Destiny Discovered

David raises his hands to a call for silence. Both M. K. and Belle bow to David. David nods his head and M. K. and Belle rise.
“The stakes are high. These are the consequences of this fight. If Belle wins, M. K. can no longer see, talk to, or live near Faji. Also if Belle wins, she will be imprisoned for the rest of her life. If M. K. wins, Belle has to leave Faji alone for the rest of her life. But M. K. will also have to turn herself in to the Trickster’s Throne. Let the Almighty take this fight into its hands.” Dawn cries out against the fight but David silences her with a look. M. K. and Belle turn towards one another and bow in respect for the other. The walk to opposite ends of the dance floor and get in a fighting stance.
“I hope you know, I will not make this easy M. K. I am a skilled fighter where I come from. I’ve trained with Con as my instructor. I will not hand this victory over to you.” M. K. chuckles.
“The same is for you. I am a lot stronger than you could ever imagine. I’ve passed my test to find my birthright. I am the next true queen. I will prove it to you with this fight. Although in your eyes it will not look like a win but I promise you it is one. It is the beginning of the future. It is the beginning of a new era: an era of peace and unity and an era of mercy and family. Prepare for the hardest battle of your life: a battle to death that is not death.” M. K. stands her ground and waits for Belle to attack first.
Belle throws a blast of energy towards M. K. M. K. jumps out of the way and does a back flip, kicking the energy back to Belle. Belle’s eye widen at the attack. She grabs onto the energy and it disappears. M. K. gets down into a crouching position and jumps high into the air. While up in the air, she forms a sword out of her purple fire. She lands about three feet away from Belle and slashes at her with her sword. Belle’s arms gets nicked and she surrenders at the sight of her own blood.
“THE OBJECT IS TO NOT KILL ME!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING WITH A SWORD? How did you get a sword? Where did you hide it?” Belle screams and demands out of M. K. M. K. makes the sword disappear in front of Belle’s face.
“Wouldn’t you like to know? Do you surrender and give me the win?” M. K. raises her eye brow to Belle. “I’d like to know now, if you please.” Belle nods her head in defeat. M. K. looks up at David.
“The win is mine. She surrenders.” M. K. lets out her breath in relief.
I honestly expected more out of her. M.K. turns her back to Belle and begins walking to the upper levels. M. K. watches Faji for any signs that something was wrong. Faji’s reaction was too late. M. K. is thrown into the wall, face first. Belle stands smirking at M. K.’s back.
“Opps. It looks like I’m still in for a fight after all.” Faji moves to run to the floors but David’s arm stops him. David grabs his arm and pulls him in. David whispers in his ear.
“If you go down there, you’re giving them all what they want. Belle isn’t alone here. Trickster’s Throne officials are guarding the outsides, waiting for the signal. You need to get everyone out of here: Dawn, Joseph, and yourself. M. K. knows what she is doing. I promise you, though, she will be very different the next time you meet her. Take the elevator and climb down the shaft without suspicion. There’s tunnels running around under this.” David looks Faji in the eyes.
“Be careful. Destiny is unfolding now. You can’t run from it. Meshell should be in the tunnels to lead you to a safe place. Only Meshell has access to this place. I don’t even know where it is. Trust her. I do…with my life.” David lets go of Faji’s arm and faces the fight. Faji slinks back and makes eye contact with Joseph. He slightly, almost unnoticeably, motions his head toward the elevator. Joseph barely nods in response and drags Dawn. Dawn hits him hard for moving her from the fight. Joseph puts his hand over her eyes and she slumps into his arms. He discretely pulls her out of the crowd and towards the elevator. Faji looks him in the eye with a very sad look. Faji pushes the elevator calling button. The doors open and they all step inside. Faji quickly closes the doors. Once the doors are closed, Faji looks at Joseph and points to the floor. He whispers, “We’ve got to climb down. Wake her up.”
Joseph wakes Dawn up and puts his finger up to his lips in a sign to be quiet. Faji quietly opens the emergency door on the top of the elevator. He looks at Dawn and points upwards. Joseph lifts Dawn into the air to help her crawl through the hole. Joseph goes next and Faji follows. Once Faji is out, Joseph quiet closes the hole. Joseph looks at Faji.
“We’ve got to climb down. The place is surrounded by Throne guards. Meshell will meet us down at the bottom. Hurry! I don’t know how much time we have.” Joseph gets onto the rope first, followed by Dawn. Faji takes one last look at the wall separating him and M. K. A tear slides silently down his cheek as he climbs down the rope quickly. By the time they reached the floor, Faji had stopped crying.
A sudden crash startles them. Faji looks around for the cause of the noise. He couldn’t find a source. Meshell walks up to the group quietly.
“You need to follow me as quietly as possible. The guards are now in the building. While we are on the bottom level, we can still be heard. We will be walking for many, many days. The place we are going is one of the hardest places to reach. David knows nothing of its location. I’m the only one with the way to get in. There are other ways…but they’re deadly. None have made it there without going the way we are going.” Meshell hands Dawn a pair of running shoes. She smiles very faintly to Dawn who is ghost white. Dawn takes off her heels and throws them to the ground. She shoves her feet in the running shoes and stands up ready for the walk.
“Follow me.” Meshell leads them down the beginning of the numerous dark tunnels.
‘I love you, M. K. Please come back soon.’

