Free Silver Dragon by Jason Halstead

spattered on the floor. "Recruit, are you injured?"
    Aleena reached up with her right hand and pulled her helmet off. She tucked it under her arm and felt her lips and nose. She sniffed and then pinched her nose, wincing at how it burned. She let go and closed her eyes, and then donned her helmet. "No, Father, I'm fine."
    He hesitated a moment longer and then nodded for her to continue. Aleena picked up her mace and waited for her opponent to signal her. When he did, she rushed at him, using her lighter weight and greater speed to surprise him. She pushed his sword down with her shield and slammed her mace into his shield, forcing it down. She continued to hammer at him, striking his shoulder, chest, and helm, and managed to force him back a step. She kept pushing, relying on her momentum, and even managed to tuck a foot behind his. He took a next step and tripped, crashing onto his back and grunting as the wind was knocked from his lungs.
    Sir Amos rang the bell again, signaling Aleena to stop. She stood over the fallen warrior, gasping for breath. Fresh blood dripped onto him from her nose but she paid it no mind. Unseen beneath her helm, she was grinning.
    Aleena retreated and grabbed her axe. She had never trained with the axe but it felt similar to the mace. She twisted it in her hand and noticed how different the balance was, depending on which direction the blade pointed. She looked up when the bell ran g and saw her opponent bearing down on her.
    She tried to repeat her attack with the mace but he stepped to the side and caught her axe under the curve of the blade with his sword. He forced it away and rocked his head into hers. Stars exploded in her eyes and she blew fresh blood from her nose. She felt a sting in her cheek, but she couldn't guess what from.
    Aleena coughed when his sword crashed into her belly. The chain links saved her from being disemboweled but it forced the air out of her and doubled her over. She felt to her knees and barely managed to use her right hand to keep herself from falling on her face. Before she could begin to think of striking back , she felt the steel of his blade pressing heavily against the back of her neck.
    Her eyes watering from pain and shame, she lifted her trembling shield arm up to signal her defeat. Sir Amos rang the bell. "This phase of testing is complete. The recruits will be tended to then they shall joust."
    The sword was removed from Aleena's neck. She sat back on her calves and reached up to remove her helmet. She saw her opponent standing above her, offering his hand. She sniffed and then offered a grateful smile as she took it.
    "You fought like a wildcat," he whispered to her before he turned and walked back through the doors whence he'd come.
    Aleena smiled and nodded, and then gathered up her equipment and returned it to the racks. She planned to clean up the blood later but acolytes rushed through the double doors with buckets and rags. She grunted and turned away so she could follow her fellow recruits out of the chamber so that they could have a moment to recover.
    Aleena caught a distorted reflection of herself in a polished shield hanging on the wall on her way out. Her nose was a mess but it didn't feel broken to her. Her lip was split and there was a gash under her eye, making it puffy. In spite of it all, she was smiling and she couldn't remember a time when she'd ever felt this proud of herself.
    Acolytes tended to them while they waited, washing away blood and offering them a drink. Their respite was short-lived. Sir Amos summoned them back outside to a closed field where they were given horses to ride. Aleena was given the chance to back out of the joust again for lack of armor, and again she demanded inclusion. She watched Celos and Durak both score strikes on the target, as well as two other recruits.
    Aleena stared at the massive stallion brought for her to ride. She still wore the same armor she'd fought in. Her armor felt loose on her, looser even