Authors: Andy Holland
Daisy nodded curtly before moving back to the centre to face her opponent. Dee immediately reared onto her back legs and advanced forwards, but this time, instead of backing off, Daisy lunged toward her with her forelegs raised to protect her head. Dee landed a blow on Daisy's left arm, but before she had a chance to swing at her with her own left, Daisy locked her jaws onto Dee's exposed neck, just beneath her head. Daisy gripped hard before slamming Dee's head down onto the ground with an audible thud.
A win!
Nicola called loudly.
Second bout; back to the centre.
Well done, Daisy!
John said proudly.
I guess you just needed a little more aggression.
Daisy didn't wait for Dee this time around and flew straight at her, immediately landing a blow on her exposed belly as she reared up.
Three points!
Nicola called.
Two more points to win the match. Face each other! Fight!
Daisy could have won the fight with a simple head blow, but went for the neck again, and within a second had her jaws on Dee's throat again. Dee frantically tried to swat at Daisy's head to force her to release her, but Daisy twisted her head to the side before slamming her head down onto the ground again.
Very good,
the headmaster said as he passed by them, watching as Dee stood up, looking a little dazed.
Although, technically, you just need to bite at the neck; there is no need to smash your opponent into the ground, as I thought I made clear at the start. A win all the same though.
Daisy wins!
Nicola called.
Change over.
John helped Daisy remove her equipment from her claws and teeth.
Excellent, Daisy!
he congratulated.
You're a natural at this.
Thanks, John,
Daisy replied.
I thought she was going to beat me. Do you think I hurt her banging her head on the ground?
Well, probably, but she'll recover. Our heads are pretty tough.
Well, your turn, John,
Daisy replied.
Go on, you can beat her.
John faced Nicola and waited for her attack. Having learnt from Daisy and Dee, she rushed at John, swinging her forelegs wildly. John casually sidestepped her attack, and seized her right leg with his right, pulling it across her body before striking her just under the throat with his left. The whole movement was executed very smoothly.
Win!
Daisy squealed.
Nice one, John.
Back to the centre,
Dee said coldly, still irritated.
John faced Nicola again, waiting for her attack. Just before she sprang at him, another dragon behind him stepped backwards, pinning John's tail and immobilising him. John tried to move but found himself trapped, and took a strike to his own neck.
Win!
Dee shouted triumphantly.
Face each other again.
Hey! That wasn't fair!
Daisy protested.
The other dragon interfered with John's movement.
It was a good strike,
John countered.
The mistake was mine. One all.
But that boy stood on your tail; it wasn't a fair fight.
When it's real it's never a fair fight,
John replied.
Don't think of this as a game. It's a bad habit to get into. You should never concentrate on just winning points, but fighting as if your life really depended on it.
John faced Nicola again, who advanced more slowly at him, swinging cautiously while John backed away, avoiding her strikes until he suddenly advanced and struck her with his right, hitting her hard on the nose.
Two points!
Dee and Daisy shouted in unison. John merely nodded, and moved back towards the centre.
Fight!
Dee shouted, and again, Nicola advanced on him aggressively, trying to strike at his head and neck. Suddenly, the two sparring behind John burst into their space yet again, knocking John forwards and into the path of Nicola's wild swing, which hit him hard in the neck.
Win!
Dee shouted triumphantly.
That's two to one.
Now wait a moment,
Daisy objected angrily.
Well done,
John said gracefully to his slightly surprised opponent.
Now you'll face Daisy.
But John,
Daisy protested.
That's not fair. You should get another go.
I'm inclined to agree with the princess,
the headmaster intervened, who had been watching their bout.
The points shouldn't stand.
John shook his head.
Sorry, sir, but I disagree. This isn't a real situation, but we shouldn't encourage anyone to think of this as just a game with set rules. One side is always going to have some sort of advantage, such as terrain, or maybe numbers, or having the sun behind them. The best way to prepare yourself for a real fight is to forget about what is fair. If that had been real I would have been killed, and that's all there is to it.
Or perhaps you don't want to fight the princess,
the headmaster commented.
Either way, it's of no concern to me. Hurry up with the next match; everyone else has finished already and were starting the next round of bouts.
Daisy was in no mood to let Nicola off easily after unfairly beating John, and the first bout lasted just a few seconds, ending with Nicola lying upside down on the ground nursing a sore head. The second bout was just as short, Daisy having intimidated her opponent and easily landing a winning blow.
Well done, Daisy,
Arthur commented, a little more impressed than he was prepared to admit, having watched the match along with a number of other dragons.
