Rachel stood still even when the crowd was shouting ’Fight!’ ’Fight!’ like a mantra. I knew she wanted me to attack first.
"I’ve been watching you fight, and you have never attacked first, well apart from your last match...." She started, placing her hands on her waist.
"Well, that’s a stupid deduction to make. I’ve only fought two contestants. Didn’t your mother teach you that, when she taught you how to fight with the subtle magic, when she taught you how to cheat in the competition?" I shot back, a smirk appearing on my lips.
Her eyes widened, and her composure disintegrated by a meaningful portion, as she looked around her, to check if the others were hearing.
"Tsk, your family is terribly disgusting. You want me to attack you? Then you will have it. Don’t regret it though. There’s a reason I don’t attack first. I thought my last battle would have explained that, but it seems you are slow..." I said, right before I advanced toward her.
She jerked back, as I approached, causing me to smile evilly. I was done with this battle.
With a terrifying speed, with the desire to be done with this here and then, I zapped toward her, and dealt her a blow. She was too paralyzed with fear to dodge it; and even if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t have been fast enough to do so—El had taken everything into consideration.
I watched as she fell to the ground in a heap, clutching her belly. Blood trickled from the side of her mouth, causing El to sigh.
’I really tried to just tap. I guess my speed increased the velocity of the punch.’
But that was okay. She would tap out now. There was silence in the stadium. The beeper scored me points, but everyone was waiting to see if she would tap out like Preye had done. She didn’t. She glared at me. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ noᴠelfire.net
"I can’t win you, but I know something that can..."
I furrowed my eyebrows, stepping away from her when she raised a finger at me. What was she up to? What did she mean by she knew something that could beat me in contact.
"I would rather you die, than take the crown..." She gritted out her teeth, smiling evilly, right before lightning streaks danced around her finger.
I jumped out of the way, before I realized that it wasn’t directed to me, but to a part of the field, the tail end of the field, where an iron barricade covered a cave like hole.
"Shan gofek limat zihol!!!" She screamed.
My only warning was the shout of the Queen, and the acrid smell that suddenly permeated the field. A smell that was familiar to me. It was the beast.
What has the idiot done?!
Rachel laughed like a maniac, stood up, and ran toward her mother. She was stopped by the guards, who sharply took her out of the field, leaving me alone in the field. Everyone watched with bated breaths, wondering what their princess had conjured.
As the beast stepped out of its cage, the spell of silence was broken. Screams erupted in the crowd, however, there wasn’t a stampede, not yet. Curiosity outweighed the desire to run. At least this was the first time they were seeing the beast, a beast that was supposed to be commanded by the Queen alone.
It was obvious to the people that the Queen had trained Rachel to do the same, even though she didn’t have the white hair, something that was against the law.
I looked at the Queen. She was aghast, but she made no move to tell the beast to return to her cage, not even when Hendel tapped her frantically to do so. She ignored him, and glared at me, daring me to fight.
My eyes found my family. They watered when they beheld Diana rushing toward me. But she couldn’t get past Adam, who knowing how impulsive the little girl could be, had stood guard by the bleachers. She was screaming, hitting his shoulders, but Adam wasn’t fazed, until Peter came and retrieved his daughter, without a word of gratitude to him. Adam shifted on his feet then. I sighed, looking away from him to his father.
Mr Brekan was looking at me, with something akin to pity in my eyes. He knew that he couldn’t convince the Queen to take back the beast. I was left to my fate.
’Can we do it?’ I asked El, flexing my fingers, watching as the beast approached me, sulfur smoke emitting from his nostrils.
I did. I waited. She was in full control of my body after all.
The beast came to stand in front of me and blew the sulfuric breath in my face. El held me from gagging. She held my face high, and I stared into the eyes of the beast, when all I wanted to do was run away from it. In its eyes was terror.
It was different from the one I had seen in my dream, and the one that had accosted me some nights ago. It looked like it was made of the earth, with thorn-like horns patched at every part of its body. It wasn’t as huge as the others, but it was still huge. Its tail was at least taller than a three storey building, a tail that could be likened to a snake with the coloration and manner of it.
My heart almost fell from my chest when it started to walk around me, as if checking me out. It did this movement twice before it came to stand before me again. The crowd was still silent, probably counting the minutes till they would be dead from looking at the beast, considering the rumor we have all heard.
"The Queen wants you dead?" Its voice was like a volcano erupting.
I heard the gasps of the people, and perceived the smell of urea. Some have urinated on themselves. But El kept me standing, kept me looking at the beast’s eyes as if I was fearless.
’They hate any sign of weakness.’
"...But why would she want you dead?"
I shrugged my shoulders, and pointed to the Queen whose eyes were glazed with shock. "She’s right over there. You can ask her yourself."