A Throne of Fire and Blood

Chapter 10

Tianna could barely sleep that night, all she could think about was the Champion's death. She didn't fear death, but this made her shiver. How had someone so important die in the home of the King and it go unnoticed for who knows how long?
     Before getting dressed, Tianna looked at herself in her mirror once again, assessing how her body has changed in the past week. She was starting to regain weight from the steady meals and her skin had started to regain its colour. Her healing process would take a lot longer, but this was a start.
     She got dressed and carried on reading but within minutes of picking up her book, someone was knocking on her door. She shouted for them to come up and Nathan walked in. He was holding two bowls of porridge and put them on the table and sat down on one of the chairs. He looked like he hasn't slept at all.
"I thought we could eat together, and I can tell you about the Champion." He said with a groggy voice. Tianna got up from her bed and sat across from Nathan.
"The Champion was Murali Vollan, an assassin. His body looked like it had been attacked by an animal, cuts and slashes all over his body. I've never seen a body so destroyed. It looks like it was done the night before the running test. And there was these weird symbols written on the floor around him." When he mentioned symbols, it gave Tianna a cold feeling.
"What type of symbols?" She asked.
"I'm not sure, some kind of language maybe?" Tianna suddenly lost her appetite. Had the symbol by the fountain have something to do with Murali's death? Tianna also remembered the Princess' reaction to the symbol outside, was she involved in all this? All the information Nathan has given over made her ask more questions, but in the end it's not her problem, it's one less person for her to compete against.
     Tianna and Nathan made there way to the training hall, and on the way they past where the body was found. There was still people cleaning the walls and floor from the blood. While they briefly passed by, she tried to have a look to see if the symbols were still there but they had already be cleaned up.
When Tianna arrived at the training hall, she could cut the tension with a knife. Everyone knew about the Champion who died, and they were all scared, no one who had done it or why or how. The only one she seemed unfazed was Harkon, who was happily sparring with Emmet who was acting like nothing had happened.
Tianna walked over to the weapons rack and grabbed the rapier she uses everyday. Farai came over and stood next to her.
"Do you want to spar, Evalyn?" He asked.
"Sure," she stepped onto the near by mat while Farai chose his weapon, "I'll try not to hurt you too much." Tianna said with a smirk on her face.
     They spent the next few hours sparring with each other, but Tianna had to hold her self back, so it wouldn't make anyone suspicious, but it was difficult for her because Tianna loved to fight. She loved the adrenalin rush that came with it. Between fights, Tianna could see how stressed Nathan looked. He was worried about if she was going to do anything. She had a small feeling that Nathan thought she was the one who killed Murali, she wondered if he was waiting for the right time to get her beheaded, using the champion's death as an excuse for her to give her life.
After training, Tianna went back to her room to change before her lesson with Calissia. She had enjoyed there lessons together. She just enjoyed being with the Princess. Something about her gave Tianna a sense of happiness, a happiness she hasn't felt in a long time.