Finding Mary

Chapter 11

"Welcome everyone! I am emperor Kerth. You are all here today to witness history! Gathered here, are many fearsome warriors, representing their planets in the ultimate battle." He paused to let the excited crowed quiet slightly. "The battle for the hand of Empress Asonia Geay of the planet Zindaki."

The roar of the crowed drowned out every other word the emperor spoke, but no one cared. All they knew, was that someone was going to win. And that was all that mattered.

When the sound finally died down, Zaclyn walked up to the podium. His hair as wild as ever. "As requested by the empress herself, this tournament will test all of you in challenges of her choice. There is to be no killing."

Some people booed, and others just slumped back, suddenly bored. They had come for a bloodbath. Not a safe tournament.

Finally, Asonia went to the podium, her face painted white, and her jeweled crown on her head. She only wore it on very special occasions. And this was one of those. It was made of a substance similar to gold in color, but harder than steel. It was in the shape of her family symbol.

It rested on her head perfectly, and made her golden eyes look even brighter. Her hair was still in its braid, but she'd let her bangs stay out. "The first challenge I choose for this tournament is archery. Let the games begin!"

The competitors, Klingon and Romulan alike all looked extremely upset. They came to bash skulls in, not shoot a bow. But Pavel, he had the biggest smile on his face.

His aim was impeccable, and Asonia knew it. As the Zindakian guards (who were in charge of supervising the entire thing) passed out bows and quivers of arrows, their faces never changed from a scowl.

They hated the fact that their ruler had to choose a king from these beasts. Each one knew why all the different species wanted to form an alliance, and it was the exact reason why they were cautious of joining anything outside of their solar system. It was all about the natural resources.

The scowls stayed etched on every face, until Pavel Chekov walked up. He wore a black t-shirt, and khaki cargo pants. His hair was recently cut, and Hus face shaved. He walked with a confidence none of the others had.

The guards each nodded at him as he passed. Knowing he was different, and had the empresses favor in his side.

The Klingon Prince, Dejen went first. For the first time since she'd met him, Asonia noticed he wasn't drunk. Something that said a lot about his fathers need for him to win.

She had heard their arguments from across the castle, as Kerth took away every bit of alcohol from his son. It was quite entertaining, to be honest.

The rules of the competition were simple. Each challenge was different, and each had its own difficulty. The ones who did poorly would be weeded out, until the only ones who remained were the best two.

They'd then battle it out in hand-to-hand combat until a single victor remained. Though Asonia could choose from any of the failed competitors, it was expected of her to choose the winner.

Dejen barely even held the bow correctly, he pulled back the string, and with a snap, the arrow landed two rings from the center of the target.

Which, even though it wasn't all that good a shot, it was better than any if the others did. Most of them didn't even hit the target.

When Pavel stepped up to take aim, Asonia felt her pulse quicken. Sensing his empresses anxiety, Zaclyn took her hand comforting. The second he arrived with the guards, she had told him the plan.

Even though he didn't think a 100% good plan, he knew it was better than her marrying Dejen.

Chekov held the bow like one would an old friend. His hand fit the handle perfectly, and when he pulled back the string, it was just the right amount of tightness.