The Extra Wants Control

Everyone wanted a piece of the pie... Acquiring tokens by any means necessary became their sole objective. They didn\'t wait for anything.

Former allies in both the commoner caml and noble camp, turned on each other with ruthlessly.

Alliances that were forged in shared goals, crumbled because of greed and insecurities.

They used means like theft, kidnapping, protests, threats and assassinations. Some were open and others hidden.

Civil war erupted within factions because of accusations and suspicion. Especially in the nobles\' side where everyone wanted to outdo another.

It started by hidden and hushed disapprovals that escalated to angry confrontations and insults, then to full-blown battles.

Normal people couldn\'t even get out of their house due to fear...

In the commoner\'s camps, accusations of "traitors" and "collaborators" and "puppets" filled the air.

Things were so bad that any minor disagreement suddenly became sign of disloyalty.

Former friends, comrades in arms, eyed each other with suspicion.

The nobility faction was even worse, they who were once a unified by the thought of being pure blooded, were now fighting against each other. Not bothering to worry about the commoners, lucky for them even those commoners had their own probles.

Families and established houses, turned against each other in disagreement who will get the seat since they were all helping. Some felt they deserved the seats better than their brother or sister or even parents.

So with wvery stolen token, every eliminated rival, they saw it as a step closer to a coveted seat at the Nobles\' table.

*************

Neveah had been busy the past few weeks. He spread lies, made false accusations and nurtured suspicion between leaders amd their people, between people and people... Between families. Just making everything fall apart.

With every death of a decent person his army grew...

*****************

Theodore slammed his fist on the table.

"What\'s gotten into these people?" he roared, his voice and fist slam echoed in the room.

"These people huh?" Thought Kai

"We\'re here to help, and they\'re treating us like enemies!"

"Honestly, sir, after all the dissatisfaction and rumors… I\'m surprised it took this long for all hell to break loose."

Theodore frowned. "What rumors?"

"Rumors about betrayal," Kai said flatly.

"About the collaborators within our ranks. Someone spilt that you have nobles in your ranks.." Kai\'s gaze shot to Theodore.

"Is that so... did you find out who?"

"No, sir."

" Alright... We need a plan, Kai," Theodore said pinched his forehead.

"We can\'t just sit here while our own people turn on us." Said Theodore.

"A plan?"

"We\'ve lost half our men to Mordred\'s attacks. We\'re stretched thin, morale is plummeting, and thanks to the rumors, half our forces are more likely to defect than fight. It\'s bad..." Said Kso

A young soldier drafted from the commoners knocked on the door and said..."Sir! Mordred\'s forces are closing in! They\'ve declared a full-blown territory war!"

"A week... We only have a week left until the tournament... maybe then, things will settle down." Said Theodore.

"A week is a long time, especially when you\'re facing a strong enemy at the gates and a rebellion brewing within your walls." Kai said.

"Soldier," Theodore said.

" yES Sir?" Said the boy nervously

"Tell our remaining troops to prepare for battle. We hold the line for one week, then we focus on the tournament. We can\'t win this war, but maybe, just maybe, we can win our freedom."

" Y-e-s s-i-r," the soldier saluted, but he was still worried.

"We fight for one week, Kai. Then, we fight for a future."Theodore sighed, placing a hand on Kai\'s shoulder and looked at Kai right in the eyes.

"For a future, huh..." Said Kai his thoughts unknown as he looked at Theodore.

************

"The last week of the tournament…" said Neveah as he looked up...

Then.. A woman\'s voice, it was as seductive as it was cold... Covered the air.

Neveah turned his head to find her standing behind him... On the roof.

As much as Neveah tried he couldn\'t see her face... He just saw red eyes.

"Indeed," she replied, her voice a smooth and almost mesmerizing.

"It\'s been quite an entertaining few months, wouldn\'t you agree?" She said

"Entertaining?" Asked Neveah

" Yeah but more like a childish destructive game. But then again, that\'s the nature of your games, isn\'t it, mr.puppeteer of chaos?"

