Bloodlines of Archaea I. Afira
New Rolls

I awoke to the familiar sound of waves crashing against my ancient home, but my awakening was accompanied by an unfamiliar feeling as well; relief. Instead of waking up with a pain in my back or a crick in my neck, the soft feathered bed kept me balanced and at ease for the entire night, giving me a much-needed chance for slumber. I was clean and had changed my clothes for the first time since we had left. I felt like a new person, someone worthy of the ruling, although maybe someone who never could. I knew that it was my duty to rule this island and its inhabitants, but yet even after everything that had happened, I still felt I could never lead. Akuma walked into the room, interrupting my thoughts. He too had washed up and he too seemed different. It was as though we were finally beginning to fit into the roles given to us with birth and blood, but just barely. “My Queen,” he said, bowing as I got up from my bed. I still wore the valuable stolen jewel, even through sleep, as I was paranoid to leave it, even for a moment. The power still flowed through it, bonding us together, as if we had never been apart.

I rolled my eyes. “Royal Protector,” I responded. “Are thou ready for our first day of training?” I asked, my plain voice filled with exaggerated regality.

He chuckled. “Once Sleeping beauty has awakened from her slumber, training will begin,” he said, waiting politely by the door for me to change, as I now had to please the people with my look.

I pulled on a flaming top which still showed my midriff but seemed the most royal of my clothes. I also wore a skirt the color of island sand which had a flaming cloth tied around. I glanced at the obsidian crown which sat on the desk, now dusty with age and time. I picked it up, looking at myself through the dust-ridden volcanic glass. I realized that I had several bloody scratches on my face as well, which I had gotten on our journey. I ignored this and glanced over at the cloak which also sat where I had lied it the night before, next to where the crown sat dormant. I looked back and forth between the two, unsure of which to bring until eventually, I put the crown down back onto the dresser and tied the string of the crimson red cloak around my neck once more before meeting back with Akuma, where we would walk to the beach together and train for battle with the other heroes of ancient songs, hoping to succeed in a task which killed many gods.

“You’re still wearing your cloak today?” he asked, surprised.

I nodded, but unsure of an excuse to make for my decision, I said the first thing I could think of, “yeah, it was handy, I figured it would be nice for training.”

“Sure, but it’s not very queen-like,” he said, beginning to walk onto the beach, but watching whether I had followed.

I nodded, “I don’t exactly feel like a queen today, even though I’m no longer a child, I most certainly am not a queen.”

“I know how you feel. Maktu wanted me to wear all of the armor for the royal guard today, maybe one day, just not today. I don’t feel like I deserve it.”

“Why’s that?”

“I never really did my job. You were always saving me, I mean, I almost had to sit there and watch myself kill you.”

“That would never happen, they can send an army after me, but they won’t get anything back.”

He nodded, “I think we should decide who we are before settling into our given roles.”

“Agreed,” I said, and there was nothing left to say for quite a while as we were lost in our thoughts and expectations.

Eventually, Akuma changed the subject. “Do you know all we have to do today?” he asked.

I nodded, “yep, I made a list,” I answered, pulling out a piece of papyrus which sat in the pocket of my cloak. I read it aloud, “first thing in the morning, training with Tao until we eat and the sun is highest. Then we have a lesson about the history of the war with Maktu for three hours. After that, we go back with Tao and explain what we know about the Shadow Creatures with the rest of the Heros,” I said, taking a pause for breath and then beginning again. “After that, we have dinner with some of the people who ran the island while we were away, to explain to them where we were, what we were doing, and that we will be taking the power once more. Then-” I groaned, unhappy at the last item on the list, “then we have court and trial, for the first time as ‘queen and protector/advisor,’ ready?”

He moaned at the long list of things we had to do. “I’m starting to wish we were still rowing that boat,” he said.

I smiled. “On the bright side, after all that, we have a few hours to do whatever we want,” I said soothingly.

“Yeah, if I don’t die of boredom first,” he answered. I laughed, picking up my pace and walking faster down to the beach for military training, an excitement building in my blood to see Tao once more.