Nychta - The Bloodrose Kingdom

Chapter 20 - Into The Queen's Trap

And now we were back to the Crimson Palace. I looked at it once again and saw the intricate curves, the gloom and pride it both brought to whoever saw it. Strong winds came from The Queen’s Sea, a salty tang present in the air.

The sun was now setting, orange strokes painting the sky. The sun was starting to go near the aquatic horizon, readying to give way to the night.

Our carriages carried on, passing through the courtyard where hundreds of guards, all still in battle gear, parried. The alchemist’s hut was seen from afar, making me shiver as I remembered that I was almost volunteered for it.

“What was that?” Rosemary asks me, prying me for information about what happened earlier.

“I-it was Eman. That was the boy I was talking to you about,” I say, vague flashes of what happened coming back. The shadow talking to me, making its way to me, and Emeline shielding us both. It was all a blur now, an exhausting and miserable flashback.

“Careless. That was what he was,” Rosemary says quietly, shaking her head in disapproval. She looks at the windows for a long time, looking at the beautiful sunset.

“You know, I wondered about what will happen if I became queen instead. Once, twice, it happened. I had a vision, you know. Plans. I wasn’t planning to become one of the earlier ones, directionless and vision-less. I was to become the ultimate ruler,” she says.

I only looked at her.

“But it seems that queens are just pretty dolls with volatile gems. It’s all nice and cozy when you’re seated there, and no one really does anything, after all,” she continues.

She suddenly looks at me.

“Promise me you won’t be like that when you win?” she says, both of her hands on my lap.

Come to think of it. If ever I won the contest, how can I be what I wanted to be? There was so much more to consider when you were chosen. The Illuminae. The town’s different opinions. Myself.

But I put that all away and put all faith in Rosemary. She was my guardian, and she was to become my adviser. I placed my hands on top of hers.

“I promise.”

And with that, I felt a connection with her. I felt that finally, I was to fulfill this purpose.

“You know, I wouldn’t be allowed to see you anymore, right?” she says, smiling for a little bit.

I pouted.

“Like, ever” I say, a hopeful tone still in it.

She smiled even more.

“Well… I’m the Illuminae’s half-leader anyways, and technically, I’m one of the main leaders of the queendom now. I only choose to be passive, for I do not fancy myself with politics and government anymore. But I can have my way if I wanted to,” she says, winking at me.

We both laugh, both a hopeful and unsure one.

I was now doing it the real thing. No more fancy shows. No more colorful magic and fake illusions. This was the deathly Divination, after all.

We were gathered in the Great Hall of the Crimson Palace. It was toweringly high, with red pillars covered in velvet patterns and royal designs was supporting the ceiling filled with countless crimson paintings depicting the War of the Divide. The marble floors echoed back our steps, unsure and careful steps that led us to our demise.

“Psst…” I heard a voice say.

I turned my back and saw the tiny Lucia of the Light calling me, with her unable to touch me as countless other girls blocked her way while they were walking. I stalled for a little bit for her to catch up.

“Hey,” she says, a small, innocent smile on her lips.

“Hey,” I say flatly. Should I have friends in such a situation?

She looked at me slowly, her eyes widening warmly. Truly, she resembled a child, but of an innocent one. I felt my heart become lighter at her gaze.

“You were impressive back at the arena,” she says.

“Thanks,” I say, with a lack of anything to say. What do you usually do at such situations? My total lack of social skills showed obviously.

I suddenly stiffened as she touched my left shoulder. I instantly jolted it back to my direction. No touching.

“No physical contact, please,” I say, a little too roughly.

I instantly felt bad as she her lips pursed, her social advances rejected. To make up for it, I said, “I’m sorry. I-I’m just not used to it.”

She nods, understanding me instantly. If only people from Silverfang was like this, I could have had the whole village as my friends.

We stopped at our tracks, the other contestants following.

Right in front of us were four people of an obvious power. Faeric of the Gems included.

“Welcome, ladies. It seems that most of you had made your friends now, seeing your wonderful smiles,” he says, eyeing everyone with a smirk.

