Sparring in the Shadows
Everything is happening so fast since I have arrived at The High Isles. Plan after plan seems to have materialised out of thin air and there is always a new type of map on my desk here for me to look at. All the time while I'm being supplied with hot coco I'm having to balance one map of Arendelle with all the red circles and lines on it, and another with underground caverns highlighted and entrances I don't recall being there made note of.
All the vicious planning and attack strategies that are being looked through are making me wonder whether or not this is even what I want. I made a plot myself, that spun out of control and ended up with me being so blinded with hatred and selfish greed that I was ready to kill both royal sisters and end the bloodline, just to take control of a kingdom of my own. But then what? Did I think that the people would just embrace their new ruler that just twisted both their beloved and treasured Queen and Princess, or that my brothers would just sit back and let this happen? My train of thought makes me lower my head into my hands thinking about it. I was such a fool.
Just then, an explosion rips through the cavern and zaps me back to reality. I shoot upright on alert and run to the door, throwing it open. The entire corridor is charred black with soot marks randomly spread across the walls and floor. I fear the worst here. As I slowly walk down the hall and witnessed something I actually rather expected from the noise I heard.
The hallway, previously a thick, glossy blue colour from the ice and strange lamps that had been buried within, was now covered in ash and soot, with scorch marks spreading to my door from the 'T-junction' hallway. As I carefully walk towards middle of the adjoining corridor, the balcony that flanked my left had been blasted wide open, allowing full access to the freezing winter air that Kristoff was currently enduring above us. I reach the centre, cautiously peek over the edge, and quickly find that the door to the hall at the end of the corridor behind me has been shot straight into this wall and smashed through with a fiery force, lying in scattered wooden splinters for at least thirty yards, dotted with small fires and embers. What could have done this? There's no way that Cyril would have done this to his own lair! Are we under attack? I quickly check my sword is in its sheath ready before I run towards the source of the explosion.
I emerge in the massive hall and realise I've actually never been in here before. I don't think it was open when Cyril showed me around. It's like an enormous ice igloo reinforced with iron in some places and a centre floor made of stone, with strange markings, mystical markings across it. That and the lit torches that surround the circular floor make me believe that this is some kind of arena? There are also at least fifty of his weird follower things stood around wearing various levels of protection such as armour and small weapons. The iconic purple man is right in the centre with his back to me, shouting at what looks like a terrified follower. I also pick out the familiar stance of Shade stood next to him with a scary looking black bow, trained on the cowering bandit.
"Umm, is everything okay? What was that noise?" I ask, carefully.
"And now you've disturbed our guest as well!" Cyril roars to the cowering follower when he notices me.
"I apologize Lord Cyril! It was just a simple misjudgment on my part, I swear it won't happen again!" the follower begged.
"You're right, it won't." Cyril says coldly as he nods to Shade, who quickly dispatched the poor creature with a swift arrow to the back, killing him instantly! He didn't even have time to realise what was happening behind him.
Cyril shakes his head with apparent annoyance and walks towards me, "Don't ever try and teach others lesser than you your own abilities you have perfected over the years, else this happens!" he says, furiously waving a hand towards the scorched doorway and charred corridor behind me.
"You're teaching them some magic?" I asked.
"Trying," he corrected, "with very little success."
"Yeah, I heard." I joked.
"You!" he shouted, pointing to one of the less armoured followers who steps forward keenly, "clean up HIS mess!" he commands pointing to the lifeless body that rests in the centre of the room.
"Yes sire…" he mumbles, rather disappointedly as he gets to work.
"Shade, dispose of Finn and meet me in my quarters will you?" he actually asks this time?
"Yes my lord." He obeys without question.
"Come, walk with me Hans." Cyril says as he turns to me.
Cyril and I pace slowly through the halls as we discuss some of the topics that appear to be the day-to-day running's of this place. Every morning there is a patrol of the entire main island, with reports that come in from the smaller ones, as well as a morning hunt for game, though that is scarce during the winter. From what I can gather, Cyril is the ruler over all of the High Isles, with colonies spread across the surrounding islands that supply his lair with the resources his movement require. This ranges from food and cooking supplies, weapons and armour and even building materials for his lair. I'm told they also supply him with people and followers to fuel his military.
"The Kremar aren't the most agile, strongest or smartest by far," he tells me as he wanders through his halls regally with his hands behind his back, "but they are very versatile. For example, they pick up human speech very quickly, but can be slow at everything else. They are above all loyal, however."
"The Kremar?" I say, "I don't recall ever reading teachings on those?"
"That's because technically they do not exist." He says, "The Kremar used to live in small communities across the globe, but their stupidity and slow learning made them easy prey to other wildlife. They mostly died out before humanity began making recordings of nature. On the High Isles however, there were few predators and no human settlements, so they have had time to thrive and grow. When I took over they had settled in well, but lacked leadership to allow them to reach their full potential, so I stepped in," he waved a hand in the air, "and look at what they can build when they try!"
I must admit, the construction of this place does impress me. Though it is almost completely made of ice, the integrity of this lair makes me wonder if anyone can even see it, let alone assault it! The design of the icework here however, is nothing compared to Elsa's ice palace; that's completely flawless, though this is an opinion I keep to myself.
"You must have really had an influence on them."
"I like to think so," he replies, "it's a mutually beneficial agreement you see; I provide them with a solid leader and commander, they provide me with a fiercely loyal company. It's a win-win."
I'll give him that; he does have a good set up for a commander here; a self-sustaining fort with an environment and surroundings that makes it both invisible and virtually invincible. The workers are all scared into providing for their leader and they do so with great effort, as if their entire life depended on it. Actually it probably does.
