Rewritten
***

Cyra stood at the drawbridge of the castle. It was time to see Jae off.

"Cyra, I'm going to miss you," he said before stepping off the castle's property line.

She just nodded, as if she were scared to say the same thing back to him. "Fail and I will be disappointed."

"I miss you already," he mused, stretching out the final syllable. Jae pulled on his toothy grin when his sister rolled her eyes. He gasped dramatically. "You already miss me too? Oh my, what a pleasant experience--"

She smacked him with the back of her fist. Her knuckles dug into the skin of his face, but not hard enough to cause pain.

He gave her his signature toothy grin again and set off on his dangerous journey. He hopped onto his royal steed from the Equo family of horses and rode off into the distance.

The Equo horses were a breed of steed much stronger, faster, and efficient compared to regular horses. But, they looked just like any other horse, perfect to avoid unnecessary attention.

In the evening glow, the wind pushed Cyra's hair in all sorts of directions which annoyed her, but she remained standing until she could no longer see him. She spat out the strands that ended up in her mouth and debated whether she should cut her hair short.

She remained standing until she could only see the sunset in his wake.

Then she turned around and walked into her castle...

Before heading to the dining room to eat, she overlooked the preparations for the competition. The competition that would save her continent.

Forty-nine of her Equitum were sent out into the continent to bring back a Champion that would compete. Some of the forty-nine were backed up by powerful people in her kingdom. Some were Lords of the towns or Dukes of the regions.

There were to be fifty Champions, and each of them must pass a certain test to become a participant in the competition.

It was an obstacle course. At least that's what Keir told her. He'd been in charge of dealing with the Equitum and recruiting Champions to take part in the competition.

The competition would test wit, strength, and adaptation. And magic. It was the perfect way to gather new knights for the Equitum, entertain the continent, all while saving that very continent.

Over a thousand years ago, a large group of Destroyers from Trioselle, an island just off the coast, cursed Carralliz with a terrible fate. And the competition was a way to gather enough magic and sacrifices to keep the curse at bay.

That was everything the citizens knew, but there was a lot more to the story.

Ever since then, every twenty-five years there would be a competition. Each of the participating Champions gained heaps of respect and honour. Out of the fifty Champions, twenty-five would be sacrificed, and only one would emerge victoriously.

So, naturally, everyone on the continent at a healthy age wanted to participate in the competition. People would start riots and parades for the strongest one in their village to compete in the even. The states had their own competition to decide who would represent them.

Village elders and others would bribe fortune tellers to tell the village that a certain individual would win the competition.

So the first thing the queen did was silence the fortune tellers to make sure they wouldn't choose the wrong Champions like they did last time.

All to keep a competition of death fair.

Two years ago, Amara, Keir, and Jae had battled for over six hours to get the title of Champion. Keir was the first to fall and Amara remained the last one standing. Jae had gotten distracted by a bunny passing by and lost the fight trying to protect it from falling debris.

He never said anything about the rabbit when Amara won though. He could have easily taken her spot, but he didn't. Then again, he did participate in the previous competition over twenty-four years ago when he was only twelve. He might have let Amara become the Champion of Losej, the first state of Carralliz, and the state where her castle stood strong.

He could have taken the title of "Champion of Losej" for himself. He could have beaten her even after saving the bunny, but he didn't.

Cyra had been meaning to ask her brother why, but never got the chance.

Only forty-nine Champions left to find, and they would be found in two weeks.

The excitement rumbled through her bones, unbeknownst to all the servants around her. Cyra would never admit she was having fun setting up the castle for the competition, and it was her first time experiencing the competition.

She would host a competition that they would speak of it for decades to come.

"Your Majesty, where would you like me to place the weapons?" said an apprentice Equitum. The queen had seen him running from place to place with weapons in his hands.

And now she could see the scars on his arms.

"Place it in the training room's second arsenal."

The apprentice bowed and ran. He tripped over his shoelace and before Cyra could stop herself, she'd already grabbed the boy, his face inches away from the floor.

The servants around looked at her with mouths agape. Such an act of kindness she'd just done.

