The Blood King's Bride

She had struck Jackpot.

Firoza couldn't believe it. To think that luck had been on her side all this while. She

sighed, smiling as she took in the grandeur of the room assigned to her. It was magnificent. The bed linen was made of the finest sheets, and its beams were made of fine mahogany. The walls were velvet, and despite the windows, there was not a wick of light outside.

It was perfect.

She had been surprised as they were going towards the forbidden lands. Then she was shocked when they entered the Blood territory and even more shocked when she found out that Calhoun was the King. As if to make it sweeter, the whole land thinks she is the woman Calhoun has an interest in, and if things go her way, he would have no choice but to be genuinely interested in her. As for her other goals, Calhoun had just made her job much easier.

*****

Firoza took up the mantle of soon-to-be queen pretty well, Elena thought as she watched the said female runabout, "kindly" giving orders to those around her.

Elena could not deceive herself any longer. She was jealous.

Flat out jealous.

She hated that Firoza could walk about claiming Calhoun as her man while she just hid in the kitchen, afraid to go meet him for fear of his reaction. Forest was tired of her cowardly behavior and had taken matters into his own hands by spreading the scent of her handmade perfume, one he was sure Calhoun was sure to remember if he was into her.

Sighing, she picked up her sword and went to the warrior training grounds. It had almost been a month since she arrived at the blood kingdom, and she noticed the growth in her fighting skills. She can now walk silently, almost like air. She can swing her sword effortlessly without

its weight wearing her down. The more she practiced, the more powerful she got.

On the other hand, Elion was still the reigning heartthrob for the warriors, though that didn't stop her from increasing her fighting skills either. Where Elena struck silently, Elion struck brutally. Aaron had likened their fighting style to a rose and a predator. Elena brought down her enemy's guard, attacking before they realized they were too late. Elion gave off predator vibes. She lets one know they will be attacked, and she doesn't need a reason to. That was also one of the reasons why the warriors were so attracted to her. She thought like them. She walked through the dark fold of night that surrounded the castle. She had gotten used

to it, and now she does her practice with Elion and Aaron in complete darkness. She had trained herself to be able to fight using her senses, and she now fights almost without the use of her eyes. The practice had some side effects, though. Because she was mainly in the dark, she had developed a dislike for bright places. Not that it hurt her eyes or anything, but she had grown to like the dark. She arrived at the training ground and could hear Elion and Aaron already. They could hear her also because both turned towards her.

"Great, we are all here." Aaron started. Elion and Elena began to do subtle stretches. "Today, our mode of practice will change a bit." He said. He picked up two wooden

swords and threw them towards them, which they caught quickly.

"You both are going to battle." At that, Elena and Elion turned to face each other, smiling.

"The first person to bring the other one down wins."

Elena took up her fighting stance, holding her sword.

"You would be using wooden swords today, and only for today. Next class, you both

would be fighting for real, with real swords." They both nodded their heads.

"Take up your stances," Aaron called out. Elion and Elena faced each other, their swords

swinging out. Ever since Calhoun trained them, Elena and Elion had a little competition on who

was the best between them. It had something to do with Elion not believing that Elena could

defeat her after just a few days of practice when she had practiced for years.

They leaned forward, their hands on the handles of their swords as they shifted from feet to feet.

"And begin." Immediately, they ran towards each other and clashed. In her first battle

with Elion, Elena remembered that hesitation was very detrimental to her. Any pause was liable

to make her end up on her back. Elion was very good at counterattacking. So Elena fought with no break, no hesitation.

She clashed her swords with Elion, her movement like water as she swam between moves, leaving no leeway for Elion to attack. She knew that this form would be detrimental to her because she might get tired quickly, so she resolved to end the fight quickly. Her attacks turned sharp and brutal, aiming towards her opponent's weak spots. She dodged and weaved any form of attack from Elion, but in no way did she slow hers down. With measured breaths, she decided to carry out a rhythmic attack pattern. Slash, dodge, strike. Slash, dodge, strike. She hoped that Elion would notice the pattern and go for the leeway she had given her. Elion didn't disappoint.

Quickly seeing the opportunity opened for her, Elion changed her attack, putting all her effort into striking Elena when she dodged. Elena noticed her change in breath, which alerted her to the move Elion was about to make. Immediately, Elena changed tides as well. Just as Elion sought to strike her, Elena allowed it, giving Elion a false sense of victory before changing her position at the last minute. She struck Elion at her side, causing her to fall heavily to the ground. Elena then placed the tip of her sword at Elion's throat, a smirk lighting up her face. "I won."

Elion breathed loudly as she lay down, and Elena was sure that her face was filled with

annoyance. From the way Aaron stood, she could guess that even he was surprised at her victory.

She came up from Elion, dusting herself to remove imaginary debris.