"Well this is me." Cyril said as we approach the hallway leading to his quarters, "I trust you can find your own way back to your room by now?"
"I can I think." I could probably follow back through the soot and charred remains of what was once a balcony to my dorm.
"Good. Tomorrow I'll meet with you again. I feel that Elsa is close now to our residence here."
"Close?" I repeat, "How close is close do you think?"
"She'll be here by the fifth sunrise." He turns to his door, but looks back to me before entering, "Clear up the mess that is now polluting your hallway. I do not wish for my kingdom to befall into such a mess."
"Clear it up? How should I do that?" he wants me to do it?
"Gather together some of the followers from the hall and tell them to do it! You're a prince are you not? That being said, you're not a guest here anymore; time to throw your weight around!"
If by throwing my weight around means to get others to do things for me and literally not lift a finger, then I feel we grew up in very different environments. "Very well, I'll see that it is done."
"Good!" he smiled, "I have work I must get back to. If you find yourself with nothing to do, take these combat drills and… try to teach the militia some of it. They are slow learners." He said handing me a few rolls of parchment.
"Ah, now this I can do! I used to captain the brigadier guard back ho- I mean, at the Southern Isles," I corrected, seeing his subtle look of judgement, "so I am fluent in teaching drills."
"Really? So you're fluent with a sword in hand as well?" he perks up a little at this realisation.
"I like to let others decide how good I am. I measure my skill on statistics."
"Excellent!" he cried with excitement, "Perhaps now Shade will have a sparring partner that will provide an actual challenge!"
My heart drops slightly, "Shade? I er… I don't think I'll be as good as him Cyril!"
"I thought you measure your skill on statistics?" he said, "How can you measure up against Shade if you've not yet seen him in combat? Fair combat, that is."
He has me there; I haven't seen Shade in actual combat before, though I imagine he is an extremely formidable opponent. I start to think of the training he has most likely had to pass, or maybe endure is a better word, to become Cyril's Lieutenant.
"Your silence is my answer; tomorrow at midday, we will hold a tournament to celebrate the future success of our endeavour!" Does he mean this plan with Kristoff? He seems very confident. "You and Shade will both face opponents of increasing skill for the chance of a special prize!"
"I look forward to it!" I say, not too sure which of us I am trying to convince here…
"Of course I might also hold a small endurance challenge for you both. You'll team up together to take on as many foes as you can until one side is exhausted. It'll do wonders for your arsenal!
"That sounds good. Right, I'll get on with clearing up the hall." I say as I turn to head down the corridor, but he calls me back.
"Earlier on you referred to the Southern Isles as your home. Do you not recall our conversation about this?"
"I do. It was a simple mistake, for which I apologise."
"Calling it a home would imply that you have means to return to it. Do you have means to return there Hans?"
"No way! Not the way they treated me before. I wasn't a prince there, I was a slave. An embarrassment of a son to my father and a failure of a sibling to by brothers. I meant nothing there. Here I'm something. I'm a Prince, now a teacher of combat as well! Here I mean something."
"That was the answer I was looking for. Oh- and in the presence of everyone else, it's Lord Cyril" He said as he retreated into his quarters and closed the door behind him.
"I am so excited we are camping outside again! It's been so long since we've done anything like this before!" Anna cried next to me as she took out her forest green nightgown outlined with blue and yellow designs down the sides. It had a little fabric robin sewn into it, which I thought was quite cute.
"I know! I'm not looking forward to the morning though. No doubt Seb will want us to move out early to avoid meeting- well people in general."
Our tent, provided by Seb is actually quite spacious inside. It has little pockets on the sides of the lining for keeping things off the floor, meaning more space for us. Anna's is obviously filled with chocolates and marshmallows wrapped in paper bags whereas I have managed to fit a few apples and a some small tomato and lettuce sandwiches I grabbed from Ernie's, leaving a large tip obviously. Both sleeping bags fit well next to each other, giving enough room for the both of us as well as our bags. Seb also recommended that we zip both of our sleeping bags together, making a double-sized sleeping bag. Apparently, it will help to keep us warm during the night when the temperatures will drop below freezing. I did however bring up the point that I am naturally very cold, for obvious reasons, and I don't ever heat up. Therefore, it would be warmer for Anna to just sleep in her own. Before we left, I made sure that she'd packed one of the hot pillows Gerda made for us when we were young. Of course, I found sleeping next to a leather bag of boiling water extremely unpleasant, but Anna loved it.
We'd decided in Seb's absence to retreat into our tents to relax while we wait. I'm reading one of my storybooks in the glowing light of the lantern suspended above us, while Anna is slipping on a more comfortable set of lounging plimsolls. I do admire her; she's coping so well with all of what has happened. With everything that she has been through- everything I have put her through and also losing her true love that she really deserves. That's enough to finish most other people I imagine.
"What are you reading?" she says, nodding towards the book in my hands. I forgot it was there to be honest. I've been scanning the pages but the words aren't really staying in my head. With my train of thought nowadays I wonder how on earth I'll be able to cope with all the 'Queeny' stuff when I get back- oh…
"Elsa? Earth to Elsa! You okay?"
"Huh? Oh- yeah, sorry. It's one of the storybooks that mother used to read to me when I was young." I begin to recall, "It's about swamp creature who chases people out of his land and the entire kingdom fears him!" I said with a playful smile as I recite what I can remember.
"Really?" She says, confused, "That doesn't sound very nice at all!"