The other girls giggled. I rolled my eyes.

“As you may see, we are now at the palace’s grand hall. It’s a beauty, isn’t it?” he says, marveling at the surroundings. It was beautiful, yet, dangerous and cruel at the same time. As if it was a rose with thorns more abundant than its petals.

“Now, as I lead the queendom of Bloodrose before one of you will be chosen to become a queen, I will be aided by the sharpest minds in here. May I present you, your mentors,” he says, sidestepping as he presented the other two.

The three bowed down, their royal fabrics and manners obvious in their grace.

“First is Brawn of the Fists,” Faeric says. A man wearing fitted brown robes, his bulging muscles and built seen through it stepped out. His facial hair resembled those of a bear. His spiky hair only enhanced the image.

In a gruff voice, he introduce himself.

“I-I will be your mentor for the physical tests,” he says, obviously nervous by the dozen and one girls looking at him. Maybe fighting didn’t necessarily attract the girls for him?

A bead of sweat ran down his temple.

“Now, we meet every day, and let us hope that the queen comes out to be one capable of fighting hand-to-hand,” he says finally, bowing after.

I didn’t underestimate him though, for those that talked wasn’t the one that punched the strongest.

The girls applauded. I eyed Hilda, an obvious candidate for the field.

Weirdly enough, she was also looking at me. We instantly retracted our gaze as we realized that we were looking at each other. So, Silverfang women prided themselves in physical combat, it seems.

“It is true that no queen of Bloodrose has ever succeeded without the ability of hand-to-hand combat. Now, let us see your next mentor, Lilian of the Sorcery,”

At the mention of the name, a lot of us instantly stiffened. Lilian of the Sorcery was a force to be respected. Not only was she a part of the Illuminae, she was also one of the best mentors and soldiers of the queen in the field of the use of gems.

If most of us were self-taught in the use of the gems, it seems that she had infinite capacity of understanding each of it. She is one of the few who are capable of bringing the power of the gems to another level, peaks of power unknown to its wielder before. And there she was, standing right in front of all of us to be our mentor.

She steps out from their line covered in blue robe and her head with a blue veil. It was adorned with small embroideries of runes, unreadable by the common nychta. Only those who mastered the full potential of the gems can understand it, spells that permanently affect anything it chose to.

“Let us work together and bring out the powers of your gems, shall we?” Lilian says, a smile present in her face.

As she scans the crowd, she particulars looks at one in the back.

Me.

Or rather, the gem.

Her eyes widen for a bit as he gaze lingers on the gem. Truly, the black gem only existed in myths and folklores. But now, one of it was present in me, a candidate for the queen.

“Lilian of the Sorcery will assist you in the magics, expect to see her often,” Faeric says, smiling at Lilian who now goes back to their line. She was still staring at me, wondering about the black gem’s existence. I looked back at her, blank and unfazed.

Lilian, the black gem says, knowing the powerful woman. I didn’t know gems had personalities in them, but maybe mine was different. After all, it wasn’t every day that you see a black gem.

“And of course, a queen cannot be complete without a healthy moral reasoning,”

The black gem inside me snorted at that. Even I restrained mine. Morality? For queens? It was such a big insult for all the dead citizens of Bloodrose who died poverty and the queen’s brutality. Morality was such a small word for everyone that lived here too. If a queen dares to shed the tiniest bit of light and hope, a huge fraction of the citizens will be so eager to drench the flames with their hate.

“Please welcome, Carmel of the Spirits,” Faeric says, stepping out again as Carmel finally walked in front.

She was wearing different robes from the rest. Hers was pure black, a color the same as her eyes. She was… unnerving. Different.

She was definitely of another league.

Her black robes were designed with the most pristine of designs, with it absorbing the light around the Red Palace. But she moved with such a grace, such a refinement with it that black only seemed to look elegant with her. No cruelty. No despair.

None of what my black gem would do.

