Tales of Alavern 01 (Non-Canon)

He shot out his right hand and snapped his fingers right next to her ear. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't help but flinch and turn her head at the sudden noise. He had expertly used human nature to create a small blind spot. She attempted to position herself to block his attack, but not being weighed down by a weapon allowed him to attack much faster than she had been prepared for. Though she managed to move enough to avoid a direct heavy blow to her side, he still caught her elbow in a powerful swing of his fist.

She grit her teeth and allowed the momentum of his attack to carry her away from him so that she was back in a better range to use her sword again. She ignored the pain flaring in her elbow and took up her stance once again. She stomped hard on the ground, feinting her own attack and silently relishing in the fact that the man had fallen for it. He was rushing towards her and she swung her blade in a wide arc. He managed to bring his arms up, and the thick muscles on them managed to keep the cuts surprisingly minimal. Naomi followed up her slice with a kick to his side, delivered with the skill and grace of an expert dancer.

She heard him hiss in pain as he was kicked away from her and she made a small flourish with her blade. Her kick had managed to knock him into the guards at the edge of their ring and her people cheered for her while roughly pushing the man back towards the center. She attempted to slash at him again, aiming this time for his abdomen but he managed to grab her sword mid-swing. She didn't have time to be surprised as he pulled the blade and her towards himself, delivering a swift punch to her face that made her head snap back. Before she could even register what had hit her, he slammed two more quick punches into her stomach.

"You're good, but I don't suck at fighting either." Cyrus said, flexing his arms to check the damage her earlier sword swings had caused. She growled under her breath when she noticed that he was barely bleeding. His earlier merriment was gone, replaced with an intense focus as he kept his eyes locked onto her. "Your weak link is, you trained as a soldier and this isn't a war. This is a damn fight."

"Do not presume to lecture me, Cyrus." she replied, growling out his name with all the venom she could muster. "I am Queen Naomi of the Alavern Isles, and you shall learn your place!" she said, rushing forward and making an impressive sweeping motion that was almost like ballet. She allowed the momentum of her spin to carry her towards him, much lower to the ground than he could punch effectively as she kicked her leg out to sweep his feet out from under him. She had used the move against plenty of opponents, putting them on their backs where she could pin her sword against their throat to end the fight.

A roaring pride shot through her as she readied her follow up, but as her foot connected something went horribly wrong. He slid his legs into a strange position and although her kick connected with the man's shin as flawlessly as ever, his leg barely budged under the weight and momentum of her kick. She had been thrown completely off balance with this unexpected failure and couldn't recover before his hand shot out and grabbed her sword from her. She gasped in shock and slight horror as he reeled his arm back and tossed her weapon away from the arena and out of reach for the rest of the fight. If she were to break the ring, he would be the victor of their battle by right and no outside assistance for either side was allowed during a battle for the crown.

"Rule one of boxing, steady feet. At this rate, it seems my place will be standing above you at the end of this fight." he said with an air of eerie calm, causing the queen to simply lose it. She howled in rage as she bolted up from the floor and swung her fists out with all the power and rage in her body. She managed to catch him off guard with the sudden change from grace and poise to berserk ferocity, landing several solid blows on his face that left small cuts as he tried to dodge them. She felt the tide of battle changing in her favor once again and barely registered the murmurs of panic and fear that swept throughout her guards.

"You will never stand over me! I am Queen! My people need me and I shall never fail them!" she shouted at the top of her lungs as she rained blows down upon him. She was assured of her victory, savagely pounding on him over and over again until she had noticed something strange. The man wasn't moving at all. He simply stood there with his arms covered in a bizarre stance that made it impossible for her to land anything significant on the sides of his head or his chin.

"I admire your spirit, and your dedication..." he said as she continued to rain down blows upon his guard, "but you're overlooking a basic fact here." Naomi stopped her assault, stepping back to allow him his chance to speak as her final act of courtesy in this fight. Once her arms stopped moving, they suddenly felt like they were being weighed down by large jars filled to the brim with water. "I'm not the one breathing heavy here."

