"The Ordeal" by Christina G. Gaudet

Blenia placed her tiara on her forehead, the finishing touches of an hour’s work. Her hair was loose, down to her waist in length. Her green eyes were brought out the forest green dress she wore. Her lips were painted red, making them look even softer than usual. Her long dress was tight; the neck line low and revealing, but not demeaningly so. The dress was light, and it had a slit up the side, almost to her hip. This allowed her to move more easily. Her leather shoes were comfortable, yet classy, a perfect match to the dress. A robe was draped over her left shoulder, then was tied around her waist with a strip of peach colored cloth. Her eyes were lined with black face paint, making them look larger and whiter then usual. Her cheeks were glowing; her skin was flawless, with the exception of a few freckles that had been carefully covered up. Her lips curled upright. Success!

A young servant walked into the room; he wore the simple white clothes of any lower class in the palace. His jaw dropped when he saw Blenia.

Blenia turned to the man and nodded her head slightly. "Yes?" Her voice was calm. "What is it?"

The servant closed his mouth. "It is time, Your Highness. Everything is ready." He stepped back to allow the soon-to-be-queen and her sister to walk past.

She smiled slightly at the servant. "Thank you." Blenia walked past the servant, closely followed by her sister Persilla. She walked into a large hallway and was then surrounded by knights, all of whom were there to walk both princesses to the area of the ordeal.

The small windows on the left wall gave the halls very little light. Blenia paid attention only to one thing: standing up straight. Her knees were weak, making this task difficult. She did, however, manage to do this without faltering. She walked into the largest room in the palace.

________________________________

Alexander looked around nervously. His finger twitched out of anticipation. He looked at the closest man-servant. He didn’t look nearly as nervous as he felt. Why was he so nervous? This had nothing to do with him; this was Blenia’s future.

"What happens if the gods don’t believe that she was the rightful heir?" he asked the man. He tried to make his voice as calm as possible. He succeeded only slightly.

"If the gods reject her, she will die in the flames, and a new king or queen will be chosen," he told him. He shifted his weight and looked down at his feet. "I for one hope that doesn’t happen. She’s one of the few that treat us servants decently."

Alexander smiled. "I hope it doesn’t come to that also." He remembered the time Blenia had tried to convince him that her people didn’t like her and that they all wanted her dead. She would be surprised to hear a servant talk so highly about her, he thought to himself. A small man walked into the room. "Their Majesties, Blenia and Persilla of Pernia." There was polite clapping as they walked into the room, but nothing wonderful.

Alexander looked around, he saw many nervous faces, all of which seemed to be looking around nervously rather than at the Princesses. Immediately he knew something was wrong.

He then got a good look at Blenia and smiled, all doubts of the gods not believing that she wasn’t a princess faded.

The servant was the one to awaken him from his dreamy state. The man tapped his shoulder vigorously. When Alexander looked up at him grudgingly, he nodded towards the balcony. Alexander looked up. A man was partly covered by a drape, but the bow could be partially seen. He was not wearing the palace colors. Alexander looked at Blenia. She was the target, the only time she was going to be seen without a sword.

He looked up again. The man was moving out of his hiding spot. "Duck!" he cried to Blenia. He started to run up towards Blenia. He was blocked by the knights.

Men with gray clothes and masks on came running up. They kept the knights busy as three men walked past them towards Blenia and Persilla. Alexander broke through the guards and made it to Blenia after the other three men got there.

A scream made Alexander look back. One man was dead, a brutal murder. Alexander swallowed hard. He turned back to Blenia. Only a few paces, and three men stood between them. They were talking angrily together.

"I will not allow my people to die!" he heard Blenia yell at the man in the center.

Alexander pulled out his sword and ran up to the men. Blenia fell to the ground with a thud. Persilla was swung around and placed in between the attacker and Alexander.

"Move, and she dies too!" the man said from behind Persilla. Persilla screamed in fright. She started sobbing, tears dripping down her cheeks. She clamped her jaw tight, her bottom lip quivered. Alexander quickly killed the two men that started towards him.

"Can’t fight me yourself? You have to hide behind a lady?" Alexander’s voice quavered slightly.

There was a laugh from behind Persilla. Then there was a croak. Persilla screamed and ran into Alexander’s arms. The body of the man fell face first onto the ground, a knife in his back.

Alexander held the princess for a moment, then he gently pushed her aside. She sat down hard, staring at her sister’s still body. Alexander walked over to Blenia and knelt down. He placed his hand on her cheek. His eyes wandered down to the knife in her stomach. She was bleeding heavily. Bleeding? He tilted her head towards him, gently sliding his hand down to her neck. He put a small amount of pressure there.

Blenia moaned, her eyelids fluttered and her mouth opened slightly. "You didn’t think you could get rid of me that easily?" she whispered. She was then unconscious once more. Her face paint was running because she was sweating from pain.

Alexander sighed in relief. He then looked around for help. He saw the man-servant that had warned him. He was finishing off one of the rebels with a sword a dead man had dropped. Alex beckoned him over.

He came running over, dropping to his knees in front of Blenia. "Is she going to be alright?" He had worry lines on his forehead.

"I don’t know," Alex answered truthfully. "We have to move her to a safer spot, preferably where a healer is." Alexander motioned for him to take hold of her legs. He gently lifted his half. They carried her out of the room. Reinforcements were streaming in so they were easily out of target range.

Persilla touched Alex’s shoulder. "Follow me." Her eyes were still red. She walked quickly down the hall. She opened a door that Alexander had never noticed before, with a key attached to her necklace. She motioned for them to walk in first. She followed them, closing and locking the door behind her.

"Lay her on the table. Carefully, she’s hurt, remember!" Persilla snapped her fingers. The room lit up, revealing a large table in the center of the room. A statue of the goddess Andriomia was standing against the wall by the table head. There were several candleholders on the walls, all filled with lighted candles. Alexander noticed a shadowy figure in the corner. Ignoring it, he placed Blenia on the table.

"Andriomia, Great Goddess, please help us in this time of need." Persilla was standing in front of the statue, her arms extended towards the Goddess. Slowly, wind started to grow in the room, mostly around Persilla. Her hair and skirt whipped around her, causing her to look like a goddess herself.

"Andriomia, my sister is dying. She is the only hope for this land!" She spoke louder now that the wind had started. The candles all went out, nothing could be seen, but the wind and Persilla could be heard. "She is the last defense against evil in this land! Without her, this world will know what turmoil really is!" Her hands were raising and she threw her head back. "Gods save the Queen!" she cried out. At the same time blue fire burst from the candles, and from Persilla’s hands.

She walked over to Blenia, placed her hands on the wound, and cried out. Blenia shuddered when the fire started to sink into her wound. Persilla screamed in pain and fell to the floor, breathing heavily. "Long live the Queen," she whispered.

Blenia sighed and fell into unconscious sleep. At some time during the ordeal, the knife was taken out of her and the bleeding had stopped.

Persilla rolled onto her side, falling asleep immediately. Alexander stood still for a minute, as the last of the magic died off. "I thought these princesses weren’t allowed to learn magic of any kind," he whispered.

Everything was dark once again.