Bond Breakers

Festiva - Part Two

Festiva - Part two 

Merran

She froze. Standing on a bridge overlooking the darkness interrupted by one tiny light. A light six shapes were hurtling towards. Everyone had leapt, everyone had shown no fear — they had also proved that this competition, for that is what it was now, was not going to be played out as a simple participation trophy; where everyone was happy as long as they had fun. No! This was a competition, what was at stake for each leader would have more damaging effects than her brain could come up with.

"Ah," the vendor exclaimed triumphantly, "here we have the first one to fail, Merran of Temis, I wouldn't vote for her, although, a small fishing town was never going to produce a champion, a Queen."

Merran gritted her teeth. She didn't care about the words, or the whispered phrases about her city that hissed through the audience. Provocation had never driven her; she didn't work like that. No, it was how she would view herself if she didn't try, if she showed here and now that she didn't deserve to be a part of the leaders then she let herself down. She took a deep steadying breath, took the two steps to the ledge, bent her legs...

The vendor said something, but it was lost on her as the wind swept up the cliff and almost threw her backwards.

She glimpsed six shadows in flight and a light still resting far below. The other leaders had missed. But they would have another chance as gravity kicked in again. She didn't have long. Merran zoned in on that light, focussed, ready — it moved... it was moving. She didn't spare a thought for the vendor and his manipulations. She simply tracked the movement, walking along the ledge of the bridge, it went faster, she broke into a sprint and just before the end of the bridge she launched herself...

The fall was madness, the wind rushed by so fast it made her eyes water. However, long underwater stints had prepared her for this, she watched that light get closer and closer, but it was still moving, the stick had morphed into an insect that scuttled across the water. She opened her hand and grabbed it... just. The tricky little insect had attempted to fly off at the last second, but she was far too fast — another advantage of a fishing town, learning to catch fish with your barehands.

She crushed the strange contraption into her chest as the chord went taut and had her shooting upwards, victorious.

The war between gravity eventually ended with Merran being hauled up and onto the platform where she presented the glowing — now broken stick to the crowd. The audience didn't respond, but she didn't really care, she had won. Proved to herself that she could do this, that Temis was more than just a small city with a leader that had no songs sung or stories retold about her. Maybe just maybe she could beat the leaders in this tournament, she could —

"You cheated," Kaijan was right in Siva's face, "you almost pushed me into a rock."

Siva shrugged. "I didn't hear anything about rules. Did any of you?"

"You could've killed me."

Merran didn't miss the outrage in Kaijan's voice, mixed with desperation. The Kavain needed information about the stone, and Siva — Merran couldn't believe he would be drawn in like this so easily, but then again so had she. And with that the flare died as quickly as it had sparked. She too had been reeled in so effortlessly.

"Don't worry Kaijan," Tia stood with her hands on her hips, "his not the only one who'll do anything to win."

Mez squared off against her sister. "It's a competition Tia, the whole point is winning."

"This wasn't a competition Mez, exactly like hunting Forcian offspring is not a competition."

Mez rolled her eyes and looked to the heavens. "Oh, here we go again."