Chapter 17
The Empire and the Warrior’s Ball
Meanwhile, the teaching of the minds continued at The Empire. Miss Emberely was setting up the teenage class (ages 13 – 19) for the day’s lessons. She waited for the line of round and rotund bodies dressed in their school uniforms of brown hooded gowns and slacks to enter. Suddenly the loud thumping and thudding of stamping feet vibrated the floors. Miss Emberely began to smile. They were here. Headed by Ariyah and Sheevar, one by one, then two by two, then rushing each other to get through the doors; the excited teens ran to get inside the peach and gold painted classroom. They quickly took to their seats with hands folded and waited for the teacher to begin. Miss Emberely, who was young herself (about 22), looked around the classroom and realized there were three empty seats.
“Where are they?” Miss Emberely asked, fixing her blonde tresses.
“They should be coming now. They were right behind us.” Orraco answered, putting his foot on the back of Ariyah’s chair in his usual attempt to tease her. Before Miss Emberely could say anything, a tremendous rumbling interrupted her. The painted floral pictures on the wall began to wobble and the fruit left on Miss Emberely’s desk rolled onto the wooden floor.
“I told you I’d beat you here! I win!” The high pitched cheer of a girl’s voice rang out. Soon a very hefty young girl with bright red hair ran into the room. She was followed by two boys who were heavier than her and they too had bright red hair.
“No fair. You cheated going up the ramp.” One of the boys complained.
“Oh stop your bloody bickering and accept your defeat, Damien” the girl teased.
The bickering continued as they entered the classroom. The three 13 year olds, Damien, Demetrius, and Dalia were triplets. They were the youngest and rowdiest of the class. But they were also the biggest of all the young ones of Grandelyn. Everyone knew the “Triple D’s” as they were called. They were very popular throughout the land because of their playful and adventurous personalities, as well as their famous fiery red hair.
“Alright enough, you three! Get to your seats.” Miss Emberely intervened.
“Yes, ma’am.” The triplets wobbled to the back desks that were especially made for their huge bodies. Miss Emberely was now able to begin.
“Good morning class.” She said cheerfully. “Good morning Misses Emberely” They replied in unison.
“I felt today would be a good day to learn mathematics.” A rush of groans from disdained teenagers quickly filled the room.” What is the problem now?” Miss Emberely chuckled.
“We don’t want to learn numbers. We want to continue our battle training.” Rashad complained.
“Battle training means nothing if you’re a stupid warrior. Yes, it’s good to train your body, but it’s even better to train your mind.”
“Yes, thank you.” Ariyah erupted with annoyance from her classmates.
“Oh shut up, teacher’s pet.” They called out. Ariyah always had more of a mature mind than the others. She was a natural born leader just like her mother. Though they were annoyed by her favoritism, the teens as well as the adults had the utmost respect for her. She was the head of defense, and readily shared her superb fighting skills with everyone else. But she was also very respectful and humble.
Ariyah was liked by everyone. Almost everyone, that is. Phyliscia didn’t jump on the Ariyah bandwagon. With raven-dark hair, blue eyes, big fluffy bosoms and full shiny red lips, Phyliscia was considered by most to be the most beautiful girl in class. She never liked the amount of attention that was given to Ariyah. Phyliscia was tired of hearing how wonderful…or how sweet…or how strong, ambitious, smart, courageous, or talented Ariyah is. She was tired of hearing about the mystery surrounding that ugly metal medallion around her neck. She was tired of hearing the young jittery boys talk about how they wish Ariyah would give them the time of day.
But most of all, Phyliscia was tired of everyone turning to Ariyah for advice. It annoyed her that peopled flocked to her as if she was some kind of god. Even when Phyliscia was back in the Savage Kingdom as a child, her own mother disliked Crystaline for the exact same reasons. Phyliscia wanted to keep her distance from Ariyah as much as possible.
