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ลำดับตอนที่ #8 : Chapter 8: Princess Berita's Doll (บทที่ 8 ตุ๊กตาของเจ้าหญิงเบริต้า)
CHAPTER EIGHT: PRINCESS BERITA'S DOLL
Awful…totally
awful!
Kalo’s not
here. And she’s stuck with this spoiled, tiresome princess. Yes, she looks very adorable, true, but she’s way too big for Felin to woo anyway. Not to
mention how dead centered she was in her self!
“Are you
finished yet?”
Felin felt
really like banging her head against the wall. One look at the lingerie she was
holding, and she felt even more like committing suicide.
All because
of him!
Felin swore
vengeance at the stupid prince and hollered back.
“NO!”
“Just come
out and let me do it for you.” The Princess persisted.
“NO!”
Felin stood
her ground and gnashed her teeth. Her room was actually one of the numerous
rooms in the Princess’s dollhouse. The roof can be tipped open, and though now
it was thankfully still closed, the Princess may choose any moment to open it.
So best get this changing over with as quickly as possible.
Cursing
feverishly, Felin slipped on the floor-length ultramarine dress.
The deep
blue set her fair skin aglow. Though the dress was
beautiful, Felin didn’t like it in the least. She zipped up and shook the hem
of her dress so it spread out to its length. After stuffing her feet into the
high-heels, she finally ventured outside.
“Oh my…you’re
beautiful…”
Princess Berita
stared in awe. She looked to be about twelve, judging by human standards, but
she was so enormous Felin could never find a proper word to describe her size.
Her clear blue eyes sparkling, immensely pleased with her latest doll, she
trailed a finger gently through its silky brown hair.
“I really
must get you lots of pretty dresses. You have beautiful skin.”
Felin nearly
choked on her breath as she refused point-blank.
“No need!”
“I know!
Want to wear a wedding dress? I’ll find you a husband.”
“No!”
“How about I
give you a name first? I’ll name you Rosemary.”
“My name is Felin!”
Felin insisted defiantly.
“That
doesn’t sound pretty at all, not like a girl’s name.” The princess was displeased.
“Felin’s for
when I’m a boy. You can call me Feliona for now, is that alright?” Felin
quickly spoke up. Half a loaf is better than none and she knew she had no hope
of getting the whole loaf, anyway.
“Feliona?”
The princess clapped her hands together in glee. “Great…Feliona Gredevel. And
I’ll make her the Princess of Demos. I’ve never had a Princess-of-Demos doll
before. Perfect! Feliona it is, then!”
“Well, glad
we could agree on that.”
Felin
muttered wearily. Tons of dolls were scattered around the Princess’s room, each
and every boring the marks of profound hardship during their time of service. Some
looked extremely old indeed. Many were shelved, but as many were simply tossed
on the floor.
Most of the
‘dolls’ were actually good-looking prisoners who were brought in and selected
by the Princess. After being chosen, the ‘doll’ must serve to relief the
Princess’s boredom
until she was fed up with him and chuck him away, then he would be allowed to
return to laboring. However, unfortunately so, all of the dolls were thoroughly
incapable of anymore of that by the time the Princess finally released them.
And that is why nobody ever wanted to be one of Princess Berita’s dolls.
Yes…she is
the first volunteer.
It’s a fact
she had learned along with the rules and doll etiquette which the Princess’s nurse
lectured her for two hours before sending her here to meet the Princess.
If she had
known that Kalo wasn’t here…
“Honestly, princess,
don’t you have any other fun stuff to do apart from playing dolls?”
Felin sighed
wearily. She felt somewhat fed up but she still couldn’t figure out how to
escape.
“Fun
stuff…?” The Princess repeated. She contemplated it for a moment, then giggled delightedly.
“Three
people will duel in the Grand Shields today!”
Felin froze
and wheeled around.
“Are you
watching?”
The Princess
gave her a small, mischievous smile.
“Actually, I’m
not allowed to because the fight’s quite barbaric, but I sneak in all the time.
Want to join me?”
Felin didn’t
have to think twice.
The Grand
Shields! Their only hope of liberation Redder had mentioned. Maybe it’s still
impossible to triumph for now, but at least a little experience would come in
handy.
Remember:
Know Thine Enemy.
The
stadium in which The Grand Shields was hosted was enormous, even by giant standards, being capable of accommodating
hundreds. It was almost no different from the humans’ coliseum, except for the size. The mouthwatering aroma from a vast variety of foods and
drinks mingled with the fume from some kind of incense. There was also an
effective interior cooling system, specially installed to expel the hot air of the Volcano of Abyss.
The soft
music mingled with laughter and chatter as the crowd filed into their seats. Creatures
of all sorts made up the audience, from giants, humans, dwarves to elves, to
name some. A bizarre sight unseen anywhere else on Earth.
Felin peeped
from inside Berita’s cloak. The princess, who was in disguise, was quietly
tiptoeing up to the top box. Felin noticed that she was smaller than other
giants. By now, people couldn't care less what's going on around them, for the tournament was
about to begin.
The princess
pushed her way to the balustrade and stealthily let Felin out to sit on the
railing.
The VIP
seat.
Felin stifled
a laugh and peered down at the arena, then over to the throne where silver-bearded
Giant King Grezer was sitting. He had a decisive, strong-willed look about him,
which was queerly traced with kindness that felt strangely familiar to Felin.
Then the
horn blared, signaling the beginning of the tournament. Grezer raised his hand
to give the mark and the royal secretary announced.
