Jala was in the next circuit. Tension simmered around the king. Vonae sat back and went silent. Ceilsea’s smile disappeared, and she laced her fingers in her lap. King Mileubramn drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. 

In each fight, Jala flared her magic and pinned, knocked down, or captured her opponent. She never had to use her knife. Before long, she was moving on to the next person. It looked like she was going to finish at the top of the circuit. 

“Do you know if she’s had contact with Esmine?” Ceilsea broke the silence and quietly asked the king. She hadn’t spoken with the king privately since Jala had arrived. She didn’t have to ask to know that he feared Jala winning. 

“It’s unlikely. She seems to be acting of her own accord,” the king said, likely informed by contacts and connections he couldn’t speak of. That didn’t make Jala any less of a threat.

“Why would Jala remain loyal to her? Esmine wasn’t here to support Jala when she decided to become her true self. Some friend,” Ceilsea complained. 

“The princess being gone was probably the only reason Jala realized she was unhappy with her old self. Jala made Princess Esmine the center of everything. Or maybe, the princess made herself the center of everything,” Vonae added. 

He wasn’t wrong. Ever since Jala had moved to the capital with the Brijas family to continue studying magic under their father, Jala and Princess Esmine had been inseparable. Her highness, who reveled in control and power, ruled Jala’s life. In the few months following the princess' disappearance, Jala was directionless, devoting herself completely to studying and training her magic. When Jala had disappeared as well, everyone assumed she went looking for Esmine. Instead, Jala must have found herself, but unfortunately she didn’t seem to lose her obsession with the princess.

“Why would she fight for her? Why would you stay loyal to a princess who ran…” Ceilsea held her tongue at the last second. Even though she was whispering, it would be bad if people overheard her talking ill of the princess.

“You don’t need to worry,” his majesty assured her. He put a hand on her shoulder, seeing she was tense. “Steps have been taken to discourage anyone who might use the honor of Champion in a sinister way.  I can’t directly interfere with the tournament, but we will not make it easy for just anyone to win.”

Ceilsea knew King Mileubramn would not speak ill of his daughter or Jala in public. In private, she knew his concerns were the same as hers and Vonae’s, but there was not much he could do without appearing biased. Strictly speaking she shouldn’t be saying such things either, but it wasn’t exactly a secret that she was at odds with Princess Esmine. Public opinion made it impossible to escape their rivalry as they were seen as caricatures of opposing ideals.

“No one will doubt the integrity of the Champion. The right person will be chosen. I’m sure of it,” Ceilsea told him. 

Jala beat everyone in the circuit almost flawlessly. She would move on to the next round without question. In the next circuit, Miennere didn’t dominate as much, but she did manage to pass her circuit as well. In the box, they did not say a word about her, but Ceilsea did notice that Rivonae kept glancing at her spars out of the corner of his eye. Training Shaelis might be a good distraction for him. 

As the circuits started wrapping up, Ceilsea made her excuses to the king, whispering in his ear and kissing him on the cheek. She dragged Vonae, who managed to bow on his way out, down to the tent beside the arena. She wanted to catch Shaelis before they disappeared to the campgrounds or her courtyard. 

Ducking into the tent, they were immediately met with the smell of sweat and a mix of other unpleasant scents. Contestants were scattered within, without any rhyme or reason Ceilsea could decipher. Some were training, while others managed to fall asleep amidst the chaos around them. There were a few non-warriors in the tent, including tournament organizers and friends or family of the fighters. Ceilsea and Vonae’s arrival gathered a fair number of stares. Even if they hadn’t seen her giving Shaelis the flower, their expensive clothing made them stand out.

“Mistress Brijas?” the officiant who had fetched Shae earlier approached her with a wary look. If they were worried the fighters would approach her with ill intent, they needn’t. Vonae was hovering closer than usual and his eyes were scanning the room incessantly for danger. 

“Do you know where my friend is?” she asked, assuming they could figure out who she was talking about. 

“Mestren Child is behind the tent if they are here,” they told her, motioning to the edge farthest from the arenas. “They tend to avoid crowded areas. At least that’s what I gathered from their assigned commandant when I spoke to them.”

“Thank you,” she said with a nod. 

They made their way around the tent, continuing their search in the shadows. It wasn’t that much less crowded outside. People were training, talking, and lounging, but Ceilsea could see that the area closest to the tent was relatively empty. As they got closer, she could just make out Shae’s silhouette on the ground packing their bag. 

“Shae!” she called out to them. They visibly jerked in surprise. 

“Can you not shout out my name?” Shae asked her as she and Rivonae approached.

“Just give up on anonymity. If you are going to win, people are going to know your name,” Ceilsea told them. 

“I’m not trying to be anonymous. I just don’t like everyone to know where I am,” they said, standing and dusting off their clothes. 

“They can see you,” Ceilsea pointed out.

“There is a difference between being seen and having people’s active attention. It’s a strategic angle,” Rivonae told his sister.

“They aren’t in a fight now,” Ceilsea countered.

“But they could be gathering information on their opponents,” Rivonae argued. 

“What do you need from me, Ceilsea?” Shae interrupted their back and forth.

The siblings refocused their attention on Shaelis, who had their arms crossed.

