The Golden Year and the Sorceress

by Isabella Hardiman

  I should tell her, I am not interested. I should tell her I do not care or want to hear her tales. I did not. "What secret?"

  She slipped a second bug into her mouth. It crunched beneath her teeth and she ate it with pleasure. "Have you ever asked yourself why you are the way you are? Why you? Where do your gifts come from? Or even who is the other half of the coin?" She whispered and gracefully walked towards me. "If I were you I would be very curious."

  She was playing tricks with my mind. "If I don't compete." I raised an eyebrow waiting for the bad news. There was always bad news.

  "You and your friend will stay here forever." She smiled wickedly. The queen liked making deals and she also liked winning. I did not need to ask what would happen if I failed. I already knew: I would be dead. "Deal?" she outstretched her hands.

  "No deal." I shook my head. She looked surprised. "I need you to assure me of Leonardo's and Bayyard's safety. Win or lose, they are free to leave when this is all over." She looked almost amused.

  "Poor unfortunate souls. You clearly do not realise you are in no position to be negotiating. Don't you see? You are at my mercy." She glanced at me. I gulped. She was right.

  She walked across the room to the furthest wall and pulled off a handful of plants. She finally raised an eyebrow and faced me. "Hmmm...I suppose what you ask is fair though. Normally, I do not do fair but I am willing to make an exception for you. " She bit into a vine of vibrant red fruit like grapes.

  "One other thing." I paused.

  She gave me a slightly agitated look. "More?"

  "I need you to assure me that Leonardo will not find out about the tournament. About me. About my powers." I still had not discussed the new law his father had decreed. I didn't even know where Leonardo stood. Did he support his father's decision?

  She smirked and traced her nails across her heart, leaving a small glowing x on her chest. When the fae makes a promise, they are bound to it forever. She walked back to her throne and sat back down. "Have it your way. This will be our little secret."

  "Then I accept. I will compete for you." I tried not to sound as scared as I felt. She was enjoying every moment of this. The fae games, what challenges awaited me?

  "I do hope you survive the games. I have big, terrible but great plans for your future. You are in the big leagues now." A chill ran down my spine. She flashed me a perfectly horrid grin, showing her sharpened teeth. "Let the games begin."

  That is how I made a deal with the devil.

  Chapter Fifteen- The deadly Mermen

  "Guards!" The queen barked. In came two heavily armed faeries. "Take Leila to be fitted with the rest of the opponents." She commanded. "Make sure she is prepared for the games."

  "Of course, your majesty." They bowed before escorting me back down the hallway. Was this really happening? I did not know the first thing about my powers, how was I going to survive this?

  The maze of corridors was empty and neither of the guards spoke during the trip. Then again, I did not want to speak. We reached a series of stone steps after a ten minutes' walk. We went further and further into the ground. The lights got dimmer and it got colder. There seemed to be a haze in the air and small little droplets resting on the grey cement walls.

  We came to what resembled a dungeon of some kind. I could not help but notice a puddle of red blood in the corner. Where had that come from? The fae has silver blood so this must belong to a mortal. "We have another tribute for the arena." One of the guards spoke. I heard a piercing, high-pitched scream in the background that echoed through the dungeon. Water droplets vibrated and trickled down through the cracks.

  The heavy metal door opened. The guards escorted me down the cement hallway to a door, they unlocked it slowly. My heart was pounding. Why are there so many locks? What was behind this door?

  I found myself in a room of fifteen people. Nobody looked older than forty. They all gave me sympathetic looks as I was shoved inside and the door closed behind me. Everything was silent under the glow of a single green crystal.

  The room was dark and dingy. Some repulsive liquid was oozing out the farthest wall. Nobody moved a muscle. Eventually, the eldest man emerged from the group. "My name is Northern." He greeted me. He had grey hair, green eyes, and a kind face.

  "Leila." I introduced myself.

  "So the fae caught you in the woods? Like us." He asked curiously. I nodded. I did not want any of these strangers knowing the truth. They did not need all the details. "Do you know what they have planned for the games? Did you hear anything?" He asked nervously. I shook my head.

  He ran his hand through his hair. "Well, you better put on a suit." He suggested. I had not noticed until now. They all wore the same black, latex, skin-tight suit. It clung to their bodies. Even the girls wore the material. What is this? I had never seen anything like it. It was almost futuristic. I noticed the numerous suits that hung on wracks in the corner beside a large rock the same size as me. "It won't be long until they come to take us." He explained. "You can get changed behind that rock. Naira will help you."

  I noticed a pale-skinned, red-haired, frail-looking girl. She smiled at me with hope. Did she not know what was coming? Had they not told her? She seemed to be in a world of her own. I felt myself break a little inside. How could the Fae do this? How could they sacrifice a young girl to the horror of their games?

  The girl clung onto my arm with her small palm and led me to the suits. I snapped out of my thoughts and came back to reality. Northern was right, we did not have long. By the time I had slipped my suit on and tied my brown hair into a ponytail, they were here.

