In a red tent that appeared larger than the ones surrounding it, Prince Zain, thin and frail, was vomiting as he lay on his knees on the ground. After emptying everything in his stomach, he stood up, his whole body trembling. Zain spoke:
"Where is the armor, Rames?" Even his voice was shaking.
"My lord, I beg you to reconsider," the servant replied.
"To hell with that—just follow your orders, you slave, without all the chatter!" Zain snapped.
"As you wish, my lord," The servant answered.
Zain began putting on a heavy suit of armor that looked too large for his body, making it difficult for him to move. It was made of pure silver, adorned with the finest ornaments. The helmet bore two long horns, making its wearer look like a beast.
Suddenly, Queen Sallyburst into the tent, her face filled with fear. Without greeting him, she said:
"What is this you're wearing? You are not going to that duel!"
"For the Emperor's sake, stop this. You'll try to stop me, then give me a long speech about why I shouldn't go, and I'll go anyway. So let's skip all that. I'm going," Zain said. Though he tried to appear calm before his mother, he clearly failed.
"Can you even hear yourself? You're trembling like a coward, and you want to fight? Your cousin is far stronger than you; you'll only humiliate yourself and get hurt," Queen Sally said.
"As I said, Mother, I'm going. You won't stop me," Zain replied as he secured the last piece of his armor. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Mother."
Zain left the tent, followed by many guards. He was the eldest prince of the Kingdom of Andresia, but he had suffered from an illness since childhood that left him physically weak.
***
In the grand colosseum, King Theo Bolendri, ruler of Andresia, stood with his arms crossed, watching the lone figure in the arena as time passed. The boy inside was Romeo, Zain's cousin and the younger son of the king's advisor. The advisor, sitting beside the king, spoke:
"Your Majesty, I am certain of Prince Zain's courage, but we all know his condition. It's already late, I believe we should cancel this duel," said Advisor Thomas Bolendri, who was also the king's brother.
"I'll kill him myself if he doesn't show up! He's the one who asked for this duel," King Theo said.
"You know how young men are, Your Majesty. They say things they don't mean and later regret them," Thomas replied.
"What are you implying?" the king asked sharply.
"Don't misunderstand me, brother. But Romeo is a skilled fighter and possesses magic, unlike Prince Zain. It would be better to cancel the duel to prevent—"
Thomas didn't finish his sentence as the announcer's voice rang out, declaring Prince Zain's entrance. The crowd erupted as the prince entered. The king's face finally relaxed upon seeing his son step into the arena.
***
Zain entered the arena and raised his arms to the crowd, encouraging their cheers. Inside his armor, however, he was still trembling. He turned forward to see his opponent, his younger cousin Romeo, leaning on his sword as he waited.
The referee stepped into the center and motioned for them to approach.
"Remember, you may withdraw at any time during the duel. Withdrawal is better than suffering severe injuries. Is that understood?"
"Understood," Zain replied.
Romeo delayed his response, a grin forming on his face. "Yes, yes, understood," he said, then added, "I've been waiting for you a long time, so don't withdraw too quickly, alright?"
"You should thank me for making you wait. I've extended your life by a few more minutes," Zain replied.
"Haha, alright then," Romeo laughed.
Zain wielded a long spear, while Romeo carried a medium-length sword and wore light armor. However, Romeo had a major advantage: he possessed magic, unlike Zain.
They took their positions. The referee stepped back and signaled the start of the duel.
Zain was the first to move, charging toward his opponent. Running in such heavy armor was exhausting, but he pushed forward while Romeo remained still.
When Zain reached striking distance, he thrust his spear toward Romeo's exposed chest.
But Romeo merely lifted two fingers, manipulating the air to push the spear aside. With Zain now defenseless, Romeo struck his helmet directly with his sword.
Zain's head rang from the impact. Focus, focus, he thought, trying to attack again, but before he could, another strike hit his armor, slamming into his chest. He nearly fell, barely regaining his balance before another blow struck his helmet from the right, knocking him to the ground. He quickly rose, only to be kicked in the back and sent crashing down again.
