The Eternal Guardians: Book 1: The Missing Heir

Chapter 11

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to King Rocco’s Fight Night!” announced the host of the show.

There was a fairly enormous crowd seated in the arena, and they roared happily.

“We have a special treat for the show tonight. First, the challenger, we know little about her, other than that her name is Ashta.”

“That’s right Johnny, not only that, but she is claiming to be the missing princess,” said the other host.

At that moment, both men and the crowd all laughed together at the thought that Ashta would actually be the missing princess.

“Okay, without further adieu, introducing the challenger from the human world, weighing in at about one hundred and forty pounds, five foot four, Ashta!”

Ashta watched as the enormous door in front of her opened and she swallowed hard as she walked out into the pit of the arena. Some of the crowd cheered for her while many others booed at her. Amazed, Ashta stared with wide eyes as she walked through the door, and looked around the enormous place. She swallowed hard as she straightened, and she raised her chin confidently to the crowd.

I got this! she told herself, as she took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. I have to do this!

Surprisingly, the pit was dug deep down into the dirt and there were stone walls that surrounded the pit in a circle-like formation. High above the pit were rows of stone benches that looked almost like bleachers for the audience to watch the show live, and there were cameras mounted all around at the top of the wall.

“Introducing the kingdom champion, weighing in at two hundred and sixty-five pounds, six foot three, from Taitum, Prince Roman!”

Immediately, the crowd went nuts, screaming and cheering. Ashta giggled to herself when she heard a few boos here and there. Suddenly, the large door on the other side of the pit opened and Roman stepped out in front of the crowd. Surprisingly, Ashta could see how big the pit actually was. Roman looked like he was at least two miles away from her. Annoyed about how obnoxious the crowd was being, she looked at him and scowled.

Yeah, she thought, that is the face I smashed the other day.

Ashta sighed a heavy sigh as she looked at the beautiful man that was walking out into the pit. She cracked her neck and shook out her arms.

Okay, this is it. I hope I really don't hurt him,” she thought, as she patiently waited as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

“This match is brought to you by..”

Ashta ignored the announcers and focused all of her attention on the man in front of her. The sound of the loud buzzer didn’t even phase her and Roman started walking toward her after the noise had stopped.

Confidently, she had her move planned. She didn’t think twice as she ran at Roman and tackled him hard to the ground with her shoulder. A few of the girls gasped and Ashta heard one of them yell the word no. She quickly jumped to her feet as Roman got to his, and he angrily stared at her.

“Guess I pissed off some of your girlfriends,” she sneered at him, as she jumped back onto her feet, and his face twitched in anger as he got to his feet..

Quickly, he stepped toward her as he snatched her braid, and with one quick movement, he pulled her head back hard, and slammed her back on the ground. Her head hit the ground with a loud smack, and it knocked her senseless for a moment.

Roman threw his arms out, flexed his chest, and roared at the crowd triumphantly. Blazed, Ashta shook her head and stumbled to her feet as she tried to gain her senses back, but she still felt a little out of it. Surprised, the crowd gasped and Roman turned to Ashta. Clumsily, Ashta looked up at him as she regained her senses, and he glared at her.

"So, you really want a fight?" he snarled, and she looked at him, confused.

Quickly, he ran at her, and cleverly, she sidestepped. He fell onto the ground face first and Ashta giggled. Snarling, he got to his feet and stared at her angrily. Finally, Ashta had enough, and she threw her arms out, as she made a few quick fluid movements with her hands. Air and dirt began to swirl around her and the crowd gasped.

Angrily, Roman growled at her as she pushed her hands out toward him. The air rushed at him and picked him up in the air, then dropped him to the ground. After she heard him groan, she quickly made a series of movements, and the earth began to shake as Roman looked at the ground in fear. Ashta swung her arm up at him, and the ground lifted him straight up on a rock pier. He looked around with wide eyes, and Ashta could tell that he was scared.

The crowd angrily booed and awed as they stared at Roman on top of the earthy structure. Roman swallowed hard as the sweat from his forehead ran down his face. Terrified, he looked down at Ashta, and she smirked at him.

