Turning towards me and Gavin, the Mage spoke in a kind voice. “If you abuse your freedom this is what happens. Herbert didn't appreciate the life I gave him. He must learn how to be grateful again. Time is one of the best cures for this.”
“Yes sir,” I replied as I didn't know what else to say.
“Life here is wonderful if you let it be,” said the Mage. “Prove yourself and you gain an entirely new life. Nearly all of the elves are happy here with their own private homes. Don't let one bad apple leave an impression of how life is here. Ask any other elf. You will see how happy they are here.”
I nodded as I still didn't know what to say after seeing what I just saw. Then I decided to ask the question that I so desperately needed to know. “I have just one question sir. Is it true that me and Gavin must fight to the death? There must be another way right? We are brothers.”
The Mage turned his back to me before giving a reply. “You will both fight. Greatness is not an easy thing to achieve. I only want the best elves in my kingdom. You must prove yourself to catch my eye. You will know the correct choice during the moment. You decide what happens.”
“But we are brothers! We cannot and will not fight!” I yelled as the Mage slowly hovered away and exited the door. He was gone.
Chapter Six
In the corner, the elf once again had his arms wrapped around his knees rolling back and fourth. “What do we do? What happens if we refuse to fight?”
The elf ignored me as he tucked his head into his knees. It seemed he was too scared to speak another word. I suppose it made sense after seeing how the Mage treated him. I signaled Gavin to the opposite corner so we could talk in private. Facing the wall, I wanted to make sure nobody could see us talking. “We got to come up with a plan. There must be some way out of this.”
Gavin scratched his eye brow sending little flakes of skin flying into the air. It was something he did whenever he was in deep thought. Then, he stopped scratching as he looked up at me. “Maybe this is some sort of test? Like it's our destiny or something?”
I shook my head as I couldn't believe what just came out of his mouth. “What? Are you serious? This isn't our destiny. You have read one too many fairy tales. This is real life Gavin, surely you are kidding?”
He looked to the ground as he chuckled a little. “Yea, I guess you are right. But, we want our freedom right? If we don't have our freedom then we have nothing at all.”
“We have each other,” I replied. “As long as we have each other our freedom will come.”
“I know,” Gavin said as he brushed his long dark hair out of his eyes. “I just can't live like this anymore. I'm tired of feeling like a piece of trash, I wanna be something special. Something that people talk about and look up to. Do you ever feel that way?”
Nodding my head, I understood what Gavin meant. It was hard being an elf. “I will figure this out. Don't worry, we will both be something great one day. There is a whole new life out there for us. Just believe it.”
He gave me a slow nod with a look of disappointment on his face. “I'm trying to believe. It's hard.”
I put my hand on his head as I ruffled his hair into a mess. “Stay here. I'm going to see if I can get any information out of Herbert.”
As I walked over to Herbert, he was still rocking back and fourth. “Feeling sick yet? You must have a stomach of iron not to feel a bit sea sick. Yes?”
There was no reply as he pretended not to hear me at all. “I just want some help. You know I can't fight my brother. I need to know what happens out there. How it all goes down. Please.”
His head shook back and fourth as he rocked a little faster. Pacing back and fourth, I wondered what I was going to do. I needed to know what happened during the fight. “Do we get weapons? Is it hand to hand combat?” I asked. “Oh come on. You gotta give me some clues.”
Still, there was no reply. If there was a weapon I needed to know about it. In the back of my mind, I had one idea that stood out. Walking back over to Gavin, I decided to present this idea to him. Carefully, I whispered into his ear. “We will fight.”
A sense of wonder came over his face as if he was relieved. “Really? You really want to fight?”
“Of course not,” I whispered. “But we must. I have an idea though. We will put on a show and make it look believable. Then, right at the end, we must somehow fake your death.”
“My death?” asked Gavin. “Why must I be the one that dies? That isn't fair at all Edmund. You get all of the glory and I get none?”
“Glory?” I asked. “I'm not thinking about glory Gavin. I can't believe you are thinking about it. I am just talking about surviving. The two of us surviving.”
Gavin shook his head as he bit his lip. “If we are faking a death, it's gotta be your death. Please let me be the winner. I know it's not real, but I would really like to win. Please?”
