Chapter 20: The Rules of the Duel

Aelita lay in her bed lost in her thoughts. There was nothing that could calm her. Her heart beat hard, her hands were cold and sweaty. She wrung her fingers as she gazed blankly at the ceiling.

There was reason for her concern.

-Three Hours Ago At The Schaeffer Castle-

Aelita burst through her castle's double doors, her castle guard, Mick, trailing behind her. Her fists were clenched tightly, and her eyebrows were creased. A frown was prominent upon her lips as she stomped towards the spiral staircase, not giving care to her subject's distress.

"Your majesty, if you'd just under-"

Aelita clutched onto the banister and whipped her head around. She narrowed her eyes at him, sending chills down his spine. She crossed her arms in annoyance. Throwing them up in exasperation, she spat venomously, "Why didn't you tell me?!" -Her knuckles turned white as she dug her nails into the impeccable polished oak- "Why didn't you ever tell me that I was breaking the law?!"

"Aelita, you were so happy-"

"Don't call me that!" she spat, her face receding into a light shade of red. "Address me as your Queen! You lost that right a long time ago."

He sighed and ran his fingers through his dark hair. He straightened his posture. "Your majesty," he said, directing her a curt bow. Aelita crossed her arms and nodded her approval. "We favored your happiness over your turmoil. After your parents' deaths, we wanted you to eventually heal from emotional distress. That Belpois boy, God, was he a lucky occurrence. He made you so cheerful..."

"Yes, true." Aelita nodded, trying best to keep down her voice. "I'm thankful." She then took a deep breath as her voice reached a slight crescendo. "But now Jeremie has to duel an innocent man, something that goes against his better judgement. He is currently the head of the police department, and this will surely degrade his honor. He's only doing this for me... And what if the government discovered our relationship? They will surely send Jeremie to execution!"

Mick directed his gaze to the floor, embarrassed. "We've never thought about the long-term effects..."

Aelita sighed and placed the back of her hand atop her forehead. "I'm suddenly feeling faint," she said. "Just arrange a duel, will you?"

She began to walk up the stairs as Mick continued to trail behind. Pulling out a pen and notepad, he answered, "Yes, of course, your majesty. Would you like to be known of the rules?"

"Yes, of course," she answered. "Before I break any more laws."

Mick sighed once again as they paused their walk towards Aelita's room. He sauntered towards a glass display case that held the thick law book and received it. Aelita waited, tapping her foot against the carpet as Mick flipped through the yellowed, worn out pages. "There are a few rules," Mick began. "Mr. Belpois, being the challenger, will have to choose between fight to the first wound, fight until the death, or fight until his satisfaction. But when it comes to settling a dispute like this, he cannot choose to fight until his satisfaction. There needs to be a winner."

Aelita looked up towards the ceiling. She pursed her lips. "I guess he will choose to fight to the first wound," she said. "He will never kill."

Mick nodded in approval. He turned to the next page. "The duel will consist of sword fighting, though there are alternatives."

"What are they?" she asked.

"Projectiles," he answered. "First to hit three targets precisely with a bow and arrow is the victor."

"And another?"

Mick swallowed hard. "Pistols," he choked out. "First to puncture the other is the victor."

Aelita paled and shook her head. "Pistols are out of the question," she said. "Jeremie will do sword fighting." He wasn't experienced in swords, but there was Ulrich. Plus, daggers were what he was comfortable with. Swords couldn't be so different, would they?

"Okay," Mick answered. He turned to the next page. His face instantly drained of color, immediately alarming the Queen. She uncrossed her arms in frightened expectation. "My majesty..." he trailed off, lowering the book to meet her gaze. Her expression was still unhappy. "I'll be the unfortunate one to say... that our castle and the government are required to give Herve full support. We are required to give him our best trainers, our best resources. Anything to make certain that he will not suffer defeat..."

Aelita paled and widened her emerald eyes. "What?" she said in utter shock, her voice quivering. Her heart skipped a beat by those mere words. If Jeremie lost, then what will become of her life? She'll have no more connection with any of Eurasia's army, having vowed to rule with Herve, and no one else. "Wh-hy-"

"He currently has the right to be your suitor," Mick answered, straightening his posture to give out a stoic demeanor. It hurts him to say it, but that's what the rule abided. He loved Aelita, really, but he didn't want to disobey Francis either. "It'll only make sense," he then added. His hands were tied.

"But you don't desire to, do you?" she asked. She was desperate, and her lips wouldn't stop trembling. Tears burned the back of her eyes.

"Of course," Mick answered quietly, softening his gaze. His voice rose again. "But with the government-"

Aelita clenched her fists. "Well.. screw the government!" she bursted, using a phrase she sometimes heard Odd, Ulrich, or Yumi use. She knew she was sounding immature, but she just couldn't take it. The duel sounded so unjust. Didn't the Queen have a say? Mick flinched a bit, the words sounding so foreign out of her mouth. Aelita lowered her gaze in shame. "I don't want to marry Herve, Mick," she then said, softening her voice.

