The next morning, I get up, grab my things and head to the middle land clearing. I find Charmeine already there. She looks up as I approach.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfgLJoaQYL
“Well, good morning, Luce,” she says with a smile.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8WORXKqsD
“Good morning to you, too,” I reply. “And don’t call me Luce,” I add.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDJZdUOmpp
“Oh, come on.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFAJQB9UUz
I shake my head with a smile. I set my stuff down and sit beside her.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJ57FshHME
“So, did you get a look at the list?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBnlJpiKiEN
She nods. “Yes, I did. And….”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZ0kr8EwCz
“And what?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLuUSsTKLsz
She hangs her head in despair and puts her hands on her face. “We’re scheduled to fight each other. And we’re the last ones to fight.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGf6BQ25FU
I groan. “Why?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmDYSRRUU6Z
She looks up. “So, what are we going to do?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8gGomANU9
I tap my chin in thought and gasp. “I know exactly what we can do. We can start out fighting each other and make it look like I’m defeating you. Then, we can start fighting together when they let out the animals.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoTXQiaAj9z
“Well, what then?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAwn7N6tro
“The guards will probably interfere and then we can fight against them together.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEippKBEAq
“But why would they interfere?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoEJ6PhGPih
“Because we’re supposed to be fighting each other to prove ourselves not fighting together to join kingdoms,” I explain.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcGtRWbQRw
She sighs and glances away. “I don’t understand why they want us to fight to prove ourselves anyways.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgcwvO93Tv
“Well, we are royalty. That might be part of the reason. We’re next to take the thrones.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzChPvtGQyv
“I still don’t understand why we have to do this,” she says.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7UI2WqPY3
I reach over and turn her head to face me. I lean in and lift her chin. I connect our lips in a kiss and I feel her hand go on the back of my neck.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbhZoeyDJSx
I stop kissing her and she looks at me, face flustered.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRUnGaEk7j
“So, how are your stubs?” I ask.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUA4ymVFz1j
She sighs. “They’ve gotten a little bigger. And they aren’t fluttering as much. If I’m correct, I only have about one and a half to two feet left before they’ll hide and I’ll have to tell them to come out.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlaMd9ZaoG0
“Isn’t your sixteenth birthday coming up?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBL96OjV7Hh
She nods. “Yes. That’s the date of the arena showdown to prove myself. It’s in about two months.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyMkPAPyms
I sigh. “So we have two months to get this figured out. It seems like a long time, but in truth it’s really not that long. So if we want to figure this out, we need to do so. And quickly.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGk6ZlvVMXV
