She didn’t know who I was, other than a lady competing with her for the prize she wanted. One she may win if Azurill wanted nothing more to do with me.
Speaking of, the man himself finally walked into the royal booth, while the crowd cheered at his appearance.
“Citizens of Gemaria, it warms my heart to see you all here for the penultimate trial of the Diamond Queen Competition!” he yelled, a charming smile firmly in place as he worked the crowd. “This will sadly be the last trial you’ll be able to witness, for the most part anyway.” He teased, making the crowd “ooh” and “aww”.
“The fighting order today was chosen at random. Each lady will receive points based on the fights between each competitor and then the final fight with me. We will begin with a bout between Allirea and Jacinth, followed by Allirea and Sania, and then Jacinth and Sania.” Azurill announced, looking firmly out at the crowd and not down at us, avoiding my eyes and making my stomach sink.
The guards stepped forward and directed Sania to the side to await her turn. Her eyes caught mine and she raised an orange brow. “See you soon,” she whispered, winking at me. It was innocuous really, but still, chills went down my spine. I knew she truly wanted to win. She’d clearly kept from making friends, focusing only on winning Azurill.
The thought made me sick, but it also made determination surge through me. My hand clasped my sword’s hilt, squeezing tightly. I started off needing to win so I could poison Azurill, but now…now I needed to win because I could finally see a future, and it belonged to him.
“The fights are to a yield,” Balthazar instructed, looking between us. “If one opponent does not yield, you’re allowed to knock them out, but no killing blows. Understood?”
We both agreed, Allirea and I smiling at each other, and I knew this fight wasn’t the one I had to worry about.
“Begin!” Balthazar called, and I began circling around Allirea, but she matched me step for step. I’d never seen her fight before, so I didn’t know what she was capable of, but she hadn’t seen me either. On the other hand, Sania and I would both get to see the other fight before we faced off against one another.
Allirea surged forward, and I brought my blade up to block her, quickly forcing hers down to the ground before I looked up and softly whispered, “Sorry about this.”
With my other hand, I punched out, sending her staggering backward, barely keeping hold of her sword in the process. It was obvious that she wasn’t very experienced, and as I advanced, I noticed that her hold on the sword’s hilt was shaky at best.
I swung down, and her block couldn’t hold up to the power of the blow, sending her sword skittering to the sand. I brought my blade to her neck, and she smiled slightly at me. “I yield.”
I smiled back at her before stepping away, swinging my sword down with a swoosh of air. The crowd cheered, and I bowed dramatically, amplifying their applause. I could hear my name being shouted enthusiastically, bringing a tear to my eye as I smiled up at them, blowing a kiss. They seemed to love it, but I forced my attention back down to where Balthazar was stepping forward.
“Good job, ladies.” He nodded gruffly. “Next up is Sania and Allirea. Jacinth, if you’ll step over here.” His arm swung out to indicate the area Sania was now stepping out from. Her strut as she confidently headed to the field made me raise an eyebrow, but I settled in to see what she could do.
The fight lasted longer than my own did, but I could tell Sania had the advantage over Allirea. It figured that a healer didn’t spend much time fighting, while Sania had clearly been trained. The result was expected, and Sania ate up the crowd’s response even more than I had.
When it came time for my turn against Sania, I stepped out into the arena, preparing myself for a much harder battle. As soon as it began, she narrowed her eyes at me and lunged quickly. As much as I didn’t want to be fighting my own blood, there was nothing I could do, and I refused to sacrifice this competition for her. So I spun quickly away, bringing my sword up to hit her in the back and sending her falling forward.
She glared as she caught herself and turned around, but I kept my own features perfectly neutral. When she swung again, I brought my sword up to block her. She parried, and I gave a riposte that left her off balance as she jumped back. I advanced my attack, landing blows on her shoulder and thigh. She swiped my own leg, but I managed to spin away before it did could do any damage.
Her anger at getting hit, while not managing to land a solid blow in return, was clearly rising. Anger could make you sloppy in a fight, and asshe furiously tried to get a hit on me, she also began making more mistakes. Her footwork was off, her posture was suffering, and she wasn’t paying nearly enough attention. I took advantage of it, landing another blow to her stomach that sent her falling back and landing on her ass.
I quickly brought my sword to her neck before she could get up, “Yield?”
She huffed, glaring at me as she ground her teeth. She tried to move up, but the blade at her throat stopped her in her tracks. Finally, she huffed, “Fine, I yield.”
The crowd went wild as I offered her a hand up. She ignored it, rolling away and getting up by herself. I shrugged, leaving her to stew in her righteous anger. I was just happy to have succeeded in beating them both. I would have been embarrassed if I hadn’t been able to defeat two noble ladies after years of fighting for scraps on the street.
I looked at the royal booth, only to find that Azurill’s seat was empty. I blinked in surprise, turning to look around, only to find him stepping through the side door we had all entered through earlier. He stepped out onto the sand, his eyes briefly meeting my own before going to each lady in turn.
He walked out to the middle of the arena, raising a hand to silence the crowd. They responded instantly, and a hush seemed to move through the entire city.
“Next up, each of the ladies shall fight me to a yield,” Azurill called out, his blue-green hair glinting brightly in the sun. I briefly mourned that he shaved the sides, leaving less hair visible, but the look definitely worked for him. It was hard to imagine him otherwise.
“A queen must be able to fight for her people,” Azurill shouted, a smirk rising on his lips. “She must be able to protect those who cannot protect themselves, while ensuring the stability of this kingdom. Today, we see which of these ladies has what it takes!”
The crowd roared in response, and I couldn’t help but smile at the way he was able to work them. But my smile fell as Azurill turned, his eyes meeting mine as they flared with an emotion I couldn’t identify. His face was locked down otherwise, and I swallowed hard as I fought not to flinch back from his gaze.
Having to fight him right now may prove more dangerous than any of the other trials. He’d been avoiding me since I’d told him the truth, and I had no idea what he was feeling about any of it.
Was he upset? Angry? I couldn’t begin to guess, and as I stood back to watch him fight, I could only hope he didn’t feel the need for revenge himself.
Since Allirea had the least number of points from the fights thus far, she was first up to fight Azurill, meaning I would be the last.
Azurill didn’t press his attack, letting Allirea showcase what training she’d had. Her form was good, but her swings were lacking power. It was only because Azurill held himself back and didn’t actively try to take her down that she was able to get a few more points in before he finally ended it with one swift strike that sent her sword tumbling into the dirt.
