Chapter 258: What A Silly Thing To Say

The two drow siblings of the minor House of Stemme looked over each other’s flamboyant apparel. Their bright silk clothes had to be visible to the crowds below in the coliseum, nothing less was acceptable. Mark and Jane had waited four years for this moment. Today was the day.

Mark nodded in satisfaction at his sister’s bright yellow dress, “Perfect.”

Jane walked around Mark, eyeing his pink jacket and silk white pants, “It’ll do for today.”

“It’s never good enough for you,” Mark rolled his eyes.

Jane smirked and kissed him on the cheek, “Satisfaction is the first sign of a dreary mundane life.”

Dammit, she’s right, Mark thought.

“Now, let’s go show the world what they’re missing,” Jane patted his back and walked down the hall.

Mark rolled his shoulders, cleared his throat, and followed her. They reached the hall’s end and stepped out into the Announcement Tower’s balcony. The coliseum’s crowd cheered at the sight of them. Many of the merchants and commoners alike held up banners of Undergrowth and waved them in the air.

Mark leaned over and whispered into his sister’s ear, “They love us.”

“Let’s not keep them waiting,” Jane smiled and walked over to the speaking-trumpet that rested at the edge of the balcony.

The enchanted 20 ft trumpet curled around the grey tower and leaned out to the crowds a hundred feet below. The magical instrument amplified the speaker’s voice and allowed even the farthest away guests to hear a herald’s showy voice.

Jane took a deep breath and yelled into the speaking-trumpet, “Dearest guests, after four long years, welcome back to the 277th annual Great Cities Tourney!”

The crowd roared in approval, their voices echoing across the titanic coliseum.

“I am Jane and this is my brother Mark-”

“And together we are the extraordinary siblings of House Stemme!” Mark yelled. “Ready and willing to dedicate our all to be your Heralds for this epic day!”

Jane wrapped her arm around her brother’s shoulder and waved to the crowds, “The Great City of Undergrowth is honored to host this year’s tournament! Many of you have traveled from all over the realm for this momentous occasion, eager to support your city’s team, to watch the greatest talents of this young generation battle in a series of magical challenges, or maybe you’re just here for the amazing food and wonderful entertainment!”

“Whichever the case may be, you are in good hands, for the City of Thorns has it all!” Mark spread his arms wide. “So, without further ado, allow us to introduce our brave and talented contestants! From the Western Gate, the sons and daughters of our Great City, the spearhead leading the next generation of magic, ~Teeaaam Undergrowth!~”

The Western Gate rose open to the rumbling of cheering voices echoing the city’s name over and over. Calex Thorn stepped out into the warm sandy arena and waved politely to the adoring fans. Veronica Sientia and Damian Parvus followed close behind, smiling wide and waving with both hands. Heather Navis stepped into the arena last, she strutted on the sand with the pride and nimbleness of a cat. Heather held her head up high and simply soaked in the admiration of her cheering fans.

