1000 and 999

Deep in the forest, a young man in his twenties stood before a carefree girl, a subtle smile gracing her face. His eyes were closed, yet an unmistakable focus radiated from him. Slowly, he raised his hands, guiding them in a circular motion. As he did, flames ignited around his fists, forming a blazing wheel.

With eyes now wide open, blazing with intensity, he thrust his palm forward. A torrent of fire shot out with lightning speed toward the girl. But in a display of grace, she leaped lithely, her milky white hair swaying like a cascade as she landed. A smile lingered at the corners of his lips.

"Ara, Klaus," she purred, her voice low, a smile playing on her lips as she addressed him. "Are you trying to kill this weak and fragile woman?" Her words were followed by a light giggle, while Klaus clicked his tongue in frustration.

"Could you please cut the shit and focus on the duel for once, Selena!" he snapped, his voice filled with frustration and annoyance.

Rolling her eyes, Selena nonchalantly placed her hands behind her back. Her long, white silvery hair swayed in the wind as she surveyed the chaos around them — trees and grass engulfed in flames.

"You're just putting the forest on fire, idiot Klaus. You have to tone it down, or else the queen will kill both of us," she warned casually.

"Yeah, all because you're dodging and not fighting," Klaus retorted.

"Ugh, why are you so stubborn... Okay, Okay, I got it. Let's fight for real then," she sighed, her shoulders slumping. A small smile curled around Klaus's mouth.

Stomping her feet on the ground, she caused the earth to crumble, and veins popped out, dancing across the terrain. Klaus smirked, swiftly moving to close the distance. He placed his palm toward the ground, the skin turning red as if it were heating up, smoke wisping from it. With a sudden burst, he was airborne.

In midair, Klaus moved with grace, his hand tracing a series of gestures — a triangle, a circle — then thrust his palm toward Selena, who stood in the middle of the dancing, long purple veins. 

A massive fireball shot out from Klaus's palm, a grin on his face as if he knew he had her. However, his satisfaction was short-lived as he observed Selena's wider and grimmer grin.

Before the fireball could reach her or the veins, the veins retracted into the ground. Selena, now surrounded by a purple smokescreen.

The fireball hit where Selena had been standing, causing a small explosion upon impact.

As the smoke settled, Klaus found that Selena had vanished. Before he could reach the ground, veins shot up from behind, strangling his neck from behind and pinning him face-down.

Selena walked slowly towards him, as she said in a teasing tone, "1000 wins for me, 999 for you," sitting down and patting him. "Looks like we have a loser, Klaus David," she smirked.

The veins slowly loosened and retracted into the ground as Selena smiled. She extended a hand to Klaus, who ignored it, standing up and patting off the dust from his loose black shirt. Ruffling his dark black hair, he seemed unfazed.

"Oh my, why are you so hot?" Selena remarked, her eyes wandering over his ripped biceps visible through his half-sleeve shirt and his neck glistening with sweat. She bit her lip.

"Gross," he mumbled, a disgusted look on his face. Ignoring her, he turned around and started walking.

"Whaat, gross. Don't tell me your man ego is hurt after losing to a girl, huh?" she teased as she followed him.

Klaus didn't answer, continuing to move. "Come on, say something," she pouted.

He turned around, glaring into her eyes. "If you are so strong, then why did you stalk me for straight three hours, doing nothing but hiding behind trees? And after hours, you attacked, and even that was sneaky and cowardly."

"Jeez, such a crybaby! What do you mean by cowardly and sneaky, huh?" She placed her hands on her waist.

"While dueling, we should fight with honor," he said, looking into her eyes.

She scoffed. "Yeah, honor my ass." This time, she started walking, with her in front.

"What do you mean?" Klaus asked, following her.

"I mean, what do you even mean by honor, huh? In the duel, nothing was fair. Your element is clearly superior to mine, so I just used my damn brain and outdid you," she replied. Klaus furrowed his brows, the tension softening.

