Strife Of The Scions

by Rohini Menon

  “What if I don’t agree?” I said smoothly.

  “Oh!” Harrison said. “I’m pretty sure you will.”

  ***

  -Aaron’s POV-

  “Sir Strider,” Aengus said, jumping out in front, making me reach for my sword.

  “Aengus,” I said and breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s just you.”

  “Oh! I didn’t mean to startle ya,” he exclaimed.

  “Yeah fine!” I said, happy to see a friendly face. “And please, call me Aaron... So, what are you doing here?”

  “I actually have been here for two days,” he said.

  Two days! Me and Zaniyah had been there only a day and already one of was lost. Actually, make that two; I actually had no clue where I was heading.

  “What are you doing here?” he said.

  I was going to tell him about last night but then the little Zaniyah inside my head prevented me: Are you crazy!? Don’t trust anyone while you’re here other than me! “Just trying to find my way around,” I said instead.

  He didn’t seem very convinced with my answer, but he left it alone. “So…have ya found a lead to the next assignment?” he asked, and for the first time I saw a flicker of hope in his eyes.

  “Uh…no, sorry buddy,” I said. The thought occurred that, in this strife competition, it didn’t matter who you were or where you were from. Everyone had a chance to become the next king. “Where’s your guardian?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

  “Oh! He...um… He…” Aengus began.

  “Er, lost for words their buddy?” I said hesitantly.

  “H–he died saving me.”

  Way to go and drop that bomb…

  “And yours? ” he asked with a hand around one arm insecurely.

  “We split up,” I lied. “Thought we could cover more ground that way.”

  Me and Angeus decided to stick together for a time, seeing as we were both alone. We walked a few hours. I received a history lesson on the right type of cloth to buy for this environment, and how many traders would trick you into buying fake imitation ones.

  He stopped in his tracks.

  “What?” I asked. “Did you forg—” but he covered my mouth with his hand and gestured me to stop talking.

  The bushes were rustling…and the sound of footsteps emerged. They were getting closer. It was almost as if someone was running towards us full-charge. “LEAVE HIM ALONE!” someone jumped right out in front of us and pinned Aengus to the ground.

  “Ahhh!” Aengus wailed in pain as his head hit a log. I unsheathed my sword and was about to attack when Aengus flipped her over and brought his sword to her throat.

  “STOP!” I screamed.

  

  • CHAPTER 17 •

  “Long Live Your Highness”

  “Let him go Zaniyah!” I ordered.

  She sighed and dropped her sword. Then Aengus dropped his. “What are you doing with him; don’t you know that you’re putting your own life in danger?” she said, getting up, and she started walking towards me, her black hair swaying side to side.

  “You don’t get to scream at me right now,” I screamed. “It wasn’t my idea to go wandering all on my own, not even thinking what the consequences could be!”

  “That doesn’t mean you can go and side with the enemies,” Zaniyah said coolly.

  “What enemy!?” I exploded. “For all I know, Aengus might be the only one who hasn’t pretended to be my friend or lied to me for the past eleven years.” Even as I said the words, I wished that I could take them back. Seeing as I couldn’t, I decided there was some good in having my true feelings out there. I couldn’t keep lying to myself. This conversation had to happen, no matter what.

  “So, can I tag along?” Aengus said, breaking the tension between us.

  Zaniyah stopped in her tracks, waiting for me to answer. I cleared my throat “Sure Aengus.”

  ***

  “Where are we heading?” I asked, partially terrified that she might turn around and attack me. In a way, it would have been better than the silent treatment I was getting.

  As we passed through the woods, something hit my foot. I looked down to see what it was. “DON’T BREATHE” Zaniyah shouted while unsheathing her sword. White smoke consumed the air. It was eerily quiet for some time, so I stayed low, moving forward not knowing where I was going.

  I was practically crawling on the ground and the blue scarf acted like my face mask. Then I could finally see the greens of trees and the orange sky.

