Hey, sorry for the long wait. I honestly was planning on abandoning this story, but after repeated support from you guys, I decided to keep going, at least until the end of the first arc.
Gonna keep these notes short, but I hope you find them insightful. Especially because when I wrote this chapter, I never wanted to abandon a story more. It's still pretty boring (in my opinion.) but it got done so I hope you enjoy.
The sun shone down on the arena as guests began flooding in. Nobles and knights alike, all gathering to see a very impotent event, the crowning of Prince Callum's personal knight. Spirits were high as the guests chatered to one another, creating an atmosphere of excitement and revelry that was infectious for all in attendance.
Taking all this in as he walked up to the uppermost platform of the stands, Callum saw the seats for the council where all set up behind his and Ezran's, allowing the much shorter boy to see better without having to look over the taller adults who sat in the back.
As for the Harrow, he sat in between Callum and Ezran, the massive carved throne much less extravagant as the one in his throne room, but still much more grand than the others seats set up at the tournament grounds.
Letting out a sigh, Callum walked over to his seat, making a point not to look at the king who was already sitting in his throne, the boy not responding when the man turned and smiled at him slightly, the man faltering when he, once again, received no response from his step-son.
Following their fight here last week, Callum had made it his mission to NOT speak to Harrow for the entire duration, avoiding him like the plague at every opportunity he could. Even taking longer, more complicated routes or dropping plans all together if it meant he didn't have to be in the king's presence.
Unfortunately for him, that evasion was up, and now he was being forced to face this reality where he'd have to sit for several hours next to his step-father as he watched the battles decide the fate of their prisoner. Something he really didn't relish doing even if Ezran seemed excited about it.
During the events at the grounds, the young prince had shown the utmost confidence in Rayla's abilities to get her through the tournament. The young boy seemingly not understanding the gravity of her situation should she fail. Something that, while she tried to hide it, Callum could see when she went quiet or more tense whenever certain topics were brought up. One of them being the upcoming tournament and her forced participation. Something that made guilt eat at Callum's heart.
He hated how she had gotten into this situation because of him. He knew she deserved better. During the week of her captivity, the two princes had spent most of their time with Rayla, talking about random, not important things. And while they had never gone outside again, Callum still felt a kind of kinship toward the Drow as she seemed to hate titles as much as he did. Honestly, it kinda surprised him to find that the supposed most evil Elf race could produce such a charming, brave, funny girl like Rayla. It went against pretty much Uncle Viren and his other teachers had taught him about the Underdark.
And speaking of Viren…
Looking to his left, Callum was surprised to find the chair set aside for the Arch Mage empty. And while it was very much like the man to skip such shows like this, the young prince had assumed since this was his idea, he'd at least be present for the opening ceremony.
"Psst!" Leaning forward, Callum quietly hissed to Soren who was standing on his right, drawing the blond's attention down to the prince, leaning in to hear what he was saying. "Where's Uncle Viren? Wasn't it his suggestion to allow Rayla to compete in this tournament? Shouldn't he be here to see his plan through to completion?"
Snorting at his question, Soren straightened back up, the young man rolling his eyes like he always did when he was frustrated, placing his hand on his sword as he looked down at the empty arena.
"Yeah well, you know dad. Always something more important comes up at the most inconvenient times" He said with a hint of irritation. "Apparently Claudia made some big breakthrough with that creepy magic mirror dad keeps locked in his study. And so naturally he dropped everything he was doing to rush back to Blackstone. Probably won't be back for weeks."
Missing the tone of his friend's voice, Callum found his curiosity peaked. The young prince leaning in, about to ask what kind of breakthrough Claudia had made when he was forced to fall silent as Harrow stood, walking to the end of the platform that let him overlock the cut off by the blare of trumpets, drowning out all ideal chatter among the guests, Callum included. The sound a signal to audiences that things were about to begin.
Falling back into his seat, Callum turned to see Harrow raise his hands, the king's ceremonial armor doing a very good job of hiding the weak man beneath it. His chest plate embroidered with the symbol of Katolis, showing all that, even with one arm missing, their king was still strong.
"Attention, people of Katolis. I bid you welcome to today's event." He said, his voice loud and echoing, each word he spoke reaching even the furthest points of the stands even without the use of magic. "Today is a glorious day, for today, our beloved prince chose a warrior to anoint with his grace to defend this kingdom from the harm that dwells in the dark. Today, Prince Callum, royal Sorcerer of Katolis, and second heir to the throne, shall choose the Custos Sacros! His personal knight!"
Immediately, the gathered crowd exploded in applause. The lords and ladies giving the young man a standing ovation. Their cheers filled the stadium and made the prince's want to throw up with disgust.
Try as they might to fool him, Callum knew better. He had heard the whispers and snide comments from these very same lords about his mother. How someone of lower blood was unfit to be queen. How it would pollute the bloodline and make the kingdom weak. All while ensuring she knew she was unwelcome in the castle no matter how much Harrow tried to silence them.
No, Callum knew these cheers weren't for him. It was for the knights battling it out for the honor of reviving a title, one that would be forgotten and discarded once something better came along, the young lords and ladies only using it, using him as a stepping stone to move further into the ranks of the King's royal guard. Seeking more and more wealth and fame for their family's name, all living so large as is, they had forgotten who they had to crush to fatten themselves as they gouged on all the pleasure people could imagine.
The sound of trumpets ripped Callum from his thoughts, the boy's head snapping up to see he had spaced out the rest the king's speech and now the competitors were being led out onto the arena, all adorned in cloaks bearing both their house names, and lavishly decorated with telling of their accomplishment.
Well, all but one anyway.
Taking their places before the crowd, the lords and ladies gathered turned to face their now sitting king, their gazes looking upwards at the royal family as they pressed their right hand over their hearts, the Katolis salute for addressing nobility.
Once done, a thin man dressed in regal attire stepped forward, coming to a stop of a podium in front of the hopefuls, unrolling a long scroll where he began addressing both the crowd and the gathered knights, his gaze fixing on the left most one as he read aloud in a loud, clear voice.
"Presenting the Slayer of Gnolls, Lady Angela Tromain!"
Immediately upon her name being called, the leftmost woman ripped the cloak from her form, revealing a tall, slender, dark haired young woman who raised both arms as the crowd cheered. Her quiver beautifully embroidered with rare animal skins and furs from her many hunts, the woman earning herself a name among the younger nobles as the best hunter of all the kingdom. And ending with her being permanently placed on Ezran's bad books for most likely her entire life. A point he made by refusing to cheer for her even when he received a slight nudge in the form of a look from his father.
And while Callum would have loved to join his brother in his solidarity. Unfortunately, this was technically his tournament. And as such wasn't allowed to show bias one way or another, forcing him to cheer loudly with the rest of the nobles.
Once the cheers for the trophy hunter had died down and Callum had swallowed his vomit, the announcer turned toward the next competitor standing next to Angela, loudly presenting them to the crowd.
"Presenting the Tarrasque wrestler, Urgo Blodrest!"
Once again the crowd exploded in applause as a mountain of a man threw off his cloak, revealing a dark skinned, shaved headed half Giant with muscles the size of Callum's entire body. Urgo flexing his biceps and triceps and a bunch of other muscles Callum didn't even know people had, posing for the audience as many a maiden swooned.
Beside him, Callum heard Soren let out a whistle, the prince smirking as his friend clearly saw something he liked as the young lord flexed in a way that was very revealing to his bare stomach, his eight pack abs seeming to beat on their own that, while made Callum feel nauseous, but he understood differently strokes for different folks and was definitely not going to tease his friend over his preferences.
Once the audience began to quiet down, the announcer continued down the line, introducing each competitor and letting them be cheered by the many lords gathered, creating an atmosphere of ease and enthusiasm as even Ez joined in when a lord he knew, (one lord Undeer Avrick. The Raven Master.) was presented. Someone who, from what his brother had told him, was a very good man and extremely good with animals. One of the few lords Callum wouldn't have minded being stuck with after this whole charade was done.
This ceremony carried on for several more minutes, with differing levels of applause for more well known individuals, (Lord Elfric Danear getting a standing ovation as well as a near deafening high pitched squeak from his fan club.) until finally they came to the last contender. The one dressed in the plain robes, the one Callum was most excited for.
"And finally, Presenting a last minute entry," The announcer said, reaching the end of the scroll as he stepped in front of the figure. "Presenting the bearer of the traitor goddess' sin, Lady Rayla of Lolth Lorna!"
