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Rosaida, known as the jewel of the valley, was a kingdom of middling size on the eastern border of Mastym. The nation was known for three things. First, its prosperous reserves of iron and gold that filled both its own coffers and the armories of its neighbors. Second, its renowned company of trained knights which patrolled the kingdom's skies on the backs of wyverns. And third, its zeal in eradicating corruption from its own streets, particularly in the forms of gambling, drinking, bribery, and prize-fighting.

It was quite appalling, therefore, for the crown princess of such a country to learn that she was scheduled to duel as a gladiator in two days' time.

"Fighting for money in the coliseum? The nerve that you would even ask!" cried the unicorn, thrusting a training spear into the ground. "I have joined this army under the banner of Mastym to stand with my husband. I have travelled hundreds of miles from my own kingdom to stand with him. And you would have me gamble my life away!"

"Our army is low on funds, Lady Brianne," said one of the two soldiers, a burro clad in iron plate. "Replacement arms are needed after our last skirmish, and we require new recruits to replenish our forces. Not to mention the famine in the north raising food costs, the reason we started this damnable war in the first place." The knight rubbed his fingers together. "All of that requires money, and money we don't have."

"Prize-fighting can win us a lot of money, too," added the other soldier, a giant of a man wrapped in thick, brown furs. "Both me and Alonso have already fought in a couple of bouts, and we each brought in a thousand gold pieces. Do you know how much food that can buy, how many weapons?"

"I do not care about the money!" Brianne protested. "The idea of killing or dying for the entertainment of others is repugnant. Is there no other way to obtains the funds we need?"

The human frowned. "Before I joined this army, I needed to fight as a gladiator to feed myself. We live in desperate times, Lady Brianne, and desperation doesn't allow you to cling to lofty ideals about-"

"That isn't your place to say, Sherman," ordered the burro. "We are in the presence of royalty, and you should conduct yourself accordingly." He took on a softer tone as he addressed the princess. "Milady, allow us to explain the circumstances. Lord Rolf would never ask you to take a life for gold, nor would he-"

The unicorn clenched her fists tight. This was her husband's decision? "Where is he?"

"Milady?"

"Where is my craven bastard of a husband?" she demanded. "I need to give him a piece of my mind."

"He is in your tent, working to develop tactics for the upcoming siege at Canizius. I must advise-"

Brianne shoved both men aside, storming towards her and her husband's tent with fire in her eyes.

"What gives that fool the right to throw anyone's life away, much less mine?" she muttered under her breath, passing a number of other soldiers on her way out of the camp's training grounds. She climbed over a number of stakes and ropes before finally reaching their shared sleeping quarters, a large red tent gifted to them by her father.

The unicorn pushed aside one of the tent flaps, revealing Lord Rolf in a simple tunic and trousers, poring over maps and diagrams of supply routes and defenses. Thoroughly absorbed in his work, it took her entry into the tent for him to finally notice. He smiled as he saw her.

"Are you not a sight for sore eyes? What brings you here, my love?"

"Cease your chatter, Rolf." spat the princess. "I have half a mind to cut you down here. How could you possibly sentence me to fight to my death in a foreign coliseum?"

The young lord's smile doesn't falter. "I presume you did not allow Sir Alonso or Sherman the opportunity to explain?"

"What else is there to explain? You scheduled me for an exhibition bout at an arena! Not only are you gambling blood for money, but you would have me take part in it as well. I thought you were better than this."

"Please let me explain myself, Bri. While it's technically still prize-fighting, it's not the kind that you see in the alleyways of Byronea or any other slum town."

"What are the rules, then, duel to first hit? Good luck getting a crowd for a fight like that."

"Please!" begged Rolf, smile absent for one second before returning with composure. "Here's how it works. The contestants are permitted to forfeit at any time during the match, in which the other contestant would be considered the victor. Getting knocked unconscious is also considered a forfeit."

"That barely sounds different from any other pit fight," the unicorn grumbled.

"The arena has also put in safety measures in order to minimize unnecessary casualty. Healers are on standby in order to prevent the death of contestants or mounts, that way, a fan favorite will come back if an axe gets lodged in their throat."

