The first battle of the tournament had just concluded and the crowds erupted in massive applause. Men and women stood and cheered as the three victors were shown off at the center of the stage. It seemed everyone was content to ignore the defeated fighters being dragged and hauled off in bruised and battered heaps.
Such a sight was somewhat... distasteful to Adellia. She was never one for finding enjoyment in violence. Too much of her life was spent dreaming of it and finding ways to prevent it. In some cases, finding ways to cause it.
Her job as the Oracle was to protect the kingdom. Every vision she had and every piece of advice she gave was for the sake of protecting the kingdom. Sure, she was not treated as well as she could have been, but her life is not what she would call bad. She had a place to live, a place to raise her daughter and a very good friend.
When she turned her head towards the very friend she just thought of, she found herself reminded of the one time that she did not act to save the kingdom. The night Lyrah was born she had a vision of the Arcadios' fall. She had never had the dream before, but when the elder attended to her and she was given a chance to reveal it... the Oracle remained silent.
Since that night, she has never had that vision again. It was something for which she was grateful because it was one of the most terrifying ones she had, but she also felt... sad that she could not see it.
Adellia looked towards her daughter, who was seated closer to the railing of their box seat. The girl's eyes were fixated on someone. There was no emotion on her face. No interest, no anger, no curiosity, no happiness... it was simply a blank expression in the truest sense of the word.
She thought about saying something but instead chose to follow her daughter's gaze. As she did so, her own eyes rested upon a figure standing in the crowd. Had Lyrah not been so laser-focused on the figure, Adellia would never have seen them. They wore dark, leather armor and a hood.
She could not quite make out what was under the hood, but even if she could see beneath it, she was much too far away to discern any facial features.
"Lyrah, my dear what are..."
"Did you know that father was here, mother?" the girl interrupted.
"I'm sorry?"
"I hope to speak to your dear friend at the banquet tonight."
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"Oh! If she loses in the main tournament, I invite her here to sit with me. I already got permission from Grandpa Wally. He said if the king didn't like it, he would take care of it. She's strong, but I don't think she will win. So you will see her soon!"
Adellia found herself simultaneously surprised and not at the amount of forward-thinking her daughter was capable of. Like a bull in a fine china shop, she raged forward without regard for the potential damage...
"Well, whenever I meet her, I will be glad to do so..."
"Oh! And she knows about Grandpa. He adopted her and Natali as his granddaughters!"
She felt her eye twitch at the old man's audacity. He seemed rather careless about spilling state secrets...
"Is that so..."
"Yes! Oh, I can't wait to introduce her to Father! It will be so exciting. What would she think when she finds out that..."
"No, no, no!" Adellia hurried to her daughter and covered her mouth with her hands. "You mustn't, Lyrah. Gods... Grandfather had rubbed off on you too much. Be careful with that information, silly girl."
Though her mouth was covered, Adellia could see with Lyrah's eyes alone that she was grinning ear to ear. What was she going to do with this girl...