Reaching up and undoing the clasps of her cloak, the young woman pulled the cloak away just like she had done when practicing with the princes, revealing herself with a flourish, and instantly drawing all eyes to her pale skin and violet eyes as the cloak fell to the ground.
Slowly, the Drow turned to look up at the lords and ladies gathered, raising her hands to her sides and giving them a bow, her head lowering, eyes closed as the people took her in, a slight smile on her face that, once again, she had spent the majority of her time practicing with the princes to avoid an early disqualification.
However, the heavy silence of the arena caught the Elf's attention, the young woman raising her head slightly to see what was going on, and immediately meeting the shock, judgmental eyes of the nobles. None of them said anything, none clapped, none cheered. They simply stared, eyes wide in disgust and contempt, but Callum noticed, not surprised.
"Looks like you plan work, Harrow." Callum thought bitterly. "Thanks to you, everyone knew about Rayla. And now, she has a target on her back. As if she didn't have enough to worry abou-."
Suddenly, Callum broke off, the whispered words of two noble women sitting right below the platform reaching up to his ears, their tone carrying a clear amount of contempt and disgust they didn't even try to hide.
"Is that it? The Drow everyone's been talking about?" One asked, her voice light and frilly. Almost as if it was made to be heard when conveniently talking about others. "What a disgusting creature. I can't believe it's allowed to compete in this important event! What is his majesty thinking?"
"Honestly, I didn't think he is." Her companion whispered back, her voice relatively loud for someone who was gossiping behind someone else's back. "I heard she snuck into the castle, poisoned the young prince and made the king acknowledge her, forcing him to allow her in our great kingdom with the promise of medicine only if he met her demands! I bet she wants this position so she can try and seduce members of the royal family and other nobles so she can pop out a disgusting Drow half breed. Giving her a legitimate claim to power."
Letting out a gasp at this, Callum could just picture the woman fanning herself as she pulled at the lining of her stuffed bra, trying to make herself look more attractive so people would ignore her clearly terrible personality.
"That makes so much sense!" She said with a gasp, her voice noticeable louder now, catching the attention of some other guests. "I bet it's another plot by those freaks in the church of Lolth. Honestly, they have access to the whole of the Underdark! Why can't those greedy monsters just stay in the dark below and leave us alone. I mean, even if that whore did do something like that, no self respecting kingdom would accept such a horrible creature as their equal! It's an insult just to suggest such a thing!"
Scowling as he gripped his seat, Callum wanted nothing more than to get up and run down there to give those ladies a piece of his mind. Tell them that Rayla was nothing like that and if given the choice, she'd be half way across the kingdom by now!
Unfortunately, before he could even try to remedy the situation, more whispers and murmurs began echoing through the crowd, many lords and ladies turning to one another and talking none too quietly as they spread nasty rumors and made rude remarks.
"What's a Dorw doing in the capital city of Katolis? Why hasn't someone put that thing to death by now?" A large, portly woman asked her husband, clutching his arm as she looked down at Rayla like she was some kind of disgusting bug.
"Good gods! I had heard of the vileness of the Underdark but never believed it until now. But just looking at this filth, I can see that all the stories were underselling its horrid nature." A posh looking man said, plucking at his curled mustache as he sneered down at the girl.
"My word! What a hideous creature! I guess the king really wants to test this year's candidates if he's throwing a monster into the ring. Man, now I wish I could have entered just to take a stab at the thing." A younger boy joked to some of his friends, they to laughing at his words, making monster faces at him pretending to be what they thought a Drow was.
"Hehe. I guess it's true, just as ugly on the outside as within." A fat lord grunted, slouching in his seat as he let a much younger girl stroke his face, his cold eyes fixed on Rayla.
As these whispers and comments started to grow more and more bold, one of the guests, a lady in an expression dress, cupped her hands to her mouth and let out one loud sound.
"Boooo!" She yelled at Rayla, drawing the girl's attention, her friends quickly joining in, booing the Drow and giving thumbs down, stomping their feet and doing just about everything they could to get attention to their dissatisfaction.
As this happened, more members of the audience joined in, booing and stomping at Rayla as they gave her thumbs down, some even yelling racial slurs. One even getting so brazen he threw an apple at the girl. (One she dodged letting it hit the announcer square in the face.)
Blood running hot as he watched this unfold, Callum had half a mind to stand up and order them to be silent. The constant booing making Rayla flinch, the girl losing some of her confidence as, while she knew she'd never get applause, she hadn't expected this level of aggression.
Biting her lip as she listened to the people booing her, Rayla tried to ignore them as she turned back around to face forward, not looking at her completion as they too stared at her.
"Relax. Don't let their words get under your skin." She thought to herself, taking several deep breaths as she tried to steady herself. "It's fine. This isn't like the last time. You don't need the approval of these spoiled nobles. Just focus on the task at hand, remember you need to get through this if you want to c-."
"Yeah! Go Rayla!"
Snapping out of her thoughts as a new voice joined the chorus, Rayla's head snapped up, her eyes following the sound of the voice skyward, landing on the royal platform where she saw who had begun cheering her name.
There, practically jumping in his seat, was Ezran. The young boy punching the air excitedly as Bait stared down at the audience, his grumpy expression directed towards them as his owner cheered. The young boy's antics earning him a disapproving looks of Opeli and the hand placed on his shoulder by his father that was placed on his seat, the older man shushing him as subtly as he could.
But despite this, Ezran continued to cheer her name, his voice becoming louder as the rest of the audience fell silent, staring up at their crown prince in disbelief that he would cheer for a monster over the many noble young lords vying for his brother's glory.
And speaking of his brother…
"Yeah! Go Rayla!" Callum shouted, joining his brother and getting himself a sharp glare from the king, the sorcerer too ignoring him as he clapped loudly, smiling down at the girl as one by one, the decanting voice came to a halt.
Staring up at the boys with disbelief on her face, Rayla felt a warm, fluttery feeling take root in her stomach, one that made smile uncontrollably as she looked up at the princes, the sting of the jeering starting to vanish as she felt warm and happy on the inside, the shame and humiliation the noble had dug up began once again to sink back into the hole she buried them.
Returning their smiles, Rayla took a step back before giving the podium a sweeping bow, one hand out to her side, the other against her chest, her head lowered in a sign of respect as moved one foot forward, showing her fans her gratitude for their support. All the while she couldn't keep her smile off her face.
And for some reason, when she looked up, she caught Callum's eyes, their gazes locking on one another for a moment, his brown meeting her violet, letting her see the amount of confidence and courage he held in them for her, the brown pupils practically screaming "go on!" And, "You've got this!" At her. Making her own confidence swell. The young woman's heart beating fast not from nerves but happiness.
As for some reason she couldn't explain, the sight of his smiling face made her heart sing as the tournament began.
An explosion of noise echoed out from the crowd as the first event began heating up, the audience watching a magically projected scene of three riders of horseback racing across a forest track just outside the city boundary, (the same forest Rayla and Callum met. Just a different part.) the one at the head, Elfric, shot an arrow from his longbow, landing an arrow right in the center of a hanging target while knocking his opponent's out of the way, the young man's fan club screaming so loud Callum was sure he could hear it all the way on the track!
It was midway through the first event, a trial made to test one's archery and awareness. The game, in premise, was simple, ride through the area and shoot the targets scattered across the routes, whoever got the most points out of the three would advance to the next round. Fairly easy, right? Well, it would be, if there weren't a few more rules in place to make it more challenging.
Firstly, whoever hit the target first would be the winner, and anyone else who hit the same target, regardless of what score they got, would not get the points unless they split their opponent's arrow straight down the middle, a feat even the most skilled archers would struggle with while riding a horse.
Alternatively, they were allowed to bring a small, melee weapon with them, which if struck a target would not only net them a full ten points, but would instantly mitigate anyone else who struck the target before or after.
But with that said…
"Ahhhh!" A scream from one of Elfric's opponents echoed as he, aiming to take down one of said lord's targets, swung a short sword at it in a lightning fast ride by, only for the beast to trip over the shrubbery and send both of them crashing to the ground, removing himself from the tournament by way of damaging a mount and for touching the ground/moving without his horse, making it a triple whammy of mistakes from the poor lord.
"Ohh!" The crowd gasped collectively, wincing as they watched. The judges, seated just below Callum and the other members of the royal family, marked an X across the lord's name, officially removing him from the competition. His mount riding off into the distance, its Mage Armor protection spell defecting the branches and shrubbery as it made its way back to the path.
