CARSON LOOKED TRAUMATIZED AS AZ RAN UP TO HELP HIM OFF THE FIELD. HIS FACE WAS COVERED IN BOAR SALIVA AND she tried her best not to show a look of disgust as she tries to guide him back to William so they can take him to the side and treat his wounds. She keeps her head up, noticing some stares of curiosity from the other Pages but she pays them no mind, simply getting him to where he needed to go. One of the Lodges medical wings, not the main one, was to the side of the high ridge only a few feet. It was a small building but it had a good portion of beds to treat patients. This was used mainly for the participants of tournaments. William was already waiting in the building as AZ was carrying the reluctant Carson back. Grunting because goddamn was he heavy. But he didn't look good.
In the process he had broken his leg and it was currently digging him to hell. AZ didn't say anything as she ignored his winces and simply focused on getting him safely to the wing. The rest of the participants of the tournament were taking a 20 minute break before the next round. She opens the door rather quickly, with an injured Carson on her shoulders.
"Set him on the bed over here." William says as he follows them. AZ nods and they both help set him down. "Thank you AZ." Nodding again she moves to get all the necessities, a blanket and water to help Carson cool down from the anxiety.
"Pass me that magnifying glass AZ, I need to get a better look." William suggests. She's already on it though which causes the healer's lips to quirk up. He nods again. "Why thank you." And swiftly looks back. AZ moves to warm a towel and wipe Carson's face but he shrinks a bit when she moves near him. AZ doesn't miss it as she narrows her eyes.
"What? You afraid of some water?" She asks accusingly and Carson doesn't meet her gaze. He simply casts his head down and looks at his dirty fist. AZ scoffs.
William luckily noticed and whirled his eyes towards the Page. "Page Whitman." He asks sternly at the Page who's still not looking at him. "There a problem?" Carson quickly shakes his head.
"Then why won't you let Vassal Carter wipe your face?"
"I can answer him if you won't." AZ says sassily. "Because I think I have a good idea why." She snaps and William frowns, visibly displeased with the Page.
"Look I already let you carry me around over here to get healed. I think that's enough." Carson grunts and William stops examining his injuries,
"Page Whitman...." William begins but Carson is already saying it.
"I just don't want her dirty hands on my face dammit." He spits out and shock fills the healer's eyes before he sees a hand into his view ready to slap Carson with all her might.
"You are about to get them anyway since you decided to open that nasty mouth of yours." She grits her teeth about to swing but William pulls her back. He gives her a look of apology and she sees to it to calm down. She throws the wipe on the bed and paces around.
William however was not playing when he faced the Page again. Anger clearly in his eyes.
"As a healer of the facility I am bound to care for any of the injured and look after my patients when needed. But I am also a person who demands respect from others for others in my hospice. Patient and Healer alike. Your attitude will not slide, Vassal Carter has been a great help to me." His eyes are sharp like steel, AZ sees Carson flinch. "Either you take the rag and deal with it. Or I'll do you the inconvenience of not healing you and let those injuries fix on their own and I will say the process is slow."
"They probably won't be able to heal in time for the next trial and you'll be immediately eliminated." The healer ends and Carson's attitude does a back flip as he widens his eyes. AZ appreciates the way William was able to backtrack the situation and humble him well. Carson doesn't say anything for a while before the healers scrutinizing gaze forces him to mumble.
"Okay." William turns to nod at AZ as she gives him an unpleasant look but walks over to wipe him anyway. She nods as a thank you, which he smiles warmly.
"And an apology would be appreciated." With that comment William goes back to examine and begin his healing process.
"I....apologize Vassal Carter."
"Mhm." Is all AZ could say because really she didn't accept his apology. He called her dirty, and said she had dirty hands that it was revolting for her to touch him. And thoughts like that don't just leave someone's mind with an apology. She wipes the saliva and grass dirt from his face and the wing is filled with silence.
SETTING DOWN HER FEELINGS OF RAGE AZ AWAITS THE NEXT TRIAL; BREES TRIAL. THIS TIME SHE IS SITTING DOWN ON A BENCH NEAR THE ARENA. William is still caring for Carson and thanked her for her help. He dismissed her because he knew how badly she wanted to see how her cousin would fare. With no questions asked she immediately hugged him and ran off hearing a lighthearted laugh following.