But don't get too cocky. You're against Jerome next.
What about you?
John asked.
Had much luck?
Arthur shook his scaly head.
I beat Seth, then I beat Jenna who had beaten Crystal, but I lost to Kal. He's really good, unfortunately. I'd have quite enjoyed bouncing his head off the ground.
Princess Daisy,
the headmaster called out loudly.
You're competing against Jerome. Come forward now, yours is the last of the third rounds.
Unfortunately, Daisy didn't do as well against Jerome. She managed to get two points for clipping his nose at the start, which in itself was quite an accomplishment as he was very fast and very skilled, but he then went on to beat her with ease. He was clearly exceptionally well trained. His next opponent was Kal, and the match was quite close and would have served better as the final as the two of them were clearly the best in the class, but Jerome triumphed yet again. He went on to beat two more opponents to be declared the overall winner at the end of the lesson and strutted about very smugly on the way to lunch, making sure everyone knew who had won.
"Just think; I was beaten only by the overall winner," Daisy told her brother as they listened to Jerome boasting. "I could have come second if I hadn't faced Jerome so early."
"Or Kal could have flattened you as he did your brother," Seth pointed out.
"Or as I did you," Arthur retorted.
"It was two-one," Seth replied. "And you never flattened me. It was hardly even a convincing victory. You never landed a straight win, just lots of feeble two pointers that shouldn't count, if you ask me."
"Which we're not," Jenna replied. "So, Daisy, John went out in the first round. I guess you weren't expecting that. Not good at everything after all, is he?"
Daisy glared at her irritably. "He didn't lose properly. He was much better than that girl and those points shouldn't have stood. Even the headmaster said so."
"And he also said that John didn't want to face you," Seth replied. "We were watching the match. He couldn't bear the idea of having to hit his little Daisy."
"Shut up, Seth; he knows I can take it. No, John would only do what he did for a good reason. I just don't understand what it is."
"Of course," Jenna said smugly. "While you ponder that, I'll have lunch. Coming, Arthur?"
With that, Jenna walked off with Arthur, her nose held high, leaving Daisy to go find John.
"I really enjoyed today," Daisy told John as they left school together. "I must admit, I didn't really understand at the time why you dropped out of the competition, but I do now. I guess it's hard for me to take the threat of the Blue Dragons as seriously as you do. We're a very long away from them in the West."
"But you've already seen the Blue Dragons attack the city," John pointed out. "Even here you aren't safe. We can never afford to treat combat as something as trivial as just a game. And you are good at it; I'm convinced we'd have been much more evenly matched than you think. A few months of training and I'm sure you'll be better than me."
Daisy smiled shyly. "You really think so? Jerome managed to beat me very easily."
"Jerome was excellent, but he's been training for a long time—that much was very clear. As I've said, I haven't done much training, but I've done enough to tell that Jerome was using techniques that were quite advanced, way beyond what I've been taught. I wouldn't feel bad about losing to him. Wait till you've done a term of training, then we'll see how well he does against you. He definitely won't find it easy, whatever the outcome."
Daisy smiled proudly, pleased with the praise. "Hey, why don't you come over for dinner? It'll make the perfect ending to the day. You haven't been over since the holidays. I'm sure Gerald would like to see you."
John shook his head sadly. "If only I could. I have a long report to write for the Keeper and I'll probably have to work quite late as it is. Another night perhaps?"
Daisy nodded, looking a little disappointed. "Do you mind that you have to work to stay here when everyone else can just do what they like?"
John shrugged. "I don't think about it. It's my duty to work for the Keeper, and generally, I enjoy it. He's a nice enough man, and is always grateful for the work I do. Why, does it bother you that I have no money?"
Daisy smiled and shook her head. "I don't think about money. I've never needed to. I never really even used it before I came to Furnace, as I had a maid with me at all times, so if I needed something, she'd always get it for me. Even here, I rarely use it. I still have a maid, and when we're out, my guards carry money with them and buy things if I need them." She paused to look at John. "You know, I could pay for you to be here, for your school fees. Then you wouldn't have to work…"
John laughed and shook his head. "I think you'd have a hard time explaining that to your parents! Anyway, I'd better get going. See you tomorrow Daisy." He briefly kissed her goodbye before transforming and taking to the sky. He glanced back to see Daisy waving up at him, before turning away to walk home, her bodyguards trailing a few metres behind her. He wondered why more of the students didn't just fly to and from school as he did; walking was so slow and unnecessary.
