" LONG MAY SHE REIGN ."
where in kingdoms exist gods and goddesses
and a tournament to prove their worth
but with lies , deceit and darkness lurking
can one really find true love ?
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THE GIRL SAT on the floor of the musky smelling forest , her clothes stained with mud as she tilted her head towards the rays of the sun , allowing her hands to go against the flow of the water in the river.
Everything she loved about nature was right there. Beauty , peace and freedom. Something that she found lacking in her everyday life and she came here to steal a few moments of it , slowly filing her very deprived soul.
" HERA. " The booming voice disturbed the tranquility of the forest. She narrowed her eyes towards the direction of the voice , furious that the person had the audacity to burst into her sanctuary. The cackle of fire on her palms threaten to appear, ready to give death to the intruder who dare step upon her sacred land . Yet as quickly as her anger came , it dissipated into the chilly air as she spotted her best friend , Cassiopeia , making her way through the thick foliage of leaves towards her .
" Your father was hopping mad you missed the training this morning again , " Cassiopeia looked at her ,with disapproval lacing her every word . " Promise me you would go back to train ."
She nodded her head reluctantly , hoping that it would dismiss her best friend's fears . She knew why Cass was so adamant for her to train despite the fact that she excelled in all the sports , yet the reason for it never fails to send chills down her spine . She was going to represent her kingdom in the God's tournament this year , and she can't fail . Because if she does , it means she's dead. But then again , her father probably wouldn't care if she died . He would instead scream at her morbid corpse and blame her for disgracing the kingdom for not winning the tournament.
The God's tournament is held every decade , with a representative from each kingdom to compete against one another . First , using physical strength ; archery and sword fighting , then their own powers they were gifted with.
She watched the flames flicker in her palms and wondered solemnly what if she had other powers instead of plain , old , boring fire.
Invisibility . That would be cool . She imagined herself sneaking out of the castle without anyone noticing her absence , able to bask in the glory of nature all day. Her eyes glinted with joy but soon dulled again as she was shook out of her reverie by her irritated friend.
" I have been talking to you the past 20 minutes , have you even been listening to a single word I said? " Cassiopeia fumed .
She shook her head and smiled so mischievously her friend couldn't control the smile that threaten to spill at her own face . " Come on you little ruckus , lets move along before the sun sets and we have no idea how to get out ."
She didn't want to argue . She knew the way out . She knew every nook and cranny of the forest at the back of her hand , all thanks the guards that had the attention span of a goldfish and allowing her the opportunity to sneak out.
The only place she was ever allowed to go besides her own room were the training grounds . She wouldn't hesitate to say she lived 19 years of her life as a warrior instead of a goddess of her kingdom .
Soon the castle walls came into view , ivy and thorns overgrown at every corner , resembling the castle that sleeping beauty had slept for a 100 years . She hesitated before stepping through the gates . She knew if she went in this time round , there will no longer be a way out . Her father would secure every entrance so tightly that she wouldn't even be able to find a single space to breathe.
She caught her breath the final time and took another step forward. As soon as she reached the halls , the door was thrown open forcefully and out came a man , a face red as a tomato , hands clenching his scepter so tightly it looked like it was going to snap into two any moment, his figure radiating authority and the guards that were supposed to guard her room were found cowering at his sides .
" Father ." She bowed respectfully although she had none for the man before her. " Disappointment . Off to the training grounds . NOW ." He spat in her direction , turning on his heel and disappeared round the corner of the hall. Probably finding some woman to screw with to get the anger out of his system.
She was dragged by her hand maids to get changed into her training clothes. She was forced into a tight fitting bodysuit , squeezing ever last of bit of breath she had in her lungs out ,various weapons hanging on the belt tied around her hips . With that she made her way speedily to the venue , hoping to get the training over and done with and return back to the forest .
The training grounds were eerily quiet . Too quiet for this time of the day , where warriors should be heaving their sword and attacking one another , shooting arrows at the rapidly fast targets that made her head dizzy looking at it .
Her ears picked up the crunch of the leaves on the floor. And before the intruders could respond , she swiftly angled her palms towards them , blasting fire so intense, they reduced to nothing but ashes.