The princess rolled her eyes. Rolf always had a way with words. "I doubt they can save every single soul that walks into the pit. Some of those gladiators carry themselves like savages, and too much else can go wrong once a fight begins."

"I wish I could tell you that it was completely safe, but there's always going to be that element of risk. The ringmaster reports only two dozen deaths per year, which are very low odds considering how often matches are fought."

Brianne wasn't pleased by any chance of death, but twice a month seemed low enough to tempt fate, and if an opponent came too close to killing her she could always throw the match. Still, this was slave work he was asking of her. "It still does not explain why you would volunteer me for such a task. The activity is beneath me. I am the heir to a kingdom, Rolf!"

"I'm sorry to say, but it isn't your decision to decide what's beneath you." the young lord reaffirmed. "As long as you fight under my banner, you will follow my orders, regardless of your standing elsewhere."

She turned from him, unable to look into his eyes. This was not the first time her husband had required of her to act against her wishes. However, never before did he mandate her to violate her principles. She began to grind her teeth, seething with rage.

Never blind to his wife's true feelings, Rolf reached out his hand to hold hers. Her fists clenched with anger, were slow to open to his touch. With patience, however, the princess allowed her spouse to interlock their fingers.

"I am sorry to hold rank over your head, love. Truly, I'm grateful you have decided to lend me your strength for this campaign. I can try to support you in your ideals, but I will not humor royal pride."

Feeling her husband's warmth, and accepting his flattery, Brianne turned back to her husband. "You understand I am livid with the circumstances. Is our army truly so desperate for gold as to send our own to fight in the pit? Can we not seek funds or even a loan from a lord, foreign king, or, gods forbid, a bank?"

"Famine means a rise in the cost of rations, grain in particular. It also doesn't help that Canizius is well-fortified, meaning we will need to budget for siege engines or war mages. It's possible that the coffers of the city will be cleaned before we can reach them, and I was ordered to stay out of debt by his majesty King Osmund himself. We cannot take a loan, so my hands are tied."

"And why me in particular? Milord, why was I selected to raise my lance in the coliseum?"

"No soldier was singled out," stated Rolf. "Anyone who can fight is expected to, whether you wield an axe, a bow, or even a wand. My own match is tomorrow." He scratched his chin. "Mounts are permitted as well. They want combatants in their natural element."

The princess was taken aback. "What kind of arena is this?"

"I asked as much myself. 'Novelty draws in crowds,' they said."

The unicorn's lips fluttered in frustration. "The avarice of the merchant class."

"That avarice is this army's saving grace, Bri."

Brianne frowned. If it was true that all soldiers were scheduled to fight in gladiatorial matches, she couldn't expect any kind of special treatment. If Rolf would fight, she would too. That didn't make it feel right.

"Keep your chin up, love. Didn't you tell me once, years ago, that you wanted to be strong enough to fight by my side?"

Brianne remembered, specifically when she had badgered him to help her improve her lance technique. When they would spend an hour each day training together, practicing her form and control over her mount, all so she could defend herself and contribute on the battlefield. The reason she had taken him as a retainer, and eventually, as her lover.

She conceded. "I did tell you that, yes."

"Before now, I was always careful to keep you away from foes I noted as 'more experienced,' pushing you instead to rout less threatening combatants. I'm still unsure as to whether or not I can trust you to handle veteran hostiles."

This news upset her pride, although she kept a stone face in order to hide it. "Is this your way of testing if I am truly up to task?"

Rolf took her hands into his own, guiding her to the center of their quarters. "If you were to die out there because I overestimated your capabilities, I don't know what I'd do." He pressed his face against hers, at least as close as the horn would allow. "You are so much more dear to me than you know."

Reassured by his reasoning, Brianne stood on her toes to kiss her husband. "I suppose it is sweet to know that my husband would plan around protecting me, even if it feels a tad demeaning."

"Your bout is to come two days from now. Should you perform well enough, I promise to honor your request to fight on the front line at my side, along with the rest of the Vanguard. Does that satisfy you?"

