Regal Of All

Chapter V

We had just walked a few paces away when the announcer stood up and went to the podium, a hush fell over the room. Leonora and I scurried to sit back down. She, the announcer, introduced the Prince of Regnum, a small-figure that carried himself with prestige and wore the most extravagant clothing that complemented his blonde hair. His parents, the King Aequo and Queen Pulchra, were very old now and they ruled the kingdom quietly while their only child, the son Prince Colby, made the public appearances. He stood at the podium to make the opening speech of the Welcoming Banquet for the Pugnam Games held in Regnum Kingdom.

"Welcome dear friends to the Opening Day of the Pugnam Games!" Prince Colby spread him arms wide flashing a bright smile. "Today marks the start of the annual remembrance ceremonies, the Cladis Draconum Festival, in honor of the Battle of Victorium (in the valley, Victorium) where the courageous soldiers of Regnum defeated the dragons of the Northern Mountains to pause the long, bloody war." He paused at some cheers, then went on.

"However, we were not without loss. Although the soldiers won, their King did not have such a glorious fate. Before sunset on this vexatious day (Oh, so he does have some big words in his vocabulary after all, I thought at that part) the gallant King Xander was brutishly mauled by the menacing and evil Lord of the Dragons. King Xander proclaimed it to be named Ignis. That dragon still lives on today, and it has massacred tens of thousands of soldiers and citizens of Regnum in it's time. Such large sacrifices of the best soldiers and a wondrous leader will not be in vain. The blood of man will be shed no more! Each year you competitors, those who represent the best of Regnum's warriors, will fight for our kingdom. And every year we grow closer and closer to the triumph over the horrendous monsters because of your bravery.

"This year we do not aim to just capture or kill; but to slaughter these savage beasts once and for all! Their population is at it's lowest as it's ever been; this year we strike stronger than ever before. Let us have no mercy, the dragons never do. So why should we? This war goes on between man and dragon even if humans are at peace with each other; this shows they are quite unlike us. Roasting soldiers, setting fire to villages, ripping the children limb from limb and wiping out entire legions of men and women. We must not stand for it! And will not; just as the dragons do not tolerate anything but their own will we must not either. The dragons must reign no more!" The screaming and hollering of an enraged and rallied-up crowd deafened my ears for a good five minutes.

They were ringing afterwards once the announcer-lady came up again. "Let the Cladis Draconum Festival begin!" All of a sudden shoots of fire tore through the air from cannons in the walls surrounding the dining hall, columns burned inwards, close enough to feel the heat, but not enough to do any harm.

I'd heard stories of this before; it was ritual, to signal the second half of the Welcome Banquet. In past years it was considered to be an additional flare to the feast, but now it was built into the schedule. The schedule goes as follows: Once the people had entered and eaten all they wanted at the feast, then a member of the royal family came up and did the speech, then there would be the "Dragon's Breath." A 5-minute segment where the spectacular fire show takes place is when the dining hall is cleared up as guests leave; only for them to flood the ballroom instead, for the final part of the Banquet-- dancing.

The flames' colors changed from an alluring violet or a cherry-red to dying-amber-red, and lemon-yellow faded to a tart-orange shade as the blasts of fire died down. People hooted and hollered as we swooped out of the hall, and we, the warriors, clattered on into the ballroom. Men and women all around me whistled in awe. My first reaction was to stop and stare; but somehow I tiptoed forwards, my little heels clacked on the polished, marble tiled floors. 

"Wow," I breathed out, my wide-eyes shone brightly in amazement. It was unearthly.

The marble floors stretched out across the circular room under the candle-lit ceiling. It was plated in glass so that the breathing-taking night sky hovered above us, flashing diamonds flecked across the onyx-like sky. Darkness would've overwhelmed the guests (spectators that were sent to another area to eat earlier were now mixed in with the competitors for the dancing) had it not been for the gigantic chandeliers that hung from the ceilings and the vanilla-scented candles that lined the golden-lined walls. The brass metal gleamed in a way that made me imagine laughter as the sparkling light glowed majestically. Joyous people and content chatter made me feel excited too, but a bit crestfallen since I didn't see Acacia or Leonora nearby. They were the only ones I knew here.

After hovering alongside a limestone pillar for a bit I tried to pretend I was more comfortable than I really was, thank goodness I'm a pretty good actress (sometimes). But apparently I only faked it more so long before a dark-haired girl came up and swiped her hand in front of my face.