"Ouch. Poor guy didn't stand a chance." Soren said beside Callum, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Should have seen the foliage was too thick, never should have tried to ride into it."
Nodding in agreement, Callum shot a look over to his little brother, the young boy peeking out from between his fingers to make sure the horse was okay, the image showing the beast riding away, seemingly unharmed and with its pride in tack.
Unfortunately, the same could be said for the lord who had fallen, the man angrily banging his fist against the ground.
"And that's Lord Lovlen down. What a surprise " Callum thought dryly. "What a poor guy. Shame too, he was actually pretty nice." The young prince recalled the few interactions he had with the young lord, who was a bit of a screw up himself. Only difference being where Callum was weak in body, Lovlen was…let's say weak in the head. On literally everything that wasn't how not to use it.
Signing softly, Callum turned his attention back to the image, watching as Danear slowed his pace to ride just in front of his last opponent, using his own body to block him from any targets on one side, the young lord smirking as they both knew attacks against either the competitor or their mount were off limits, resulting in immediate disqualification if performed.
They continued like they did for the rest of the course, Denear repeatedly steering in front of his opponent, keeping him from hitting any targets until they reached the goal, where, (unfortunately.) The winner of the round was announced to be none other than Elfric Danear, the arrogant young man riding back towards the castle his fist raised in triumphant victory, egging his fans on by pumping the air with a fist, the crowd going ecstatic over his victory.
"Seems young Lord Danear has improved once again. Most impressive." Harrow said calmly, this time taking his turn to shoot a look at Callum, his eyebrows raised. "I recently heard he was given a Medal of Honor for his work in the fallen city of Dargan, the location that connects Xadia to the Nine Hells. A feat not too many can boast of. Those I suppose that's just another notch on his ever growing resume of feats our intrepid young lord is-."
"Yeah, thanks. Noted." Callum cut in, not wanting to hear the king try to sell the arrogant lord any harder than he already had. He had already set himself to dislike the boy, something he made very easy given his attitude. And no amount of pocking nor prodding from the king was going to change that!
And besides, the only competitor he was interested in wa up next.
At the starting point of the forest arena.
"W-wow!" Rayla said as she clumsy climbed into the saddle, the young woman struggling to stay upright in this unfamiliar position, the two Returning Daggers she had borrowed for the competition jingling as she swayed on her mount. Having grown up in the Underdark, the young Drow had never been on a horse until just now, and she had to say, she didn't like it.
The creature's whining, they way it pawed the ground and couldn't seem to stay still, it reminded her of being on a boat. Which just the thought of made her feel queasy as she struggled to hang onto to the reins, urging the beast to the starting line where her two opponents were already waiting, barely able to pull it to a stop before the starting line.
Snickering at her display, one of her two opponents, (a man called Ronaldo, the far sighted.) placed his hand in front of his mouth, appearing to try and stifle his laughter though he looked straight at her, making no effort to hide the glee in his eyes as he watched the girl struggle.
"You okay there, Drow?" He asked, effortlessly steering his mount to the side, allowing more room for Rayla. "What's wrong? I thought you Under Dwellers would be natural with horses. After all, you do share genes with them, don't ya?"
Laughing unfriendly at the Drow, his actions earned him a hard glare from Rayla, the Elf clearly not sharing in the enjoyment of the joke.
"Lay off Ronaldo. You don't need to resort to insults." Her other competitors, Angela Tromain, said, her own face carrying an equally mocking expression as the man. "After all, no horse would ever want to be fucked by a Drow. They breed with Grimlock. Because anything with eyes wouldn't be able to enjoy themselves while staring at such a hideous thing."
Rayla bristled as the two burst into laughter, neither making the slightest effort to hide it making the Drow's blood begin to boil. She knew there'd be push back from coming to the surface, but she hadn't expected this much this soon. Their cruel words tore into her deeper than she'd care to admit, attacking her less than stellar self-esteem making her hands itch. The girl wanting to punch them out for mocking her culture, the only thing stopping her being the threat of death should she fail here.
"You two have no idea how lucky you are." She thought bitterly, her hands tightening on the reins. "If it wasn't for those damn restrictions, I'd show you some Drow hospitality by sticking your own weapons up ya bums! Pompous bastards."
Attention shifting as the race martial stepped into position, raising his flag indicating the time for jokes was over, prompting the other two to stop laughing and lean down in their saddles, Rayla doing the same, one the last thought entering her mind as she shot her competition a look.
"I'm so gonna look forward to rubbing this in ya faces when I win!"
With that, the flag came down and immediately they all sped off, galloping down the path, flying past one of the crystal balls that recorded and broadcast the imagine displaying the events to the audience.
And as it did, Callum's eyes widened as he let out a gasp.
"Both Rayla's opponents are renowned hunters?!" Callum thought, his mouth running dry. "Not good. Rayla hasn't ridden a horse before, and now she's going up against two of the event's favorites in the first round! How's she supposed to pull through against such a mismatch! That's-!"
Breaking off here as realization hit him, Callum's stunned gaze turned to his side, becoming angry as he fixed Harrow with a hard glare, his blood pumping with rage as he figured out what must have happened.
"Of course he'd interfere. Why did I think otherwise?" Callum thought bitterly, hands tightening on his seat. "Yeah, trial by fire my ass! He never had any intention of letting her go. He just wanted to humiliate her and try to push me towards one of the other nobles. Sacrifice her to make me choose someone different.
Frustration and anger quickly filled the young prince, making his hands dig into the wood of his seat, his nails leaving scratches. He felt so stupid for ever trusting Harrow to keep his word. Of course he wouldn't let Rayla live, what had he been thinking?! To the king, Rayla was just another creature from the Underdark, a threat to his rule, one that had dared to threaten him by opening Callum's eyes to other possibilities. One he now wanted to dispose of so he had rigged the event to ensure her defeat, then her demise.
Immediately, Callum wanted to jump up, start yelling at his step-father for betraying him yet again! But the rational part of him knew it was no use. He couldn't prove the games were rigged, and any chance he had to give her a fighting chance was gone the moment he stupidly trusted the king to keep his word. And now, he had failed her again.
Looking back up to the floating images, Callum watched Rayla with mounting fear and frustration, his own helplessness infuriated him. He couldn't do anything, say anything, to try to give her a chance. All he could do now was watch and wait, praying to the gods she could pull off a miracle.
However, the chance of that seemed to plummet as a loud cheer from the crowd caused his heart to fall, the young prince watching helplessly as he saw both Ronaldo and Angela take the lead, the two blocking Rayla from both sides as they quickly and effectively shot arrows into targets, the two wracking up 29 and 40 points respectively, while Rayla, who was still just struggling to keep her mount on track, only managed to score 16 in total as she struggled to use her long bow in the current circumstances.
"Damn it!" Rayla thought as her arrow struck low once again, scoring her an additional 2 points on a target hidden deep in the woods, the young woman immediately clutching her reins as they rode past, the Drow spotting another target to late as Angela's arrow struck, scoring her another ten, widening the gap between the three.
"This is a load of Minitor shit! How am I supposed to hit anything from back here?!" She thought angrily. Pulling her mount to the side, trying to overtake only for Ronaldo to steer in front of her once again, keeping her trapped behind them as they hogged the road.
"They're ganging up on me." She thought. "I need a way to get past them quick!" Eyes flicking around, Rayla's gaze settled on a clearer part of the trail ahead, the shrubbery of the forest somewhat cut down there, widening the path just enough for three horses rather than the usual two.
"There!" The Elf thought, urging her horse forward, the young woman just barely managing to time her turned with the open route, sailing past her companions and slashing two hanging targets with her blades, over taking them and riding into the front, granting her a huge advantage as she rode on, the ambitious girl aiming to take the slash the next set of targets with her sword, rending both the archers arrows useless!
However, right as she reached the targets, a ray of sunlight shot through the tree, shining a dim light right into the corner of her eye.
"Ahh!" Rayla cried, shutting her eyes as the light blinded her, the girl immediately pulling away on instinct, causing her to miss the target and nearly crash into Ronaldo, the young man narrowly managing to dodge, letting out an annoyed, "Watch it!" As he sped up, taking the lead.
Meanwhile, in the stands, a loud chorus of boos echoed out from the crowd. Many giving thumbs down for Rayla. Many shouting insults like, "Watch the road Under dweller!" Or "learn to ride!"
Scowling at the abuse the audience was throwing unjustifiably at Rayla, Callum hands tightened on his seat, nails digging into the wood as he watched the Drow now riding between her rivals, heart pounding as he watched her score slip further and further away from the others.