Fiddling with her fingers AZ observed the field of the arena. The bird had left shortly after AZ went to pick up Carson and she wondered where the mysterious critter went off to. It was short lived though as she saw Bree step in the mix again. Straightening up to get a better look. She sees Ainsley and Tucker are the first team that takes to the field holding only their weapons. They dart out before the rest of them, determination clear on their faces, and swords held high; they plan to take out both hellboars first, while unimpeded by mannequins.
It's a mistake. There's a reason everyone else's strategy included distraction: the boars are big, heavy, easily confused beasts. They're unable to make quick pivots or turns. But at a straight charge, they're nearly unstoppable. Helplessly the Pages go down in under sixty seconds. At the last moment before impact, Ainsley shifts left.
The weight of the sword takes her off-balance; she trips. She scrambles to her feet—and the boar knocks her to the ground. She chokes out a blood curdling scream— the boar explodes on top of her. The second boar is a foot from goring Tucker through the middle—then it explodes mid-chase. AZ winces at the scene, this wasn't good and the explosion took the cake.
The arena freezes. The only sound is Ainsley crying on the ground as shiny particles rain down on her body.
"Page Edwards needs medical assistance," Sel says coolly. AZ cringes at the coldness of his voice. "She and Page Johnson are disqualified."
Then, he turns to the rest and shouts: "The clock is still ticking!" AZ sees two squires lift up a crying Ainsley and defeated Johnson over to the medical base, William had them take her place. Quickly she watches the silhouette of Sel who's focused on the tournament, before shifting her eyes on Bree. She leans forward on her bench.
Come on Brave Bree. Biting her lip in stress. You got this, come on.'
Bree has the heaviest mannequin over her shoulders, tucked against her weapon. Behind her is her partner, Sydney, she has daggers that whistles through the air. A deep thunk. The boar chasing Bree hits the ground. The earth shakes. AZ jumps up before jumping back in her seat. She sweats nervously. Is the beast going to get to her?
Bree is on the other side, heaving it up and over her head like a sack of potatoes. She runs wide back to her base, hoping to stay out of the other boar's sight.
Sydney was providing a distraction and they had almost made it as Bree was running with the mannequin. Until halfway across the field Bree trips over Sydney's first dagger, abandoned in the grass. The mannequin and her go flying. It lands three feet in front of her— with a loud thud that draws the boar's attention. AZ scratches her head, hands trembling in worry as the boar charges at her. Clenching her jaw, she couldn't bare to watch but she did.
She watched as Bree grabbed Sydney's knife and shoot to her feet, shouting at her, "Get it to safety!" She sprints back to her base, but arc wide so that the boar still after her will curve too —and avoid trampling the lifeless mannequin on the ground. Next thing she knew Bree was hiding as the boar was trailing after her, searching. Hold her breath AZ closes her eyes and crosses her fingers. Trying to calm herself down.
Suddenly Bree tosses the cudgel to her right and grabs the dagger with her free hand while the creature does just what she hoped: it shifts its bulk toward the falling cudgel, away from her, its head dips down to inspect—and Bree shoves off from the tree, launching herself forward onto its back, dagger pointing down. AZ doesn't care as she jumps up and raises her arms in a silent cheer. Bree had the upper hand, she could keep going.
Gravity drives the sharp blade into the creature's shining neck, but the blow works just the same. The animal squeals and bucks, tossing Bree in the air like a rag doll. AZ freezes as Bree hits the ground with a jarring thud and curls into a ball, ready for the heavy stomp of hooves—but it never comes.
"Run!" Sydney screams. She's going for the mannequin. AZ sees as her cousin scrambles to her feet and sprints to the other side of the arena; They both have to get there in time. Sydney slides down the ditch right behind Bree, mannequin over her shoulder, just as the whistle goes off. AZ closes her eyes, still frozen in place.
Slowly she opens them again; to see they had passed. She flops down dazed and in relief. And lets out a chuckle.
Bree had passed. Covering her face to hide the invisible tears and feelings of stress on her.
THE PAGES ALL EMERGE TO THE SIDE of the woods of the arena. The sound of whooping cheers from The Legendborn and Squires alike. AZ doesn't care as she dashes over to hug her cousin and congratulate her. Bree seemed to have been looking for her as she was whirling her head around. She grunted at the impact of the hug, facing her smiling cousin. Who was smiling so wide she could see her reflection in her teeth.
