Characters: Kendira, Rachelle, Queen Isabella, Fallon, Lucilla, Cara, Gena
Location: The Tournament of Champions, in the arena
Time: Day 4 - 3:28 PM
“I can’t watch this anymore,” Kendira said.
Rachelle held her back. “You don’t have to. Just look away.”
Kendira looked down into the arena where Queen Isabella, the Paladins, and Gena were standing around the caged of naked Men. “…I can’t expect you to understand this, Sister Rachelle. Your religion has taught you to follow the wishes of another. You believe in Dai Celesta. I know you do. And if her words, if her writings are so strong that you can forget your conscience, then I can’t fault you. You’re not wrong here, Rachelle. But I’ll be damned if I sit back and watch this Necromancer play everyone for fools. And I’d be a hypocrite if I let those Men die when I hope to save their race. This is nothing I can control. This is what I believe. This is what I’ve learned.”
“I won’t help you, you know.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
Rachelle frowned. “Don’t do this, Kendira. Nobody will think any less of you if a few more Men die. I certainly won’t.”
“You still think this is all about the others, don’t you? What about the Men? How do you think they feel?”
She shrugged, obviously indifferent. “I don’t think they feel anything once they’re dead. Maybe a little flat.”
“Shame on you, Sister,” Kendira said, stepping off the wall. “Where do you get off acting so superior, so unsympathetic to the world around you? What has Dai Celesta taught you? Why do you stick your nose up at me now?”
“Despite everything you want to believe, you’re the one who can’t understand. Men are worthless. Look at them! Just look. They’re like naked bugs in a cage. What can they do? They’re vile, sick, repulsive creatures that deserve to be squashed. What do you hope to achieve, Kendira? What’s the meaning of this quest of yours? Because even if you could convince the royal council—which we both know is impossible—what kind of rights do you think they’ll be given? They have no strength, no power, no brains or thoughts of their own. What use do we have for them? Do you honestly think Women will accept them? Do you think anybody will see them as more than slaves?” She crossed her eyes. “Master Luna has taught you nothing but false ideologies. Men have always been a doomed race, even before Sorena. She only sped up the process. Men will worship us like we worship Dai Celesta until the last of them has been killed. And then they will be forgotten. Dirt under our feet, forever. That’s life, Kendira. That’s my life and your life and theirs. Let it go. Nobody will blame you. Nobody can tell you otherwise. That’s the cold truth. Why fight a losing battle?”
“Is that what this is to you, Rachelle? A losing battle?”
“Yes!” she said, putting her hands on Kendira’s shoulders and smiling as gently as she could. “It is. Men have lost. There is no hope for them, no chance for survival. Why do you want to give them faith that will fail in the end? …If you really care, if you really want to help, let them die. Watch them and laugh, like everyone else. We know they’re doomed. They know it, too. It’s not so bad. They’ve learned to accept this. They know their place in this world, at our feet and at our mercy. Let them be slaves and let them die the way they should. Won’t we all be happy then?”
Kendira nodded slowly. “You know, Rachelle… It’s funny.”
“What’s that?”
“I always thought crap was supposed to come out of the other end.”
The smile on Rachelle’s face faded and she scowled, throwing Kendira back into the stands. “I’m not letting you go out there!”
But Kendira kicked off the benches and flew back, digging her nails into the flesh of Rachelle’s neck. Rachelle reeled backwards. Her spine collided with the wall. Bracing herself, she grabbed Kendira by the waist and spun her small body around, slamming the Mage’s cheek down on the wall. She tried to pin her there, but Kendira kicked her in the shins and then ducked out between her legs. By the time Rachelle had turned around, Kendira dove headfirst into her chest and they both wrestled across the top of the wall. With the force on her side, Kendira managed to push Rachelle over the edge and then tumbled down after her. They slammed into the hard sand of the arena. Moaning, they rolled away from each other.
“I’ll see you get demoted for this…” Rachelle said, crawling to her knees.
But Kendira was already on her feet and kicked Rachelle in the face, knocking her out. “You see right to that.”
Not even bothering to brush the dust from her robe, Kendira pivoted on her heels and marched straight towards the center of the arena. The wind blew sand in her face and the tail of her robe flapped behind her, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t backing down.
By now, the entire audience had seen the brawl between Kendira and Rachelle and they were on their feet again. Only the Queen, the Paladins, and Gena hadn’t noticed, with their eyes still on the cage of naked Men. But the sudden commotion from the stands caused them to turn their heads towards Kendira, just in time to see her arm lift towards the sky as if hanging from puppet strings. The sleeve of her robe fell and revealed her wand, glittering in the sun.
