - and they were off galloping towards the bout to end it all. All Ash had to do then was to not get hit, she didn't even have to be on the attack so long as Leon only managed to graze her with his lance.

Even then, victory would still have been hers. But I suppose, a victory half-hearted was no true victory after all… should have known already that wouldn't have been enough.

When their lances dropped, it happened so quick. The thunder of treaded dirt, the resonating uproar of the crowd, and the clangoring of heavy metal. They all paled in comparison to the deafening silence that followed after. 

Silence, as the dust settled, as the horses skidded to a full stop, as Ash spun forward towards her opponent, laying face-first onto the ground, in her grip plummeted the last fragmented piece of blue from the handle of her lance.

When everybody finally had their few nanoseconds of time to process what just happened, I don't think anybody outside the building would have been faulted in any way for thinking that a bomb might have inexplicably imploded somewhere inside the convention. 

So fervent, so wild, so very ear-piercing were the cheers that not even the announcer could be heard intelligible amidst it all, and when I say that I mean it literally and figuratively. 

"ELF WIN! ELF IS WIN! WINNER IS THE ELF! OH MY GOD! LEON LOSE HOW?! HOW THIS HAPPEN I DON'T BELIEVE GUYS - !" 

My theory was the louder you get, the fewer synapses there were firing in your brain in order to compensate for it, but again, it was just a theory though… could do with more research. 

"Well, well, Leon's lost," The witch, smirking wide, gave a little clap, turning to her hunter friend who sat with his lips permanently agape. "Who would have thought, hm?"

"Undefeated no longer," muttered the Wizard, nodding his head. "Training his whole life, but you know what they say - there's always a bigger fish… and it looks like he just got swallowed."

Meanwhile, the Vampire was fervently shaking his head in an amused sort of way. "Hundred dollars gone just like that. Shouldn't have taken the bet. Well to be fair, who on earth would have expected her?" 

The Witch quietly giggled. "Yay hundred for me~"

All eyes on stage fell to the Elf in the limelight. It seems Ash had reverted back from her focused state and was now at a loss as to what to do with all the praises and cheers she was being showered with, standing there dumbfounded, both hands clutching one another.

Don't think she's ever received this much commendation in all her life… and evidently never this vocal and high-spirited as well. Well, it's about damn time, I say… she's earned it.

"Who the hell is she?" The hunter whispered, turning unblinking eyes towards my direction. "Hey, you're friends with her, aren't you? Only reason you'd cheer her on from the beginning. Who - who is she?"

I wasn't the best liar, and you'd never catch me boasting about it, so yeah, I told the truth.

"She's Eshwlyn the Elf-Knight," I replied, standing up to join with the roaring ovation. "But you already know that, don't you?"

Just not the whole truth.

It was an eternity and a half afterward for the commotion to settle, for the crowd to finally disperse. As for the judges, they were gone the moment the dust had cleared up - probably off to the next event that needed judging. 

Come to think of it, what was being judged here? All they did was sit and look aloof while the announcer did all the work. Hm…

Anyway, after her 356th handshake from her newfound group of admirers for an exciting match well done, Ash eventually made it back on stage unhindered by hip-hip-hoorays.

I was the remaining few still there, I wasn't leaving until I had my share of the personal commendation pie. The moment that bobblehead of hers wobbled my way, she was already clinking and clanking, speeding across the stage towards me.

"Master!" Her voice resounded, bowing hastily, clunkling loudly. "I - did you see me? I've done well, haven't I? Didn't I?!" 

The enthusiasm in her voice didn't need echoes to be heard loud and clear. Even if I was deaf, there was no way I could have missed it.

"Oh, I saw alright," I said, my cheeks straining from how hard I was smiling. "You, you… you just continue to surprise, don't you? Master Swordswoman, Master Chef, Master Jouster - say, I don't suppose you also know how to fly, do you?"

She finally took off the much-too-big helm from her head, revealing underneath the most dazzling smile on her face yet, and a gush of white streaming gracefully down her shoulders.

"Perchance, maybe…" She answered back, a small hint of mischief in her voice. "Admittedly, that was too my first time jousting… so I fear I wasn't performing to my capabilities as of yet."

I gaped at her. "That was your first time?"

"Indeed," She affirmed, my shock widening her smile even more. "As well as having to adjust my strength to mitigate the damage I would inflict - it was a bit difficult having to juggle between the two at once."

Well damn, if that was her at her worst… I'm kinda scared to see her at her best. 

"Regardless, you are the victor through and through, and I don't think I could be any prouder. You've done your Master good, Ash."

She let out a small chuckle, then slanted her eyes down to her feet. "Why, thank you… I - it's an honor, I - "

"How did it feel, by the way?" I said, nudging my head. "All those cheers, all those applause… people cheering instead of jeering at you, must have felt pretty good, right?"

Her ears wriggled. "Yes, it felt… very much uplifting. Hearing my name shouted in delight and cheer, I never thought it possible."

"Yep," I raised my hand and stroked her hair lightly. "It always feels good to be praised by others. I'm glad you finally got your moment."

"Yes, but even still," She looked up at me again, her emerald green eyes staring so gentle and warm. "The feeling could never compare to the praises I receive from your lips."

Look at that, my praises for her became praises for me… I don't how she does it so effortlessly.

"Not only a Master Jouster, but a Master Complimenter too," I drew my hand back. "Well, you keep this up… there will be more where that came from, alright" 

She nodded firmly. "Yes, Master."

Then, from the other end of the stage, someone clapped… once, twice, thrice - another newly-turned fan with words of kindness to say, I thought.

I was technically right.

We both turned our heads at the same time, and approaching closer was that unmistakable charming smile, the bounce of his shimmering bright golden locks keeping in pace with his strides.

Leon The Valiant stopped just short of us inches away, his ocean-blue eyes staring deep into Ash's… it was the first he saw her without the helmet, and judging by the way his gaze stayed frozen, it almost felt as if she was all that he could see. 

It seems I'm not the only one waiting on giving their own personal commendations to her.

I have a bad feeling about this...