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"A little baby like you will never be a knight!"
That was what everyone always told Bobby.
And it wasn't his fault. Bobby was a baby-person, after all. He had grown up in the peaceful village of the baby-people, but there was an incident in his childhood that made him crave a life of adventure.
It wasn't long after his eighth birthday that a group of adventurers stopped by their village on the way to the castle. While they were there, they told everyone stories about slaying dragons, saving princesses, and exploring spooky old dungeons. Bobby thought that sounded totally awesome and fun!!
After he had heard a particularly rousing tale about a fight with some evil wizards, Bobby approached the adventurers.
"How did you become adventurers?" he asked them.
The biggest one replied, "We went to knight school."
"Oh, I don't think my mom would let me go to night school, I need to go to bed early so I can go to regular school."
"Not night school, knight school! It's where people go to learn how to become knights!" the knight replied.
"Oh, that sounds much cooler!!! How do I get into knight school?"
One of the other knights, a scrawny guy with a long nose, spoke up, "First, you have to pass a test..."
"I like tests! I'm very smart!" Bobby said excitedly.
"It's not that kind of test," the long-nosed knight replied, "It's a test of strength and fighting ability. Every year the royal family holds a fighting tournament and only the best fighters are considered for knight school. And, I'm sorry to say it, kid, but a baby-person like you has never made it very far in the tournament. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen one make it past the first round."
"There was that one a few years back," said the third knight, a man with rough features and messy hair, "but he got pulverized in the second round."
"I could be the first!" Bobby shouted excitedly.
"Don't get your hopes up. There are hundreds of entrants every year, and only the top 20 go on to be knights," the scrawny knight says.
"I want to try anyway! When is the tournament and where do I sign up?"
The big knight laughs a deep laugh, "Hold up a second, you have to be at least 14 years old to participate in the tournament, and you look younger than that, even by baby standards."
"I'm only eight," Bobby says sadly, "That means I have to wait six more years."
"Well in six years you can try out for knight school, but for now, you should focus on your studies and make sure to eat plenty of vegetables," the biggest knight told him.
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Bobby spent the next six years training for the tournament. He sparred with anyone who would spar with him, and often came home with bruises, scratches, and even broken bones, much to the dismay of his parents.
"You should give up on the knight thing," his mother had told him once, "You could have a perfectly good, safe life here on the family farm."
But he did not take her advice. Instead he worked harder at learning fighting techniques. And he took the knight's advice, and he always ate his vegetables and he did very well in school.
When the time came, he felt more than ready. He traveled to the castle to sign up for the tournament.
When he got there, he found a long line of people waiting to sign up. Not only were there big, beefy humans, which he was expecting, there were lizard people, cat people, and even ogres, all bigger than him.
Bobby took his place at the back of the line, and went generally unnoticed by the people in front of him. And the people behind him. He found himself getting trampled on and pushed around by people who probably didn't even notice him there.
"Ow, stop stepping on me!!!" He yelled, after a particularly large, clawed, foot stepped on him.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" the person above the foot said in a gentle voice as she removed the foot from his back. "I didn't see you down there," she said, and helped him up.
When Bobby was standing again, he looked up to see a tall, elegant-looking, cat girl.
"I'm so sorry!" she said again, "I really didn't mean to step on you. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm tougher than I look," Bobby said.
The cat girl smiled, "I'm glad. Are you here for the fighting tournament?" she asked.
"Yeah, but I'm not making any progress in line with everyone just walking over me."
"You are kind of... small," she said, "Sorry, but it's true! But I'll stay behind you and make sure no one else steps on you, okay?"
"Thanks! My name is Bobby, by the way."
"My name is Sophie," she responded.
Sophie and Bobby waited in line chatting about fighting and life in general until they got to the front of the line.
"Next!" the man taking registrants yelled.
Bobby walked up to the table.
"Next!" the voice called again.
Bobby grabbed the edge of the table and stood on his toes until he could see the man.
"Oh, a baby," the man said, "What's your name?"
"Bobby"
"Age?"
"Fourteen."
The man wrote down his name on a piece of paper, "Alright, you're number 192," he tells him, and handed him a piece of paper with the number 192 on one side and the rules for the tournament on the other.
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Finally, the day came when Bobby was scheduled to fight in the first round of the tournament. He woke up feeling totally pumped. He ate a big breakfast and headed to the castle, ready to fight whoever he would be put up against.
He sat in the stands, watching the fights before his. He saw many different fighting styles. Some fought with swords and shields, some fought with their bare hands, others moved swiftly and used thrown weapons. Most of them were pretty good fighters.
Bobby watched the losers walk away with injuries, or get carried away by medics. He didn't waver, though, and when it was his turn, he entered the ring bravely, carrying nothing but his sword.
On the other side, entered a burly, bearded, monster of a man. He had no weapons, but honestly, he didn't look like he needed them.
Bobby charged in, and swung his sword at the man's leg. The man kicked him.
Bobby went flying to the other side, and felt a couple of his ribs break. Bobby got back up, though, and stumbled back over towards the man.
"Am I really supposed to do this? I don't remember signing up for kicking babies," the man said to no one in particular, before shrugging his shoulders and kicking Bobby again.
Bobby crashed down on the ground, defeated. He blacked out as the medics were carrying him away.
He woke up later in a hospital room filled with other defeated fighters.
"Oh thank goodness you're alive!!" his mother sounded relieved.
"What? Of course I am," Bobby replied.
"Will you give up this knight stuff once and for all?" she pleaded.
Bobby considered it. He was defeated easily, but this was his dream, after all.
"Don't give up, Bobby," he heard a voice say from the next bed over.
It was Sophie. She looked like she fared slightly better than Bobby, but she was still pretty injured.
"We can come back next year and kick some butt!!" she yelled, and put her fist in the air energetically, "Ow!" she groaned and grabbed her side, "But not until we've healed up first."
"But how will a year make any difference?" Bobby asked.
And that is when Sophie revealed to Bobby her plan to win next year.
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Next time: What does Sophie have in store? Does Bobby go along with it? What happens next, find out next time!!!
Valisi · Thu Sep 22, 2011 @ 12:08am · 0 Comments |
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