Still ignoring Miss Emberely’s desire to start the lesson, the class continued with other distractions. “We have to get ready for the Warrior’s Ball!” Dalia said with excitement. The class was filled with excited voices about that notion. The Warrior’s Ball was the biggest event of the land. It was held every year at the Empire, in the glass dome room at the top of the building. Regally decorated, music played and the best food was served from the best chefs of Grandelyn. The Warrior’s Ball is when everyone dresses in their best clothes. The focus of the event is for the students to show off the moves they have learned from their sensei Ariyah. It is a time for awards to be given, some sparring between students and students to sensei, and the final act of the night - Ariyah demonstrating whatever new fighting moves she created. She is the main event and her admirer’s always cannot wait for the show. This year would be no different.
Rashad, Orraco’s best friend, was one who was real excited. Rashad was a big muscular guy with a big gut. He was built like a bull. He was very into physical training, wrestling, grappling, and anything physical. He was a very aggressive and handsome young man and got the attention of many of the girls. He had dark chocolate skin, dark carefully cropped hair and goatee, bright teeth and dimples. He admired the strength and technical side of Ariyah. He couldn’t believe that a female could have such skill. But he never tried to approach her because he knew that someone else had his heart set on her.
Orraco needed a date for the Warrior’s Ball. He already knew who he wanted to ask, he was just extremely nervous to ask her. He playfully tapped his sandal on the back of Ariyah’s chair again and he even yanked her hair.
“Orraco! Will you stop it?” She said getting annoyed with his immature antics.
“Will you grow up?” Sheevar turned to him in Ariyah’s defense.
“Blow it out of your ear, Sheevar!” He replied back. Rashad began to laugh out loud.
“You need to shut up too, Rashad!”
Sheevar and Rashad began to argue as Miss Emberely, tried to regain control of her class. As they argued, Orraco turned his head to the right and could see that Phyliscia was staring at him. Her icy blue eyes caught his and the plumpness of her full lips caught his full attention. She leaned back slightly in her chair, perking up her cleavage through the top of her brown hooded gown. He swallowed hard and began to shyly smile. She gave a half smile and took her hair down from the firm updo it was in; letting her wavy raven locks hang. The two couldn’t take their eyes off of each other despite the arguing chaos around them. Despite her great beauty, Orraco had never noticed Phyliscia in this way before. He was always too concentrated on another girl, a special girl. But Phyliscia always noticed Orraco. She had a crush on him for at least a year, but he was always spending time with Ariyah and Sheevar and those were two people she did not want to be around.
Phyliscia began to stroke her lips with her pen. Her pale skin glowing, she knew what she was doing was working. She had his 18 year old hormones in motion. Finally she gave him a wink and she knew he was hers.
“Hey, Orraco,” Rashad’s deep voice boomed. “Get your sister. She is wrecking my nerves.”
“Oh shove it, Rashad!” Sheevar sassed. Finally the school organ played as the sign that class was over. Miss Emberely had gotten nowhere with these raging teens. Ariyah felt bad and went over to console her. Orraco could see that Phyliscia was still staring at him as if waiting for him. Some of the boys were already asking girls to be their dates for the Ball. He knew he needed to make his move now. He looked up and saw a guy playfully wrestling and tickling Ariyah. He quickly went over to them and pulled the boy away from her. The young man wanted to attack him but after studying Orraco’s height and strong girth he thought better of it and wa
lked away. Orraco began to smile.
“Ariyah, I have something I need to ask you.” “Can you make it quick because I have to get down to the Spar Gym to set up for today’s training and I am late.” “Well I was wondering…” Sheevar came over and butt bumped Orraco in a desk. “That’s for letting your mean friend talk to me like that. Doesn’t he know a lady when he sees one? You two are jerks.” She complained. Orraco was now annoyed. “Ariyah…” “I have got to go. We’ll talk later, ok?” And she ran out of the classroom. Frustrated, Orraco got out of the seat. He looked up and saw that Phyliscia was standing against the wall, cleavage completely out, waiting for him with a smirk.
The golden sky had finally died down for the night as the star-riddled indigo sky dominated. The glass dome room was filled with the light of bright lights, a buffet table with every food imaginable, the sound of music, and laughter from people having a great time. Zebralings were parked outside as they rode people up Mount Edgemoore to The Empire. The citizens came in droves; all dressed in the finest silks and satins, gold and rubies, pin curls and freshly shaven heads. Everyone was ready to enjoy the night. Vanka, dressed in an orange strapless gown, with her braids pinned in an elegant updo, was standing on stage with Mr. Crowesh. For his part, Mr. Crowesh was finally well-groomed. He loved his brown beard and grew it long to shape it like a pointed arrow. He was dressed in a black pants suit with the royal blue armor vest. They were the hosts of the evening. They announced the musicians, the event’s itinerary, and told jokes at the podium.
