“What’s happening?” I whispered to Frid.
“This bloke is going to ask his girl to give him something, like a symbol of her support,” Frid said.
“Oh, I see.” I relaxed in my seat.
“The girls that are here to support their husbands and fiances wear scarfs or flowers in their hair,” Frid added.
“That makes sense. Very romantic.” I looked through the crowd noticing colorful ribbons and silk flowers incorporated in many female outfits.
In the meantime, the two contestants approached the stands and found the girls that were waiting with the tokens of their support. After this was done, the two men returnedto the open area and prepared their weapons. One of them picked a sword and the other one had a dagger and a long whip. My mouth dropped open when the fight began. The opponents circled each other.
I thought to myself what it would feel like to grow up in this environment, to be expected to do all these things. I still did not see any girls competing, but Frid did it.
“How come there are no females competing?” I asked the girl who sat beside me.
“I was the only one, I think. When I was younger, I hated being a girl. I only wore boy's clothes and hung out with these two. They treated me like I was one of them,” she responded.
I did not know what to say to that and returned my attention to the fight.
In the arena, the two warriors exchanged hits, then the whip curled in the air with a nauseating sound. I bit my lip when the leather bound rope connected with flesh. I could not peel my eyes away from the fight that quickly turned more serious than the borderline friendly exchanges I used to witness back home when my brother practiced. These men fought like there was no tomorrow.
I glanced at Tynan, but he looked almost bored with the fight. Lazily, his eyes searched the mountains ahead.
The fight had escalated quickly. The man with the sword almost lost his weapon when the whip wrapped around the blade and his opponent pulled hard.
“He’s done,” Frid exhaled.
The guy with the whip yanked it out of his hand, leaving his nemesis weaponless. Contrary to what I was expecting, the man who just lost his sword did not yield. As he tried to get his weapon back, the thong winded around his neck and then it was truly over.
The winner stood for a long moment accepting the praises from Hanoch and strapped the new sword he just won to his waist. Then he moved up to the stands and returned the ribbon back to his lady who kissed him deeply on the lips. The crowd went wild.
“Oh... Is that a part of the tradition?” I frowned.
“Yes, if your man wins you have to kiss him. Makes them work a little harder,” Frid chuckled.
“Then what did you do if you won?” I asked.
“I was exempt.” Frid suddenly looked grave.
Realizing that I had just broached an uncomfortable subject, I looked back to the next two contestants. There were two younger men staring at each other. Both of them were not more than fifteen years old. The two competing parties were well equipped with axes and two long knives.
Hanoch made a speech, and the two boys went to claim their tokens from the girls in the stands. I caught Tynan’s eyes on me, and involuntarily, I felt my cheeks turn pink. I glanced at him one more time, and his eyes were still on me. My whole body flushed under my clothes. I bit my lip and looked down to my tightly folded hands.
The event was coming to an end when the last pair of warriors stepped onto the clearing. I was still distracted byTynan and did not notice that Denis was one of the two. His dark brown flying suit was equipped with two axes and his competitor had a long sword. It was so strange seeing him in this setting. His jaw was set, shoulders squared, his demeanor showed that he was in a completely different mindset. I did not have enough time to dwell on that because when it was time to collect the good luck items from the ladies, Denis stopped directly in front of me.
“What? No,” I whispered.
“You must. It is a tradition,” Frid hissed.
“I can’t.”
“She offers you this.” Frid yanked on the ribbon in my hair and my hair came tumbling down to my shoulders.
“That’s not going to happen!” Another voice joined in, and my eyes darted toward Tynan.
He stood up, his hand resting on the handle of his dagger.
“What are you saying, Darragh?” Denis narrowed his eyes.