The privilege to serve in the Mastym Vanguard was granted to only the most battle-hardened veterans. Even as a foreign royal, Brianne understood the implication. "I am honored and humbled by the offer. Very well, I will participate in the duel, on the condition that this is the last." said the unicorn.

The couple sealed the promise with a tight hug and a quick peck on the lips.

"I'm pleased you came around, Bri," expressed Rolf, eyes warm with affection.

"And when I claim victory, you will apologize to me for ever doubting my prowess."

"I look forward it. Make us proud out there, love."

*****

Brianne put on her right gauntlet, the last piece of protective gear she had left to equip. She had once adored the pink scalemail of Rosaida's Wyvern Corps, but recently she worried that it made her an easy target. The armor, while offering decent protection from glancing blows, wasn't as thick or heavy as those of her comrades who fought on foot or horseback. A direct swing from an axe or a mace could punch through with relative ease.

She gazed at her left arm, covered only in a light, flowing cloth. Were she to expose the limb, one could find rings of black sigils burned into her pure white fur. All Rosaida royals bore these scars, considered a rite of passage for those who learned to wield magic.

The princess was still in shock at the sheer diversity of the coliseum's combatants. She had spent yesterday trying to gain insight about her opponent from watching the matches of her fellow soldiers, but each gladiator had their own personal fighting style and wielded different weapons depending on the occasion. Some even wielded magic of their own.

She was loathe to admit it, but Brianne was unsure if she was prepared for bout. Even veterans like Dame Margrene or her old retainer, Sir Caffrey, had to fight to their limits in order to win their matches. If her husband intended to give her a true test of skill, he had picked an excellent place to do it.

"Ten minutes before your bout begins, wench."

The unicorn bristled at the label. Such vile words from a commoner to a member of the royal house would never be tolerated in Rosaida. If she wasn't making an attempt to hide that part of her identity, she would have given the knave an earful.

"Noted. I shall retrieve my mount," she said through gritted teeth.

Brianne armed herself with a medium lance, walking through a sandstone arch away from the barracks. Her greaves left tracks in the sandy floor, picking up a number of coarse grains with each step. She understood its purpose in the arena, but was it really so hard to keep it out of the waiting area? It was extremely irritating to feel it scratch against her feet.

She followed the sounds of roaring and screaming down the hall to locate her wyvern, which had been tied down by a set of powerful chains.

The otherwise ornery creature continued to thrash and hiss until it recognized its partner approaching. Feeling Brianne's hands stroke the top of her muzzle, the wyvern calms down, its poor behavior halting almost instantly.

Athena was a beautiful specimen to anyone who knew anything about wyverns. Her mix of pink and black scales were a magnificent sight for those who appreciated nature's beauty, and her massive wingspan a terrifying omen to those who stood against her in combat.

The wyvern had once been partnered with Sir Caffrey, but the old badger passed her on to Brianne when the young princess bonded with her. The unicorn then took every opportunity she could to hone her magical skill, and later her lancefaire, while riding the incredible beast.

Her father still joked about the wyvern being her better half. Rolf started to as well, to her own dismay.

Loosening the chains around the wyvern's wings, Brianne proceeded to inspect her for any sign of injury or pain. Not a new scratch on her scales or wings anywhere. Old girl must have been overreacting.

"That one was a handful to secure, you know," said a handler.

"You ought to be more careful," replied the princess. "I could hear her from the armory."

"Wouldn't sit still, kept shrieking like flying death, started hacking up smoke to scare us. Two of the new guys quit because of her. How do you take care of that monster?"

"A little respect goes a long way," mentions the unicorn, strapping a harness around her partner. "The occasional live sheep improves her spirits as well."

"You dragon tamers are all the same with your 'partners for life' shtick. You're just lucky that overgrown lizard draws in crowds."

"Be careful, she understands Mastymur."

As if on cue, Athena blew a bit of smoke out of her nose.

"You're just bluffing, right?" asked the handler, searching for his escape route. "In any case, I'll just be going." He found the exit she came in through, and bid his farewell.

Brianne smirked. You could train a wyvern to pick up cues, and they could understand emotion, but one comprehending human language was completely unheard of. Still, who would take the odds of insulting one that did?

