Chapter Forty-five
“Where is everyone?” Nara asked Izza as they stopped at a stall selling, vegetables. The market that was frequently crawling with people was scarcely empty with even less opened stalls. Izza gave her clueless look before turning to the farmer. Nara studied the almost empty square, and at the merchant at the far closing his stall. It was too early too close shop in this afternoon. She suspected something was up. She turned her attention back to the other two. Izza had just won the merchant over to reduce a price of cabbage was smiling as she put it in the basket she was carrying.
“Let’s go,” Izza said, and sighed. “there are no good spices I want today.”
As they turned and headed back, the sound of cheers rang in the air. They echoed again as she took another step. She made a face at Izza. Abruptly stopping, Izza smacked her forehead lightly, and as if a bright light shining in her eyes, she said. “Tournament.”
“Where?” Nara asked.
“Military base” Izza replied. Looking at her she asked, “Want to go and see?”
Nara nodded.
That’s how they found themselves, walking another three minutes from the market toward the garrison. The cheers and boos grew louder when the station came to view. Nara noted the similarities of the place as it was back in Vessener. A wall surrounding the base with a wide entrance. Now she knew where everybody was she mused as the two of them entered. Women, men and children stood, making a full circle around the field in the middle that had been transformed into an arena. She and Izza weaved and squeezed themselves through the throng to get a better view. Mercifully it didn’t take her long to find a good spot. Six pairs of elves faced against each other. Both men and women were dressed in simple clothes, tunic and leather trousers paired with boots. They carried no weapons. It seemed to be a hand to hand match. Looking carefully at the elves in front of the crowd, she saw Leena and Finn. They both wore grim expression as their fellow competitors.
“What’s the tournament for?” Nara asked Izza who was standing beside her. As Izza was about to answer, the crowd cheered, dragging her attention back to the arena. A man had just been subdued to the ground by another opponent. The victory was short lived for the man. Leena like a ferocious feline attacked him. Nara watched mesmerized as the female warrior bended and twisted, blocked her opponent’s charges before striking her own. Nara’s mouth gaped when the she-elf used the opponent’s fist as a ladder. She nimbly jumped on it, flipped in the air and gracefully landed behind him. The crowd broke into applause at the dramatic move. Like lightning, she kicked at his legs then grabbed with his both hands and pinned them behind his back, holding him to his knees like a suppressed criminal.
Cheers roared.
The vital energy and excitement inside the walls rose to new heights. Nara found herself smiling and cheering with the crowd.
“You came” he whispered into her ear. Nara bit her lip as she felt his heat against her back. She cocked her head to the side. “Yes,” she whispered loud enough for him to hear against the hollering. Then looked forward again.
“Are you enjoying” his warm breath fluttered against the shell of her ear, causing the fine hair on her neck to erect.
Nara nodded.
She felt him still behind her as she continued to watch the spurring. As she looked at a child who had been standing in front of her stumbled back from being pushed by a woman passing. From it, the child pushed her back as he struggled to find footing.
“I got you,” Calemir said, his hands grabbing her arm.
“Thank you,” Nara told him. Even though she had recovered, his hands remained on her. They started gliding up and down over her arms in an almost unconscious manner after few minutes causing her skin to break into goosebumps. She stiffened when they moved to her shoulders. Only relaxing when he only rested them there for a minute before removing them.
“What’s the tournament for?” she asked, hoping he was still there and hadn’t left. Because one thing Nara had come to know about him, his steps were soundless, like a thief in the night.
“To entertain the people” came his reply.
“That’s it, no prize?”
“Title of being undefeated in Uruloki” She heard his amusement, and even though she wasn’t looking at his face, she knew his mouth was curled at the corners.
“Why are you not there?” Nara wanted to know, seeing his friends were in the ring. Calemir shifted behind her, the movement so subtle but she picked up on it. “It wouldn’t be fair to the opponents” he stated.
Really? Nara mused. She cocked her head and looked at him briefly. There was no trace of arrogance on his face, just the truth that he was better than the rest.
“Besides imagine watching a match that you already know the winner. It’s exciting at the beginning, but after a while it gets repetitive, and there’s no new excitement even if the person is a crowd favorite” he spoke.
“So, you used to participate?” she asked, once the cheers dwindled. The pair had gone down to three and Leena, and Finn was still standing.
“Yes,” Calemir replied before vanishing in the crowd.
Nara kept on watching. Besides her, Izza was full on participating with the yells, cheers and scowling when a favorite of hers, a man with short dark hair didn’t attack properly.
Nara made a face when the short haired one was thrown to the ground roughly by Finn.
“I should get back and cook,” Izza said to her,
“You don’t want to see who’s going to win?” Nara asked, glancing in her direction.
Izza shook her head, her features lacking any enthusiasm of continue watching. “You can tell me the winner when you get back home.”
“No, we came together, we return together,” Nara said after a quick moment of thought.
“You don’t have to go back with me” Izza argued.
“It’s fine. By the looks of it I think Finn is going to win” she said, looking to the front and seeing Leena being pinned down. And two pairs were standing.
“Probably” Izza agreed.
With that, they made their way back home.