“And from the Northern Gate!” Jane yelled. “All the way from the icy Rupture Mountains, give it up for the champions of last year’s tourney, ~Teeaaam Frost Rim!~”

~~~

Hollow Shade’s team waited below the coliseum, in a private training room. Vayu, Cornelius, and Tauri had already gone up to their viewing box to watch the tourney in the lap of luxury with the other aristocrats. Loh and Ismene had stayed behind with the students to coach them one last time before their first Challenge.

Despite the healing spells and treatment, Ismene’s body hadn’t healed fully. Her age and the wounds suffered from the dragon attack had taken a toll on her body. She rested on a chair and let Loh go over the tactics with the team, only speaking up when she deemed it necessary.

As Loh spoke Freya furiously wrote down her words on a small notebook she carried around in her pocket. Callum asked a few questions about one tactic or another and Sylvie simply listened with a large smile on her face. Stryg heard none of it, his attention lay above them.

Stryg could hear the crowds cheering from the coliseum above. They chanted the names of Frost Rim with fervor while others chanted for Undergrowth. He had never heard so many people in one place, not even in Hollow Shade’s Festival of the Gods. It was unnerving. He subconsciously reached for the hilt of his sword, Nameless.

“Nervous?” Gale asked.

“Huh?” Stryg blinked and looked up at the vampiress.

“First time in a coliseum?” Gale said sympathetically.

“Yeah, no big deal though,” Stryg tried to shrug indifferently.

“Hah! He’s lying,” Lysaila grinned. “His heartbeats have gotten faster ever since we got here.”

Stryg hissed at her. Lysaila hissed back.

“You know, I’d say seeing you two like this gets old after a while, but it really doesn’t,” Gale said thoughtfully.

“Remind me why you two are down here?” Stryg sighed. “Shouldn’t you be… I don’t know, eating some meat pies or honey cakes up there with the rest of them?”

“That does actually sound tasty,” Lysaila licked her lips.

“We are down here to make sure you’re doing okay,” Gale nudged Stryg’s shoulder. “My uncle asked me to keep an eye on you while we’re in Undergrowth. And after that incident in the alehouse, I’m starting to understand why.”

“Why does everyone keep bringing that up? I only knocked out one guy,” Stryg grumbled.

“Only one, huh?” Gale smirked. She sat down next to him on the bench and stared up at the ceiling that shook just so slightly. “...I never liked big crowds either. Back when I was 20 the tourney was held right here in Undergrowth. I sat just like this before the opening ceremony. I remember walking out and seeing those crowds…”

Gale chuckled, “Everyone I knew was watching from those stands. I was so nervous… I was scared.”

“You, scared?” Stryg had a hard time picturing such an image. “What did you do?”

“Well,” Gale smiled softly, her scarlet eyes filled with reminiscence. “I looked at the viewing box where my family sat. My parents were so proud of me, they cheered my name. My uncle seemed nonchalant about the whole thing. Uncle Gian was confident I would win… But my little brother, he looked scared. Clypeus was only 8, he was terrified I’d be hurt or worse.”

Gale gripped her hands together tight, “I didn’t want him to be scared. I didn’t want him to feel like he could lose me. So I made a promise to myself that day. No matter what monsters I’d face in that tournament, I wouldn’t back down, I wouldn’t give up. I’d fight on, I’d survive, for the ones who mattered most in my life.”

Stryg stared at his feet, “...Cly is gone.”

Gale grabbed his shoulder, “But your family isn’t. They’re still out there. Feli, Nora, Kamilo… And I bet they’re worried about you too.” She pointed to Nameless, “You see, Stryg, when you walk out there, you are going to have to ask yourself why you carry that blade, why you chose to come here, why you chose to fight against the best and most dangerous.”

Gale stood up and looked him in the eye, “You’ll have to ask yourself the most difficult question of all, the question that burdens every person who dared dream of greatness.” She pointed at his chest, “Who. Am. I? Because that person, Stryg, will have to do what no one else thinks they can.”

Stryg swallowed, “And what’s that…?”

Gale smiled, “Win.”

~~~

“That’ll be all for now. Any more questions?” Loh asked.

“No, thanks, I’m good,” Sylvie smiled.

“I think I got everything,” Freya glanced at her booklet.

“Actually, I had a few,” Callum raised his hand half-way up.

“Okay, let’s talk over here while those two get ready,” Loh motioned Callum to the other side of the room.

Callum briefly glanced at Sylvie, before nodding and following Loh. Sylvie hadn’t even seemed to notice, she was too busy tying her black boots and strapping an ax to her back.

“Ahem,” Freya coughed.

“Hm?” Sylvie glanced at her. “What’s up, cap’n?”

“I just… W-well… Gods, I hate doing this stuff…” Freya trailed off.

“Uhh, cap’n? You okay?” Sylvie asked.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m totally fine. Actually, I just wanted to see if you’re fine. You know, after all that happened… It’s best if we all have a clear head before walking out there.”

“I agree,” Sylvie nodded.

“Sooo… are you okay?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

Freya rolled her eyes, “I don’t know, maybe cuz you found out your boyfriend had a fiancé, who also turns out to be Frost Rim’s team captain!”

“Oh… Yeah, that did suck,” Sylvie admitted. She smiled wide, “But I’m fine now, really. I don’t let stuff like that faze me, especially before going into a battle, that’s just plain stupid. Like you said, we gotta be focused.”

“Wow, that’s… really mature of you actually,” Freya said, surprised.

“Thanks!”

“So what’s your secret?”

“I don’t get it.”

“I mean, I’d beat the shit out of my boyfriend if he did something like that to me. How can you manage to stay so calm?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Sylvie said cheerfully. “I have this really great technique, it works with everything.”

“Well, don’t leave me hanging, what is it?”

“It’s pretty simple really. Every time I feel bad, sad, angry, or anything like that; I just take all those feelings and shove them really deep, deep down, and ignore them.”

“....I’m sorry, what now?”

“I get what you’re thinking,” Sylvie chuckled. “It’s gotta be hard trying to ignore all that stuff. But actually, it’s not. All you gotta do is be happy.”

Freya narrowed her eyes, “Um, how can you be happy when you’re mad?”

“Easy, just smile and laugh whenever you feel bad. The key is pretending to be happy. The longer you pretend, the easier it becomes and someday you’ll wake up and realize you really are happy.”

Freya’s eyes widened in shock, “...But-”

“Hey, the heralds just announced the Murktonians, we’re up next!” Loh announced.

“Time to go,” Sylvie jumped to her feet and headed for the door.

“Um… Sylvie…” Freya bit her lip.

“Hm?” Sylvie glanced back at her.

“Ever since I met you… You’re always smiling and laughing,” Freya mumbled. “Are you… Are you actually happy? A-are you okay…?”

Sylvie cocked her head to the side and slowly smiled wide, “Obviously. What a silly thing to say.”