The girls were ushered to some barren rooms, separate from each other. They were instructed not to talk to anyone and only to wait for their fight. Time passed slowly in this dark place. She heard the clanging of metal, the screams of the dead, and the scent of blood filled the air. She was the last to fight, led into the moonlit area by two guard. They whispered amongst themselves. Aynilia chose to ignore the comments and focus. Her only goal here was to stay alive. She had no desire to win, or even to fight, she only wanted to escape home to her family. She looked up to find that both the Matron and Prince were watching her intently.
Her opponent was a tall, beautiful, brown haired fighter. Her strong, yet lean physique told Aynilia that this girl was quick on her feet. She would be hard to best on speed. She would need to be defensive to wear her opponent down in order to slow her feet. This tactic was commonly used in hunting very agile Mudcats. Wait them out until they are tired.
A bell echoed down into the arena and the opponent wasted no time charging at her with a sword ready. Aynilia was swift on her feet and dodged, blocking and parrying the girl to preserve her energy. The girl was quick to tire as she hit hard and fast. 'Why would she try so hard against a defensive opponent?' Aynilia wondered how much battle experience she had. Then an uncalculated move caught her off guard. Her opponent focused a significant amount of energy into her fist and it connected with Aynilia's face. She flew back and hit the ground so hard the solid mass beneath her cracked. She didn't have much time to react before the point of the sword came at her. She dodged, rolling back and clumsily onto her feet. Her vision blurred. 'Shit, my head' she hissed the thought. Warm blood danced down her face, she wiped it away and tried dodging. Her moves became lazy as she drifted in and out of consciousness, the edges of her vision blackening. She saw the girl dashing her again, sword drawn.
'damn it. move legs...MOVE!' her mind screamed. Her voice in her mind sounded strangely high pitched. That was when she realized her Creegin power is still an option. 'As long as I can stay conscious, I can finish this' the thought barely finished when she was smacked from behind, her vision going completely black.
The girl ran at her again, realizing the daze from the force of her punch. The girl swiftly dodged around the wobbling girl and smacked the hilt of her sword into the back of the girls’ head. 'An easy kill' the young blood thirsty warrior sneered at her good fortune. She raised her sword above the now unconscious girl. She went to drive the sword down when she felt the air drop to a blood halting chill. The girl froze confused, the air becoming thicker. The warrior was drowning in the thick force. Her throat closing up and her breathing quickening, trying to get every ounce of air she could.
Both Cranis and his mother found the air thick and hard to breath. She kept coughing thinking she needed to clear her throat. She was unperturbed by the now stillness of the scene before them. Cranis set his focus on the unconscious girl whose body seemed to pulse, the sound of her slow heartbeat echoing in his ears. His mother seemed to notice the abrupt change in temperature. She leaned forward her hands folding in front of her mouth, covering her pursed lips. 'What trick is she playing now' The matron monarch looked on puzzled.
Cranis was captivated by this event, unable to move his eyes from the white-haired doll. The sky seemed to get darker for a moment and the girl's skin seemed to take on a white glow. Her hair flowing wildly, escaping the ornate confines it had been in moments prior. The circlet broke in half and fell to the floor. Slowly the girl lifted her body from the ground. Her back was to them now, but he was so curious to see more, he wanted to see her face. Something in his mind drew him to her.
The warrior broke from her daze and caught the eyes of the girl before her. This was not the same girl she had been fighting and a twinge of fear crept through her. The involuntary shiver at the expressionless red eyes before her made her retreat from the girl's side. She however was not fast enough. With a fluid single motion, the girl closed the gap. She grabbed the dark-haired girl by her neck and hoisted her above the ground. Instinctively the girl dropped the sword and tried prying the strong hand from her neck. The gasps were frenzied as the girl was losing oxygen with every increase in pressure.
Aynilia threw the girl to the side, her body making multiple snapping sounds. She gasped more and more, trying to move away from the being before her. Her blood red eyes fixed on the struggling girl. She whimpered as she watched the emotionless girl grab the sword from the ground beside her and studying it carefully. Her expression never once shifted, even for a moment. She turned toward the girl and Cranis caught a glimpse of the moon doll. Her beautiful metallic blue eyes were no more and were replaced by unrecognizable red eyes, glistening silver markings faintly showed on her face. In a flash she closed the gap, the whimpering girl on the ground now sputtered and blood exploded from her neck.
Her vision came back and she felt something warm on her face, she looked down and saw the face of the dying girl. She watched the life leave her eyes; a moment of horror overcame Aynilia. The sword clattered to the ground. Hunting never had this effect on her, but she also never stared into the eyes of one of her victims. Her eyes welled up with tears as she made a prayer for the girls’ spirit to be reborn into a better time when she didn't have to die like this. A few glistening tears fell and the girl looked over Aynilia's shoulder with a smile before her eyes lost their last glimmer of life.
She turned to the two arrogant occupants who watched it all unfold. "What kind of awful horror show are you sick, twisted monarchs involved in?!" She screamed at them, her heart breaking with each word. "What about her family!" Her thundering voice cracked. Her head ached and she staggered for a moment. Her tears flowing wildly down her cheeks. "Why. Why did things turn out this way" she kept screaming the words?
The Matron signaled for two guards to take the crazed girl from the arena. Her words, however, struck a very deep cord in Cranis' core. He didn't understand this either. She seemed to affected by a girl's death whom she didn't even meet before today. He watched the moon doll's back when suddenly her words and limbs fell still. The two guards just continued to drag her by her arms out of view.
"Hmph. Well that was boring" his mother stated standing and turning her heel to leave. Cranis sat longer staring at the lifeless body still in the arena. With a single motion of his hand two guards came and removed the body from view. He still sat for a while staring at the bloodstain on the ground. The events replaying in his mind.
