Princess Shyra's life has only extended till planet Ziya and she doesn't know how to look beyond helping her people. As far as she's concerned, she's being trained to rule her entire life, and it's the only goal she's ever known.
Cue the handsome pr...
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"The Games," an anchor announced over amplifiers, "has been an integral part of our festivities for years now. They were first introduced as a way of testing our best kshatriyas for combat, and have evolved to test kshatriyas from across planets as well."
The anchor paused for dramatic effect, and, once he got cheers from the crowd, he smiled and continued. "There have been many a debate on whether these Games need to have further incentive and be more competitive than its present level,"
Shyra frowned and glanced around her. What's going on? This was never part of the speech.
"And so," he announced jovially, "this year there's been a slight change in the way the Games are played."
Everyone on the ground raised their eyebrows at each other as the audience broke into conversation immediately. The anchor waited for the murmurs to die, then cleared his throat and spoke again.
"I know that such a change hasn't been implemented for decades, and the last time a major change was done was to include variety in the events. As we all know, that decision led to a larger diversity in talents displayed, so I hope that this change will improve our structure of awarding the title of the greatest kshatriya from now on."
Shyra leaned forward slightly and bounced on her feet. What was this change going to be? How would it affect everyone's chances of winning the Games? Was it something that was going to work in her favor, or against it?
A white screen appeared in front of them, taking up a huge portion of the end of the Arena. On it appeared a list of names, pictures, and facts listed down scientifically. Everyone gasped and pointed at the list, and Shyra's confusion grew with the passing second. Was that... the competitors on the screen?
"As you can see, this screen has listed all of our competitors, and matched all of them in teams of two."
Now that he mentioned it, Shyra couldn't unsee the competitor matched next to her.
"These are the teams for the first round of the Games. These teams would compete with each other for a round, and based on their performance a few competitors would be eliminated. But then... that's when the real fun starts," he said with a mischievous hint in his voice.
"The current teammates will be shuffled up, and new teams will be formed at every consecutive round. So by the end of all the rounds, each competitor will have played with and against each other. The final round will be a face-off between the last two competitors. The winner will be sent back with the highest honors and all the perks that come with winning the Games."
The audience took a collective breath and held it, waiting for the competitors' reactions. The kshatriyas in the Arena looked around them, scuffed their feet on the grass, and pondered the sudden change. But they all knew that the only option they really had was to participate in the current Games or give up and go home.