"No it's not all that bad!" I reassure her, "You see, he scares everyone off because it's all that he knows! He's lived an entire life idle in a swamp on his own so he doesn't like anyone else!"
"Is it like a fairy-tale?" she asks.
"Yeah it is!"
"It doesn't really sound like it! It's about a swamp-beast!" she exclaimed.
"True, but he is actually just a big softy!" I said, giving her a playful poke in the belly, "All it took was a princess, and a talking donkey, to bring out his best!"
"See? Us princesses are pretty important!" she said carefully balancing on her feet in the low tent, "I'm gonna go check on my water."
"Okay, I'll come out with you." I said as I close my book, being sure to remember where I was at, and slip it under my pillow.
I emerge from the tent shivering. I had been reading the book lying on top of my open sleeping bag for about three quarters of an hour now, and I didn't realise how quickly the temperature had dropped. The sun had set completely now, and the only source of light that we had was that coming from the campfire and the very dim glows coming from our tent and Sebastian's. I approach the fire to be hit with an ever so comforting wall of heat that sent shivers down my spine. People don't really realise that I do still feel the cold like everyone else, it just never really made me uncomfortable. I still like a bit of heat every now and then, and this is one of those times.
"Is it ready yet?" I say as I sit on one of the logs surrounding the fire as Anna carefully lifts the pot suspended over it.
"Oww ow ow!" she says quickly as she drops the lid on the floor, "Oh it's ready alright!"
Anna left the pot to cool for a few seconds then began carefully pouring it into her pillow. I could feel the warmth from here!
"Ah…" Anna exclaims, "I can't wait to snuggle to that!"
The clippity-clop of hooves on the ground had me upright and alert; being out in the wilderness like this puts me on edge. I was overreacting though; it was just Seb returning from the store with Cesaer. He had a knapsack of supplies with him.
"There you are!" Anna called out, "You know we've been waiting for ages now!"
"My apologies your highness," he said out of breath, "I misjudged just how far the store was." I could tell that something wasn't right in his voice.
"Well…" Anna began, but interrupted herself with a yawn, "I'm gonna go to sleep now you're back." She finished as she heads towards our tent.
"I'll be in in a second!" I called back to her. Once I'm sure she's out of earshot, I turned to Seb, "Hey S? Is everything OK? You look troubled." He really did. He looked up and alert as though he'd been in a fight.
"I just found out some news…" he said taking another breath, "regarding Hans."
"Him?" I'm shocked; I didn't think he'd be causing us anymore bother!
"It was in the last section of the paper," he began as he took a seat next to the fire, "It went on to say that Hans' ship never made it to port."
"What?!" This new catches me of guard. Hans never got back to the Southern Isles? Where is he then? Unless… "What do you think happened?"
"Realistically your majesty there is absolutely no way he has escaped. He was locked in a cell guarded by the French Foreign Dignitary and his best men. I believe that… the ship may have been lost at sea."
"My gosh… all those people… all those families!" I look to him as though he'll say something that will give me comfort in knowing, but he has nothing. I feel somewhat responsible; if I hadn't flipped out at Anna for the engagement to him then he wouldn't have tried to kill us! Although a lot of things wouldn't have happened if I'd just kept quiet- but no! You cannot marry a man you just met! It's wrong!
Having said that though, I still feel as though something isn't quite right about the whole thing. Kristoff gets captured by a Lord Cyril, we set out on this huge adventure to get him back, only to find out that actually, Hans' ship is missing, and him with it. "Just suppose Seb," I started, "Just suppose somehow he has escaped- I don't know, say he struck a deal with a member of the crew or something, where could he go? How could he get there without anyone knowing?"
"I don't know your majesty, but we must remember that the route the vessel took is renowned as being one of the most deadly patches of sea there is." He's right; it's the very same one that my parents took for Corona.
"Just humour me though, where is the nearest plot of land on that route?" I don't know why- maybe it's this crystal I have that's resonating around my neck- but I feel there is so much more to it.
"Well…" he pulls out a map from the sack next to him, "Between Arendelle and the Southern Isles…" he says aloud as he traces a line with his finger across the map, "It's mostly open water aside from a small set of islands there." He says pointing to a small collection of small landmasses further out to sea. "Odd – they're not labelled."
"Is the map up to date?" I ask.
"It is, it's military grade – there are all kinds of lands on this map."
"I do have one idea as to what it could be." I say quietly, pulling out the note that was left on Sven at the Inn, gosh I hope I'm wrong. I place the small map on the other side of the note next to the map that Seb had already laid out over the floor. It only confirmed my suspicions when the two landmasses were the exact same shape and size.
"The High Isles…" he said with a sigh in his tone.
"You don't think…" Could he? "Could he be behind this?"
"I seriously doubt that this is the case your majesty. There is no way he could have made it to the Islands without help."
"Cyril?" I asked, though I'm pretty certain already.
"Possibly… the events that surrounded your coronation didn't go unnoticed. It is possible that he could have targeted Hans for his knowledge of Arendelle as an accessory to Cyril's plot."
My gosh we're in trouble. "Cyril's plan is even more Synyster than we thought if he has Hans involved. Surely he'll have a vendetta against us."
"Well as long as I'm here, I promise nothing bad will befall you or Princess Anna your majesty."
"Please keep this promise for Anna, I couldn't cope if anything more happened to her. She's been through too much already" I beg.
"Are you going to tell her? About Han's I mean?" he asks.
I don't know… I think it would work her up and she needs to be as calm as possible right now. She has been coping so well so far but I don't know how long she will last when things… change.