She climbed on top of her beast, strapping herself into the stirrups, and peered out through the gate in front of her. The coliseum was packed. The sound of what must have been thousands of people could probably be heard for a mile.

Athena held her wings low to the ground, her back tense with excitement. Brianne rubbed her partner's head once more, keeping a firm grasp on her own weapon. Both knew what was about to come. This might be her only chance to show off her skill.

The gate opened. An armored guard beckoned Brianne into the sandy pit, where she came into view of the audience. Many of the spectators gawked as they saw a wyvern, likely for the first time in their lives. Something about the combination of terror and awe always filled Brianne with an odd sense of pride.

The princess looked above to the sky. The sun was beating down hard, and there was not a cloud in sight. She should have expected as much from a desert city like Tethro. With any luck the match would end before her armor became an oven. At least Athena didn't mind the heat.

Brianne then turned her attention to the stadium, hoping to find her husband, or any other familiar face. It was far too difficult to make out anyone in the crowd.

The unicorn's shoulders slumped. She knew Rolf would be watching from somewhere, he never broke a promise, but it would have been more reassuring to see him herself.

The armored guard led her to the center of the arena, where a lizardman with green scales waited for her. This must have been her opponent.

The champion wore a round shield on his left arm and an iron bow around his right shoulder, keeping a full quiver strapped to his leg. Both of his hands sat on the pommel of a greatsword, its wavy edge shining white in the desert sun.

Brianne recognized the sword as a Scalebuster. The weapon was designed specifically for shredding the scale and hide of dragons. It couldn't have a coincidence that her opponent had selected it against her. This was not a man to be trusted.

If he fell quickly, however, it wouldn't be a problem. If she could just knock him down with a charge, he wouldn't be able to counter, as the wyvern would pin him down with her talons.

From there, she could either force a surrender or knock him out with a kick in the head. She would win the round, earn her place fighting at her husband's side, and most importantly, never have to fight in a bout like this again for the rest of her military career.

The lizardman sheathed the blade on his back and came forward to give a small bow. "My given name is Lauden, but here I am known as the Dragon Breaker. I shall be your opponent for this bout."

The princess nodded from a top her wyvern, trying to remain aloof. She introduced herself as Dame Shannon, a fake identity conjured up by her husband. "It is a lovely day for a duel, do you not agree?"

"I do agree." The champion strode over to his opponent, investigating her mount from a distance with his hands at his belt. "Your mount, she's quite the beauty for a wyvern, I must say. Look at the luster in those scales!"

As he approached to get a closer look, however, Athena's head turned with fully bared teeth, trying to scare the lizardman into backing off. She had sensed the same negative aura that Brianne had.

"My apologies, warrior," said Lauden, taking a step away.

"No apologies necessary, unless you were attempting to play foul." quipped the princess. "You lack the fear I sense in most strangers when they are introduced to Athena. How did you acquire your title, Dragon Breaker?"

The champion scratches his lower jaw. A forked tongue darts in and out of his mouth as he tries to recollect. Then his face splits once more into a sickening smile. "It was no single deed, I assure you. After I win this, I can tell you a hundred stories about my time as a dragon tracker. Every single chance I got to sink my sword into one of those monsters. Almost got my ass burned off more times than I can count!"

Brianne's eyes narrowed behind her helmet, her worst suspicions confirmed. She had heard many tales about the ruthlessness of trackers, how they would steal eggs and drakelings from nests, and sometimes even kill adults who tried to protect their young. One could hear the wailing and howls of mourning mother dragons from the Tserenack Valley in her homeland.

"And who said I was just going to let you win?" she says, pulling her lance close.

"Spunky!" remarked Lauden. "I heard that a Wyvern Corps trooper was fighting today, and I knew I couldn't give up the chance to face you in the pit. You aren't going to waste my time, are you?"

"Depends, will you waste mine?"

The guard stepped between the two warriors, his armor clanking against itself. "How about we stop wasting the time of our audience? They paid good money to watch you two duke it out. I need you both to step forty feet away in opposite directions."

Each of the two combatants expressed agreement, trudging through the sand an equal distance from the center. The crowd quieted down as more and more people realized the match was about to start.

