Chapter 38
1997 Words
Softly, there was a knock at Riah’s door, and Ashta growled annoyed.
“Go away!” Ashta grumbled, as she pulled the blanket over her head.
At that moment, Damian walked in.
“Come on, girls, the sun is up...”
Suddenly, Riah sat up, and she chucked a pillow at him.
“Shut up, Damian!” she snapped, and then she laid back down. Damian couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Alright, I will go start with Ashta, maybe she can get you out of bed,” he said, as he laughed.
“Good luck with that!” stated Ashta from under the covers.
Shocked, Damian walked over to the side of the bed, and then he pulled the blanket back. Ashta looked up at him and then she buried her face into the pillow. Evidently, Damian had changed a great deal over the past months. He was a bit buffer and his hair was a lot longer, but he still kept the sides shaved.
“Well, I must say this is the first time I have ever seen two girls in the same bed together,” he stated.
Immediately, Riah sat up and she scowled at him, as she pointed to the door.
“Get out!” she said, and Ashta couldn’t help but giggle.
“What?” asked Damian, as he put his hands up defensively.
“No, nope. Get out! We will be up in a second,” Riah stated, as she pointed at the door again.
Confused, Damian shook his head, and then, without another word, he walked out of the door and closed it behind him. After a moment, Ashta sat up and she laughed at Riah.
“You just confused that poor man,” she giggled, and Riah laughed.
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Damian headed for the throne room and found Gale and Liam sitting and talking. He was no longer the king’s guard; he was promoted to general after Xavier had passed away. The king and Liam turned to him with a smile.
“Hello, Damian,” greeted Gale, and Damian bowed his head.
“Sir.”
“What is on your mind?” asked Liam, as he casually folded his hands in his lap.
Damian looked at them nervously, and then he quickly glanced around to see if the girls had come down stairs yet. He sighed as he saw that the three of them were alone and then he swallowed hard.
“Did the prince respond to my challenge?” he asked quietly.
At that moment, Gale and Liam looked behind the old guard, and Damian quickly turned around.
“You what?” Ashta asked, as she glared at him.
Damian straightened as he swallowed hard, but then he looked at her with a determined look on his face.
“You knew this was going to happen. The monster needs to pay for his mistakes,” Damian growled at her seriously.
Suddenly, Ashta’s eyebrows rose.
“Are you growling at me?” she asked in a warning tone.
Damian didn’t say a word, as he glared at her, and she crossed her arms over her chest.
“No! I won’t allow it!” she stated firmly.
Quickly, Damian closed the gap that was between them, and they were face to face, glaring at each other.
“You can’t stop me,” he growled at her.
“I forbid it!” she stated, softly, as she held his gaze.
It wasn’t that she didn’t understand why Damian wanted to fight Roman, but it was the fact that Ashta knew that Damian was no match for him. Also, Damian was one of her closest friends, and she didn’t want to lose him over something stupid. He should just let her handle Roman.
“You can’t control this,” Damian snarled at her, and Ashta growled a low warning growl at him. She didn’t like anyone telling her that she couldn’t do anything.
“Watch me!” she growled through gritted teeth.
“I am sorry, my dear niece, but Damian is right, you cannot stop this. The prince of Selvempts has accepted his request,” stated Liam, and Ashta looked at Damian in disbelief.
“How could you?” she asked, as she searched his eyes, and then she saw how serious he was and tears pooled in her eyes.
“Don’t do this,” Ashta whispered, as her voice cracked, and Damian looked at her firmly.
“I have to. That bastard has to pay!” he snarled.
“But at what cost? He has the same abilities as I do, he is going to hurt you badly or worse, kill you,” she said with concern, and Damian shrugged his shoulders.
“Let him try! When I have defeated him, we can finally be happy,” he said, as he touched her shoulder.
Evidently, Ashta knew Damian’s fate, and there was nothing she could do about it.
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“Hey Roman!” called Ray, as he walked into Roman’s bedroom.
He looked up at Ray after he had finished tying his bootlace. He was getting ready to head to the training room.
“Yeah?” he asked, and Ray laughed, as he handed him a piece of paper.
“The princess’s general has challenged you to a fight to the death match,” he said, and Roman looked at Damian’s name written on the paper.
The man who caused him and Ashta to go their separate ways. Without a doubt, if it weren’t for that man, he wouldn’t have the power or the privileges he had now. However, that was also the man that kissed Ashta on that dark day.
Angrily, Roman crumpled the paper in his fist and then he poured two drinks for him and his cousin. He handed Ray one of the glasses and then Roman downed the contents of his glass.
