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There was a hushed murmur throughout the crowd, one that ended abruptly as soon as Leon gave the slightest cough. Then with his usual charming smile, he turned to face the many gazes all around.

"It was a little match of jousting," He spoke out. "As many of you know, I was formally invited to be a contender in the game. I was to be going against many other talented individuals - and they were all very good, very skilled jousters."

His every word was perfectly articulated, accompanied also by the perfect gesture. Not only could he speak well, but he could also tell well too. 

"Then disaster struck. My final opponent, alas, was not feeling his best right then. So a replacement was needed, and a replacement was chosen, and a replacement… she came." 

Leon paused to stare at the princesses' compartment, to gaze longingly in quiet, his blue eyes no doubt reflected back a beautiful mixture of white and green. 

After a short while, he continued. "Of course, I didn't know who she was then. I thought of her the same as any other opponent, and fought her as I would any other as well. All was well, all was normal, until out of the blue - she struck me.

"I've never once ever been struck before, much less in the way that she did it… at that point, I was already curious. To the people who were there, you know full well already what ensued. It was unequivocally and most definitely the most intense game of joust I've ever participated in - and my first loss promptly followed after."

Ash, out of curiosity, or courtesy, had both her ears heeding well. 

"Was I upset? I'm sure many would be surprised to hear me say that I wasn't one bit. On the contrary, I was ecstatic, elated… I have felt a rush in me that I've never felt before in my life. Whoever this replacement was, this contender, I had to know… and know I did.

"I was never a firm believer of love at first sight. But when I saw the gleaming silver of her hair cascade as she took off her admittedly large helm, when I saw that beautiful smile in the distance that all this while was hidden beneath that hunk of iron… I found myself stricken yet again, only this time it wouldn't stop, it wouldn't settle. I felt it then, I still feel it now. That feeling, that belief - love at first sight."

Leon snapped his eyes back to the crowd. "Why do I fight? Why am I here? You claim this is beneath me, that someone like me shouldn't even be here - I think differently. I'm the same as you. Behind it all, I'm just an ordinary guy. An ordinary guy that feels, an ordinary guy that wants… so why do I fight? Because this ordinary guy feels her, and this ordinary guy wants her. That… that is why this ordinary guy fights." 

You could hear your own heartbeat, hear the whirring in the vents from the way the silence came when he ended. Then immediately right after you would have gone deaf, your senses would have been scorched from the way the applause broke that tense quiet. 

Just the right amount of sincerity, earnestness, and a bow of the head for that extra touch, and Leon has pierced the hearts of everyone the same way he did everything else - effortlessly, seamlessly.

That was very touching, Leon. Very heartfelt," said Tyler, still as dull as a trombone… but not for long. He veered his eyes towards me, his brow giving a little rise as did the tone of his voice. "Big Man of House Playboy. Next, we go to you." 

Oh, here we go...

"As we all most definitely are aware, you are competing for both. But for now, you fight for one, so we'll focus on that one." He peeked intrigued eyes over the parchment. "Why is it that you fight? For what reason have you put yourself through so much? For the fame, for the wealth… for the love? We are all dying to know."

Stares everywhere. I was starting to get pretty used to them by now. As many there were on the right as there were on the left. All unblinking, unmoving… but amidst it all, there was always the rare few that stood out to me.

Ash stared at me. Amanda did too. Their faraway gazes were like an eye-test of emotions. Was that blink worry? Was that stare apprehension? Timidness? Shyness? Maybe eagerness?

I'm thinking it was a little bit of everything. 

"Why I fight…" I muttered to begin, don't even think anyone even heard. I spoke up on the next, gaze everywhere on the next. "Because Ash… Eshwlyn, whatever you wanna call her… she belongs to me."

I ended there, and needless to say, not a single soul was satisfied with just that.

"Could you elaborate for us?" Tyler inquired, a small smile slowly growing wider "What do you mean by she belongs to you?"