This wasn't far. None of this was fair! Rayla had her opponents rigged from the start, and now, as they reached the halfway point of the track, she couldn't afford to miss any more targets. Meaning everything was riding on how much experience she picked up from the first half.
"Come on, you got this." He whispered, sitting up slightly in his seat as he watched the end result of his own inactions play out before him, cursing his own helplessness. "Come on, Rayla. You just started your journey away from your oppressors. Don't lose them just yet! Don't lose, Rayla."
Hurling around the curve at the halfway point, Rayla cursed as an arrow flew past her ear, striking dead center onto a target she hadn't even seen, scoring the woman behind her even more points, putting her in a solid first by a large margin.
"Damn it! They must have rode this track before, have experience with these kinds of games." She thought as she threw a knife into a different target, picking up an 8 letting her stay in the game. "Wish I had paid more attention during Runaan's archery lessons, he'd have these two jokers beaten in a heartbeat by now. And would probably scold me for letting my mind wander in the middle of a competition."
Smiling at the memory of her teacher/second father, the Elf let herself remember the lessons he had drilled into her after her parents… left, eventually landing on a particular one that her mind began playing back.
A child Rayla let out a frustrated cry as she hit the ground yet again, bruising her already sore rear as her wooden, training sword landed on the ground next to her, the handle so well used, it had begun to splinter.
"Damn it!" She cried angrily, getting up once again. Ignoring the sting of her freshly marked back, her eyes zeroing in on her opponent as she snatched up her sword, leveling it at him again.
"One more time! I know I'll win this round!" Letting out a sigh at his niece, the tall Drow calmly set his training sword down before turning away, making towards the tree-line of the woods they were training in.
"No." He said simply, grabbing a nearby towel off the tree and offering it to the girl. "We're done for the day. It's clear today's lesson isn't sinking in. So we will try again tomorrow. Pack up, we're heading home."
Glaring at the man, little Rayla stomped her foot in frustration, not wanting to call it here.
"I can keep going!" She snapped. "You don't have to go easy on me! I'm strong enough! I'm not like my parents!"
Letting out a sigh at this outburst again, Runaan turned and fixed Rayla with a hard look, his weathered hands combing his hair out of his eyes.
"Rayla, stop letting your parents' weakness affect you like this." He said sternly. "This is exactly why the High Priestess has ordered me to train you harder. She sees how undisciplined you are and is worried that it will awaken the weakness in your blood."
"And that's exactly why I need to train harder!" Rayla pushed, taking a step forward and stomping her foot again. "I need to beat this weakness out of me! Rip it out by the horns if I have too! Otherwise I'll never reclaim the honor they lost and will never be accepted by-!"
"I, however, believe differently!" Runaan said loudly and harshly, drowning out Rayla as he tossed the towel over her head. "Your problem is you keep pushing, pushing and pushing, never stopping to let your limits adjust, never considering there's more than one way. And that stubborn, inability to let go is exactly why your parents aren't with us right now."
Biting her tongue at this, Rayla lowered the towel back over her face, fighting back tears as a wave of emotion washed over her, drowning her in its depths as the damn she'd been holding back began to burst. And the sting of her parents' actions began to burn.
"B-but then…what am I supposed to do?" She asked weakly, praying none of her sadness carried in her voice. Tears were forbidden for Drow warriors, their mantra taught them that when they swore their oath to Lolth, their lives were forfeit. Their existence now to act as the Spider Queen's arms and ears, carrying out her will no matter the cost. An oath she had seen every day on both her parents and Runaan's weapons, gifted to them by the Matriarch of Webs herself.
Seeing his daughter slipping back into her own sadness, Runaan let out another sigh. This time walking over to her and kneeling down to her level.
"Rayla." He began, his tone much gentler now. "You think the only way to overcome their weakness is by beating yourself ragged. But a Grimlock can't change the stone on it back by beating it with a club. Sometimes, a different solution is required to bring about change."
Carefully, Runaan pulled up the towel, looking down at Rayla with one of his rare displays of empathy, his normally hard and rough demeanor temporarily replaced by an understanding, kind one. One the girl had rarely seen.
"If you can't change something by being in control, learn to remove that control from others by looking inwards." He said gently. "That goes for both personal struggles, and real life fights. Remember, strength alone doesn't determine the outcome of a battle. Use your head, be smart. Once you combine that with your already incredible physical abilities, you'll be near unstoppable in any situation."
"Use my head, huh?" Current Rayla mused, a smile spreading across her face. "Oh yeah, Runaan would definitely scold me for this. Day dreaming in the middle of a situation like this? Come on, Rayla, get it together ! He taught you better than that!"
Head snapping up, Rayla looked ahead of her with eyes so bright they shine like stars, a huge, teeth-baring smile ripped across her face as she pulled her Returning Dagger up, holding it by the blade as she took aim at her new target.
"Welp, my situation can't get any worse. Might as well give it a try!" She thought as she pulled back, ready to hurl the weapon at the target in front of her. "After all, I lose here, I'm dead anyway. No point in not playing it a little risky!"
With that, Rayla took a deep breath, leaning backwards on her mount as she readied herself for something incredibly stupid.
"Hey! Ronny boy!" She called, making the hunter look back at her over his shoulder, his eyes going wide in confusion as he saw the scene behind him, the next words out of the Elf's mouth right at the exact moment everything finally clicked. "Duck!"
With those last words, Rayla hurled the dagger at the young man, the blade spinning toward him causing the man to let out a shrill scream, eyes going wide as he pulled his horse to the right, dodging out of the way of the blade. And right into the breach of a tree, slamming head first into it and being knocked off his horse, falling to the ground as it continued on without him.
"Yes!" Callum cheered as he watched the smug look on Rayla's face, her dagger reappearing in her hand after it had landed in the center of a target hanging a few feet in front of the lord, effectively giving her legal credence for the move she had just pulled.
And if that wasn't enough, as the young prince looked down, he saw with utter joy the reluctance of the judges as they were forced to mark down the removal of lord Ronaldo and the placement of Rayla into second. A stunning development given how he was one of the favorites to win this competition. A feat that didn't go unnoticed by everyone.
Beside him, Callum heard Soren let out a low whistle, clearly impressed against his will at the sudden upset.
At the same time, Opeli's eyes widened in surprise. The shock of what had just happened temporarily making her forget she was supposed to be against Rayla, the woman letting out a soft, "impressive." under her breath. A look of genuine interest appearing on her face. Clearly, despite not really trusting Rayla, she couldn't deny the cleverness the girl had imploded and was starting to take a liking to the underdog.
Even the crowd seemed to momentarily forget that it was a Drow who had just come ahead, nobody booing or insulting the image above them. Some of them even clapped at the display earning them a distasteful look from those who remember. Several lords unhappy that one of the ones they bet on had just been removed from the competition, effectively losing them a large amount of money.
But Callum didn't care. Right now, he was too hyped to be considered with the opinions of money grubbing lords. At this moment, Rayla was showing what she could do. While he knew her life hung in the balance, a part of him couldn't help but admire watching her skill and determination. Two things she demonstrated with incredible ease. And with only one competitor left, all Rayla had to do was out score four of the other second place members and she passed!
Heart pounding as he stared up at the projected image, Callum raised his balled up hands to his sides, whispering quietly as he watched them race around the bend, now entering the final stretch.
"Come on, Rayla. You've got this.
"Looks like pigs really can fly, huh? You filthy Drow."
Looking over her shoulder, Rayla saw Angela coming up behind her, riding just behind her horse, the front hoof nearly making contact with her back one.
"So, was that a petty little one time thing, or do you plan to cheat the entire rest of the course?" She taunted. "I'm not surprised something of your standards would have to resort to such low tactics. In fact, I'm kinda surprised it took you this long to do it. What made you wait? We all know your kind is a bunch of honor-less, thieving whores."
Not raising to her taunts, Rayla responded by shooting a grin back at her, a smug look in her eye as she pulled to the side a bit, blocking Angela from over taking her.
"Aww, what the matter? Afraid I might outperform you?" She said back, her tone taking on the higher than thou tone the noble had used back at the starting line. "Well, don't worry too much. Everyone knows humans are the weakest race on Xadia, so I doubt anyone will blame you when you lose. After all, when faced with a former Drow Assassin, I don't think anyone would bet on the little human girl who thinks preying on rabbits makes her a big shot!"
