The Ravenwood Territory was abuzz with excitement as families from all corners of the region gathered for the long-awaited Inter Family Tournament. The Everheart family, along with numerous others, were preparing to head to the undisclosed location where the prestigious event would take place. Speculations ran rampant among the participants about the grand venue that would befit such a momentous occasion.
Aiden, like the rest, was well aware that the tournament would be held in a magnificent setting, showcasing the power and prestige of the founding families. The anticipation in the air was palpable, and even he couldn't help but feel a tinge of excitement mixed with apprehension.
However, he had his reservations. As someone who had been keeping a low profile, he had no desire to draw unnecessary attention or interact with anyone, especially those from the powerful founding families and his reasons for acting this way were quite obvious.
He didn't want people from the Nightshade Family to recognize him. He had a mask to hide his identity but still, he wanted to be careful as he could.
Emma, on the other hand, was positively brimming with excitement. She couldn't contain her enthusiasm at the possibility of meeting a member of the founding families. Her eyes sparkled with wonder as she envisioned the opportunity to engage in conversation with someone of such esteemed lineage.
"Aiden, do you think we might actually get to meet someone from the founding families?" Emma asked, her voice tinged with eagerness.
Aiden's response was guarded, "Maybe we will."
Emma playfully nudged him, trying to get him to open up a little. "Come on, don't be so reserved! Talk to me, share your thoughts."
Aiden grumbled, "What do you even want me to talk about?" His annoyance was evident, not understanding Emma's excitement.
Undeterred, Emma smiled and continued walking forward, seemingly content with her success in getting a reaction from Aiden.
As they continued their journey, Maelis, the Everheart family's caretaker, chimed in, "We will soon arrive, so let's put an end to your bickering."
Finally, they reached the location where the tournament was being held, and what awaited them was a massive line of people stretching as far as the eye could see. The queue was overwhelming, and Emma couldn't help but complain about the sheer number of participants.
"Ugh, why are there so many people?" she grumbled, having been forced to come to a standstill.
***
Several hours later, after patiently waiting in line, they found themselves at the front of the queue. However, the grand venue was not immediately visible. Instead, they were faced with yet another portal, leaving Aiden feeling even more frustrated.
He couldn't help but wonder why they had to go through the trouble of traveling to this location only to enter another portal. It seemed like a needless detour that distracted him from his training and preparation for the tournament.
"Why did we have to come here, Maelis? Couldn't we have just used a portal back in Nightshade's Territory to access the tournament's location?" Aiden questioned, his annoyance evident in his tone.
Maelis simply replied, "Well, we wouldn't have been able to do that, that's why we're here."
Aiden found her answer cryptic, but he didn't press for further explanation. There must have been a valid reason for the decision, and he trusted Maelis's judgment.
Finally, the time came for them to step through the portal. As they approached, a person overseeing the entrance recognized Maelis, making the process smoother for them.
Without further ado, they crossed the threshold of the portal, and the world around them shifted once again. The dimension they entered was nothing short of awe-inspiring. Breathtaking structures and magical wonders surrounded them, revealing the sheer brilliance of the Ravenwood Family's craftsmanship.
In front of them was a magnificent arena, as they advanced toward it, Aiden couldn't help but already guess what sort of things they would have to do in there.
He only had one guess and it seemed quite logical, it would be duels. Well, teams duels or one versus one, he still didn't know.
However, he was almost sure that it would be fights that would take place in this massive Arena.
"Aiden, let's do our best!" said Emma. "Oh, sorry I guess I should now call you the Reaper," she said as she laughed a little, clearly making fun of the nickname.
Aiden, however, didn't mind it at all, he was used to this nickname. He had been part of his life for such a long time that he didn't care about it anymore.
***
Aiden and Emma were now inside of the Arena which they had seen from outside.
Now, from a different point of view, it could say with certainty that the inside of this Arena was extremely grandiose.
From both points of view, it was extremely beautiful and well-made.
They had been separated from the rest of the people who were part of her family.
Only the two of them were together, in a small restrained area.
They were probably a lot of those areas to separate the families.
They had been told to wait there and not move as someone would soon call them.
'It's probably some sort of waiting area,' thought Aiden as he knew that the tournament still hadn't started and that it would probably take a little while until it officially started.
"So, how was your training this month? Did you make any progress on the Everheart Technique?" asked Emma to Aiden, wanting to know more about his progress this past month as she didn't know anything about it.
He had after all, not responded to any of her questions this past month. This little moment between the two of them would be her opportunity to know more about his training.
"Umm... not really, but well... I can't fully apply the technique like you did, but I might be able to do some of the things that I practiced. Like some of the steps needed to perform it," explained Aiden, who wasn't as restrained as before in his answers.
Emma hearing him, nodded clearly understanding what he meant by that. She knew about the steps to achieve the Everheart technique and she, also, knew that some of them would be able to somewhat affect the battles that he would be going through.
"What about the bow, would you use it during the tournament?" asked Emma, not sure of the answer that Aiden was about to say.
The bow, he still wasn't sure about using it as he still wasn't the best with it, he had practiced a lot and had gotten better with it, but he still wasn't the best at using it.
He had gotten better at it while moving but he still hadn't felt the same way as when he had shot the arrow with Emma.
It still hadn't heard the same noise that it had made with her.
Every time that he had shot one when practicing he remembered when doing so, but it still wasn't enough, he hadn't been able to recreate the arrow that he had shot with her help.
"Um... maybe, not sure," answered Aiden as he wasn't sure if he was confident enough to actually use it.
"What about you, did you continue to train the dagger," asked Aiden knowing that she must have stopped as he didn't even give her any attention.
He had seen her practice the dagger a few times and had given a few tips but that was a long time ago, at she kept practicing it or not?
Aiden had no idea.
"Well, because of someone who I won't name," she said as she focused her eyes on Aiden. "My training with the dagger wasn't the best, but I still continued practicing it as I knew that I was quite lacking with it. However, I guess I stopped doing the crazy exercises that you were asking me at the start," explained Emma, calmly.
She didn't even seem mad that he had stopped helping her.
But then, as Aiden heard the last name of her sentence, he spoke up.
"Why are you saying that I made you crazy exercises?" said Aiden, acting unhappy, hiding his smile as best as possible.
Emma, hearing this, only glared at him, before putting on a big smile on her face for no reason.
'Guess, he's slowly starting to come back to how he was before,' thought Emma.
"Weren't they crazy? Just tell me the use of the first one, why did I swing my arms like that crazy?" said Emma, losing the smile on her face.
She was actually wondering what was the point of such an exercise.
"Well, isn't it obvious, it was for you to train your endurance," said Aiden.
"I knew it! But why couldn't you give me another exercise to do so?" said Emma, unhappy.
"Obviously, because I didn't think of another one. To put it simply, it was too much work."
"Too much work? It wouldn't have been hard to think of another one."
Then, Aiden stopped talking not sure why she was complaining, he had been through the same and hadn't felt like it was too hard.
So, why was she overreacting over such a small exercise?
He had been through a lot worse.
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