Nend Ardhon Chronicles - Complete

Chapter 23 – Gymnastics swordfight – part 1

In the morning, Byia was seated at the table, yawning. She began to munch her breakfast in silence, and her mother pointed to the window, directly at Rodhy, who was happily munching a long tail bone. “You gave your Rodhocetus that bone? Where did you get it?”

Byia raised her head to look out the window and answered while munching, “Yeah, it was full of meat. I guess he took all night to eat it, and he is now playing with the bone. I will clean that when I get home, don’t worry.”

“That was not what I asked, but okay, as long as you are feeding him properly. It’s just that it resembles a little too much with the bones of a tail, and that would be weird.”

Byia shrugged and yawned again. Paullu was completely distracted looking at a book, and he didn’t even hear them talk. Teera cleaned the dishes quickly when they finished eating and got ready to leave as soon as Byia opened the door and pulled Paullu out.

Near the gate, a smiling Rodhocetus joined them, and when Byia opened the gate, Paullu blinked at the sight of an awkward Lodon looking at them, right next to a smiling Guyi and a very happy Drezara.

Paullu tilted his head and asked his young sister, “Wasn’t this the guy that slapped you? The one that used to bully you so much? What is he doing here?”

Byia answered while hugging Drezara, “He is now my loyal servant. I found out a very funny secret about him, and I am blackmailing him. He must do anything I want without hesitating or asking why, or I will tell the entire School what I found out about him.”

Paullu frowned when he saw Lodon trembling and asked, “That’s not a very nice thing to do. You could just break his arms to teach him a lesson when there were no witnesses around. Why blackmailing him instead?”

“Because it’s funnier, of course, what else? Besides, Guyi started to deny my whims, and I needed someone else to be my servant. Lodon is not the smartest guy around, but he has some utility. So, it would be better if we went ahead. You still didn’t give Drezara a good morning kiss, and that’s a serious no, no, brother! You must treat your girlfriend properly, as I told you! A kiss in the morning and a kiss when you leave her at home. Two kisses a day, at least!”

Paullu scratched his head and stuttered, “Okay… I… know that; I am doing it already…”

Byia opened her eyes wide and said, “No way! You are not even saying that she is not your girlfriend anymore! Way to go, Drezara! You caught him! Let’s go, guys. I don’t want to ruin the mood for these two!”

Byia began to swim at high speed, followed by Rodhy and the other two, and Paullu smiled awkwardly at the frowning Drezara, “Why… are you looking at me like that? It was something I said?”

“Yeah, probably the fact that you didn’t ask me if I wanted to be your girlfriend or not. I might already be taken, you know?”

Paullu gulped and stared at her blankly. “Do you… have someone else?”

“No. Next question, please.”

“Do you… want to be my girlfriend?”

Drezara tilted her head and placed a finger over her lips. “Hum, let me think… You are rather pretty, funny, and very interesting. You might be a very good boyfriend, but I am not sure. We might need a few kisses and a few dates to go out to eat or have a drink to get to know each other a little better. Maybe we can start with a good morning kiss, considering that I am still waiting for one.”

Paullu smiled and approached her. He caressed her forehead and spoke before approaching his lips. “First, we must get rid of this nasty frown of yours. Pretty females don’t frown like this… and then…”

While Paullu and Drezara were kissing each other, Byia arrived at the front gate of her School. An immense crowd was gathered on the right side, and Byia wondered what that was about. Rodhy, Guyi, and Lodon got near her, and they also stopped to look.

Then, the crowd opened a path, and Nayima Fiet was in the middle of it, looking at Byia with a very serious face while everyone around her was waiting for what she was about to say. Byia made a slight bow and spoke before turning and going through the School’s gate. “Good morning, Nayima. So nice of you to come today. I will see you in Gymnastics. I am really looking forward to it!”

Nayima Fiet bit her lower lip and made the impossible not to tremble, but the way Byia looked at her and the tone in her voice was scary. Nayima immediately knew she would have a lot of trouble complying with her uncle’s request to find out something dirty about Byia to get her revenge.

Guyi’s voice took her out of her slumber, and everyone around stopped talking when they felt the threat in his voice. “Yeah, Gymnastics will be so much fun! I wonder if you will be foolish enough to go against Byia or me. Maybe today you die instead of just breaking a few bones. It has been a while since the last time I killed a worm such as you, and I wonder if you will even be able to give me a proper fight or if you will begin to cry like the spoiled Princess you are.”

The group of young males and females around that didn’t know very well what happened in the previous days wondered what was all that about, and some angry voices shouted threats to Guyi while he was leaving, followed by Byia’s Rodhocetus.