I should let him down. I think I put a little fear in this man, and he should realize that he doesn't want to fight me, thought Ashta, as she sighed.

Remember, this is just a television show, she reminded herself.

Reluctantly, she brought her arm down and the rock pier disappeared, which made Roman fall to the ground on his stomach. With a hard thud, Roman landed on the flat ground, and he shook his head and groaned. Ashta watched Roman shake his head and blink repeatedly.

I had knocked him senseless this time, Ashta thought triumphantly.

“Hey, maybe this will wake you up!” Ashta snarled, as she hurled a ball of water at him.

At that moment, the water smacked him in the face and soaked him. Angrily, he looked at Ashta as water dripped from his face, and she laughed. Even some of the fans had laughed as well.

"You are going to pay dearly for that!" he growled at her, and Ashta opened her arms as if to tell him to come on with it already.

Suddenly, Roman got to his feet, and he was in front of her in the blink of an eye. Immediately, he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her body off of the ground. Without thinking, she grabbed his hand and then she kicked her legs.

“You will die, just like the rest of them did!” he growled at her, as he squeezed his hand.

Suddenly, she felt her airway being closed off as she gasped for air. That didn’t last long, as fear and anger rose inside her, and she snarled at him. Noticeably, Roman saw something glowing on Ashta’s shoulder, and he looked into her eyes. Surprisingly, there were flames in them, and she held out her hand as a fireball appeared in her palm.

“Stop! Stop the fight!” called the announcer urgently.

Ashta and Roman were still staring angrily at each other, and he clenched and unclenched his free fist. At that moment, she threw the fireball at him, hitting him in the side of the ribs. Roman snarled in pain as he let go of her throat, and Ashta fell to the ground on her knees as she gasped for air. Roman looked down at his burned shirt and could see scaled marks on his torso. He looked down at Ashta angrily.

“Folks, due to a technical problem, we must stop the fight,” said the announcer, and the crowd booed at him.

Angrily, Ashta pulled herself to her feet, and she stared at Roman.

“Does it scare you I am actually who I claim to be?” she snarled at him, as he stared at her.

"I still do not believe that you are who you claim to be, but thanks to you, they stopped the fight. So, your life is spared for now,” he growled at her.

Angrily, they glared at each other and they were both ready to lunge at each other, camera ready or not.

“Princess or not, I am going to destroy you,” Roman growled at her.

Without a second thought, he and Ashta ran at each other, and at the same time they punched each other in the face. Evidently, both of their heads snapped to the side, and they didn’t notice the group of guards running toward them. The guards grabbed Ashta and Roman, and they pulled the two away from each other as she and he struggled to get free.

“This isn’t over!” growled Roman, as he was being dragged back to his door.

"Far from it!" Ashta snarled back, as she let the guards take her.

Ashta smirked at him and shrugged her shoulders at him. She compliantly let the guards take her back to the door she had come out of. The doors closed as soon as they were dragged back behind them, and Shane looked at Ashta. She stopped walking and looked at the man.

“They are taking you to Queen Maya,” he stated, worried, and Ashta only nodded.

Hopefully, the queen saw everything, and realized that she didn’t come here to fight. Immediately, the guards led her down the hallway and outside to a car. Surprisingly, they were not mean to her, but they were staring at her in disbelief.

“So, you are really her?” asked one of the men.

Noticeably, he was very young and handsome. Ashta looked at him and nodded.

“That was amazing what you did to the prince,” said another guard in an excited voice, and Ashta smiled.

“I hope the queen is as nice as you,” she said, cheerfully.

The guards all looked at each other as they exchanged looks.

“You might not be so lucky on that one.”

“Why do you say that, after all, she is my aunt,” Ashta said matter-of-factly, and the guards only nodded.

*****************

The car pulled up to the large white castle where she had left from earlier that day.

I was in the queen’s castle the whole time? she wondered, as they got out of the car.

“Look, I'm sorry to have to do this to you,” said one of the guards, and Ashta looked at him.

