Title: The Bride
Adalynna had always known what her fate would be; she was the daughter of a king after all. From a young age, her mother and older siblings told her all about The Trials. Men would come from all over the land. From the coast to the distant mountains, princes, knights, wayword warriors young and old would come. The champion would be given wealth, land, and Adalynna's life, and to do with what they pleased. She had dreaded the day more with each passing year. Every compliment of her beauty was like a jab. Ever lesson in grace and etiquette was just the lamb being prepared for silence. 18 years went by before her very eyes and the day of the trials came with the toll of the bell. Days were spent preparing for the event, and the queen tried to reassure her that most of the men who competed had were more interested in the land and the wealth. This didn't comfort her in the slightest.
She was dressed up in her finest gown, all glitter and gold. At the arena she was placed upon a throne beside the king. A man she could scarcely call a father on this day. The challengers gathered at a separate location.. They would be tested for speed, accuracy, strength, and of course combat. They started with a race on horse back. across the country side, and ended at the arena. Only the 10 who arrived first would get to continue to the next phase. This was the trial that thinned out the ridiculous number of challengers that always came.
She heard the hoof beats of their arrival before she say them. As soon as the dust appeared one the horizon the end of the race came quickly. 10 riders dismounted there horses and she took stock of them. Most of them were wearing armor but they took off their helms as they moved toward the areaa center. The group consisted of a tall brawny man with an axe and a scowl, a man in red armor that showed off his arms and neck which were covered in tattoos, and two young men wearing barely any armor at all; they were chatting and seemed to be friends. There were two knights, one younger who was bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation and the other older and greying. Then a man in black armor who's eyes looked dangerous in a way she couldn't quiet place, a lanky looking young man with a bow who couldn't seem to look up at her without turning red, and a hooded figure in leather armor, his face hidden behind a blank white mask. Last, standing apart from the group, was man regal looking man with the emblem of the neighborong kingdom on his chest plate. A prince.
They were an odd collection, but when the king announced the next trial, they all looked determined. The archery challenge would weed out the numbers again. Each challenger would need to land a bullseye to continue on to the duels. The targets were placed and and the warriors took a few moments to prepare themselves. She tried to use what little information she had to assess which of her suitors would be the least objectionable.
The black armored warrior, was not at the top of her list. Everything about him set her on edge. The trials were ment to be cordial, but he looked ready to kill. She couldn't tell much about the two knights, but she knew she would prefer not to married off to a man so much older then her. The two friends seemed like peasants and probably wouldn't be difficult to escape from if she had too. The prince had a smug expression on his face, like he'd already won; it bothered her more then it probably should have. The lanky archer actually seemed sweet. He kept stealing glances at her with a bashful expression. The tattooed warrior met her eyes as soon as she looked at him and he gave her a little wink and a two finger salute. He had a nice smile. And the masked warrior. She didn't even know where to begin. He was watching her the entire time she was watching them. He was a mystery.
They took their positions and at the command of the king, they fired an arrow each in unison. The observing crowd cheered as the results were inspected. The tattooed man, the older knight, the lanky archer, the prince, the masked man, and the black armored warrior all had bullseye's. That meant several duels before this nightmare was over and done with. The king choose the pairs for the matches.
The tattooed man would face the prince.
The masked warrior would face the older knight.
And the black armored warrior would face the archer.
Her hand reached out, but before she could call out to him he had turned and slammed his fist into the princes face. Their were cheers and outrage, and everything in between. The tattooed man gave her a reassuring smile before he left the arena. The masked warrior and the the remaining knight took there place in the arena after the prince was drug away, quit literally, kicking and screaming. The two drew their blades and waited for the signal. Once given the mask warrior lunged forward at lighting speed. The knight barely blocked it and the right began. The crossed blades over and over, weaving around eachother. The knight was stiff while the masked warrior was practically floating across the battle field. She had never seen anything so grateful, it was almost like watching a dancer. The duel dragged in longer then the last, both fighters clearly experienced. Adalynna was admittedly mesmerizing by the mystery man. The knight was slowing down and in a split second, his blade was flung across the arena. The knight was breathing heavily and had sweat on his brow. With a heavy sigh he surrendered to his opponent. She was relieved when the two shook hand and parted amicably. The mask warrior have her a glance and short bow.
The fight she was dreading most of all was about to begin. Theam in black armor and the archer entered the arena and she was frankly terrified for the lanky young man. He himself looked nervous, but he stood tall. Once the signal was given, the archer moved. The young man basically threw himself at the larger opponent and flipped himself over the black armored warrior. By the time the large man realized the archer was behind him there was a bow being pulled tight against his throat. The archer was using his own weight to choke the larger man from behind. The maneuver drew gasp from the crowd. Likely no one had expected the smaller man to be able to fight such an visibly stronger opponent. The bashful young archer was a fighter after all. The black armored warrior was thrashing and grabbing at the bow. The archer appeared to pull back harder, and the large man started to slow I his movement. In a few minutes the black armored man was on one knee and slumped over. He'd stopped moving entirely and the archer released him. That was a mistake. The man in black armor was suddenly up again and he slammed his elbow back into the archers chest. The young man stumbled back gasping for breath.