She looked over towards him, taking note of his firm stance and his oddly calm breathing as he kept his focus on her and she suddenly realized that the heavy breath of combat was coming entirely from her. In her rage,she had thrown everything she could at this man and he took it all. The terrible reality that he could actually defeat her in her current state washed over her like a violent tide and she felt the weight of her crown on her head once again. She shuddered to think what would happen to her people if she truly lost the crown to this man and steeled herself for one last assault. She would defeat Cyrus of Las Vegas. There was no other choice.

She sucked as much air into her body as she could and took up a proper bare-handed pose against him, watching him change his stance once again into something else she had never seen before. She forced herself to swallow her nervousness and charged forward at him, keeping her calm and holding her breath as she aimed precise strikes at him. He managed to sway his body and weave between every blow she threw at his head, but his torso was too wide and his new guard made his body an easy target for her blows. She chased him down as he tried to circle around her, placing blows against his body and receiving blows from him to her own body in return.

She felt her air start to run out and began to get desperate. She aimed blows at his lungs and kidneys, but he blocked every shot to anything that would do any damage to his body using his elbows. She couldn't help but to admire the hidden sophistication behind his unique fighting style and a part of her began to wish that their first meeting had gone a different route. Her people could use hand-to-hand skills such as these, and she became determined to win this fight and make him teach what he knew.

His breathing was becoming more ragged as well, but Naomi had run out of air to hold in and was forced to stop attacking to take another breath. Her lungs burned with the effort of her exertions and she felt him step in towards her and land something heavy into her stomach. She found it impossible to keep air in her body and knew she would have to try something desperate and pray to the Great Mother for victory when she threw it.

"Fall, damn you!" she screamed as she threw her last desperate attack, aiming straight for his chin. Her punch flew true and for a moment her victory seemed assured as his head snapped back, but she realized all too late that she had not felt her fist impact with any real weight against him. She caught a glimpse of his eyes, boring into her own as he landed from a small hop that he had used to avoid her attack.

"Gotcha." he said firmly, spinning his body around with a similar grace to her own. She prepared her legs to dodge the attack but noticed too late that his feet weren't moving to kick her. She heard a crack like thunder as his fist impacted the side of her head and her world went blurry. She couldn't even feel it as she saw herself hit the ground, impacting it hard enough to cause her body to bounce slightly. The last thing she saw was Cyrus of Las Vegas, standing over her with his fist still in the position he had bested her with and the face of her dear friend Brianna, calling out to her as her world went black.

Chapter 5

Brianna looked on in horror, the crown she had been asked to hold onto dropped the moment Naomi's head hit the floor. Her troops surrounded the now unconscious form of their queen and her heart stopped for a moment as she checked Naomi for vital signs. She released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding as she saw that her lifelong friend was still breathing and struggled to keep tears of relief from her eyes.

"I win." the man said softly from behind them all. She and her troops all whipped their heads around to the man who had just defeated their queen, bleeding from various cuts and breathing heavily from the exertions of battle. The rain outside began to settle, as if the battle that had ensued had been fueling it all along. He looked down at the ground, noticing the crown that Brianna had dropped in her rush to check on the queen. He walked over and gently picked it up off of the floor, staring at the prize he had won with eyes that seemed to perfectly match the jewel that had been laid into the crown.

She heard one of her troops suddenly roar out and turned to see her point her spear at him with murder in her eyes. He looked on at her unflinchingly, his eyes silently saying he would continue to fight despite the shape his body was currently in. Her troop growled out, baring her teeth and took a step towards the man, ready to rush him down until Brianna called out to her.

"No!" she shouted to her troop. "This was a battle by law. He challenged, our queen accepted and.." she paused, choking for a moment on the words she knew she had to say. "He has won. He is...our king now. To attack him is treason. Do not dishonor yourself like that." she said, seeing the conflict in her troop's eyes as she looked between her captain and her new king. Several tense moments passed before the soldier begrudgingly lowered her spear, hands trembling with the effort it took to keep herself in check.