"Seriously? All that noise just to lose this quickly?" Romeo mocked.
Zain breathed heavily inside his armor. He would become a laughingstock; he hadn't landed a single hit and was already losing. What kind of prince is this? he thought. Still, he stood again, taking a defensive stance.
Romeo smirked and attacked again, but this time Zain didn't dodge. The strike hit his armor, yet he held his ground. He dropped his spear and quickly drew a small dagger from his armor, lunging at Romeo.
Romeo caught Zain's hand before the dagger reached his neck.
"A cheap trick," Romeo said.
Zain didn't respond. Instead, he slammed his head into Romeo's. Romeo staggered slightly from the impact, but Zain continued headbutting him repeatedly. Then Romeo raised his fingers again, sending Zain flying several meters back.
Romeo charged forward and unleashed a flurry of strikes. Zain tried to block, but he was already too slow.
Zain fell, and Romeo pinned him down, repeatedly punching his face. Blood began seeping from beneath Zain's helmet. He lost consciousness briefly, only to awaken from another blow. His hand, which had been holding the dagger, finally let go.
***
King Theo stood tense, watching his son endure the beating. Meanwhile, Advisor Thomas sat calmly and said:
"Why doesn't the referee end the match? The outcome is already clear."
The king ignored him, still focused, searching for any way his son could escape this situation.
A flicker of hope appeared when he saw Zain trying to kick Romeo away.
***
Zain struggled to push Romeo off with his legs. It wasn't easy. Romeo held his position and kept striking. But Zain tried again, kicking with both legs, and this time, he succeeded in creating a small opening. He slipped out and stood up quickly.
His vision was blurred, and he could barely stand, swaying. Romeo, on the other hand, still had plenty of energy.
Romeo approached again and struck Zain's slightly exposed neck. Blood gushed from the wound as Zain clutched it, but Romeo was already too close.
In that moment, Zain pulled out another dagger, smaller than even a kitchen knife, but enough.
He thrust it toward Romeo's eye. Romeo was a hair's breadth away from dodging, but Zain pushed harder, driving the blade into his right eye.
Romeo dropped to his knees, the dagger still lodged in his eye. Zain also collapsed, but unlike his opponent, he ignored the pain in his body, focusing entirely on Romeo, who clutched his face and screamed for help.
Zain understood what Romeo was trying to say.
"S-st… surr..."
He was moments from surrendering.
Zain stood again and staggered toward him. Grabbing the dagger, he drove it deeper, again and again.
The entire crowd fell silent, listening to Romeo's screams. The referee rushed toward them, but before he could arrive, Zain pulled the dagger out.
Romeo collapsed, motionless.
***
King Theo stood in shock, unable to speak. The sight of his son pulling the dagger from his opponent's eye was monstrous.
The silent crowd reflected the same horror. But Advisor Thomas suddenly erupted, shouting for the medical team to rush into the arena.
The king ignored his brother's outburst until one phrase made him turn sharply.
"That bastard! I'll kill him!" Thomas shouted.
The king turned quickly. "Who will you kill, Thomas?"
Thomas realized his mistake. Instead of apologizing, he hurried away to check on his son.
***
"My lady," a guard called from outside the tent.
"Enter," Queen Sally replied.
The guard entered. The queen had refused to watch the duel, staying in the tent with her daughter, gently combing her hair.
"Speak," she said.
"The duel of Prince Zain… it appears to have ended, my lady."
"Well? What happened?" she asked, her face pale. She had expected her son to lose—but feared worse.
"The prince… has won."
Queen Sally stood up abruptly. Her daughter, Princess Haya, began repeating, "My brother won… my brother won…"
"Are you certain?" the queen asked.
"Yes, my lady. The news has just arrived… but there seems to be a problem in the colosseum."
The queen remained silent, waiting.
"It appears that Prince Zain's opponent… Romeo… has died from his injuries."
Queen Sally couldn't process it. Despite his skill with the sword, Zain, her son, had never been that strong. With his illness and frail body, how could he not only defeat Romeo… but kill him?
She grabbed Princess Haya's hand and rushed out toward the colosseum.