The Soul Keeper

"How did it go?" Aoife asked as we sat outside the only café in the area. 

"Exhausting," I said, then took a sip out of my drink. "But well, I think." Seeing her smile, I couldn't help but smile as well. 

"I should get going, I have a match in less than an hour." She said as she pushed herself up. She hesitated for a moment. "Hey… do want to come watch?" She asked after a moment. 

"Sure, I'd love that." I said as I forced a smile. 

"Great!" She clapped her hands. "I'll go and get ready!" She dashed away. 

I sighed after a moment. It wasn't that I didn't want to watch her, of course I did. But right now, all this would do was remind me of how I was incapable of taking my sword in hand right now, of how weak I still was.

I didn't linger here for long. Since Aoife's match was in less than an hour, it would be best to wait in the hall, not here.

I headed there, hoping not to come across her opponent. I'd rather sit and watch from the shadows – I wished to avoid the pity of strangers.

Thankfully, I didn't come across anyone but the usual residents. The place where such matches took place was a rather large hall – the bottom floor of our home. With a nearly four meters high ceiling, it was the largest indoor space we had. 

One side of the hall was lined with rows of wooden benches. This was where spectators would sit. The floor was smooth wood. Perfectly clean, yet not slippery at all.

I walked to the back of the seats and sat down, leaning my back to the wall. I had fought here many times – both for training, and for official matches. In fact, our training was mostly done here, unless Mother decided to go outside to the woods right by the outer wall.

I sighed, despite the hardships of our style, and of being a martial artist in general, I still loved it. And now, not being able to hold a sword and fight on the floor right there hurt more than I imagined it would.

I didn't have to wait for long before the match started. Aoife and another girl about her age soon entered the hall, along with a handful of other spectators. I glanced around to see Mother as the spectators chose their seats, but she was nowhere to be seen.

I furrowed my brows. Mother would never miss one of Aoife's matches. Ever. 

Aoife seemed to have noticed her absence as well. She seemed surprised, lost even. She looked at the seats in a panicked state, and only calmed down slightly as our gazes met. I smiled and nodded. Even if Mother couldn't make it for some reason, Aoife always had me.

The two combatants stood across the hall, facing each other. My sister's opponent was the first to assume her combat stance. She lowered her body and extended her palm towards my sister. Her right hand, holding her sword, was hidden behind her body.

I nodded slightly. Judging from her stance and movements, she was a competent fighter. But my sister was nothing to scoff at either.

Aoife stood tall, her back straight and her left hand behind her back. Her left foot behind her right foot, facing sideways, she raised her chin as she held her sword parallel to her body in a salute.

"Begin!" Shouted a disciple – was the one who would start the match and stop it if he deemed things got too dangerous. A judge, so to speak.

Before Aoife could even make a move, her opponent dashed towards her. With a wide, rather choreographed swing, she attempted to hit my sister's shoulder.

I couldn't help but smile. It was a good attempt – any other person wouldn't have had the flexibility to escape that swing with such ease. Yet, this was Aoife we were talking about. She took half a step back and fell on one knee, allowing the wooden sword to harmlessly pass over her head. 

Aoife's opponent nearly lost her balance as she missed my sister. Her eyes widened, she quickly tried to step back. A mistake most people did against Aoife.

My sister didn't give her opponent even a moment to breathe. As soon as the wooden sword passed over her head, she leapt up and forward, following her opponent' steps. She swung her own blade without hesitation, forcing the other girl to defend.

My smile widened as I watched her utterly overpower the girl. Aoife's relentless strikes were too fast for her opponent. The other girl barely blocked her flurry of attacks before losing her balance. As soon as Aoife saw that, she didn't hesitate to put her sword against the girl's throat.

"Aoife Friseal wins!" The disciple who started the match shouted. "That was a spectacular match from both sides," He added as the small audience clapped. I clapped as well, though I didn't think that match had anything spectacular about it.

The audience slowly began to disperse as Aoife and her opponent chatted for a bit. I also got up and approached the front row of seats. The other girl was quite skilled as well, but she wasn't a match for Aoife. Though, there were few who could match her in the first place.

"Kai!" Aoife called my name as soon as she noticed me standing by the front row of seats. "Emilia, this is my brother, Kai." She said as she dragged the girl towards me. Emilia seemed more surprised by Aoife's actions than anything, though her eyes widened as soon as she looked at me.

"Hello," I said hesitantly. "That was a good match, you were both great."

Emilia forced a smile. "Thank you, though I hardly had a chance against your sister," She glanced at Aoife. "You're insane Aoife."

My sister chuckled as I just shook my head. 

"I knew there was another young Friseal," Emilia suddenly spoke. "Though I was told he was also a practitioner. I was actually hoping to challenge him to a match as well," She looked me over. "But I guess I was mistaken."