Chapter 38 #2
“So, how does it work? You just pick the weapon you want?” I asked.
“Not exactly. They give you something basic, hardly even a weapon, when they give you your first flying suit. Then you have to earn your next weapon.” Frid waved at someone in the crowd.
“What do you mean?” I frowned.
“They gave me a piece of rope with my suit. Victor got a slingshot and I was so mad at him. I don’t remember what Sol got, but he clearly had the least problems of all of us. And Tynan had a tiny whip. I am not even joking, it was this small.” Frid made a gesture with her hands.
“And what do you need to do to get another weapon?” I glanced at her laughing eyes.
“To get another weapon, you have to best your opponent,” she said.
“Would they give you a better weapon if you won?”
“No, you take everything from the defeated.” Frid frowned.
“What? That’s terrible.” I returned my gaze back to the contestants.
“It’s a good way to make you want to win. As kids, we had almost nothing, so nothing to lose. But accomplished warriors are very careful when accepting a challenge. Why do you think Hanoch never fights? He can lose his position as a clan leader.”
“Are you serious?”
“If you think about it, it is a weird tradition. But, it makes all the disputes easy to settle.” Frid said deep in thought.
“Why wouldn’t someone challenge Hanoch for his position?” I asked.
“Because no one wants his position. Too much work.” Victor smirked beside her.
I looked at the castle thinking about what I had just learned.
It was absolutely terrifying to imagine how kids were expected to fight one another.
I bit my lip, thinking how different our childhoods had been.
I used to spend time reading books and playing with my porcelain dolls.
Secure and carefree, I spent my days with my stepmother who taught me how to work with a needle, and hours walking in the inner yard, drinking tea in a sunny sitting area, painting in watercolor, and attending some classes with masters who often lived in the castle.
I remembered my brother teaching me horseback riding and how to take care of horses.
I blinked, focusing on the battle ground. Another man stepped on the field in front of the rows of seats. Just glancing at him, I noticed the broad shoulders and the soft brown tint of his hair. It was Tynan’s brother. Hanoch raised his hand and all sounds ceased.
“Brothers and sisters, our warm months are over and we have a long winter ahead of us. Let the fire in the hearts of our warriors warm you up on this chilly day.” The crowd roared.
“Hanoch was always a pompous ass,” Victor muttered and Frid smirked.
“Join me in welcoming our contestants today, the strongest and bravest among us. They are here to prove that the clan of black is going to rise from the ashes and reclaim its rights to lead the kingdom.” Hanoch paused as his audience reacted, then continued.
“You know the rules, but for those who had too much wine this early in the day, I must recite: The last standing wins!” The crowd exploded with cheers and excitement.
“That’s it? No rules?” I asked Frid.
“Nope. To be honest, it’s pretty brutal. I can’t believe that we all did it for fun.” Frid observed.
“For fun?”
“Well at first, you compete to improve your weapons. But then, yes, just for fun.” Frid moved closer to Victor.
“It’s more fun when you know all the contestants, but I only see a couple of familiar faces,” Victor muttered.
My eyes landed on the field and I watched two warriors standing opposite each other. They shook hands and stepped back, facing the crowd.
“You may choose your lady now,” Hanoch announced.
“What’s happening?” I whispered to Frid.
“This bloke is going to ask his girl to give him something, like a symbol of her support,” Frid said.
“Oh, I see.” I relaxed in my seat.
“The girls that are here to support their husbands and fiances wear scarfs or flowers in their hair,” Frid added.
“That makes sense. Very romantic.” I looked through the crowd noticing colorful ribbons and silk flowers incorporated in many female outfits.
In the meantime, the two contestants approached the stands and found the girls that were waiting with the tokens of their support.
After this was done, the two men returned to the open area and prepared their weapons.
One of them picked a sword and the other one had a dagger and a long whip.
My mouth dropped open when the fight began. The opponents circled each other.
I thought to myself what it would feel like to grow up in this environment, to be expected to do all these things. I still did not see any girls competing, but Frid did it.
“How come there are no females competing?” I asked the girl who sat beside me.
“I was the only one, I think. When I was younger, I hated being a girl. I only wore boy's clothes and hung out with these two. They treated me like I was one of them,” she responded.