“I need to introduce you to my brother, formally. Shae, this is Rivonae. Vonae, this is Shaelis,” Ceilsea said with a flourish of her arm. She figured they could negotiate the diminutive themselves.

Her brother, always conscious of manners, lowered his head with a nod. “It’s an honor, Mestren. Anyone my sister is fond of is someone I’m happy to know.”

Shaelis did not return the gesture, but they did uncross their arms. “It is convenient to put a name to the face, Rivonae. Am I allowed to ask why it is necessary we meet? The last person Ceilsea introduced me to only wanted me for my music.”

“This time it’s the exact opposite.” Ceilsea said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Shae shot back.

 

“She means that she has volunteered me to help you train. I noticed your sword strikes could use a little work,” Vonae offered a softer explanation than Ceilsea would have. 

“I’m sorry—why should I care about your opinion on my weapon work?” Shaelis asked,  crossing their arms again. 

Ceilsea assured them, “Rivonae is the best swordsman I know. He trained both my siblings in martial and magic arts, including my sister, Miennere, who has been fighting in the tournament.”

“She’s the shorter girl with the target shield and the cruciform sword,” Vonae provided.

“Why would you help me? Aren’t you training her?” Shaelis asked. 

The Brijas siblings shared a moment’s pause.

“Not currently. She joined the tournament without our parent’s approval,” Ceilsea told them. She didn’t want to divulge too much of her family’s personal matters, but it seemed necessary to explain to Shae why Vonae wouldn’t have conflicting interests. 

“In fact, if you end up facing her and you knock her out of the tournament, I would be more than grateful. That’s all I’d ask in return for my help,” Vonae said.

Shaelis didn’t immediately answer. Their eyes wandered over to where their sword and instruments were attached to their pack. Ceilsea hadn’t been able to clearly see their weapon when they were cleaning it in the courtyard, but she did remember it wasn’t anything spectacular. Compared to their musical tools, the sword looked more found than chosen.

“I thought…I thought it was going to be alright. I learned the basics of sword fighting in my wayzard training, and I thought I was decent at it. I didn’t spend ten hours a day locked in a room with it and I never had to do one-hundred scales a day, but…am I really that bad?” Shaelis asked. Ceilsea had been starting to believe, like Vonae had suggested, that Shae was going to take offense and be stubborn about admitting their faults. Turns out that they were self-aware.

“You are decent for a beginner,” Vonae assured them. “However, in this competition, decent isn’t going to cut it. Knowing you don’t have much more than basic training, I would say you have innate talent for reading your opponents, but your technique could use work.”

“It’s a little late to fix that,” Shaelis muttered. Ceilsea hoped this wasn’t going to backfire and destroy Shae’s confidence. 

“Training months before a tournament would be ideal. However, if you are used to picking up physical skills that require precision and improvisation, like learning musical instruments, I think we can help you a little bit,” Vonae said, offering his hand. “I can’t guarantee you will win anything though,” he repeated the same warning he told Ceilsea. 

“Don’t worry. I can manage that on my own,” Shae told him, grabbing Rivonae’s hand and shaking it firmly. Ceilsea didn’t have to worry about their confidence after all. 

Ceilsea was satisfied. It was a good agreement for both her brother, her friend, and herself. If they were training together, she could spend time with them both at the same time. She needed all the excuses she could get to watch Shaelis in action to create an accurate re-creation. 

Now that the tournament for the day was truly over, more and more people were pouring out of the tent and leaving the amphitheater. The swarming mass of people slowly inched up the incline. 

“What should we do first?” Shae asked Vonae, grabbing their bag and scrambling for their sword.

“Slow down, Child,” Rivonae warned with a smile. “I don’t know what kind of wayzards you’ve trained with, but this is what I know about you. You’ve participated in a high stakes tournament today and yesterday, and you have history of being forced to train excessively in the past….”

“They are very high-strung,” Ceilsea interrupted.

“For your first part of training, I think you should learn the importance of relaxation,” Rivonae told him, “Have you explored the city?”

“No. I don’t really like to be around…people,” Shae said, stumbling over their words.

“We’re not just people. We’re friends!” Ceilsea told them, throwing her arm around their shoulder.

“We’ll make sure no one bothers you,” Rivonae said, taking their other side. 

“I’d rather just train,” Shae said.

“That’s not an option. But if you are a good Child, I’ll give you some solo drills at the end of the night. Doesn’t that sound great?!” Rivonae teased as the siblings led Shae towards the mass of people leaving the amphitheater. They didn’t stop walking, but Shae's face plainly showed their discomfort. Ceilsea squeezed their shoulders reassuringly before letting them go.

“You two really are siblings,” Shae commented. 

“Of course, where do you think Ceilsea got her sharp tongue from? My baby sister learned from the best,” Vonae joked. The siblings shared a glance. Ceilsea was pretty sure her brother had picked up more than a few quips from her, but just this once, she would let his eldest sibling condescension go.

“Great. You could have led with that. I might not have agreed to this,” Shae said as the throng of people pressed in around them. 

Ceilsea grabbed their hand to ensure they didn’t get separated. Then she leaned in and whispered in their ear, “Neither of us are running away anymore, right?” They squeezed her hand in acknowledgement. Even if it meant doing something that made them uncomfortable, it was clear they were willing to do what they needed to win.