“Of course not, why do you ask?” Hugo said. He legitimately had no idea why she thought that he was mad at her. He didn’t remember ever seeing her before.

She rubbed her arm and said, “Well... I mean... It’s just that I thought we were friends. And I know you are busy. I get that. What with what happened to the royal family, and your father’s new position. I am sure that has been stressful. But then you disappeared on me, I didn’t even see you for weeks. Are you trying to avoid me?”

“Oh dear. I am sorry I didn’t talk to you and explain everything,” Hugo said. His heart went out to this girl he didn’t know. “I have been gone for the last three weeks. Out killing monsters with the huntmaster. I am sorry I left you hanging. I didn’t mean to make you think I didn’t like you anymore. You are awesome,” Hugo said and gave her a quick hug.

The mystery girl hugged him back, and wiped away a small tear. “I’m sorry I overreacted. I was just in my head, thinking about the last time we talked, and it’s been forever and...” she stopped herself from blathering on.

“We should get together after this. Talk everything out,” Hugo said. He wanted to be nice to the girl, and it would be helpful if a royal girl gave him the rundown of everything.

“Yes, let’s meet for breakfast on the crown. I can ask Ariana to do her guarding from a different spot and we can take over her perch, just like we used to do as little girls,” she said happily.

Hugo cringed internally. She was talking about the guard perches on the top of the royal grove tree, way way too high off the ground. Pretending to be Lina was going to get him killed one day. He said, “Sounds like a plan, tomorrow morning. I am already excited.”

“Great!” she said and gave him another little hug.

They separated as the raft docked. She was very careful as she stepped from the raft to the dock and didn’t calm down until her feet were on the ground. Hugo followed her, deciding to be just as careful. He had no idea what was in this water, but apparently he didn’t want to find out.

There were several groups of people standing around in the clearing. Hugo didn’t know what the proper procedures were here, but he had an idea. Yasmin said something about supplications first and a celebration after. He guessed that everyone had to greet the First Prince and Princess first and then they could mingle until the event started.

The mystery girl saved him from his misconception. She made a beeline towards the tree and fell to her knees in front of it. There were a line of runes surrounding the tree and she was kneeling right in front of them. She placed her hands on the ground for a moment and then got up and brushed herself off. That must be the supplication they were talking about. Was this tree The Mother? Hugo decided to copy her.

A growth on the tree revealed itself as Hugo got closer. He knelt in the same place she did, which was directly in front of this strange growth. It was the color of bark, but looked like a strange vine. Hugo would have assumed it was one, except for the fact that it pulsed with some sort of heartbeat. He put his hands on the ground and then stood up. That thing was creepy. He hoped that the riese didn’t worship this weird thing and it was actually the tree behind it.

Once he brushed the dirt off his dress, Hugo turned and looked for his parents. They were both standing off to the side. His mother looked much the same as him, an ornate dress that managed to look like it was grown that way. His father looked very different. He wore tight green shorts and body paint. That was it.

Green and silver paint crisscrossed his body. It looked like magical symbols, but might have a religious significance instead. Apparently this fight was to be done in front of The Mother so she could decide the victor. He wasn’t quite sure how that would work. He hadn’t asked too many questions about the process once it became clear that Lina had seen several of these and it would raise suspicions if he asked any more.

Hugo was just glad that it was unlikely that he would have to fight his own challenge. From what they said at dinner, it was best two out of three. After his father and mother each won their fights, the challenge would be over. His father had never lost a fight, and his mother said her new weapon would make her fight a breeze.

The groups of people slowly congregated into two different groups. His father and those that supported him were on one side, and Bijan’s father and those that supported him were on the the other side. The First Princess and her family stood in the middle, supposedly impartial, but Hugo noticed that they stood closer to the other group than his.

Once everyone was assembled, the First Princess walked to the center of the clearing and loudly said, “With the approval of The Mother, we are gathered here to answer the challenge against the First Prince. We thank The Mother for everything she has given us and we ask her to choose the best between the two contestants. Everyone please take your places.”

Hugo’s mother unsheathed a sword and handed it over to his father. He nodded in thanks and walked forward and everyone else walked back to the edge of the clearing. Hugo stood near his mother, and noticed that the mystery girl was standing on the other side of the clearing. Interesting. Lina must have been developing several relationships with the enemy. He wondered if she had been playing a political game or if she just hated her parents. It could be either really, his parents weren’t exactly the loving type.