I did not know what to say to that and returned my attention to the fight.
In the arena, the two warriors exchanged hits, then the whip curled in the air with a nauseating sound.
I bit my lip when the leather bound rope connected with flesh.
I could not peel my eyes away from the fight that quickly turned more serious than the borderline friendly exchanges I used to witness back home when my brother practiced.
These men fought like there was no tomorrow.
I glanced at Tynan, but he looked almost bored with the fight. Lazily, his eyes searched the mountains ahead.
The fight had escalated quickly. The man with the sword almost lost his weapon when the whip wrapped around the blade and his opponent pulled hard.
“He’s done,” Frid exhaled.
The guy with the whip yanked it out of his hand, leaving his nemesis weaponless. Contrary to what I was expecting, the man who just lost his sword did not yield. As he tried to get his weapon back, the thong winded around his neck and then it was truly over.
The winner stood for a long moment accepting the praises from Hanoch and strapped the new sword he just won to his waist. Then he moved up to the stands and returned the ribbon back to his lady who kissed him deeply on the lips. The crowd went wild.
“Oh . . . Is that a part of the tradition?” I frowned.
“Yes, if your man wins you have to kiss him. Makes them work a little harder,” Frid chuckled.
“Then what did you do if you won?” I asked.
“I was exempt.” Frid suddenly looked grave.
Realizing that I had just broached an uncomfortable subject, I looked back to the next two contestants. There were two younger men staring at each other. Both of them were not more than fifteen years old. The two competing parties were well equipped with axes and two long knives.
Hanoch made a speech, and the two boys went to claim their tokens from the girls in the stands.
I caught Tynan’s eyes on me, and involuntarily, I felt my cheeks turn pink.
I glanced at him one more time, and his eyes were still on me.
My whole body flushed under my clothes. I bit my lip and looked down to my tightly folded hands.
The event was coming to an end when the last pair of warriors stepped onto the clearing.
I was still distracted by Tynan and did not notice that Denis was one of the two.
His dark brown flying suit was equipped with two axes and his competitor had a long sword.
It was so strange seeing him in this setting.
His jaw was set, shoulders squared, his demeanor showed that he was in a completely different mindset.
I did not have enough time to dwell on that because when it was time to collect the good luck items from the ladies, Denis stopped directly in front of me.
“What? No,” I whispered.
“You must. It is a tradition,” Frid hissed.
“I can’t.”
“She offers you this.” Frid yanked on the ribbon in my hair and my hair came tumbling down to my shoulders.
“That’s not going to happen!” Another voice joined in, and my eyes darted toward Tynan.
He stood up, his hand resting on the handle of his dagger.
“What are you saying, Darragh?” Denis narrowed his eyes.
His posture signaled that he was not going to let it go easily.
“I’m saying. She’s. Off. Limits,” Tynan said slowly.
“You are not the one who decides. Let her say it.” Denis mirrored Tynan’s pose.
“I –” I started saying.
“She declines,” Tynan spoke over me.
“Do you think because of your name you can come here and –”
“There is no need for that. We can always solve our issues in a friendly fight.” Hanoch materialized out of nowhere.
His voice sounded suspiciously excited, as if he had been waiting for something like this to happen.
“Sure.” Denis did not take his eyes off Tynan, who gave him a thin, taunting smile.
“Tynan is challenging you, Denis. You can have your choice of weapon.” Hanoch looked like he was having the best day ever.
“Wait.” I protested, but the three men already moved to the clearing. “What’s happening?” I whispered.
“They’re going to fight over you.” Victor snorted.
“I don’t want them to fight.”
“You should have told that to Denis when he started getting the idea that you are somehow together,” Victor continued.
“What?” I peered at him.
“You talked to him,” Frid said.
“I did talk to him. Just talk, nothing more.”
“There are rules here. People are too uptight with the old ways.” Frid shrugged.
“What does that even mean?”
“You talked to him, never letting him know that you’re not interested,” Victor said.
“And?”
“That’s it. He thinks that he’s courting you now. Why do you think Tynan was so pissed?” Victor leaned back in his seat.