Tears began to stream down her face. Aelita turned away, not wanting to look so weak. Scrunching his eyebrows, Mick walked up and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't lose all faith yet, my Queen," he said. "I've seen what your friends can do. They are enormously talented in terms of battle."

Aelita lifted her gaze and mustered a weak smile. Mick wiped the tear off his cheek. "Promise me you'll try your best to resist," she squeaked out.

"Of course," he answered. "Under Queen's orders."

"Thank you, Mick."

Reminiscing back to that was painful for Aelita. The thought of life without Jeremie seemed so incomprehensible. She barely knew Herve. Why should she marry him instead?

She knew that it was royal tradition. She had to marry whoever was assigned to her. Her mother and father didn't know each other as well when they got married, but it was different... Neither of them had someone else they wanted to marry, and lucky enough for them, they found love after their marriage.

Aelita already found love. With someone else. And she didn't want to leave him after all he had done for her. Jeremie... he was special, someone she didn't want to let go. He was her protector, her guardian, and her connection to the world outside of royalty.

And Herve... well, he was like another egotistical prince. She remembered the first time she met him, and it did not end well. He figured that since he had right to marry her, he could do anything he wanted with her. Aelita found him too touchy, and felt violated whenever she was around him. She wasn't comfortable.

Aelita's cellphone buzzed. She peeked at the caller I.D. "Jeremie," she whispered, bringing the phone up to her ear. She didn't want to talk to him, much less act like everything was okay. "Hello?"

"Aelita?" Jeremie's voice called. "How did things go with the duel?"

She felt a pang of pain vibrate throughout her chest. That's what she was afraid of. "Um.. things are fine," she squeaked out.

On the other side of the line, Jeremie narrowed his eyes. He detected a little falsity in that voice. "Are you sure?" he asked. "When is it?"

"Well," Aelita began, "The duel is in a few weeks."

"That's great, isn't it?" he asked. "We can settle this soon. We just have to lay low-"

"Jeremie." Aelita sighed. "That's not the problem."

Jeremie took off his glasses and ran his fingers through his hair. He didn't like the tone of voice she was using. It was darker than how she usually talked. "Well, then, what is it?" he asked.

"You have to fight until the first wound," Aelita choked out. She swallowed hard. "With swords, you and Herve are to battle with the goal of wounding each other."

Jeremie's eyes reasonably increased in size. He always knew that this was going to happen, but to have his suspicions confirmed was a whole other thing. He swallowed hard as well to try and get rid of the bile rising in his throat. "So I have to try and... slice up an innocent person?" He pulled on the collar of his turtleneck, suddenly getting nervous. There was a pause, as if he was sifting through his thoughts. "I- I'll do it Aelita," Jeremie sighed in defeat.

"J-Jeremie," her voice quivered. Her eyes were on the verge of tears, knowing that even though it seemed like a mouth full, that wasn't the worst of it. "Th-the ruling parties, both royal and the government, will also be supporting Herve," she mentioned. "Th-they will absolutely make sure that he will not suffer defeat."

Jeremie got up from his chair and began to amble towards his bed, his legs threatening to collapse under him. "Wh-what?" he asked as if he didn't hear it right. "What?"

"You heard me," Aelita answered, swallowing the urge to lash out on him. She dug her fingers into her hair. "What are we going to do?"

"Ulrich will train me," Jeremie answered. "I'll begin to rebalance his schedule between teaching Brynga, me, and the rest of the warriors."

"But what if it's not enough?" Aelita asked, a lump rising in her throat. "What if you... lost? I can't imagine losing you, Jeremie..."

Suddenly, Jeremie felt the strong urge to be by her side, to hold her. "No one's losing anyone," Jeremie said, shaking his head. "Everything will be okay. I pro-"

On the other side of the line, cutting off Jeremie, Aelita heard a crash and the slamming of doors. She listened as Jeremie sat up and called out. "Who's there?" he asked. There was a mumble. "What?" she heard Jeremie's muffled voice say. "Emily?"

"Jeremie?" Aelita called, still listening as he yelled in hushed tones. "Jeremie, what's wrong?"

Then, she heard Yumi. "Jeremie.. leaving.. Japan," she could barely make out.

"What?" Jeremie called. "After all this?!"

"That's.. final answer, okay?" Yumi said. Then, there was a door closing.

Aelita narrowed her eyes. She clenched her fists. "Jeremie, what was that?" she asked with a hint of caution.

"Emily just got kidnapped," Jeremie choked out. "And Yumi's leaving for Japan."