𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄 — 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎
" 𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐀 𝐈 "

ADIRA, DAUGHTER OF THE STRANGER was no stranger to death, she had been submerged and drowned in death and blood since her monumental birth. She had been fighting for life ever since she drew her last breath and would die fighting. Most do not know the ways of pain and blood like commoners do – who fought for everything. Adira was the daughter of a whore and if her mother was not delusional, the daughter of a Targaryen prince. Adira's birth was an unusual one, it was also one of the worst the whores from the brothel had seen. Her mother had nearly died from the amount of blood seemingly pouring out of her without stopping.

Her screams echoed horribly in the small room overflowing with incense that the heavy rain and thunderclaps couldn't drown out the screams. Storms raged and yelled that night, cold air thrashed against the little wooden house, threatening to tear it down. Some might say the weather was an omen against little pale Adira's birth, but Tysha certainly believed it. She believed she had given birth to a shadow demon like she heard from the rich merchant who had said he travelled to the shadowlands of Asai.

Adira was born from nothing, there was no love in her creation like most children. Her mother and father knew each other for a single night but her father lived on in her mother's memory and in a childish and naive version of Adria. They had a single night of pleasure; he was gone before the sun rose, and all he left was a few coins. Tysha had always said the world they were in was cruel and unforgiving, especially to woman – Adira knew that firsthand. She was a street rat trying to scavenge food and money for her mother who worked as a whore for one of the more popular brothels in Kinds Landing and when that was enough, she was sold of like the stain she was.

Tysha had told her daughter that giving birth to her was the worst pain she had ever experienced, and Adira took comfort in that fact. Tysha was not a kind woman, she beat obedience and grace into her daughter, trying to mould her into the perfect whore and into a better woman. Adira, full of a naïve need to make her only parent happy believed her. Adira knew she would've been weak if she grew up surrounded with love and happy mothers who didn't beat them, and Adira was not weak nor was she powerless like her mother believed her to be. She knew she was a bastard with her white hair that her mother would sneer at but after she had drunk her cups would play with it and murmur about her so-called father. She had fallen in love with him, it seemed, a stupid notion in Adira's mind, to love a prince was simply asking for tragic death.

Tysha hated her daughter but loved her when she was drunk – like most poor mothers whose lives become ruined after giving birth to children at a time when they could barely support themselves let alone a child or two. So it didn't come as a surprise to the woman in the brothel or Adria herself when her mother sold her off. Her life was worth a single measly sliver dragon coin in her mother's eye when she sold her only and last daughter to the Pit Masters of Flea Bottom — disgusting lowlifes who grew fat from the screams of children and the cheers of drunks.

Adira was a little aghast over the fact she cost so little, she thought she would've cost more with her white hair. It was plainly obvious she was of Targaryen descent, but it wasn't as uncommon a sight as most believed. In the pits, no one cared what color Adira's hair was or what it stood for. Though she was nothing in her mother's eyes or the eyes of passerby in Flea Bottom with her white hair, she was something to the fighting pits. She was also unknowingly something to a nameless God with his amused eyes forever watching.

The pits were much different than the small room she shared with her mother, it was much darker and dirtier, and the smell of strong incense faded from Adira's mind. Her cage soon became her home and her life, she lived with the other sold and forgotten children were placed in cells. The children were fed a surprisingly decent amount of food, though it was only enough to be strong enough to last and perform a good show. That's all the fighting pits were a show, a performance. Sometimes Adira would find herself slipping too deeply into character until she forgot it was a show. But it wasn't just a show for Adira. It was survival. Survival of the fittest, the strongest, and the smartest.

The Pit Masters had the children grow their nails out, only to sharpen them into talons, and claws. It was easier to cut enemies down, they said. They filed our teeth, it easier to rip our opponent's throats, they said. They were no relationships in the pits, no kindness, only survival, and death. The stench of blood and metal clung to them and made us who they were.

Adira was nothing but a beaten bastard of a whore before the pits. But now? She was the reigning champion of the pits, the cannibal they cheered. She was the oldest child amongst mere babes that varied in ages of seven and one and ten, with Adira standing at two and ten. She had been there for two years after being sold at the age of ten and she would last until someone stronger than she came and killed her, or the masters decided she wasn't putting on a good show anymore and either sold her off to someone else or simply killed her.