“Lady Kendira, what are you—” Queen Isabella started to say. Then her eyelids shot open. A white beam of frost burst from Kendira’s wand, aimed directly for her, and created a trail of ice through the air.
“Get down, Your Highness!” Lucilla yelled, diving in front of the Queen. The beam struck her cheek, instantly chilling her face to subzero temperatures. Breathless, as the ice spread across her head like an invisible hand and tightened around her lungs, she collided with the ground. Icicles dripped from her frozen skin.
The other Paladins quickly formed a circle around the Queen, but Kendira blasted through them. The only one she didn’t hit was Cara, who had chosen to hide behind Isabella, and Fallon, who posed no threat. The Men inside the cage watched in bewilderment and Gena glowered at the Mage, slowly draping her fingers around her snake staff.
Isabella stood alone, clenching her fists. “Lady Kendira! What is the meaning of this!?”
Kendira stopped at the pile of bodies and lowered her wand. “You are making a grave mistake, Your Highness.”
“Oh, I’m making the grave mistake? You’re the one who is going to spend the rest of her life as my personal footstool if you don’t explain yourself!”
“Do I have permission to kill her?” Gena asked hopefully.
“No! No more killing. I want answers—now! Or I swear, Lady Kendira, I will see you stripped of your title.”
“You’re going against the rules of custom, Your Highness,” Kendira said. “The rules clearly state that Men may only be killed in the first round of the tournament. Any survivors become property of the official distributor, which has always been Master Luna. And since Master Luna is not here, as her highest-ranking apprentice, I retain her position. In other words, those Men belong to me.” She pointed to the cage with her wand.
“Ugh…” Isabella said, turning to Fallon. “Please say she is wrong.”
“I’m afraid she is correct, Your Highness. This is quite an…unusual circumstance, but those are what the rules state.”
“Can’t I change them?”
“Not during a tournament.”
“Can I postpone the tournament and then change the rules?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Hmph!” Isabella stamped her foot into the earth. “…Fallon! Tonight, remind me to change all these stupid rules. I should be allowed to do what I want when I want.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“That still does not excuse your attack on my Paladins,” Isabella said, glaring at Kendira.
“Then file a complaint with Master Luna,” Kendira replied. “She’ll take the proper actions.”
“You can bet I will. And I’ll recommend you clean the stables for the next three years.”
“And when your mother returns, I’ll recommend some things to her.”
Isabella scrunched her nose and threw up her arms in disgust. “Fine. Whatever. I still hate you.”
“And I’m still indifferent to you, but I will follow the codes set by your ancestors. Those Men are my property now. Please hand them over.”
Isabella nodded, half reluctantly, and Fallon bent down. She bolted the cage door shut again and lifted it up, placing the Men in Kendira’s arms.
“Are they all there?” Kendira asked, holding the cage up to eye-level. She shook it a bit to get the clump of naked Men mass to break apart.
“All but the ones I already killed,” Isabella smirked. But she still wasn’t happy. Her lips were red and bleeding with anger as she bit down on them.
Kendira shrugged. “Good enough. Thank you, Your Highness.” She put the cage under her arm and bowed slightly.
“Get out of here.”
“Your Highness, you can’t do this,” Gena said. “She attacked me before. She was with those Men who ambushed us! I saw her. She’s up to something.”
“It’s out of my hands,” Isabella snapped.
Gena’s fingers tightened around her staff. “Grrrr….” Without thinking, she raised her arms and swung at Kendira. The end of the staff struck the back of her head. Kendira lurched forward, landing in the sand on her hands and knees, and the cage rattled at her side. A trickle of blood turned her hair red.
“Lady Gena!” Isabella cried out, grabbing the end of the staff. “Stop this! Stop this right now. I command you!”
“I’m trying to protect you, Your Highness!”
“This isn’t the way to do it. If Master Luna were to—”
Suddenly, a hush washed over the crowd. The girls in the audience fell back into their seats as if overcome by a heavy gust of wind and pointed to the far end of the arena where one of the doors was creaking open. A shadowy figure stood on the other side. It didn’t take a lifelong player to know who it was. She was on the front cover of the box. Everyone knew her face. She was one of the most popular characters in all of Neverquest. She was the one, the only…
Master Luna.
Giantess World
