With Tisha's immediate advaowards Eleanora, the princess barely mao dodge, and by dodge, as in she fell on her ass, but quickly got back up to defend herself from atack from Tisha. Tisha was relentless, each strike was quid hard, and she was clearly holding back, as seem by the sounds from the training swords, sounding like they were nearing the breaking point.

  "I'm surprised she sted this long. Hopefully we'll be as good... hopefully." Veronica said, trailing into a muttering.

  Eleanora finally found an opening and attacked immediately, only to find out that it was a trap. As she thrusted her on, Tisha hit her on, finally causing the on to give and break in two.

  "You did well, Princess. Did you get proper training?" Tisha gratuted, holding her on to Eleanora's throat, theing it drop.

  "Ha... ha... Yes... phew... when I was a kid..." Eleanora replied betweehs.

  "Aviris, you're ! Get up here!"

  She nodded ao get her practice ons, a pair of shortswords. Aviris the quickly traded pces with Eleanora, who went to sit on a nearby bench to catch her breath.

  "You do it, Avi!" Veronid Cassidy yelled in unison.

  As Aviris was starting to get into a fighting staisha immediately went on the offensive.

  "W-Wait! I wasn't ready!" Aviris excimed, quickly bag up, trying to block what she could.

  "And your oppos won't care!" Tisha responded, anger c through her words, not directed at Aviris, but perhaps towards herself.

  With each cck of their ons g, Aviris was losing steam. She had to figure out a way to gain some distand go on the offensive herself.

  She quickly ducked and dodged to the side, rotating as she did to face toward Tisha, and then used one of her abilities. This ability seemed to allow her to create a pale, translut illusion of herself, which quickly circled around Tisha and tried to strike her.

  Tisha was rather smart, taking a rge step to the side, and blog, keeping the illusion and the real Aviris at bay. However, the odd thing is that the real Aviris disappeared and the illusion gained opaqueness and color. However, Aviris was already too winded against Tisha, who pushed her down.

  "I yield." She spurted out, trying to catch her breath.

  "That ability is handy. However, it was easy to spot how it works. Try to keep the fake moving offehough. Only the untrained would fall for a still target."

  "Right... uood. Ver, I think you're !" Aviris stated, making her way out and ying down in the nearby shade.

  Veronica's turn. She already onrw that she wouldn't get a pass. After all, she has no bat training and a weak body. But, she took a deep breath and grabbed a training club, and made her way to the arena.

  "You've got this, Ver. I'm rooting for you!" Cassidy excimed When Veronica took her first steps into the arena.

  Tisha looked Veronica up and down, studying her, and rushed towars her.

  Veronica didn't know what to do. Does she swing? No, she wouldn't hit. Dodge? She's too slow!

  "Swing as hard as you , left tht, when I tell you." A voice said, eg in her mind. But, she had no time to find put where, or who, it came from. So, she readied herself.

  "Now!"

  Veronica swung as hard as she could. Although the strike itself was weak, she saw something iing. Her swing had deflected Tisha's thrust!

  "Advance! Don't give her time to recover!"

  Veronica rushed forward and swung wildly. Her teique was terrible, and she could feel the invisible watcher's disappoi. Tisha, with more skill, easily blocked and took trol, disarming Veronid throwio the ground, sword to her throat.

  "You need more training. That first strike must've been desperate luck. Good thing you're using a mace. Doesn't require much skill. It'll be quick to learn proper teiques with it."

  "Right. Got it. Ow..." Veronica muttered as she got up, rubbing her backside.

  "You okay, Ver?" Cassidy asked, helping Veronica down from the arena.

  "My butt hurts, and I'm exhausted, but otherwise, I'm fine."

  "Good. But you did pretty good up there!"

  "Thanks, Cass." She smiled in appreciation, which Cassidy returned, but quickly looked away with a rising blush.

  "Guess it's my turn."

  "Nope. Yonna train yi those training dummies over there." Tisha said, pointing towards three wooden scarecrows with mock armor.

  "What!? But... if we have those, why did you test them in the arena!?"

  "To get a feel of how much training they'll need. Before we go to one of the dungeons." She responded coldly, putting away her training sword.

  "But I'm a bat magic css! Shouldn't I at least practi a moving target?"

  "Have you casted anythi?"

  "No... Not yet."

  "You want to practice magic, that you never casted before, in an arena against a warrior who easily wipe down squads of trained soldiers?"

  "I get it, I get it! I was hopping to get some revenge for Ver..." Cassidy said i, mutteri sentence.

  "The go practiagic. Get to the point to where you reliably cast them without ting."

  "Fine..." She agreed, and walked of to the training dummies, where a magic trainer also stood.

  Veroncia took her time to get back up. That voice hadn't said anything again. And no one else seemingly heard it.

  'Great. I'm going crazy. I should try and researething about this css.'

  She sighed as she got up and waited for Tisha to dismiss them. She wa to be quick, as she really wao figure everything out.

  CodeCrisis