Wylda blamed the girl for this.
Never once did she think the day would come when her husband would fight their son, the one who would soon ascend to the throne. What a display of power. Men.
But men rush to the battleground for few things- For vengeance and for the attention of women.
In this particular circumstance, the King felt slighted by his own son who dared to defy him whilst the Prince... Well. He couldn't take his eyes off her all morning. Ele stood present only for his benefit. She hated bloodshed and needless shows of strength.
Father and son prepared in separate corners of the arena, each dawning themselves in royal armor that held more cultural significance than it helped them in battle. While they dressed and sought counsel, the morning fog thinned as the sun rose.
The arena was not that at all. In truth, it was an old courtyard with stone floors, cracked in places from years of being trampled on. Around the edges were stone pillars, now crumbling and leaving a mess of debris at the bases. Overgrown rose bushes scattered the perimeter and ivy crept up ornate bronze trellises stationed on the four walls surrounding the courtyard. At one time, this would have been a marvelous place for afternoon tea.
All those in attendance were only the ones the royal family trusted to witness this. Doctor Edinson stood in the midst of the arena, checking his watch over and over, anxious to get past this event. Roman, cousin of the Prince, stood in his corner of the arena and snuck glances at Ele whenever he thought she wouldn't notice.
But she noticed. She also caught on to the way the Kaanan would tighten his fists whenever he fought the urge to turn and look her way.
Now was not the time for distractions. Too close to the duel to lose focus.
The King had his adoring wife by his side, holding his clean-shaven face between her hands and pleading with him to rethink this. There would be no turning back. Those left in the crowd where Ele stood were people she'd seen roaming the castle but never had the pleasure of introductions. They spoke amongst themselves, in just a tone that the dueling royals wouldn't overhear.
"In all my years attending teachings at the castle, I've never heard of such a thing." One woman spoke candidly.
A young man, no older than Ele, turned to that woman to educate her. "You may not have been here at the time but the royal family has dueled one another before, that's why Jyosith became King instead of Charles under King Dorian's command. And such a shame, things would have been very different around here."
"Hush that talk," A man beside the younger one nudged his side. "King Jyosith is a blessing. You wouldn't want some timid pureblood on the throne."
"Mm," The woman mused. "Maybe some would prefer it."
King Dorian. Ele recalled that name from her own research into faenix history. And Charles... Could they be speaking of Doctor Edinson?
She looked to where he still stood, now pacing, and could never imagine him to be a King.
All banter in the crowd halted when father and son turned to face each other. They met Edinson in the center and didn't even make eye contact. Ele hoped they felt shame in this, because the mere point of dueling to solve a quarrel was ludicrous. Roman swept the outskirts of the courtyard to catch any spying eyes before returning to find a place beside the female who caused this.
He crept up beside her and bent down to her ear to taunt. "Pleased with yourself?"
Her eyebrows drew tight, questioning him for an explanation.
"I tried to reason with him since I arrived. The Queen did her part to end this before it began too. Both were so unwavering in their stance to turn in now. You have no clue what the Prince would do for you."
She had some clue. Yet she felt it wasn't really her that he fought to keep... He wanted a pet. As the Queen herself said, that's all she was to him.
"Think all you want about him." Roman spoke as if he could read her thoughts. "Kaanan will someday be King and he'll make his own rules. May this be the dawn of his reign."
Ele focused her attention on the pair that Edinson consulted with before the fight began. Roman's words were only an offending diversion. The Prince had imaginary blinders on now and his hyper-fixated gaze locked on target. Someone walked in through the stone archway then, presenting two longswords with jeweled hilts.
The next breath caught in her chest and made her heart flutter. Swords? Real... Sharp...
"Did you think this would be a pillow fight, dear?" Roman once more taunted in her ear.
If not for the cold bite of the morning air on her skin, she may have fainted. The prickling goosebumps on her arms kept her body from becoming numb. Why did it have to be swords?
"Gentlemen!" Edinson presented them with the rules of the duel. No low blows or cheap tricks, they may not aim their swords above the shoulders, last one to forfeit or pass out due to injuries is the champion. That's what Ele summed up as the most important rules in her eyes. "Do we have an understanding?"
Kaanan gave a quick nod before his father did, but once both had agreed to the list of duel regulations, Edinson removed himself from the battleground and his hesitation made the next seconds agonizing.
"Very well, gentlemen. Take your grounds." They positioned themselves on red markers placed precisely four feet apart. "Draw. At the ready... Let the duel commence!"
If the crowd had seating, they'd be on the edge of it right now. Ele felt her entire world shift forward, just waiting to see who would move first. Naturally, the young and inexperienced Prince advanced on the King with an elegance about him. The King casually passed back, placing his front foot behind the heel of his back foot and so on, dancing around the arena as the Prince stalked him.
