“I trained with Grobeche in the Talea Macto for the last nine and a half years.” Susi said, completing the first part of her story.

“Fascinating.” Marcus said. He was the only one at the table who seemed entranced by her tale. He sat with his elbows on the tabletop, listening to her every word.

“Speaking of Grobeche, did your guards ever find out where he went?” Susi asked.

“No one ever got back to us.” Marcus snapped his fingers and beckoned one of the guards over.

“Oh my, look at the time.” Damius Marks got up from his seat. “We need to get you over to the vorago so you can prepare for the games.”

“What about my friend?” Susi got up with Marcus and Ersonia.

“Despite the fine treatment you’ve been given, Susi, you’re still a prisoner in this castle,” said Marks. “The whereabouts of your friend are irrelevant to your situation. Marcus, see to it that our guest makes it to the vorago safely.”

“Yes father.” Marcus met Susi’s eyes while replying. Susi saw a fellow prisoner in that exchange of glance.

“I feel like I need to take a quick bath after hearing that story.” Ersonia said. “What a sorrowful and dirty life to lead.” She shook her head and left the room for one of the restrooms.

“Come on, Susi.” Marcus sighed, beckoning for Susi to follow.

Susi followed Marcus to the main corridor of the castle and watched him ahead of her as he walked. It was a strange feeling, like Marcus didn’t want to look at her…like he was the owner of a beloved farm animal and had to lead it toward the slaughterhouse.

Susi separated her thoughts from reality. She knew Marcus was dying throughout the entirety of the morning. Susi could feel it as well. The two wanted to cast aside their roles and be together as the lovers they secretly were.

Marcus waited for Susi at the top of the steps just outside the front entrance to the castle. Susi had never gone this way, but the entry castle grounds were gorgeous and green like the grassy shelves of Appey’s Garden.

Susi stepped between the castle guards that stood before the castle entrance and met Marcus’s side. The morning sun was perfect in the cloud-dotted morning blue sky. She could see the whole of the island from here.

“I’m sorry about all of that.” Marcus said.

“Just doing what you had to do.” Susi said.

“You should never have to answer to or feel beneath Ersonia.” Marcus looked down the steps. “You’re so much more than her.”

“We’re the same, if nothing else.” Susi shrugged.

Marcus shook his head, stuck his hands in his dress pants pockets, and dropped down the steps. Susi followed. “Susi, if you want to win today, you’re going to have to change up your tactics. They’re not going to go easy on you, and the audience has given Omne a mandate to see you killed as quickly as possible.”

“Leave the fighting to me, Marcus.” Susi said.

Marcus stopped and grabbed Susi’s arm. His brown eyes met hers. “You don’t understand. In order for us to be together—in order for you to win—you’re going to have to kill people today. You can’t play this game as a pacifist.”

“I’m getting tired of people thinking of what I do as pacifism,” said Susi. “Neutralizing energy isn’t a passive thing.”

The two continued down the quaint main street of the city that was still waking up for the day. “Whatever you call it, my love,” said Marcus, “you’ll need to be willing to do whatever it takes to win. That includes putting on a show for these fools.”

Susi had been witness to the way Marcus marginalized Ersonia. Susi asked herself if he was speaking to her in the same regard, but it had come off quite the opposite. He genuinely spoke to her with care, like he was already her husband and they just needed to get through a difficult day.

Being with him and growing with him felt natural, like she had discovered that he was already part of her life before the two had even met. And yet, they had to put on a show for everyone in the world.

“Do you still want to be with me if I win?” Susi asked.

Marcus stopped again. They stood on the street corner a few blocks from the vorago that loomed over the rooftops of the buildings nearby. “I’ve never been the type of person who wished for anything, but the idea that you even exist is beyond any wish I could have conjured.”

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

“Well….” Susi’s cheeks went red. She didn’t know what to say.

“Come,” he beckoned. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet. A change of wardrobe is in order for the coming day.”

In the shadow of the vorago coliseum, nestled between the columned entrance to the Narcuss Treasury Reserve and a line of other stores, stood the arched entrance to a fine clothier’s shop.

Everything within was so expensive, Susi could tell she wouldn’t be welcome before they had even crossed the street. She could smell the exquisite leather and fabrics from foreign lands as they drew closer.

They entered the clothing store and Susi met Sived for the first time. He was seated at a large table that was mostly covered with fabrics of all kinds, except for a rectangular workspace around where he was positioned. To his left were piles of paperwork, and the rest was all clothing for orders that needed to be filled.