"King? I didn't want to be king. I just wanted to be treated with some decency." he said quietly, sounding incredibly dejected for someone who had just won a throne. He looked down at the crown, seeming to contemplate what he had just won. "Hey," he spoke after a few moments of silence. "I don't know how we're going to work this out in the long run but for now I'm just going to roll with this. I need to treat my wounds and I need to rest. I've been exhausted since you found me this morning and all of my adrenaline is about to run out."

Brianna stood up, not wanting to leave her friend but mindful that her duty had to be to the crown, regardless of who wore it. She could resign from her post later, but for now there was a duty to attend to. She walked up towards her new king, bowing towards him with the respect he had fought to earn just now.

"Make sure that the queen gets any medical attention that she needs. She's too tough to die, but I don't want any permanent damage left over from this fight either." the king commanded. Her troops silently bowed and worked together to move Naomi's body as gently as possible out of the throne room. She felt beyond conflicted about the state of events, but was at least appreciative that he seemed to care about Naomi's well-being to the point of making it a royal order to see that she was given care. She would do as her station dictated of her and serve his request with all the protocol she knew of.

"My king. My soldiers will see to the queen's....to Naomi's well-being. Please, allow me to escort you to your chambers." she said to him, then looked at him with shock when he held the crown out to her.

"I told you, I wasn't looking to be anybody's king. I'm just Cyrus, okay?" he said to her, his eyes weary and laden with guilt. She looked towards the crown, tempted to take it and run but she managed to gently push it back towards him. That small act had been completely sincere, and for the first time she was starting to regret how she had treated this man.

"You have won the crown, and it cannot simply be given away. There is law and protocol that must be followed." she said in a softer version of her usual professional tone. "Though if you wish only to be called by your name, I can easily follow that Cyrus." She saw him sigh, noticing now just how badly he had been hurt. Bruises were starting to form in places and mixed with his many cuts. The battle had been much closer than any of them had realized and if he was to be believed, he had been fighting with a handicap the entire time.

"Alright, I understand. Could you please show me to those chambers now? I need to lie down before I collapse." he said to her. She nodded to him and began to escort him down the many halls of the palaces. Since he now held the crown, protocol dictated that he was to be housed in the royal chambers. She wasn't entirely comfortable with the thought of him in her friend's bed but rules were rules. The two of them garnered many stares from the various servants of the castle, dressed themselves in simple light blue tunics but the new king didn't even seem to pay them any mind.

"The royal chambers, sir." she said with an air of respect as she opened the door for him. "The beds in the palace are the finest our society has ever produced. I'm sure you'll rest well in them. Shall I send a physic to tend to your wounds?" she asked him as she saw him eye the bed with an almost primal hunger. He glanced at her and stood there in silence for a moment, forcing her to await a response.

"Yes please. Thank you, Brianna." he said to her as he sat himself upon the bed. He saw all the energy drain out of his body instantly. She gave him one last quick bow before closing the door to the room and hunting down the nearest servant.

"You, are you a physic?" she asked. The servant girl shook her head no and Brianna sighed. "Well go find one. The rumors of a man in the palace are true. He's currently waiting in the royal chambers and the crown has commanded that he receive medical attention. Once he has gotten it, allow him to rest undisturbed for a few hours and then make sure that food is brought to him. Am I understood?"

"Y-yes Captain." the servant girl said nervously. "Captain, are we in danger? A man hasn't been on the island since.."

"I'm aware." Brianna said, cutting her off. "I can assure you that the man shouldn't be a threat. Now, the crown has ordered him taken care of and you have been given instructions. Go." she said sternly. The servant bowed to her and quickly ran off. Brianna sighed, feeling that she had done enough of her duties for one day and decided to head off to see Naomi. She knew that her troops would have taken their queen...former queen straight to the head physic, due to the nature of her injuries and prayed that she would arrive to good news.