The game ended quickly, just as the crowd thought they'd continue in this fashion. Kaanan gripped his sword and took up a rooted stance, signally the end of their cavort. The smirk on the King's face turned to a scowl once he saw that his son settled for a defensive position rather than continue walking in circles. His eye twitched, making him appear hesitant about what must come next.
King Jyosith extended his sword and pointed it at his son, then beckoned with the other hand to coax him forward. It worked. Kaanan lunged forward with sincere animosity, but emotions held no place in a sword fight. Jyosith knocked away the incoming attack simply by stretching his sword out from his body and parrying downwards... Kaanan didn't even come close to making a knick.
Now the sun peaked above the stone walls and illuminated the entire courtyard. Ele felt it tickle her exposed skin and relished it for blessing her when she felt on the verge of passing out. She could see the Queen in her peripheral vision, twisting a handkerchief in her hand to no end.
There was no shortage of nerves in sight.
"Wanna make a bet?" The taunter murmured. Ele just shook her head. "Suit yourself."
It took three more attacks on Kaanan's part until he felt imminent defeat. With each attempt he grew more exasperated, even more so when he pivoted to see the smug expression on his father's face. The older man was no stranger to duels, yet his younger counterpart should be more vivacious than this, no?
Neither spoke a word. The arena fell silent except for the ragged breaths of the young Prince.
Now the King fell into an offensive position and ran up on Kaanan swiftly to deliver an overhead blow that he swept to the right at the last second. Kaanan sidestepped in time to avoid getting his arm severed, but couldn't bring his sword up to counter it, so the blade made contact and sliced a nasty cut on his arm just above his elbow.
Nothing stopped there. First blood was not enough for the slighted King who now found it funny that he once felt threatened by this impudent boy. He controlled the center of the arena now, making the Prince circle him. This whole fight centered around his knowledge and raw strength, and he used that to his advantage.
Kaanan tried for the very overhead strike, mimicking his father's own move on him. Just as he swept it low to try to land a slice on his opponent's abdomen, the King raised his leg up to deliver a kick to the midsection. That broke Kaanan's connection to the ground and if not for his iron grip on his sword, he likely would have dropped it and been completely defenseless.
Momentarily staggered, he retreated to regain equilibrium and hardly got the chance. Nary to miss a beat, the King seized this opportunity and lurched forward with a wicked glint in his eyes.
Why wasn't he using his wings? He could fly away, he could-
Ele saw the splatter of blood on the grey stone before she observed just how deep the sword plunged into Kaanan's shoulder. The King had to use two hands to unsheathe it from his son's wound and he slid it out leisurely, relishing the outcry it induced as the Prince dropped to his knees. He admired the blood on the steel before raising it to slice diagonally across his son's armored chest. It rattled the thin chest plate that had likely never been in battle and spent most of its years hanging as an artifact.
One more blow like that would damage the metal enough to allow his sword to slice through.
"Surrender." The King commanded.
Kaanan struggled to lift his head, let alone find the strength to release the onslaught of curses he wanted to yell at his father. Instead, he chose to speak through action.
Sword still in hand, he flicked his wrist all he needed to slice the King's left ankle.
It pained the King enough that he jumped back, allowing Kaanan to gather himself up from the ground. If this move made the King proud that his son was as cunning as he, then he only allowed that pride to glimmer across his irises long enough that just the Queen caught it. She'd seen that pride before... When their son was first born, meaning she produced an heir.
Now look at what they'd become.
Blood seeped from the nasty crater in Kaanan's shoulder and he hobbled back to the center, needing to use his non-dominant hand to wield the longsword now that he had a wound to carry until Doctor Edinson could attend to it. Wylda wanted to demand immediate care after her son, but bit her tongue only for the sake of his honor.
"How foolish... You should have surrendered. Let's now hope my brother can save you after I'm through with you."
Instead of taking his usual defense, the King drove forward with his sword angled behind him so he could swing it around to sideswipe the already injured Prince. At the last second, Kaanan knocked his sword back with an impressive sweeping motion and it nearly disarmed the King.
"Enough games." Jyosith growled, all restraint leaving his expression and form, taking on his own version of a monster within. Though it paled compared to his son's... A secret he wouldn't discover today.
Without releasing his demon, the Prince didn't stand a chance. What stood before him was a fully fleshed pureblood with sophisticated skills on the battlefield, having fought in a handful of wars against many foes.
Jyosith didn't hide the protruding black veins that stemmed from his darkening eyes or the way his fangs and claws elongated to demonstrate vehemence. His body leaked with potential to kill.
"This ends now!" The mighty beast roared right before he charged forward, sword firm in one hand and outstretched talons weaponized him on the other.