"She belongs to me. There's nothing else to say," I started pacing for a bit. "You see my mistake was I never started with that, I never told anyone that. It's because of that mistake that Bob ruined everyone's good time, it's why I have to fight this guy now too. Because I never made it clear to anyone… and more importantly, I never made it clear even to myself."

I wasn't as eloquent as Leon, couldn't weave a tale as grand as his, so I didn't even try to. I just did what I've always been doing - my best. 

"I mean, I did eventually… but it was already too late. By the time I found the right words to say, many others did too… so many others. So then, it was my words against theirs. Many of them were stubborn, many of them were a pain in the ass… some still are… but ultimately, it is now my words you are hearing coming out from my mouth instead of theirs, so I guess it seems were righter than theirs."

All the while I've been talking, I notice Ash's gaze never once strayed away from me, perhaps the most piercing, the most wide-eyed one there. I think she was even leaning out of her seat a little.

"You know the funny thing is - she's told me already, assure me many, many countless times over that she already belongs to me, and she always will. I would nod at her, I'd smile at her… I thought I knew what that meant. But I didn't, not really… not until I was faced with the prospect that maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't anymore."

From the corner of my eye, a shake of the head, a vigorous sway of white locks. I felt the corner of my lips curl just seeing that.

"I don't doubt that even if I lose, that anything would change in the long run. She always had the right words to say, you know? Ash would still tell me, assure me, as many times over, that she'll always belong to me, and yeah she's right. But how is any of that fair? How is it that she has to assure me always, tell me always, and I'd just sit there doing nothing and smile rest assured?

"The fact that she even has to say it is already a red flag from the start. The only reason she'd say those words in the first place was because I couldn't say them myself. I never did, not to anyone, not to me… never even to her. Those words, those right words, my words… right now, at this moment, it's my word against his… so I'll say those words again, because I don't think many of you heard me right the first time..."

I stopped pacing and gazed squarely at the glow of emerald green eyes staring from afar.

"Ash belongs to me, and only me, and no one else. You hear me up there, Ash? You're mine, always," I finally proclaimed to her blushing reddened cheeks, to the rapid flutter of ears,  and to the wide smile planted across her face that her palms had failed miserably to hide. "And I'm never letting you go."

The same quiet, the same tense silence filled the even tenser atmosphere. It was even longer than last time. Honestly, I wasn't expecting a grand of applause as Leon, or even any at all if I was even more honest.

But it turns out, all that was needed was a little push, a little clap, a little Tyler.

"Well said, Big Man," He said, beaming at me proudly. "Well fuckin' said. That's why you're the man, Big Man."

What followed was an avalanche, a snowball of ovation starting small and rolling big and ending even bigger. Ash clapped along with them, still with her bashful smile. Amanda did too, merrily, cheerfully… she seemed genuinely happy. 

As for Leon, his smile seemed a bit more strained… but that disappeared as quickly as it came.

Eventually, the applause died and the fervor settled. The anticipation was back full force, the many keen eyes at the edge of their seats for what's to come next.

And it will come next.

Tyler assumed his firm, confident stance once more, and promptly after I did too, sword and shield both tight in my grip.

"Now that we have heard both of their resolves for ourselves," Tyler proclaimed out loud, forgetting his qualms about script-reading. "It is time to find out which would win out over the other! Will be Leon The Valiant? Or Big Man of House Playboy?"

He then tossed the parchment to the wayside, apparently not forgetting at all.

"Ladies and Gentleman! I am pleased to declare this legendary battle of resolves, of champions, officially begun!" He looked left, looked right. "Leon, Big Man, the warrior's greeting if you would!"

In a heartbeat, we raised our swords and crossed. Then in another heartbeat, we pulled back and the sound of the edges grinding against one another filled the air.

I breathed in.

Leon breathed out.

"Champions!" Tyler screamed. "Quenz't adil lok'athar!"