"I think it's best for her that we keep this to ourselves for now. It will only upset her." I decide.
"I agree." He says back, "Well with that settled, I'm going to go begin planning our route for tomorrow. Why don't you get some sleep for tomorrow My Queen?"
He saying this has made me realise that I am actually quite tired. We've been travelling all day and it's taken its toll. "I guess I am yeah…" I say with a yawn, "Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?" I feel bad about leaving him.
"I'll be fine I assure you! No doubt we'd stay up all night talking and you need your sleep your majesty."
"That could well be the case!" we both laughed. In truth, it has been quite fun chatting away to someone next to an open fire. Alright the conversation hasn't exactly been cheerful but, I don't know, it's nice to connect to someone you can trust, and when I talk to him I feel like I can tell him anything. All my secrets, if I had any, all my stories, and I'd feel safe. Normally I'm always cold, just the way I like it, but right now I'm feeling warm. It's a nice warm as well, not from the fire.
It turns out that we end up staying up a little longer chatting to each other, swapping stories about our lives and what our families were like. I assume that this is the usual sort of stuff people talk about. Apparently the orphanage he stayed in at Arendelle was visited by my mother and I quite frequently, a fete that Anna has recently began taking up.
"Who would have thought that we could have been that close before we even knew each other!"
"I know it's crazy right?" he said laughing, "Queen Idun was always so nice to me, she'd bring me small chocolate biscuits from the palace ovens. It smelled so good! It tasted better though."
"The little cookie men? With drops of green and blue icing that made up clothes for them?"
"That's them!" he said with a smile.
"Wow! Anna and I used to make those ourselves with Gerda!"
"What? You guys made them? I thought it was a proper baker that donated them or something!"
"Well we were professionals back then," I winked at him, "Anna and I used to rule the kitchens when Gerda would show us how to make stuff like cakes and cookies."
"Well from personal experience, you made the best biscuits in the entire country!" I notice that he has stopped being so formal with me now. It makes it feel more personal, which I like.
"Well I don't know about that, though they were pretty darn good…" I joke.
I loved staying up late talking to Seb, but sleep, or rather the lack of it, eventually wins, "Well… I think it's about time I head to bed now too," I say as I stand and stretch, "It's been wonderful talking to you Sebastian." I say with a smile.
"Likewise, My Queen. Sleep well."
"Goodnight!" I say as I turn to my tent where, already from here I can hear that Anna is fast asleep.
I quietly unzip the tent and clamber in. Yup, Anna is sound asleep. She doesn't snore as such, she's just a heavy breather when she sleeps, and already I can see her perfect strawberry blonde hair, that was done up in a perfect braid, begin to unravel. By morning it will look like a roaring fire!
I carefully begin changing into my thermal pyjamas, and the brief moment I spent with bare skin exposed to the outside air gives me the chills. Again, it's not that I don't like the cold, but going from one temperature to another is enough to make me feel the drop.
Once I'm under my covers in my thermals, I quickly begin to heat up again. I could actually get used to this. Warm fires and thermal pyjamas keeping me warm, it's quite nice actually. Maybe I could prefer the heat to the cold? Camping out with Anna again though, that takes the cake. It's been so long, and I wish it were under different circumstances, but I really miss doing stuff like this. Alright, fake camping in the Main Hall was always fun, but doing it properly was the best!
I turn to my left to see Anna, almost peacefully, sleeping next to me. I can't help but wonder what is going through her mind right now. No doubt she's thinking about Kristoff, how can she not? He is her true love – her REAL true love after all! One she deserves to have here, not me whilst we go off on a hunt to find him.
I've so much to think about. She'll find out eventually about Hans, and what if Cyril really won't let me leave with them. What if he doesn't let Kristoff go? What if he doesn't let any of us go? Still, I can relax in the fact that Seb will look after Anna should the worst happen. In this moment of thought I realise something I have forgotten. A key detail that I have missed out…
I forgot to close the tent door…
The thundering sounds of shields smashing into each other and weapons clashing and swiping filled the hall, as well as cheers and cries of attempted intimidation. Cyril has really pulled out all the stops on this one.
The Hall has been kitted out with wooden stands erected around the main arena floor that creep up the ragged icy walls; a large stone circle almost as big as the top floor of Elsa's castle with various shapes and designs plastered across it. I do notice that this arena is slightly higher than I remember it, as if the whole battleground has been lifted about two feet into the air, and is surrounded by wooden barriers. Lit torches flank the makeshift stadium and towards the back of the hall sits Cyril on a magnificent ice throne, and next to him chained to the wall… Kristoff?
Though it's not the Kristoff I remember. He is much thinner, the tan he had from working recently in the summer of Arendelle has faded and he now has a much paler complexion. He has also lost weight, and generally looks very dishevelled. I feel that if I hadn't been sneaking him these hot cocoas all the time, he may not have made it this far.
"WELCOME! Welcome my friends, to the Shadow Tournament's pre-event training display!" I hear Cyril bellow out as he holds out his arms as to embrace his loving audience.
Being a competitor, I am waiting in the corridor that had recently been blown up as a result of one of his unfortunate subjects failure to grasp magic. This has also been converted into a more suitable waiting area for us combatants, giving us a good opportunity to get to know each other, before we try and kill each other.
"Nervous?" a voice from behind me said, making me jump a little as I turned around.
"Shade?" I stated, though I'm not too sure why, "Um, a little yeah. I used to compete a lot in competitions back at the Southern Isles, but nothing like this."