He had a set of silver handcuffs in his hands. Ashta sighed a heavy sigh, and then she turned around and put her hands behind her back.

“It is just a precaution. I am sure the prince is back, and he will be restrained as well. I have got to hand it to you, you have got more licks in than any other competitor,” said the guard proudly, as he cuffed her wrists.

Even though she could call to the elements without using her hands, she decided to keep that information to herself. Yinlin taught her that she only needed to use her mind, that her hands and the elemental dance were to help channel her emotions.

Easily, the guards led Ashta into the castle and into the queen’s throne room. A woman with cream white skin, golden blonde hair, and green eyes turned and looked at her. She had on a long peach-colored dress and a silver chain crown across her forehead.

“You really took after your mother,” she said, as she looked Ashta over.

“I didn’t get the chance to know her,” Ashta sassed.

The queen, Ashta guessed, as the woman walked over to her and put her hand under Ashta’s chin.

“She really was a wonderful woman until she broke the law when she met your father,” the queen said, as she turned Ashta’s head from side to side, and Ashta looked at her angrily.

“Come on!”

Ashta heard a growl, and two guards dragged a restrained Roman into the room. Angrily, he looked at Ashta and sneered.

“Calm down!” said a bald-headed man that resembled Roman, as he tried to shake off the guards.

Maya looked at Rocco as he looked at Ashta and then back at her.

“She is your niece!” Rocco stated in surprise, and Maya gave Rocco a disapproving look.

“She is and your son couldn’t even carry out the simple task of destroying her,” she said matter-of-factly.

Ashamed, Rocco hung his head and nodded. Maya then looked at Roman coolly.

“A night in the dungeon should straighten him out!” Maya demanded.

At that moment, Roman stopped struggling and looked at her, annoyed.

“What?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rocco said, and he turned to Roman.

“I am sorry, son,” he said, and Roman looked at his father in shock.

So that was his father, Ashta thought to herself sadly.

Ashta watched in silence as she witnessed a piece of what the prince had gone through his entire life, and it saddened her.

“You would put your own son in a dungeon?” Ashta blurted out, and Maya and Rocco looked at her.

"How we discipline our son, does not concern you!" Maya snapped at Ashta, and Ashta looked away angrily.

Oddly, Roman looked at her.

Why would she stick up for me like that? he wondered, as he glanced at her.

“He will be fine. Take her too until we can figure out what to do with her,” said Maya, annoyed, as she waved her hand at the guards.

Roman struggled with every step they took as the guards led them down the stairs. Ashta watched sadly, and they put Roman in the cell across from her. She then glanced at the young guard and rolled her eyes.

“Really?” she said, annoyed.

“I’m sorry,” he said, as he looked at her with care, and unlocked her cuffs.

Irritated, she brought her hands in front of her, and she rubbed her sore wrists.

“I will bring you another box of food soon,” the young guard whispered, and she nodded.

He opened her cell door, and she walked inside.

“See you soon,” he said, as he shut her door.

Ashta smiled and nodded as the guards left, and she saw Roman glaring at her.

“Ashta?” cried Lashanna, and Ashta ran to the bars.

“Lashanna, are you okay? He didn’t come back, did he?”

Lashanna responded with a loud sob, and Ashta growled.

“Bastard!” she snarled, and Roman’s angry glare began to fade.

“Where did they take you?” Lashanna called, as she sniffed, and Ashta looked over at Roman thoughtfully.

“To fight some handsome, arrogant, self-centered asshole!” she said, as she grinned at Roman.

Roman glanced at her from the corner of his eye and then she noticed a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

“Really? Handsome, huh?” Lashanna asked, and Ashta blushed.

“Very handsome, tall, muscular, with beautiful brown eyes, and he happens to be a prince,” explained Ashta, as she glanced away from Roman shyly.

“Well, maybe you can convince this handsome prince to let us go home?” suggested Lashanna, and Ashta sighed, as her smile faded, and she looked at Roman sternly.

“I don’t think that is going to happen, he doesn’t like me,” said Ashta.

“Really? Wow, maybe you should add blind in the mix. What is there not to like? You are amazing, oh well, his loss.”

