"You act as though I've invited you to your own funeral." Elio smirks at us as we stare at the bounty of food set before us. We sit gingerly on silken cushions, trying our damndest not to ruin the golden tassels or the exquisitely detailed rug holding our food, the rug detailing all the sun prince's victories, of course. "You leave your plates empty."
Only Elio feels free enough to heap his own plate with some slices of chicken or platters of fat grapes that are such a deep hue of purple that they are almost black. Ryu and I leave our beautiful plates empty, choosing instead to nervously go through an entire carafe of wine in case this night goes south. "I am unused to having a plate that is worth more than my entire dowry." I retort, staring at the golden plate that's so shiny that I can see my own reflection in it.
Ryu stifles his laughter, but Elio doesn't. In fact, the prince laughs for so long that I fear he's gone as mad as the priest. "There! There's the spirit I saw in you two today." He leans back, stuffing an entire chicken leg in his mouth. Ryu and I share an unsure glance. Who knew that the Empire's greatest hero ate like a pig. "Please, don't act so formally with me."
Ryu ventures forth on this one, furrowing his brow. "My prince, we don't wish to offend you. We... well with Alef..."
Elio's eyes darken from their regular golden hue, turning instead to fire. He gets up, the action sudden, throwing a gnawed-on bone back onto his plate. "I am Prince Elio the Chosen, heir to the Empire, the one who sits upon the throne in Rahasia. I am the one who Cato has blessed, the prize of the Elder god who turns back our enemies from the North. I am the one who, at only fourteen, took out the heart of a golem with my bare hands. Even the sun bows down to me as I fight with righteous fury!"
The air goes silent, heated by Elio's burning skin, the passion in his eyes.
"Well...yes." It's my turn to break the awkward silence. Ryu has turned a shade lighter, shrinking back from the explosive display. "Oh, and Alef's been bullying us, but Ryu believes that you shouldn't do anything to outwardly favor us or they'll cast aspersions on his honor as being a pretty boy in your harem."
"Ode..." Ryu glares at me with so much anger that I believe he'll start throwing sparks like a sun god too.
"What?" I don't know if it's the fine wine that's gone to my head or some ill-begotten sense of bravery, but my tongue's been loosened and that's the end of that. "Everyone knows that we don't stand a lamb's chance in lion's den in that arena against those with actual powers." I shrug sheepishly, "no offense to either of you."
Ryu and Elio laugh at me, like they're sharing some secret joke. I turn red, "what? Are you laughing at me because I'm a woman?"
"No," Elio's eyes glitter, "we're laughing at you because you're drunk off a half glass of wine at most."
Ryu shakes his head, "you're going to be in bad shape without a tent to sleep off the drinking sickness tomorrow, Ode."
Elio glances at our defiled bedrolls, sagging on the ground behind our comfortable cushions. "Alef was Cato's champion before... before this contest." Everyone in the tent silently knows that Elio meant to say, 'Cato's champion before I was chosen', but was too polite to go ahead and do so. "I can't offend him for risk of offending the higher-ups." And we all know that the only person higher in status than the Emperor and his son are the gods.
"My prince," Ryu stares demurely down at his wrists, covered in glass beads that catch like precious gemstones in the candlelight, "do not risk your position on our accounts."
"No," we wince at the finality in his voice, a voice unused to being trifled with, "no, you must sleep in a tent tonight."
Even drunk, I can tell this is a bad idea. "You would turn us into objects of gossip if we were to share your tent, my prince."
Elio chuckles as Ryu blushes bright red at the scandal of it all. "No, we wouldn't want that. I never said it would be my tent."
I raise an eyebrow, "then whose?"
***
Hello my Champions!
Ode, what are you doing?! You just humiliated Ryu.
ODE: It's not my fault *hic* that he didn't say it first.
You weren't supposed to say it at all!
ODE: YOU WANNA GO, SOPHIA?
*hides*
YOU ARE READING
A Priestess for the Blind God (Legends of Rahasia Book 1)
Fantasy"The Blind God walks around me, and I feel my mind prodded again like it was in the cavern, a spider weaving a tangled web. "Would you do anything to be remembered, Ode, even play a villain, the one who rises against the Chosen One?" In answer, I dr...