Athena held an aggressive stance in place, keeping her head low to the floor and legs bent, ready to sprint or take off from a stand still. Brianne mirrored this stance, holding her head low. She pointed her lance directly at her opponent from the other side of the stadium.

Lauden, likely hoping to get an early edge in the match, had taken the bow from his shoulders and nocked it with an arrow. Two more were kept ready in his draw hand.

"You are to fight until your opponent calls surrender, falls unconscious, or dies, in that order. Do not strike down a defeated opponent, do not falsify a surrender. Both of these qualify as a forfeit, and we will apprehend you according to local law."

The armored guard next addressed Brianne directly. "You are on a flying mount, Dame Shannon. If you are to fly above the roof of that watchtower during the bout, you will be disqualified for travelling out of the bounds of the coliseum. Understood?"

"Understood. Is there anything else I must know?"

"That will be all. Fight fair, and give this battle everything you have." The guard raises his voice.

"The match will begin in three!"

The princess gripped the reigns tight with her free hand.

"Two!"

Lauden lifted his bow and drew back the arrow.

"One! Fight!"

Brianne signaled her wyvern to lift off the ground, kicking up a cloud of sand and dust behind them. The creature released a terrifying screech as it charged towards their opponent, talons aimed forward.

As Lauden saw the pair barreling towards him, he released his arrow, aiming for one of the creature's wings. Brianne yanked the reigns upward, prompting Athena to fly higher in the air. The arrow instead lodged itself into its foot, a superficial wound.

Brianne cursed herself for her carelessness. She was relying on her instincts as a soldier in this battle, treating her opponent as she would any other target. The dragon tracker was far too experienced for that to work, and clearly intended to counter by disabling or killing her mount. She was probably safe, but Athena's life could be in danger as long as the match continued.

Quickly reevaluating her tactics, Brianne ordered the wyvern to kite in different directions, hoping to make her movements unpredictable.

The lizardman readied another arrow and fired at the flying beast, which darted upward once again, this time dodging it completely. He let loose the last two arrows from the bow in quick succession, each narrowly missing their mark as the wyvern weaved through each of their paths.

Lauden had to grab more arrows from his quiver. This was her chance. Brianne kicked the wyvern lightly on the left, ordering it to charge once again towards the other gladiator, closing the distance in seconds. The arena's champion barely had the time to nock another arrow before being slammed in the chest by the foot of an angry wyvern.

The lizardman, stunned, dropped his bow as he staggered backwards. Hoping this was her chance to finish the battle, Brianne commanded her mount to sprint at top speed on its back legs. As it obliged, the unicorn readied her lance in a jousting position, plotting to disable him with another strike to the chest.

But Lauden was ready for her. Shaking himself back to his senses, he moved to avert the incoming danger, deflecting the strike with his shield. With the beast recovering from her gambit, the lizardman hopped to his feet, drawing the large, wavy blade from the sheath on his back.

"If you both wanted to die, you should have just said so!" he growls, swinging the heavy blade wildly as he approached the pair.

Unnerved by the fury in his eyes, the princess blocks as many swipes as she can with her lance, looking for any chance to disengage. The lizardman, after failing to land a hit on his opponent, focuses his strikes once more on the mount. He takes a great swing at the wyvern's chest, cutting through her scales like paper.

Athena howls in agony, thrashing her tail and kicking up dust in all directions. Brianne tries everything she can to calm down the rampaging beast, commanding her to retreat quickly and stroking her head in the hopes it would distract her from the wound.

"I'm sorry, Athena," the princess sobbed. "I'm so sorry. I thought I could end it there."

The wyvern continued to whinge in pain, staining a red trail into the sand below as it retreated.

"Where are you going, wench?" shouted the lizardman, his sword drenched in blood. "The fight isn't finished yet!"

Brianne's throat tightened up as she saw Lauden walk towards her from the other end of the arena. Feeling both guilty and indignant over the pain of her partner, she cut herself loose from the harness, decoupling from the injured beast.

"So you will continue without a mount, I see," taunted Lauden. "You wish to rob me of a new chance at glory?"

