Building an Empire [M/M]

Chapter Nine

Sorry, it's a bit short this time. I've dedicated most of my writing time to finishing a short-story I promised to do. If any of you have read The One Weakness you may remember it.

But I hope you'll enjoy this chapter anyway.

Siobhan

There was a dull thump as I wrestled Riley to the ground again. Today was the only day we, the squadron leaders, got to prepare ourselves for the Election Tournament. Tomorrow the games would begin and the only thing you knew was that there would be some sort of fighting challenge, some sort of mind challenge, and a loyalty challenge. Besides that you knew nothing. Didn’t even know which challenge would come when. And sometimes they added a bonus challenge just for the sake of pleasing the crowd.

Because the crowd would be enormous. And such a big crowd that had gathered from all corners of Camion would bring a lot of money to the city. So it was common for the Emperor to choose for the Election Tournament to go on for longer than strictly necessary.

“Hopefully the fighting challenge will be wrestling or axe wielding,” Riley said as I helped him up.

“Not like I’m going to become a general so does it really matter?” Riley rolled his eyes and sighed like I was the biggest moron. “Because if you win the tournament it would show them that lineage doesn’t mean shit.”

“But it does,” I said as I reached for my staff. Riley and I had been going through various kinds of combat forms all morning and well into the afternoon. A lot of other Squadron leaders were doing the same thing, since combat was the only thing you could really prepare for. The mind challenge could be anything, I’d heard.

“Have you ever been to or seen an Election Tournament?” I asked Riley, cutting of his monologue about how he hated to be governed by pompous, pampered arseholes. “Nah man, can’t say I have. The Sixth general was the youngest and newest of the generals, but he was elected before I came to live here. Wait, didn’t you live here at the time?”

“No, I lived with my mother a couple of towns over and we couldn’t afford to go.” The memory of my gentle, soft-spoken mother made my heart twinge in sadness. Riley knew my mother was a sore subject so he immediately moved on to another topic. “What’s Lady Alexander doing?” he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a goofy leer.

“Why should I know that,” I said defensively and threw out my staff trying to catch Riley unaware - and if I was lucky distract him. Riley was like a bloodhound, when he learnt of something he could tease you with, he would continue using it until you had become immune. I had yet to become immune of Alex, and I doubted it would happen anytime soon.

Riley wasn’t as unaware as he seemed and jumped over my staff agile as a hare and let his staff fall across my back, leaving behind a painful sting. “What’s this, oh great leader, does the thought of Lady Alexander distract you.”

“God you’re annoying,” I growled and twisted around so I wouldn’t have my back to him.

“Thank you for noticing, I’ve been working on it all my life. So what’s the Lady doing?”