Vetica

The Rawlins had worked to transform a mediocre sparring room into a space more appropriate for heirs to fight to the death. The space of the duel itself was clearly marked. Someone had carved a circle into the right side of the room where Vetica and Lilica would fight. It was large enough to allow them to move freely, dodge, and maneuver around one another, but small enough that neither of them could just run away if things went poorly.

Rows of wooden benches were laid out in a semicircle next to the space where they would be fighting. The room was wider than Vetica expected. She wondered if her father had his subordinates tear down an adjoining room to make sure there would be enough space for their audience. It was something he would do. For an occasion like this, the more witnesses, the better. Normally, there would just be a few Rawlins at this outpost, but wherever the leader of the Rawlins went, others followed. Soon, many of them would leave for assignments, and as they traveled through a series of outposts, word would spread. Before long, every member of the Rawlins scattered around the nation would know the outcome of this duel.

She wondered what they would think.

As Vetica looked out toward the audience, most of their faces obscured by hoods, she wondered who each of them was rooting for. Her or her sister. Charlie and Merlin were to the right of the room, on the second row. Vedic and his advisors were spread out in the first row.

Normally Hosuyo would be the one to oversee a duel like this. But seeing as most of the Rawlins believed him to be dead, his wife, Alona, filled in. Alona stood from her seat.

“Both combatants have arrived. In just a few moments, we will begin. But first I need to make sure the terms of this duel are clear.” Alona walked toward the center of the circle and beckoned for Vetica to join her.

She joined Alona and Lilica in the circle and waited for the advisor to get started.

Alona inspected both of them and then whispered to Vetica. “Since Lilica isn’t wearing anything over her shirt, you’ll need to remove your vest. I have to ensure neither of you has an advantage over the other. It won’t offer much protection against a hex infused blade, but appearances are important.”

Vetica nodded. As her fingers worked, her mind wandered. She was facing something she hadn’t prepared for. The plan she’d set into motion when she betrayed Hosuyo was meticulous, and yet, she hadn’t ever addressed the outcome of the battle itself. She knew what Lilica was and killing her should’ve been simple. Vetica had killed many people just like her.

But those people weren’t family.

The belts clattered to the floor, one by one, until only the one on her waist remained. Then she set to working on the vest itself. Lilica watched her like a serpent as she worked. She had ignored Lilica’s earlier taunts. Her poor attempts at a mind game wouldn’t have any effect on Vetica. She was under enough stress as is. Of course she had to win, but wasn’t there some other way out of this?

She knew her sister had to die, but did it have to be today?

She kicked the vest and belts toward a wall outside of the circle. It mostly worked. Some of the belts scattered a bit wildly, as belts do. A few servants hurried forward to gather the items for safe keeping.

With that out of the way, Alona raised her voice. “The rules are simple. The combatants will use the chosen weapon of the Rawlins. They may take as many as they would like, but once the battle starts, no more replacements will be offered. The two participants will fight until one of them ceases breathing. At that point, the winner will be declared, and the outcome of this matter settled.” Alona turned to face the audience. “Bear witness to this event and know outside intervention will result in harsh punishment without exception. The matter must be settled by these two alone.”

With that, Alona turned to eye each of them and returned to her seat next to Vedic. She sure wasn’t shying away from the prior confrontation. If anything, Alona was doubling down. Two servants each hurried forward, a tray in their hands. One approached Lilica, and one Vetica.

The tray had eight traditional Rawlin daggers on it. Vetica had brought one with her already. She picked them up, testing their weight. If she ended up needing a replacement during the fight, she wanted the transition to be seamless. She took the first two and sheathed them in her belt. She decided to take at least one more when a dagger on the far left of the tray caught her attention. When she picked it up, her brow raised. The weight was off. It felt far lighter than it should have. “This one…”

The servant perked up. “A gift from a friend,” he blurted. It was clear he didn’t want her drawing attention to it.

That was odd. “Who?” she asked. The servant swallowed but didn’t answer. His eyes fell, and he stared at the tray. She turned to quickly inspect the crowd. Her father looked bored, ready for the fight to start. Most of the others were obscured by their hoods. Alona stared at her. The word friend could mean many things. It could actually be a friend, or it could be someone who temporarily thought your interest aligned with theirs. But in a den of assassins, the word friend could mean anything but.

She sat the dagger back on the tray. “I wonder what your friend would do if I let everyone know what they’d sent for me,” she said.

The servant’s eyes went wide, and he stared up at her in horror. While he was distracted, she slipped the dagger up her sleeve and used her thumb to drag the one next to it over. She smiled. “Just teasing. But I’m not taking it. You can go now.”

He looked down and frowned when he saw the dagger was, in fact, still there. He reluctantly turned and followed the other servant, who had just finished with Lilica. Lilica had taken all eight daggers. Of course, she’d do something like that. The servant set the tray near the door and hesitated. He was worried about someone discovering the knife he thought was fake. But he would draw more attention to himself if he tried to take it. He accepted his fate and went to sit somewhere in the back of the room. Vetica slid the actual fake dagger into the back of her belt. She was curious about it, but it was too risky to use during this fight. She’d inspect it after. A quick glance revealed Alona’s attention was fixed at the tray. Had she noticed the servants’ odd behavior as well? Or was she really the one who sent it?

