Realm Drifter: Cruel King

~Chapter Seven~

Chapter Seven; The First Trial

-

My body lurched forward in a shocked gasp, my hands flying to calm my racing heart as I looked around. I was sitting in an open field, the grass light green as it tangles around my fingers. My fingers bare but my body clothed in a tight cloth that almost looked like armour- but far too thin. Next to me sat a mere silver sword, that laid next to my boot clothed feet. Odd for this era, my legs were clothed in tight leather pants. 

Standing up now, I reached for the sword, holding it tight in my hands as I scope my surroundings. Surrounding the field were high trees, similar to the forest I woke up in. Taking a step, I heard a crunch under my feet and in confusion, I lifted it. Underneath sat a crumpled piece of paper with scrawled cursive writing. I was not used to medieval writing- or their slang for that matter but I could understand the majority of it. 

~

Dear Participant, 

You are selected to participate in the Tournament of the Roses. You, like one of four other participants, will be fighting in the Arena of  Conquest. Find those with the red marking, and be the last woman standing. 

~

'Red marking?' I thought to myself, glancing at my body for the red marking. Slowly, I reached up, gently touching my forward before pulling my hand back to see a red dust coating the tips of my fingers. It felt like my entire forward was covered in it, it would explain why it felt so stiff compared to the rest of my face. 

~

I had been walking for awhile, my legs aching and the forest seemingly getting bigger. When I awoke it was near mid-day, but now it was almost reaching night. 

Hours had passed and not one sight of another human being, but a sound was another thing. I had heard coughing, a small cry of pain and even a small "shoo" coming from behind me. It was quiet enough to reassure me they were too far behind to be an immediate danger, but I couldn't stop. They hadn't stopped following me, their clunky metal- that I assume was a sword- bumping into objects here and there as they stalked me. 

They had obviously never stalked someone before, let alone held a weapon. That was clear. Even how they walked was extremely unstealthy, crunching of twigs and leaves under their feet. Whoever was following me must've been a proper lady, used to skirts and knitting. In stark contrast to me.

Suddenly, the realization hit me, no wonder I'm being stalked. I'm out in the open with flaming red hair and holding a reflective sword. With all my training, I was so oblivious. 

Cursing myself, I ducked behind a tree, hearing the lady scold herself as she lost sight of me. I wasn't going to harm her, I just needed her to get lost and lose sight of me to give me enough time to braid my hair and somehow create a hood to cover it. I wasn't sure what I was going to do about my sword, however. 

"Gotcha" She jumped out, holding her sword in both her shaky hands. Her feet were together, ankles pressed tightly as her timid blue eyes gazed into mine. She had light blonde hair, so shiny that reflected the sun. What made her stand out was the 

"D-drop the sword." She stuttered. I could just tell her arms were getting weak, not used to carrying anything more than a woollen blanket. 

"Hey, slow down, now. I'm not going to hurt you; You're not going to hurt me." I said, my voice strong as I raised my hands in the air, dropping the sword to the floor. My eyes were locked on hers the entire time, never once breaking contact.

"Step a-away from it now." She ordered, pointing with the tilt of her sword.

"Anyone can attack us at any minute, now I'd say you would have a far greater chance of survival if you kept me alive and by your side. Now lower the sword." I commanded, my voice stern but enticing. She knew she had no chance of survival, I just needed to say the correct thing to win her over. 

She hesitated but quickly nodded.

"Have you seen anyone else since you woke up?" I asked, picking up my sword and brushing my hand through my hair. 

"N-no." 

"I'm guessing that we woke up in the two sectors closest to each other. If there are even five sectors. Which must mean that the two on either side of us, since we haven't seen any of the three- if there are still three remaining, they went the opposite direction." The words flew out of my mouth like a choreographed ballet dancer, fluid and precise.

"You speak an awfully lot for a woman." She blurted out, her hand quickly covering her mouth in shock. "I'm sorry!" She cried, stepping back as if I were to strike her.

"Calm yourself, unbelievable. How do you think you're going to survive this if you keep acting like a blubbering fool?" I spat, I was getting annoyed. I was hungry and the sun was starting to set and we hadn't yet made camp. 

"I'm c-cold. Do you k-know how to make a fire?" Her timid voice asks as she clutches her arms around her waist, the sword still clutched tightly in her hand. I just let out an unladylike grunt. 

"Do you want to be murdered in your sleep?" I asked, "A fire is like a beacon."

"W-what is a beacon?"She asked, braiding her hair as she eyed mine.

"Nevermind. Just, no fires. And we need to blend in. Our hair is far too obvious." I said, breaking leaves from bushes and dropping them.

"Argh, none of these are big enough" I groaned.

"What about that one?" With a focused grin, I locked eyes on my latest invention. A hood made of leaves. 

~

We sat in a tree, taking a view of the forest as we waited out the night. Words could not express how difficult it was to get Princess into the tree. It almost took a solid hour, the entire time our defences were down. It is a miracle we aren't dead. 

"My name is Sylvia Graycltin, by the way. And yours?" She asked, an actual sentence in which she didn't stutter. 

'So many miracles in one day' I thought to myself with a silent groan. I was freezing as the night began, Princess over there actually started to turn blue before I decided we had to huddle for warmth. This was going to get a spear in my back for sure. 

~