Over time she had grown accustomed to killing the people she ate and slept with. The children would whisper to themselves they would soon be free, and a knight would come and save them. Adira thought them stupid; no one was going to come and save them – they had to save ourselves. They should've learnt by now that they had to fight for themselves and nothing else. She also didn't think she was worth saving anyway for the stranger had marked her soul at birth.

She was far too gone, drowning in blood with her dreams filled with blood, battles, and dragons' mighty roars. She thought dreams would offer her sanctuary and safety from the walking nightmare of killing children, but no, it too was full of death. It seemed blood and death was all Adira was and all she ever would be. The Stranger seemed to not want to let the white-haired girl go, and Adira had no clue if that was a good or a bad thing. She soon came to lose interest in that question after the endless slaughter and pain, she stopped thinking about a lot of things. The Pits was no place for any type of Faith.

In the Pits, Adira was gone and replaced with the Champion. Her sharpened teeth filed like dragon's teeth and her long nails that looked more like dragon talons than nails. Her matted and dirty silver hair flowed behind her as she ended children's lives to give the people of Kings Landing what they wanted most — a show. The worst part? Adira grew to like the power and dominance she held over the crowd and her other opponents. Power was instrumental to Adira's ideal of herself, she would not settle for weakness.

She liked ending lives - ending misery and childish hope, she liked proving she was the best amongst the other bastards. Adira had to fight for her life, respect and her place in the world. She would not be a pampered princess like her mother used to promise her, she would be a bastard with blood staining her white hair and that's how it would be. Adira had understood her life would be that fitting of a bastard and not a princess.

Then Adira's life changed once more, her father who was not a creation of her whore mother's wine-aided mind was right, had come to save her and she didn't care to listen to the Stranger's breathless chuckle that brought a shiver down her spine.

THE DAY WAS LIKE any other, the sun rose and with it the Pit Masters and their possessions. After the children had broken their fast with a measly piece of bread or a old piece of fruit - they were allowed to roam the pit itself and bask in the whatever scraps of sunlight managed to slither into the covered windows around the audience area. Adira didn't talk to any of the others and stretched her body for the upcoming fight. It was an hour later they were placed back into their cage for the fights and Adira sat in her usual corner, finishing her braid to keep her long hair out of the way. She had her legs criss-crossed on the floor as she breathed deeply with her eyes closed, trying to center herself amongst the new volume of the outsiders as they started drinking and betting.

It wasn't long when one of the Pit Masters - Yora - came, banging his small knife against the rusted metal door of Adira's home that she shared with ten other children. "Up you get!! It's show time so put a good one on if you want dinner," Yora yelled, showcasing his yellow teeth and a few of the new children scampered back in fright.

Adria took her last calming breathe and pulled herself up from the floor swiftly and rolled her shoulders back, loosening her body with a crack of her neck. Her long braid swayed behind her back as she walked out of the cage when Yora opened it, letting only another into the pit with her. They did fights of five at a time and only did a few fights an every few nights to keep more children alive. It was bad for business if they didn't have enough fighters so they usually asked Adria to refrain from killing the others, only injuring them if she could. Though the Pit Masters brought in a few kids each week from parents who couldn't afford them, or they were just orphans off the street. Some rich people brought their own fighters to bet on them. The applause of cheers screeched in her ears, making her unable t0 think with the noise which could decide the champion. Thinking made people predictable, fighting needed no thoughts, there was no battle plan on the field, just pure instincts and heart racing adrenaline.

Adria surveyed the dusty pit, noticing there were three boys (opponents) waiting for her that looked younger than her. Shar, her 'roommate' rushed to hide in a corner, she was one of the new ones - she was quiet and was a frightened easily and it was her second fight. She tried to be swallowed by the shadows, it was a smart move if not a coward move, waiting for the others to be killed and then trying to fight the last standing or see if they would die fighting, leaving her the victor and a nice dinner.

Two of the boys started wildly slashing at each other, trying to get the other. Whilst the oldest-looking one out of them stepped forward towards Adria. The white haired bastard smirked at his boldness and lunged toward him, jumping on him before he could move away.

He tried pushing the older girl off, but she had already sunk her nails in his shoulder, making him cry out and cementing her position on him. Adria let all of her measly weight to drop on him, pushing him back and trap over his feet and fall onto the floor, disrupting the dirt. He hit the ground with a quiet groan, and Adria sunk her sharpened teeth into his throat, ceasing his cries of pain, and she pulled back, ripping his throat out.