Lodon went to the gate only to stop and look back when he heard Nayima’s voice: “She turned you into her pet, or what? I thought you were better than a simple doormat, Lodon, but I guess you didn’t even deserve my disgust.”

Lodon turned back and looked around. He then looked at Nayima and spoke with a very serious tone, “You should be more respectful, Nayima, considering what I saw on the news last night. You caused a big problem for the Mayor, and I don’t know if he will continue to be the Mayor of our City after today. For such a beautiful female, you are rather ugly and envious inside. I used to be just like you, but recently I found out that I was being a fool. Byia was kind enough not to slice my throat until now, considering everything I did to her over the years while we were growing up, but she is getting fed up with all the annoying things that keep happening around her, and she might use you as a punching bag instead of blowing up.”

Lodon went to the gate again, leaving Nayima outside, feeling a shiver along her spine, going straight to the tip of her tail. One dark blue female next to her, one of the two acolytes that were always near her since they were little, tapped her shoulder with a smile, only to lose the will to smile when she noticed the scared look on Nayima. “Never mind them; you are way better… What’s the matter? You seem…”

Nayima forced a smile and looked around at all her fans. “The nerve of those guys, right? Imagine if my uncle would ever be in trouble because of such a little female! Let’s go everyone; the class is about to start!”

From the middle of the crowd, a voice was heard: “That reporter yesterday will cause a lot of problems for the Mayor. You can bet on it!”

Nayima looked around, trying to find out who said that, but her two female acolytes gently pushed her through the gate, making her unable to find the source of that annoying voice.

At the Gym, Byia was stretching her limbs, next to Guyi, who was punching a bag, and Lodon, who was doing his best to imitate her.

The Gymnastics Teacher was in the middle of the Gym and spoke when he saw the delayed Nayima and her friends entering: “So nice of you to join us! Try to be on time for our next class. I don’t like late students! So, last time Nayima had that splendid idea of playing a game of tag to catch Byia, and she got seriously hurt in the unarmed fight that followed it. Do you have another splendid idea, Nayima? I would love to hear it. Come on, don’t be shy! Unless you are afraid of getting yourself hurt again! I wonder what all your fans would think if they found out you are afraid of sweet little Byia over there!”

Nayima blinked a few times, wondering why the Teacher was almost forcing her to do something. She made a slight smile, thinking that maybe she was reading too much of it and the Teacher was just trying to be funny. “Well, we could maybe do some sword fight today, with wooden swords, of course, or it would be too dangerous!”

“That’s… a wonderful idea! What do you say, guys? Is everybody willing to use those wooden swords over there? We can even make some sort of tournament, and the winner will get a prize!”

Byia raised her right hand and asked, “What sort of prize, Teacher?”

“I… don’t really know. Any idea?”

Byia smiled weirdly while looking at Nayima. “What about if the two finalists fought with real swords until one lost one arm or the tail? That would be fun!”

Nayima made a big smile and shouted while thinking that Byia’s small size would for sure make her an easy target. “Yes, Teacher, that would be fun!”

Guyi raised his arm and asked for attention. “Humm… If I can ask something… Who else, besides Byia and me, has learned how to fight with real swords since the age of two Tides? And while we are at it, how many of you, besides us, already lost a limb during a sword fight?”

Guyi looked around at the puzzled faces that were facing him, and only the Teacher raised his arm. “I started when I was four… You mean, you and Byia began when you were only two Tides old? That’s crazy! No parents would ever allow that!”

Guyi shrugged and pointed with his claw thumb at Byia. “Unless the Teacher was Byia’s father, and her mother was right there to heal us. Maybe we should forget the fight with real swords because it will be only Byia and me fighting in the end, and I got enough of that at our home. Even with wooden swords, it’s dangerous because Byia can’t lower her speed or skill with a sword in her hand, and many of the students here will be seriously hurt if they go against her. I am a little more careful than her, and without sounding too full of myself, I don’t know if any of them can go against me for more than two minutes.”

Guyi faced the angry looks upon him and smiled. “Yeah, I am that good. Maybe if all of you attacked me at the same time, it could be more interesting, because one against one, I will win.”

The angry voices echoed across the Gym, and while Nayima was in silence, thinking, the Teacher asked, “All right, then what about if you put your money where your mouth is, and you showed us that? You against Byia with wooden swords.”

Guyi shrugged and asked, “What do you say, Byia, two white pearls for the winner?”

She made a big smile and nodded. “Yeah, but with our eyes blindfolded, or you won’t stand a chance! And make that three white pearls. I want to have a nice snack at your expense in the School’s cafeteria!”

“You are on! But Rodhy can’t help! Tell him to remain outside! I don’t want him here messing with the water to hide your presence!”