The Yamani Isles- the Emperor's Palace, the Courtyard
"Don't I look stunning?" Hali posed with some pretty glass bangles and an iridescent necklace that matched her sky-blue kimono.
J. frowned. "Haven't you had enough looking around through the booths? I want to see the acrobats and the Shang Phoenix."
Hali looked up from the mirror-glass. "Is it starting? Let's go now then, we have to get good seats! Everyone will be there."
"I've heard that the Phoenix is so quick, she can blow up a gale with a single hit and put out ten torches a league off! And that she can kill an angry moose with just one hand, and-"
"Well, you'll never find out if you sit here yapping, will you?" Hali took a tight grip on J's sleeve and dragged her away. Again.
Hali. She was so forceful, and determined and enthusiastic about everything. It probably came from being a Crown Princess; she had grown up in a world where her word was law, where she had been given her every wish as soon as it was spoken. No one had dared to cross her as an infant, and she had grown up as a domineering young thing.
It wasn't snobbery, exactly. She was friendly and helpful and kind- her friendship with J, the lonely ward of the Priestess proved that. But she had a certain way of... well, dragging a person off when she wanted to go somewhere. As now.
"Please, sir, we just were wondering if-" Hali was trying to sweet talk the guard into letting them in early to see the performers get ready for the big show.
"No."
"But my friend and I-"
"No."
She frowned, unused to resistance. "Why not?"
"Lelani Bakkuri, the Shang Phoenix, has requisitioned me specifically with the instruction that outsiders not be allowed in before the show. If you'd like to have some distraction to pass the time , there are puppet shows over by that kusai stand. Now please leave."
Hali and J. bowed, although it seemed that Hali couldn't help but pull a face at their failure before they left.
J. was in a blissful cloud of excited happiness. She had never exactly had any friends. She had played with the village children and the caravan children when they were both so young that they never noticed that she was different, nor she they. J's bizzare hair was simply an interesting detail, the fact that she lived with the head priestess in the palace just a fact, simple and plain, nothing more. Around the last year or so, they turned from her, or just looked surprised when she spoke to them, even girls and boys that she had known for years.
But that Princess Hali had seemingly selected her for a friend! J. found herself double-checking every move that she made, making sure that it wasn't the wrong one. But Hali seemed not to mind her awkwardness, her social deficiency. And she hadn't blinked an eye at her hair- but then, she would have heard about that before she met J.
They sat on the edge of the fountain where the kusai vendor had set up shop. J. hated kusai- heavily spiced strips of dried fish- but Hali apparently loved it. She was in fish heaven, gobbling down trays as fast as she could order them.
"Eucch," muttered J. She hadn't intended to actually be heard, just to privately verbalize her disgust at the overpoweringly strong stench of kusai spices and the rotting fish heads in the garbage. Hali being Hali, however, heard it and ceased her rapid-fire guzzling.
"You don't like kusai? What kind of savage are you? Kusai is a delicacy."
"I'm not big on fish in general. They look so... slimy."
"They are slimy," confirmed Hali. "But the meat is yummy! Really!"
"I'll take your word for it."
"Someday," Hali announced, "I will educate you on the true delights of seafood. But not today. Today I'm too hungry to be unselfish and give you some. But one day, you will have kusai! A whole plateful."
J privately thanked Kisha's goddess, Wave-walker, that Hali was not feeling selfless enough to educate her in fish theology. She could easily picture the strong-willed girl force-feeding her kusai as she flailed hopelessly, trying to escape. It was a distinct possibility. J made up her mind to stay far away from the topic of fish in their conversations.
"So, Jiikira, I was wondering-"
"Could you call me J?"
"What?"
"Only Kisha calls me Jiikira. I'm more used to J."
"Um, okay. Are you trying to change the subject?" She glared at J with sudden suspicion.
"What topic? All you said was, 'So, Jiikira,' before I cut you off. How could I change the topic if you never introduced it in the first place?"
Hali held up a regal index finger. "Good point. But it could be preventative subject-changing."
"It wasn't! Really!" J held out both hands in a gesture of peace.
"Hm. But anyway, I was wondering about something Priestess Kisha said to you. Something about how you couldn't grow up to be sinful? I don't know. But I was just curious."