Within a few minutes he was back in the library, sitting at his desk and ready to start work. The Keeper was in the building somewhere, but John hadn't actually seen him yet. This was far from unusual, and they could spend an entire evening in the same building and not bump into each other, but that suited John right now. When he first arrived, he felt quite lonely and liked to talk to the old man more frequently, but now he appreciated the freedom it gave him. The Keeper would give him money every now and then for provisions, and leave him notes telling him what needed to be done, but other than that they didn't interact that much at all.
He looked at the pile of boxes in front of him and wiped the dust off the top box. It probably hadn't been opened for at least thirty years. He sighed, opened the box and took out the first report, and was relieved to see that the hand writing was perfectly legible. So many of these old reports were written in flowery cursive text that was nearly impossible to decipher. He scanned through the Keeper's notes to see what he needed to do.
Review the last thirty years military budgets for each of the principalities and the capital, focussing on expenditure on city defences, in particular maintenance and improvements in the towers.
John shook his head, trying to work out which idiot had asked for this information. He thought back to his conversation with Daisy; generally, he did enjoy the work, but definitely not all of the time and at the moment, he was wondering what the point of this task was. The chances were that one of the Council members had requested this information merely to sound as if they were fully engaged, but had no interest in the report whatsoever, or any of the Council's dealings for that matter. Many of the members had inherited their positions, and were completely unsuited to their roles. Still, there was no point dwelling on that at the moment. He opened the reports for the north first, figuring that he may as well start with the hardest and get it out of the way. The north had the most sophisticated and extensive set of defensive towers and therefore probably spent the most.
He worked non-stop for several hours, neglecting to eat dinner or even take short breaks, determined to finish this dull task in one evening. The Keeper hadn't asked for that, knowing it to be unreasonable, but John's tendency to get these tasks done quickly had led the Keeper to expect him to do them quickly; John didn't like disappointing him.
The light outside faded quickly and John continued working, using the light from two lamps on the table and ploughing slowly through the reports. Reviewing the budgets for the North alone took over two hours, and rather than risk not finishing the task and break for supper, he decided to continue straight into the next toughest of the regions, the eastern principality, and started straight away on their reports.
John wasn't sure of the time, but he guessed it must have been about nine when he heard the noise downstairs. He had been working for about four hours without a break. As soon as he heard it, he couldn't explain why, but he knew it wasn't the Keeper. Although he rarely saw the old man, he had become accustomed to the way he walked around the library, the familiar pattern of the creaks in the floorboards, the soft thuds as he closed doors, and this new sound just didn't sound right. The old man wasn't loud, but this sound was unusually quiet, as if someone were trying to sneak around without being heard. John put his pen down and listened carefully. Perhaps he had imagined it, the strain of long hours working without food or water getting to him. Then he heard it again. Very soft footsteps, moving more rapidly than the Keeper did, coming from downstairs directly beneath him in a room that the Keeper rarely visited. A room that if they were diligent about security, should be locked, as it contained some of the most sensitive documents that they possessed.
John stood up and crept across the room, moving soundlessly, knowing where to place his feet to avoid making the old floorboards creak. The sounds beneath him had stopped. Had he imagined it after all? He waited for a minute and heard nothing, but decided he would investigate anyway, if for no other reason other than to take a break from his work.
His door always squeaked, even when he opened it carefully, so John opened it quickly, hoping that it wouldn't make too much noise. He could have sworn that he heard a gentle thud from below as soon as he opened the door. He carried one of the lamps from his desk and debated whether maybe he should leave it, in case it alerted the intruder to his presence. He wondered if the Keeper would be alarmed if he found John wandering around the library in the dark and worry that John had gone mad. Then John heard another sound from the other side of the library; it was a window being opened. He put down the lamp and hurried downstairs, trying to move as quietly and as quickly as possible before dashing across the library to the room he had heard the sound come from. Just before he entered, he heard the window close and saw a shadow move away from the building. John cursed himself for delaying, and ran to the window, looking out to see if he could see anyone. Hurrying away from the building, he saw a hooded figure carrying a small package, heading towards the main street.
John didn't hesitate now, knowing that there had definitely been an intruder and that he had probably stolen something from the library. He ran to the front of the building, unlocked the main door and ran towards the main street. It was never particularly busy near the library, and when he reached the street there was not a soul in sight. A slight movement caught his eye. A few hundred metres away, he saw the figure walking quickly along the street, heading south. He crossed over the street without looking back and turned down a side road that would lead him to the south east. John sprinted after him, knowing that the hooded man wouldn't be able to see him now so he could run without having to hide. John reached the turning within a minute, gasping for breath as he peered cautiously around the corner. He saw the hooded figure walking quickly down the deserted street. John followed after him, trying to stay in the shadows, aware that if he turned around at the wrong moment he would easily spot John, but reluctant to hang back and risk losing him. The street took a number of turns, so John waited at each corner, making sure he couldn't be seen before advancing.
