Crown of Purple Fire (English)

~V~

They met on the Isle of Nim the moment the full light of the sun dawned on them.

Tessa surveyed the battlefield; it was a wide clearing, made of plain stone and sand. She tapped a talon on the material, and felt it to be smooth, yet dense. Incredibly dense. She looked at the sides of the field, and saw two sides of birds, muttering. His Magnanimous Holiness was late. Of course he was. Tessa should have known better than to trust the old bastard would come on time. Though in a way, she supposed it was a blessing--her training must have not been sufficient enough. Two weeks of combat coaching, to a lifetime of battles. Yes, fair fight indeed.

Her attention was then thwarted to the sky. A flock of eagles were descending on them, and at front and centre was an eagle bigger than the rest, with a smug expression. When they landed a few meters away, olive-green eyes met her own violet irises.

"My Queen!!" Roman grinned lazily. "Fancy meeting you here, in this place. Odd, isn't it though? Wouldn't it be better to meet somewhere...I don't know, more private?" He winked at her. She resisted the urge to claw him immediately. She settled for rolling her eyes. He must be drunk. "Oh, and how strong our marriage has become! Usually, it takes years before a wife starts rolling her eyes at her husband. And it's only been two weeks!"

Definitely drunk. "Our marriage has lasted for more than two weeks, my King," Tessa replied in the same, lazy tone. "Though I suppose the effect of happy juice might be taking it's toll on you, if you're forgetting how long it's been since your wedding."

His nostrils flared. But he kept his composure. "Are you implying that I'm intoxicated?"

"Not really implying. More like just saying it."

Roman and his guardian flock laughed. "Ah, how fierce the female has become. I'll have a song written for you when you fall." He turned around and conversed with his guards.

No more jokes, then. This was it. This was her first battle, and it was with a ruler, hunter, and warrior.

It might very well be her last.

Tessa turned around, and saw her mother glaring at Roman behind her. She then looked at her daughter, "It'd be thick of me to assume that you'll listen to me if I tell you that you can just call this off and leave."

"Yes," Tessa said. "Yes, it would."

So Thalia hugged her daughter and whispered into her ear, "Don't let him kill you."

Tessa whispered back, "Never." 

She turned around to face her former husband, grinning cockily as he said, "Last chance to surrender, Thessalyne."

There it was, Tessa thought. He called her by her true name. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and said, "Afraid I'll beat you, Roman?"

"You wish."

Tessa only laughed. Roman then flew towards her to attack. She'd been expecting that, so Tessa raised her left wing, and flung it forward, performing a pirouette in the process. When she turned back, Roman was already head first into the ground. She used the wind to her advantage. Tessa advanced on him as she raised a talon and clawed at his chest. Roman yelled in pain, so he kicked her back with full force. That did little more than startle Tessa, and she laughed once again. "That all you've got?"

She landed and swiped her wing as Roman attempted to get up. He was faster, though, so he returned the favour by covering Tessa's head with his wings, and clawing her face. The pain was more intense than anything Tessa felt before, so she thrashed against the grip of his wings, and kicked him back. He let go of her, but was still near enough to mock her back. "That all you've got?"