  "My name is Orin." The faerie stepped in the light. He flashed a smile my way. He had been part of the queen's scheme this entire time. I glared at him.

  How long had they been planning this for? She had clearly dedicated a great deal of her time to finding and capturing me. The Seelie Queen needed a hobby. "Rules: do not try to escape or you die. Salute the queen before the event begins or you die. Do not turn your back on the queen..."

  "Or you die." I finished his sentence. Everyone's attention turned to me. The other prisoners looked gobsmacked that I had been so reckless. What else could the Fae do to me? I was already heading to my death.

  Orin peeled his furious eyes off me and turned to the others. "I am here to guide you to the arena." He held a silver orb in his hand. He placed it on the grey sand floor and clicked his fingers. A swirling of yellow and blue appeared, a portal. "We will be taking you through a portal to get there. One more thing: if you show any disrespect, you will be killed."

  I stared at the beacon of light in the distance. "Move out!" Orin ordered. One by one the prisoners began going through the door. All I wanted to do was run, run away. There was nowhere to run. My heart was pounding and I could not breathe. "Scared?" Orin's vile voice made the hairs on the back of my neck raise. He was far too close for my liking. His warm breaths touched my neck.

  I turned to him, my eyes blazing. "Ha! I laugh in the face of certain death. I eat danger for breakfast." It was my turn and I jumped straight through. The portal was programmed and took me directly through to the selected destination. I fell through the other side with a thud. I had landed on a pile of bodies.

  "Get off of me!" Somebody screamed.

  "I can't breathe!" Someone on the bottom moaned.

  "Frank get your foot out of my face!" Naira, the little girl, complained. I got to my feet immediately. I felt slightly unsteady, light-headed even. I felt like the world was spinning. It was a mixture of motion sickness and high temperature. A hand grabbed hold of me.

  "Careful." Northern stood over me. His grey beard brushing my arm. I gave him a thankful look. "You shouldn't have challenged the guards like that." He warned.

  "Maybe." I sighed. I looked past him to the rounded arena that we were enclosed in. It reminded me of a coliseum in Rumore. It was a mixture of sky blue and grass green. The earth walls surrounded us blocking our exit. The crowd roared at the sight of
us. Flags, banners, and cheers were let loose. Tens of thousands of the faeries had come to see us be slaughtered. The word 'entertainment' was painted on the side of the wall in blood. My stomach twisted into a knot.

  The desert sand was a deep blue like the ocean. Drums of war sounded, their pounding beat deafening me. I took a deep breath. Stay focused. I will survive this. I will survive this. I will survive.

  "Presenting her royal highness, the supreme Seelie Queen!" The announcer called. Out from the shadows stepped out the queen. She wore an almost transparent green dress making her camouflage against her vine seating box. She waved at her loyal subjects before finding her seat. They adored and worshipped her. Who was a better fit for a wicked kingdom than a wicked queen?

  "Her majesty is proud to give you her hardest game yet." The crowd roared in praise. My heart was pounding a thousand beats a second but I refused to show my fear. "I give you the golden goblet challenge!" The crowd went wild, jumping up and hooting. Their reaction was a bad sign for us. I noticed in the stands several of the faeries began placing bets on us as if we were cattle. "The contestants will have to go to the deepest parts of the lake to find: a missing object: a golden goblet. They will have exactly one hour to find it and swim back here."

  Do not panic. Do not freak out! Too late. Was she insane? We had to search for an entire lake for a golden object? A lake that was infested with dark creatures that would kill us on sight. Not to mention we only had one hour to search the entire lake.

  There was no hope. This was not a challenge or a game, it was a death sentence. "If they do not return in time with the object... they shall drown that is if the monsters of the deep don't kill them first." A crooked smile filled the lips of the announcer. The crowd laughed and chuckled at the idea of us drowning. The faeries' minds were truly twisted. I overheard Naira let out a sob.

  There was a sounding of delicate music as the queen got to her feet again. "I wish you the best of luck, my contestants." The group that surrounded me saluted her. I did not and everyone saw. I noticed out of the corner of my eye, an archer ready to shoot. The queen stopped him with a flicker of her hand. She wanted me to die in the games, this had been her plan all along.

  "Contestants, you know what to do. Let the games begin!" She flashed her devious smile at me. She was mocking me.

  Suddenly the ground beneath me clung on tightly. Like a pair of hands were pulling me down. The sand had quickly turned to some sort of quicksand. As I got a closer look I noticed it was turning into some sort of goo, liquid, or tar. Somebody behind me shrieked.

  "How will we breathe?!" Naira called. This had never occurred to me until now. I could not- nobody- could hold their breath for an hour! I would drown. We would all drown. Everybody around me began to struggle but the more they struggled the faster they sank.

  I tried to stay calm, stay still. Don't move. Don't breathe. Don't struggle. I was down to my knees in the liquid. She wanted me to compete, she did not want me to die pointlessly. I forced myself to believe that she had a plan. My neck was now covered in the liquid and I could not see any of the others. I was alone.

  "Try not to die too quickly, I want to enjoy this." The queen shouted down at me. I was sinking rapidly. I took one final breath before I was completely under.

