Chapter 57: Chapter 57

Ñiraka was about to step down from the stairs in front of her entrance door when she stopped abruptly. Her father parked right in front of her and stepped down with his eyes red and angry.

“F-father,” she stuttered and held the skirt of her dress firmly in her palms.

“Why didn't you tell me yourself? Why did you let me find out and that from gossips?” he barked out and she shivered and gulped.

“What-what are you talking about, dad?” she asked and took a step back. Her father was worse than a tiger when he was angry. Her maidens quickly scampered back inside the house and shut the door.

“That human. Why did you not tell me there was a human getting in the way of you and the prince!” he half whispered in an angry tone. Ñiraka didn't know what to say so she just stood speechless.

“When you came pleading that I speed up your marriage to the prince, I knew something was wrong somewhere. But since I don't live in the palace, I had no idea there was someone else the prince favored above you. You were afraid he would chose her as his Luna and not you,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“I... I'm sorry I didn't let you know. I just...I thought...”

“Thought what? That you had the right to leave a threat in your path? What were you thinking? That she wouldn't stand outrightly in your way?”

“I wasn't planning on leaving her totally. I had my plans. I planned to get her out of my way,” Ñiraka retorted with a rasp tone and her father slapped her quickly. She gasped and staggered back, holding her face and blinking back repeatedly. Her eyes moistened immediately and turned red.

“You are a pathetic woman. Other women would have taken action already knowing the kind of man the Prince is!” he nagged in a whisper, careful that no one heard them.

“Do you know?” he questioned and Ñiraka who had her head lowered looked up to his face. Her hand was still over the stinging area of her face.

“Do you know he took her outside the pack just so he could have dinner with her in a human hotel?” he asked and her eyes widened. She had not heard that at all.

“W-what?” she stuttered and dropped her hand from her cheek.

“But that...that is against the rules of the kingdom.”

“Exactly!” he yelled and she held her breath.

“Exactly. He broke the rules for her. Is this something you joke with? Word has it that right from the very first day she was brought to be auctioned, he treated her differently. Everyone knows the Prince doesn't involve himself in trading humans. But he bought her rashly against Clementine's offer. He stopped her from being subjected to all the other rituals and he has been showing favoritism toward her all these while.” He paused and took very heavy heaves while glaring angrily at her.

“But this gullible daughter of mine saw it right to keep her mouth shut and sit down doing nothing. While she watches her Prince get slowly snatched by a bloødy human!”

Ñiraka exhaled in order not to cry. She held her arm and looked down at her feet.

“Now. I want you to listen to me and listen good.”

She raised her head again to look at him.

“She has signed up for this tournament. I already placed a few trusted people in there and I expect them to do as I said. But just in case that redhead friend of hers is always there to help her, I want you to seize the opportunity to redeem yourself from my wrath.”

“What must I do, Father?”

“If your paths cross over there, make sure she doesn't forget that day.”

Ñiraka stood still and the words sunk into her mind. Her father stood glaring daggers at her then he turned and stomped off, back into his car then zoomed off with the autumn leaves flying as he sped past them. She heaved a deep sigh and curled her fists tightly by her sides.

“Fiorella,” she muttered then gritted her teeth.

\*\*

The car finally slowed down and entered through a large gateway of stone. It was in form of a rectangle, with the two pillars wide and high, then one on top of them both—creating a rectangular gate. There was a fence joined to the gate, but not as high as the gate itself. As they passed through it, the first things were shops lined by the side of the road and a lot of people buying different things. It was like a festival ground, with the stalls decorated with red balloons, strings lined with yellow flags and of course, what the stall was selling. Overall, all the stalls and shops were made of wooden kiosks or metal kiosks which were moved over there for the cause of the Tournament. Avril looked at everything they passed by and was enthralled by them all. All their activities seemed human and one would not know that they were a different species. This made her wonder if there were such people actually living with humans and not known to be what they were.

“A lot of them actually,” Verona answered her in-heart question and she turned to look at her. She was sitting at the back between Aida and Gia.

“Not everyone wants to live in the confines of their pack. A lot of rogue wolves live amongst humans because they can successfully hide there.”

“But, don't they get figured out if they don't age?” Avril asked.

“Well, there is something they do that makes them grow and look older along with their peers. But then, after a lot of years they relocate and start life over,” Verona answered with a casual shrug.

“That is very creepy,” Avril attested.

“Tell me about it.”

Next, they passed by small wooden cabins which were closely built together. People were hanging around or in front of them already while some were still closed.

“The lodgings for the tourists or visitors. We have an awful amount of people coming in to watch our Tournament,” came Verona's voice.

“Wow. And they live in cabins?”

“Cozy cabins actually. Wait till you see inside.”

