Page 208 of The White King's Favorite

“I did not want to go anywhere!” shouted Jisel. “I wanted to make this place my home! Do you have any idea what it’s like, to have to flee, over and over again? How many times will I have to depend on a man’s good will to survive?!”

“You d-don’t need a man!” Cessilia shouted back. “You have a d-dragon, and you’re such a smart woman b-by yourself! You made it this far alone! You c-could settle anywhere you want and start over!”

“...Is that what you think? That I made it this far alone? I relied my whole life on a man’s good will, Princess Cessilia. My father, my uncle, all those I slept with, in exchange for food, shelter, or safety. Do you think a woman alone can ever make it on her own, without being bothered by a man? True, I have a dragon. But once men become aware of Jinn, what do you think will happen to him? He’ll be hunted and killed, or used. Don’t you know best? You were a girl with a dragon, and you left your father’s home once… What happened to your dragon then?”

Cessilia’s blood went cold. Cece. Her beloved Cece was killed.

Jisel’s words brought back the haunting memory of that night. The men’s horrible voices, smell, touch. Just remembering any of that nightmare made her stomach twist and want to puke her guts out. It was the most terrifying night of her life. She wasn’t much like a dragon at all, back then. Just a vulnerable girl, with fear paralyzing her and pinning her down. She hated it. She hated that she had been so powerless, when she had wielded a sword for the first time at six, and learned to fight long before that. Yet, there were no words for the horrible, paralyzing fear that had overtaken her back then.

“That’s right,” said Jisel. “...That’s the look. When we hate both the gender we were born in, and the stronger sex... See, Princess? I told you we were more similar than you think. We both know what it’s like... to have your life in somebody else’s hands. We live in a man’s world. Having a dragon, or being a princess, doesn’t change a thing. Don’t tell me again that I do not need a man! Or live by your words, and leave Ashen and this Kingdom!”

Cessilia clenched her fists.

“I c-can’t,” she muttered.

“Why not? Are you going to tell me about something as foolish as love, perhaps? Don’t bother, then. Keep living in your fairytale, Princess. But this one won’t have a good ending.”

She suddenly reached one of the tables in the banquet hall, and pulled out a medium-length sword from underneath it. Cessilia frowned. Had that been hidden here all along? Or did Jisel put it there? The red-haired woman swung the sword easily, as if she was familiar with it.

“Surprised?” chuckled Jisel. “I needed a place to hide it quickly after killing that idiot Pangoja girl.”

It suddenly hit Cessilia. The murder at the banquet! Jisel had vouched for her being on the balcony with the King during the murder, but she had no alibi herself, aside from her brief appearance during their interaction. So she really was the one behind Vena’s brutal murder. Cessilia couldn’t even say it came as much of a shock. She had her suspicions from the beginning...

“You were working f-for the Yekara all along?”

“Not that long. But when I heard about the competition and you arrived, Lord Yebekh was smart enough to offer me a deal... If one of his candidates got the throne, he would happily offer me a mansion to live in comfortably, as long as I got out of the picture. At first, I had no intention to betray Ashen, but when you appeared... I did try to extend a hand to you, but sadly, you refused, and the choice was quickly made. I knew Ashen marrying you would have a very different outcome than him marrying any other candidate. He didn’t care for them, but I knew he’d get rid of me if he was worried about what you’d say... and I was right, once again.”

“The Yekara t-tried to use you all along, Jisel. They were never g-going to let you live!”

“I know that too,” chuckled Jisel, “but I also had my own hidden card.”

Jinn growled in response, trying to chew a bit more of the window’s frame. For now, it was too small for the dragon’s head to come in, but at this rate, Jinn would surely break enough of it to actually get in...

