Bara no Scarlet
Chapter Eight
Duel
The gate to the Dueling Arena was closed, as Anshii had expected. She paused for a moment, and then placed her hand on the handle, allowing the ring to do its duty and announce her. There was a cold sensation on her hand, and then, as she stepped back from the gate, it shifted, water spilling around her.
She had not seen the gate open for Utena, so had not known how impressive it actually was. She watched in silent awe as the rose formed itself above the gate and the ironwork slid apart to reveal the entrance.
Once it was complete, she paused for several moments, looking at the entrance before finally stepping through.
The spiral stairs awaited her, and she walked up them, hand clenched around the hilt of the sword that Juri had loaned her. How many times had she stood at the top, waiting for Utena to climb the stairs? She shook her head and continued to climb the stairs, forcing herself into the present.
At last, she was at the top, and the sight of Ayomi in the guise of the Rose Bride made her heart constrict. Long pink hair was pinned back by a golden crown, a mockery of the princess that the Rose Bride could never be. She'd seen Utena in that white gown before; lying on the floor of the castle with blood spilling around her. But the eyes of the Bride were not Utena's, and it was not Utena's voice, which spoke the all-too familiar words: "Should this rose be knocked from your chest, you lose the Duel."
Anshii looked at her own rose, a deep violet rose that she never should have seen, never imagined seeing… a flash of power caught her attention, and she looked up to see the Rose Bride arched backwards with the Sword of Dios rising from her heart. Her own heart clenched painfully at the memory.
As she watched, Keuske took the Sword in his hands, claiming it in the name of the absolute power, and Anshii knew that the duel was beginning.
He came at her before she realized it, and she only barely managed to defend the rose perched on her chest before she spun, blocked again, and felt the shock of blades meeting ring through her arms. Had Juri fought this hard? It was making her arms hurt, and she knew that she was on the defensive. At this rate, she'd lose before she could try.
Her eyes narrowed and she forced herself to focus. Farther and farther backwards he was forcing her, and to remain on the defensive was akin to suicide. She saw an opening and took it, forcing him backwards, finally making him defend against her attack. His sword suddenly flashed up, and she moved for the defense, but the Sword of Dios ripped Juri's blade from her hand. The blade spun as it was flung, and landed with a clatter, spinning to a halt some distance to her right.
Anshii panicked for a moment, and then darted for her sword, side-stepping the incoming attack from Keuske, protecting her rose at all costs. She fled, running towards her sword, and the moment her fingers touched the hilt of her sword, she felt it.
Power ripped down from the castle, a touch that she hadn't felt in longer than she cared to think. The scent of roses filled her very existence, and she felt herself frozen in shock. Dios. It was Dios' touch… but she wasn't a princess… she was a witch! He couldn't come to her aid… he-!
The touch and scent were suddenly gone, the moment shattered and dissipating like the violet rosepetals that blew along the wind.
She'd lost the Duel.
The bells chimed, signifying the end, and she stood there, sword in hand, lost in more ways than just the one. Keuske drew the Rose Bride to him, the Sword vanishing. "You are not a Duelist, Anshii Himemiya. Go home. Do not involve yourself in this. You are free of it."
Later, Anshii would have no recollection of leaving the arena. She would not recall stumbling towards the steps without Juri's sword, only to be called back by the Rose Bride. She would not remember the soft blue eyes smiling serenely as the mirror image of Utena handed her the sword.
She would not remember the quiet thank you she gave to the Rose Bride, nor the dismissal of those thanks that came from the Champion.
She would only remember the endless tears that fell down her cheeks as she fled the Rose Gate, heading for the fencing hall.
And that would be how Juri and Miki found Anshii in the morning, sitting on the floor of the fencing hall, the sword on the floor in front of her with her face in her hands, still sobbing.
In the Rose Tower, Akio sipped his glass of wine, lips curled in dark amusement.
High above, in a darkness that not even Akio could penetrate, a teardrop fell.