  A cold sensation surrounds me. The ice water digging into me like knives. I opened my eyes to find myself surrounded by murky lake water. We were under the arena. I saw shadows lurking around me. I could not help but feel like a pair of eyes were watching me.

  I cringed as a sharp pain shot through my neck. I let out a yelp and closed my eyes, waiting for the pain to pass. It felt as if somebody was slicing and deforming my skin. I placed my hand on the wound. I traced the three lumps with my fingers. Was that? No, it could not be. Gills? I opened my eyes to see my feet had deformed as well along with my hands. My hands and feet had been stretched and webbed like frogs feet. How?

  "The suit." A voice whispered in my mind. I was released, it was not the Seelie Queen nosing around in my brain again. Instead, it was Northern. He emerged from the shadows of the lake. "We will have the best chance of survival if we work as a team."

  I nodded in agreement. "I shall take this side of the lake with Naira. You take the other." How was this possible? How could he speak to me through our minds? None of this made any sense.

  "What about the others?" I thought nervously. I looked around scanning the water for anyone else.

  "I fear they are already lost." His gravestone made my heart pound harder in my chest. I gulped hard. "We don't have much time." I nodded and began to dive down further and further into the abyss.

  The darkness surrounded me. It took me a while for my eyes to adjust. I couldn't see the lake floor. I didn't know how much further it was either. I could not help but feel like eyes were watching me and out in the open water, I felt exposed. The murky, cloudy water made it almost impossible to see clearly. I considered casting a light spell. It would do more bad than good. I could not attract unwanted attention. Especially when I was at a disadvantage.

  I dived deeper into the seaweed bed. The long green and yellow strands swayed in the ripples. The salty, slimy leaves rubbed up against my skin as I weaved in and out. There was something here. I could feel it in my bones. Every muscle in my body was on the alert.

  Large jagged rocks surrounded me. They were sunken mountains, the large shadows they cast were the ideal hiding spots for predators. Then I saw it out in the open water.

  A sunken ship big enough to carry a hundred soldiers. What was it doing in the middle of the lake? I looked around. Nothing moved, not a single ripple was out of tune. It was quiet, too quiet. Not even the clams on the bottom were moving.

  This was a bad idea. A very bad idea. I would have to swim down to it. It was the perfect place to hide something but it could also be a trap. Next move? Spring the trap. I swam quickly as possible towards the ship. I needed to get out of open water where I was vulnerable. Who knew what creatures lurked here?

  I got closer to the sunken shell of a once-mighty vessel. The wood had been gnawed at and fragmented. The sail had rotted and all that was left was a slither of material. The wooden mast had peculiar spherical marks longer than my finger. They were teeth marks. What could have done this?

  I did not want to stick around to find out. I went down threw a side window and just as I vanished inside, I could have sworn I saw something. The hold was left with rotting, moss-covered barrels, rusty old chains and decomposed bodies. I stared at the skeleton. I wondered who this might have been. There was a silver blade that threw his eye. The metal glimmered against the lake water. What had happened here? Had this man died before the sinking of the ship?

  I needed to keep moving. I swam in further, keeping my eyes peeled for anything suspicious. The planks of wood at the back of the ship were torn apart. The hole was just big enough for me to wiggle through.

  This must be the captain's quarters. The large crystal window that stretches the entire length of the back wall was cracked in certain places but was still in good condition. The table chairs were smashed to pieces leaving wooden remains. I scanned the room for anything. Then I saw a small necklace, it was silver and held some sort of sapphire inside. I saw a flash of something reflect against the wood and turned swiftly. I glanced out the window, the lake appeared empty. But there was something out there. I was getting a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. What was that? I heard a creaking of something and I did not know whether I was just being paranoid.

  I turned to leave and just when I was about to dive down, it emerged. It was jet black like night. Its beady red pupil stood out against the yellow of the eye. Its teeth like razor blades sharp and ready to attack, it opened its jaws wide and my entire body went stiff. That must be one thousand teeth covered in deadly poison and all of them were aimed at me.

  It burst through the window, sending shards of glass everywhere. It was after me. Its jaw clamped down hard but I was quicker. I was down i
n the hold in seconds. I need to get out of here. My heart was pounding rapidly.

  The sea serpent was anything but slow it had anticipated this and cornered me off. It broke through the floorboards, stopping me in my tracks. I had no choice but to swim back on myself.

  It relentlessly began biting the air, in the hope of killing something. It was right behind me and I did not know if I could outswim it for much longer. I went up threw a small crack hoping that it would not follow. It did. It burst straight through the floorboards, sending the planks of wood to pieces.

  I raced forward. I needed to get out of here. I glided through a porthole and burst out into open water. Big mistake, the serpent was gaining on me. I swam as quickly as I could to the main deck but the serpent was getting close.

  I dodged it as it tried to take a bite out of my leg and then dived down into the rocky shallows. Then I saw the crusty remains of an anchor. Perfect. I swam towards it but the serpent was snapping at my feet. It was barely centimetres away. I am not going to make it.