Kindness, a part of her old nature, was no longer needed in her role as the Cruel Queen.

But old habits die hard.

"Shoo," she said to the boy, a frown developing on her face. "Don't fall again and slow down our work."

Servants, apprentice knights and Equitum, butlers, designers, cleaners, and other workers came to her one by one, asking her opinion on various topics.

Though a frown remained on her face from the start to the end, butterflies swam in her stomach. A giddy feeling took over her mood as she finished her work and entered the dining room.

Amara and Keir were chatting but stopped when Cyra entered. They did not stand or bow. They only waited for her to take her seat, but she never did.

"Will Jae be fine?" he asked.

Amara rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath. "Obviously. Jae is a grown man, older than all of us."

Cyra cleared her throat. "Technically, Jae is twenty-five. He is an immortal, so his brain cannot further develop just like his body. He'll always be twenty-five, so calling him old would be calling yourself even older. Are you not twenty-six, Amara?"

Amara clicked her tongue and crossed her arms. "At least I'm not thirty-something like he is."

"But did you send him off properly, Cyra?" asked Keir, skepticism in his tone. He probably suspected that Cyra hit her brother before sending him off. "Did you do something, bad? You look awfully sullen."

She did smack Jae, but she wouldn' tell Keir that. She couldn't let him win, couldn't let him know he was right to suspect her.

"I sent Jae off properly, there is no need to worry. He will be fine," she said, convincing herself more than Keir. "He's good at sneaking around and spying."

"Cyra," said Amara, fidgeting with her fork, going against basic table etiquette. "Just allow me to make fun of how old Jae is, okay? It's fun calling him an old man."

"Very well," Cyra said, though she did not like calling Jae an old man. He would always remain twenty-five in his head and his body. In three years, she would become older than him, and the thought did not sit well with her. So if he was an old man, Cyra would become an old woman faster than anyone else. And she liked the idea of staying young.

Keir wriggled in his seat. "I know Amara is going to be the Champion of Losej, but Sherwood asked me if he could recruit two more people from Losej. He says he's found some really strong twins and wants them as his Champions."

Cyra spun the idea around in her head. "If we allow Sherwood to recruit these twins, which states will not be able to send a Champion?"

"Akef and Thetery."

Those states were on the outskirts of Carralliz, and the least trained in magic. Every Champion they've sent went home in a coffin.

"Allow him."

Keir smiled. "I'll send a carrier pigeon to Dekos and Wods and tell them to come back." He left the room to call the Equitum of Akey and Thetery back to their home. They would no longer be able to sponsor a Champion, but...the queen's wishes trump all others.

"Cyra, when are you going to sit? You standing up is making me anxious."

Cyra rolled her eyes before sitting at the head of the table, her fingers tapping the wooden table. "I'm--" worried.

But she couldn't tell Amara. As the queen, worrying was a vulnerability, and besides, Amara already had enough on her plate.

—————

The next morning, Cyra awoke to a new event.

"Your Majesty, five Champions have arrived," a servant said after knocking on the queen's door.

"Tell them to meet in the throne room," she replied, her voice vibrating with grogginess. She had just woken up—and half the day had already gone by according to the shadow of her sundial.

"Anything else, Your Majesty?"

Cyra's crashed into her pillow. "Set up five extra plates for dinner. We'll all dine together."

"In the guest dining room?"

"Obviously."

Cyra didn't see the servant flinch at her tone. She didn't have to.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The servant scurried off, determined to get her job done before the Cruel Queen could get another chance to snap at her.

Cyra groaned into her pillow, not wanting to start her day of work.

She got ready, wincing at every strand of hair she pulled out of her head with her brush.

Ever since she'd become queen, she dressed herself up. She never let any court lady touch her, bathe her, dress her, or pamper her.

Because all of those things were luxuries a murderer shouldn't have.

***
Thank you for taking the time to read "The Cruel Queen." Don't forget to vote (only if you liked the chapter) and add this book to a library or public reading list to be notified when I update.

Word Count: 1727