The little children, dressed in poufy dresses and little tailored suits, played in a designated area with little lambs and harp players, while the older teens made their way inside. Rashad and his date Delmar both came in dressed in silver while behind them Orraco (dressed in a white suit with red military stripes) came in with Phyliscia. Orraco was proud to have Phyliscia on his arm. She was stunning tonight. Her dark hair was pulled up and pinned in sexy little ringlets that adorned the top of her head. She had on a red silk gown with a plunging neckline, which exposed all of her double D cleavage down to the red sheer covering of her belly button. Her big hips and ample bottom gave great cause for the attention they were both getting. They looked good together despite the obvious height difference. While Orraco was an average 5’9, Phyliscia was an overwhelming 6’1 with sandals on. But nonetheless, they made a very handsome couple. The other admiring teens gathered around Orraco and Rashad and their dates.
Phyliscia loved the attention she was getting, from not only Orraco but the people as well. She felt like a queen until she heard the voices. “Hi, Ariyah!” “Look its Ariyah!” “Aw she looks so pretty.” It was almost in unison. Phyliscia moved her small following apart to get a glimpse of what everyone was so excited about. Ariyah humbly strolled into the glass dome room, pulling Sheevar by the arm with her. Orraco, whom was drinking punch, nearly choked on his drink when he saw her.
Ariyah entered nervously. She as a tom boy most of her life, was used to wearing pants and shorts. Tonight was be the first time she dressed like a young woman. She pulled her hair up into a high bun, had her eyebrows carefully arched, and her dress was beautiful. Some mumbled under their breath that maybe the dress was a little too provocative for a 16 year old. Ariyah had developed into a beautiful teenager and her body was curvier than anyone had remembered. Her black sheer, rhinestone embroidered dress complimented every curve on her body.
“They’re all staring at you, lady.” Teased Sheevar, whom was looking rather ravishing herself, in her blue empire waist gown and straightened blonde hair.
“But I just feel so uncomfortable. I knew I shouldn’t have listened to you and wore this thing.” Ariyah complained through gritted teeth. Everyone was staring at her, but with admiration. They couldn’t believe that this little lady was the one who got them out of the Savage Kingdom. To watch her grow up made them proud. Everyone soon continued to party and socialize, while Ariyah and Sheevar walked around the ballroom floor. Orraco hadn’t taken his brown eyes off of her since she came in and apparently neither had Phyliscia. Even with Rashad trying to talk to him, Orraco was in a daze and Phyliscia didn’t appreciate the attention being taken off of her.
“Alright, citizens of Grandelyn, Oh does it feel good to say that?” Vanka squealed in her thick accent. “It is now time for de’ students to start off de’ sparring matches. Let us all see how much you have learned.” Two of the youngest students of The Empire, Emma and Raul, both five years old, walked to the black and gold circular marble floor at the bottom of the stage. The guests formed a crowd around the lower stage to watch.
Excited, Ariyah ran and stood next to the circle stage for encouragement and support for the young children. Barefoot, they were dressed in white nylon cat suits. Their protruding bellies and little hefty thighs filled out their uniforms. The first two combatants assumed a fight stance. Arms up and guarding their face and sides, the children were ready to display their skill. Vanka gave a head nod. Two horns blasted loudly in a quick melody, and a male’s voice belted out the words, “GO!”
The two went at it. At first Emma was getting the best of Raul. Her chubby little red fists were clobbering the little boy as he missed every opportunity to block her attacks. The cheers and jeers of the audience amped the children up even more. Emma moved to kick Raul in his shin, when he remembered what Ariyah had taught him. He swiftly hopped up and landed on her foot, pulled her backwards by her strawberry blonde ponytail, and forced his knee into her abdomen, securing her to the floor. The match was over. The applause rang out in the glass dome room as the children stood to their feet to bow. Defeated, Emma’s lip began to tremble as she put her head down in loser’s shame. Ariyah rushed over to her and hugged her.
