The Ashen Queen

by Sidney Gray

  The last two girls on the list were Stephanie and Daniella, both would be competing and were considerably powerful. Stephanie was a shapeshifter and could change into a multitude of different birds while Daniella was telekinetic like Megan, although not as powerful. However, she could also emit telekinetic blasts which was unusual.

  All of the girls were around Sofia's age, Georgia was the eldest at eighteen while Kyla was the youngest at sixteen. Being a Queen’s Guard was considered to be a great honor so most of the girls competing would see the tournament as an opportunity to show the Queen and Sofia what they had to offer. Although Sofia was allowed to choose her own guard, the Queen had the final say so if she deemed a girl unworthy, Sofia wouldn't be allowed to choose her, which was why the Queen had given her a list. Although there was always the possibility that the Queen had missed a potential guard as there would be people from all over Arandale competing, Sofia wanted to keep her options open, just in case. Most towns in Arandale had training grounds of sorts, and it wasn't unheard of for a guard to be picked from outside the city. Queen Juliet herself had chosen a guard from a town that was nobody had ever heard of. The Queen had also talked to her about the importance of having guards with a variety of abilities, so she had to take that into consideration as well.

  She suddenly heard a cheer from outside the carriage and looked out the window to see a group of performers had set up a small stage along the road and were doing tricks for the people passing by. She quickly reached over and pulled Lucy to her side of the carriage so she could see the performers, Lucy’s face lit up immediately, and she started bouncing up and down in her seat in excitement.

  “Please, can we stop for a look,” Lucy begged.

  “Don't worry Lucy there will be plenty of performers at the tournament.” She said quickly before her mother could say anything.

  “Really?” she asked excitedly while their mother frowned at them.

  “Yes, in between the matches, the King has organized some of the best performers from all over Arandale to entertain the crowd. It will be a lot of fun.” She promised, gently pushing her sister back to her own side before their mother told her off.

  They finally arrived at the arena, and she couldn't believe just how large it was. The whole arena was built in a circle with areas underneath setup for competitors to prepare and on one side there was a large square building connected to the arena just for the nobles. It was filled with tables of food and seating areas so they could mingle during breaks in the tournament. During the actual tournament, the noble families had their own boxes set up so they could watch the tournament in comfort rather than sit in the stands like everyone else.

  Sofia had spent a very long morning with the Queen figuring out where each noble families box should be, trying to keep feuding families apart while also deciding who would be closest to the King’s box. It was exhausting work trying not to upset the nobles, they took offense at everything.

  While the nobles had their boxes, everyone else in the city would have to fight for a good seat in the stands, she had heard from the servants that people had been lining up for days, mostly the families of competitors who didn't want to miss seeing their loved ones compete.

  They descended from the carriage and were greeted by Blake and Lex.

  “We are here to take you to the Kings box, my Lady,” Lex said formally to her mother.

  “Of course,” she replied with a smug smile. Her mother had been so happy when they had been invited to sit in the King’s box, she had bragged to anyone who would listen.

  Blake and Lex turned and strode ahead without another word, and Sofia hurried to catch up to them while her mother was distracted by the wrinkles in her dress from sitting in the carriage.

  “So... how are Cole and Jack? I bet they’re nervous.” She whispered.

  “No, they’re fine,” Blake replied chuckling.

  “Oh come on, give me something. The whole city has bet on Cole to win. He must be nervous. Perhaps I should go and see him, them, just to wish them luck.”

  Lex grinned, “you just want to make Cole squirm.”

  She snorted, “well yes it would be nice. He's always so cocky and sure of himself it would be nice to take him down a peg or two.”

  “Sofia!” Her mother hissed from behind them, Blake and Lex both smothered laughs.

  “In trouble again.” Blake teased quietly while she slowed to walk beside her mother.

  “They are guards! you shouldn't be talking with them.” Her mother hissed.

  “They are the Prince’s Guards mother, and we were just talking about Cole and Jack. They are competing today remember?”

  But her mother wasn't listening; she had just seen Lady Hallewell and was heading towards her, smiling smugly. They stopped multiple times to greet other nobles so that she could brag to them about their seats before, but eventually, they reached the King’s box.

  Blake and Lee took their places beside Hayden at the back of the box along with the King's Guards, Blake stood only a few feet from his father and again she couldn’t help but notice how similar they looked.

  They greeted the King and Queen before Sofia took her place beside Alex while her mother and sisters sat behind them along with a few councilmen, their wives, and the King's sister - Coles mother, Lady Elaine. Cole’s father had died during battle when he was young.

  She leaned over to Alex. “So I heard the whole city has bet on Cole to win.”

  “Where did you hear that from,” Alex asked raising an eyebrow.

  The King overheard and leaned over. She didn't realize he had been listening.

  “Yes, I would quite like to know myself?” He enquired.

  She smiled slyly, “Oh I could never reveal my sources.”