  “Ahh!” someone wailed in pain. Thinking it was Zaniyah, without any hesitation, I ran back into the smoke. I nearly fell forward when something hard whacked my back and made it go numb. I looked back to see an arrow rattling on the ground. Thanks to the armour I had ‘borrowed’ from the Raiku tribe, I wasn’t paralyzed or dead…

  So, I kept going, keeping my head close to the ground. I found someone on the ground and felt a warm pool of what felt like blood. My heart raced and grew hot. My hands shook. “Zaniyah?” I said, as I turned over the body. Slowly, I was able to make out more. The smoke seemed to be lessening.

  No… It was a girl, but obviously older than Zaniyah. In fact, older than any of the contestants… A woman. But the pool was definitely blood. There were arrow cuts to her head, hands and legs. A few arrows were lodge in her. I checked her pulse, which was slow. I had to save her, but how? How she was still alive was anybody’s guess. There was no time.

  My thoughts were interrupted by an arrow, which was caught in mid-air. “I’ll lead the way,” Zaniyah said, clutching the shaft. A wave of relief passed over me. I carried the girl in my arms and we headed straight.

  Even through the smoke and flying arrows, I caught glimpses of her fierce slashed face, the seriousness in her eyes and for some reason my heart raced. Maybe the air was getting to me or maybe it was the adrenaline rush.

  “Sir Aaron!” someone screamed—wait, let me rephrase that—Aengus screamed.

  “We’re here!” Zaniyah shouted back. As we neared the green woods, Aengus helped me lay the girl down.

  “Hey, look at me,” I waved my hands in front of her trying to keep her conscious.

  “I’m not going to live,” the woman muttered.

  I clutched her hand. No, you will. “Zaniyah! Aengus! Do something!” I shouted.

  They just looked down. “It’s too late… There’s too much of blood loss,” Aengus said.

  The woman coughed. “Long live your highness,” she said. Her eyes went vacant and I was left with her cold hands clasped in mine, her lifeless body lying on the grass. The sun gradually came down and night was upon us. Her body shimmered in the moonlight.

  “We have to give her a warrior’s farewell,” I said getting up, letting her hand go of mine. With the help of Zaniyah and Aengus, we buried her body and kept an arrow upright facing the sand. None of us slept that night.

  Long live your highness. The words rang in my ears… Everyone was counting on me. This was my destiny, these people needed me, needed a king.

  

  • CHAPTER 18 •

  Torturous Fun

  The sun rose like a flower opening, gifting its petals unto the world. Orange rays kissed the ground, consuming the darkness and spreading light and warmth. I stared deep into the long horizon.

  “We should get a move on,” Zaniyah said as she brushed the dirt off her pants.

  Aengus got up and squeezed my shoulder. “Come on,” he said and gave me a hand. I took a breath of fresh air and stood up, filled with determination.

  “I can’t do this,” I wailed, as my legs grew pins and needles. My first steps were like a baby penguin.

  “Pick up your pace Aaron,” Zaniyah said, obviously leading the way without even resting for a minute.

  “How are you not tired?” I asked, trying to catch up to Aengus.

  “We used to hike for five miles without any breaks,” she replied. “And those who did break would have to another extra mile.”<
br />
  “Oh yeah!” Aengus said excitedly. “We used to have that too, except those who used to take a break had to clean the horse stables—and let me tell ya—they were disgusting.”

  “You guys never had a good childhood,” I said. I didn’t think that I had either, but at least it was better than cleaning the stables. As we kept on walking, there was a flicker of light.

  “Water!” I exclaimed and ran towards the river. Hoping I wasn’t just going crazy and imagining things, I splashed water on my face, feeling its coldness against my skin.

  For a few refreshing moments, we forgot about the miserable stakes still at hand. Me and Aengus took a break, sat next to each other on the edge of the river, while Zaniyah contemplated our next steps. Apparently she required at least four metes distance from us because we were ‘disturbing’ her or something.

  “So, Aengus are you missing home?” I said, trying to make conversation. I was leaning against a boulder.

