Page 209 of The White King's Favorite

She suddenly managed to graze Cessilia’s arm. Not a deep wound, but the sharp edge of her blade suddenly sliced the skin that was showing between the parts of Cessilia’s armor, leaving a vivid red line. Far from being bothered by the pain, Cessilia suddenly swung beautifully, and sent a violent flying kick toward her opponent, throwing Jisel far across the room. It wasn’t enough to injure her, though, as the redhead fell back on her feet, a victorious smile on her lips.

“Ha! See! The precious daughter of the God of War is nothing but...”

She stopped herself upon seeing Cessilia’s eyes.

The Princess was now standing completely still, suddenly looking different, almost taller. Her eyes were shining with a dangerous, vivid green fire in them, as if lit up by some inner flame.

Cessilia stepped forward, and despite the distance between them, Jisel stepped back, scared. Something felt off, as if she was suddenly faced with a completely different person. Someone that was not human.

“...You were right,” she said with a strangely calm, almost mesmerizing voice. “I am done being a coward. ...I am done being sorry and afraid.”

She looked down, frowning.

“There is some truth in what you said. I was always... dependent on Ashen’s love. Not because I didn’t truly love him, but because I could hide behind that to excuse what had happened to Cece.”

Cessilia’s heart ached painfully at the mention of her deceased dragon. Yet, she took a deep breath in. She’d had enough of resisting this pain. She didn’t even try to hold back her tears.

“...It was all my fault,” she muttered. “Although my family was there to tell me it wasn’t... Not because I went out. Not because I was captured while trying to reunite with Ashen. What those men did... none of that was my fault, that much is true. Whatever they were seeking, their misdeeds are their fault only. And they paid with their lives for it. The one thing I can never forgive myself for is... that fear.”

Cessilia closed her eyes. She was done pushing that memory to the back of her mind, silencing it like her own voice had been silenced for so long. She didn’t care anymore. No, she wasn’t going to allow herself to flee from it any longer.

“You said it,” she continued. “I was... paralyzed by fear. I was so terrified of what they’d do to me, of the pain I had already endured, that I couldn’t react, even when they did that horrible thing to my dragon.”

She lifted her fingers, touching the scars on her neck.

“For a long time, I couldn’t even bear to see these. I couldn’t bear the memory of that pain. I felt like they were still hurting like the first second their blades had opened my throat. I’d wake up in horror at night, terrorized. My mother had to drug me, just so I could endure it... but it wasn’t the pain that really hurt me. It was to relive the fear, and the pain in Cece’s eyes, over and over again. My dragon didn’t die for me. She died because of me. Because I was too paralyzed by fear to fight back.”

Cessilia suddenly reopened her eyes, once again burning with a green, scary flame inside. Jisel could feel something was completely different about her. It was as if she was facing an entirely different woman. Even her posture was straighter, taller, looking like her real height. When the Princess resumed walking toward her, she backed off again, realizing she only had a few steps left between the wall behind and herself. Right now, her whole body was screaming to get out of there, to put as many walls as possible between her and that woman’s green eyes...

“And you know what? The worst part is that I am still afraid to fight back. I’ve been afraid for so long, because I’ve seen the monster in those men’s eyes. And I knew that if I let go, even just one bit, of my fear, the anger I was building up inside would eat me up, and make me a monster too.”

She did have the eyes of a monster right then. The eyes of a furious dragon, stuck on her prey with a murderous, terrifying intent. Jisel kept backing away, raising her blades in a protective stance, but Cessilia’s cold and composed approach was just paralyzing her with fear. She felt like she had unleashed something in that woman, and would only regret it once she got over there much too soon.

“You... You’re just thinking this is because of Ashen?” said Jisel, in an attempt to say something, anything to save herself. “You think his love has made you stronger?!”

“This has nothing to do with my love for Ashen.”

Suddenly, she was there, and her attack came from the sky, only leaving Jisel half a second to put her blades up. It was the same amount of strength as before, so why was she so scared? She could keep up with that woman, she had the strength to measure up to her... So why did she feel like Cessilia had grown into an absolute beast in just a matter of seconds?!

Their blades clashed, and Jisel rolled to the side, cautiously using the opportunity to put some more distance between them. Still, Cessilia’s eyes wouldn’t leave her alone as the Princess followed her every single step.

“You know nothing about what love is supposed to be, Jisel. You only ever saw him as your way to survive. You used him.”

“So what? You’re no better than I am! You only hid behind him like a coward!”

“No,” Cessilia retorted. “...Do you know why I love Ashen so much? ...He’s not as special as you, or everyone else, is trying to push him to be. He was never meant to be a king’s son. He’s just a man, like any other out there. He’s not a great king, and he’s full of flaws too. His bad temper, his stubbornness. He’s made tons of mistakes, and I know it all too well. He can’t even trust people close to him... and that’s all why I love him even more. He’s imperfect, and he’s broken... just like me. But, at least Ashen’s true to his feelings; he gets mad when he’s mad, and he never fears his own voice. He doesn’t flee from his responsibilities, and he knows how to bear the blame for his own mistakes and flaws. While… While all I did, for all these years, was push my own responsibilities to the back of my mind and act like a victim.”

At the opposite window, Jinn kept growling furiously, almost covering Cessilia’s voice with the ruckus. The dragon’s red-scaled paws were slowly digging their way inside the room, weakening the whole structure of the tower the banquet hall belonged to. The walls around and above the windows Jinn was destroying were starting to creak dangerously, thin dust coming off as a warning of a potential collapse. Still, neither of the two women bothered to try and stop the dragon from smashing its way into the room.

Jisel was actually hoping her dragon would get there soon to help her, while Cessilia couldn’t be bothered. No one could tell if she was even hearing the dragon coming in behind her, the thunder above their heads, and the ruckus coming from the streets.

“...But I’m done,” she said. “You were right, Jisel. I’m done being a coward.”

They swung their swords at each other again. The two women resumed their battle, fiercer, faster, more violent than before. It was down to who would be able to kill the other first. They weren’t leaving any time for rest, every second was passed trying to pierce the other’s defenses. It was a continuous ballet of blades, blocking or attacking relentlessly. They were flying and dancing around the banquet hall as if it had been just the right size to contain their attacks, as pieces of furniture were regularly stabbed and sliced in their stead, or violently thrown across the room to make way. The strength of their attacks was no less than that of a battle between male warriors. Those two had the Dragon Blood flowing fiercely through their veins, fueling the adrenaline and making them as aggressive as dragons ferociously defending their territory. There was no territory to defend, only the burning desire to best the other woman and get rid of their opponent.

“It doesn’t change a thing,” muttered Jisel as soon as Cessilia gave her a second to catch her breath. “Once a coward, always a coward, Princess. Don’t think you can change just because you’re a bit mad now.”

“Oh, I’m beyond mad,” hissed Cessilia, “and I won’t allow myself to be a coward anymore!”

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