"My favourite part of the morning must be the outdoor classes," April says while we are walking across the school grounds. "I love playing volleyball and riding."
"I see you are an active person," I say. "I was expecting you to be more into... Y'know... Royal duties."
"My!"
April laughs wholeheartedly. Castro joins too soon after.
"This kid has potential!" The son of Romeo Montague is overjoyed. "April, you must admit!"
The girl shakes her head smiling.
"No, I am not the kind to sit for a long time doing nothing," she adds after calming down. "And I am not the kind of girl who would sit patiently and wait for Prince Charming!"
Castro sighs loudly.
"Y'know, these things are really boring. " The boy laughs. "Let's go to the Arms Room!"
And, after finishing his sentence, he sprints in the opposite direction. April and I exchange some confused looks and, after rising our shoulders, we run after him, eager to see what he has in store for us.
* * *
A big room, or should I say hall... I can't really find the right word to describe the Arms Room. It resembles a martial arts Dojo on the inside and the walls are filled to the brim with weapons: big, or small swords, daggers, spears, elegant bows and crossbows, maces and anything your heart desires.
"Yeah, baby!" Castro says rubbing his hands in excitement. "Arms Room!"
"Indeed, Arms Room," April repeats coming next to us, yet she doesn't sound as interested in this as the boy. "Is this the reason why you had to leave this uncivilisedly?!"
Castro ignores her as he grabs me by my shoulder and makes a wide gesture across the room, showcasing all the weapons on the walls and the students training here. April rolls her eyes amused.
"Oho, what have we got here?!"
A strong and bulk boy approaches us. He has a lean and muscular body and a pair of bright green eyes, reminding me of the lush tropical forests shining brightly in the afternoon sun, forests I have seen only in documentaries. Those same green eyes were looking at me with evil intent...
"Lo and behold!" He says waving his hand through his blonde bangs. "It's indeed the Prinzessin, Lame-o and... Hmm... I don't know you."
"My name is Logan," I reply measuring him from top to bottom. "Logan de Chagny."
"I see..."
With the corner of my eye, I see that my friends' attitude has changed all of a sudden. April seems more quiet and Castro's smile is glued to his lips without really meaning it.
"Who is he?" I whisper to him quietly.
"Alessandro de la Mancha!" The boy before us says in a thunderous voice. "Son of Don Quixote de la Mancha and best of the best swordsmen!"
Alessandro takes a bow as he speaks while April rolls her eyes.
"Why did you bring me here?" I ask Castro in a low voice.
"April wanted physical exercises. We are going to make physical exercises."
"I don't think you understood..."
I didn't even get to finish my sentence when Alessandro grabbed April's left wrist and pulled her towards the centre of the room. He put a sword in her hand and says:
"Rematch! You owe me one."
"Castro, what the hell!"
I turn to my friend demanding answers. I feel confusion, rage and fear building up in my soul that it's hard to keep my composure.
"Some time ago, April beat Alessandro to a bet. Now he is desperately asking for a rematch."
"And you are telling me this now?!"
I have the feeling that something is missing and, with April White trapped in a sticky situation, I have to do something. I walk to Alessandro and yell to catch his attention:
"That's not how you hit on girls, Don Juan!"
He turns to me and lets out a hearty chuckle. I took a deep breath trying to resist the urge to smack him then and there.
"You want a duel, De Chagny?" He says. "Exact this is what you are going to get!"
He throws me a sword which, while trying to catch it, I almost drop it on my feet. It feels really heavy, too heavy in fact for the the thinness of the blade and handle. April retreats to Castro's side and whispers something to him. Then it hits me: is this a TEST?!
"Let's see what you are made of!" Alessandro laughs menacingly and begins to attack me mercilessly. I heard April saying to Castro in a low voice: "I hope it's worth it!"
My mind is rushing in all directions. I have never held a sword before and my combat expertise is zero; the fact that my weapon was really hard to hold and heavy to lift doesn't help me either. I am barely managing to defend myself from his furious attacks without getting hurt. Alessandro was grinning like a mad wolf torturing its prey as he watched me struggle to keep my foothold. And also Alessandro managed to slam me against the ground really nice.
"You are harmless, de Chagny!" He laughed scornfully. "I am going to mop the floor with you stupid phiz. Let's finish this!"
He raised the sword over his head and his wolf-like eyes were fixated on me. I was breathing heavily. I was ready to die like th idiot I am.
"Alessandro! Stop!"
Castro jumps in front of me, shielding my body from the boy. His sword is pointed towards my nemesis. Alessandro laughs and puts his weapon aside. April helps me stand.
"What is this?!" I ask. I still had some traces of anger in me which I think we're leftovers from our duel. "Let us finish!"
"They're right, de Chagny!" Alessandro laughs again, this time triumphantly and more mockingly. "You've got no chance against me!"
* * *
"You are the best actors," I said sarcastically.
"You wanted to see where you belong," April cuts it quickly and voice is filled with glee, yet I make out that she's worried and a bit upset by my recklessness. "This is what we did."
"He almost swept the floor with me!"
"You'll learn!" Castro chuckles as he beats me on the shoulders. "It was just a test."
"This test cost me my honour!" I exclaim.
"Guys," April intervined. "Honour is earned. You are not born with it."
"On my honour!" Castro laughs. "You are absolutely right!"
April rolls her eyes amused as me and Castro laugh. The son of Romeo knows how to lighten the mood.
"So," I say now that we have calmed down a bit, "I want you not to make me any more surprises like this one. I want to know what awaits me. No more secrets from now on, alright?"
"Okay," April replies smiling. "Just one condition: you let us help you."
"Alright." I say with a small smile. "Then it's settled."
YOU ARE READING
Post scriptum - 1. Act One
General Fiction"And they lived happily ever after..." And what happens next? Well, for Logan de Chagny, the answer is far from fantastic: he has always struggled to live up to his parents' expectations and feels like in his perfect family there is no room for some...