J laughed cheerfully. "Oh, that. She says that the Gods-oracle had some vision when I was little, about how if I grew up to be vengeful and sinful and evil, all of the Yamani Isles would pay." She looked up at Hali for confirmation. "But that's all silly, right? I mean, just something she says to keep me in line? It's not like it's actually true."
Hali looked serious for once. "It must be true. Kisha's sworn to the Wave-walker, so she's always got to be truthful. And the Gods-Oracle is physically unable to lie. If they do, they're consumed by fire and reduced to a pile of ash." She paused. "Plus, the priests had an omen about me and my brother, too. That's why it's me that's the heir, not him, even though he was born first. The Gods-Oracle had an omen that I was born to lead, and that he should never be trained in the art of war. My father takes omens very seriously. His father ignored them and died because of it. Honest."
"Well," said J, trying to lighten the suddenly oppressive feel of the topic, "It only matters if I grow up to be evil, right?"
Hali grinned. "Right. You're such a goody-two-shoes that we've got nothing to worry about at all."
The girls were sitting in the foremost part of the crowd as the show began. It was dark out by this time, and beginning to chill. Colored lanterns were set up, and torches ringed the arena. Acrobats on horses juggled torches as they circled a mage who was creating colored tongues of flame. There were fan-tossers and warriors, but J just felt impatient.
Finally, the Phoenix came on stage. She was a plain woman in her upper forties, clad in an old-fashioned warrior's outfit, with a mostly black tunic that fit her well, and some long pants that flared widely at the thigh, but were bound tightly down her lower calf, permitting movement. Her sandals were tightly laced, and she wore elbow-length gloves, also in black. She melted into the night like a panther stalking its prey.
Her first opponent was a foreign warrior, a challenger from the land of Tortall across the seas. He wasn't very bulky; he looked lithe and quick. He wore little armor, unlike last year's opponent. He had battle scars- Lelani Bakkuri had some too, but all from old battles, back when she was younger and untrained. No one could catch her now, not even her old teachers.
The two opponents bowed to one another. The slim, sandy-haired Tortallan warrior with eyes like a hawk, and the older Lelani, studied and fluid in her movements. The master of ceremonies stood.
The master of ceremonies, known to all simply as "Master", was a dashing man. He was tall, with long smooth black hair affixed with a carved abalone clip. It was engraved with waves and mage-symbols for bravery and courage. About a hundred young ladies swooned behind their fans as he spoke in a clear, ringing voice. "The challenger, Sir Rallin of the land Tortall, across the seas, duels Lelani Bakkuri in a one-on-one fight. May the Wave-walker oversee this battle and may the best warrior win."
Master paused, his impassive gray eyes scanning the crowd. "This battle will be fought on foot. Each contestant has been equipped with a single knife. They were each given regulation armor. Neither chose to wear it." Everyone laughed appreciatively. Last year, the opponent from Tortall had worn so much armor that he could scarcely stand up straight. He had looked awfully silly as he sat there and Lelani beat him senseless, through the armor.
"It looks like we'll have a real fight this year," Hali whispered, eyes on the arena. "No armor... This fellow must be pretty confident."
"Or fast," J. agreed.
"The battle will be fought in the time span of half an hour. During that time, the battle shall commence. Maiming or killing is not permitted. The opponents shall receive no outside assistance- healing, weapons, advice- or they shall be disqualified and labeled as the loser in the duel. The duel will conclude when one of the contestants surrenders. If neither surrenders before the time is up, the panel of judges will decide the match- based on the techniques and recovery as well as first blood and first fall. It is not permitted to use the magical Gift during the duel, nor any items with the Gift imbued upon them. This includes amulets and talismans."
Both of the competitors nodded. They were expressionless, as tradition dictated- in a Yamani duel, emotions of any kind- pain, triumph, hate- were excessively frowned upon. Those who took agony without a twitch, who could smile placidly as they lost, or look respectfully calm as they tried to stab you with a razor sharp dagger were admired immensely.
"Begin!" bellowed Master, and they began.
(A/N: Sorry for the long wait. It took me a while to write this. I kept feeling like I was rushing the plot a little. Next up- can Sir Kallin really beat Lelani, the Shang Phoenix? What does J. think of Gabriel, Hali's blond twin? What does he think of her? Keep reading and reviewing and happy Fourth of July!)