Shade is wearing black tinted-green armour that covers his chest and back, but his arms and legs are both exposed. "Where's the rest of your suit?"
"This is it. I prefer to be light and nimble on my feet." No surprise there.
"So," I begin, "We will have to take out all of these guys first?" I say looking towards the vast number of followers behind us that are fighting over weapons already.
"Don't worry about it." He says reassuringly, before leaning in closer "These followers are all but expendable, hardly a challenge for us. Anyway the purpose of today is training only."
"Only training?" I ask. "I thought he had just thrown us in the deep end."
"No the actual tournament will be Friday at sundown. this is just to show the people what we are made of. Today is all about showing off" he says flexing his chest, though I'm not sure if he knew he was doing it or not.
"Okay. Well at least we can warm to each other's strategies today can't we?"
"No." Shade retorted. "We will not be trying our hardest today."
"Huh?" Did I hear that right? "We're not trying our hardest? I thought we had to show off?"
"To the audience yes, they will find favourites today and place bets on them. But we would also be training hard in front of our own opponents, which would not be wise."
He does have a point; if they see our techniques today then they may figure out how to counter them in the arena. "So what will we do then?"
"We'll just spar with some of the Kremar. Block and defend, striking and parrying, very basic stuff." He'd said all this looking out through the door in front of us, but now he turns to face me, "And if any of them try too hard, let them beat you today."
"What? You want me to have everyone think that I'm weak?" then it hits me, "so that on the day we can have the upper hand, I see."
"Exactly," he says back, "But maybe it's not such a bad idea that we have our own time to practice. Meet me outside on the ice shelf that Cyril held Kristoff on and we'll train there, you're right in what you say about viewing each other's techniques." Ah good, that's a little less pressure on me then. "Lord Cyril tells me you are fluent with a sword?" he asks gesturing to my blade I have chosen, my own one that is.
"I would rather let that judgment be from others that cannot be bias towards me."
"He also said that you didn't exactly brag about your skill. That's good, it shows you have honour and dignity. I like that in a partner." he nods in approval.
Well, I've managed to impress Shade, that's a weight off of my shoulders. "So what will we be doing in the tournament exactly?" I ask.
"The first event is a paired rotation duel; you and I will take on a team of two and take it in turns in one verses one tag-team style combat." He explains, "I'll begin first and take on Brydon, our first pair's main man. Then I'll tag you in and we'll see if Flint is a match for you."
"Okay then." I am slightly nervous. I have had many competitions back home, but it was with my trainees and involved sticks rather than actual weaponry.
"You'll be fine," he began as if he read my mind, "You say you've had plenty of experience in the field right?"
"In the field?"
"Open battle? War?"
"Well, not exactly. I took place in a lot of competitions like I said but open battle? No."
"Oh. I see." I could feel his instantaneous change of opinion there and then; his voice's judgement burned into my ears and made my stomach drop. I could tell that I had mislead him into believing that I am some sort of battle veteran with a string of fallen foes to my name, not some entertainment spectacle that only fought for sport. I need to win some points here again if this partnership is going to work. "I have had a lot of opponents though, so I'm very confident in my technique!"
"We'll see won't we?"
Another thought crosses my mind while I think about it, "Hey Shade, why has Cyril brought Kristoff down here?"
"I believe that – Lord Cyril," he corrected me, "has grown tired of having Kristoff outside serving no purpose other than a bargaining chip. I feel he may have some relevance to this tournament."
Oh dear, whatever Cyril has planned for Kristoff can't be good. I need to find out what's going on.
Just then, the wooden door in front of us had been pulled open and a small Kremer stepped aside to make way for us.
"Showtime!" Shade says as he gives me an encouraging pat on the back, though it almost sent me flying into the arena.
As I'm about to walk in, I feel a small tug on the trouser of my armour. I turn and see that it came from a small Kremar bandit, wearing very thin armour made of bamboo and green plants, homemade by the looks of it. "Shade really is happy that you are his partner you know."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well all the past times he's been partnered with one of us and we can never keep up with him." He says, "Plus he is telling you all these tips and listening to your input! He never does that! Usually he'd just let you fend for yourself; last year he didn't speak to his partner once!"
He does have a point, I've noticed that he is very keen on us both working together well and competing as partners in this tournament. Ah- there's the pressure again!
We, that being Shade, myself and twenty-something competitors all make our way to the centre of the arena with the applause of the large crowd of both Kremar and Human-kind, looks like Cyril spread the word. The atmosphere in here is so alive! As I peer around the massive hall, I see all manners of people that have absolutely no idea who we are or maybe even how good we are, but they're all on their feet cheering and hooting for us! This is what it was like back at the Southern Isles during the competitions I'd take part in, just not with an audience as electric as this! While I do like the admiration from all my fans, I can't help but feel the huge awkwardness of Kristoff's presence here too. Seeing a complete contrast from the joy and excitement of the crowd, mirrored by his misery and endless torment of no doubt wondering what his perfect Anna is doing right now.
"Cyril always pulls out all the stops when he organises a competition." Shade muttered to me.
"Yeah this is impressive! Didn't he only come up with this whole idea of a tournament yesterday?"
"He did, but word spreads quickly about these events. No one misses these."
"I believe that!" I say looking at how many people are in here, "Looks like most of the colonies are here!"
"They are." He said back, "The main reason people flock here is because if they don't then Lord Cyril will cut their resources."
"Wait- What?" did he mean that? "He actually forces them to come here?"
"It's more of a scare tactic." He responds, "A way to remind people that he is their ruler and to never try and change this."