The two women finally stepped closer to each other. Cessilia held on to her weapons a bit tighter, trying to evaluate the situation. She had never seen Jisel actually fight, but from the amount of strength displayed earlier, she definitely had inherited the Dragon Blood too. Not only that, but the way she moved her sword showed she had received decent training. How? During her years fleeing the Empire? She couldn’t tell. Either way, she was not expecting that woman to fight fairly. Jisel wasn’t even glancing at her dragon trying to break into the room and wrecking the balcony, meaning she expected Jinn to step into the game at any time. The worst part of all was that Cessilia couldn’t feel any real hatred coming from that woman. It was even scarier than if she had really intended to kill her. This was like Vena’s murder: brutal and cold-blooded. A faint smile even appeared on Jisel’s lips as they got closer.

“It feels like it was all bound to come to this, right?” she muttered. “You and I. Two women fighting for a man.... no, because of a man. I’m not that interested in the King anymore. He’s about to die, and the Yekara will marry their daughter to his adopted brother before getting rid of him too. Such a simple plan, but then again, this Kingdom is already on its knees.”

“You d-don’t know a thing about this Kingdom,” said Cessilia, lifting her weapons.

“And you do?” Jisel mocked.

Without waiting, Cessilia jumped forward, launching the first strike. Surprised, Jisel frowned and lifted her two blades just in time to block her. The two women’s blades loudly clashed, and for a few seconds, they measured each other’s strength, trying to push the other’s defense, their faces only inches away from each other. Their styles were somewhat similar, using the flow of their movements, rather than brute force, and trying to outmaneuver their opponent. For a while, it was as if a red fire and a purple-scaled creature were dancing around each other, trying to burn or bite the other, looking for a weakness. They never split up for more than a couple of seconds, before throwing themselves at each other again. Their style was superb, flawless, and fierce. It was nothing like the rugged fights from before, or between men using only their brute strength. Each woman was using her best skill, her wits, and showing off impressive fighting choreography. Jisel was dancing with her two mismatched blades as if they had been extensions of herself, while Cessilia balanced herself perfectly with her identical weapons. Despite the difference in their respective styles, the flow of their movements was sharp and swift, looking for the smallest window to attack, using speed and reflexes to try and best the other. Neither of them were showing any mistakes, always in motion, their light steps never touching the floor for more than a second. Their dance was like a death ritual, with the thunder and dragon’s furious growls as background percussion. Pearls of sweat appeared on their skin, as each woman was getting frustrated with the other.

After a while, they broke apart, by just a few steps, catching a quick break. The two women were now circling around each other like two furious wolves ready to bite one another.

“You sh-should have left, Jisel,” muttered Cessilia.

“You already said that, Princess. But you know what? I think the same of you. You don’t belong here. You’re a coward. And without your dragon, well, you’re nothing.”

The furious Princess thrust her swords at her again, and Jisel blocked it with a smile on her lips. They began fighting for real, their four blades hitting each other for a few minutes, the metallic clashes echoing throughout the banquet hall. Their fight was violent, cold, and merciless. Both of them were glaring at one another, looking for the next place to viciously hit and try to hurt the other. The more hits their weapons exchanged, the more Cessilia felt her blood boiling. Jisel’s repeated smirks were annoying her, as if that woman always mocked her.

She tried to keep fighting and remain focused, but it was too late, the venom from Jisel’s words were slowly poisoning her mind. She kept thinking about what she had said, and about Cece.

Was she right?

Probably. At least, when it came to her being a coward. Cessilia felt the same. She had felt that for a long time now, but the more she tried to push that thought away, the more vivid it came to her mind. Saying she was afraid of her own shadow wasn’t a lie either. It was just as Kassian had said… she was scared of looking back at the Cessilia from before. She couldn’t even remember what kind of girl she was before she had lost Cece. All she could think of, whenever she tried, was the painful result of her mistake. The guilt that was choking her up and tightening its claws around her voice all the time. Was it really love that had brought her back to Ashen, or the need to prove she was right to do what she had done for that love of theirs? It was suffocating just to think about it. Jisel was right. Her own anger, sadness, and remorse had been slowly building up inside, in all those words she had never dared to say. She resented herself for the weakness she had shown back then when her dragon needed her. Even more today.

“You don’t deserve a... dragon,” grunted Jisel, as their weapons clashed again. “That’s right. You’re too weak! Too much of a coward!”

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