Shooting an irritated grin Rayla's way, Angela nocked another arrow as she readied her bow, her eyes fixed on the Drow with pure distain. "Cute." She snarled sweetly, or as sweetly as she could. "But unless you forgot, I'm still ahead by a large margin. So you'd better pray to your evil goddess for a miracle, because two more bullseyes and you won't be able to catch up even if you hit all the targets. And speaking of that…"
Spinning in her seat, Angela took aim at a target hanging from a tree high above her, the woman smirking as she lined up her shot, the rider positioned perfectly to give her the widest angle possible for her shot.
"Make that only one!"
With a triumphant yell, Angela released her arrow, the pointed tip flying at the target, its feathers bristling in the wind as it sailed straight towards the bullseye!
Only for a dagger to fly out of the trees knocking the arrow out of the sky.
"Huh!?" Angela cried, her eyes widening as a second dagger scored a direct hit on the target she had been aiming for, landing smack dab in the middle of the target before into thin air, leaving only a deep cut in the wood to indicate it was ever there.
But while the weapon disappeared, the huntress didn't need to see it to follow its path with her eyes, the woman spinning around coming to a stop glaring at Rayla, letting out a snarl.
"Cheap trick, Drow." She spat venomously. "So that's your plan? Since you can't beat me legitimately, you're gonna resort to cheating?! I guess I shouldn't be surprised by such an underhanded tactic. Your kind couldn't win fair and square if you had the gods on your side! Not like that would ever happen, you disgusting bottom feeder!"
Looking over at the enraged woman, Rayla, seemingly unfazed by her insults, smirked over at Angela, her eyes blazing with confidence.
"Oh yeah? Wanna bet?" She replied, grinning back at the blond. "Cause from the way I see it back here, you're the one who's cheating. Think I wouldn't notice how it suddenly changed from a free for all to a two on one? If you think you're the only one okay with playing dirty, you've got a whole new thing coming!"
Scowling at this challenge, Angela kicked her horse into high gear, the young woman racing down the trail to try and get some distance between herself and Rayla, fully intending to use her massive point lead to her advantage.
Seeing this and knowing she had to counter, Rayla immediately spurred her horse on, nearly falling off as she made an effort to keep up.
Whipping around the corners and dashing through the straightaways, Angela shot arrow after arrow, each one aimed perfectly for the center of the target, trying to score the twenty points she needed to ensure her victory. Only to let out a scream of frustration as each time, a dagger knocked her arrow out of the air keeping her points stagnant as her opponent's began to climb, slowly closing the distance between them.
And as they rode down the path, rapidly approaching the finish line, this trend continued until soon, there were only a few paints between the two and very little road left to ride.
"You annoying leach!" Angela snarled, rounding on Rayla as she nocking another arrow. "How dare you interfere with me! Don't you know who I am?! I'm destined to sit upon the throne of the Pentarchy! Becoming the bodyguard of this useless prince is my first stepping stone on that path to greatness! How dare some worthless little Elf like yourself challenge me! You are nothing! So hurry up and go die already!"
With that, Angela fired an arrow straight at Rayla's face, the elf throwing herself back in her seat, the point just barely scratching her nose, leaving a cut across the bridge that started to leak blood.
Meanwhile, in the stands, Callum let out an angry cry as he jumped from his seat, glaring up at Angela as the gathered crowd let out a collective gasp.
"Foul play! That's against the rules!" He shouted gesturing angrily at the screen. "You're not allowed to attack the other competitors! Get her out of there!"
Turning his attention to the judges, Callum saw them look back at the podium, then down to their clipboards and, much to the prince's chagrin, scribble a penalty on Angela's name.
Eyes going wide at this, Callum nearly let out a cry of indignation. A penalty for attacking Rayla?! What the hell was that!? It clearly stated in the rules that no attacks on the competitors would be tolerated! Why the hell would-?!
Stopping mid thought, Callum spun around to glare at Harrow who was sitting calmly staring up at the image, his stoic face making the prince's blood boil.
Of course he had set things up to be against Rayla. Why wouldn't he?! First throwing the best of the competition at her, then this. He was dead set on having her be put to death and wasn't even trying to hide it! That glance back the judges had done, it wasn't because of him, it was because of Harrow! They were checking to see if it was okay in his eyes and he had given them okay.
Which meant…
"Oh come on! She clearly attacked with malicious intent!" This time it was Soren who had jumped in, joining Callum in his outrage. The knight may not be the biggest fan of Drow, but he certainly was opposite to favoritism in competitions. "Get her out of here! Bo! Booo!"
As Soren continued to voice his displeasure at the decision, Callum turned his attention back to the image above, clasping his hands nervously as he watched Rayla right herself on her horse, her nose bleeding profusely from the cut. Despair hitting him as he realized she wouldn't even be able to fight back!
"Come on, Rayla. You've got this." He said softly, as if he had the power to will it into being. "You can do this!"
Pulling her back into her saddle, Rayla let out a soft cuss under her breath as she reached up, rubbing her injured nose, the Drow somewhat dazed from the injury.
That however, didn't last long as shortly after, her eyes fell upon a target with an arrow sticking out the center making her heart run cold. Angela only needed one more bullseye and she wouldn't be able to catch up!
Wasting no time, Rayla kicked her mount into a full gallop, racing after the woman catching up to her just in time to see her taking aim at another target, the smirk of victory on her face.
Moving as fast as she could, Rayla whipped out her one of her Returning Daggers and hurled it right towards the arrow, the Drow nearly letting out a laugh of relief as she just barely managed to knock the tip off course, the arrow spinning down into the target, but not on the bullseye. Earning the Elf both a change at a comeback and an enraged cry from her opponent.
However, that victory was short lived as the next second, Angela did something that completely caught Rayla off guard.
Whipping her horse to the side, Angela steered her mount right into Rayla's, the blond woman paying no mind to the cries of pain and surprise as they collided, instead throwing a kick at the Drow, catching her in the side of the stomach, knocking the wind from the Elf.
"I will not be humiliated by some disgusting animal like you!" She howled, continuing to steer her beast into Rayla's even as said woman tried to pull away. "You are nothing! Just some filthy pig from the Underdark! How dare you stand on the same stage as me! Something as worthless as you should just learn its place and be stepped on by me and my greatness! It's an insult!"
Recovering just in time, Rayla was just able to block another kick from the irate woman, the two steering off the path and into the ditch on the side of the track, kicking up dirt and leaves as they tore through the underbrush, the horses Mage Armor being the only thing allowed them to keep going.
"Are ya mad?!" Rayla yelled angrily as she forced Angela's foot away from her stomach. "Has the thought of losing to a Drow really sent ya this far off the deep end?! How spoiled did ya parents raise ya?! Grow the fuck up and learn to cope ya self entitled brat!"
Snarling at this, Angela lowered her leg as she plunged her hand into her robes, glaring at Rayla with a look of pure contempt, eyes burning with rage at being called out on something she had no real defense for.
"Worthless little blood sucker. How dare you speak to me that way." She snarled, her eyes casted into a dark shadow. "You have no right to be allowed in my presence let alone speak as if you're my equal. You, that poper prince, neither one of you is good enough for me! I am destined for greatness! This is just another step in the rung. I'll outgrow that useless little mage shortly! Then all you other commoners can have him, I don't care! At the end of the day, he'll be tossed out like the trash he is! But as for you, insulting someone of my standing is unacceptable! So just die already, you stupid monster!"
With that, she pulled a long dagger from her robe and practically flew off her horse as she lunged for Rayla, aiming to plug the blade into her chest only to be stopped when said Drow caught her by the wrist, stopping her with the blade less than an inch away from her skin!
Jumping to his feet as he saw the two struggling with the blade, Callum watched in horror as the now deranged woman struggled to drive her blade into the Drow's chest, gripping it with both hands as an insane smile spread across her face, the competition all but forgotten.
Staring In disbelief at what he was witnessing, Callum's eyes quickly flicked down to the judges table, his disgust and frustration only growing when he saw them put another mark under Angela's name, indicating they found this to be a penalty, not a disqualification despite the clear violation of the rules. A sentiment he, much to his surprise, seemed to share with the rest of the stadium.
All around him he could hear murmurs of disapproval and see shakes of the head as many of the lords clearly didn't approve of such behavior. Some of the younger ones, even raising in outrage similarly to him, shout words of profanity at the blond noble, shaking their fists and booing.
And among these nobles, was a blond who the prince wasn't surprised at all took offense to what was happening.
"Boo! That's a clear violation of the rules!" Yelled Soren, he too on his feet, angrily gesturing at the image. "No contact, repeated attacks on her competition, that's cheating! Get her out of here!"