"Oh. And here I was thinking I was famous." I joke.
"Do well today and you will be."
We reach the centre of the arena and one of Cyril's bandits closes the heavy gate behind us with a heavy 'clunk', fully enclosing us within the confines of the stadium. The surround is a three-lined fence made of thick bamboo, strong enough to throw foes into without breaking it, I decide. Cyril lets the audience continue with their cheers for a few moments before he eventually stands and takes a step forward. The crowd automatically hush and he raises his arms out to us, his entertainment, in his arena.
"Combatants!" he calls out to us, "Today is a very big day! For today, a duo of champions will be found. Champions that will defeat all foes that stand aside them now and win this tournament!"
With that being said, the other Kremar in the arena with us eagerly look around at each other; some are shoving shoulders and elbows and sizing up against each other. Shade and I simply look up towards our host, not moving a muscle.
"These heroes will embark on a most noble quest, through unknown, perilous territory, defeating all those that stand in their way, and retrieve a treasure for me. This treasure will have no value, no meaning and no incentive. However, it has no value to man because it holds something priceless in its existence, something beyond any kind of price ever created. Therefor whoever will retrieve this artifact for me will reap…" he pauses dramatically for a few seconds, drawing us all in, "in the Rights of the Warrior!" he cries out as he holds up a scroll in his hand, wrapped in gold and red ribbon.
I look to Shade and see something I never would have expected from Cyril's right hand man; his jaw has dropped. He can't believe what has just been offered to him.
"I didn't think there were any left in the world…" he slowly mutters to himself.
"Umm…" I quietly begin, "What exactly is the Right of the Warrior?"
He turns to me with a look as though I've just committed High Treason- again. "You don't know…" He pauses and thinks for a second, giving a quick glance to the Kremar over his shoulder. "I'll tell you somewhere private." I can tell he doesn't feel comfortable discussing it here; none of the others have really reacted to Cyril's announcement, so I doubt Shade wants them to know. I think they're just keen on going on an adventure.
"Now, today is about showing us, both my guests and I, what it is you can do! You've all had your choice of weaponry and armour, so you should be more than comfortable with your equipment!" with that, he gestures behind us, where some workers with arena equipment were waiting to fit the arena with dummies and various apparatus that we could use to show our skills. "My guests!" he turns to the audience surrounding him, "my friends will be coming round with refreshments and betting stations, so please help yourselves. Watch carefully and find a favourite that you could win big on!" then back to us, "Let the training begin!" he says. He then flicks his wrists and the many torches in the hall ignite with a strangely calming green flame, though on closer observation they are slowly alternating between different colours.
The arena then springs to life as Kremar start fighting each other and small mosh pits start appearing. Shade quickly grabs my arm and mutters, "Remember what I said! Show them nothing!" as he then heads over towards a practice dummy. I decide to do the same, but a Bandit stands in my way, "Come on then! Let's see what you've got Princy!" he taunts. I know I can't just say no else people will suspect something, so I take up my stance.
We trade a few light blows, I obviously hold back and only really catch him, so it's actually quite challenging. I keep seeing windows where I could finish with swift disarm, but I can't so it's horrible. I continue a rotation of dodges and taking hits, providing him with ample time to plan his attacks accordingly. Usually I'd never allow my opponent this amount of time to think. He dashes again, to which I instinctively step to the left, sending him out towards one of the sparring groups behind me. I regret this already; if he dropped his sword then I win, which can't happen. He hops to his feet, sword firmly clutched in his grasp. This guy is not giving up, so I can only see one way of finishing this, and it sucks for me. I let my guard down and invite him for an easy disarm. He strikes my arm hard and my sword goes flying out of my hand, hitting a combatant in the back of the head and knocking him out cold, to which his opponent cries with victory.
"Ha! Flint wins against a Prince! I'll be on that quest in no time at all! You're weak!" he spits at me and heads off. I hear some of the spectators laughing and some of them are even ripping up their gambling tabs already. I daren't look towards Cyril, but I do notice Shade observing through the crowd of combatants, who gives me a subtle nod of approval.
Humiliating.
"Well done for earlier Hans, I know it wasn't easy swallowing your pride like that in front of everyone, but it will be worth it on the big day."
"I hope so." I say back, "That was far too embarrassing."
The training session, or rather the most embarrassing moments of my life, finished a few hours ago. Seven of the combatants had to be removed for either foul play or injuries. Flint got too brave and took on his partner, Byron, who shortly after was removed for actually trying to kill Flint. Shade and I made our way to the shelf he mentioned with the intention of having our own training session. It's so cold out here, but Shade insisted saying that it would improve my stamina if we trained in the cold. I can't believe that Kristoff endured this for goodness knows how long… Shade brought some dummies from the arena with him, as well as some contraptions that make them move about and lunge towards us.
"Right," he begins, "now that we are alone we can really train."
"Good, I can't believe I had to let Flint beat me like that."
"Only so that you can show him the same fate on Friday. Now, First let's talk tactics. I want you to show me how you would face an opponent."
"You… you want me to fight you?"
"I can take it Hans, no holding back okay?" He says rather contradicting me, "I want to see exactly what my partner can do!"
"Okay then!" I say nervously.
I draw my sword and nod to him. He then draws his; a black handle with a short, shimmering silver blade that looks like it's brand new, though I imagine that it has seen more than enough combat for me to feel intimidated by.
