~*~Chapter 9~*~
When I awoke, reality came back to me like another slap in the face. Somehow, after waking up groggily, I had this tiny sliver of hope that everything had been a dream. When I say everything, I couldn’t tell you if I was referring to The Fire Maiden’s Battle, or the past fifteen years of my life. Either way; neither of which was a dream and both of which were part of my sad reality.
What stung the most was the memory of me crying in Solice’s arms like some powerless, weak, damsel in distress. Just thinking about it makes me cringe. I’d simply like to point out that I had gone nearly one-hundred hours without sleep, had barely any sanity left, and nearly exposed probably one of the biggest secrets of my entire existence. That was a onetime thing. I’m no sheep. Don’t judge me. Peasants.
I told myself that I’d have to make sure that I watched Elda that day, just in case she actually witnessed my little . . . display and was hiding it. Armed with information like that, she could have me ordered for execution in a heartbeat. But honestly, with the events that were about to play out, she was the least of my worries.
Once reality had sunk back in, the first thing I sought was that idiotic rock. I didn’t even bother to see if Elda or Rey were by my side. Neither was my priority in this moment. A sudden burst of adrenaline shot through my veins as my eyes scanned the nearly illegible names. The fact that I was looking to a damned rock to tell me my friend’s fate was ridiculous.
Solice . . . Solice . . . damn it Solice!
I didn’t see it. I couldn’t read any of the names. My sudden illiteracy was edging me further into rage and worry.
I rubbed my still sleep-swollen eyes rigorously. How long had I slept? How many battles occurred? How many more men have died in vain?
I should’ve just taken Solice and ran.
A sudden gust of wind passed through the area, kicking up the ashes left behind from the battles. I had a disturbing thought that Solice could easily be those ashes.
I couldn’t stop the cold sweat from beading down my neck, and my heart seemed to stop beating. Everything was still. Everything was silent. But a raging fire tore through my body. It burned everything inside of me. Everything was being scorched to death. My throat was closing in on itself. My heart was scalded.
Solice’s name was not on that rock.
And I knew if I was going to go up into flames, I was going to take the world to Hell with me.
A horn sounded and the fire-like pain within me was extinguished. I now felt nothing. My father, whom I just noticed was back in his throne next to me, stood to speak.
“We are happy to announce the winner of The Fire Maiden’s Battle--”
It was over. I slept through it all. I slept through my best friend’s death.
Death.
Solice was dead.
Dead.
“--will be decided from this final battle between Magmian, Solice Darkwood and Prince Aaron Christia!” A crowd somewhere out of my sight roared.
My father’s words knocked the wind right out of me. The world was back in motion and my emotions were soaring and colliding inside of me like fireworks. There were no words to describe how I felt. And there was no time to sort them out, either. Fate had already set things in motion.
Emerging from behind the boulder was a beaming Aaron. He strode over to our platform with such striking confidence, I thought he was going to leap on stage and snatch my father’s crown right from his head. The quibbling moron was acting as though he’d already won this blasted battle. He came to a jeering halt in front of me. I watched him cautiously and braced myself. He did a proper bow to me and flashed another gleaming grin. My insides recoiled. “It won’t be much longer, Princess. We’ll be together soon.”
But my eyes were no longer on the fool; my eyes were on the even stupider fool limping from behind Aaron. Prickling tears threatened to fall, but with Aaron so close to me, I held them back. He wasn’t allowed to see me cry ever again.
Wounded, disheveled, and rather pathetic looking, Solice limped up to the platform as well. He wasn’t radiating confidence as much as he was purpose. It was quite the sight seeing him in such a sorry state next to the polished prince. They were stark opposites of each other; Aaron with his sleek pale hair and stone-like eyes, and Solice with his cinder-colored mop and glittering orbs. I laughed despite myself at such an odd pairing. The final competitors.