"Yeah! Disqualified her!" Ezran joined in, he too waving his fist at the blond right beside the knight. "The rules clearly state no attacks on the competition or the horse! This is a clear assault on both! Boo!"
As Ezran shouted this, much to Callum's surprise, another shot rang out from a lord on the lower stand, drawing the prince's attention to a middle aged man who was trying to keep his son, a boy around Callum's age, from standing.
"Get her out of here! This is a disgrace!" He yelled, ignoring his parents. "That's against the rules! Angela should be ashamed of herself! Attacking her competitor in the middle of such an important tournament, she should be punished!"
"Yeah! Get her out of here!" Another voice chimed in. Followed by a loud, "Cheater! Disqualified!" From another, before another joined in. This one simply booing.
Soon, all around the stadium, people joined in, yelling at the blond or the judges, voicing this displeasure at what they were witnessing, booing the poor sportsmanship alongside Soren and Ezran. And while it was a loud minority, a quick sweep of the crowd showed that even those who weren't joining in were noticeably displeased with what was transpiring. The men and women staring up with deep frowns or giving the image thumbs down.
Feeling hope rise in his chest, Callum looked towards Harrow, hoping to see the king in agreement that this was going too far, praying the man would stand and declare Rayla the victor before dispatching guards to untangle the mess, allowing her to return to the castle safe and sound.
However Callum received no such thing, and upon laying eyes on the king's calm, stoic face, he was ripped back into reality of the situation. Harrow wanted Rayla dead and was willing to stoop to any level to get it. She would receive no help, no support, and was completely on her own.
Balling his hands into fists, Callum, for the umpteenth time that day, cursed his own helplessness as he turned back to the image, unable to do anything but pray to the gods that Rayla would emerge victorious. Something that seemed less and less likely as, much to his and the audience horror, the knife moved ever closer to Rayla's chest, the tip now drawing blood.
And it was this that finally pushed the prince over the edge.
"Come on Rayla! You can do this!" He cheered, no longer caring he supposed to be a neutral party, the prince cupping both hands to his mouth even though he knew there was no way she could hear his cries, ignoring the shocked look form Opeli and the dirty look from Harrow, the young man simply cheering with all his might.
"Go Rayla!"
"Haaa!" Rayla hissed as she felt the blade dig into her skin, the cold steel cutting deeply drawing blood as she fought against the blond with one hand.
Unfortunately, due to her lack of horse riding experience, she, unlike Angela, couldn't release the rains, forcing her to use one hand to try and fight off the woman who had her whole body weight on the hilt of the dagger, forcing it deeper into the Drow's flesh.
"Damn it. I can't stop it!" Rayla thought, her eyes going wide as she watched the blade slowly sink deeper into her chest, the young woman already feeling the tip pressing against her ribs. "I- I need to end this. Now! Any longer and I won't be able to compete in the other competitions! But how?!"
Taking her eyes off her assailant, Rayla scanned the path ahead, looking for something, anything! To get this psycho off her!
Unfortunately, the path was made for the competition. And as such, there was little to nothing she could use as a barrier to force the woman to retreat. With all the trees and rocks pushed off the path so nobody could get hurt if they were thrown off their horse and ensuring no one cracked their head against any hard ground if they missed a target.
"Welp, guess I'm gonna have to get creative." Rayla thought, a bead of sweat running down her brow. "If this bitch wants doesn't want to leave me alone, I'll just have to give her what she wants!"
Gripping Angela's hand, Rayla, mentally apologized to the mount before she kicked off the blond woman's mount, steering her's into the deeper part of the woods, off the path and into the unkept shrubbery.
As this happened, Angela, thanks to her position, was swept off her horse, the woman now finding herself dangling from Rayla's as they rode into the forest, the woman easing up for a second as she tried to steady herself, the hunter rapidly trying to find her footing now that her center of weight was suddenly forced to shift.
And while thanks to her riding experience, she did quickly manage, for a second, her weight was pulled away from the dagger, and in the second, Rayla had made her move.
Throwing herself forward, Rayla let out a cry as she forced the blade out of her chest, the elf drawing her legs in and perching on her saddle before driving the blade deep into the horn where, in the half a second she had left, she used the rains of her mount as binds, tying her hand to the implement.
"Wha-?!" Angela cried, caught completely off guard by this maneuver, the woman tugging at her arm and losing the binds a little, but not enough to pull herself free.
"No!" The blond screamed in fury, looking up to see the smug smirk on her opponent's face, her eyes narrowing to slits. "How dare you use such an underhanded tactic! I'll have your head for this humiliation, you worthless piece of trash! You'll rue the day you were born the second my fath-!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it. Ya can stop with the threats." Rayla said, cutting the blond off with a smug smirk. "Ya know, you can talk the talk all ya want, but at the end of the day, I'm not gonna let the opinions of some spoiled brat affect me. I might be a failure, but at least I can say I tried. Ya so blinded by status and wealth, ya can't see anything but that. And that's truly a shame."
Snarling at the remark, Angela lunged forward, clawing at the elf, her hand just missing as Rayla darted backwards, ending up on the other side of the saddle where she remained perched, grinning at her opponent.
"Don't start with me, you vermin!" Angela snapped, frantically tugging at the ropes binding her wrist. "I don't need something like you lecturing someone like me! And thanks to that earlier comment, when I get out of here I'm gonna rip your eyes out to show you who blind! Maybe then you'll learn your place and think better of talking to those superior to you!"
"If ya say so." Rayla replied with a shrug, eyes fucking upwards as a grin spread across her face. "But if ya got such good eyesight, ya might want to look ahead of ya."
With that, Rayla leapt straight off her horse, flying straight up into the air leaving Angela on the horse as she turned to look ahead confused.
But that confused quickly vanished and was replaced with a shrill scream that was quickly cut short as she was slammed right into a thick tree, hitting it head on as the horse galloped by, squeezing through the small space between it and a large rock, knocking the blond woman from the beast and into the mud, landing with a resounding splat as above her, Rayla could be seen dangled from a tree branch, both hand squeezing the wood as she hung in place, technically not moving without her mount, nor touching the ground, therefore not removing her from the competition.
And as this fact sunk in to the stunned silent audience, their gaze slowly turned to Angela as she sob in the mud, repeatedly hitting the ground with her fist out of frustration at her now, unavoidable loss.
That's right, she had lost. Which meant…
"Rayla won!" Ezran cried, jumping from his seat throwing his arms into the air, the young prince soon joined by many others throughout the stands, many of the lords and ladies rising to their feet cheering at this sudden, unexpected upset. Forgetting even it was a Drow they were applauding.
"Oh yeah! Eat that, cheater!" Soren said, doing a happy dance in place, before quickly stopping upon seeing the disapproving look on Opeli's face.
Beside him, Ez too when expressing his joy, jumping up and down shouting happily as Bait bounced up and down on his head, even the normally grumpy toad looking less upset than normal as his own celebrated the victory.
And as for Callum, he felt like he might faint on the spot! The sight of Rayla, hanging from the tree, grinning down as Angela threw a fit in the mud, was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. His heart felt as full as it had been in years, the guilt over what had happened slowly fading away, being replaced by a strange, happy giddiness that he couldn't explain.
One trial down, two to go! Then, Rayla would finally be set free.
The sun shone down on the stadium as the audience cheered, watching the second event that was well underway.
Down in the arena, three large white circles had been drawn on the ground, with the combatants inside, circling one another, arms out to their sides.
This event was a simple wrestling tournament with even simpler rules. Either pin your opponent to the ground and keep them there until the judge counted to ten or force them out of the ring.
The remaining contestants, less than half of the original, now had been paired off in twos, with each one facing off against another with surprisingly good matches. Even that unbearable ass Elfric, had struggled a bit putting his opponent onto the ground and keeping them there, barely managed to hold him to the ten second count. And now with almost every other match out of the way, the entire audience had turned their attention to the main last event of this challenge.
There, in the center ring stood Rayla, her nose and chest now covered in bandages as the young Drow circled the massive figure of Urgo, the half Giant lord casting her into his shadow as he caged her in, forcing her to fight with the sun in her front.
Watching this total mismatch of a competition going on below him, Callum felt a fresh wave of anger wash over him, shooting a glare at Harrow who sat watching with a stoic expression.
"Of course he'd set her up to fail again. Why am I not surprised?" He thought bitterly before turning his attention back to Rayla. "Well, whatever, I'm sure Rayla will surprise him again. No way she can lose to the guy who had to retake elementary school."
