Back to Kumandra

Part 25

"Raya..." 

"Yeah?"

"Remember that you are going up against your lover, not your enemy" said Sisu.

Raya's expression softened as she thought about Namaari.

"Y-Yeah I know..." replied Raya.

"Alrighty so...you're ready. We are about half hour out. Let's go."

Raya first put on her red cape and exited with Sisu. They went to the arena and Chief Benja gave her a special seat with Sisu. 

"Ba, it really didn't have to be like this." expressed Raya as she stared at the crowds of people. "All I wanted was a simple one on one battle...Not a show..."

"This is an opportunity to showcase your skill dew drop." replied the Chief as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I know Ba...but it's not like we're rivals... And I don't wanna hurt her..."

"Fight without emotion... It's just a little combat."

Raya felt very uneasy on the inside and even started to nervously sweat. She looked where the Fang supporters were and her eyes widened as she gasped and stared at Namaari. The Fang warrior was in a golden top with Fang's fabric design embedded in them. Her swords also had a gold hue when reflecting the sunlight. 

"Someone looks ready....REALLY ready." expressed Sisu.

"Is it bad that I feel horrible for even proposing a duel?" asked Raya.

"Yes! Who fights their lover?"

Raya raised an eyebrow at Sisu and said, "It's not like I'll be killing her."

"Relaxxxx and just have fun out there." said Sisu.

Everyone settled within a few minutes. The Fang crowd was fiercely cheering on Namaari but deep down, like Raya, she didn't expect that things would go THIS far. They both went into the central point in the arena. Raya slightly blushed but quickly regained her battle mood. Heart supporters cheered on Raya, chanting her name. Somehow, that made her more nervous than motivated and motioned them to quiet down. 

Chief Benja went to them both and said, "Are you both ready? Remember that you lose if your foot exits the circle outline."

Raya felt unsure and numb... Namaari could see how uncomfortable she was and said, "Raya, it doesn't matter who wins or loses. Regardless, we're a team"

Raya nervously smiled then said, "Okay I think I'm ready."

After the sound of the bell to start them off...Raya got in position as Namaari was ready to aim at her. The duel began when Namaari aimed  to strike her but Raya dodged her and struck back, but the Fang princess combated all her attacks. 

The crowd's cheering got louder and more aggressive as both princesses seemed to be winning to the respective supporters. After around 3 minutes, Raya started to get a bit exhausted. The two had completely zoned out from the fact that they are no longer enemies. It was almost like that final fight scene when the Druun closed in on Fang after Sisu was killed. Namaari remembered that the aim was to prove that the length of Raya's hair kept her from being an effective warrior.

She attempted pulling her hair back but over and over, Raya resisted and was able to keep fighting non stop. 

"I swear...This is such a tough battle..." said Sisu to Pranee who walked over to her, also in human form.

"Yeah...But I think Raya's more focused and consistent." replied Pranee.

"Or Namaari could be playing soft. She's the strongest fighter in Kumandra."

...Raya almost swept Namaari off her feet, where if she did she'd be out the circle. 

"Okay...you asked for it..." Said Namaari in her mind. She knew that Raya was weak on fighting without her weapon and said, "Why don't we settle this without swords or knives?"

"Game on." replied Raya as she threw down her sword on the dusty ground outside of the circle. Namaari deliberately did a hot gesture before throwing down her knives. She knew Raya liked when she did that and that slight distraction worked on her. Namaari almost punched her in the stomach and she dodged, and tripped Namaari.

The Fang supporters at this point got a lot quieter in contrast to the Heart supporters that cheered louder as Raya was seemingly winning. Chief Virana gasped and said to one of her servants beside her, "This is...impossible..." 

"Raya's gotten a lot stronger..." replied the servant.

Namaari got up and the two warriors were in a fist fight and Namaari got a perfect opportunity to pull her hair back after dodging a fist then kicked her in the back, where she fell outside of the circle...The Fang supporters cheered as their princess and leader won the duel. After realizing that she won, Namaari bowed to both sides then went to help Raya up but she was unconscious from the impact. The medical team went over to assist and Namaari felt very awful that she hurt Raya so bad...

"Don't worry Namaari, she's gonna be okay. She will just need loads of rest." said a nurse.

After a few minutes of treatment, Raya was revived and regained consciousness. Namaari hugged her and said, "Oh I'm so sorry but I'm happy you're okay."

"It's okay." Said Raya with a smile. Chief Benja then presented a golden dragon trophy to Namaari as everyone cheered her on. After, they all departed to their various areas. Most of the guests from Fang were staying in the palace. Namaari gave her trophy to her mother after chief Virana embraced her, congratulating her. Raya went to the garden with Pranee and Sisu.

"You both did awesome" said Sisu.

"Yeah. The techniques were so awesome." expressed Pranee.

"How long were we even there for?" asked Raya.

"Maybe 7 minutes or so." said Sisu.

"Yeah...the people on my side wasted 7 minutes of their lives." expressed Raya as she rolled her eyes.

"Raya, don't say that." Said Chief Benja. He was going to congratulate her. 

"Ba, I totally did awful out there" Said Raya in a broken voice as her eyes got saturated with tears.

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Poor Raya...we all have that moment in life where we work so hard to achieve something and still end up not being successful...What'll happen between the two princesses next?...
Don't forget to leave a vote. <3