***

M. K. shakely stands up from the wall. She turns to look at Belle. Belle is grinning from ear to ear. M. K. darkly looks up at David. He gives her a hard look that didn’t say whether she could do what she wanted. M. K. looks back to Belle.
“I bet you find that funny. You know how we all find it…cowardly. Did I surprise you a little bit? Why else would you attack me when my back was turned?” M. K. pops her neck.
“If that’s how you want to play, then let the games begin.” M. K. jumps into the air and lands on the ground directly behind Belle. She punches her in the back solidly.
“Oh I’m sorry. Did that hurt?” M. K. glares at Belle with fake concern. Belle turns around and tries to kick M. K.’s feet out from under her. M. K. jumps up in the air and kicks Belle’s check. M. K. grabs Belle by the hair and pulls her ear to her own mouth.
“You might as well give the signal. I’ve known the guards where here all along. Otherwise, I might not be able to control myself. You don’t want to see me out of control. It’s not pretty.” She whispers deadly in Belle’s ear. M. K. drops Belle hard onto the floor.
“Go ahead. I knew you couldn’t fight fair. So I figured I’d find out what you had up your sleeve. Too late though. My sister, Joseph, and the rest of the people involved are gone. You only get me.” Belle screams.
All of the sudden a loud crash is heard and dust is flying everywhere. M. K. covers her nose with one hand and shields her eyes with the other. She looks at the main entrance to see over 100 guards from Trickster’s Throne being led by Con. M. K. looks at David with tears in her eyes. She steps forward in front of the army.
“If I go peacefully, will you leave the rest of the guests alone? My sister and her boyfriend cannot be found here. They’re gone.” M. K. pleads without sounding weak. Con walks up to M. K. and back hands her in the jaw.
“I make no bargains with prisoners. I knew we’d find you sooner or later, although you should have run. I would’ve enjoyed chasing after you. But I suppose I’ll have to have my fun while you’re in prison, along with your friend David up there. He did keep you hidden after all.” Con puts cuffs on M. K.’s wrists and her feet. She connects them and motions for Alek to come get M. K. Alek hesitantly moves toward Con. He bows to her.
“Yes m’lady. What can I do for you?” Con motions towards M. K.
“You are responsible for taking care of her. She is a prisoner…not a friend. Treat her as one.” Alek bows his head.
“As you wish.” Alek roughly grabs M. K.’s chains. He looks down at her sorrowfully. He throws her on his horse and gets in the saddle behind her. He takes thick rope and ties her chains to part of his saddle.
“I would give anything to stop this from happening. You do know that, right?” He whispers while making sure the knot was tight. M. K. glares at him and nods. Con rolls her eyes at Alek. Con clears her throat and turns her back to her army.
“Search everywhere. I want David in the prisons at Trickster’s Palace immediately. If little M. K. is correct, then her family really is gone which is quite a pity. Shows how much they care, doesn’t it M. K.?” Con looks mockingly into M. K.’s eyes and laughs.
“Alek take her back to the palace. I want my mother to see what I’d managed to catch.” Alek bows in the saddle while M. K. spits on the ground. Con raises her eyebrow as Alek smacks M. K. in the back of the head. M. K. feels darkness overcome her. As darkness overcomes, she hears the last thing she’ll hear from Faji in five years.
‘I love you M. K. Please come back soon.’