“If breakfast includes you trying to pummel your idea of a solution into my brain, I would like to leave before the food comes,” I announce the moment I take my seat at the table.

“He’s not going to,” Youngjae answers before Woobin could get a word in. “We want to hear your thoughts.”

“Remember what happened last time when I shared my thoughts?” They both ran away, scared.

“We’ll try to be more open-minded,” Youngjae responds.

“What changed?” Why are they acting like this?

“Because you are so stubborn.” Woobin finally gets a chance to speak.

“What exactly did you all hear happened in the recent attack?”

“We heard of explosions that destroyed a part of the town,” Youngjae responds.

“That’s all?” That wasn’t even the most important part.

The two nodded. 

“A warehouse that stores medical supplies in my region was completely wiped clean in the process– you didn’t hear about that?” This time, the two reacted as if it was the first time they heard of it– which just may be the case. “I figured the tournament would possibly get postponed but instead, my father’s Kingdom is under scrutiny and now that I’m thinking about it, this tournament is a bad idea.”

And soon, Woobin catches on to my words. “We’re all in one place.”

Youngjae looked between the both of us. “Come on you two, there’s no way.”

“I hope not,” I answered. With everything quiet, it gives me a bad feeling.

***

“Haewon, are you okay?”

I turned and looked at my father. “Yes, why?”

“You look so tense,” he commented as he patted my shoulders. “Everything will be okay– just like yesterday.”

I nodded my head. “Yes, of course.” Trying my best to sound convincing. 

Soon the second day of the tournament gets underway and I would be reminded of my nervousness each time the screen above the arena would start its usual random selection. 

“I can’t watch.” I dropped my head into my hands.

“You might want to.”

Hearing my father’s words, I peered up at the screen. “Yongguk.”

I watched both entrances within the arena and immediately found him walking out. His face refused to reveal how he was feeling but as I eyed his opponent for this round, his face obviously gave away how nervous he was to have been forced to go up against Yongguk.

“Mister.” I looked behind me. “How would this round go?” 

“It should end quite quickly, Princess,” Bronze responds without hesitation.

I turned back as soon as the horn sounds off. The round began and anyone could tell the drastic difference between the two Knights’ skills. Yongguk’s strength was immeasurable. Even when the Knight shifted, Yongguk, in his human form, was still no easy target for him. Out of the many hits he threw, only one managed to get Yongguk across his cheek. In response, Yongguk leapt into the air and with his hand clenched into a fist, he came down with such a force on the Knight’s back that made the earth sink beneath his feet before collapsing onto the ground.

Tired from his exertion, the opponent involuntarily returned to his human form. 

“He won,” I announced in relief.

“There were never any doubts, Princess,” Bronze responds while I smile up at him.

I stared up at the screen– with less Knights today, there was a larger chance of my Knights getting picked quickly. When the screen froze, I breathed out when it wasn’t any of the faces I have grew to care for.

“Father, has any of the Kings spoken to you again?” 

“No, they are more worried about the tournament,” my father answered. “And we have your Knights to thank.” 

“They have worked very hard.”

“I know,” he agreed. My eyes began their wandering and a while later, I felt a nudge beside me as my father pointed up at the screen. “Phoenix is up.”

My eyes moved towards the person making his way to the center of the floor. His walk today held more confidence and… excitement? “Daehyun is the type to fall in love with this kind of thing,” I muttered and my words drew chuckles from my father. “Now, what about him?” I questioned Bronze once more.

“He worries me.”

I nodded. “Me too.”

But, as the round finished we were proven wrong. Without trouble, Daehyun finished strongly. He reminded me of Yongguk– when they’re both on the field, they had this air of such strength and it wasn’t just a façade, they were to be feared.

I joined the applause that rumbled throughout the coliseum. And if I wasn’t mistaken– the applause was much stronger today.

There were another few rounds following Daehyun’s and I just had a good feeling that it would be this round that–, 

“It’s Sterling’s turn,” my father announced, excited about the upcoming round. 

As the horn blares, Jongup instinctively shifts. The opponent’s eyes trailed up Jongup’s huge stature before sliding backwards, moving away from the Werewolf’s wide swing of his arm. Not allowing the Knight to rest for a minute longer, Jongup charged forward. The sudden speed took the opponent by surprise as his torso was introduced to an abrupt might, causing him to fly backwards, landing on his back.

I forced myself to watch on–, 

The movement coming from behind me stole my attention. I turned my head around and found the Knights looking from side to side.

“What is it?” My father also takes notice. 

The Knights looked between themselves, silently confirming something. “We heard someone say…,” Bronze looks back at Jongup in the arena and the Werewolf’s sudden muscle stiffness was a cause of alarm.

“Sterling heard it.”

“Heard what?” I asked Bronze, now more worried by their behavior.

“Someone said, ‘failure will not be tolerated’.”

Horrified, I whipped my head back before standing to my feet. Jongup gave into the strong emotion that rapidly overtook him. Simultaneously, he attempted to control himself but that left him vulnerable to his opponents attack. With each punch and kick landing perfectly on Jongup, my Knight crashed to the ground. The opponent then slams down on Jongup’s chest with his foot. The snarl of pain that left through his mouth startled me. Fighting through the pain, Jongup snapped his hand aside, pushing against the Knight to get away from him. He avoids the next assault while his charge towards the Knight become predictably more violent. The crowds respond to the unexpected switch in his behavior.