“No, no. Don’t you shed a tear. A warrior doesn’t cry. They only try harder and get better. Now pick your head up and walk away proudly. You both did well.” Emma sniffed hard and gave a toothless smile and walked away with Raul holding hands. The applause still rang out for the youth’s effort.
The next rounds consisted of sparring between a pair of 10 year olds, 16 year olds, and then 20 year olds. It was now time for sparring with the sensei, Ariyah. But not before she would share with the citizens the new fighting moves she had developed. She didn’t even bother to change out of her gown. She was a warrior at heart and would fight and teach wearing anything. Ariyah stood in the middle of the marble circle. More of the crowd gathered to surround her. Rashad was front and center watching anxiously. Orraco stood off to the side to watch her attentively. Phyliscia had a tight grip on his arm; her face in a scowl.
Poised standing straight on one leg and the other bended and foot attached to her knee, Ariyah bowed her head and placed her hands together. She seemed to be concentrating. She took 3 quick deep breaths and swiftly kicked her leg out in front of her and swooped it around in a big circular motion. She did it repeatedly to show how to kick and block the opponent with one leg. Then she sprang out and began to move hastily doing multiple jabs, kicks, ducking, tumbling, and spinning hits. She used imaginary weapons to defeat her imaginary enemies. She was smooth and confident and moved as though she was dancing. She had the audience in almost a trance. Many commented under their breath that she reminded them of Crystaline.
Ariyah’s dress whipped wildly with every kick and turn. She did a final spin and ended with a courteous bow. The applause filled the room as Ariyah looked to all the smiling faces staring back at her. Standing out among those faces was one that wasn’t smiling. Phyliscia’s icy blue eyes were cutting deep into Ariyah, who humbly avoided staring in her direction.
Orraco, who was excited and whistling loudly with Rashad, was yanked harshly by the arm by Phyliscia. He stopped and questioned her annoyance. She walked away from him and found a chair to sit in away from the crowd.
“Alright. She did such a great job, didn’t she, Grandenites?” Vanka said on the podium, clearly very proud of Ariyah. Mr. Crowesh climbed back onto the podium a
s well.
“It is now time for a brave soul to take on this beautiful young lady; student to sensei.” He said. The crowd became quiet and heads turned because no one wanted to be called out. “I mean I would do it but I don’t want to hurt the young lady.” Mr. Crowesh joked, knowing he wasn’t on Ariyah’s skill level. No one wanted to embarrass themselves by going up against Ariyah, so no one volunteered.
Understanding their insecurity, Ariyah simply bowed and stepped away. Rashad and Orraco followed her to the punch table. Phyliscia watched the whole time. Some male pursuers came to her but she quickly brushed them away. Her heart was beating fast with fury as she watched Orraco swoon all over Ariyah. She could see through the crowd that they were laughing together, while Rashad and Sheevar teased each other. Delmar was behaving very affectionately with Rashad, and Phyliscia only wished she could be that supportive - but her hatred was getting the best of her. She spotted the rusty old medallion hanging from Ariyah’s neck, and she wanted to rip it away.
“Then maybe she wouldn’t be so special.” She said to herself. She was becoming drunk with jealousy and anger. Phyliscia stared down at her carefully painted fingernails and when she looked back up her anger exploded. Sheevar had playfully taken Rashad’s face and kissed his cheek as hard as she could, then she turned and did the same to Orraco. Then the two switched, Ariyah had taken Orraco’s cheek and kissed as hard as she could; leaving him laughing hysterically and with a big lip mark on his pale face and Rashad ducked from further attack. Phyliscia quickly got up from her seat and made her way to the playful circle. She abruptly grabbed Orraco’s arm and wrapped hers around his bear bellied waist. The circle of laughter quickly ended with everyone feeling overshadowed by Phyliscia’s negativity. She just stood there and eyed Ariyah down, towering over Ariyah’s 5’2 frame.
“Having fun everyone?” She asked with a smug smile on her radiant face.
“We were until you came over here.” Sheevar sassed. Ariyah looked at Sheevar to cool it.