What happened next was beyond words. The warrior in black didn't even draw this weapon, he was just pummelling the archer with his bare hands. He was drawing blood with almost every hit and Adalynna couldn't bare it. The archer had tried to grant his opponent mercy, but the man in black armor gave non back. She didn't want to watch this. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to run and hide. She wanted out of this nightmare. She thought they would all watch the archer die, but the match was called. The archer was black, blue and red when he was carried away. She felt like she was the one who couldn't breath, and tears stung her eyes.
She didn't know when,but the .asked man had walked along the walls of the arena and was standing at the edge of the dias, just to her left. He crooked his fiber, beaconing her closer. She looked to the king and queen who were hunched close together and seemed to be arguing. While they were distracted she leaned over to the masked man.
"Don't watch this fight if it's to much for you." His voce was surprisingly soft. "Things no I don't want it won't be able to hold back in the next fight if I want to survive."
"I understand." She said. The man took her hand and pressed it to his mask as if giving her a kiss. When his presence drew the king's attention he retreated. It's was determined that the final duel would be a battle royal. All three contenders would fight at once. She didn't care who won as long as the man in black armor lost. It seemed she wasn't the only one who felt that way. The tattooed and masked men exchanged a single glance before the signal, and when the man in black drew his balde, they both rushed him. It was a flurry of blades she could barely keep track of. The two warriors were relentless but the man in black armor was deflecting the blows and throwing out heavy strikes of his own. The two were surprisingly coordinated, striking at precise intervals and staying out of each others path.
It wasn't enough. The tattooed man took a blow to his leg and her dropped to his knees gripping the fishing wound. The Man in black armor struck again and the tattooed man was barely able to evade. He received another wound on his side. She saw him trying to raise his arm and his lips started to move when his opponent stomped on his arm and he let out a scream. He tried to raise his other arm and she realized he was trying to surrender. She was helpless to stop the slaughter on front of her. To her relief the mask man struck at him from behind while he was distracted and made a cut in the gab between armor plates. The man yelled and spun quickly to swing on the masked man. It had given the tattooed man just enough time to give an official surrender and he was pulled from the arena quickly, while the other two were still going at it. The masked man was being forced back, dodging the enraged man's attacks. Even in urgency, he seemed to float across the arena. He changed tactics and ducked under his swing to dive between his legs. He slid across the ground blade held out and in a single motion, he took the large man's leg.
'i won't be able to hold back' his voice echoed. The behemoth of a fighter went to down to the ground, and screamed. She couldn't tell if it was in pain, rage, or both. The masked man moved to stand over the man in black armor, and lifted his sword high. She thought he was going to do ish him off but he struck the ground beside him in warning and walked away. The man in black armor didn't try to stand again. There was no point. Adalynna's relief was short lived as she remembered what the masked mans victory ment. She was out of time.
He approached the dias and the king gave a long winded speach that she couldn't force herself to focus on. She was wondering what her future would hold. The king held out a box containing a gold pendant. It was the symbol of the man's victory. He took the necklace and looked towards her. She was frozen as he approached her and took her hand once against. She didn't know what to expect but she definitely didn't know what to think when he pressed the pendant into her hand. She tilted her head at him in confusion. In response he grabbed his mask and pulled down his hood. Adalynna gasped in awe, at the vision before her. Dark eyes, dark curly hair, and dozens of freckles. The masked warrior was the most beautiful woman Adalynna ha ever seen.
"Your life is you're now." The beautiful woman said. "Do with it what you will."
She turned from the dias and left the area with another word. Adalynna stared at the pendant in her hand. With it she would have land, wealth and her freedom, gifted back to her by a total stranger. While the crowd stood silent and dumbfounded, she did something she never thought she'd do. She climbed over the arena wall, and she ran. She ran so hard and fast that her shoes flung off. She ran until she felt burning in muscles shed never stretched before. She didn't know if she was followed. She didn't care. She only had one thing on her mind. The woman was riding away on a black horse and Adalynna yelled out to her. Her head wiped around and she gave Adalynna a sly grin.
"What brings you after me?" She asked like she already knew.
"I want to go with you." She said between panting breaths. "Please let me go with you."
The woman held out her hand and pulled Adalynna up onto her horse. "I never told you my name. It's Sylvian."
"Sylvian" she tested the name on her lips. They rode onward into the forest and she was shocked to find a familiar face. The tattooed man sat on a horse of his own waiting for them. His armor was off and was bandaged up and in the arm sling.
"Sylv." he laughed. "What's this? You don't tell me you were going to steal her."
"What are you doing here?" Adalynna asked dispite having a pretty good idea of what was happening.
"Adonis is my accomplice" Sylvian chuckled. "I hope you don't mind the company."
"No." She said with a smile. "I don't think I mind at all."
💜Thank you for reading! This was a fun one and I really enjoyed writing it. I might post a short sequel to this in the future with more romantic bits 🤭😏. Matching the theme tonights Spotlight is a fellow Bi writer whom I was lucky enough to become aquatinted with recently Azriel. She is super cool and you should check her out!
https://mobile.twitter.com/Azriel_Green?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor 💜