"You're just lucky," Elion said as she too stood up.

"Yeah, I knew you would say that," Elena replied, a teasing smirk etched on her face. "Why can't you just admit that I defeated you, and we move on?"

"We would have a rematch, and I would defeat you," Elion swore. Elena laughed lightly. "We would see about that."

Elena loved the competition. It kept her on her toes and strangely reminded her of her purpose. Elion dusted debris away from her, and Aaron walked over to them.

"Good job, Elena. You fought well." Elena could tell from his tone that, indeed, he was

surprised. He had expected Elion to win. She didn't know if she should be annoyed that everyone

thought she was easy to defeat or to be happy that she was able to make even her teacher underestimate her and then prove him wrong.

"She was just lucky," Elion said. "I'll get her next time."

Elena knew that she would have seen the loving smile on Aaron's face if there had been

light. She was beginning to suspect that Elion liked the interest he threw her way. She couldn't blame her. What girl wouldn't?

"We would stop here for today. But before that, let me give you pointers. Elena," Aaron said, turning to look at her. "The move you made was powerful, and I can understand why you chose to attack like that. Your opponent makes use of any slight hesitation or pause to attack, and you first started by attacking her without pause. Then, when she found it hard to find a place to attack, you purposely created one for her, making it easier to defeat her because you knew she would be frustrated. That was an amazing use of battle tactic, but you do know that it cannot work every time. It only worked because you knew your partners fighting skills. You cannot try that for a new partner. You would end up wearing yourself out."

Elena nodded her head. "You're right. I did that because I knew Elion."

"Exactly. But still, it is a great battle tactic. If you wish to use this skill again, you need to learn how to practice your breathing. You would have to be so attuned to your intake of breaths to ensure that you don't get fatigued easily. Still, you should only use this tactic when necessary." Elena nodded her head, considering the advice. To Elion, he said,

"You fought well, but you need to learn how not to attack brutally and plan as you attack.

It was because your opponent was able to see through your moves which made it easy for her to defeat you. You should also learn to be versatile. Let your partners find it hard to know your attack skills." Elion nodded her head, her face in deep thoughts.

"Well girls, good night. Till next time."

*****

The next day came quickly enough for Elena and Elion. Elena could tell that Elion was not angry with her but was still a little pissed that she was defeated. Her anger was also accompanied by the wonder that Elena could beat her. They both did their jobs, cleaning rooms and passages. Elena avoided Calhoun and Firoza, doing her best to steer clear of their path. She was happy by the time the day came to an end when she could finally rest. She was leaving for her room when the High Keeper came up to her.

"Elena," she greeted. "I have a job for you to do." Elena frowned slightly, wondering

what the new job could be.

"You would be part of the maids serving the royal family's dinner tonight. You are to be positioned next to the blood king. You would serve his food for him."

Elena felt her heart drop from her chest. Her eyes were wide open, shock and fear

highlighting her features. The high keeper, misunderstanding her reaction, rolled her eyes and

said,

"Oh, come on, he isn't that bad. I don't know what you outsiders have heard of our blood king, but he isn't going to go off on a killing spree by just seeing your face." Elena wished it were that. She had been hiding from Calhoun for far too long; fate had decided to punish her. "But, I don't normally do this particular job," Elena said.

"Well, today you do it. The maid who was to do it today fell sick, and so I replaced her with you. Don't worry, it's only for today though. After that, you can go back to your normal daily activities."

Oh, if only she knew that today could change many things.

Elena sighed heavily and went to where the food was kept. She met Forest and Elion there, who seemed to be about to return to their room.

"What's up? Aren't you done for the day?" Forest asked once he saw Elena. Elion also looked at her with curiosity.

"The high keeper wants me to serve the royal family their dinner," Elena replied. "Really?" Forest said, mischief dancing in his eyes. "So who are you serving?" "The Blood King," Elena replied drily. She was getting ticked at Forest's expression. "Ha! Fate is finally looking up. It's was about time someone gave you a little push. Wait here for a second." Forest immediately put his hands in his working pouch and brought out a jar. Elena recognized it as her homemade scent, and before she could say anything, Forest had already opened it and had begun to spread it on her.

"Hey wait, what are you doing? Don't tell me you carry that stuff around everywhere you go?" She asked, shocked.

"You never know when next one might need it." He replied, a smug smile on his face. "And you seem to need it right now."

"I didn't-"

"Run along now," Forest said, pushing her out as he cut her off. "You don't want the high keeper to be annoyed with you do you?"

Elena looked to Elion for help, and the said female had the same expression her brother

had.

"I'm with Forest on this one. Good luck!" She said, smiling mischievously. Before Elena could retaliate, she heard the high keeper calling for her. With a last annoyed glance at her friends, she picked up the dinner tray and headed to the royal dining hall.