On the other side of the arena, Clara took a deep breath to calm herself as she escorted Lady Shila with her right next to the spot where she remembered their plans would take place. From there, she would have to make sure that they didn't look too suspicious, especially once they had to disappear for a few moments for Lady Jayra to cast her spell on the older woman.
"Thank you for offering to accompany me, Jayra," Lady Shila gratefully smiled. "With both Gilas and Nasser busy with their respective roles, I wouldn't have been allowed to come here without a chaperone."
Clara smiled at Lady Shila's words. True enough, both Gilas and Nasser were absent from their presence. The former of course was busy doing his duties for the King by running the tournament, while the latter was probably trying to hatch yet another plot to try and sabotage her friend, Princess Xenia.
Her friend... She couldn't believe that she was calling her future Queen such a word, but it still brought warmth to her heart knowing that the two of them would finally be actual friends after that one drunken night together. They still had to properly bond, of course, but they had enough of a history to actually click.
Well, that, and they apparently complimented each other very well whenever they were drunk together.
"It's nothing, Lady Shila," Clara smiled at her future mother-in-law. "I'm more than happy to give you the chance to watch these events live."
Settling themselves into their respective seats, Clara couldn't help but run her gaze across the arena even as she tried her best to put up a relaxed front. After all, there was still a chance that they were being watched, and she also had to make sure that they won't be seen once everything went down.
"Clara?"
She forced herself not to flinch as she turned to Lady Shila. "Yes?"
"Are you alright?" the older woman worriedly asked. "You look agitated somehow."
Clara inwardly cursed herself before she lied. "I'm fine," she smiled. "I guess I'm just excited to see how this will all play out."
Taking another deep breath, Clara hoped that the plan would go by smoothly. She really didn't want to needlessly put Lady Shila's life in danger, and the faster they cleaned things up, the faster the older woman's life would be freed from that evil Elder's clutches.
'I hope you know what you're doing, Darius... Gilas...' she inwardly thought. 'I'll do what I can here, but it's up to you two to make this all happen...'
*****
Meanwhile, Pinra held her breath as Nasser came to confront her. She was just about ready to walk out into the open air when her father called for her attention, and she quickly dropped everything she was busy with just so she could meet him faster.
"Yes?" she asked, holding her tongue from calling him her father.
"This is it, Pinra. The final battle," Nasser began. "Do not disappoint me."
"Of course," she quickly replied, almost nodding with reverence to his every word.
"You will kill the Princess, you will win, and you will be crowned the Queen of Cordon," her father monologued, lightly pacing in front of her as he spoke. "Should that happen, only then will I proudly acknowledge you as my daughter."
Pinra nodded, her eyes widening at the prospect of her goal finally being achieved. "Truly?"
"Yes," he scoffed. "Only once these things have occurred will I take you on as my own. You will replace your useless brother, and you will have my undivided attention."
She couldn't help but tear up. This was truly it. She was so close... She noticed the way his inflection was mocking her, but surely he didn't mean it that way, right?
"I won't let you down!" she utterly declared with all of her heart, her fists tightening to the point that she almost drew blood from her palms.
"See to it then," Nasser grunted. "I'll be watching."
And with that, her father left her to her own devices once more. Her heart still beating wildly, Pinra almost skipped her way to the open arena where her final opponent was waiting for her to arrive.
There would be no turning back now. She had a princess to kill, and she won't stop until she could finally achieve her goals.
***
The arena exploded into excited cheers as the two combatants walked towards the center of the arena. Even from afar, everybody present could feel the animosity the two women had for each other. After all, based on the brief history the two contenders had, almost everybody expected them to be at each other's throats. And of course, the crowd was almost the same with both women having fans on each side of the aisle.
While some supported Lady Pinra's ferocity and underhanded tactics, most still preferred the honorable Princess Xenia's methods, and this divide fueled the majority of the debate happening in the stands.
"Who's going to win?"
"I think Lady Pinra has this in the bag!"
"Nah, Princess Xenia has the skill to beat her!"
The overall atmosphere was reaching a fever pitch, and everyone present was high strung regarding the results of the oncoming fight. And yet in spite of this thick tension, some of them could still feel that the malice coming from Lady Pinra far overshadowed the silent resolve that the princess was exuding.
Already, even as Darius slowly walked his way to the edge of the arena, the crowd was going on a debate on who of the two women would win. Would it be the hometown contender in the form of Lady Pinra? Or would it be the foreigner princess that rapidly took their kingdom by storm in the form of Princess Xenia?
The tension was brewing, and after the announcer called out the two contenders' names, all that was left was for their King to announce the start of the battle.
"Let the battle begin!"
And just like that, the crowd went wild as their King announced the start of hostilities.
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