Fighting for the Crown

    My lungs were burning as I ran through the forest towards the dirt road on the mountain side. The incline was getting steep and I could feel the muscles in my legs straining. In the back of my head I could hear my old combat instructor, Cameron, in the back of my head:      “Nyx, you must never slow down going up hills, you must instead speed up”.      I smiled to myself as I foundly thought of him and began to push myself to go faster. Finally I broke through the trees into the soft morning light with the wind blowing my dark braids behind me. I slowed down to a walking pace, admiring the rising sun, while trying to slow my breathing. I walked to my favorite place on the mountain and admired my kingdom, Caldonia. Our kingdom was not one of the largest one around, but we were wealthy.     Caldonia possessed many wonderful traits, but that didn’t mean it didn’t have its faults. For example, Caldonia was very set in its ways of gender roles. Women were expected to take care of the house and the kids, while the men were out making money for their family.     This has been recently challenged with the birth of my sister and I, because the tradition with twins, is that the brothers must find a way to prove that they are most fit to lead. The children have always been male, so there’s never been an instance of female offspring taking the throne. It’s been over a hundred years since a female child was born, let alone twin girls.     Dawn and I turned 18 two months ago, and one of us has yet to receive the throne. If we were following the tradition, I would have ascended the throne on my birthday, but the council has announced nothing.      I took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air while I could. After all, I am supposed to be in bed sleeping right now. Instead, each morning I snuck out to complete my combat training, another thing women were not allowed to do.     With a sigh, I began the trek down the mountain and towards the miserable day that awaited me back at the palace. `