Seemingly, Ashta could hear that Lashanna was less sad, and she was glad that she could bring a little comfort to her friend.

“So, did you win the fight?” Lashanna asked, and Ashta looked at Roman, as he growled.

“Not exactly, neither of us won, and we have a new cellmate in the block,” Ashta said, as she glanced at Roman. He glanced at her and his lip curled up in anger.

Irritated, Roman walked away from his cell door, and Ashta grinned.

“Really? Who?”

“The arrogant prince!” Ashta said, frankly, and then she heard a scuffling sound coming from Lashanna’s cell.

“Wait what? Well, does he know how to speak?” she asked, and Ashta couldn’t help herself as she busted out laughing.

“Will you two shut up?” snarled Roman.

“He can speak!” Lashanna joked, as she laughed.

Suddenly, Ashta fell to the floor laughing, and she heard Roman snicker.

Maybe he would finally cheer up a little, Ashta thought to herself.

“Lash, do you still have your box of food?” Ashta asked, as she pulled her box out from under her bed.

“Yes, are you hungry?” she asked.

“No, I have mine, but maybe someone else is hungry.”

Ashta peered into Roman’s cell.

“Roman, right?” Ashta asked softly.

He walked up to his door and looked at her suspiciously.

“That is your name, right?” she asked him softly, and he only nodded.

“Are you hungry?”

He looked at her in confusion, and she searched his eyes as she heard his stomach growl. As she sat down on the floor, she smiled at him and opened the box to show him the contents as he looked at her thoughtfully for a moment.

“Yes, my name is Roman, and not for nothing. That all looks good,” he said, surprised, as he looked in the box.

Generously, Ashta grabbed a few things out of the box and slid them across the floor to him. Roman grabbed the snacks, and then he looked at Ashta in question.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

“Because that is how she is,” Lashanna said with food in her mouth.

Suddenly, they heard the dungeon door bang.

“No, not again!” Lashanna cried, as she made a scuffling noise.

Roman looked at Ashta in question, and then they saw Kralom pass by.

“Kralom!” Roman exclaimed, and he looked at Roman.

“What are you doing down here?” he asked in surprise.

“That b***h of a wife my dad has sent me down here, again.”

“So, did you destroy the girl?” Kralom asked, and Roman pointed to Ashta.

Shocked, Kralom looked at her and then back at Roman. A snarl tore through Ashta’s throat. Roman was confused by Asht's reaction and then he looked at his cousin seriously.

“What are you doing down here?” Roman asked his cousin.

“Just came to pick up my pretty little pet,” said Kralom.

Did he just say pet? he wondered.

“What?” Roman asked, and Kralom smirked at him.

“I keep her down here, and I come get her when I need her.”

Roman glanced at Ashta, but her focus was on Kralom, and she stared angrily at Kralom.

“What do you mean?” Roman asked, as he straightened.

Kralom looked back at Ashta, and then he turned back to Roman.

“Oh, you know,” he said, and then he walked to Lashanna’s cell.

“No, you already took me once today, please don’t make me go through that again!” Lashanna screamed.

Anger boiled up inside Ashta, and Roman had seen that look in her eyes before. Cautiously, he took a step back from his door, and Ashta couldn’t help herself. At that moment, she began to dance the elemental dance for fire, and Roman watched as she created a stream of fire that swirled around her fluidly.

Aggressively, Ashta threw her arms out and the fire shot from her door with a great burst of air. Kralom screamed as the fire hit his body, and he ran to the end of the hallway, screaming in pain.

“Leave her alone!” snarled Ashta, angrily.

At that moment, the flames that surrounded Kralom got stronger and hotter, and he screamed one last time before he fell to the ground. Fluidly, she began the water elemental dance and splashed the fire out. As the smoke cleared, Kralom’s charred body was revealed to them, and Ashta stared hard at the ground around his body.

Roman grabbed onto his bars, as the earth began to quake. He stared in awe as the ground swallowed up his dead family member, and then the ground closed back up and the earth stilled. Roman looked at Ashta in disbelief as she fainted to the ground.