“First Prince Darius, you stand accused of not being a fit ruler among The Mother’s children. How do you plead?” the First Princess said.

Hugo’s father stepped forward and said, “Innocent.”

“Resa Juniper as the accuser, are you prepared to defend yourself, even unto death?” the First Princess said.

“I am,” Resa said. He was dressed and painted the same as Darius.

So far, everything seemed ritualistic, but the First Princess’s next sentence seemed out of the ordinary, “We mourn the passing of our King and Queen and we ask The Mother to pick a new royal family. Oh great Mother, leader in all things, we ask you to make the winner of these three contests to be the new royal family. What say you?”

Darius had a deep frown, it looked like this part hadn’t been planned. He didn’t say anything though. Everyone turned and looked at the pulsing growth on the grove tree. Nothing happened for a moment, then it pulsed a deep red. That seemed to be the answer everyone was expecting and they all turned towards the center. Resa tipped his sword up as if to mock Darius and smiled.

Hugo reached over and grabbed his mother’s hand to comfort her. She continued to stare forward and slowly removed her hand from his. Alright then, not the affectionate type.

“The Mother has spoken. The winner of these three contests will be the new royal family,” the First Princess said. She backed out of the circle and said, “Let the best ruler win. You may begin... now!”

Darius and Resa burst into action. They raced forward, swords raised. As they came together, Darius slashed across and Resa thrust forward. They both dodged at the last moment, not willing to commit yet. What followed was several more repeats of that exchange, each of them testing the other. Soon enough, they got serious, committing fully to their attacks.

Dairus’s blood red sword was longer than Resa’s pale green sword and he used that reach to his advantage. He was the first one to get a solid hit in, his thrust hitting Resa’s shoulder. Instead of piercing his shoulder, a green energy barrier appeared briefly and stopped the strike. Resa stumbled back with a furious look on his face.

The challenger darted forward at the First Prince, even faster than before. Darius parried that strike and counterattacked. The two combatants danced around each other, a clang ringing out with every exchange. Faster and faster, they struck out with vicious intent. They were strong and fast, both of them highly blessed. Hugo doubted that he could last long against either of them even with his impressive soulmarked stats.

With a sudden change in tempo, Darius twirled and struck out at Resa’s knee. The green shield still appeared, but the blow had enough force to make Resa stumble. A few exchanges later, and Resa got his own hit in, a green shield appearing over Darius’s shoulder. The impact didn’t phase him though, Darius immediately counterattacked.

Resa jumped back to disengage. He narrowed his eyes. He lowered his stance and touched the hilt of his sword with both hands. That must have activated some magic within and the sword turned into a long vine whip. He twirled it around and lashed out at Darius.

The First Prince saw it coming but wasn’t able to get out of the way in time. The magic whip pierced through the green shield on his shoulder, and a line of red appeared on Darius’s sword arm. He winced in pain, and ran closer to Resa.

Backpedaling, Resa sent his whip forward twice in succession. Darius easily avoided the first, but the second looked like it was going to hit him. The First Prince took that moment to activate the magic in his own sword, and a blood red blade shot out of his sword and cut a length off of the whip. Resa growled as the magic in his weapon was interrupted and it turned back into a sword. The sword was a little shorter this time. With a flick of his hand, the magic reactivated and he had a green whip again.

Hugo felt like he understood the challenge now. It was going to be a contest of who used their magic sword better. The magic paint kept most blows from connecting, it was only the magic of the swords that would be able to pierce it. Normally, it would be an easy win for his father. Darius was more skilled and had a great long range attack. But Hugo knew that the sword had limited magic and was already low. They had decided not to recharge it so they could buy his mother a new weapon. The fight between the fathers was going to be a close one.

More cautious now, Resa circled Darius, making sure to keep a distance between the two so he would have room to use his whip. He sent a careful probing lash, but Darius didn’t take the bait. It wasn’t until he committed that Darius counter attacked and cut off another length of green whip. With a curse, Resa regrew the whip and attacked again. This time Darius held up his sword and the whip wrapped around it. Resa’s eyes went wide as he frantically pulled the whip back, expecting it to be cut off again. But Darius’s sword stayed mundane and Resa regained his whip. A cruel smile grew on his lips.