“I will guide you through the planes of the nychta spirit, those that cannot be reached through simple rationalizations and rituals. Together, let us explore a deeper side to all of us. I hope that the next queen will be one capable of seeing the greater truth,” she says, her heavy but warm voice ringing for everyone to hear.

She looks at all of us, and smiles at one of us in particular.

Thea of the Thunder, with her circlet and meek face. She looked back at her and smiled shyly, afraid of the attention now on her.

It seems that the people of Cel knew each other, and that obviously, the one who will teach us about spirituality was one that came off from those lands. Someday, I wish to visit it, to be able to see something greater than myself.

“And that is where the lineup of our mentors end. It is true that they will guide you for your development, but please do not forget that the test will be up to you entirely. Listen to them fully and reap good results in return, okay?” Faeric says, winking at us.

Some of the girls laugh fake ones, to suit the powerful man that now looked at us with full intent. It seems that we had to abide by their social rules where the most powerful was to be respected. I didn’t follow though, for I wasn’t to make myself like them.

I was to be different.

And before a dead air came, we suddenly see a woman walking from the left side of the grand hall. She was dressed in a unique servant outfit, colored in purple and lined with the same pattern in the walls of the palace. The only thing that defined her status was the apron in her bell-shaped skirt and the outrageously large black ribbon at the top of her brunette head.

“Master, are they ready?” she asks, her voice sweet, pertaining to Faeric.

Faeric looks at him for a second with knotted eyebrows, and then looks at us after.

“Ah, I forgot to tell you. This woman right her is Eudora, the master servant of the palace. She is to be your next guide for the next of the trip, as the mentors and I will be busy planning for the Divination. Now, now, I know you will all miss my charming and outrageously attractive personality, but please bear in mind that you will see more of me later,” Faeric says, giving his last wink.

The girls laughed back, amused with his display of ego and arrogance. What a prick. If only he wasn’t so high and powerful, I would’ve loved to kick his royal ass.

Maybe this was why Rosemary was so hesitant to rule the Bloodrose.

Eudora sweetly smiles at Faeric, who does not return the gesture and instead marches out with the other mentors. It felt heavy seeing them, so it was a huge relief when they were finally out of the picture.

The other girls felt it too, giving the faces they now had. Their former masks of pretty smiles and adorable faces now turned into the powerful girls who can kill in an instant. So much for having values. Carmel would have a very hard time convincing us to change our prior philosophies, it seems.

And also in an instant, Eudora’s face turned into a bored and haughty one. Gone was the sweet servant who charmed her guests.

She steps towards us, her silver gem shining brightly in the room. Each step was slow and sure, as if she was queen herself in her own domain.

“Now, you little brats need to listen to me,” she says as her first speech towards us, garnering negative reactions and eyebrows that instantly knotted at her tone.

She crosses her arms.

“I do not want to play along with your fancy games with Faeric, okay? In this palace, I expect you to abide by the former rules. I don’t care if any of you becomes queen later, okay?” she says as she looks at each of us.

The girls clicked their tongue against their teeth in reaction. But one in particular wanted to let her voice be heard.

Judith of the Frost was starting to gain a reputation in being a b***h now.

“Who the hell are you again?” she asks, laughing lightly. Small, supporting responses comes from Adelaide of the Woods. Sisters in their wickedness.

Eudora instantly eyes her, her gaze burning as she slowly walked towards the frost-wielding nychta. I could have sworn that I see Judith’s body inch a little bit backwards for a bit, see her eyes have some kind of terror for a while.

But she chose to display a woman of pride, and so she crossed her arms and waited for anything that the servant will do.

But before she could do anything to act, the servant did a classic battle technique. In one swift motion, she slaps the contestant, the latter receiving full force from it.

“I dealt with bitches in different sizes and powers, honey, and you don’t faze me even in a little bit,” Eudora says, almost biting her words from anger. She was quite mature, and so her voice only thickened.

Eudora touches the slapped part of her face, and in an instant, the white-blue gem in her forehead lighted up.

A strong gust of cold wind entered the windows through the windows besides the paintings at the ceiling. She was gathering wind, slowly chilling all of us.

