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place. It
was a perfect area with a large open field spread out and the woods
surrounded the area, giving it the privacy they needed.
    When Robin’s Rebels arrived, the place was
packed. There were over two hundred men and women standing around
to watch the competition. Most had already joined the Freemen.
Others were waiting to see who won before they joined.
    Robin was nervous when she saw how many people
would be watching. She bit her lip nervously as she said, “Why did
I agree to this?”
    Her father laughed and gave her a nudge. “It’s
all right. Just think about the naked soldier.”
    With that everyone broke into laughter when they
saw her cheeks turn a bright red color.
    “Keep your mask on at all times,” said Andrew.
“I don’t want anyone knowing you’re a woman. They may not respect a
feminine leader. Besides some of us men are letches.”
    This made Robin’s Rebels burst into
laughter.
    She shook her head, trying to ignore her
father’s teasing. He was in a great mood.
    The tournament was about to begin and they
needed to get into place. The wrestling competition was first.
Merek was more than ready. Every chance he got, he lifted a few
logs and even tried lifting Robin’s mule but she drew the line when
it came to animals.
    They hadn’t met the leader of the Freemen yet,
but they figured they would when the archery contest was ready.
    When they walked toward the field, she was
impressed. It had been set up like an arena with wooden seats on
two sides for spectators. As they settled down in their seats,
Robin scanned the audience. When she saw Daniel sitting on the
other side of the arena, a tingle of excitement spread through her.
He had come to check out the competition. How she wished he would
notice her group of men and women! Sure, she had a small group, but
they were the most devoted and skillful fighters.
    “Hey,” said Andrew as he nudged her playfully.
“There’s Daniel. Too bad you’re a man today, huh? Or you could sit
with him.”
    Robin’s eyes widened at his statement. Seeing
the twinkle in his eyes, she gave him a good-natured shove.
    He chuckled and winked at her. “I know you like
him, dear. You can’t fool me.”
    She quickly looked around to see if her men had
heard her father’s statement but they were too busy chatting and
pointing at Merek, who was waiting to begin.
    “Shush. You’re really in a playful mood,
Papa.”
    He just chuckled and didn’t say another
word.
    All attention was drawn to the arena as Miles
walked to the center and announced the two competitors.
    “We have Simon representing the Freemen and
Merek representing Robin’s Rebels. Men, take your positions!”
    Miles took a seat in the arena and watched the
men walk inside the twenty-foot circle.
    Merek remembered Simon from the last meeting and
his example of the thread. He grinned as he faced his opponent.
Merek was ready to go. He wanted Robin to be proud of him and knew
he could win this match. There was no doubt about it. They shook
hands and a bell rang as a signal to begin. They each crouched into
a wrestling stance with outstretched arms, circling one another and
waiting for just the right moment to take his opponent down and pin
him.
    With arms raised, Simon tried to grab Merek but
he was too fast and ducked away from him. Just at that moment,
Merek quickly threw his arms around his opponent in an “arm-lock”
and threw him to the ground. They struggled back and forth and then
Merek finally released Simon, just so he could have the opportunity
to take him down again.
    They walked to the center of the circle and
Merek raised his arms to the level of his shoulders as he circled
Simon. At just the right moment, he feinted to the right as if to
grab Simon. As Simon lunged to the left, Merek grabbed him and
threw him to the ground with all his weight. Simon struggled and
was finally able to get loose but that didn’t bother Merek because
he wanted to score more points by taking him down