To Be a Hero

This story is shorter than I wanted it to be, but I was swamped this week and didn’t end up finishing it, so it’s on a bit of a cliffhanger. Perhaps I’ll finish it in the future and edit the story later, I just needed to get the submission in before the contest ended.

Pronunciation:

Vrusite: VROO-cite

Arithibra: are-i-THEE-bra

Aoi: ay-OI

Ere Yui e Ur: AIR YOO-eye ay ER

I always knew it would happen, I just didn’t know what I’d do when it came. I wasn’t one for big adventures, not the way my brother was.

Ariel Victoria, the eldest son of Robert Victoria III, is 4 years older than I. He’s arrogant and just generally unpleasant to be around. When he was born, the midwife told our mother that it was a beautiful baby girl. That’s because she wrapped a blanket around the screaming little boy before she got a good look at his lower half. My mother had two names saved: Adrian if it was a boy, Ariel if it was a girl. So, he was named Ariel. It wasn’t until he shit himself for the first time that my mother realized she was holding a male being. But the birth certificate was already finalized. So, 4 years later, my mother made sure to check my genitals herself. A girl she named Adrian.

My mother, the Queen Esther of Vrusite, married into the family from a “less fortunate” kingdom, as my father put it. Their marriage was for financial gain, as most marriages are. My mother is a strong woman, the only person on this Earth that Father is afraid of. And the only person I fear more than my father. Esther Victoria is considered the most beautiful woman to lead a country. Her dark, rich curls that frame her face spill down her shoulders when not strangled up into some ridiculous hairstyle. Her eyes, however, are the brightest green you’ve ever seen. To compare them to emeralds would be an understatement. They’re deep and full of life, lime when she smiles and murky when she frowns. Ariel gets his looks from our mother, but I’ve decided his eyes aren’t nearly as lively.

I, however, resemble my tyrant father. Our shocking red hair, straight as a board, is nothing more than a nuisance as it falls into my eyes when I’m focused. My father’s eyes are deep blue and flat, void of any emotion. But Mother has told me that our eyes light up with fury, most often in all the wrong moments. I take after my father more than I’d like to admit. Our temper is short and often untamable. Our skin is light and too easy to burn in the sun. My father is a leader that’s meant to be stored with the villains of our history books. The only thing that keeps us afloat is my mother.

Ariel is meant to rule after Father. I am most likely going to marry off to another family, like Mother. I despise the idea. I’ve seen how awful and loveless my parents’ relationship is. So I’ve trained for combat with the hope that I’ll die in battle before I’m forced to marry someone like my father or brother. But I never imagined things would end up this way.

It began on the third day of the third month. The air was cold and bitter when I woke up that morning, my window still open. I kept it open all year long which kept my chambers cold through the night. I couldn’t sleep when it was hot; it felt like dying. I took that first deep breath of morning air, filling my lungs with the freshly turned soils of the garden, the previous night’s residual rain, and hints of breakfast wafting up from the kitchen windows. I smiled like I always did on mornings like this.

My brother was sitting at the dining table, glaring down at his breakfast as if trying to set it ablaze. He was dressed as if winter was in full swing and he was out in a snowstorm. I laughed at it, warranting a fiery look from him. I plopped down across from him.

“Plan on traveling to the Tundra?”

“It’s freezing,” Ariel responded with a slight shiver. “I don’t understand how you function in this horrendous weather.”

I plucked a grape off his plate and popped it into my mouth. “You’re overreacting. It’s not that cold.”

“I woke up this morning with blue toes!”

“Aren’t they always?” I laughed at my own joke, stealing another grape. “You’re perfectly fine. Just get a fire set up somewhere and sulk there.”

Ariel grumbled, crossing his arms. “I don’t not sulk.”

I looked him up and down. “Uh-huh. Sure.” I stood, straightening my clothes. “Well, it’s perfect conditions for training, if you want to join me.” Already knowing his answer and not bothering to wait for it, I walked out, my destination the training grounds.

My family never exactly liked the idea of me training to be a knight. I was a woman, after all. But that didn’t stop me from spending hours on the training grounds day after day, quickly becoming the strongest asset our kingdom had. Much to my father’s dismay, I was appointed General, which only pushed me to train even harder. Soon enough, I myself was a weapon. This is where our story truly begins.

On my way out, I passed my father’s study. The door was locked and I could hear arguing behind it. Naturally, I pressed my ear against the door and listened.

“Hundreds, dead! We must do something about this, Your Majesty!” I recognized the voice of Father’s advisor, William Burroughs. He wasn’t the sharpest blade in the cavalry, but he was good enough for Father.

“With all due respect, Highness, he’s right.” Admiral Heinrich, Father’s childhood friend and my greatest enemy. He was meant to assume position and General, but I quickly surpassed his abilities. He never liked me after that.

“I’m sure he is, James.” Just from his voice, I could tell my Father’s health was steadily declining. It was raspy and hoarse, the result of his constant coughing. I felt my heart sink slightly. Father may not be my favorite, but he’s still family.

