The next morning, I get up, grab my things and head to the middle land clearing. I find Charmeine already there. She looks up as I approach.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2cdx2zv3m
“Well, good morning, Luce,” she says with a smile.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKh8A7Z6Wum
“Good morning to you, too,” I reply. “And don’t call me Luce,” I add.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPAbJ3ms9J
“Oh, come on.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ2YhC9FkT5
I shake my head with a smile. I set my stuff down and sit beside her.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYrounDgpu
“So, did you get a look at the list?”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVqMUkJjwz
She nods. “Yes, I did. And….”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYd5xR8vKM4
“And what?”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjikvOVMvuu
She hangs her head in despair and puts her hands on her face. “We’re scheduled to fight each other. And we’re the last ones to fight.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRmpKlO3d8
I groan. “Why?”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZmNCiEFo1
She looks up. “So, what are we going to do?”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3YAgTK9Jf
I tap my chin in thought and gasp. “I know exactly what we can do. We can start out fighting each other and make it look like I’m defeating you. Then, we can start fighting together when they let out the animals.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmEXiLPCWy
“Well, what then?”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNbBatSBVT1
“The guards will probably interfere and then we can fight against them together.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2D1CHftHD0
“But why would they interfere?”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUju4OixyEE
“Because we’re supposed to be fighting each other to prove ourselves not fighting together to join kingdoms,” I explain.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYi87m34Uix
She sighs and glances away. “I don’t understand why they want us to fight to prove ourselves anyways.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV3yKW6L8yb
“Well, we are royalty. That might be part of the reason. We’re next to take the thrones.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBNlbA5bVM
“I still don’t understand why we have to do this,” she says.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPkFYaLMdl
I reach over and turn her head to face me. I lean in and lift her chin. I connect our lips in a kiss and I feel her hand go on the back of my neck.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrAlaqf6XEE
I stop kissing her and she looks at me, face flustered.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ744pDArFhh
“So, how are your stubs?” I ask.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsYO3YIX2v
She sighs. “They’ve gotten a little bigger. And they aren’t fluttering as much. If I’m correct, I only have about one and a half to two feet left before they’ll hide and I’ll have to tell them to come out.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCzx2m5ByH
“Isn’t your sixteenth birthday coming up?”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNPrvNQaBV
She nods. “Yes. That’s the date of the arena showdown to prove myself. It’s in about two months.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fqzjAJmkx
I sigh. “So we have two months to get this figured out. It seems like a long time, but in truth it’s really not that long. So if we want to figure this out, we need to do so. And quickly.”19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7xeOWw40K
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