Kings Game

Chapter 63 - Brittle Edge

(1)

Kell was beginning to feel useless. She'd been puttering around the apartment for a week now and had done nothing but cause trouble. She didn't mind causing a little trouble for Roran and Nul, she would make up for it when it came time to fight, but she hated causing trouble for Karyn.

Just sharing a bed had become an issue. Kell had only spent three nights in her own bed since returning to the city and all three times she had been plagued by night terrors. Thanks to Nul's bracelet there hadn't been any more issues with damaging walls, though each night still ended with Karyn shaking Kell out of a violent fit.

Her primary remedy had been to sleep on the roof, under the open sky where she didn't feel closed in. It was fine for her but Karyn deserved to sleep in a home, in a proper bed. The guilt was beginning to take a toll on Kell.

After another restless night, Kell had hoped to at least cook breakfast for everyone. Yet, when she offered, Karyn had declined. She had kissed Kell on the cheek and left the apartment at sunrise, saying she had errands to run. Roran was out of the house a short while later, off to perform more errands for the shiny ass up on the mountain top. Even Nul disappeared, leaving Kell alone in the apartment with nothing to do. A short while later some carpenters showed up to fix the wall in Kell's room. Kell was embarrassed enough that she decided to flee the apartment as well.

As the sun started climbing into the crystal blue sky, Kell made her way towards the Crucible. It was the same as always, oppressive and obnoxiously crowded. Skirting around to one of the lesser used entrances, Kell entered the gladiator's hub where she found a series of desks manned by clerks. Sitting at the end was her favorite grumpy old man.

"Hey, old man," she said, grinning.

Carrick slowly raised his eyebrows as he turned to glare at her, unamused.

"Getting into trouble this morning, Squall?"

"Hey, I've been behaving!"

"Oh, so it was some other Champion that got into a drunken brawl with Timara and destroyed half the street? Funny, I could have sworn they said it was a spear wielder too."

"Okay, so maybe I've been getting into a little trouble, but she started it."

"Timara always does. They call her a devil for a reason. Is there anything you need or are you just here to harass me?"

"I've been thinking about signing up for a bout."

Carrick eyed the etchings on Kell's exposed skin. "In the Crucible?"

"Nah, the proper arena."

"There are four arenas," Carrick said dryly, "of which do you speak?"

Kell rolled her eyes. "Two of them are barely used. I'm talking about the King's Arena. You know that."

"The Amphitheater and the Bastion are used daily."

"Yes, but nobody ever watches those events. There's no money in them."

"There's also a lot less death in them. Maybe you should give the Bastion a try, it might be a good change of pace for you. Besides, what do you need money for? I was under the impression you were paid well for your efforts in the war."

Kell shrugged. "We're not hurting for money but we're certainly not rich. And fighting in the Bastion won't give me the accolades I need to challenge the Kings."

"You could try the Amphitheater."

Kell snorted. "Now I know you're messing with me. You think I can follow a script?"