Sydney, Brees' partner for the tournament nods in her direction before joining Vaughn and Blake and the other four Pages who have passed. They stand together, congratulating one another. AZ sees Brees' eyes follow after them in wonder. AZ purses her lips before shaking her cousin, causing Bree to look back at her.
"Forget them." She said with a voice of encouragement. "This is all about you. Being badass as hell out there." Bree smiled.
"It was a rush and was scary but." She lets out a breath of relief. "I made it. WE made it." She determined and AZ nodded before hugging her again.
"Yes we did." And they basked into their hug of comfort nothing else mattered but their familial bond.
"I don't even care if you're in some disgusting boar saliva mess right now." AZ finishes and she hears her cousin choke on a laugh.
The four who didn't are in varying levels of shock and devastation. A page named Mina's wiping tears from her face while Ainsley rubs her back in slow circles. Pages Celeste and Tucker are in a heated argument; from the snippets, they both blame their partners for their eliminations.
AZ looks around for Whitty and Greer to congratulate them for their win when she spots Sel who is looking up the hill where the Legendborn have begun stomping their way through the trees to meet the rest. His brows are knitted together in concentration, his head cocked to the side as if listening for something. Tensing up she follows his direction.
"Nick! Nick!" When Tor shouts, Sel is already moving toward the sound. He flashes by so quickly that the wind cracks around his body before he disappears into the tree line in a shadowy blur. AZ and Bree hands are knit together as they and everyone else runs to follow him.
The trees stand so thick up the slanted hill, it's hard to see what's happening, but they can hear it. Something is tumbling through the trees like an enormous bowling ball, cracking trunks in half like giant pins. That something is coming closer, the sounds are getting louder, and then it bursts through a pair of pine trees, sending bark and splinters in every direction, and spills out onto the arena floor, stopping them all short. AZ instantly moves in front of Bree.
A massive, full-corp serpent, its scaled body as big and round as a tractor tire. It pulls half of its body up off the ground until it towers twenty feet above them, blood red eyes the size of fists blazing down on. The glowing creature opens its jaws to release a shrill, nightmarish hiss that scrapes against my eardrums.
Suddenly from behind AZ hears her cousin scream. "Nick!" It only takes a second to see that he's enveloped head to toe in a coil of muscle, only the pale hair at the top of his head visible in the hellsnake's grip.
The Awakened Legendborn gather aether as they run, forming glowing swords and daggers. Felicity and Russ, casting armor on themselves as they dash forward, but the quick-shadow shape of Selwyn Kane speeds out of the trees and leaps onto the snake before anyone else has reached it.
While the serpent writhes, Sel scrabbles up its body, using its scales as handholds. He mounts its head as the creature thrashes back and forth, it's forked tongue ticking out like a glowing whip. Sel had no time to form a weapon, but his entire body is wrapped in thin, swirling clouds of silver-blue aether. He pulls back with a roar and thrusts both of his arms into the snake's eyes, burying them into the sockets up to his elbow.
AZ covers her mouth as the creature screams loud enough to shatter glass. Its big body spasms so hard anyone else would have been thrown, but Sel holds tight and only pushes his arms in farther. Viscous fluid erupts in his face. After a final shudder, the hellsnake goes still and falls forward, releasing a gasping Nick right as its head hits the ground.
Rushing forward AZ moves to catch the falling Scion with all her might, a rush of that power going through her as she just barely catches him. Letting out a grunt at the impact. She sees his face red and in pain, barely conscious. She feels a shadow from behind her but she doesn't care as she observes every hint of emotion on the blond's face.
"I'll take him from here." Sels tone is resentful and straightforward as he moves to grab Nick from her arms. Just barely his palms touch her with a spark but AZ doesn't say anything else to him as his tawny glare shifts from her to his Liege.
Surprise Surprise! A double update for the month. As an apology for these updates being slow but I have continued again on my prewriting and getting things back on track.
I hope you all had a happy holidays and are doing well! My next update should come around early january so keep a look on for that breehive!
please, vote, comment any feedback that yall have or even share if you love the story so far! Again I absolutely appreciate all of yalls support it means a lot to me!
-C, OUT!