85. Axe nailed it

The White Queen, Dev, Ivan and Nora are shocked by the smart move of the unknown person in white. The silence prevailed and then the crowd roared to praise the person in white while Nora was head down in humiliation.
The person in white removed the veil to reveal the face. Everyone was shocked to see the face of that person.
When the veil was removed, the long hair of the person who was tied into the vile bounced to fall over her shoulder like waves cascading the shore. It was a girl.
"She is a girl," the crowd murmurs. "The one who defeated Nora is a girl".
Ivan exclaimed in shock while Dev beamed in pride and joy. The person in white was indeed Akshara.
The white queen praised Akshara while Akshara bowed to show her gratitude. But some past memories flashed in her mind with a replica of the White Queen, but Akshara was unable to recall it. Akshara fixed her eyes on the White Queen and tried hard to recall her past.
Akshara came to consciousness when Dev held her hands. She looked at Dev widely and became aware that they had been watched by many. Akshara tried to loosen her hand from Dev’s hold. But Dev clutched her hands in a way that she could not even take easily.
Akshara talked through her sealed teeth without looking at him, "Devil... Leave my hands... Everyone is watching us."
Dev didn’t want to leave any moment with Akshara and quickly replied to her, "Let them watch. Sara, we are engaged. No need to fear, as you passed the test."
Akshara gave him a sharp look. "Test? What test? Devil... Are you going to leave my hand or not?"
Dev raised his hand that was holding Akshara’s hand to show everyone that he was holding her hand. Akshara pulled her hand downwards, and Dev winked at her.
Akshara continued to resist while Dev praised her, "You are a quick learner, Sara…"
Before Akshara could reply, the White Queen called, "Dev…!"
Dev kneeled on the floor and pulled Akshara to do the same. Akshara did the same.
On behalf of all my elders, My Queen and the Great Dragon God, I request your blessings to me and..." turned his eyes towards Akshara and she eyed back,"... My bride."
The crowd cried in joy while Nora busted in anger and failure. That gave her tremble. To hide her trembling, Nora gritted her teeth as hard as she could. The flowering tree in the corner of the training field shed its flowers to bless the couple.
Both Dev and Akshara were covered with flowers. Akshara looked at the falling flowers and felt happy inside for acceptance, yet she had unsettling things with Dev. Her eyes were filled with happy tears and she looked at Dev with a little insight of love where her amulet shone brightly.
Dev fixed his eyes on her after looking at the amulet’s brightness and her mind voiced to him, "I still have a chance to pursue your fake anger."
The white queen smiled at her son’s wit and replied, "You are blessed. Meet me in person and don’t forget to take your bride with you. (She turned to Ivan) Pass the word of bride selection to all the kingdoms along with precious gifts to invite them to Dev’s wedding and coronation."
Akshara took back her hand from his firm hold and retreated to the training field, sharing her sharp eyes with him. Dev looked at Ivan and arched his brows.
Ivan gestured the same and thought to him, "Dev! You are so cunning to be the dragon. You knew it after witnessing the talent of Akshara; no one would oppose her being your bride. You even taught your unique moves secretly. Dev, you are awesome and so is your wife. She nailed it today."
*****
Nora was punching the pillar with her bare hands in her room. Ivan was worried to saw his devastated sister.
Ivan stopped his sister, "Nora, what are you doing? You are hurting yourself... Stop!"
Nora turned deaf ears to him and continued to hurt her hands with red, puffy eyes. The blood shed from her wounds stained her hands.
Ivan grabbed her hands, "Nora… Stop… Are you null-headed?"
Nora shouted at him, "Of course, I am null-headed to get defeated by a filthy human. I am null-headed to leave my love to that wicked witch."
Ivan caressed his sister while Nora broke out in tears, "Ivan... I was defeated. I lose my victory to a human... I lost not only fame but also by Dev."
Nora sobbed vigorously, and Ivan was helpless to console his heartbroken sister. He patted her head and consoled her by letting her cry out loud while pushing her to rest on his shoulder.
Ivan rubbed her spines to ease her tremendous pain and said, "Cry, my sister, I am here to console you. You have my shoulders. Cry till your mind calms."
Nora was drenched in her tears and could not take control of her tears from her eyes. After a while, Nora was finally calmed as she lacked tears of secretion from her eyes. Ivan was worried to saw his sister’s red puffy eyes.
Ivan told her, "I promised our mother to take good care of you in her last minutes. I am doing everything to protect and make you happy. I am here for you. Don’t ever worry about anything."
"No, you don’t care about me. All you cared about was your friend, kingdom, and his new harlot from Ice Cave Bar." Nora thrashed out her harsh words.
Ivan shook his head and told her, "You once felt pain by the attack in the witch palace. I, your brother, proximately rushed to revenge them and scorched everyone who caused my dear sister to feel pain…Do you think I can withstand seeing my sister like that?"
Nora looked unfocused and told him, "You don’t understand me."
Ivan continued with a sigh, "What is meant for you will come to you eventually. Don’t hurt yourself."
Nora asked him with a sobbed face, "Will you speak for me?"
Ivan processed every word she uttered. He was confused to reply and asked in an angry tone, "To whom Nora? To Dev or Akshara? What do you want me to speak for you today? or tell me whom do I need to speak to for you?"
Nora gave him a wicked look while Ivan shouted at her to make her understand, "You want me to speak to Dev and convince him to marry my sister, who was treating my sister as his sister..."
Nora was shocked to hear know the fact that Dev was treating her as his sister and Ivan continued to shower her with his anger words, "Or you want me to talk to Akshara to leave Dev who was suffering by leaving her home place and losing her memory, only by your hasty attack in the witch palace?"
Ivan pointed to Nora. Nora asked him, "Are you blaming me?"
Ivan stood in anger and tried hard to control his anger. "Of course, you are to be blamed for your condition now, Nora. If you hadn’t informed Dev about the witch palace and their secret coven, nothing would have happened today. You won’t be in this position."
Nora stood up with anger and replied, with fire flowing from her eyes, by fisting her hands, "As I am to be blamed, let me reverse it to get what’s mine."
Ivan told her, with strong intonation, "Nothing can be reversed. Try to understand the facts, Nora. Don’t act foolish and don’t make things even worse."
Nora hurried to lock her inside her room by pushing Ivan out of it. Ivan knocked on the door twice and told her, "Time will heal anything."
*****