Chapter 438

438 Dance Of The Shields(Part One)

***CONTENT WARNING: LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE, AND SLIGHT GORE***

Skye grinned cheekily as she watched the line of competitors wavering. Some claimed that ‘going against a woman was ungentlemanly’. Others backed out once they knew that both the Commander of the RMC and the new General were competing.

Magnus and Murdoc had decided to use sealing stone cuffs to keep everything fair, so a few more had joined in. Most that were gathered thought that there was no way they could beat Skye and Tidas, so the cuffs were brought out by a guard..

A guard that Tidas didn’t recognize.. ‘He might’ve gotten his position while we were in the Highlands, but that’s still too soon for a greenhorn to be assigned as a Royal guard.. they have to be invested first.. Something’s off here..’

The guard put the cuffs on them with a robotic expression. Tidas called Ralph over to help him with his cuffs, then quietly told him to go get a spare key from the RMC Headquarters: just in case. Without question, Ralph took off to get a spare key as the guard finished putting the cuffs on the others.

It was mainly Murdoc, Wallace, Skye, and Tidas getting them, but a few that had joined in the game were mages as well. Almost no one had noticed that Marco had disappeared for a few moments during that time.. As Murdoc shouted the instructions to everyone a final time, Genie watched everything from the crowd.

He hadn’t felt Ahriman again since he stayed in the room, but he could sense the Water Mage acting as his hidden guard. Peggy had mentioned that she and Skye got along until Marco had gained her as a guard. She had even taught Skye her Mirage and Mirror techniques, but now avoided Skye whenever she could.

Skye thought that Sheri hated her now, but Peggy figured that it was because of her ‘creepy boss’. Genie had agreed with Peggy, thinking that she was right on the mark with her reasoning..

‘It’s faint, but I think I sense a touch of Darkness from the girl as well.. it feels the same as what’s coming the Crowned Prince.. But why does it also feel like Ahriman’s magic?! It doesn’t add up right..’

.....

Right as Genie was about to go down the rabbit hole of his thoughts, Magnus’ voice kept him grounded in reality..

“The rounds of...what was it called? ..Shields? Kind of a unimaginative name.. Anyway, Shields will be done quickly so we call all eat! Skye will face Oscar Nilsson, then King Murdoc will face Prince Marco. Next Tidas will go against John Saulsberry, then Wallace will go against Winston Fredricks, and Jared Harod will face Michael Felix. And lastly: Douglas Gallaway will face Oliver Strong.”

“The victors from the first games will face off against the winners from the following challenge, so round one winner will face the second round winner, and so on! The winners of the second game will draw straws to see who fights who first! Is everyone clear on the lineup?!”

As the people cheered in response, Magnus had to catch his breath before he could continue; “Is everyone clear on the rules?! Good! I shall have King Lawrence and Vice Commander Shasta officiate the game! I wish everyone to do their best!”

The crowds cheered for their king as they prepared to be entertained. No one in Alcon aside from the troops that had gone north had seen the game before, so many huddled in close to watch. As the crowds’ anticipation rose, Skye looked at the shields, the men holding them, and the way that they were holding the shields.

The man she was facing seemed a bit unsteady at first, but found his bearings quickly. The RMC trained on balance beams and discs, so the concept wasn’t new; just the rules and goal. After they had nodded in acknowledgment at each other, the two started to slowly step onto the next shield..

Tidas stood with a constant smirk on his face as Skye and Oscar started to move across the shields. Lawrence saw it and asked why he seemed so confident. He shook his head in the negative; “It’s not my skills that I’m overly confident about..”

Seeing the confusion on his older brother’s face, Tidas explained; “Murdoc, Wallace and I played this game often, but Skye didn’t care for it after her dozenth time.”

“Why? It seems like a game you both would like,” Lawrence nearly yelled to be heard over the cheering crowds.

“It was, at first.. Skye grew tired of it rather quickly.. Not challenging enough for her..”

Right as the words had left Tidas’ mouth, Skye kicked up her speed. She easily caught up to Oscar, and nearly knocked him off while passing him. As she jumped from one shield to the next, the crowds became fixated on her..

Skye moved like a beautiful fairy as she hopped from one target to the next. The flow of her dress, the way her curls bounced as she jumped; the court was enamored with her graceful movements, and shining smile. As she came up from behind him, even Oscar stupidly stopped to stare at his opponent..

“ANNNND ya lost!” Skye shouted as she stepped on the edge of the shield that Oscar was balancing on.

The sudden shift in weight made the man holding the shield reposition it to compensate for Skye, but she hopped off the second she felt the board moving. When the holder tilted it, Oscar shifted to the side, and fell off. He thought that Skye was trying to get a foothold to knock him over herself, but she let gravity do all the work for her.