We slowly pace each other; my eyes remain solely fixed on his sword. In training in the Southern Isles, my instructor always told me 'look in the eyes of your opponent once to read their intentions; to defend or attack, then transfix on their blade. The eyes can't kill you, but the blade can.' These words ring truth, watching the blade allows me to block or parry more precisely. It's a good job as well as it is Shade that swings first.
He lunges towards me pulling his sword to his left for a sideways strike. Ready to anticipate this, I bring mine to my left and sidestep, swinging into his strike and making our blades crash together. The connection is louder than I thought and the sheer force of his strike reverberates through my blade and into my fingers, rattling my bones. I appear to have struck with a good amount of power as he too staggers back slightly.
"Good! One main mistake people make is not putting enough power into their blocks!" he says as he pirouettes for another strike. I know that there will be too much force behind this one to block it, so I crouch down low and ready my sword. Just before the contact, I dash to move with his slash to absorb a lot of the impact and allow the force of the strike to shove me sideway. However, as I am already moving with the attack, the momentum is greatly reduced and I am able to rollout of the hit and get back to my feet again.
"Good!" he cries out, preparing another attack. I'm shocked at his immense speed! I knew he was fast but I have never actually seen him in combat before! This attack however, he only raises his sword. As strong as he may be, no one can create a powerful strike with this. His momentum and stature is all wrong; he must know this! I use this to my advantage and sidestep towards him, shoulder first. My insight was well placed; I block his attack with little resistance and ram him hard in the chest, though I feel his armour take the brunt of it, though I do manage to wind him. He staggers back slightly, though his blade never leaves his front.
"Excellent…" I hear him smile through gritted teeth; have I impressed him or irritated him?
I use this precious time to begin an attack of my own. I pull my sword to my left and begin to sideswipe with a backhand swing, to which Shade swiftly counters with a block and swings with his unarmed fist, which I quickly backpedal to avoid. He pirouettes again; I parry the same as before, but this time I swing my fist at him. He saw this coming and blocked with his forearm, to which I quickly swing again.
This time I make light contact with his torso; my blade smashes into his armour with a very loud tinny smash. "One – Nil!" I say.
"Ha! Good hit!" he cries out before swinging again. This is not the Shade I knew before; his harsh, violent and dangerous exterior has stepped aside, making way for this energetic and excitable person who is loving the fact that he has a worthy opponent for sport.
For the next few moments, we continue to trade swings and dodge each other's attacks. We continue to duel for about half an hour, learning about how the other person prefers to attack and dodge. Shade prefers to dodge a lot and strike when his foe tires, whereas I prefer parrying and striking close.
Eventually we find a natural stopping point. After blocking one last attack of his, I backpedal one last time and lower my weapon, to which he does the same.
We both catch our breath for a few minutes, I'm actually quite proud of myself in the fact that I have managed to challenge him enough to the point where he is out of breath! Mind you, I'm exhausted too…
"Ah Hans!" he cries out, "That was just exhilarating! I haven't had a buzz like that in a long time! You are a very competent fighter!"
"You're… not too bad… yourself!" I say between breaths. We're still calming down, so we don't notice Cyril emerge from the large icy archway.
"Well," he begins, "That was quite the show!"
"My Lord." Shade says with an uneasy bow. Gosh I really did test him!
"At ease Shade," he says raising one hand, "Now this?" he says gesturing to the two of us, "This is good. I assume this is preparation for Friday's tournament?"
"Yes My lord," Shade replies, "In part."
"In part?" I repeat.
"I admit, part of me just wanted to see if you could handle yourself, and you really can!"
"Yes you can!" Cyril agrees, "That was exceptional skill from the both of you, I thought you were holding back in the arena Hans, when you let Flint, of all creatures, better you."
"Shade recommended I don't show my best until it's competitive."
"Very wise Shade." He says, "Now, continue your session, and then Shade, I require you in my quarters after."
"Yes my lord." Shade acknowledges.
"Until then, have a good session! I bet your happy to finally have a decent sparring partner!" he nods to Shade.
"Relieved is a better word I feel my lord." I like all these compliments…
"Excellent, carry on." he says as he turns and leaves.
"Well," I begin, "We've impressed him!"
"You mean you have impressed him," he says, "He knows what I can do, but you were unproven."
"I guess."
We then continue to train well into the late hours of the evening. Shade shows me some advanced techniques that he has picked up over the years, whereas I show him some of the things I am best at. It's surprising how different our techniques are, yet we are both learning different styles at the same time! I'm showing him some of my methods that may help him conserve stamina, whilst he is showing me some high-power, heavy attacks and aggressive movements. We practice what each other has taught the other on the test dummies, and occasionally repeat it on one another. I must admit, it has been very fun to practice these things with someone else that isn't one of my condescending and bullying brothers. I feel like I have really bonded with him today, but I'm more looking forward to Friday than anything else; to see if we're good enough working together.
Shade has also been telling me the structure of the event. First, he and I will face another pair in a tag-team style match, where he must disarm his opponent, and then I'll step in and disarm mine. Second, another two verses two, only this time we will both be fighting at the same time; first pair to disarm the other wins. Thirdly, Shade's personal favourite, we will go up against a never-ending band of mercenaries that will keep coming at us; we must simple disarm as many as possible with the most flair. He also said that there is a fourth event every time but it's always a special event that no one knows anything about. Even Cyril won't, as he selects an event randomly from a selection of enclosed envelopes. It's always the main event, and a real showstopper.
Eventually we decide that we have done enough practice to be fundamentally prepared for the tournament. I'm exhausted, both mentally and physically, and Shade too looks like he's done for the evening. My lungs and throat are burning from the many gallons of freezing cold air I have been gulping in throughout the session.