Resa attacked with a fury, sending the whip at Darius with a flurry of loud cracks. The First Prince only managed to avoid one of them, the other three hitting his upper body and opening up small gashes. In the brief lull, Darius raced forward, his sword slashing down at Resa’s sword arm. Resa reformed his sword and blocked the strike. He attempted to disengage, but Darius pursued him relentlessly.

With a storm of sword strikes, Darius pushed Resa around the ring. When Resa stumbled slightly, Darius pounced and knocked him to the ground. A red blade of energy appeared at Resa’s neck and made him go still.

As one, the crowd turned to The Mother as it pulsed red and green. Hugo shivered at how eerie it was, they were reacting to things he couldn’t sense.

“The Mother has spoken. First Prince Darius has won his challenge,” the First Princess said, “We will reconvene here in one month for the second challenge between those that would be queen.”

Hugo’s father walked back to him and his Mother. Once he got close, Hugo could see him breathing hard and the blood was flowing freely from his numerous cuts.

“Call the life mage over, dear. That was closer than I wanted and I am about to fall over,” Darius said softly.

Hugo’s mother gestured to someone standing in the wings and carefully held her husband up. They didn’t want anyone to know that he was near collapse. The life mage hurried over, and soon enough, Darius was back to his usual boisterous self.

Resa and those close to him left right away, but the rest of them stayed and partied, celebrating the success.

...

“Nazanin, good to see you,” Hugo said and sat down near her. He had talked to Yasmin last night and gotten the name of the person he was meeting for breakfast. They were sitting hundreds of feet up in the air on the canopy guard stand. The branches up here were thin enough that it swayed gently in the breeze. It had taken more willpower than he had thought necessary to climb up here, but he had done it. Hugo suspected Nazanin wasn't a real friend, or she wouldn't have asked him to eat all the way up here.

“Lina, good to see you too,” Nazanin said with a smile, “I brought chicken sandwiches, please have some.”

“Thank you, that was kind,” Hugo said. He thought it was weird to have a sandwich for breakfast, but the first bite changed his mind. The heavily spiced chicken was delicious, the veggies crunchy, and the pomegranate honey was divine.

“So tell me, what have you been up to lately?” Nazanin said with a smile.

Hugo had taken some time to decide what he wanted to share to get the most out of her. “Well, nothing fun, that’s for sure. I told you yesterday that I was out hunting, right? It was three weeks of torture, I tell you. I don’t want to see another thrip as long as I live. And it was pretty much a waste of time. I didn’t get my doma... blessed by The Mother.” Hugo said. Hopefully the ‘slip-up’ would convince her to share some juicy tidbits of her own.

“Oh, that’s ok,” Nazanin said and put her hand on his shoulder, “It will come, you just gotta be patient.”

Hugo sniffed and said, “I would rather focus on something else right now. Tell me all about your month. I wanna hear all about it.”

Nazanin shrugged and said, “It’s been a rough month. The last I saw you was at the tragic Lofty Leap. Losing both the king and queen in one day was rough. People were crying all over. And then when their daughter died the next week... it was just the worst.”

“Did they ever find out what happened to them?” Hugo said. He knew of course, but wanted to know what she knew.

“You mean you don’t know?” Nazanin said, “I thought your father would have told you everything.”

Hugo shook his head, “No, he hasn’t told me anything. I think he is trying to shield me from the whole thing. So there is something to know? What killed them?”

Nazanin leaned closer and said, “Poison. Something laced with iron so The Mother couldn’t heal them.”

“I knew it had to be something like that,” Hugo said. It was an interesting fact that iron stopped The Mother’s magic, instead of lead like regular magic. It must be part of the reason they used wood in their weapons and armor. He continued, “Do they know who did it yet?”

She glanced away and said, “No one knows for sure. It’s got everyone up in arms. We haven’t had a royal assassination in almost thirty years. My mom says it was probably someone like the Ursus family, they want to move up in the line of succession. Once your mother wins her challenge, everyone will move up a level. It could be anyone, really.”

“Huh. Bad business all around, really. I wish it had never happened,” Hugo said.

“Are you scared you might have to fight?” Nazanin said.

Hugo rocked his hand back and forth. “A little. I am pretty sure my mom will win. The whole thing is a bit weird when you think about it. It’s never made sense to me that The Mother would choose her rulers based on a fight. A good fighter isn’t necessarily a good leader. We need a regency that uses their head, not just their muscles,” Hugo said and took a bite of his sandwich.

She slowly set down her sandwich and turned towards Hugo and said, “Lina. That’s blasphemy.”