“Why didn’t you warn me? I had no idea that talking to someone could mean that I was somehow encouraging them.” I shifted my gaze from Victor to Frid.
But Frid only placed a finger to her mouth, turning to the fight.
Still in shock, I watched Denis take out his sword. Tynan looked unfazed when his opponent offered him to take an ax. My blood ran cold. I did not know much about fighting, but it seemed hardly fair when one of the weapons had a longer reach while the other one was clunky and heavy.
“No!” I stood up, but Frid forced me to sit back down.
“Don’t,” she hissed and I clenched the edges of my seat.
Denis started moving and my heart skipped a beat.
I wanted to close my eyes, but I could not stop watching Tynan, his beautiful, graceful posture of a warrior.
He stepped sideways anticipating an attack right when Denis lunged at him without any warning.
The blade clashed into the ax and Tynan spun around, deflecting the blow with the grace of a dancer.
Another wide swing from his opponent and he caught the sword with the handle of his ax.
He made a circular motion with his wrist with such power that the sword sprung up in the air and landed half buried on the ground.
“Are you done?” Tynan asked.
“Fuck you,” Denis growled, struggling to retrieve his sword.
“Do you need more time?”
“Shut up!”
“I’m right here.” Tynan took a step back, spreading his arms wide.
“Right. We may have a clear winner. I am stopping this fight,” Hanoch stepped closer.
The next moment, a scream filled my throat. Denis had yanked his blade up and threw it right at Tynan’s torso.
“No!” I screamed and this time, Frid did not stop me.
With horror, I watched the rotation of the blade as it neared Tynan’s chest. He just stood still, as if he was amused and did not need to prepare for the attack. But as the blade drew near, Tynan lifted his ax, successfully deflecting the weapon.
“Bastard! Everyone knows who you are. Unwanted son. Everyone hated you. Even your own mother!”
“Enough!” Hanoch shoved Denis back to the side lines.
I saw the look Tynan gave to Denis. There was so much hatred in his eyes, but I could see through it now.
Underneath it all, I could see the pain and acceptance of defeat.
For a moment, I thought I had seen a side of him I have never seen before.
The crowd went painfully quiet. Slowly, Tynan looked up at the sky and stayed like that for a long moment, before walking out of the arena.
I needed to find Tynan. My heart was breaking into millions of pieces and I thought I could physically feel his distress and anguish.
I had to be with him right now. I studied the rows of people who carefully moved down the platform in an organized way.
I kept watching the fields, wondering where Tynan could have gone.
A sudden tap on my shoulder made me shiver.
I turned, expecting to see Frid or Victor, but to my surprise, Gabrielle stood right behind me.
Her figure was slight, and she wore a flowy dress adorned with ruffles.
Her shiny brown hair was curled, and up in a high ponytail.
She was pretty enough, but her eyes bore a sharp, less than friendly expression.
“Your name is Alina, right? I haven’t introduced myself to you, yet. I’m Gabrielle,” she said in a pleasant, soft voice.
“Hello,” I said.
“It is strange to see someone new admitted into the group, you know,” she continued, moving closer to me.
“Oh, really?”
“We were inseparable when we were kids. We did everything together. And of course, me and Tynan were a big deal. We were living like husband and wife, you know. Everyone used to joke that we were mated, if you believe in that sort of thing.” She smiled, looking at my face.
I glanced at the valley, but the girl placed her hand on my arm forcing me to return my eyes back to her.
“Do you believe in love, Alina? I mean true love. When people can’t live without one another?” She leaned in closer.
“Yes,” was all I could say.
“I believe that’s what we had, what we still have.” Gabrielle peered at me as her fingers dug into my arm.
“I thought you were married,” I blurted out.
“It was a marriage of convenience. It doesn’t change anything. I was forced to do it.”
I nodded, desperate to find Frid in the crowd.
“You don’t believe me?” Gabrielle pressed, and the pleasant notes in her voice turned sour.
“I don’t think it matters what I believe.”
“Yes, exactly. It doesn’t.” She stretched her lips into an unpleasant smile.
“Then why are you talking to me?” I looked right back at her.
“I want you to know it too. You don’t matter. Don’t get any wrong ideas. He was, and he still is, mine.” She gave me a hard, menacing look before moving away.