He watched them over the reading glasses that rested on the tip of his nose. “Good morning,” Sived stood up, looking between the prince and Susi. “You are the prince, and you: I’ve never seen anyone like you before.” Sived pointed to Susi.

“I’d like to get Susi something a little more fashionable, but also…intimidating—something in black. She has a vorago match this afternoon. Money is not an issue.” Marcus said.

Sived’s eyebrows raised. He took a few steps toward her and squinted—soul to soul—into Susi’s eyes. “Madam, do you mind?”

Susi glanced at Marcus, who nodded. She had never been to a clothier before, and Sived was a different breed of clothier. He was much more hands on.

Susi was taken to a part of the store that stood between large racks of clothing for different events and seasons. The racks towered two stories over them, so to Susi they seemed to be within a forest of clothes.

In the middle of the racks was a large open space. There was a cushy reclining chair in the corner. The tiled stone floor of this area was so worn that the manufactured polish on the floor appeared scratched, scraped, and worn to a natural shine; like the wood surface of a practice dance floor.

Sived pulled Susi to the middle. Marcus stood at the edge of the floor, watching as he leaned upon one of the coat racks.

He took off Susi’s sash belt with a tug before fluidly pulling off her blue Talea robe. Susi swallowed and glanced at Marcus as he was able to see her in her black under uniform that fitted to her figure.

Sived produced a strip of measuring tape that was so worn it was brown and faded. Susi only saw it for a few seconds as the clothier flashed the tape across her many different regions and zones as he paced around her. He even measured the diameter of her neck.

Like a magician, Sived made the tape disappear before grabbing Susi to pull her over to one part of the floor. He began rapidly pulling clothes from different racks and placing them against her. His eyes flashed between her hair, to the clothes, to her eyes, to a separate piece of clothing.

He replaced the clothes and grabbed items that were totally different from what he had just taken. He would place different clothing articles against her as though every single piece of information gained informed the next action and piece of clothing perfectly.

Sived dove into one of the racks. Susi could hear the metal hangers scraping against the metal bars holding them as the clothier flicked through everything. At last, he returned with armloads of items that he checked. He piled them all onto a separate rack to put away later, but kept one piece of clothing. He did this until there was a stack of items neatly piled in his arms that he placed in Susi’s hands.

“The changing room is over there,” said Sived, pointing to a changing room in the corner. He glanced at Marcus. “No princes in the women’s changing room. Sorry.”

Marcus, who had not moved from his position, cocked his brow at Sived. Susi went into the changing room and closed the door behind her. She put the clothes on a chair in the corner and took off her under uniform.

Catching her naked body in the tall mirror in the corner, Susi saw the light scars on her sides and back, permanent cuts and scrapes that shone white against the flesh of her skin where they had healed. The Talea had hardened her into the person she was today: and that woman who still looked somewhat like a girl stared back at her in the mirror as she stood half naked in her reflection.

Susi didn’t see her own image very often, but this time she could see herself being crowned queen, could see herself in some of the formal attire Sived had placed upon her as she held her son—the new prince—in a cream-colored suit that matched her own fine dress. She stared at this image and through the image of herself for what felt like a long time, before she continued and took off her cloth pants.

She looked like a skinny, teenage girl now, standing in the light blue underwear she had acquired from the castle. She assumed that if they were going to serve her up for entertainment, the least they could do is provide her a change of underpants. The room was cool so Susi naturally crossed her arms and cupped her breasts and herself for warmth as goosebumps ran down her back and shoulders.

Susi picked up a sort of black leotard with sleeves that she could slip into. She put on a pair of fitting black, leather pants. The leather expanded with her movements after she put it on. The bottom cuffs of the pants pulled over the black leggings up to her lower calf.

She was supposed to put on a pair of small leather boots, but assumed they would be a disadvantage to her. The boots felt form-fitting and didn’t encumber her movements as she thought they would.

For her upper torso, she donned a black leather carapace that was thin enough to allow her free movement with her arms, but somehow thick enough to stop the point of an arrow. It was rubbery in texture.

There were clips at the bottom of the carapace at the back and front, and metal rings at the back and front of the reinforced waistband of the leather pants. Susi clipped them so the outfit held around her as she moved. It was a little bulky for her liking, but it worked for the situation.

Susi left the changing room with her clothes folded in her arms. Marcus eyed her up and down, nodding. Sived floated over and began checking everything on her. He had her take it all off so he could make final adjustments to the carapace and pants for maximum maneuverability.

By the time they finished, it was time for Susi to go to the vorago coliseum. Marcus walked her to the side entrance where a few guards were standing watch. Susi was taken from there.

The two gave one another a final look, before the guards closed the door between them.