Solice smiled a toothy grin at me and gave me a thumbs up. Even though he was hurt and was a mess, he looked just like the Solice I met six years ago. Everyone’s eyes were glued to us. An alienated princess and a lower class peasant. Another unlikely pair. Without much deliberation, I returned the thumbs up with a smile. My best friend was alive and he was standing right in front of me. What else mattered?
I hadn’t noticed Aaron’s state at first. His usually cold and indifferent eyes were ablaze with rage and jealousy. I made the mistake of not acknowledging him. I made the mistake of returning Solice’s gesture before him, and blatantly ignoring him afterwards. I made many mistakes with Aaron. Mistakes Solice and I would soon have to pay for.
“After another break, the concluding battle will precede and we will have our new Prince!” Rey announced proudly, but it was like being doused with a bucket of ice cold water for me.
I was such an idiot. To think for a moment I actually believed I had him back. Even when he was within an arm’s reach, Solice was still not safe. He was going die, just like every man preceding him that faced Aaron. It didn’t matter that he made it this far, or that this was the last battle. Aaron was going to finish this the way he started it. Knowing Aaron, he’d probably turn Solice into some spectacle to prove a point.
I looked grimly at Solice’s face. I wanted to leap off stage and embrace him with every fiber of my being. I wanted to pick him up and fly off. I didn’t care about my secret, or Magmus, or Aaron, or Elda or anything. I just wanted Solice to live. I just didn’t want to be alone again. Was that too much to ask for? Was one bloody companion too much? Did I not even deserve that? I never did anything but live, so why, why, have I been given so much turmoil?! So much bloody grief and pain! Because I was born a cursed princess instead of any other peasant here, Solice will die. My entire life has been unfair, but in this moment, I never experienced that injustice so clearly. Because this time, it wasn’t me that was going to get hurt, it was Solice.
A knowing look crossed Solice’s face. “Don’t do anything stupid!” He hollered back as he limped away from me, making it look as though his comment wasn’t directed at me. A painful smile broke out on my face. Even when he was facing the prospect of death, he was worried about me. Idiot.
Rey rose from his chair and was escorted to his tent by our guards. Elda was not in sight, thank goodness. She was probably readying herself for the final battle back in the tents as well. I sighed deeply and glanced at where Aaron stood. Just from his body language I could tell he was seething. I followed his blazing glare. All that animosity was directed towards none other than Solice.
Before I knew it I was back on my feet and steadily approaching the Prince. “Aaron,” I called out, surprised my voice didn’t reflect my internal distress. His head whipped to look at me so abruptly; I was surprised his neck didn’t snap off. I took a breath to steady my breathing. “If you kill him,” I began firmly, lacing my words with venom. “I will kill myself before I marry you.”
Maybe it was the finality in my tone, because for a moment, I could see through his confident façade. The almighty Aaron actually looked scared for a moment. But then, he smiled his familiar malicious grin. Licking his lips, Aaron reached up and gently placed a hand beneath my chin. I remained unmoving and fought the urge to flinch away. “You’ve gotten so much more beautiful since we last saw each other . . . and interesting.” His grinned stretched out further. It felt as though his gaze was burning through my skin. “But it’s good to know you’re looking forward to our wedding as well.” Aaron chuckled like this was something funny. “All I can promise is that you will be my wife. Everything else is free for the gods to decide. Enjoy the show, my Princess. But I assure you it won’t take long.” He caressed my cheek before gliding smoothly away.
As soon as he was out of sight I could no longer fight the impulse to scrub my cheek of his repulsiveness. It had become raw by the time Elda was screaming for me to come to the tent.
The guards and maids escorted me back. I felt like an empty vessel as they guided me into a chair and refreshed my appearance.
I couldn’t suppress the thought that they were practically getting me ready for my best friend’s funeral.
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A/N: So . . . . short . . . *dies*
No but seriously this one just turned out a lot shorter than what I expected, not that I necessarily write for length but it usually turns out that way. Anyways my mini hiatus is over once more and another chapter should be on its way soon ^^
Thank you for reading, as always :)
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