“Send me, Your Highness.”

“No, James, I don’t think I will.” I heard silence accompanied by the muffled shuffling of parchment. “This is far too dangerous for you to handle.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You are Admiral for a reason. I’m sending Adrian. She can handle this.”

“This kingdom has been dealing with this… monster for hundreds of years! And you’re going to send a child?!” I winced. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I was nothing more than a child.

“The only reason no one has taken down Arithibra is because they are too afraid. They think over every possibility, no matter how unreasonable. Adrian jumps headfirst into every problem she faces. I believe she is capable of taking Arithibra down.”

I stepped away from the door, my heart pounding in my chest. Arithibra was the dragon that had been terrorizing our villages for generations. My father wanted to send me to slay it. My feet moving on their own, I continued down to the grounds. I felt as if I were floating along and none of this was real. But it was. It was very, very real.

“Adrian.”

I didn’t turn to the voice. I continued to parry the air, sweating from my constant exertion. I’d been out for 3 hours, the air burning my lungs.

“Adrian, look at me.”

I grit my teeth. He could call me as long as he wanted, I wasn’t going to turn around.

“Goddammit. Look at me!” Father grabbed me by the shoulder, turning me to face him. I dropped my sword, panting, and glared at him.

“I won’t do it.”

“The kingdom needs you, Adrian.”

“I don’t care.” I pulled myself out of his grasp, tears stinging my eyes. “I… I can’t do it.”

“If I didn’t think you could do it, I wouldn’t send you.” For the first time, I thought I saw his expression begin to soften. “You’re stronger than you take credit for. You are a Victoria, after all.” And just as quickly as I’d seen a crack in his facade, he hardened again, straightening his square, commanding shoulders. “You have three days.” With that, he left me standing in the grass, staring after him.

I cried that night, though I refused to admit later. I began day 1 waking up late, my face puffy and my eyes red. By the time I made it to the dining room, Ariel and my mother had already eaten. Father didn’t eat. Not in the mornings, anyway. I couldn’t eat. I didn’t know if I was going to throw up or pass out. Eventually, I gave up and left, moving to the library instead.

Our library was beyond massive. Shelves towered high, lining the long corridors of the maze-like room. It was easy to get lost, unless you’d grown up in these shelves, charting every section and genre, author and volume. At the very middle of the library was a cozy living space. Plush armchairs, a fireplace (which should be considered dangerous in the middle of a library,) and side tables with which to rest one’s meal or drink. I twisted my way through, searching for our section on strange and unusual beasts. Arithibra had been around so long, there was an entire book on her. I’d glanced over it before, but I didn’t think I’d need it.

The tome was leather dyed red, engraved with gold imprints. The characters on the cover were those of our old language, reading “Mother Dragon of Death”. I pulled it off the shelf and carried it over to an armchair. I plopped down, rested the book on my lap, and flipped open to the very first legible paragraph.

The Mother Dragon of Death is a fearsome creature known to bring about the end of life. Legends say that she resides deep within the bowels of the earth, guarding the gateway between the living and the dead. It is said that those who dare to venture into her lair never return. Some believe that she is a force of nature, a balance to life's abundance, while others see her as a cruel and violent deity. Either way, the Mother Dragon of Death holds a place of reverence and fear in many hearts.

I barely heard the footsteps approaching my safe spot as I was staring blankly at the passage in front of me. I started when someone’s hand laid on my shoulder, and I looked up to find Ariel standing beside me. He was reading the book on my lap and I watched as his eyes darted back and forth along the page. After a moment of silence, he sighed.

“I heard.”

“Heard what?”

“The decision they made.” He moved to sit in the chair across from me. “I don’t envy you.”

I laughed dryly. “Thanks, that makes me feel so confident.”

“What I mean to say is…” He paused. I looked over at him and noticed a shift in his emotion. “What I mean to say is be careful. We need you.” Ariel looked at me. “I hate to say it… but I need you.”

His words caught me by surprise. I stared at him for a while before scoffing, looking away. “So, you’re only nice to me once you think I’m going to die?”

“No!” Ariel’s voice sounded panicked. “No, Adrian, that’s not what I mean at all. Please, I…” We sat in silence for an uncomfortably long time before he stood suddenly. “Just don’t die.” He left without another word and I watched him leave.

I wasn’t scared until then. Until the words I heard my brother speak. He really was afraid for my life, more than I was. The following days went by agonizingly slow. By the third day, I was almost glad to be gone. I was barely even acknowledged that morning, as if people were trying to stay away from me, hoping to distance themselves from me before I died. The last conversation I had was as I was steering Felix away from the stable when my father walked up to me. I looked down at him, Felix stomping impatiently from our sudden stop.

“And so the time has come.”

I nodded, swallowing down the lump in my throat. “Indeed it has.” We stared at each other for a moment, completely silent, before my father spoke.

“I’m proud of you, Adrian.”