Looking back down to the fight, he was just in time to see Rayla's once again trying to dart around the massive man, only to be blocked as he shifted his stance, blocking her once again.
"Well, well. You're the first Drow I've ever seen." Urgo said with a grin. "Never thought my first encounter would be in a tournament for the half prince's honor. Definitely something I'm gonna remember after I crush you!"
Taking a swing at the Drow, Rayla was able to cartwheel out of the way just in time, as his fist smashed into the ground, causing dirt and debris to fly up into the air all around her, the Elf shielding her face from the oncoming dirt but not slowing in her movement.
"Yes!" Soren cheered from the stand, leaning over the railing to get a better view. "She just won herself the perfect opening! From that angle, she'll be able to either get behind him or strike a weaker side! The only way this could be better if that oth opens himself up more with an attack.
And right on cue, as if he had heard the captain's call, Urgo, upon seeing Rayla on his open side, lashed out with his arm, making a clumsy strike aimed at her head in a desperate attempt to force her back. But his attack was slow, and off balance, something even Callum could spot, making the young prince excited. Once she dodged this, she'd be able to land a devastating counterattack against his weaken-!
"Ahhh!"
Immediately Callum shot up in his seat as he watched the clumsy strike smash into Rayla's side, sending her flying into the air before hitting the ground, tumbling several feet across the ground before managing to straighten herself out, grabbing the ground and digging her nails in, managing to a stop right on the edge of the ring.
"What the-?! How did-?! Why didn't she dodge?" Soren cried, hands on his head as he looked down at the ring. "That was an easy strike, an easy one! How could you not at least parry him! It was-!"
Falling silent from a strong glare from Opeli, Soren quickly straightened up, slapping his hands to his side, looking straight ahead as beside him, Callum stared down at the ring, eyes wide.
"Soren's right. Rayla should have been able to dodge that." The young prince thought as he watched the Elf slowly get up, her face battered, one hand pressing against her side where she was stroke, the young prince analyzing every detail he could see.
"She didn't look injured, nor did she suffer any major injuries during the archery event. So why did she not get out of the way? Did she just let her guard down? No. Given how fast she is, she should have been able to dodge no problem even if she had. So what happened? Surely she had-?"
Callum's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps. Snapping out of his head, he looked down to see Urgo was now charging at Rayla, laughing as he went. He clearly had no idea what had happened either, but was more than happy to take full advantage of the opportunity.
"I got you now!" He roared as he charged at Rayla, the young woman staggering to her feet to face the oncoming giant, her hands wrapped around her side, one eye shut as she breathed heavily, staring up at the stampeding man. "You're dead! I'm gonna wring your neck you disgusting piece of Underdark trash! I'm gonna show you the meaning of a living hell! And when I'm done, you'll wish you never have been born!"
Glaring up at the man as he got within a foot of her, Rayla's mouth contorted into a dark snarl, her face becoming enraged as she shifted her stance, her purple eyes blazing.
Snarl escaping her lips, with her breath rapid and fast as she glared up at her opponent bearing down on her, hands outstretched to seize her neck. But despite this, the girl showed no fear, her eyes simply glaring up at him.
"I already know…"she murmured softly, barely audible over the sound of the man's stomping feet. Rayla's hair casting her eyes into shadow as rage consumed her, her entire body trembling as she remembered the shame and humiliation that had brought her here, her anger numbing her pain as her head shot up, teeth bared at the man as he came within an inch of her.
"I already know…what hell feels like!"
With that, she spun out of the way, dodging out of his path in a heartbeat, her own leg lashing out, connected with the back of his knee, immediately causing it to drop out from under him, Urgo's eyes going wide as he flew through the air before hitting the ground and tumbling sever feet, crashing into the wall of the arena forcing many a judge to hurry out of the way as the man rolled across the ground and into the wall, crashing straight through it before he finally stopped.
And as she looked at the man trapped in the foundation of the stands, Rayla smirked as her judge came up, grabbing her hand and raising it into the air.
"The winner of the match, Rayla!" He shouted and once again, was greeted by the sound of roaring applause, the entire stadium exploding in excitement as the underdog once again snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, people chanting her name much to Harrow's displeasure.
But as all this excitement happened in the surrounding arena, Callum found himself looking down at the Elf with a fair amount of concern on his face, the young man having caught a glimpse of the dark expression on her face right before she had taken down her rival. His own twisting with worry even as Soren cheered loudly beside him. He thoughts drowning out the loud sound.
"What was that?"
A little while later.
Rayla let out a sigh as she sat down in the shade of the foundations of the stadium, the young Elf wiping sweat off her brow as she gulped down some water.
The tournament had a scheduled rest period between event two and three, letting the competitors get some much needed rest.
Which worked out perfectly for her given the injuries she had suffered.
Reaching down from the patch over her nose to her injured side, Rayla winced as pain shot through her body, the Elf flinching as the white hot agony coursed through her, making even breathing difficult. As well had the deep cut on her chest flare up which was covered by a tight wad of bandages.
Scowling at the pain, Rayla did her best to steady herself, closing her eyes for a few seconds to try and regain her composure. Something that failed when she heard a soft chuckle from the grass.
Eyes flicking up, Rayla saw Danear sneering at her, the young man sitting on the grass, his armor gone. Surrounding him were several woman of the court, the noble ladies giggling as they stroked his large biceps and chest, trying to feed him grapes and treating him like he were royalty itself as Camilla stood a few feet away, taking shelter under a nearby tree watching her change with folded arms, seemingly disapproving his actions. Or more likely that someone else besides her was giving the pampered brat affection.
Rayla responded by making a rude hand gesture before turning away. The young woman immediately winching as her side burned from the act.
"Totally worth it." She thought as she saw a look of irritation cross Danear's face. The man clearly wanting to get some kind of fearful or angry reaction out of her and failed miserably. Lolth's sake, she couldn't wait to beat the man senseless in the next round!
"Rayla!"
Drawn from her thoughts, said Drow looked up and was surprised to see Callum, Soren, and Ezran making their way over. The latter one being the one who spoke and skipping along, ignoring the scandalous looks from the other nobles as he approached the rogue.
"Ezran, Callum. What are you doing here?" Rayla asked, straightening up, the Drow quickly trying to hide any of the discomfort from her injuries. "Thought you guys would have gone back to the castle to eat with your father and the other council members. Why are you hanging around the stadium?"
"We came to see you!" Ezran said cheerfully. "You were amazing in the events! Totally awesome! The way you outfought and out maneuvered two favorites to win was incredible! How'd you manage to pull them off?"
Taken aback by this show of admiration, Rayla took a step back, blushing slightly. The Drow wasn't used to this kind of praise. Back in Lolth Lorena, she was expected to perform. Any feats of (what she thought was.) outstanding ability was normally met with indifference from the higher ups.
"Thanks Ez." She said sheepishly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't know how I did it honestly. I just knew I couldn't lose. Guess I have a bit of an advantage given that my life's on the line and my completion's isn't."
Laughing good naturedly at her joke, Rayla suddenly broke off, her ribs throbbing forcing her hand up to rest on it.
"With that said, I must say I wasn't expecting things to be this…intense." Forcing her head up, Rayla put on an awkward smile as she lowered her hand, hoping the three humans hadn't noticed. "I know it's for the honor of being Callum's knight, but I felt like I was up against the cream of the crop. I mean in Lolth's name, you have no idea how intense that is just by watching the projections."
Frowning at this, a dark look came into Callum's eye, the young prince angrily looking towards the ground.
"Yeah, you really don't." He said bitterly, making his friend and brother look over at him as a cold wind seemed to blow past them from the young man. Seemingly emanating from the prince himself.
Seeing Callum was still upset with his father, Soren let out a loud cough, distracting the other two from the step-prince's worsening mood.
"So, Rayla. You'll probably be happy to hear, after your upsets in today's matches, public opinion has started to change." He said proudly. "Right now, many people are rooting for you to win. People have even begun talking about making up a cheer for you."
Cocking an eyebrow at the knight, Rayla folded her arms, a small, uneasy smile on her face.
"Really?" She asked in a doubtful tone. "Me? The Drow? The scourge of humanity and an evil being hell bent on destroying your way of life for some barely understood reason. That's the person some people are cheering for?"
"The current betting pool says it's fifty on Danear, thirty-six on you." Soren replied with a shrug. "And I've heard some young lords and ladies talking about how hot you look while battling. Even heard some people defending you against some older nobles. So while it's not everyone, I bet you'll be able to leave your room without fear of harassment."