“What do you mean? Are we staying in a cabin too?”

“Yeah, of course. But not in this area like I told you. The contestants have their own section which is closer to the Tournament Stand.”

Avril wowed and continued to look at the cabins until they all finished. After them came the trees with a wide spread of green grass which people were sitting on and talking happily. Small stands of food and junks were at different points and of course, their customers were in front of them. Avril felt a sense of joy at what she was seeing. She so wanted to go have some fun over there.

Finally, the car stopped and they got out to a smooth terrain of cobbled grounds. Cabins with light brown color stood orderly arranged in linear positions for about five cabins, then the next set stood behind them in that same linear position. The driver of the car stepped out and led them to the Receiving Hall, which was a long building just before the cabins. They entered and saw other females and males hanging around there, in front of a long counter. Three women sat behind it and were registering the contestants then handing them their cabin keys. The driver took the ladies straight to the counter without having them pass through the other procedures.

“Special Royal Contestants,” he announced and the people at the front of the queue he took them too shifted back. They all knew the ones from the palace were not supposed to go through the queue.

The woman by the counter looked at the ladies from the top of her oval shaped spectacles.

“A human?” she asked and Avril smiled at her. The older woman smiled back then took two yellow cards from the pile of it beside her on the counter.

“Sign this,” she shifted it to them and placed a pen there. Avril took one of the cards and filled the information required, which was basically; Name, Address, Creature, Gender/Category then Signature.

“You should add ‘Human’ to that Creature space,” the woman had tenderly advised which Avril nodded to.

“Thank you.”

After they had filled and signed, she stamped her seal on the cards then handed them a key to their cabin. They had cabin number 45 and were to lodge there with their maidens. Few minutes later, they had gotten out and located the cabin which was in the middle of the whole sets of cabins. They opened it and entered.

“Whoah!” Avril marveled at the cabin. It was as cozy as Verona had described it. The space was minimal, with lovely couches and soft beds. There were two beds in their cabin and she and Verona would be sharing one. There was a fireplace in the living room space and a warm rug on the floor. The amber lights in the cabin looked really warm and added to the festive feeling. There was a sleeping dog on one of the sitting stools and Avril wondered if it was part of the complimentary features of the cabin.

“So cozy,” Aida giggled and sat down immediately on one of the stools. Gia shot her a look and she immediately popped back on her feet and stood erect like the handmaiden she was.

“Let's unpack then find something to eat. I'm starving,” came Verona's voice.

After they finished unpacking and were about to head out, their door opened on its own and two ladies walked in. One was having long black hair which was tied in a very loose ponytail and wore a tight corset top with combat trousers and big black boots. The other girl was a brunette, wore black ripped jeans and a denim jacket with a hood which she didn't wear. Her hair was very untidy and lay scattered over her shoulders.

“Wow, look here Ted. It's true. There's a human joining this year's tournament,” the black haired girl said in a voice that had nothing close to admiration.

“I guess there's actually going to be some real fun this year,” Ted, the brunette drawled and pinned her upper teeth on her lower lip sarcastically.

“Hello, it is nice to meet you,” Avril greeted with a smile. The two ladies looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“She's such a sweet little girl,” Ted teased.

“Cinderalla, love your dress,” the black haired girl said.

“But don't you think you missed your way to the ball?” Ted asked and they laughed again.

“Uhm, I think you both actually missed your way to the psychiatrist and turned up here. Have you signed up? Because mad people are not allowed to participate,” Verona stated and they stopped and looked at her.

“Did you just insult us?” Ted asked with a frown which was looking forced.

“That wasn't an insult girls. She was just stating facts. You both look like you escaped from rehabilitation,” Avril chirped in. The black haired girl looked at her and scoffed dramatically.

“Why don't we show you what mad people do?” she asked. Instantly, she threw a punch at Avril but her hand was caught before it could reach her face. That same moment, Ted yelled and was going to kick Verona but she dodged and smacked her face hard, turned swiftly then grabbed her hair. Avril twisted the hand she had caught, kicked the lady hard in the stomach with her knee and threw her on the ground, still holding her arm.

Both Ted and her friend winced and yelped. Verona turned Ted swiftly and punched her in the nose. She staggered back but quickly threw another punch towards Verona who again dodged and instead kicked her side with her long leg. Avril grabbed the girl that was on the ground and gave her three quick and hard blows. Two to the face then one to the neck. That same time, she kicked her through her dress right at her side tummy then pushed her out of the door, making her land terribly on the stone floor.

Verona grabbed Ted's messy hair again, wrapped it around her face then kicked her out of the room. She landed on her friend and the two ladies walked out.

“Thank you for coming to say hello. Please visit another time. Thank you,” Avril said then blew them a kiss before walking away with Verona and the maidens.