The burden of a queen, to smile and wither. No matter the cost, she must appear prim and proper. And despite having worked, stamped, and wandered the coliseum all day yesterday, Astoria was, yet again, burdened with contracts, scheduling, and the proper handling of the ceremonious occasion.
"Why not let the contractors handle the paperwork, Your Highness?" Standing beside the queen, Hestia couldn't help but ask. She'd been watching Astoria sitting in the coliseum's gallery and working on those contracts. Mostly, she would simply read through the details and stamp them with her royal insignia, but ever so often, a blood quill was needed to cross certain conditions posed by the high-level businessmen of Aestonia.
"Those wolves will run us dry if I let them decide the final agreements," lifting the quill, Astoria pointed to the coliseum wall directly opposing the gallery. "See that portion of the walls? They had crumbled quite a bit, but in a day's time, I had them work on it first, and now I can set the condition for their payments."
Moving the quill around a little more, she pointed at a gathering of food vendors nestled in a room right by the walls. The smoke rising from the windows was indicative of stoves, and even from the gallery, Hestia could smell the pleasant odor of fried frog legs, battered fishes, boiled crabs, and numerous other seafood–each a staple of their kingdom.
"You'd be surprised how much money people are willing to throw at an event like this," hoping to recover some of the expenses, Astoria had hired a handful of caterers, fishermen, and a dozen workers in each room to handle the gastronomical needs of the attendants. "But enough talk about contracts, I'm nearly done with them anyways."
Bringing her attention back to the pages in her lap, Astoria stamped a handful and set the rest aside to later contest some of the terms. Passing it on to a maid, she leaned back into her chair and closed her eyes. Thinking of a glimmering golden dress, she manifested it on her body and raised her hand to hold the sceptre.
"A few more minutes," opening her eyes, the queen looked at Hestia, smiling. "How many of these have you witnessed, Apostle?"
Rolling her eyes behind the ceramic mask, Hestia scoffed at the mention of her race. Looking to the front, at the crowd gathering in the many seats of the coliseum, she tried to think back, and although it took a moment, once she was focused, the memories flooded into her head.
"Too many to count, Your Highness. And yet not enough, it seems," her age was weighing her at this stage in her life. She wondered when it would end, but the answer couldn't have been more vague. "All I can say…"
Instead of sulking over her age, she decided to reveal some truths to the queen.
"This event, under your guidance, is the only one that isn't rigged. Even a peasant, if he can defeat the others, can win the title of king, I can't imagine how disastrous that would've been for the many generations of kings."
"So there were those who could defeat the past kings?" Astoria asked, growing curious about the topic.
"Definitely, but…" With a sigh, Hestia turned her head to the front yet again. "The crown must remain within the royal family, that verdict ensured that the events were always rigged."
Her explanation pushed Astoria further into her own curiosity. Pondering over whether someone would attempt to rig the events even now, she began thinking of ways to ensure that didn't happen, which brought her attention to the sceptre.
"Very well, we'll need some judges," right as she whispered those words, a round of cheers erupted through the crowds.
"Sounds like the competitors have gathered in the sand field," casting her gaze down at Astoria, Hestia offered her a hand so that she could guide the queen even closer to the window. A preventive measure, one meant to keep the healer close to the royal in case someone attempted to kill her.
However, gently pushing her hand away, Astoria rose from her chair and began walking forward. The moment her figure came into the view of the public, the cheers died quickly. Looking around at the faces of her subjects, the queen ever so gently bowed, and the people bowed back tenfold that amount.
"We have gathered here," raising her head, she began the commencerative speech. "Under the ever so radiant light of our mother, Akramadia! Our goddess and our savior."
Taking a brief pause, Astoria glanced down at the participants.
"You'll present your worth to serve her brilliance, for without her, we're lost, for without her, we are stragglers." Drawing a deep breath, she raised her sceptre, and its brilliant light consumed the arena. "Mother, send us your shepherds so that they may see the selection to be fair."
As the light retreated, it took a moment for everyone to recover, but as they did, they were met with the baffling sights of statued angels sitting atop the tallest columns of the coliseum. Folded wings, the idols laid at rest, one appearing as an eye, the other a pair of ears, and the last a delicate and feminine pair of lips.
Surprising everyone, the pair of lips parted to reveal a vacant hollow of dark. Moving as if conscious, the angel spoke the words of their goddess.
"Very well, my child. I shall be the judge of this play," the melodic voice moved the crowd to tears. It took but a sentence, and faith manifested in the form of prayers. Even the participants couldn't help but drop to their knees, however, holding themselves braver than the rest, they refrained from crying despite the immense need. "Do not test me, aspiring kings, for you'll be defied and torn through the fabric of space and time."
Her voice rumbled like thunder, but as it settled and the idol became stiff again, Astoria raised her sceptre and declared.
"Now then, let it commence!" And thus began the first act of the competition.