Vetica shook her thoughts from it. It didn’t matter for now. The fight would start any moment.

Her sister waited for her in the center of the circle. Vetica joined her. Though Lilica had taken all the daggers offered to her, there wasn’t any sign of it. She’d hidden them, including the one she’d been holding when Vetica entered the room somewhere on her person. It wasn’t surprising. That’s what assassins do, after all. But it meant Vetica needed to be on her guard. An attack could come from anywhere. Every single movement Lilica made was a threat. An attack. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down.

Lilica beamed at her, a wide grin on her face. “Aren’t you excited?” she asked.

Vetica rolled her eyes. “You’re as childish as ever. This isn’t a game.”

Lilica’s grin turned to a frown. “You never want to play with me. Well, this time you don’t have much of a choice. So, let’s have fun, okay?”

Alona would signal the fight at any moment. The audience was at Vetica’s back, so she’d have to react to sound alone. Vetica’s hand tightened around the dagger on her waist. She had to be prepared—

“Begin!” her father called out all of a sudden.

Lilica didn’t waste a moment. She leapt forward, her dagger erupting to life as a chant escaped her lips. “Blue Hex Blade!”

Vetica drew her own dagger just in time. “Blue Hex Blade!” she shouted in response. Flecks of magic sparked as the blades connected. Lilica was relentless in her opening assault. Her blade flew through the air like an arrow shot from a tall tower. Vetica calmed herself and felt out the rhythm of the fight. For every swing of Lilica’s, Vetica’s own blade intercepted and killed the momentum.

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Lilica was a wild, almost feral fighter.

“Agh! Die already!” Lilica snarled. She feinted a jab to Vetica’s right. Vetica went to parry it, but the dagger flew past her. Lilica had released it. Her sister pulled another dagger from behind her shirt and stabbed right toward Vetica’s face.

Vetica didn’t have time to block the attack. Her head shot to the side. Lilica’s blade cut loose several strands of hair, narrowly missing Vetica’s cheek.

That was careless. Vetica needed to get serious. Lilica was out to kill.

Vetica took in a breath and relaxed. She knew how her sister fought. Lilica was sloppy, predictable, slow. At least, compared to Vetica. She didn’t need to overthink this. She’d let her sister tire herself out and then she’d—

She’d what? Kill her sister?

Vetica blinked as she blocked Lilica’s next flurry of wild attacks. She backed away, blocking as she did. When Lilica had backed her to the edge of the circle, Vetica slipped to the side and past her. It was dangerous to be distracted during a fight. Lilica had never beaten her, but that didn’t mean she should take this fight lightly. Lilica had gotten stronger since they’d last fought. That much was obvious. Vetica couldn’t delay it forever. Eventually, she’d have to fight back. Eventually, she’d have to make a decision.

Lilica grunted and jumped, slamming her blade through the air toward Vetica. Instinctively, Vetica lifted her dagger to block the attack. But her mind wasn’t focused on the fight. Since it started, Vetica had been waging two battles at once. A physical one versus her sister, and a mental one versus herself.

It wasn’t sustainable, and that fact was proven when Lilica’s blade met her own.

The hex on Vetica’s dagger broke. Shards of blue exploded through the air. The magic faded and the steel of her blade shattered. Vetica jumped back, trying to create distance between herself and her sister. But Lilica’s blade found her skin. It bit into Vetica’s shoulder.

Lilica hadn’t expected Vetica’s blade to break either. When she landed from her aerial attack, she jumped away. Each of them studied the other. The wound on Vetica’s shoulder wasn’t deep. It hurt, but the pain was bearable. Vetica knew in that moment, if she didn’t get it together, she would die. She had to act.

She drew another dagger from the right side of her belt and glanced into the crowd. Merlin was standing in front of his seat with Charlie on his shoulders. They both leaned forward to make sure she was okay. She looked at them and nodded. They were the reason she was fighting. She couldn’t let them down.

Lilica shifted her weight from side to side, ready to attack again. She paused, noticing blood on her weapon, and an enormous smile crawled across her face. “I love it…now I’ll have a keepsake to remember you by.” She walked over to the edge of a circle and held the blade out. Her eyes locked on a servant standing along the wall nearby. “Go and put this somewhere safe for me,” she said. The servant looked at her, and then hesitantly toward Alona. He slowly approached the edge of the circle.

When she didn’t extend her hand beyond the circle, he paused. “I can’t reach inside it, Mistress.”

Lilica giggled. “Well, I can’t reach outside of the circle. So, one of us is going to have to take one for the team, won’t we?” she asked.

The servant looked at her with wide eyes. If he did as she asked, he’d be killed. If he didn’t, he would still probably be killed.

Vetica flicked her wrist, and her knife flew. The dagger with her blood on it clattered out of Lilica’s hand and onto the ground outside of the circle. The servant quickly grabbed it and hurried off before Lilica could give him another order. Lilica glared at Vetica. “You got it dirty. Now I have to make a new souvenir. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to get so much more blood this time.”

