Fight for the crown
Clarke’s pov
When I wake up it's almost dawn. I get up and put on my armour and warpaint. My decision if I'm going to participate in the fight over the crown hasn't been made yet and I've decided to wait who wins and see if I trust that person to make the right choice when the commander comes here.
Once dawn breaks, the whole marketplace is empty and everyone including me is on the sideline of the arena where the competition takes place. Echo and I are the only ones to sit on the podium since we are the best warriors.
Most of the competitors are warriors I don't know but there are two I know and I'm not sure if I want either of them to win.
Thune is just a few years older than me and a hell of a warrior but with that comes a too great ego and pretentiousness.
The other warrior I know is a woman in her thirties called Eade. I got along with her pretty well these last few years but she never wanted the coalition and gave the commander when she came here a few months after my admission ceremony looks that practically yelled that she wanted to kill her.
Echo knows most of the others and tells me that some of them would be willing to commit to the coalition and the commander. She also tells me that very few of them have even the slightest chance of coming out alive.
The fight starts and Thune immediately throws himself at his closest opponents, cutting of their heads before they even realise what's happening. From the beginning on there are already only five competitors left.
Eade is smart and charges at the weakest first to get the danger out of her back for later.
Only three left: Thune, Eade and another fighter who held himself up relatively good. Albeit he doesn't stand a chance when Thune comes at him with his full force, making him stumble back until he finally pierces his sword through his heart, making him take his last breath.
Eade keeps her defence up. They start to circle each other, stepping over the corpses on the ground without taking their eyes off the other for one second.
Suddenly Eade lets out a scream while running at Thune, taking advantage of the suddenness to leave a gash on his arm. Thunes' sword falls to the ground and he doesn't get a chance to pick it back up.
The woman has much more experience and is faster than him. She kicks his sword away and smashes the hilt of her own in the face of her opponent. I hear a loud crunch. Surely his nose is broken.
Thune falls back onto the concrete, looking up to Eade who now holds her sword against his throat.
„Yu gonplei ste odon." With those words she ends his fight.
The competition is over. Eade has won. She looks around triumphantly and holds her with blood dripping sword in the air so everyone can see it. Everyone can see who will lead them into the same war for another time. Just like Queen Nia. I can't let that happen.
„Eade don won dison gonplei odon crown kom oso haiplana. (Eade has won this fight over the crown of our queen.)" I start speaking. Echo is reaching out for my arm, knowing what I will say next but I ignore her and keep going. „Ai nou wich em op gon fis op radon decisions kos oso en kol au em kos solo gonplei gon wamplei. (I do not trust her to make the right decisions for us and challenge her for a solo fight to the death.)"
The crowd gasps and I can see Echo giving me a worried look in the corner of my eye. She knows I've made my decision even before the competition started.
Eade looks angry over my open display of mistrust but answers with a growled „Ai accept kol au. (I accept the challenge.)"
I make my way down the podium, already taking out my sword. Eade is too smart to underestimate me. She's seen me fight more than once and knows that no one has won against me for the last year.
We start to circle each other like she and Thune did. I am patient and know that she will charge at me first, trying to take the upper hand with a moment of surprise.
Turns out I'm right. Eade throws herself at me but I expected it and have no problem to block her blow to my side. I let her attack me for a while, blocking every attempted hit with ease.
Once her attacks become slower, I take the opportunity and swing my sword at her. We start a dance of life and death each of us getting cuts and gashes all over our bodies. Eade is strong but so am I.
After what felt like an hour of attacking and blocking, I lay on the ground and Eade stands over me having a victorious smile plastered on her face. She swings her sword back and is about to bring it down on me when my hand gets a hold on my sword again and I pull it up.
Her sword falls to the ground I'm laying on and her look is one of surprise which soon changes into realisation. My blade is piercing her abdomen.
„Yu gonplei ste odon." I turn my sword in her stomach to direct its tip to her ribcage where her diaphragm gets ruptured. I don't take my eyes off her while I watch her life drain out of her.
Eades body is held up by my blade and I get up. Only when I'm standing I pull out my sword and let her body fall where I've been laying mere seconds ago.
The crowd around me cheers and they chant „Azplana" over and over again. I raise my hand and silence them. It feels weird to have everyone going quiet because of the rise of your hand but I guess I'll have to get used to it.
„Ai nou teik au joy ona wamplei kom noda hef laik en na pledge ayas en azgeda gon kongeda-de en Heda. Taim du gaf in gon kep in dison wor hos of emo na gaf in kol au ai gon noda gonplei gon wamplei en gon haihefa o haiplana hod op daun kom gou daun. (I do not take joy in the death of another human being and will pledge myself and Azgeda to the coalition and the commander. If someone wants to keep this war going they will have to challenge me to another fight to the death and become king or queen to stop that from happening.)"
The crowd stays silent.
„Den gon hou we en mourn stedaunon. Oso na soncha pile gon breik au souls kom ones chon don fallen deyon gon dusk.
Feast na teik au hodgeda taim ai pledged gon Heda gon koma op ogonzaun oso na don.
(Then go home and mourn the dead. We will light a pile to free the souls of the ones who have fallen today at dusk.
A feast will take place once I pledged to the commander to celebrate the peace we will have.)
With that everyone goes home. Everyone except Echo who waits for everyone to vanish before she starts to hit me in the arm.
„You. Idiot. You. Could. Have. Died." With every word I take another hit. I knew she would be angry and she is but she still pulls me into a tight embrace once she stops throwing punches against my arm.
„I'm sorry, Echo." She looks at me with a mix of anger and relief.
„No, you're not." I can't help the grin that spreads across my face at how good my friend knows me. „Yeah, I'm not."
„I hate you sometimes. You know that right." Her head is once again in the crook of my neck. „I know."
She finally calms down a bit and I direct us through the streets to my house. I know that I will have to move to the palace tomorrow but I can stay for at least one more night there. Well, and this afternoon.
The evening comes too soon and we, Echo and I, have to get out of my bed again to attend the incineration of the dead.
The process takes a few hours and since I am the queen now and I killed one of them, I have to stay there until the very end.
Echo stays by my side the whole time and I find myself being grateful for that. She really has my back at all times.
Once the burning process comes to an end far past midnight, I lead us to my home again where we cuddle up, not caring about changing clothes and fall into a deep sleep. Side by side.