Some girls only smiled at the stupid display of anger. Some backed out, unwilling to be killed at the very first day. I stood my ground and watched the thrilling scene.

Stupid girl, the Black Gem’s voice said. I nodded my head in agreement.

And as she finally swirled the cold wind around her body, tiny icicles forming around her already, I looked at the servant. She was still standing her ground, her arms only crossed as she looked with a smirk at Judith.

“What?” Judith says, anger still flowing through her. A small amount of snow now covered her arms, making her look as if flour was slightly sprinkled on her. Frostbite, deadly if touched by anyone other than her.

And then as she gathered her force, she directed the wind towards Eudora.

It was a deadly cannon of splints and shards of hard ice, ready to slice through the servant’s waiting body.

They flew towards Eudora at full speed.

But it wasn’t as gruesome as I had expected. I told myself that I was ready for anything, ready for whatever blood and gore was to happen at the palace. After all, there was still no record of a queen not killing anyone inside the castle since the start of Bloodrose.

But I almost gagged as I saw each and every spike-like ice fly and insert through Eudora’s body, each of them cleanly pressing themselves, like darts on a willing ragdoll. Blood immediately flowed, mixing with the pure blue eyes.

I looked towards Judith, now having a satisfied glint to her eye. She was huffing hard, exhausted from the power she had just used. I always knew that the snow was beautiful and deadly at the same time, with me stealing every possible cloth I can use back then to survive the harsh nights, even with fire available. I always knew that hunting was very hard during the period, for the animals was often sleeping and waiting to be awakened at spring.

But I didn’t know it can kill someone this easily, didn’t know it can be done through… such creative ways.

I stared at Judith, now looking at each and every one of us, like a hunter proudly claiming her kill.

Atleast Adelaide of the Woods had some common sense to shut up and not cheer.

But when it looked like someone might speak now to cover the deafening silence, I suddenly heard a sweet voice from the corner of the room.

Hiding beneath the shadows of a corner, a servant dressed exactly in the same purple attire and large bow stepped out from it. She had the same walk, the same voice.

It was Eudora once again, full and complete. I immediately looked at the corpse in front of Judith, which was now melting like ice exposed outside to melt.

“B-but..” Judith manages to say, before Eudora comes close to her and slaps her hand once again. This time, the former fell to the floor, dazed and confused about what happened.

“Stupid girl. Not only did you kill a clone of mine, you also exposed your power for everyone to see,” she says, looking hardly at the fallen contestant.

She continues with, “I saw you as one of my favorites when I looked at the bunch of ya’ll, but you seem to be even more stupid than the one who looks the worst over there.”

There was no pity on her voice, just pure, hard, and cold steel.

But it wasn’t over for Judith. Her left hand was fisted while hitting the floor, but her right hand was bunched in her back.

Eudora looks at all of us, her eyes darting from gem to gem.

“This is what happens when you try to fight with the palace’s respected people. I may be just a servant here in the palace, but trust me, I’m worth more than you before the Divination,” she says.

She begins to talk more, not noticing the cool wind that was slowly moving among us. It was as if a phantom was walking through us, making sure to go to Judith’s hand.

“There will be no second time for this display of arrogance, and I’m telling that to everyone in he-“ Eudora’s voice was stopped as a huge block of ice came out of her throat, from behind it, where Judith’s hand was now pressing on.

I heard the woman croak, gibberish coming out of her mouth. Blood followed next, falling from inside the throat outside. It first coated her lips, then her chin, her neck, and unto the outfit. She pathetically tried to reach it with her arms, but instantly failed as life finally vanished from her.

I saw the light flicker in her gem.

And then Judith victoriously rolls over the dying body, victorious once again. But this time, she doesn’t smile, and doesn’t take her win for granted.

She still looks at all of us, her face still stinging from the slap. But it wasn’t pride that covered it this time, or fury in any form. It was humiliation. It was true that her power was one of a great scale, but her lack of tactical planning only made it seem that her brain didn’t follow the capacity of her gem.

