Trapped - Can I Escape The Cliché?

Egotistic

Long rows filled with people encircled a huge ground. The structure reminded me of the Colosseum of Rome but owing to the dome shape the audience accommodated was far less but they were spared from sun's heat which burned and glistened the low centre area. I followed Alex as I gazed at the chatty crowd; they were probably soldiers, all of them were well built and some even had swords and spears.

Alex beckoned a man and after talking something which was inaudible to me,
we turned inwards and moving up the stairs reached a separate area with no people. It was a balcony with chairs and a table, providing the full view of everything around.

"Have a seat," he said taking out the chair for me, "we will have to wait till the match is over."

I wanted to enquire about Arthur but I was interrupted.

"The match will now begin," a loud voice declared followed by sounds of drums. Then all sounds ceased, even the crowd consisting of savage warriors was hushed. Rusty chains rattled and I saw a metal gate which led to the centre field rise up, a humongous white werewolf came out in a flash and pounced on another huge black werewolf which came from the opposite direction. The other moved swiftly defending itself, for a moment I saw him moving its head upwards as if it was looking at us.

"Who are they?" I asked to my company which was unlike me absorbed in the spectacle before them.

"You don't know?" Alex questioned with apparent suprise.

"I wouldn't have asked if I did."

I looked towards Beatrice for the answer but her gaze was intensely fixed on the fighting beasts.

"It's the king and my Alpha or you can say your friend's mate," said Alex with his same usual constantly reappearing smile, "I thought that you would recognize them."

I had seen Beatrice's mate back then but I really didn't remember how he looked. Was he the reason of Beatrice's unusual behaviour? Probably some effect of mate bond.

"Why are they fighting?" I asked. I mean, I kind of questioned his strength yesterday but did his fragile ego crush so much that he wanted me to watch him brawl to prove his strength.

"Such matches are usually held to motivate the soldiers. Soldiers themselves fight in there to test their abilities. The war is coming and this reinforces the belief towards the king's leadership," he answered without diminishing his eye contact with the ground, half invested towards the match.

The two of them were still fighting; though it seemed as if they would kill each other, not a single drop of blood had yet touched the ground. I am not the kind of person who enjoys meaningless violence and yet I knew this duel wasn't that useless. Reality is different from fiction, I wonder why I liked reading about wolves fighting for apparently no reason at all.

In the intensity of ferocity Arthur's long claws swept against his opponent's forearm and a gush of crimson blood splattered on the ground, I averted my eyes from the bloodshed and saw Beatrice flinch and looking concerned. The black wolf still didn't give up and once again jumped upon the other but he dodged and dragged him to the ground.

The brutality suddenly stopped when a sound of drums buzzed again. They both turned and walked back.

"Who won?" I asked confused by the sudden end.

"The king, who else could have won. The match would have been a matter of seconds if they were allowed to use their claws and canines. The time duration for the match was over so they stopped."

I didn't dwell on the stupid fight further and asked if we could go and meet.

"We don't have to go, both of them must be on their way here," he told getting up.

"Why both of them? Didn't he get hurt," I asked moving forward towards the stairs.

"I am leaving," Beatrice speaks quietly and hastily move pasts us running down the stairs.

"Even when hurt, he will probably come to take a glance of his mate," said Alex.

"Did they not end on an amiable note?" The way she hurried away seemed like she was not even ready to spare him a single glance.

"Murder threats comprised of the last words they spoke to each other."

"So why is he keen to see her?" Beatrice never mentioned any of this to me.

"His anger has dissipated already and the mate bond must affecting him. He came this morning, being his friend he poured his heart out to me."

"But why did they quarrel?"

"When I came back without any particular knowledge of your condition in the palace, your friend got enraged and blamed him for being irresponsible."

I was too engrossed in the new found knowledge that I didn't notice my surroundings. When suddenly Alex got quiet and bowed down, I turned and found Arthur standing behind me.

"What were you talking about?"

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