The Heir of Red and White

Chaptyer Forty-Two: Aiyana

Thousands of people, all ranging in skin color and status, lined the stands of the arena. They screamed, and shouted, and laughed as if the battles waging below would not define their fate for the next few decades. I didn't blame them for their merriment. They were just civilians, blind to the wicked ways of court, simply here to enjoy the finale of the Royale.

     And Arielle did not disappoint.

     I watched anxiously from the edge of the sanded pit, standing beside the other competitors, as my sister decimated her opponents.

     The first guard she defeated was from the Azure Principality and had been taken out with a single blow to the gut. The other two were Royal executioners, far more trained than the Azurian Guards, yet nothing in comparison to my sister. I watched as she parried each blow with perfect form, her face free of sweat or creases as her eyes gleamed with joy. It wasn't long before she knocked out the remaining two, each with a hand to the throat. They fell to the ground quickly, their hands clutching their necks as they choked on air, surely wishing they could turn back time and forfeit the match.

     Once they were down, the announcer rang the brass bell that had been set above the stands and announced my sister as the victor. The crowd yelped and cheered her name, but instead of basking in their cajoling, she turned her attention toward me. The thrill of the win fell from her face as she met my gaze.

     I straightened my shoulders and jutted my chin, despite the nerves jittering through my veins, bracing myself for whatever taunt she would levy my way.

     Behind Arielle, a group of vermin women moved toward the injured guards and helped them to their feet before leading them toward the makeshift infirmary assembled near the corridor. Once they were cleared, the next three guards would be chosen at random. And I would be next. Perhaps if I hadn't been following right behind my sister, I would have had more confidence in my training and skill. But as she walked toward me with the crowd spurring her on, all I could muster was a deep, bone-wrenching sense of dread.

      "Ana, there's something I need to tell you." Arielle stopped just a few inches before me, and I prepared myself for the challenge I was certain she would issue.

     "What is it?" I said warily, my arms crossed over my chest. She frowned at my tone and gazed at her feet.

     "I heard about Cameron. And I wanted to apologize," she glanced up at me and my eyes nearly fell from their sockets in shock. Arielle was my elder by three years, yet in the time since our mother had passed, she had said nothing even remotely tender to me. I had blamed our estranged relationship on the nobles, but she had not fought against their separation. And I, so young and traumatized by my mother's blood, had left us to our fate.

      "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I realize now, as so many around us grow injured or die, how stupid I had been," the edge of her lips quirked into a sad smile as she placed her hand atop my shoulder. "You look so much like our mother. And you had a connection with her that I could not understand. I was jealous, that you got those last moments with her, and I will regret my actions for the rest of my life."

     I stared at her in disbelief as she grabbed ahold of my hands. Her palms were rough, and harsh from her training, but they were also warm, and her touch was gentle.

     Something had shifted in my sister when the Royale began, and Duchess Marigold was murdered. She had spoken to me more times in the last few weeks than she had in my entire lifetime, and I found myself wondering if I truly had to save the country alone. We were both heirs, and regardless of which one of us became queen, we had been born to rule, and I had hoped that we would both see New Rose changed for the better.