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.43Please respect copyright.PENANABYLjN2Dafk
“Well, good morning, Luce,” she says with a smile.43Please respect copyright.PENANA9an8InaE4R
“Good morning to you, too,” I reply. “And don’t call me Luce,” I add.43Please respect copyright.PENANAqlKkq4DMfJ
“Oh, come on.”43Please respect copyright.PENANACIUQOMNMWy
I shake my head with a smile. I set my stuff down and sit beside her.43Please respect copyright.PENANAkruBiKcQHf
“So, did you get a look at the list?”43Please respect copyright.PENANAIKXfpZkXAY
She nods. “Yes, I did. And….”43Please respect copyright.PENANA2bYvRMr5e3
“And what?”43Please respect copyright.PENANAQML2w0K1Zy
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.”43Please respect copyright.PENANAHAHORjT02Y
I groan. “Why?”43Please respect copyright.PENANAcfxjXguRGN
She looks up. “So, what are we going to do?”43Please respect copyright.PENANALRUkcbNzqP
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.”43Please respect copyright.PENANALheQ2RBz4a
“Well, what then?”43Please respect copyright.PENANAmn24Y0TEWU
“The guards will probably interfere and then we can fight against them together.”43Please respect copyright.PENANAOxYGyhQGZo
“But why would they interfere?”43Please respect copyright.PENANAlembALZR8r
“Because we’re supposed to be fighting each other to prove ourselves not fighting together to join kingdoms,” I explain.43Please respect copyright.PENANA1kmIzfMXYh
She sighs and glances away. “I don’t understand why they want us to fight to prove ourselves anyways.”43Please respect copyright.PENANA82QmAPIYj5
“Well, we are royalty. That might be part of the reason. We’re next to take the thrones.”43Please respect copyright.PENANAZjf4FdjUkq
“I still don’t understand why we have to do this,” she says.43Please respect copyright.PENANAHQ11RbSzma
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.43Please respect copyright.PENANA6bz2n9IJFW
I stop kissing her and she looks at me, face flustered.43Please respect copyright.PENANAiFtrPYaxcv
“So, how are your stubs?” I ask.43Please respect copyright.PENANAi0vZ7qRAxF
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.”43Please respect copyright.PENANAFfilmkh80V
“Isn’t your sixteenth birthday coming up?”43Please respect copyright.PENANA92opawmunI
She nods. “Yes. That’s the date of the arena showdown to prove myself. It’s in about two months.”43Please respect copyright.PENANAKHBwor6Tre
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.”43Please respect copyright.PENANAOUYu8S3isy