The unicorn raised her left hand up, whispering words of a long dead tongue into the dusty air. Her eyes, horn, and the runes that covered her skin began to glow a blinding white light, and energy began to pool at her fingertips. Her silky white hair rose around her head as she prepared a devastating light magic attack.

Brianne drew a circle with her fingers, accelerating three sparks of divine light directly to the arena's champion.

The lizardman raised his shield in defense, but to no effect. Each of the three sparks converged onto his person, burning his scaly hide with radiant, holy fire. He groaned in pain as he struggled to keep himself on his feet.

"Damn it!" he cried.

The princess took this moment to recover her breath. The words of her father echoed in her mind as her left arm pulsed with pain. Magic always has a price.

Lauden pushed himself off of the ground with his sword, clutching onto it with both hands as he got off of his knees.

"Magic, huh?" He sputtered. "That's how I know you're desperate."

Expecting a retaliatory strike of some kind, the princess grabbed her lance in both hands, holding a defensive stance in between him and the wyvern, which was now licking her wounds in the far corner. Brianne silently thanked the gods for her partner's apparent safety.

The unicorn glared at her opponent, once again pointing the spear towards him.

Spectators in the crowd might have thought this whole scene an overreaction; it's a common sight to see mounts or other companion animals get injured, even in a deathless arena like this. But knowing a blade that had inflicted such pain upon her own mount had been used against innocent wild animals, and with such shameless brutality? It sickened Brianne to her core.

The two warriors threw themselves at each other once more, this time both fighting on their feet. The champion led with an overhead slash, which the princess blocked with the reinforced shaft of her lance. Brianne held her own for just long enough to bash the lizardman's face with her elbow, hard enough to break his nose.

Reeling back, Lauden returned the favor by swinging the blade as hard as he can into Brianne's side. Part of her armor collapsed inward on impact, poking into her flesh. She gasped in pain.

The crowd continued to cheer, thoroughly entertained by the brutal, messy battle unfolding in front of their eyes.

"You're not even a warrior," sneered the lizardman, drawing back his blade for another lateral strike. "No real warrior would disgrace themselves by using magic during a duel."

The unicorn once again blocked the blow with the shaft of her spear, this time angling a counter towards her adversary's throat. The lance barely grazes his neck however, as he jumps backwards to break away.

"You're a spoiled little girl who just realized she's in way over her head." He rammed his shield into her chest knocking her backwards. "Stupid bitch."

If things kept up like this, the match would be lost either by her death or submission, and this scum would wear his victory here like another badge of honor. Brianne's pride couldn't allow that.

The deal she had made with her husband, the army's money troubles, none of that mattered any more. This was about avenging her partner.

She shifted to a guarding stance as she focused on reading her opponents next move.

"I've had enough fun," said Lauden. "It's time for me to end you!"

The lizardman dashed in with his sword overhead, belting out a war cry as his boots hit the sand. She maintained her stance. Something seemed off about his charge.

When Lauden reached his opponent, he feinted the overhead slash into a cut from his left side. Brianne held her lance in place with one hand to block the blow. As before, the shaft of the weapon took the brunt of the hit, the blade striking just an inch above her index finger.

With his sword blocked, Lauden couldn't maneuver in time to protect himself. He had fallen into the princess' trap. In one motion, she grabbed onto the champion's face and revealed her left arm to the air. The marks began to glow white once more as the princess recited another ancient spell.

The cheering around them stopped.

Fear overtook the lizardman as he failed to break her grip on his nose and muzzle. The hand wouldn't budge, even when he dropped his sword and tried to pry it off of his face with the strength of both hands. His cocky attitude completely shattered, he pleaded for mercy one last time with his eyes. "I yiel-"

A burst of light from Brianne's hand, consuming the other warrior's entire head in purging flame. Most of the crowd averted their eyes, as the spectacle was so intense as to be painful to look at. An ethereal howl drowned out their panicked gasps.

It was over within seconds. The light dissipated from her fingers, and her arm fell limp to her side. With how much power the princess had released at once, it would burn for days. She fell to her knees.

Her opponent collapsed to onto the arena floor, sinking slightly into the sand. All that was left of Lauden from the neck up was a bleached, reptilian skull. His final scream preserved in his gaping lower jaw.

