Dawning Skye

442 Dance Of The Shields(Part Five)

“If ya think yer gonna beat me, ya got another thing comin’ laddie!” Wallace shouted from the other side of the shield circle.

Tidas grinned cockily as he yelled back; “We’ll see, old man! My wife is looking forward to dancing with me!”

The crowds clamored at the sound of the two competitors egging each other on. It was clear that the veterans of the game had an advantage, so everyone was excited to see two seasoned players going against each other. As the atmosphere became dense with anticipation, Wallace and Tidas started to move..

Skye, Amara, Petrie, and Murdoc all stood near the front watching as the two started to pick up speed. Murdoc was screaming out Wallace’s name as he urged him to win. Petrie and Amara were calling out for them to ‘make the round interesting’, while Skye cheered on her husband.

The two moved slow at first, making it a point to take in the Barriers’ tells. Which were their dominant sides, their rhythms, and even how they held their eye contact. It was all information that Tidas and Wallace used to determine when the Barriers would try to knock them off.

A few were strong enough to steady the shield and attack, which were the ones that the two ran past the fastest. They both moved at the same pace, despite their over twenty year difference. Wallace was younger than Amara, but slightly older than Murdoc.

When they were young, Amara and Reggie were often in charge of them all. Even when Sorcha came to visit, Amara usually had final say on everything since she was the oldest of them. Even Reggie was a couple years younger than her; not that she looked it.

No one would know it while looking at her, but Amara had just hit her sixties. She looked to be in her forties, and hardly anyone believed her when she told them her age. Skye didn’t believe her at first, but Gavin and Murdoc assured her that it was the truth.

Most of the Highlanders didn’t look their age, which Skye wrote off as a natural result of their environment. They got little direct sun exposure, barely had any pollution, and generally ate balanced meals. According to Murdoc, summertime was usually filled with all kinds of outdoor activities; just not the past several years due to Richard.

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Wallace was in excellent shape due to his position as Murdoc’s personal guard, on top of his natural physique. Many spectators thought that his experience would balance out his age difference between him and Tidas, so quite a few were betting on Wallace to win. But Tidas was still the favorite..

Skye had bet a round of drinks with Petrie that Tidas would win, but not easily. Petrie said that Wallace would win with the assist of a Barrier, since it was his usual move. Murdoc, being his cocky self, bet a round that Wallace would take Tidas down ‘because he be a Highlander’.

Amara wasn’t foolish enough to bet, but she did agree with Skye. The last few times the two had played each other had been rather close, albeit resulting in Tidas’ victory. If he made one mistake, then Wallace would win.

As the two started sprinting around on the shields while dodging Barriers, Skye yelled; “You can do it, hubby! I want that dance!”

Tidas grinned as he passed his wife on the sidelines. Not wanting to disappoint her, he sped up to a full-blown run as he dodged two Barriers. Wallace wasn’t expecting him to come at him so soon, but he was prepared for it as Tidas tried to shove passed him.

After all of the games they had played in the Highlands together, Wallace had learned a few things about the southern prince. Tidas was left handed, but used his right side for most things. The only time he used his left was writing, fighting, and eating.

“Ya wanna know yer fault, laddie?!” Wallace yelled as he hit the section of shields that went semi-straight.

“Love ta hear it!” Tidas bellowed as he rounded the curve after him.

Right as he neared a Barrier player that had been flinching the past three times that they’d passed, Wallace yelled back; “Ya know yer good! So ya think yer good enough!”

Wallace had motioned at the anxious man in a threatening way as he passed by. The gesture spurred him into action when Tidas went to pass him seconds later. He clipped the prince’s side, and nearly sent him toppling off of the shield..

As Tidas shifted his weight towards the front shield, he knew one of two things would happen.. Either he would allow his lead leg to give out and fall onto the shield, or land on the foot wrong. With only having a spilt second to decide, the prince went with the option that had the highest likelihood of keeping him in the game..

Tidas felt a slight ‘pop’, followed by an intense pain in his ankle when he landed on the next shield. He didn’t know if he had torn a ligament, sprained his ankle, or did something else to it that was worse. All he knew was that every step felt like his bones were grinding on each other.

As a pained expression overtook Tidas’ features, Skye realized that something had happened to him. The way he had landed on the shield didn’t look right to her, be he had kept running as soon as he had gained his balance back. Since she didn’t have the sealing cuffs back on yet, Skye tried to use her Tank trait to listen for damage.

“Damn room’s too noisy,” she muttered with an annoyed look on her face.

Amara had heard it and flashed Skye a confused expression; “Were ya expectin’ everyone ta be quiet?”