Seemingly, the toxic poison rushed through his veins, and he laughed, as Ray downed his drink.
“Tell those fools that I accept the challenge. This is going to be fun!” Roman sneered ,and Ray happily clapped him on the back.
“You got this, bro,” he said, and then he left the room.
Hmm, so the princess’s boyfriend wanted a fight. Well, this is going to be a fight that the princess will never forget.
He hoped that after he was done with Damian, Ashta would finally see that he wanted nothing to do with her. He wanted her to suffer. Evidently, he took another drink, grabbed his bag, and then he headed to the training center.
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“Wow, I can’t believe that Damian would be this stupid!” exclaimed Riah, as she and Ashta made their way to the falls.
They had made their way out to the luscious magical land after Riah had shown interest in learning the elemental dance. Like Roman, she caught on quickly, but she could not call upon the elements. Seemingly, she had found the dance to be soothing, and one time she did make a small stream of water, but it didn’t last long.
“He is going to get himself killed!” stated Ashta, as they made it to the top of the cliff.
“He must really care about you, if he is willing to take on that monster,” Riah said, and Ashta looked at her friend and sighed.
“Yeah, well, that has been the problem ever since I first came here. He has always followed me around like he is a lost little puppy dog. It really gets annoying,” she said, and Riah laughed.
“Funny,” said Ashta, as she made a face at her, and Riah laughed again.
Seemingly, the two spent the afternoon practicing battle skills and the elemental dance.
“Do you think that maybe you and Damian have a connection, and you are just fighting it?” asked Riah, as they made their way back through the trail.
“Just as friends, but according to the gods, Roman and I have been chosen to be the elemental children,” explained Ashta, as she rolled her eyes.
“Well, you two gave it a shot, and it didn’t work out. They have to understand that.”
Ashta turned to her and gave her a knowing look.
“They are thousands of years old and they are stuck in their ways,” she grumbled, and Riah laughed, as she put her arm around her friend’s shoulders.
“Well, then, I guess it is up to you to write your own destiny,” she said, and then her eyes turned sad.
Without a word, Ashta hugged her friend tightly. Destiny was her daughter’s name, and Ashta knew how much Riah missed her.
“Come on, let’s go to the kitchen and fill our bellies,” suggested Ashta, and Riah nodded.
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Evidently, Roman had gotten stronger and faster, and the fight club expanded and gave Ray matches to spread out the time between Roman’s matches. The fights that were given to Ray were never fight to the death matches. Those matches were specifically for the champion, who was Roman.
Ray was nicknamed the right-hand man and he had won every fight that he was put in. Fans and women adored him, but Roman taught him that there wasn’t time for relationships. To be the best, you had to make sacrifices and Ray obeyed him without question. He really looked up to his cousin. Seemingly, Roman was pleased with his cousin, and the fighter that he had become. However, they were both now intoxicated with the poison in the bourbon, and it clouded their judgment.
Without question, Maya agreed to anything that Roman demanded of her. Evidently, she wished Rocco was still with them. She missed him, but not only that, Roman was out of control and his father was the only one that could have kept Roman in his place.
She continued to use the poison on him, because it seemed to keep him a little on track. She feared that if she stopped giving him the drink that Roman would seriously turn on her and the kingdom, so she made him happy as much as she could. Evidently, Roman knew he could destroy the queen, but he kept her around for the kingdom’s sake.
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Riah and Ashta ate their meal, as they talked and laughed in the dining room. Riah was feeling much better and she was glad to have Ashta around. She kept her balanced in her new life, and she was grateful.
“Thank you,” Riah said, and Ashta looked at her in question.
“For what?” Ashta asked, and Riah gave her a knowing look.
“For being you. For being there for me on my darkest days,” Riah said seriously, and Ashta smiled at her.
“Of course. That is what friends are for.”
At that moment, Damian walked into the room, and Riah glanced at Ashta. Ashta sighed a heavy sigh and then she looked up at Damian. He looked at her with an apologetic look on his face.
“I am sorry for getting in your face earlier,” he said in a soft tone, and Ashta nodded.
“I am sorry, too,” she said, and he smiled at her.
“Come join us. Maybe we can train together? When is the fight?” she asked, as he sat beside her.
“In two days.”
Ashta nodded and then she looked at Riah.
“Well, since you won’t change your mind, we have decided to help you,” said Ashta, as she looked at Damian with a smile. Damian sighed a sigh of relief and then he chuckled.
“I would like that a lot,” he said, and Ashta nodded.
“Great,” said Riah with a smile.
After Damian was served, they all sat and talked as they finished their meal.
- Writer