A few seconds after he had hit the ground with a thud, the crowds roared with excitement. The game was simple, but had a dangerous side to it. If one fell of at the wrong angle, they could crack their head open, or worse..

Murdoc had warned everyone about the possibility of it, but now they understood why he had repeated the rules. A simple shove could kill someone if they landed wrong, even though Murdoc had never seen it happen in all of his years playing. It was a precaution to warn people, hoping that it would make them more aware of their positioning when they fell.

As everyone cheered for Skye’s victory, Murdoc and Marco got up onto their shields..

“This might get bad,” Amara commented low, thinking only Wallace and Petrie would hear her.

“HA! Might?! Yer daft if ye thought this was gonna turn out any other way,” Wallace stated in an amused manner.

“Ya never know: the cuffs might make him show restraint?” Petrie commented with a helpless kind of shrug.

“...Aye. Cause Murdoc be sensible like that,” Wallace replied sarcastically.

“He better get sensible right now,” Amara exhaled deeply as she watched Murdoc run after Marco at his full, non-magical speed; “We JUST signed that treaty! How stupid can he be?! I hope the MacArthur doesna wanna tear it up after this.. The ink’s probably still wet..”

“I doubt King Magnus will do anythin’ about the treaty, but he might,” Petrie commented as he pointed to Marco; “When he gets the crown.”

As Murdoc passed by Marco not-so-steadily, Amara added in a low voice; “That ship’s already sailed, dear laddie..”

Murdoc wasn’t used to running without his Tank trait, but he was still going faster than most men could; especially at his age. His body didn’t work as well in his late forties as it did in his twenties, but he could still put most twenty-year-olds to shame with his speed. So when Marco suddenly came up behind him..

“The fuck did you come from?!” Murdoc bellowed as he tried to use his girth to block Marco from getting a foothold to pass him.

Marco’s expression didn’t change at all as he waited until the turn in the line of shields to make his move..

“The lass is mine,” was all Murdoc heard before he felt his leg go numb.

The world turned sideways as Murdoc fell, and landed directly on the side of his head. The weight of his body crashing down on top of him forced a sickening ‘snap’ to rebound over the silent masses. Amara, Petrie, and Wallace were frozen in shock and fear as Skye shoved he way through the crowds with Tidas’ help.

“Where’s the keys to the cuffs?! Get these offa me! I need ta heal him! Or he’s gonna Die!”

Skye’s frantic words had snapped the Highlanders from their waking nightmare. They immediately started to look around for the guard that had cuffed the participants earlier. Right as panic started to rise up in the crowds, Magnus yelled; “Get Skye the damn key Now!”

“I have one, Your Majesty! Here!” Ralph bellowed as he came running into the room.

After Magnus had yelled for everyone to clear a path, Ralph unlocked Skye’s cuffs, and she instantly started to heal Murdoc. After checking his neck, she had lifted his head, and put it on her lap so she could staunch the bleeding better. The moment her cuffs unlocked, Skye felt her powers returning.

Tapping into her Shaman trait, Skye stopped Murdoc’s brain from swelling, and started to heal the damage. His skull had a massive crack in it, and a few bone shards had gotten stuck in the meninges covering his brain.. ‘If he had come down just a wee bit harder, the bone bits woulda pierced his brain..’

Skye glanced at Marco as she healed Murdoc, and felt an icy chill run up her spine. He was smiling at her, and it radiated evil. Like he had enjoyed seeing her in a panicked state. As her stomach clenched and she turned away, Murdoc stirred in her hands..

A massive sigh of relief escaped her as Murdoc slow-blinked open his eyes, and smiled; “Ooo.. Good dream.. Are ya gonna feed me grapes now?”

Skye looked up at the worried Highlanders with a deflated expression; “He’ll be fine..”

As Skye let his head slip from her lap, she turned to face Marco again. His face had changed back to his usual emotionless state, but Skye could see the amusement in his eyes.. ‘Di-Did he Try ta kill Murdoc just now?! Na, no, no, no...That fuckin’ Bastard! Ima gonna kick his ARSE!”

Tidas glanced at Skye as he helped Murdoc to his feet. The look in her eyes was one he’d only seen one other time: when she had almost killed Jacob Fowler. Even though Skye ultimately had ended his life, there was a moment when they had first caught him that Tidas thought she might kill him in cold blood.

He was pinned and beaten, but she looked ready to kill. If there hadn’t of been such a large crowd watching: Skye might’ve killed him then and there.. ‘She had all rights to, but she knew that it wasn’t right to kill a beaten person.. I wonder who it was that had opened his cell? We never did find out..’

As the thought crossed Tidas’ mind, he looked directly at his oldest brother...