Experiment 38

Chapter 11: Iris

The bleeding doesn't stop as I hold in my cries while applying pressure to my wound. Not only does it feel like a lion bit off a chunk just to see if I tasted like chicken, but I can't even bandage it. Oliver keeps looking over to make sure I'm ok even when I'm obviously not, Solomon is my next opponent, and he wields a sword just like me... only with a lot more experience. I remember as a child when he and my father used to spar not only was it exciting, but it was brutal, they both would be almost to the point of death when they were done. This wound lined up to that is nothing compared to what I'm about to face. I take my eyes off of my bleeding arm to look at Solomon, he is sharpening his sword with ease and a smile on his face. I look away I know that people hate royalty but isn't this a little extreme, I look for something to tie off my arm to postpone the bleeding, I then glance down to my belt sash and decide to use that before I bleed out. I hold my breath when I have half of the sash in my mouth while the other is in my left hand, I count to three and pull them away from each other as hard as I can. Tears prick in the corner of my eyes as it cuts off my circulation, but it's better than leaving it alone, I finish tying it off in a knot just before round two is about to start.

Solomon begins walking towards me on the field as he drags his sword on the ground, he smiles in blood lust. I feel a shiver down my spine as I regrip mine. My right arm continues to bleed even with the announced pressure on it. I hold my breath and try to will it away...no good. Even though last nights power was uncontrollably crazy I could probably use a miracle or upper hand right now. I try to imagine my anger and frustration. But I don't feel anything, no heat in my palms or a vibration of immense power, there's nothing, it's dull, it's bleak.....it's gone. I can't help but feel it was only a one time thing, but how would that be any possible, I've never met someone with blue lightning as their element before. Not only that but to only use it once...No Iris you need to focus. I shake away my curious thoughts and try to think of ways I could defeat Solomon. My sword hangs a little low so I can swing up when the match begins. But the bad part is that my arm continues to drain crimson blood and it drips a vineyard trail down my sword making it look like it was once roots to a tree of life, and though it feels as if it won't ever cease, it's the only thing I can focus on that makes me feel like I am alive.

And before I even know it, the match begins...and I'm flying backwards, but it's only for a few split seconds before I land into the dirt. Solomon landed a good blow as I lay there on the ground coughing and wheezing praying for the oxygen to return. "Is that all you got princess?" he laughs and looks at me like I'm pathetic little goody two shoes who can't even kill a fly. "You know, when you defeated Charlotte, I actually thought that there was just the slightest glimmer of hope for you..." I try to sit up even though my body cries telling me to lay back down. "But all there is," he kneels in front of my face making me want to kill him way more than I already had to. "is just a little girl...who doesn't deserve the throne, I could make a better ruler than you little brat." while he had his little speech I slowly sneaked my left hand behind my back to unsheath my dagger. I try not to use it as much, but in this case....so worth it. Just as Solomon was about to make another snide comment I stab the dagger in his neck and his eyes go wide as his life begins to tick away, he gasps and reaches for his impaled neck. We all knew he wanted to scream but all he could do was gargle blood. It drained from his mouth and splattered onto his armor. The blood covers my hands in it's warm powerful liquid, and it smells of copper and rust. I shove the dagger deeper into his neck to secure his death before I back off.

As I scoot away finally able to catch my breath, I stare at my hands in shock. I will pay the price but he was a traitor in search of power. Solomon falls lifelessly to the ground as his blood continues to drain out of his body, it soon gets soaked up by the soil as if it never happened. I grab my dagger from his throat and wipe it off his uniform. A sudden wave of confidence washes over me for my next opponents. I have finally killed, it didn't hurt at all, in fact I feel so much more powerful than I have ever before. I can sense a wave of nervousness in the crowd to include Oliver.

I sheath my weapons and with more boost in my system I stride back to the side lines where everyone is practically speechless, more or less. I grab a cloth and begin to wipe my hands clean, as I do I feel the amulet begin to glow ....what's going on?... Should I take it off? it starts to burn. I try to move my hands to my neck and throw it, but my body won't obey me...help!.... My mouth wouldn't speak the words as the hot metal burns my flesh. Something rises within me, some a kind of power it's almost a hum, I'm not sure if it's physical, mental, or emotional but it feels like I'm daydreaming. I can hardly feel my body anymore not even the pain in my arm or the soreness of my muscles, I'm being kicked out. A vibration in my system starts to weaken me, and I'm being controlled. It's almost as if strings pull at every end of my body, and my body,mind, and soul belong to someone else. My life rests in someone else's hands and there's nothing I can do about it. I attempt to scream again but no sounds escapes my lips.

I'm then thrown back into my inner consciousness and I'm on the sidelines while someone else has the reins. It's as if I'm watching a play, a skit, and I'm the in the front row. My robotic arm moves down to drop the pink tinted cloth "so, who's next?" I say with a smile. It's my actions, it's my voice, it's my body....But it's not me.