Blood spurted onto her pale skin but Adria paid it no mind. The cheers grew louder, but she paid no attention to the drunk men. She chewed on the piece of flesh the boy's throat and swallowed it, enjoying the taste of blood and flesh. It was much better than the 'food' the masters threw at us to eat which was old and stale, even the fruit.

They called her the cannibal for a reason.

When Adria looked up the boys had finished their fight, one dead and the other nearing death. He had a large gash on his chest that was gushing blood. The dead one had clearly put up a fight before he died, it seemed but not enough of a fight. Shar was crying and muttering she wanted to go home, she clearly hadn't realized that this was their home now.

Adria stood up, licking the blood of her lips as blood rushed through her ears loudly, almost overpowering the noise of the audience. The other boy looked towards me, seeing my movement, and stepped back fearfully which wasn't uncommon. Even in the cages, the others stayed away from her, knowing she was the cannibal champion of the pits.

Her lips tipped up at his fearful behavior which made him finch. She walked to him slowly, mocking him and treating him like the prey he was. He continued scrambling back again and again, making Adria laugh lighting as his back hit the pit wall trapping himself. Adria never really understood why they tried running away, why didn't they fight back all the way? They were going to die anyways so why not fight tooth and nail to win - to survive?

When she reached him, his eyes closed fearfully in acceptance and Adria was going to snap his neck for it, she wanted a challenge, there was no fun in killing someone who had accepted their death. With one glance up at Yora who stood loomingly above her and his glare she stepped back, ignoring the boys muttered whisper of a prayer. "The gods will not save you. The stranger will take you with a smile on his face," she thought with a roll of her eyes and slammed the boy against the wall and he slumped on the floor.

She stared at the sleeping boy for a moment, enjoying the cheers, while they were annoying on the occasion, she did enjoy them near the end. She quickly turned around when she heard the scuffle of feet in the dusty sand. She was met with the sight of a clawed hand, which she dodged so it wouldn't scratch my face. It did, in fact, scratch her arm, making Adira let out a quiet hiss. She glared at the frail girl, who was shaking in fear and sadness when Shar realized she had dodged. Adira angrily backhanded her scratching her slightly, and she landed in the sand with a yelp.

"Smart waiting for the others to die and then attacking,"Adira praised her, her croaky voice immediately being drowned out by the cheers and talking of the audience and she huffed at the glare she got from Shar in response. Adira took a step towards her and Shar pushed herself up on shaky feet and put her hands up in defense.

"Good, a challenge," Adira said with a bloodthirsty smile.

"You monster!" the girl snarled, charging and slashing sloppily at the white haired girls chest, which she dodged again. 'Good, the little one is fierce,' Adira thought happily. She went to slash again but Adira stepped away and punched her in the face, making her step back and hold her now bleeding nose, tears gathering in her eyes.

Adira took the opening and slashed at her chest, making four deep gashes then kicked her straight in the diaphragm, making her fall over on her back, gasping for air. She rolled around, trying to breathe and Adira didn't wait to step on her throat, making her thrash wilder. The champion lifted her foot up and slammed it on her throat again, breaking it. Shar's body flinched harshly as she died, choking on her own blood.

The stranger came for all four, leaving one remaining.

When Adira stood over the still body of Shar, the last of her opponents, she was met with murmurs, not cheers. Adira glanced around at the audience with furrowed brows, not understanding their hesitant applause. "Are you not entertained by children killing other children? Is this not why you are here?" She yelled out to the quiet crowd. As if her words woke them up they began cheering loudly, repeating the same mantra repeatedly: "All hail the cannibal champion!!". Their yells of cheers shook the very ground she stood on.

Adira took the time to bask in their cheers, her eyes closed and head titled back as blood covered her pale body. After a few moments, she opened them when she felt that annoying,  persistent stare that had been watching intently the whole show. It had been drilled in the back of her head for a while and she finally laid eyes on the man who had never taken his eyes off her. He was dressed in dark armor, a nice sword at his hip where he laid his hand over the pommel, hair white as snow, cocky smirk never left his pale and sharp angular face. When he noticed her watching him he nodded his head at her but was interrupted by Doryl, the owner of the Pits who started talking to him. The white haired armored man waved him off, showcasing he was high in status.

Adira ignored the scene above her and turned back to the her cage which was now open and she never looked back to the white haired man. The sounds of the cheers of the crowd never lessened.

—illya speaks.,

so if you've read bastard then you remember this but i've rewritten in 3rd to flow better and hopefully not be as cringey. most of adira's chapters will be from bastard! also this isn't fully edited so yeah

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