“Yeah, come on,” said Herky, lumbering toward the mats. “We’re short a couple of guys. Ben had to quit since he couldn’t fit it into his royal schedule.”
Jay nodded, curious about this other Auradon sport that Carlos had mentioned the other day. He followed his friends into the gym, where a few guys were already suited up, wearing sleeveless blue-and-gold R.O.A.R. uniforms and face masks. There was a spirited duel going on in the middle of the mat, and Jay watched attentively, admiring their graceful swiftness. At last, one of the sword-fighters pinned down the other one.
“I yield!” said the loser.
The fighters removed their masks, revealing their identities. The two opponents shook hands cordially, and Jay was surprised t
o find the winner was none other than Chad Charming.
Jay chuckled his disbelief and Chad overheard. He looked over at Jay. “You think you can do better?” he sneered.
“Can’t be hard,” Jay said.
“Let’s see it, then,” said Chad. “Suit up.”
Gauntlet thrown and accepted, Jay changed into a uniform, pulled on a face mask, and picked up a sword. The sword was heavier than he expected, and a tad unwieldy as well. But, whatever, it was just Chad. He could beat Chad blindfolded.
Turned out he couldn’t beat Chad blindfolded.
Instead of advancing and retreating in a line as Jay had seen fencers do before, Chad unexpectedly bounded into the wall, leaped off of it, and came around behind Jay, tagging him on the back. This caused Jay to fall, and Chad whirled around to face him. The match was over before Jay could even find his opponent.
“Yield?” asked Chad, his sword underneath Jay’s chin.
“I yield,” Jay spat. He tossed his mask off in frustration.
Chad laughed and helped him to his feet. “I’ve been training since I could walk. What do you think princes do in their spare time?”
“I don’t know, sit on tufted pillows?” said Jay moodily.
“Well, that too. But mostly sword practice.”
Chad left the gym, whistling.
Jay tapped his sword on the floor, making one dent after another. He hadn’t anticipated such a quick defeat. He hadn’t anticipated any defeat at all. He’d thought he would crush the pompous prince—a few strokes and he’d be victorious. But it hadn’t gone down like that at all. He’d barely had a chance to raise his weapon and the whole thing was over.
Training—isn’t that what Chad had said? The guy had been training his whole life at the sport. Chad wasn’t better at this, he was just more experienced. Jay tapped the sword against the floor once more. It was time for him to start accruing a bit of that experience.
R.O.A.R. was half parkour and half fencing, and the two were not easy to mix. There was a reason fencers normally moved back and forth in neat little lines. They had swords in their hands, and even if the tips were blunted they could still do real damage if they struck you. Leaping into the air and bouncing off walls wasn’t exactly what a person ought to do with a sword in their hand, but Jay guessed that was the fun of it, the challenge. Jay liked challenges.
He gripped the hilt. It was a saber, which was a heavier fencing blade, not like one of those flimsy ones that arched at the lightest touch. This one had some weight to it, so if you landed on it wrong it might just slice you, but Jay guessed that was why they wore the heavy jackets. Body armor. And he knew how to do it; he’d done it all the time back on the Isle of the Lost.
But when he tried to run up the wall this time, he fell flat on his face, and just barely missed cutting himself with the sword.
That was the problem with walls. They were rather solid things, and you were generally meant to stand next to them, not on them. He was just out of practice, he decided, so he tried again. He began with a running start, jumped, and hit the wall—planning to run up its side—but when he struck the surface, he collided into it with such force that he simply sank to the floor. Actually, he crashed to the floor. Jay turned so both of his shoulders lay flat, his eyes facing the ceiling. He had to try again. He wouldn’t give up so easily.
The second jump was worse than the first. He had to toss the blade aside just to keep it from ramming a hole in his neck. This time when he hit the floor he came down hard on his back again. Every bit of him ached when he stood. The third jump yielded similar results. On the fourth he actually abandoned the jump midway through the act. He knew what was coming. He knew he’d have to toss the blade, and he could see exactly how his shoulder was going to strike that floor.
He was learning, but unfortunately, he was learning how not to R.O.A.R. He tossed the sword aside and ran up the wall easily. It was the addition of the sword that was the problem.
“You’re doing it all wrong,” said a voice, and Jay turned to see Lonnie’s older brother, Li’l Shang, holding up a sword. Li’l Shang had graduated from Auradon Prep the year before, and was an assistant coach of the team, taking a gap year before going home to rule his kingdom and launch his hip-hop career. “Want some help?”
Jay was about to shake his head. His pride was bruised. And it was still hard for him to accept help when it was offered. No one on the Isle ever helped anyone else out. But he had to remind himself he was in Auradon now, and they did things differently here. Plus, it had been beyond annoying to lose to Chad Charming.
“Yeah, yeah, I guess I do want help,” he admitted.
“Okay, let’s start now,” said Li’l Shang. The gym had already cleared.
“Should we grab swords?” Jay asked.