34. The phone call

Angela watched her husband make his way towards her with two glasses of wine. He placed one in front of her and he sat on the sofa across from her. She sat up and critically looked at him knowing he wanted to ask her a favour. The only time he was willing to talk to her or approached her with a kind gesture was when he wanted something from her. Once upon a time she used to look forward to those times when he would willingly approach her with the idea to seduce her into helping him in one way or another but not anymore. She didn't know if it was one or three years ago when she started to feel indifferent to the man she had loved and hated with equal intensity throughout their years of marriage. It didn't matter the exact time she started feeling indifferent towards him it was the reason the indifference begun to take shape. She had suddenly realised that for as long as she had known him that man she had called boyfriend and later husband had never kissed her. That realisation had destroyed her completely. She breathed in and leaned forward taking the glass of wine, "Is it poisoned by any chance?" she asked taking a small sip and swirled it in her mouth trying to ensure there was no other taste. She was basically tasting for poison before she drunk the wine a skill her father had ensured she had learned. "I may do many things but I would never poison you," he replied.

She smiled cynically, "I don't trust anything that comes out of your mouth, my love," she replied. "Spit it out what exactly do you want from me this time."

He looked at her for a few more moments and she frowned at his regard. The last time he had taken time to look at her that intensely was the day before he had found out she had killed his precious Shirley, "I wonder when it was when you stopped hating and loving me and started to see me as nothing more than a stepping stone to more power?" he asked softly.

"Is that what you wished to ask? If so you are wasting my time," she said and turned away from him.

"I want to see my daughter," he said when she was about to leave and she turned to look at him amused. "And I want a time machine, but we don't get what we want in this life now do we?" she replied sarcastically. Her phone rang and she glanced down at it to find an international number displayed so she walked out leaving him with his glasses of wine. He sat back a pained look on his face and he wondered how he managed to be in the position he was at that moment. It had started with one wrong step and all others that had followed had been wrong no matter how hard he had tried to make them right.

"Hello Angela," said a nervous voice on the other side of the line and Angela paused recognising the said voice. She didn't speak for a few seconds trying hard to compose herself, she had not expected to get a call from Shirleen of all people. "Speaking," she said softly still caught in her surprise. "I am guessing you have arrived at the Queen's capital," Angela said sitting down on her bed.

"Yes," Shirleen said her voice civil and full of nerves.

"How are your wounds?" Angela asked.

"They are not completely healed but I can fight," Shirleen said confidently and Angela smiled to herself, she had always respected strength and the young girl on the other end of the phone had it in spades. "I need your advice," Shirleen said quickly to fill in the awkward silence that had followed.

"Ah, I saw the rules of the first fight online. You will enter the arena all three of you and fight it out. The one to remain standing will be the one to fight the queen," Angela said speculatively. The rules sometimes change during the tournament between the last three contestants to spice up the competition and entertain the viewers. "Has any of the two contestants approached you to form an alliance against the other?"

"No none of them have approached me," Shirleen confirmed.

"That might be a problem," Angela contemplated. "When two people think that a third person is stronger and have the ability to defeat them if they fought separately, they form an alliance to get rid of the stronger opponent to level the playing field."

"So, you think there is a possibility that they view me as a threat and they have already formed an alliance against me."

"Yes," Angela replied with conviction. "They will band together against you almost immediately."

"What do I do?" Shirleen asked.

"This time carry the double scimitar swords I ordered for you. I have had you trained in dual wield and your instructor informed me you had a natural talent. Dual wield helps you both in offense and defence. During the fight ensure you separate them. Their alliance greatly relies on how well they can fight together as a unit. They are not used to it so they will forget their rhythm to fight as one and revert to their training where everyone is for themselves. But you have to act as soon as possible you must ensure at the beginning that one of them is so badly injured if you don't want to kill and thus she can't go on with the fight leaving you with an even playing field or fighting field so to speak."

"Thank you," Shirleen said and switched off her phone immediately. Angela looked at her phone and smiled amused and said to no one in particular, "Goodluck, you will need it."