Creative Writing Volume 2 Issue 1 August-September 2022
Avalon
An original story by Essence Smith
There once was a land named Avalon which was created by a single girl and her comrades, Carmen, Arin, and Reina. They had built their own country to escape the tyranny and unfairness of their homeland. Their life was peaceful. They built a town that soon turned into a city, that then evolved into a nation. That was the creation of Avalon.
They were having the time of their life until a girl named Kaliope and her brother Ezara had come to this nation and decided to make a grand entrance by causing chaos and starting conflict. They built walls inside of the nation and claimed that any territory inside the walls was THEIR territory. Kaliope and Ezara were selling illegal items that were not allowed in city walls such as diamonds or any rare resource and scamming others for money. They were having illegal trade with other cities and Carmen had had enough. "So, what are we going to do about this..." Carmen spoke softly. Without a single spot of hesitation, Arin jumped from her seat on the table, with a hyperactive energy fuming from her and exclaimed, "I say we blow up their nation! We take them to war and rip them into shreds and bring peace back to Avalon!!!!"
"No," Reina cut her off.
"Why not?" Arin sighed with an irritated expression but disappointed tone.
"Because yes we will 'pick a fight' but not a major one. We need something small, something simple..." Reina spoke, obviously deep in thought.
"Like a duel!" Carmen spoke up. "Yes, exactly, and since you figured that out. Why don't YOU compete in the duel for us..."
"Rei, you have to be kidding. I mean Ezara has four more years of experience than I do, and Kaliope is just going to cause more and more problems after this because of spite or because she's mad that we picked a fight in the first place. I mean I'm bound to lose so what's the point?" Carmen's voice went from calm to panic in seconds.
She could not duel Kaliope. She did not have the confidence or potential at all!
Reina, however? They were as calm as ever, not even the tiniest expression could be seen on their faces.
"Sure, you don't have as much strength or confidence, or experience, or basic knowledge or brain cells. JUST GET TO THE POINT," Carmen cut them off, clearly irritated by the level of insults.
"As I was saying," Reina continued. "You may not have all those traits, but you DO have willpower and perseverance. You know how to push through the hardest times, and that’s what makes you, well...you."
"Well, thank you..." Carmen spoke, only to get cut off by a highly enthusiastic Arin.
"YEAH, GIRL POWER- Wait what are we talking about?"
The room went completely quiet after that comment. It was laughed about for a couple of minutes, and soon the trio went to prepare for the duel that was soon to come.
Meanwhile, in the miniature nation that had recently been named "Etheria,” Kaliope and her brother were preparing for battle. The duel had been officially set for the preparation period of two weeks.
Carmen and her crew had been taking the safer and calmer routes to preparing for the duel, making sure they had the proper armor and sharpened weapons.
Kaliope and her brother, however, were slashing anything that came in their path, mindlessly and recklessly. They did not produce a strategy, all they knew was "Aim for the legs and protect the face."
Yes, they may be highly trained and experienced, but they take things so recklessly and go to very extreme measures when they are not needed. They could be seen as what you would call a loose cannon. They were shining their armor, training with mannequins, and tearing up punching bags.
"You ready for this, Kali?" Ezara asked, in a tone in which you could tell was a confident but sarcastic question. "Is that a trick question? Of course, I am!" Kaliope answered confidently. "I was born ready, never been more pumped in my life!" she continued. "Just making sure."
Ezara responded, oddly calmingly this time. But inside, Kaliope was having second thoughts, did she REALLY want to hurt Carmen? Why couldn't she just let them have their fun?
But both were having second thoughts. They did not REALLY want to hurt each other, nonetheless, kill each other. So, unconsciously in a type of sync, they decided on their own personal plan on the day of the duel.
It was the day of the duel. Both Kaliope and Carmen were nervous wrecks, but they knew their plan would be efficient, even if they lost their own lives. They tightened their armor, sharpened their swords, tightened their bow strings, and walked to the main arena in which the duel would be held, with all citizens of both nations watching over the two, desperate for their own nation to take the victory and forever live with that glory.
Both Carmen and Kaliope walked into the area, weapons in hand, ready to battle, or so everyone thought. And from the highest pedestal, Arin and Ezara counted down, so the duel timing would at least be fair.
"Be prepared to lose Ez," Arin smirked, overconfident with the majority power of her nation.
"You wish," he snarled back, clearly annoyed by the girl's comment.
The countdown had started, this was it, this would put all means to an end. As Arin and Ezara nervously counted in unison, Carmen firmed her stance, and Kaliope's grip tightened on her bow handle.
"Ten, Nine..." Their voices muted out with the rest of the crowed, for Carmen and Kaliope had been locked in a gaze. It was like staring into a void. There was no end, no beginning, it all came down to whoever will win this duel. They had their plans, and they were nervous, but they had hope, and that is all they needed.
"Three, two, one, ten paces, fire."
The two lifted their bows and released their arrows, shooting through the air, going at what could be seen as a hyperactive speed. But no one was shot at. They both aimed for the skies....
"What the..." Both Ezara and Arin had seemed to finish each other's sentences, clearly shocked at what just happened.
Both Kaliope and Carmen had aimed their bows at the sky. Kaliope dropped her sword, and Carmen threw her axe to the side of the arena. They both knew that fighting over a piece of land was not worth the risk, was it? They were not sure, but for now, they would do what their heart told them to do.
"Are you serious?!" Arin screeched; she stomped her way down to the center of the arena. "You have GOT to be kidding me. This is some sort of joke, right?? How could you just- throw away Avalon like that?! What about our memories, all our HISTORY TOGETHER, you are just going to throw that all away?!" Arin was fuming, she slowly stepped closer and closer to Carmen. Her aura was scary enough, soon she lifted her hand about to slap her across the face, until a hand had grabbed Arin's arm to stop her from doing so...It was Kaliope...
Kaliope grabbed Arin's hand preventing the slap that was moments away from Carmen’s face.
"Stop," she said quietly. "I didn't like you before, but if you're willing to hit your friend because she spared someone's life is just wrong."
Carmen was taken aback. She quickly backed away from Arin, her breathing was unsteady. She was panicking. Not only did she betray her friends, but she let Etheria win... Why would she do that. She mentally face-palmed herself. She knew she screwed up big time, she let everyone down, and she knew there was a price to pay for after. Soon her shoulders felt like a weight on her back. She fell to the ground. Her eyes were brimming with tears, on the verge of breaking down, she could not breathe. What was she going to do? The townspeople knew, then the whole nation would know, then the world would know. What am I supposed to do?
"Sanchez!" a voice called out. It was Kaliope's. "SANCHEZ!!!" That got her snapped back into reality. "Huh?" Carmen, still a bit panicked, realized that everyone was gone, everyone left. It had been an hour, based on the block poorly hung on the wall near the area filled with sign-up sheets and recruitment papers.
"I-I need to get home-" Carmen quickly rose and started to quickly walk off until a cold hand touched her wrist. "Carmen." Kaliope unfortunately was cut off by Carmen who was terribly upset now. "I SAID I NEED TO GO HOME!!!" She dashed off, jerking her arm away, leaving Kaliope standing alone in the middle of the same arena they had first met in...
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