If Vetica continued on the defensive, the crowd would likely turn on her. Not to mention the fact it had already almost got her killed once. She couldn’t remain passive anymore. She had to go on the offensive. Vetica drew the last legitimate dagger she had. Other than this, she only had the weird one that she couldn’t trust. She just hoped she hadn’t traded her own life when she threw the dagger to save the man from Lilica. No, it didn’t matter. What’s done was done.

She ran toward Lilica. Lilica responded in kind. Their blades both turned a shade of blue once again. But this time, Vetica did not allow her sister to do as she pleased. This time Lilica was the on the defensive.

Vetica was a whirlwind, and Lilica was a leaf within it. Vetica’s arm extended. Her wrist flicked. Every time her blade created an opening, Vetica punished her sister for it.

Her blade forced Lilica’s weapon to the side.

Vetica punched her sister in the chest with her free hand.

She attacked again. Another Breakthrough.

A knee to Lilica’s stomach.

Lilica blindly swung outward with her knife and Vetica heard fabric tear.

She retaliated. Her blade shot outward, and Lilica’s clattered to the ground. Vetica twisted, shifting her weight on her hind leg, and bringing her other around to kick Lilica backwards. Her sister fell back onto the floor next to the knife she’d lost her grip on.

The cocky, smirk-ridden face her sister usually wore had devolved into something else. Hatred? Fear? Loathing? Vetica wasn’t sure. But she knew her sister was suddenly facing an inevitable fact. She was no match for Vetica.

She’d mistakenly assumed that just because Vetica ventured beyond the outpost and safe houses of the Rawlins that she wasn’t training. Lilica had thought sticking close to their father’s side would give her some advantage over her older sister.

It was a terrible mistake to make. A fatal one, in the right circumstances.

Lilica scooted back, eyeing the dagger to her right. If she stretched her arm, she could grab it. Vetica towered over her. It was clear it was over for Lilica, and yet, the will to finish her off wasn’t there.

But Rawlins weren’t exactly known for their mercy. If she spared Lilica now, the family would. It would turn on them both.

Lilica was gauging her. Her eyes flickering between Vetica and the knife next to her. The knives on her body must not be as accessible on the ground. That was an amateur mistake on Lilica’s part.

Vetica stood there, staring down at her sister. Lilica shook her head, confused by her sister’s inaction. “What are you doing?” she asked, a snarl on her face.

I’m trying to save you, Vetica thought. But she could never say that out loud. Not without risking the fury of the Rawlins. So instead, she did the only thing she could to buy time.

She smirked.

“You’ve annoyed me for years. Our entire lives, you’ve been nothing but a pain. You think I’d kill you that easily? After all that, you think I’ll let you have a quick death? Get up. Grab your blade. Let me show you why you could never beat me,” Vetica said.

Lilica’s expression shifted to confusion, and then back to rage. “I’ll kill you!” she said. She stretched and grabbed her knife and then shot back to her feet. The crowd went wild. They loved it. Violence. Bloodshed. Murder. The Rawlins lived for it, and now everyone was riled up.

But just as soon as Lilica stood, she froze. She stared at Vetica’s stomach. Vetica took a step back before glancing down. The fabric of her shirt was torn where Lilica had blindly swung her blade earlier. Lilica’s blade hadn’t met skin, but it had managed to expose part of Vetica’s abdomen. The long scar that cut through her belly button and extended past it on either side was clear to see.

It was a painful memory, and proof of what she owed to her sister. Proof that Lilica hadn’t always been bad. The memory wasn’t lost on Lilica, either.

“Father no…” Lilica whispered. Her eyes glazed over, and it looked like she wasn’t in the present anymore. Like she wasn’t aware of what was going on. “Don’t hurt her. Vetica’s my sister!” she shouted. Lilica dropped to her knees and her blade fell to the ground. She held either side of her face and screamed.

The crowd murmured at her sudden shift in personality. Vedic glared at Vetica. She could sense what the look was saying. “End this. Kill her.” She turned away and ignored him.

“Lilica…what are you doing?” she whispered.

Lilica’s head snapped, and she stared directly at Vetica. “I won’t let you hurt her. I’ll kill you if I have to. Don’t cut open my sister!” she roared. It seemed as if she was no longer aware of her surroundings.

Vetica had always been stronger and faster than her sister. So, it came as quite a surprise when one moment Lilica had been kneeling on the ground in front of her, and the next she was driving a dagger towards Vetica’s heart. Vetica dodged and rolled away. She turned back to see Lilica had already swiveled to follow her.

At that moment, she recognized the fighting style. She recognized Vedic’s training. Something inside of her sister was broken, and Vedic had done something to take advantage of it. Something in his training he didn’t want the other Rawlins seeing. Lilica shot forward again, and Vetica just barely deflected the attack and jumped away in time.

The speed. The overwhelming power. It was like facing her father.

For the first time since their fight started, Vetica was afraid.