"I think we shall call it there, yes?" he suggests.
"I agree. I think we're pretty ready!" I really do, we've covered so much today, and I've more than warmed my technique after so much time of not fighting anyone at all. The most action I really saw was fighting that massive snow-beast outside Elsa's palace.
"Right," Shade starts, "I suggest you chill for the rest of the evening and get a good night sleep. You'll ache tomorrow, but eat a full breakfast of fish and you'll be fine."
"Got it."
As I help him pack away some of the stuff we'd been using, a thought crosses my mind that has been for quite a while now. I feel now is as good of a time as ever to ask Shade. "Hey, Shade? What do you think Cyril has planned for Elsa and Anna when they get here?"
"I believe he intends to harness The Queens power to bolster his own and… well I don't know what he will do with Anna, he mainly wants Elsa."
"That makes sense I guess, but then what? Will he let them go once he's done with them?"
He pauses folding up the rope in his hands before giving his answer, "You've seen enough of our Lord now. Tell me, what do you think he will do?"
I think I know already. My heart does sink a little, I know I'm helping Cyril get what he wants, but only because he has been more than generous in his hospitality. I don't think I really want to… cause harm to the Royals. Gosh knows I've done enough as it is! "Do… do you think he will… kill them?"
"Put it this way," he says, "Lord Cyril is a genius Commander and an excellent leader. This means he is also an excellent decision maker, and he's not gained the reputation he has for being one for leaving loose ends… untied."
"I see…"
"Still!" he exclaims, "That's the least of your concerns! You should be focusing on the big day; it's only two days away!"
"I am, don't you worry." In fairness, I am lying. I am torn at the thought of killing Anna and Elsa. Surely there must be a way that Cyril gets what he wants without having to kill them. There is however another question I'd like to know the answer to.
"So what is so special bout this 'Right of the Warrior?"
He pauses once again before giving me his response, "The Rights of the Warrior is a Bill of Rights, signed by the highest kings of men and the most powerful of the Gods, that essentially permit the blessed to do whatever it is they please. The blessed has the right to take what is needed from wherever it is needed, whenever it's needed. It also allows the bearer to kill whenever it is needed, however it is needed and as often as it is needed. It permits the blessed to also take any land, kingdom or even country as their own, claiming of the lands earnings and resources. All with full protection of any laws written by Kings or Gods, no questions asked."
"What?" I exclaim, "It sounds like a pass to do whatever the heck you want?"
"It is. It is also a magical enchantment that grants the blessed with massively enhanced abilities such as elemental control, inhumane strength and stamina, extreme speed and agility, as well as self-healing wound regeneration." He then slowly turns to me, "With these rights, you'd be unstoppable."
"Woah..." As great as that sounds, I can't help but see an error here. "Um... I hate to bring it up but I do notice an elephant in the room here..."
"Up here?" he says confused, "There are no elephants in these parts."
"No- it's a figure of speech. It's like there's an obvious problem that no one want's to bring up."
"Oh. Well why not say that then?"
"I don't know? It's just a saying!" I say, "But I digress, there are two of us and one scroll."
"Yes, but as a Lord, Lord Cyril can bless us both with these abilities. We're good now, but imagine what we'd be like with those... powers!"
It is a frightening thought that such a thing exists. I wonder if my father knew anything about this, or if Anna or Elsa's parents did.
"If we had that blessing," Shade began again, "You could travel to the Southern Isles and Claim it as your own! No one can resist you!"
Now that's a thought I entertain. My own brothers, kneeling to me as their ruler. Catering to my every whim. The lonesome Hans, a waste of space and time to the family, now the ruler of both the family itself, and the land and people it had claimed. A grin creeps onto my face, "I like the sound of that..."
"It's settled then," Shade says, now having stopped packing up, he has turned to face me. "You and I will henceforth be known as allies and partners, eternally trusting and loyal. No one will stand between us or our goal. My fight is your fight, and yours is mine. Your friends are my friends, and your enemies are my enemies. We will destroy anything that may affect this bond and, when we receive the blessing, we will be almighty and powerful. Whether you are a quarter a mile away, or halfway across the globe, I will stand by you, as your friend and as your brother."
I find his heartfelt declaration to me a little awkward but I can tell that this is a statement that is important to him, and one that he doesn't make to just anyone. I'm actually humbled that he has said this, and he is one heck of an ally to have in a pinch!
"Thank you Shade. I'll do everything in my power to see that the Rights of the Warrior become ours."
"As will I."
Strange. When first we met, Shade had choked me out, tied me up and kidnapped me back to the High Isles as his prisoner. But things change and now, here he is, fully devoting himself to our partnership to find this thing for Cyril, and in return have a god's blessing bestowed upon us to permit us humans to become near immortal!
For now though, I'll be working with my newly found brother to put on a good show for our blackmailed guests and their host.
Hey guys, I'm back!
Well actually I didn't go anywhere as such, I just really haven't been able to upload anything recently because I've simply been so busy with my work and with other stuff as well. I'm in a band now, so as lead guitarist i have tracks to learn as well as my college assignments too, so sadly this story has had to take a back seat.
But I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's a little longer then usual, plus did you spot the little easter eggs I threw in (seemed appropriate given the time of year!)?
There's an obvious Shrek reference, but my idol, the lead guitarist of Avenged Sevenfold has also made a somewhat cameo in this chapter!
Still, hope you enjoyed and I hope you all had a great Easter! Let me know what you think of the Chapter with a review or PM and as always, see you next time!
All the best,
-Dan