“I’ve missed this place,” he says quietly.
“You said you trained here. Did you live here as well?” I question.
“I did. For five years, no less.”
I raise a brow as he pushes the doors open. “Five years? I thought nobles almost never stray from their homes.”
“I’m not much of a noble, really,” Aurelio replies.
He continues through the entrance hall without further comment, so I let the matter drop, sensing the sensitivity around the subject. I make a mental note to ask him about it later.
We make our way through the entrance hall, which bears smooth stone flooring, high ceilings, decorative pillars, and statues of the gods of war and justice interspersed throughout the space. There’s a grand set of seven stairs leading up to a raised platform, which gives way to several sets of double doors. Aurelio opens one of them for us, leads me up a staircase that rises three stories, and pauses at the platform at the top.
“Welcome to the training arena,” he says.
I pause at the top of the staircase, staring at the sunlit arena below. We’re on the central walkway of the arena, both halves of the stadium stretching out to my left and my right. There’s seating all around us, three stories’ worth of it above and below us, connected by vertical walkways to the central walkway. There are no “seats,” to be exact, but rather row upon row of stone benches.
The arena’s floor is made up of weathered cobblestone, worn down by the elements and centuries of fights. There’s no one training now, but there’s a man waiting in the center of the fight ring, a man of high status, judging by his glittering jewelry, fine button-up, and tailored slacks. It doesn’t pair the best with his plain sandals, but I’m not one to judge. The man fought his way to the top of the wealth pyramid in our society, and he got there with sweat, blood, and tears.
He is Eren Sudak, the owner of the Meadow Hills training ring, the largest and oldest training arena in the entire country. His gray hair and lined forehead tell of age, but his muscular stature and suntanned brown skin speaks of an intense daily training regimen. Even from afar, I can see the wisdom sparkling in those kind gray eyes. He waves from the arena as Aurelio and I approach.
“Queen Alessia. Wonderful to see you,” Eren says, bowing his head.
“I appreciate you making the time to meet with me, Eren,” I greet.
“It’s no big deal. One should always make time for their queen,” Eren says. He turns to Aurelio, and he breaks out into a broad grin. “And it’s so wonderful to see you, Aurelio. I was so excited to hear that you’d been chosen as the next King of Celestia. You’ve always been such a kind, passionate young man; I’m sure you’ll do remarkable things as king.”
“Thank you, Eren,” Aurelio says, bowing his head. “You still look as healthy as ever.”
“Oh, looks can be deceiving, Aurelio. My bones ache like you wouldn’t believe after that last match with Emilia,” he chuckles.
“You must be a remarkable knight to compete with the top talent in the nation,” I remark.
Eren shakes his head. “No, I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s remarkable. Years’ worth of experience will always give you an advantage over the fervor of youth. In time, however, I will lose the speed and strength necessary to keep up with these young ones. The best contribution I can make is to teach all I know to the next generation. But, please, you didn’t come here to listen to the nostalgia of an old man.”
“No, I did not. I’m here to discuss the knight’s tournament.”
“Indeed. What do you have in mind?”
“I was thinking of visiting each of the arenas to evaluate their capacity, but now that I’m here, I have a feeling this will be the optimal training ring to host the knights’ tournament,” I say, gazing at the enormous space around me. “What is your total capacity?”
“Around ten thousand.”
“Brilliant. That should be all we need. Since it is an all-day affair that takes place over the course of a week, we can sell tickets for specific days, or even specific matches, if need be, to ensure all citizens of Celestia get a chance to view. Besides, this is a historic site that holds great significance to our country; I believe it would be a wise choice for such an important tournament to take place here.”
“I would be honored to host,” Eren says. “What would you have me do to prepare?”
“I will see to the preparations myself, actually. I would rather you tend to the extra training sessions I’m sure your knights are demanding. With the chance at a general’s position, I would be hard-pressed not to give it my all if I were a knight right now. It would be rude of me to take away your students’ master when they need you the most.”
Eren beams at me. “Your kindness exceeds expectations as always, My Queen.”
“How many of your knights will be participating?” Aurelio asks.
“Oh, all of them,” Eren laughs. “There’s not a knight alive that would turn down the chance to compete on such a large scale. All eight hundred of my trainees have committed to the tournament.”
I raise a brow. “This tournament may take more than a week if there’s only one match going on at a time. Would it be wise to have the preliminary rounds take place in multiple arenas across the city?”
“Yes, that would be most wise,” Aurelio agrees.