“Really?” She raised her eyebrow and ignored Sheevar. “So you think you’re the only one around here who can do special things, do you?” Ariyah chose to ignore Phyliscia and looked to get out of the circle.
“Maybe all of us weren’t blessed with a mother who could do crazy things like yours. We should all be so lucky.” Phyliscia called out. Orraco tried to shush her. She just blew him off. Ariyah tried to walk away, but was pushed in the back.
“Don’t walk away from me, Ariyah. What makes you so special? Is it that?” she asked, pointing to the medallion.
“Don’t touch me again.” Ariyah demanded calmly.
“What are you going to do about it?” Phyliscia asked. “Now tell me what makes you so damn special. Is it this?” Phyliscia grabbed Ariyah’s medallion and tried to rip it from her neck. Ariyah gave Phyliscia two quick forceful punches to the chest, grabbed both her arms and kicked out her legs; causing Phyliscia to fall to her knees. Ariyah then grabbed her hair backwards and pulled with all her strength. Phyliscia was wrapped around Ariyah’s arm like a pretzel.
“I don’t want to hurt you!” Ariyah screamed out trying to hold back all the rage that had built inside of her. “I don’t want to hurt you, Phyliscia. We need to stick together, but if you ever do that again I will be forced to break every bone in your body.” Ariyah flung Phyliscia forward and briskly walked out to the glass balcony.
The crowd gathered around Phyliscia, who was still on the ground rubbing her arms and legs in agony. Sheevar laughed and ran out to the balcony to console Ariyah. Rashad had to turn his head to shield his chuckling. Orraco, disappointed in her actions, tried to help her stand to her feet.
Ariyah was leaning over the golden framed balcony bar and looked down at the gray bricked, zebraling-covered ground below. Her heart was still beating a mile a minute and she was taking slow deep breaths to calm down. The cool air was soothing against her heated face. She hadn’t been that angry since the death of her mother. She was shocked that another Grandenite would try to attack their own. After all they had gone through at the hands of the enemies.
Sheevar cautiously walked behind Ariyah and gave her a quick playful tickle to the side, startling her.
“Are you ok?”
“Sheevar, what was that about? I just don’t understand. I have never done anything to that girl and yet she hates me…it’s like she’s a part of the Savage Kingdom. It hurts my heart.”
“Why are you so down about it? You taught her a very pricey lesson.” Sheevar giggled.
“It’s not funny, Sheevar. We are Grandenites. We’re supposed to stick together. I didn’t want to hurt her and I want for everyone to get along.” Ariyah’s heart began to race with anxiety again as she complained about the altercation. “We must always remember where we came from and where we can go back to if we are divided. Do you agree?” Sheevar solemnly shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t particularly care for Phyliscia and her bad attitude anyway, so the fight in her mind was justified. She knew if it was her, she would’ve done a lot worse to Phyliscia. But she knew that Ariyah was very passionate about their land, so she allowed her to vent.
The two girls heard loud flapping above them. It was Elai flying towards the balcony to Ariyah. He fluttered around her hung head and landed on her left shoulder. He nuzzled her head but she kept looking down. Sheevar stroked the top of his head and his yellow beak.
“Well I’m going to go back inside and enjoy the rest of this party. Don’t let this get you down, Ariyah. Whether you know it or not, you did the right thing.” Then she turned to walk back inside the glass dome room to the curious nosy spectators awaiting. She wanted to enjoy her night but she just couldn’t let the situation go. It bothered her that it all came down to an altercation. She was about the uplifting of her people, not throwing them down. While Elai tried his best to console her, her medallion began to smoothly vibrate against her chest. Ariyah hadn’t felt that in a long time. The sensation of that cold metal around her neck moving with her mother’s love helped her to immediately calm down.
“Thank you, Mother. I needed that.” She smiled. The medallion continued to buzz silently as the three spent time together alone on the balcony. Ariyah looked over the whole land of Grandelyn and Ash City. Watching the calmness of the albino Siamese Twin Dragons, the sparkling Sea of Amethyst, and the white sand and she felt at peace. Her mother was there to console her and she was able to continue her night without a problem, especially because Orraco and Phyliscia had left. Her admirers saw to it that she would laugh and dance the night away.
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