  She heard he mother’s small gasp from behind her, but the King just chuckled, “well, of course, Cole is going to win he has the Dalton blood running through his veins.”

  She saw Lady Elaine frowning out of the corner of her eye.

  “He has been training day and night, wearing himself thin. He’s already putting a lot of pressure on himself, so he doesn't need you adding to that.” Lady Elaine chastised her brother.

  “Now Elaine a guard have won every tournament for the last century, they need to keep the tradition going, and as only two guards are competing this year, the pressure is already greater,” The King said glaring at his son.

  “Cole and Jack will both do well,” Alex replied smoothly glaring back at his father.

  Luckily the Queen distracted the King before he could reply, Sofia was surprised as she hadn't ever heard Alex argue with his father before. In previous years, most, if not all of the King's Guards had competed in the tournament. Now that Alex’s guards were old enough they would be competing instead but she had assumed the King had agreed with Alex’s decision to only have two guards competing, but it didn't sound like it.

  Alex suddenly turned to her, “so have you chosen your Guards yet?” he asked.

  She glared at him, “no and I wish everyone would stop rushing me.”

  He grinned, “well I heard Lauren Owens is telling everyone she has already been chosen.”

  She stared him aghast, “why on earth would she think that?”

  “Well, I think you mother may have said something….”

  She hissed fuming, “I can't believe her.”

  He chuckled, “don’t worry I wouldn't let your mother force you to choose Lauren even if she was the last competitor standing,”

  She smiled, “Well that’s good to know.”

  “You would probably end up trying to killing each other, and I'm not sure you would win,” he continued, “then I would have to find a new Queen.”

  She bristled, “how could you possibly think Lauren would beat me!” She exclaimed, and he started laughing harder.

  “Argh, you're so annoying. I can't believe I have to marry you,” Sofia complained, but she couldn’t help but laugh as well, it felt good to fight, it was like how
they used to be as kids.

  “Here, let me help, show me your list,” he said holding out his hand.

  She pulled it out as discreetly as possible, their hands brushed as he took it from her, she wondered if his hand tingled like hers did.

  He looked it over, nodding his head, “they all look like good choices,” he said, indicating to the names she had circled, “how did you find out all this information about them?” He asked, referring to Bree’s notes beside each one.

  She just shrugged with a sly smile.

  “Fine, don't tell me,” Alex said smiling, “well now you just have to narrow it down to four.”

  “I know, I'm hoping the tournament will help.”

  “It will I'm sure, you know what Mal always says, you can tell a lot about a person by the way they conduct themselves in a fight.”

  They turned their attention back to the arena as trumpet sounded, announcing the arrival of the competitors. A tray of drinks appeared floating in front of her, Alex reached out and grabbed a glass of wine, so she did as well, ignoring the weight of her father's glare behind her.

  All the competitors then started to enter the arena while the King stood to make his speech to start of the tournament. Sofia didn't pay much attention as she was too focused on all of the competitors. They entered through two huge doors on the opposite end of the arena. Cole and Jack led the competitors, walking in unison and looking very focused. Claire was behind them, her face expressionless. Kyla was a bit further back, and she looked uncomfortable with all the attention. Sofia also hadn't realized how small Kyla was, most other competitors towered over her. She noticed a lot of the competitors had chosen to wear very flamboyant and impractical outfits, she wasn't sure what they were thinking.

  Walking next to Kyla was someone she wasn't surprised to see, Parker Farley, smiling and waving, he seemed to be a favorite among the crowd, she guessed it was mainly because of his looks. He had been in the running to be one of Alex’s Guards but had been knocked out at the last minute by Jack, who hadn’t even been in the running. He would probably be out to prove himself now.

  Jack was an orphan, nobody knew where he had come from, he had just shown up at the palace gates one day. The guards had noticed him and thought he was lost, he had only been a couple of years old and didn't remember where he came from, the palace had taken him in, and a couple of the servants had taken care of him and raised him.

  When Alex was choosing his guards a lot of boys had shown up to try out, Jack happened to be helping out that day when one of the boys had lost control of his ability and almost killed Alex, Jack had stopped him and saved Alex’s life. Jack could barely remember how he had done it, but Mal had seen something in him and so had Alex.

  Everyone had been shocked by the decision as Parker's father was one of the King's Guards and it was well known Parker’s father had been training him since he could walk to be a guard. Parker had hated Jack ever since.

  Parker was still one of the most sought-after bachelors in Arandale though but as far as she knew he had never spent more than a couple of nights in one girl's bed. Lately, he had been notably absent from the last few palace events, he was obviously taking this tournament seriously, perhaps he saw it as a way to redeem himself, she thought.

  The competitors made their way around the edges of the arena before stopping directly in front of the King’s box. They bowed their heads and waited as the High Priestess along with Olivia stepped out into the arena. The High Priestess raised her hands, and everyone bowed their heads as she blessed the arena and all the competitors. Finally, the prayer ended, and the King stood up.

  “Let the tournament begin!” he bellowed.

