Space Knights: The Arrival by Gregory Samuelson (buy e reader .TXT) 📕

With nothing to do for a while Corena took Trance around the stadium to watch other events and matches and they cheered on their friends. They had a wonderful afternoon together and joined their families for a good snack. King Maximus then invited the Sonderson family to have dinner with the royal family to celebrate Trance and Corena advancing so far in their events.

Trance and his family dressed up that night and were escorted by some of the most elite hotel staff up to the royal suite. King Maximus was warm and personable as he greeted the Sondersons and led the way into the royal quarters.

Trance kept grinning to himself as he watched his father talking in such a friendly way with the King. He was just as pleased to see his mother in conversation with the Queen. Sammy went off with the Prince while Corena was polite, and after warmly greeting Trance, started to visit with Heather.

When the meal was ready everyone came and sat at the table. King Maximus sat at the head of the table and had Mr. Sonderson sit on his right and the Queen on his left. The King himself offered the prayer before they enjoyed one of the most fantastic meals any of them had ever had.

***

The next day dawned very bright and full of excitement. Many of the finals would be held today, including the final of the Swordsman Challenge. Trance arrived at the stadium early and went to the locker room and stretched. After stretching out he paced for a few minutes and recalled last night’s meal with delight.

He felt confident and he couldn’t help but think that he could defeat Rex for his first singles title at the tournaments. A glance at the clock showed that he still had about two hours to wait before his match. At that moment many of his teammates came in and they all started to stretch and warm up for their upcoming matches. All of them were aware of Trance’s opportunity to win the Swordsman Challenge.

“Good luck!” said Zam as he came in and spotted Trance.

“Yeah, good luck Trance,” said Gracer as he came and started to stretch and run his fingers through his light brown hair. “And give Rex a couple of shots for me while you’re beating him.”

Everyone in the room laughed at the comment as more of the Gray Mountain Warriors entered the locker room and also wished him well. Trance was pleased by their attention and also wished them all luck. He knew that many of them weren’t in any of the finals that would be contested this morning; however, they would be involved in the jousts that were set to start that afternoon.

Trance opened his locker and pulled out his armor and started to put it on. He looked around and smiled to himself as he saw most his team putting on their armor, checking their wooden weapons and start focusing on what they needed to do to either win a final or start with a win in the jousts.

Finally it was time for them to head out to the field for the finals to start. Trance watched as the best boys and girls with their particular weapons faced each other in the championship matches for each weapon. He had the great pleasure of watching Corena win a couple of the girl’s archery contests and then she came in second in her match for the Ladies Ax Competition.

Trance was then called out to get ready for the final of the Swordsman Challenge. Grudgingly he went out toward the location for his match and at the same time tried to see how Corena did in her Swordswoman Challenge. As he got to the site for his match he quickly looked down the field and saw her score another point in her match. “Lord bless her and aid her in her match,” he silently prayed. He then turned his attention to the approaching official and Neklon.

Trance patiently listened to the official and then received some words of advice and encouragement from Neklon. He checked his weapons and finally turned his attention to Rex. He noticed that his opponent had a very nasty look on his otherwise rather handsome face. “You’re going down Trance! I’m the best swordsman here. You just got on a lucky streak. Well that streak just came to an abrupt end. I’ve won this event the last two years in a row while you were asleep in space.” Rex turned to get some praise from his teammates that had gathered to watch their captain defeat the Earth boy.

Trance looked to the stands and saw his family. It took him a minute to find them, and one look at them cheering him on was what he needed. He put on his helmet and turned back to Rex. He was now ready and approached the starting place. Both boys took their positions and prepared for the official start.

They both reacted as the official made the signal to start. Their swords crashed together several times and both started to swing so savagely at each other that it was a surprise their wooden swords weren’t cracking yet. Rex scored first and turned around and gloatingly bowed to the crowd. Trance fought back and tied the score, which just infuriated Rex. Rex furiously fought and scored again. He openly declared that the match was over and that he was about to win again. “Trance,” Rex declared, “you’re just a passing fool that thought he could be a knight.”

Trance was more determined than ever to tie the score again. With more skill he blocked Rex’s attacks and kept him at bay. He swung his sword with more skill trying to get an advantage and then something rather unexpected happened. Rex’s foot slid on the grass just as he made a wide swing at Trance. Trance saw his opportunity and struck, scoring the tying blow. Yet while he celebrated