“The giant:
Bacher the Knight. The human: Moor Aramus, The Great Warrior of Nile.”
An
overwhelming round of applause and cheers welcomed the giant fighter.
“Bacher is
one of the best.” The Princess explained.
“I thought
giants don’t like killing?” said Felin, puzzled.
“No, we
don’t. But the Edenians like it. That’s why Father said we should always practice
whenever we have the chance.”
The
conversation ended with the start of the duel between the bare-handed giant and
the sword-wielding human.
What a
pitiful sight.
Felin felt
weary all over at the sight of the giant, who merely stood there as the great
warrior slashed and swung his sword with all his might, to absolutely no avail.
Maybe it was true that Bacher’s skin was quite thick; not even a single drop of
blood came out of him. Laughter from the crowd was what was flooding the arena.
Now she understood.
This was merely entertainment for the giants.
Felin
growled and chuckled along, then dissolved into a sigh and a shake of her head.
The princess was gone for a moment and came back with a tiny tray of fruits.
So the princess
knew to please others. How adorable.
Felin smiled
as she looked at Berita.
“Thank you, your
highness.” She said and picked up a small piece of banana the Princess had
chopped up for her human mouth.
“It’s almost
over…” The Princess snickered and added. “Edenians love wars, but they’re weak.
If only Lord Evides would take them a little more seriously…”
Just as
Godome had told her last year; if Evides had wanted a war, so what if half of
his powers were stolen? He still had another half, and with that half it was obvious
he can do simply anything he preferred with Eden. Just an army of giants could
easily trample Eden down like a paper town.
The ending
held no surprises for anyone. Bacher tossed the warrior side to side, then threw
him up and down like a basketball. When Moor passed out, Bacher instantly chucked
him out of the arena. The cheers from the audience could never grow louder.
“What
happens to the loser?” Felin began taking notes.
“Prisoners
were sentenced to twenty years of labor, but if you’re defeated in The Grand
Shields, you will be enslaved for the rest of your life, and you cannot
participate in the tournament ever again.”
The princess
explained as she clapped, the resulting noise so loud Felin had to clap her
hands over her ears.
The Grand
Shields didn’t seem at all frightening; it was more like watching a comedy. Only that
she felt sad for the arrogant warriors who stepped on and lost shortly after.
What if it
was her, down there in the arena? How would it turn out?
Felin
grimaced in dismay. She tucked in her thin lips then sighed softly.
Maybe things wouldn’t turn out much different. She might fare a little better with
Earthsplitter, true, but it'd be a tad more reassuring if she could borrow some
power from the wand in Rowen and Arthur’s care. Unfortunately, they
weren’t here.
So how will
she and Kalo get out of here? They’ll have to find another way out. That was
obvious.
Felin
concluded with a sigh. Then she smiled to herself.
Why worry
about something that nothing would come out of worrying?
The
philosophy of life Madus Debereaux had most accurately passed on to his only
son.
The horn
sounded again, followed by the announcement.
“The giant:
Bacher the Knight. The human: Gildor Thane, the Wizard of Snowland.”
Now,
that’s more like it.
Felin
whispered to herself as she shifted for a comfortable pose, crossing her legs
in amusement and forgetting it doesn’t look very nice.
With a rather
large black wand in his hand, the Snowlandian wizard stepped in and began
chanting. Thunder roared and a gale swooshed past, blowing Felin headfirst off
her seat. Fortunately, Princess Berita grabbed her in time.
“Ah…that’s
refreshing.” Came the comment from the audience.
What!? That’s
a gale, not a breeze!
Then, all of
a sudden, Bacher’s foot caught fire.
“AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!”
Bacher cried and jumped on one foot, kicking the scorched foot so
desperately to put the fire out it looked pathetic. But the worst thing is,
when the giant started hopping and thrashing, it became a somewhat violent earthquake
for Gildor, who promptly resumed chanting, ignoring Bacher who was preoccupied
with his burning foot.
A wispy black serpent of smoke and vapor accumulated on the
wizard’s hand, the familiar spell she had once seen Lucas using had Felin’s
eyes gleaming with excitement.
However, before Gildor could unleash his terror, the by now
annoyed Bacher swung his foot backward and kicked at the wizard with enormous
force.
Only once was enough to send the puny human flying straight out
of the stadium. The fire on Bacher’s foot sputtered out, then a giant came
rushing in to report.
“HE’S DEAD!”
The words drew silence from the audience as they stood up calmly
in honor, but Felin bolted right up in shock, her eyes gaping wide.
Dead!
Felin felt as though the walls of her throat had glued together.
She spun around to gape at the Princess then exclaimed accusingly.
“You fight to the death!?”
The Princess pouted a bit.
“Why are you so shocked? Edenians kill each other for more
foolish reasons in wars. But today, it’s their own war. They fight for
themselves. It’s a much more respectable death than by all those nonsense.”
The Princess shrugged.
“Not that we like killing, but to honor our contestants, we have
to take the fight as seriously as they do.” Then the princess who was wise beyond
her years continued.
“Father once told me that life is valuable...that existence is
valuable, but far more important than existing is making your life worthwhile.
That is why our choices are up to us to make, and up to us to accept its consequences.”
Yes, the princess was right, but the truth in her words could not
bank the fear raging inside Felin.
The Grand Shields didn’t anymore seem like child’s play. If you
lose, you’d be imprisoned for the rest of your life…and that’s only if you
still have a life to live once it’s over…
“The giant: Bacher the Knight. The human:
Kalo Wanebli, the Prince of Kanoval.”
******
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