The armored guard from before came rushing past to inspect the fallen champion, a priest following close behind.

"Good gods, he's..." the guard whispered. "Is there anything you could do to bring him back?"

The priest pointed to the skull. "His head is completely incinerated. No amount of magic or prayer is going to fix this because there's nothing left to fix. He's with the gods now."

"That's a damn shame, I liked watching him fight." The guard took another look at the corpse before approaching the princess once more. "It... uh... looks like you've won. Congratulations."

The guard aided Brianne back onto her feet. He took her arm and hoisted it up in the air. "The victor of this bout, by ...elimination, is Dame Shannon of Blackpont."

The crowd didn't know how to react to this outcome, and the match ended with confused chatter rather than the expected fanfare and applause.

The princess cared not for such things. She had won her bout, and the fiend who had nearly killed her partner was dead.

Brianne looked over to check on her wyvern once more. To her shock, Athena was allowing someone new to heal her, licking her wounds as the priest helped to mend the slash across her stomach.

Relieved to see her battle partner safe and healthy, the princess hobbled to her side to comfort the wyvern with a hug. The wyvern, appreciative of the company, curved her own neck to rub her face against her rider. Physical affection was a custom between many riders and dragons after hard-fought battles, and this pair was no exception.

The wyvern's happy attitude quickly soured when the guard approached, bearing the sword of the fallen champion. "Easy, girl, I don't want to fight you." He dropped the weapon at Brianne's feet, the blade burying itself into the loose ground below.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked the princess.

"The law of the land says that in a duel, the victor claims ownership of the fallen's primary arm, save for heirlooms. Coliseum bouts that end in death are considered formal duels by law, Dragon Breaker has no next of kin, therefore the sword is yours."

The unicorn gritted her teeth. "That's ridiculous. Get that abomination out of my sight!"

"It is your weapon; you can choose to dispose of it how you please." Not a hint of emotion showed on the guard's countenance. "In any case, the next bout starts on the hour, and we need to clean the pit. Can you and your mount return to the barracks?"

Brianne scratched her mount's chin to get her attention. "We need to leave," she whispered into the wyvern's earhole.

The wyvern puffed a small cloud of smoke out of her snout in response, annoyed by the inconvenience.

The princess was taught to always respect the customs and laws of places she visited. So even though it filled her with dread to even touch the accursed sword, she drew it from the ground regardless, hoping to shorten any other interaction she had in this place. The weapon was far too cumbersome to carry in one hand, and as she lacked either a sheath to store it or the use of her left hand, Brianne opted to rest it instead on her shoulder.

She whistled for Athena to follow her as she limped towards the gate she had entered from. When they both reached the shaded barracks once more, the wyvern stretched out her wings before curling up in the center of the room, much to the grief of the handler. The unicorn continued into the corridor, where she spotted her husband.

Rolf, who was leaning against one of the support pillars, pushed himself off immediately when he saw his wife. At first, neither party knew what to say and shared an uncomfortable silence, only interrupted by the occasional cough. Where could they even begin?

The exhaustion from the fight caught up to Brianne in full, and she started to sway where she stood. Grabbing her hand, her husband guided her to a nearby bench, helping her lay down on her back. He also took off her helmet and chest armor, the latter of which was still digging into her skin.

Battle with a brutal adversary did little to dim the natural beauty of the heir to Rosaida. Even with her silky white hair and mane matted with sweat and grime, and her sparkling ocean-blue eyes half-lidded from the tiresome ordeal, there was a certain grace she carried herself with, one that could put the mind of any friend at ease in her company.

Rolf sat himself down next to Brianne's head, watching and listening to the woman breathe in and out. Staring down into his wife's eyes, he allowed himself to smile, gracious for her safety. "Do you want to talk about what happened out there?"

"No."

The lord stroked the head of his beloved, hoping to give her the rest she so desperately craved. He didn't have the heart to tell her about the celebration that the Mastym Vanguard had planned for her induction when they got back to camp. For now, he would just stay by her side, like he promised so many times before.

"I'm proud of you."