  He let out a deep breath and looked up “Yeah! I miss Mrs. Doris’ cupcakes and the way she used to sneak them to me after practice.” He chuckled. “What about you?”

  “To be honest, I don’t even know what to call home anymore.”

  He looked at me “I totally understand.”

  “You do!”

  “Not really,” he said.

  I snickered, deciding that he was as much of a prankster as Zaniyah. “For the past few years,” I said, “I lived thinking there was nothing special about me. I was just a kid who lost his father in a car crash and lived with a mom who worked day and night for her son.

  I had a best friend and we did everything together. But waking up the next day as a different person, with a whole different story, and knowing the people around me were constantly lying, is just a lot to take in.”

  Aengus wore an unreadable expression. “Maybe you should listen to Zaniyah’s side of the story too,” he said. “She was your best friend too, wasn’t she?”

  Even with Zaniyah four metres away, it felt like there was a gap between us. In truth, I missed our friendship. But, lying to me for the better part of my life wasn’t going to be fixed with an apology. Then again—

  “It’s worth a try,” Aengus continued, as if reading my thoughts.

  “We have to go now,” Zaniyah said in between breaths. Wait, it sounded like she was running.

  “Take deep breathes Zan” I said.

  “We don’t have time, we have to leave now.”

  

  • CHAPTER 19 •

  Confronting the Enemy

  We should have left when she told us to but no—like the idiots we were—me and Aengus waited till the assassin mob appeared. The group ran at us with swords, daggers and other varieties of weapons that could rip my head off.

  “I TOLD YOU!” Zaniyah screamed. She grabbed my hand and we made a run for it.

  ***

  Seventeen years…and in those years I had attended a few self-defence classes, including martial arts. Each time, I obviously stopped going when I discovered everyone else was better than me. Unfortunately, none of those classes had trained me in how to untie myself from a tree.

  “You should know better,” I said to group of five who had captured us. Then I gestured towards Aengus. “Let us go, before the big guy here breaks these ropes and deals with you.”

  “Yeah!” he shouted. Then turned to me suddenly, whispering “Erm, why do you include me in your death sentence too?”

  I sighed. None of the group had even reacted to the threat. I caught a glance of Zaniyah glaring at me. “Why are you glaring at me?” I asked.

  “I was hoping you would instantly burn,” she replied.

  Well…look who decided to be funny moments before we all get hit with knives multiple times.

  “I think the word is stabbed,” Aengus said.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Being hit with knife is called stabbed—common mistake,” he explained.

  I hadn’t even realized I’d been thinking out loud. Wait, does that mean—I turned my head towards Zaniyah who was practically shooting daggers at me. I opened my mouth to give some excuse, but she cut me off. “Where’s Harrison?” she asked the group.

  “Oh! I was here all this time,” someone called out from behind and, as he stepped into the light, I noticed that there was a scar over the bridge of his nose and an eye-patch over his right eye. He was well built, maybe the same height as me. He ran his hands through his tousled hair and gave a devilish grin. “Well, let’s get started,” he said in his British voice. “I’m going to kill you.”

  He said that as if it was okay. “No,” I replied, stating the obvious.

  “I didn’t give you a choice,” he snapped his fingers and Seth walked in with a golden sword in his hand and a huge black eye.

  “What’s with the black eye?” I asked, trying to keep up conversation. The longer they kept speaking, the long I kept living.

  “It’s none of your business,” Seth said. “At least by the end of today I won’t have to listen to nonsense chattering.”

  “Ouch!” I said.

  “Anyways, let’s get to the fun part,” Harrison said, getting closer and swinging his sword in the air. When he got near enough, I shut my eyes, prepared for the worst. Swish. I felt the rope around my arms loosen. Zaniyah and Aengus had their arms free too. Aengus was rubbing his sore wrist.

  “I like to see the spirits drown in my enemies’ eyes,” Harrison said. Our swords were thrown towards us. “Let’s end this,” he said, motioning us to attack him. Without a moment’s hesitation, Zaniyah raised her sword and charged, followed by Aengus. She thrusted the weapon at his neck, but he dodged it and their swords clashed with a clang that deepened to a screaming rattle, as all of their strength transferred to the blades in an effort to overpower each other.

