"Concentrate, Princesses," Fioren said sternly. "Five minutes left."
Kara gritted her teeth and tapped her pencil on the desk. The words on the page in front of her seemed to melt and run together. Written tests were her worst enemy, and she'd slept through half of the classes anyway. "I'm never going to have to take a test when I'm the Queen!" Kara had protested weeks ago, but Fioren simply stared her down until she returned to her desk in defeat.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Panda offering her completed exam to the cryomancer. That bitch… Kara frowned at her test again, but her concentration had already fled.
"Time is up," Fioren said sharply. "If I may remind you, being the future Queen of Stormwind does not exempt you from an education. You are fortunate this was only a practice."
Kara handed over her half-finished paper, avoiding her teacher's glare. The few questions she'd managed to finish were probably wrong anyway. She knew Panda was laughing at her, but she ignored it.
"Time for some fresh air, girls." Fioren swept over to the door and held it open for them. "Kakapos will be overseeing your second duel, along with your aunt. Both believe there were elements of unfairness in the previous fight, and wish to see another example."
Of course it was unfair! Kara wanted to shout. As if her idiot sister could ever beat her in a fair fight. But she bit her tongue and followed Fioren and Panda into the College courtyard. Some days, Kara wondered how she and Panda were related at all. The air was crisp and cold, a pleasant change from the stuffy classroom.
As soon as she stepped onto the field, she could feel the eyes of her teachers on her back.
"Over here. Opposite sides of the line. We have an aquamancer on standby, so don't worry too much about hurting each other."
Kara pulled a training sword from the rack and glanced over at Panda. She was scratching at the ground with her own blade and looked deeply nervous. As she should.
"Fight!"
Kara barely had time to bring her sword to bear before Panda charged her. Light hummed around the smaller girl as she consecrated the ground beneath her. Golden sparks leaped up, burning Kara's skin wherever they touched. She tried to back away and regroup, but Panda slashed at her chest, forcing her to engage. All she could do was block the hail of strikes, numbing her arms with the impact.
Why is she so fast? I can't track her!
Kara stabbed at Panda's left side, where she was weakest. As she dodged to the right, Kara kicked her in the knee. She stumbled and collapsed. Kara cast her own consecration spell around the fallen girl, and brought the blade down across Panda's chest. Blood streamed from the gash, staining her blue armor black. Consecrate burns bubbled up on her arms and face.
Kara raised her sword again, but Panda managed to roll out of the way and her blade drove into the dirt. Before she could pull it free, icy pain struck right through her gut. Dizziness washed over her as Panda ripped her sword out of Kara's stomach.
Time seemed to slow down. She saw the aquamancer hurrying over to her, but Panda was already drawing back her blade again, and Kara knew it would be a killing blow.
There was a flicker of movement. Gold armor flashed with Light as Panda was yanked up off the ground, screaming in terror. Kakapos ripped the weapon from her hand and punched her squarely in the jaw, sending her flying across the field.
"I believe that sword belongs to your aunt, Princess," Kara heard him say. "She is less than pleased that you cheated in two duels… and even less so that you stole a weapon from her personal armory to do it."
"The Crown is mine! Mine!" Panda screamed weakly. "She deserved it!"
"I'll be the judge of that, you stupid girl. Get up and walk back to the classroom alone so that everyone can see what a failure you are."
Kara would have laughed if she had the energy to do so, but her entire body felt like it was on fire. The aquamancer's magic took hold a few moments later, and the pain began to retreat.
"Are you alright?" Kakapos waved his hand in front of her eyes.
"Yes." Kara struggled to sit up. "What happened?"
"Her Majesty thinks your sister hid a disguised legendary weapon among the training swords so that you would be at a steep disadvantage when you fought. She might have gotten away with it too, if she hadn't left little sticky fingerprints all over the door to the armory."
"She tried to kill me," Kara murmured.
Kakapos helped her slowly get to her feet. "I am not condoning her actions, Princess, but you cannot deny you have something worth killing for: the birthright to the Crown."
Hurt welled up in Kara's chest that had nothing to do with her injuries. "But I'm her sister."
"Your aunts tried to kill each other more times than I can count, and they are twins just like you and Panda. Blood only matters when it is spilled, little one."
Kara's mind raced as Kakapos and Fioren returned to the classroom with her. She hated it, and yet it made perfect sense. Panda wanted the throne, and Kara was the only thing that stood in her way.
She would need allies, and plenty of them. Who could she go to? The College of Stormwind was powerful, but they rarely, if ever, took a side in the succession. The shamans had the most influence over the succession, but only one was really allowed in Stormwind anyway. She would need to go far out of her way to seek them out. The warriors had their own set of problems, and they probably would never trust anyone from the House of Light… but maybe they would help someone who gave them something in return. Who could she depend on?\
COMMUNITY DECISION: Ally with the Shamans outside of Stormwind.