"You didn't outdo me," Klaus said slowly, blushing.

"Yeah, I did, Mr. Honor. Now come on, the queen wants to meet us. Maybe she wants me to marry you," she teased. In response, he rolled his eyes.

"Even though I'm mad at you, Mr. Honor, but I still take you back" she looked up and said sarcastically.

They both walked towards a carriage standing nearby. An old man in his late sixties bowed down, opening the carriage door. "Welcome back, young lady," he greeted. Selena held out her hand, and Klaus assisted her as she sat inside. He followed suit, settling in beside her.

The carriage took them to a huge and beautiful castle. They entered and headed straight to meet the queen.

"The Queen's waiting for you in the throne room," the old man informed, bowing. Selena nodded, and they all proceeded toward the throne room.

"I'm telling you, it's about our marriage," she whispered in a low voice as they stood before the giant gate of the throne room.

"Shut up," Klaus replied, rolling his eyes.

The door slowly opened, and they all entered the vast room adorned with numerous antiques and paintings. In the middle, a large throne was accompanied by four smaller thrones on each side. Seated on the central throne was Queen Helena, while the others remained unoccupied except for one on her right.

They moved closer and then went down on their knees. "All Hail Queen Helena," they said in unison.

"Rise, my children," she said, her voice both soothing and commanding. Selena and Klaus lifted their heads, while the old man stayed bowed and slowly retreated while bowing.

"You called us?" Selena said as she stood, a smile on her face while still maintaining a slightly bowed posture, avoiding eye contact in respect.

Klaus looked at the queen. She was as radiating and beautiful as ever, her black net dress clinging to her slim figure. Her spiky crown and slender eyes emitted an otherworldly aura, and her black hair cascaded down.

"King of Arcadia has sent us an invitation, inviting the Crown Princess of Kingdom Magus to the Holy Capital of Arcadia," the person sitting on the right side of the queen spoke, his voice low and heavy.

"And why are we supposed to go to another kingdom?" Selena said, ignoring the other person addressing the queen.

"For the study of magic, my dear," Queen Helena replied, her gaze softened.

"Huh, but we already know how to use magic. What's there to learn?" Selena said, totally annoyed.

"There's more to magic, young lady," the other person, Minister Franco, said, brushing his beard.

"Shut up, old fart. I'm talking to my mother," Selena retorted, visibly irritated.

Taken aback, Minister Franco looked around.

"Selena! You're in the presence of the queen," Klaus scolded her, glaring, while Queen Helena laughed gracefully.

"Selena, my dear girl, Minister Franco is right. We are sending you there to learn more about magic and other aspects of life so that one day you can rule this country," Queen Helena said, her voice filled with command.

Selena calmed down, standing still and listening intently.

"Unfortunately, we don't have many resources nor a good educational system that can teach you. So, I want you to go to that kingdom and turn into a fine lady," the queen finished.

Selena smiled and nodded. "As you wish, My Queen."

"You go and pack your bags. The Kingdom of Arcadia is quite far; you will set off tomorrow. And," the queen looked at Klaus, her expression softened.

"You will accompany her and learn with her, Klaus," she said, smiling.

They both nodded before leaving the room, leaving Queen Helena and Minister Franco behind.

"Your Highness, are you sure about sending Klaus with the princess to that kingdom, given the prophecy and his connection to it?" Minister Franco asked, a tense expression on his face.

The queen sighed, her hand on her chin as she looked at the door. The softness and calmness she had moments ago in front of Selena and Klaus were gone, replaced by a cold and calm demeanor.

"Fate won't change no matter what we do. The Dark Lord will come soon, and it's inevitable," she said, her voice low and grim, her eyes void of any emotion.

"Doesn't that mean we shouldn't let them go out?" Minister Franco said desperately.

"They should be prepared for everything," the queen replied as she slowly stood. "Let the Glory City officials know I want to meet the City Lord."