Skye fidgeted nervously as she looked back towards the shields, and said; “Something’s wrong wit the way Tidas is runnin’.. I think he hurt himself when that Barrier tried ta take’em out.”

Amara tilted her head slightly as she watched Tidas go; “Tis possible. I’d bet his foot or ankle is hurtin’ by the way he’s runnin’-tryin’ ta keep his weight off of it.”

Skye wanted to stop the match, but then Wallace would claim that Tidas was forfeiting because of it. She wanted to ask him what he was doing, but she knew.. He wanted to dance with her, and wouldn’t give on it.

Being husband and wife; they could dance whenever they wanted to. But Murdoc’s little trick of using a dance with Skye as a reward had irritated them both. Knowing that Magnus would be irked if they had refused made Tidas want to dance with his wife right in front of the Highlander King’s face. And his oldest brother’s..

‘Murdoc hits on Skye right in front of me, and offers her up as a trophy Without her permission, putting her in this position.. Marco’s up to something too, I just don’t know what.. I need to figure out what before we leave for Sai..’

As the pain shook Tidas from his thoughts, he realized that he had closed the gap between him and Wallace faster than normal. While trying to compensate for his gimp foot, he had made larger, quicker strides. As surprise covered Wallace’s face at the prince’s speed, Tidas wished that he would’ve figured out his little hobbled move in the Highlands.

Mages were as rare in the north as anywhere else, so many of Mead Hall’s patrons were regular soldiers and citizens. They begged to play against the Alconians, but he and Skye had to agree not to use their powers. The patrons had all lost to them without their magic, which earned them extra respect from their new allies.

Wallace could feel a sense of urgency that hadn’t been in Tidas’ movements before; not earlier, or in the Highlands. It was unnerving to him, like finding a wild animal caught in a corner. As Tidas shifted to his side, Wallace tried to match him, but the shift had been a bluff..

Tidas had leaned towards the Barriers, like he was favoring his other foot. Wallace had seen the change in his movements, and figured that he had injured himself while stopping himself from falling before. He planned to piviot on his other leg, and hit Tidas off balance; assuming that he wouldn’t want to put any weight on his unfavored foot.

As soon as Tidas saw Wallace move, he moved with him. With his center of gravity now urging him to fall towards the center, Wallace knew that the Alconian Prince had won right there and then.. ‘Well, twas worth a try..’

As Wallace hit the ground, Tidas’ legs gave out, and he toppled over to the ground. Skye had instantly rushed to his side while Amara and the others checked Wallace. He had caught himself like a cat as he went over, so he had no injuries at all. However, Tidas’ ankle was already the size of an orange when Skye finally managed to get her husband’s boot off.

As she started to heal it with her Shaman trait, Skye huffed, and spoke harshly to him; “Are ya bloody nutters?! Do ya know how Bad ya coulda made this?! There’s Shards, husband! Bone shards! Ye were grindin’ yer own bones as ya ran?!”

Tidas chuckled half-heartily; “I had to win.”

“Not like This, ya bloody Bampot!” Skye yelled as she finished off healing his wound.

“I’ll be fine,” he stated loudly, then leaned in to whisper; “It wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t have the cuffs on..”

Skye nodded curtly at him; “Aye, but ya still wouldna been able ta heal this yer self. Not with the damage ya did. Ya need much more studyin’ before ya can reconstruct bone, husband. Trust me..”

After she had finished healing Tidas, Skye rubbed at her hands along the scars left by Jacob Fowler, and when she had made his armor. She could heal them away completely, but it would only cover the damage done. And Skye didn’t mind the reminder.

“Is everything alright over there?!” Magnus bellowed from his throne.

A smile stretched across her face as she looked towards her father-in-law, and said; “Aye sir! Just fixin’ a wee sprain! Tis nothin’ ta fret over!”

Magnus beamed right back at her; “Excellent! We can start the next round as soon as Tidas is ready!”

Skye quirked an eyebrow at the king; “I thought that I went next?”

Magnus shook his head; “Marco suggested that since a dance with you is the prize, it makes more sense to have Tidas and Felix fight first. Then you can go against the winner!”

As the spectators cheered for their king, Skye’s annoyance level hit it’s ceiling.. ‘Tidas should stay off of his foot fer a wee bit, but there’s no way Maggie will listen wit the crowds like this..’

Right as she was about to say something to Magnus anyway, Tidas placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her and said; “Don’t worry, love. I know Felix’s moves, and I think I can handle him while still being mindful of my ankle.. I’ll be sweeping you off of your feet before you know it.”

Skye felt all of her anger drain as she quipped; “Did ya forget that we gotta fight each other next first?”

Tidas grinned cheekily before getting up onto a shield; “No I did not, nor about my special prize when I win..”