  CHAPTER 12

  The crowd cheered, and the competitors left the arena to prepare while Mal entered along with two other captains, who would be overseeing the tournament and ensuring nobody was hurt. Mal started shouting instructions to the people around him, and barriers began appearing around the arena to protect the crowd.

  The tournament would be held over four days, on the first day the arena would be split into five sections for ten competitors to compete in at a time, one on one. The first two days worked on a points system to determine who went through to the final two days. Her governess had explained it all to her, but she hadn't paid a lot of attention as she was still frustrated about not being allowed to compete. But at the end of each day, all of the competitors who had made it through to the next day would be announced. The first day would narrow the competition down to thirty-two competitors, then the second day would narrow it down to just eight. Those eight competitors were considered almost royalty, the best of the best. The third day would reveal the final two competitors, and that match would be held on the fourth and final day. Then there would be the awards ceremony and yet another party.

  Weapons were also optional in the tournament, depending on the competitor's ability, some would need them while others wouldn't. All competitors had a shield of sorts placed around them, weapons could still cut but not enough to cause serious damage.

  The morning passed by quickly, Cole and Jack breezed through their rounds, beating their competitors easily; although she could tell they were both holding back, not ready to reveal all their power yet. All the girls on her list made it through the morning as well, she hadn't been able to see all of their matches, but during the breaks, a couple of the performers had come out and, using smoke, drew the winners names in the air for everyone to see.

  There was plenty of entertainment in between matches as well, Lucy especially loved the acrobats soaring above the crowds while doing flips and spins. She could hear her gasps and squeals of excitement along with their mother shushing her.

  There were a few surprises during the first round of matches, so there were a few heated discussions and money changing hands during the breaks.

  The afternoon was much the same, apart from an alarming moment when one of the competitors accidentally set fire to a section of the arena. The crowd starting panicking and trying to get to the exits, luckily Cole, who was nearby, put it out with a wave of his hand while still fighting his own opponent. The crowd cheered, and the girls in the stands swooned.

  Sofia must have made a sound of disgust because Alex started laughing at her.

  “He's just having fun.”

  “I wish I could be out there having fun,” she said with a sigh, she looked around at the boxes near them and noticed that most of the ladies she could see were sitting at the back of the box chatting or looking bored, while the lords stood at the front shouting and cheering competitors on. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who would rather be somewhere else.

  During the next break a large group of performers entered the arena led by a tall man with a long beard, he stepped onto a small stage set up in the center of the arena while the others spread out around him in a circle facing the crowd. She had seen him before at plays held in the palace, he was the narrator, and the others were the actors. He spoke in a loud booming voice that carried to all corners of the arena, and the crowd went quiet in anticipation.

  “Today we tell you a story, perhaps the most important one in all of Latheria. It is a dark tale, full of dark people. The people of nightmares but these people were real, they lived a long time ago, and they were like us, in the beginning, born to everyday families, some on farms, others in cities,”

  The narrator turned slowly as he spoke, addressing everyone in the crowd. The actors around him all moved about, some tending to fields of crops that had appeared out of nowhere while others walked through streets and markets stalls that had suddenly risen from the ground.

  “But there was something inside them, something dark, hiding, just waiting to be released. It started out quite simply. A small boy of only ten was working in the fields one day when he came across a bird.”

  Everyone eyes turned to the small boy as he knelt in the dirt and gently picked up a small black crow.

  “The bird was injured, it was
barely breathing, and there were no healers nearby. The boy remembered when he was much younger when one of their horses was injured, his father had said that there was nothing to be done but to put it out of its misery. So without a second thought….”

  A loud crack echoed around the arena.

  “The boy broke its neck, and in that one single moment, he opened up something inside of him, a gap, just large enough to feel the pull of the darkness, the power of the darkness and it craved more, more death. So he gave it more.”

  The boy walked from the fields to the horses grazing nearby, the crowd watched silently as the horses fell one by one, blood dripping from their necks. Sofia felt sick but couldn't turn away. The boy walked into his house, his eyes cold and dark, his parents turned to him with smiles on their faces, and then the house suddenly vanished along with the people inside of it.

  “A mother, who had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl.”

  They turned to another scene, this time a woman sat in a rocking chair with a baby in her arms.

  “But the baby wouldn't stop crying, it was sick.”

  The baby's cries filled the arena.

  “The mother thought to end her child's suffering.”

  The baby's cries were cut short, and the scene vanished just like the first.

  “Freeing the darkness within her.”

  The narrator turns to his right.

  “An old man, poor and living on the streets.”

  The next scene was dark as if it were night time. An old man wandered the streets alone, suddenly he was attacked, they fought, and the attacker was knocked backward, he hit his head on the ground, blood pooled out from the wound. The old man stood over him silently.

  “Freeing the darkness within him… But the more death they caused, the more they craved, it was never enough. The boy moved on from his small farm to towns nearby, people began disappearing, rumors started of a dark creature roaming the streets at night.”