  I felt a blow to my back near where the arrow had hit before. Hot pain surged through my body. As I rose, I was pulled up by the collar. “Not much talk now, right?” Seth said, sneering and he brought his sword down. Clang!

  “Run Aaron!” Aengus said. He intercepted the strike and I scrambled for my sword. Seth’s rage exploded: he started attacking Aengus blow after blow without a break. Zaniyah was on the ground on one knee, still defending herself, blood flowing from all the cuts she had. Everyone was risking their lives here. Your father died defending this kingdom and I’m going to follow his footsteps.

  I took a deep breath and tightened my grip around the hilt of the sword. I’m ready. I charged towards a bald man who had his back towards me and was holding Aengus down for Seth. I rotated the angle of my sword, making the blade face me and giving me control over the grip as I climbed up a tree.

  Then I fell on the bald man, knocking him out. I passed Aengus’s sword and he regained a fighting stance. We both now faced Seth. “Die already!” he screamed.

  “Not today, Sether,” I said. “Don’t worry Aengus, I’ve got this one by myself.”

  Seth curled his lips and ran towards me. His parries were quick, but I was faster. With all the beatings I’d had, I’d picked up a thing or two about being the underdog on the back foot.

  When Seth backed me up against the tree that I’d dropped from, he aimed for my stomach, but his sword got stuck in the bark. I used that as an opportunity to kick his legs.

  He lost balance, falling to the ground. I raised my sword and brought its point to his chest. “No, please don’t,” he wailed. I chuckled and let him get up, though the whole time my sword pressed against his skin.

  I tied him up to the tree, next to his bodyguard and drew a cut over his face. “I don’t want you to forget this,” I said as I finished. I looked around, but Zaniyah and Harrison were nowhere to be seen. I noticed tracks that ran through a line of bushes. They must have gone that way.

  “Aengus,” I called out.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll stay here,” he said. “Nothing would have happened to them,” he added reassuringly.

  I thanked
him and followed the trail.

  

  • CHAPTER 20 •

  She Isn’t Dead

  “Zaniyah!” I kept calling her name. At this point I was completely relying on my sense of direction, scanning every nook and crevice. With each step, my grip on the sword tightened.

  Suddenly I heard rustling leaves. The rustling grew closer and closer. As I turned around, sure that I’d pinpointed the direction, someone chuckled from behind me.

  “You sure are persistent,” I heard Harrison say.

  I spun around, sword aimed at him with two hands. “Where’s Zaniyah?” I said, fixed in the same position.

  “Ah! Yes,” he said, sneering. “Always putting others’ needs before yours, how pitiful.”

  I clenched my teeth and faced him. “Where’s Zaniyah?” I asked, rage starting to bubble and boil in my very veins.

  “What’s the point in telling you anyway, she might be dead for all you know it?”

  My eyes travelled down to his sword, which was dripping blood. I listened to the patter of it. No… It can’t be, I thought. She isn’t—he’s lying, I know it… But, where’d he get the blood from. My eyes started flickering, probably wanting to scan for her. I could feel flames roaring in my chest like a furnace…but I had to keep my head cool. That’s what he wants me to do. Panic.

  “Exactly,” Harrison said as our swords clashed. I gave the first blow, attacking continuously, not giving him any time to rest, strike after strike. But it felt like he wasn’t giving me his best; he could have attacked me multiple times but what was he waiting for?

  I aimed for his heart, but he was quicker than I thought, deft as a snake. Harrison blocked it by lifting the arm carrying his sword, and then he brought all his strength down through his other elbow, slamming it into my shoulder. I wailed in pain and dropped my sword.

  “Oh Aaron,” he mocked. “You’ll have to do better than that if you want to get to Zaniyah.” He bent down in front of me. “First person to reach her gets to drag her body out of this maze.” Then he disappeared.