Shifting her weight to her other foot, Rayla resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Betting pools meant nothing as far as popularity. And one or two people thinking she was hot was hardly anything to celebrate, but she supposed it was a step in the right direction. Better than having everyone constantly harassing her.
"That's great!"
And Ezren certainly seemed to think, the boy practically jumping up and down, his pet glow toad glaring at the young prince as he bounced in his arms.
"See! I knew everything was going to work out! And once you're named Callum's knight, you'll have a statue equal to nobility, so nobody will be able to slander you anymore. Or at least not to your face."
Laughing at this, Callum reached out, placing his hand on his brother's head, slowing his bouncing with a bit of soft pressure that flattened part of Ez's curly hair.
"Easy there, Ez." The sorcerer said. "Remember, Rayla still has to WIN the tournament. And for that, she'll need to be on her A game."
Smirking at this, Rayla crossed her arms, fixing Callum with a playful pout.
"What? Ya don't think I'm good enough to be your guard?" She asked in a playful tone. "I'm hurt! And after I went through all the trouble to save you in that forest. What happened to all that 'you'll be fine' stuff ya was talking about leading up to this week? All for show?"
Callum's hands immediately shot up, his face turning slightly red at what the elf implied.
"N-no! I didn't mean it like that!" He stuttered frantically. "I just meant that there's still three battles in the next round you have to go through and they're all gonna be trying everything they have to beat you and you shouldn't underestimate them. I mean-! I'm not saying you're just strong, but-! It's just that-! Danear is a good fighter! And while he might have the personality of a narcissistic goblin, he never plays fair and you need to watch your back around him."
Ramble coming to a stop, Callum's voice took on a tone of utter sincerity as he lowered his hands and locked eyes with Rayla, his green eyes piercing into her purple ones.
"Seriously, Rayla. Be careful." He said seriously, his voice laced with concern. "Danear doesn't like losing and will do anything to make sure he wins. When pushed into a corner, don't expect him to play fair. He's not the type of person to just accept someone better and walk away.
Eyes going wide as she was caught off guard by this honesty, Rayla was too stunned to speak, the Drow standing there mouth open for several seconds.
However, as she gazed back into Callum's worried eyes, a sense of calm washed over her. Once again, she didn't know why, but she didn't want to disappoint or worry him. The young woman nodding back to him.
"Understood." She said confidently. "I'll make sure to watch him. And once I've out maneuvered his cheap shot, I'll take him down and make sure he'll never become your knight!"
Speaking with the utmost confidence, Rayla wasn't sure why she was so compelled to make a promise she realistically had no way to keep. But upon seeing the concern and worry not quite disappear from his face, a warm, happy feeling took root in her stomach, making her feel all giddy inside.
Seeing this, and noticing the tension dissolve, Ezran quickly darted forward, grabbing Rayla's hand as a big grin spread across his face.
"Hey Rayla! Let's eat together!" He cheered happily, pulling on her arm. "Callum knows this really nice spot on the hill that has just the perfect wind! It's the perfect spot for a picnic and-!"
"Ahh!"
Suddenly, Callum, Soren and Ezran stopped as Rayla let out a gasp, the girl falling to her knees, hand pressed against her ribs, part of an ugly bruise visible stretching out from under her armor.
"Rayla! Are you okay?!" Callum cried, kneeling down next to the Drow, his hands reaching out for the bruise. "That looks really bad. Didn't you go to the infirmary after your match?"
"I'm…fine." Rayla wheezed out, trying to wave them away but failing when she used her injured side. "Just a small scratch, noth'n I can't shake off." Looking up at Callum, Rayla hoped to ease his concern as she forced a smile across her face, one she hoped would convince him that she didn't need him fussing over her like this. Much as she appreciated it, a small bruise like this was common during her training. A trivial matter that warranted no concern.
However, Callum didn't seem to share her opinion, the young man helping her to sit on the ground, moving her arm so her bruise was exposed.
"You're not fine, you're hurt." Callum said shortly. "Didn't I just say you need to be at the top of your game if you want to win? How can you do that when you can't even stop yourself from falling?"
"I…" Rayla began, trailing off when she couldn't think of an excuse. Much as she hated to admit it, Callum was right. A single injury could impede a mission so Drow were trained to endure them, sure. But failure to disclose such a wound after already being dispatched was considered treason as it could add the outcome of the mission. Runaan had tried to drill that into her head, but Rayla in her stubborn glory refused to remember it.
Seeing the elf relent as she slumped against the foundations, Callum immediately felt guilty about snapping at the woman the way he had. Sure, she was injured and being stubborn about it, but she was a Drow in the middle of a kingdom mainly consisting of humans. Maybe she just felt uncomfortable showing her body to people who, while not directly, were the ones threatening imprisonment and death.
However, before Callum could dwell on this, the clack of armor cut through the awkwardness as Soren swooped in to the rescue!
"Don't worry Step-Prince. I got this." The knight said, walking over to Rayla's side and kneeling down, reaching both hands out towards the injured Drow's side.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing?" The Drow protested, squirming away from the large knight. Much as she tried not to judge people based on appearances, she highly doubted such a large, somewhat clumsy man could treat her wounds and not accidentally make them worse.
But as he laid his hands on her buried side, Rayla's hiss of pain turned into a sigh of relief as her side suddenly filled with a soothing warmth that spread across her body. A small, gold light emanating from Soren's hands easing her pain, making it fade away as the warmth spread across her body, reaching both her chest and nose making the pain vanish and sealing the wounds back up, and when he removed his hands, her injuries were practically gone.
Bewildered by this sudden, unexpected turn of events, Rayla looked down at her injuries and then back up at Soren, the Drow poking her her side uncertainty, only to find the damage had mostly been undone.
"Wha-? How-?!" Rayla began, only to break off when she heard the sound of laughter, turning just in time to see Ezran and Callum exchange a look.
"Yeah, that's the normal reaction when you see this side of Soren." Callum explained happily. "Everyone assumes he's just good at swinging a sword around, but he is the son of Katolis' Arch Mage and brother to Claudia. He was bound to pick up a thing or two from them."
Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, Soren, (surprisingly) seemed uncharacteristically bashful about the praise, the tall man rising quickly as the light faded from his hands.
"Aww. This is nothing." He said. "You should see what Dad and Claudia can do. They could have sewn you up and reenergized you while reading a book. A little first aid is nothing to brag about."
Coughing as an awkward pause followed his statement, Soren quickly crossed his arms as she straightened up, the tall man closing his eyes and looking away.
"And in the name of transparency, you should know I'd did one more thing." He said in a booming voice, but confident voice. "I don't know if he got it yet so I gave you your rabies booster while I was at it. Cause I know Drow can be carriers, thanks to Elf camp. So, you're welcome for that."
At this, Rayla let out a snort-like laugh, the Drow losing it at the utmost confidence the knight had behind his ridiculous statement.
And she wasn't the only one.
Callum, right at the very same moment, burst out into laughter, the prince doubling over as his best friend looked from him to Rayla, a look of bewildered confusion on his face.
"What?" He asked somewhat defensively. "Everyone knows Drow can carry rabies while showing no signs of it. That's like one-o-one teaching at Drow camp!"
This fact, (much to Soren's chagrin.) only made the two laugh harder. The two feeling their sides split open, both unable to stop for several minutes.
"Okay, whatever you say, Captain." Rayla finally said once she had stopped laughing, the Drow wiping a tear from her eye as she straightened up. "But how about we talk about this over a hot meal. After all, I'm dying to know what else they taught ya at 'Drow Camp'."
Smiling as she straightened up, the three of them led the Drow out of the shade of the arena and towards a grassy hill not far from the castle, all three of them missing the way Rayla reached up to shield her eyes, the girl flinching as she left the comfort of the shade to follow her new friends. The young woman falling into easy conversation as they walked, eventually disappearing from the arena's view, leaving nothing but four sets of footprints in the grass.
But, unbeknownst to them, as they made their way towards the sunny hill, a certain eavesdropper smirked from under the tree he was sitting.
"Interesting." Camilla murmured, an evil smile spreading across his face. "Guess now I have my strategy. Sorry, little miss Drow, looks like your fate is sealed now that I know you're weakness!"
The vast majority of time was dedicated to that stupid horse riding session. That alone took me a month to get right, and I hated every second of it.
But moving on to the positives, yeah, a lot of foreshadowing done in this chapter. You can probably see some threads of where this is going if I continue. Feel free to leave any questions and I'll do my best to get back to you. But until then, bye!