It probably really didn’t. Or so I hoped, seeing how horrified I was when the ice spears finally hit the body.

It was all quiet for a moment, a lot of us still taking the situation in. To my left, Lucia was now crying, obviously not used to the scene. Her sniffs and cries were heard around the hall, which garnered eye rolls from some of the contestants.

Cold. Not only in power, but Judith literally turned everyone cold. It was helpful though, for I knew that the actual battle for the crown wasn’t to come as easily as this. It would be a full-on battle, with every imaginable powerful ability used in ways more devastating than anything else.

This was only a teaser, a sneak-peek of the chaos to follow after.

I take Lucia’s hand and pat is slowly.

“Don’t cry now, or you’ll see yourself crying to death later when one of these girls try to impale you, or even burn you,” I say as some kind of comfort, even though it basically sounded worse with what just happened. I wasn’t good at this obviously, for no one did it for me.

Lucia was still shaking, her breaths coming in short. Truly, I had never seen anything as innocent as the girl, and I made sure to protect her for as long as I can.

I wonder how far that promise might go, if only the two of us remains in the end.

“Now, all of you see what I’d just done, and I hope you all take that as a sign,” Judith says as she recovers, the guilt now nowhere to be seen.

“That’s what happens to fools who dare cross me,” she follows with. She looks at all of us, her arms crossed and her chin high. She fancies herself as powerful, it seems.

Some girls nodded, the most passive and submissive ones. They were the first ones to die, I can already tell. One was Thea of the Thunder, meek as ever. The other was Matilda of the Machines, the one who wielded the robot but seemed very scared without her suit. How can they be queens at this condition?

“Tricks and illusions,” a laughing voice said from behind me. It was gratingly high, like it was panicking and laughing at the same time, sounding mostly crazy.

I turned my back and saw that it was the woman dressed in black and white and with colorful powder on her face, Alice the Trickster.

Judith looked at her warily, assessing if she was worth her mouth’s time or no. It seemed like it was the latter though.

Millicent of the War only crossed her arms from afar, her eyebrows knotted but her other features relaxed. She would not waste her time dealing with such small and insignificant matters. It seems that the captain deems the soldiers in this set of Divination to be too weak for her commanding.

Rosetta of the Roses followed her stance, unfazed from the queen bee announcing herself around the room. From her entrance, it seemed that she would exactly be the type to do this, but appearances were tricks and it seems that she was more than what she seemed to be. I felt somehow relieved that she wasn’t the type to be Judith.

When Lucia finally calmed down from crying, she takes my hand and squeezes it tightly. She looks around and sees the girls now spreading around the hall, talking to each other or some just minding their own businesses.

Adelaide of the Woods and Hilda of the Knives crouches by the dead body, seemingly examining it. Weird people.

But as it seems the girls was now to be settled with the fact that somebody literally just died in front of us, I suddenly hear the same sweet voice from another dark corner of the room.

But this time, it wasn’t alone. It came from all corners, and was even followed by some who came from the door from behind us.

“Was all of that show done now?” the voices said in unison, almost like a crowd with the same voices and faces and clothes gathering to talk with us. They carried devilishly cool faces, as if they enjoyed their time seeing their clone dying.

“We do not have time for more of this, but let the stupid girl show more of her stupidity if she likes,” one of the clones said.

“Funny though, it seems that no one is as stupid as she was, and I hope that no one follows her lead, “ another one said. It seems that their role of leadership amongst the clones changed at every time they wished.

“Now if you’re all ready, let me guide you to the rest of the castle,” they said in unison, thirteen of them choosing one of the participants to guide and hold as the rest stood at their grounds. One of them neared me. I didn’t resist as it held me loosely by my wrist.

“Let’s go,” it said, smiling a little bit too happily to appear even true.

Eudora was quite the nightmare, but it seemed that everything in here also was.

The screams of the walls only increased

As the new prisoners find themselves

In silky satin and soft velvet

Their hearts unaware of its impending doom