My hand gripped the railing that separated the arena from the observation area. This wasn’t supposed to happen. “Stop.” My voice gets stuck in my throat.

“Haewon,” my father calls out.

“Sterling!” I shouted and in that moment, I didn’t care about the looks I may be receiving. Yet, Jongup made no movements to listen to me. “Stop it!”

The longer it was taking to stop him, the more injuries he was receiving but he made no attempts to halt in his actions. As if the pain didn’t affect him in the least.

“What is with him?”

I heard his opponent mumble before avoiding Jongup once more.

“Jongup! That’s enough!” 

My shriek resonated throughout the coliseum all thanks to the silence the crowd was exhibiting. Thankfully, he heard his name clearly and froze in his movements. From where I stood, I witness his body shaking to control. This time, he reached equilibrium faster than the last and he returned to his human form. Unsteadily, he tried to regain balance and my heart jumped in my chest when he fell backwards. His body exhausted from the immense exertion and as it succumbed to the injuries.

The horn sounded off and the opponent is named the winner. 

My eyes remained on Jongup and I watched his chest rise with each heave of breath.

“How did something like that happen?” I asked in disbelief. 

The Knights are kept on edge, trying their best to figure out who is the cause. The Knights couldn’t have said it– they knew better. I could feel my whole body pulse from witnessing the terrible sight and I staggered backwards into my seat.

“Father–," I didn’t even know how to finish what I wanted to say. 

“It’s okay, Haewon. Hero is already on his way to provide treatment for Sterling.” 

The air in the coliseum turns uncomfortable due to the fight that just happened but there are always a few people who only grow more excited and that mentality soon overtakes the crowd and they quickly forget the incident just as another round begins. 

The following 20 minutes, I was absent-minded. Unable to relax– at least not until I had a chance to check up on Jongup. The Knights have said he was getting better so how could he so easily give into this specific episode?

I turned my head and scanned the crowd– who said it?

“Haewon, it’s Solar’s turn,” my father noticed my behavior and notified me gently.

I blinked back from my thoughts and looked up at the screen. “What is going on?” It wasn’t the picture of Himchan I was staring at, it was his opponent that called for my focus.

“What is it, Haewon?”

I pointed at that photo. “Father, you don’t recognize him?” How could I have missed him? How did I not notice him participating? My father had yet to understand my reaction while I soon shifted my eyes down into the arena. My eyes first found Himchan’s opponent for this round–, “What is going on?” I repeated, my voice rising to demonstrate how close I was to losing my mind. That uniform–, “He’s Prince Kangjun’s Knight.” 

“Well, this is going to be one difficult round for Solar,” my father knowingly responds.

The royals chatter amongst themselves, catching onto the situation. 

“But, who is the opponent?” my father asked.

“Soohyuk– he asked for honor from me.”

That fact jogs my father’s memory and the situation sinks in. I keep my eyes on Himchan who is trying his best to not let the problem get to him. But, that uniform was something Himchan only took off a few weeks ago. 

***

“And it gets worse.” Daehyun heaved a sigh. It hasn’t been that long to forget that Werewolf, and the uniform he was sporting couldn’t possibly just coincidentally resemble Himchan’s previous one.

Yongguk stared on from the side, his mind focused on the situation with Jongup.

“Why are Lone Werewolves chosen as Knights to begin with? How uncivilized.” The gossip that followed after Jongup’s round still hasn’t ceased and getting sick of it, Daehyun snapped his head around.

“Why don’t you shut the hell up already?” 

The Knights gaped at his words. “Continue proving us right.” 

“Don’t worry, I’ll show you out there,” Daehyun shoots back before focusing on the arena once more. “He’ll manage, right?”

Yongguk calmly looks after Himchan–, “We’ll see.”

Himchan’s eyes refused to look away from the uniform. 

“Solar, was it?” Soohyuk questions and Himchan nods. “So, you’re the one that got picked over me?” They’ve seen each other before at Princess Haewon’s castle.

Himchan shifted his eyes up to meet Soohyuk’s.

“Princess Haewon chose to give you honor,” Soohyuk added.

Himchan swallowed a lump in his throat– he needed to calm down.

“You’re not much of a talker, huh?” Soohyuk responds light-heartedly. “I’m looking forward to fighting you.”

As soon as those words finished leaving his lips, the usual horn signals the start of the round. Before any other movements were made, Himchan made sure to increase the space between the two. 

“You like keeping distance– I noticed from your first fight.”

Himchan looked up upon hearing his words. He wondered if his opponent could tell how unsettled he was. “Why are you being so casual?”

Soohyuk is slightly taken aback at the unexpected question. “I’m confident.”

Distracted by the simple reason, Himchan didn’t have time to avoid Soohyuk’s charge. Spinning on his heels, Soohyuk brings his leg up and contacts the side of Himchan’s face. The strength behind the kick sends the Knight flying a few feet away. Before he could recover, Soohyuk jumps into the air and pulls back his arm. Narrowly escaping, Himchan moves to the side and his opponent’s punch contacts the ground instead to produce a low rumble.