Several other servants quickly jumped out of her way as she hurried down the many corridors to the eastern wing of the palace where the non-royal residents resided. She overheard the servants spreading rumors as they walked and shot more than a couple of them a dirty glace on her way. Normally, she would feel the need to stop and discipline them for discussing rumors instead of fulfilling their duties but today had been anything but normal.

She saw her troops standing outside of the head physic's room, at attention as they had not been given orders past taking Naomi to receive care. She quickly and silently dismissed them all with a wave of her hand and entered the room where her friend had been taken. Her heart soared as she saw Naomi sitting upright on the bed and speaking with Megara, the head physic. Megara turned towards Brianna, wisdom shining in her violet eyes. Her hair, while it had started to grey, was a strong, short chestnut brown and overall the woman held an air about her that commanded respect, alongside a mature aura that seemed to flow from her.

"Captain." Megara said, bowing her head slightly. "Would it be fair to assume that you came to check in on Naomi's condition?" she asked. Brianna winced, hearing her friend referred by her name instead of her title now. She knew that she would have to get used to it, but that didn't make the reality less painful at the moment.

"I am." she said to Megara before turning to Naomi. "My queen, how are you feeling?" she asked. Naomi looked down, shivering and trying to clench her fists.

"I am queen no more, Brianna. You know this better than any other in this kingdom. Your knowledge of our laws and customs rivals that of most scholars. Though I fear for our future now that crown lies..." she fell silent as tears began to fall from her eyes. Brianna gently brought her friend into a hug, careful not to aggravate the injuries she now carried.

"Ah yes, the man who has become king. An event that hasn't happened since the time of our foremothers. Tell me Captain, what is he doing now?" Megara asked, taking a seat nearby and crossing her fingers together.

"As long as the orders I gave are being faithfully carried out, he will be receiving attention from one of your understudies, head physic." Brianna replied, looking back at the woman out of respect despite wanting only to keep her attention focused on her tormented friend.

"Well he had best be respectful to whoever got stuck with that or, crown or no crown, I'll beat him senseless myself." Megara said, trying to make light despite her grimace.

"I have single-handedly ruined the paradise Great Mother gifted to us. I have doomed the kingdom." Naomi said, devastated. Brianna sat next to her friend and gently held her hand, taking the breath necessary to say the unbelievable words that were about to come out of her.

"Surprisingly, I don't believe you have." Brianna said, garnering looks of surprise from both Naomi and Megara. "I know, what I said seems impossible but...his actions and words are nothing like the men that we have all read about. The moment he held the crown, he said he did not desire it. That his struggles in battle had been not for any prize, but for simple respect."

"That is impossible. It must be a trick." Naomi replied, squinting in confusion at her friend.

"I do not believe it is. He ordered you to be given care immediately after the battle, then asked to be taken to rest. He ordered that I simply call him by his name and did not even attempt to put on the crown despite holding it in his hand." Brianna explained.

"But do you truly believe that he will continue this attitude? That he will not give in to the tyrannical urges of men that our people have been warned about since time out of memory?" Megara asked, intrigued by the conversation.

"None of us can know what the future holds but...he has earned my respect, for now. We shall see if he is worthy to keep it. Now...what care does Naomi need? I'll see that she gets it." Brianna asked Megara.

"Despite the ferocity of the battle that was described to me, Naomi's injuries are rather limited. The blows she suffered will leave some bruises, but we can heal those in a matter of days with our baths and a few medicines. She will suffer no long lasting effects outside of soreness by the time morning comes." Megara replied.

"I left him more injured than he left me, and he still defeated me." Naomi added bitterly.

"Enough dwelling my dear. There will be time enough for solutions later. For now, I'm ordering you to take a long, soothing soak in the baths and get some bed rest." Megara said firmly, getting up from her chair. "Captain, if you would be so kind as to take our former queen to her bath?"