John continued like this for some time, and the hooded figure didn't turn around once to see if he was being followed, oblivious to John's presence. Eventually the street reached the inner city wall at the unguarded south eastern gate. This was the least used gate into the city, and subsequently was rarely manned by the city guard. The hooded figure quietly walked through the abandoned gate unobserved by all except John. Outside of the gate, the inner city wall was ringed by a long, continuous park that ran from the base of the volcano at the north east of the city all the way around to the next volcano at the south east of the city. From here, the intruder could go anywhere. John ran after him, stopping to peer around the corner to see if the hooded figure had changed course. John could just see him disappear along a path that headed south through the park, clearly avoiding the main paths that ran parallel to the wall. The park was completely deserted at night, situated in one of the least populated but wealthiest parts of the capital, and the man had begun to jog, comfortable that no one would see him. John ran after him, finding himself wishing that he was a little fitter as he struggled to keep up with his quarry. Before the camping trip he would have found this easy, but he still hadn't fully recovered, and his chest throbbed painfully.
After about half an hour of jogging, John realised that they had left the park, and were now in a small wood that separated two parts of the city and ran from the park all the way to the point where the south east and southern volcanoes met. John had never been here before, and was not familiar even with the maps of this area. Just as they neared the end of the wood, John saw the man disappear into a large hole in the ground. John paused, unsure of whether he should follow, but then quickly ran after the man and peered into the hole, crouching down to avoid being seen. He could hear two voices talking below him.
"You were not followed?" a gruff voice asked. John looked into the hole and saw two men standing several metres below him. The hooded man was partially illuminated by the moonlight, and John saw him shaking his head. John was glad that he was hidden by shadow.
"No one followed me, Eric. This part of the city is deserted at this time of night." He spoke softly, and John could hardly hear him.
"Good. Give me the package. This is the one we have been waiting for."
The hooded man handed the second man, who was apparently called Eric, a package that he placed into a bag and then affixed it to his back.
"Perak will be pleased with you, but your job is not done. Here are your next instructions."
The hooded man spoke again, but John couldn't hear what he said. Eric replied, speaking a little more loudly. "This was a good route into the city, through these tunnels, but we will not use them again. They may be more useful at a future time, and we do not want to waste that opportunity. Details of the next meeting place are in your instructions."
The hooded man replied, but too quietly for John to hear.
"I don't know the answer to that question," Eric replied. "I am just the messenger."
John moved slightly, dislodging a small stone, and the noise it made caused the two men to look in his direction. John froze, hoping they hadn't seen him. They stared towards him for what felt like ages.
"Are you sure you weren't followed?" Eric asked. The hooded man whispered his reply. "Go and check. If there's anyone up there, silence them." John saw Eric draw a sword and hold it aloft. "You remember how to use one of these, Malick?"
As Eric stepped forwards to give the hooded man the weapon, John gasped as the moonlight struck his head; his hair was blue! John pulled back from the edge of the hole immediately, and looked around him for somewhere to hide. The hooded man, the one that Eric had called Malick, was taller than him, considerably fitter and now armed with a sword. John sprinted for the trees at the edge of the wood, and didn't stop. He didn't wait to find out whether he had been seen and continued running through the woods, hoping he was heading in the right direction. He ran until he could run no further, completely exhausted, and then he walked, glancing back over his shoulder every now and then to see if he was being pursued. If he had been seen and followed he had managed to lose his pursuer and was now safe.
John gasped as he walked, trying to take in what he had seen. Had that man Eric really had blue hair? Was that even possible, right on the edge of Furnace? What of the other man? He had never removed his hood, so he could have been hiding blue hair as well, but for a Blue Dragon to come into the city unobserved seemed impossible. John wasn't sure how long he had walked for but he found himself back in the circular park, heading towards the south east gate. This wasn't far from Crystal's house, and although it was very late, he needed to raise the alarm and wasn't sure who else to turn to. He jogged to her house, trying to ignore the pain in his legs, and approached the large front door and knocked on it loudly. No one stirred, so he knocked again. He heard some movement inside and stood back, waiting for someone to open the door. When they did, it was their maid, Janet. Fortunately, the young girl remembered him from the dinner party.