Neveah remained silent. So someone was indeed keeping tabs on his movement and she knows his involvement in this chaos... But did it matter to him. Would that change anything? No. Neveah didn\'t care she knew.

He just smiled and said," I don\'t know what you are talking about."

"Don\'t play coy with me," she said as she put her index finger on Neveah\'s face and raised it up... " But ti think you\'d return here after that day... Are you brave, stupid or do you think mommy\'s gonna save you?"

"Perhaps a little bit of all of them," he admitted shaking his head.

"Okay! Enough. What interests me more… is you. I like you and I want you we can do this the easy way or the hard way the choice is yours." Said the man as she leaned in and whispered in Neveah\'s ears then blew hot air on his ear.

" Me?" Said Neveah as he pushed her back and held her waist.

"Yes, you," said the woman as she put her arms around Neveah\'s neck.

" If you are interested in me... Why aren\'t you showing me your face?" Said Neveah.

" I will show you mine if you show me yours." She said.

" Take it off... The disguise. I want to see how my prince looks like." Said the woman.

" I can\'t show someone who\'s about to kill or abduct me my face." Said Neveah shaking his head with a smile.

" Awww... Pretty please." Said the woman as she hugged Neveah.

He just leaned in they were close and Neveah whispered.

"Tell me, mrs. shadow watcher, what are your intentions? What do you want from me?"

Then there was silence.

Neveah\'s smile stretched wider.

" I don\'t like being under someone if it\'s not my mother or maybe my wife."

" How about I become your wife then." Said Neveah.

Then laugh on the rooftop. A blob of goo formed... It condensed into a figure of inky blackness, humanoid yet formless, its head obscured by a swirling vortex of darkness.

"Hehehe… Little Prince... You don\'t seem to grasp the precariousness of your situation, do you?" It said as it solidified into a figure wearing a pair of shorts and sandals with a light shirt but it\'s face was obscured.

"Who might you be gracing us with your presence in the middle of an important conversation?" Neveah said.

"That\'s not important," the figure said.

Neveah\'s eyebrow rose. "Not important, you say? And yet, you barge in here uninvited, interrupting such a… delicate conversation."

The woman however seemed to stiffen up beside him. "Wait," she said, her voice gull with worry. "We agreed on a deadline, the last day. Why the sudden change?"

The creature man chuckled. "You took too long... The boy. We need the boy. Now" said the man.

Neveah, with a smile of amusement playing on his lips tilted his head. "The boy, huh? I thought I was important to you... shouldn\'t you address me with more respect. It seems like your patience is wearing thin. Perhaps you should… get your own house in order first, before criticizing mine."

With a nod, Neveah vanished, replaced in a blink by his shoulder soldier. The creature and the woman seemed more annoyed than angry at Neveah\'s disappearance.

"Queeny\'s cub Wants A… hunt, huh?" it said.

But the woman stepped forward and said. "I got this,"

"You clearly do," the creature said sarcastically, its form wobbling for a moment before solidifying momentarily. It was unstable...

"My real body is coming," the figure said with it\'s voice a low growl. "If you don\'t have the boy by then… you die. This is non negotiable."

" What about the queen?" Asked the woman

" What about her? Don\'t worry about something that\'s above your pay grade. Just do you job and get paid." Said the man creature.. it\'s voice loosing all jokes and sarcasm it had earlier.

With that ominous threat hanging in the air, the figure dissolved into a blob then wisps of the smoke..."I understand," she said to no one but sje knew she was being heard amd watched.

The cratures unexpected arrival had thrown a wrench into her carefully made plan.

Even Neveah had his own share of problems... He had to set uo his plans for the tournament and complete it, he had to watch out for the incoming threat which was stronger than him. So as a normal person who is against bad odds. Would he just face them recklessly like a protagonist or do something else.

Answer?

Neveah cleared his throat and looked at the sky and shouted, " Moooommmm!"