Jumping to my feet, I turned my back to Gavin as this whole conversation was irritating me. How could he be thinking about glory when I was only concerned about survival? In my gut, I knew the crowd wouldn't believe someone as small as him could defeat someone as big as me. “It's too risky,” I said. “You are smaller and younger than me. It would be more believable for me to be the victor. I'm sorry Gavin, that's just the way it is.”
“I am only two years younger,” replied Gavin as he jumped to his feet. “I'm not that much smaller than you. Plus, you saw what I did to that elf that stole father's livestock a few years ago. I don't think it is unbelievable for me to win.”
“Why are you making this complicated?” I asked. “It is final. I am older and should be granted this decision. If father was here he'd surely agree with me.”
“If father was here?” said Gavin. “Yes, that would be great if father was here. But he isn't. You should know that better than me.”
“What do you mean by that,” I asked. “What happened to father was not my fault. How was I suppose to know that there was going to be a surprise raid?”
“You snuck out against fathers will,” replied Gavin with a little anger. “You knew the rules. You broke the rules just so you could see her. This would have never happened if you just would have been there. You should have been there with me.”
“What would I have done if I was there?” I asked. “Have you ever taken a moment to think about that? Would you have expected me to defeat a whole army by myself? What happened has happened. It was nobodies fault.”
Gavin quickly turned around and kicked the ground. “You might have heard them coming in and could have warned us. I don't know. I just know that you should have been there. I had to hide all alone. I wanted to save them, but I couldn't. If you were there maybe it could have been different.”
I put my hand on Gavin's shoulder as I knew he was partly right. I should have been there. “I'm sorry. I can't take back the past. You don't have to worry though, from this point on, I will always be there for you. That's a promise that will never be broken.”
He grabbed my hand and threw it off his shoulder. “It's too late,” replied Gavin as he turned around. “I don't need you now. I needed you then. I'm all grown up and can take care of myself now.”
“That's not fair,” I replied. “I know you're grown up. I never said that. I'm just letting you know that I will be there for you.”
Gavin sighed as he walked past me. “I know that. Let's just drop this okay?”
“Okay, fair enough,” I replied as I followed him towards Herbert. “Let's see if we can get some information out of him.”
We both stood over Herbert as he seemed to be sleeping. “Wake up,” I said while gently kicking his arm. “You're going to talk to us.”
Herbert looked around as if he was checking to see if anyone was watching. Then, his lips barely opened as he tried his best not to look like he was visibly speaking. “There is a sword. Sometimes they hide it, while other times it is thrown into the arena. It's impossible to say which will happen until it happens.”
&
nbsp; “What happens if nobody dies during the fight,” I asked with a light whisper. “We must be prepared for the worst case scenario.”
Herbert nodded as if he was done speaking to us. Turning my head to Gavin, I gave him a gentle nod. He kicked Herbert in the arm as his voice boomed with intensity. “Tell us. If you don't tell us then you are against us. Do you understand?”
A little smile came upon my face as I was a bit surprised with Gavin's statement. “That's a nice way of putting it. Well done.”
“He will kill you both,” replied Herbert. “I wont say anything else. Now leave me be!”
He spun around until his face was against the wall. Looking over at Gavin, I had no words to say to him. We walked back to the opposite corner as I knew we could be short on time. “We gotta fake your death. Just trust me on this. It's our only chance.”
“Did you not hear what Herbert said?” asked Gavin. “We'll both die. Isn't it better for at least one of us to survive?”
“And who would that be?” I asked. “Who would be the survivor Gavin?”
A strange look came upon Gavin's face as his lips wanted to say something. Then, he looked down at the ground as his hands came together. “I don't know. It was just a suggestion. Seems logical if you think about it.”
Looking outside of the bars, there was a large bookshelf full of books. I wondered what the books contained. “Do you think those are spells? Perhaps there could be some sort of spell that could help us.”
“We don't know magic,” replied Gavin. “Even if we did, we couldn't get to the books. Did you forget we are locked in a metal cage?”
“Well, that's why we have to stick with my plan,” I replied as I grabbed Gavin's arm pulling us into the corner as tightly as possible. “You heard Herbert. There is a sword. So all we gotta do is make it look like I stabbed you.”
Gavin yanked his arm from my grip. “If you really have to be the hero, I suppose I will let you.”
“Don't start that again,” I replied. “It is the most logical solution. Now, we just gotta figure out a way to make it believable.”
I popped my fingers as I tried to muster up all of the brain power I had. Then it hit me. “I got it! I will find the sword and use it. Before we find the sword though, we will put on a good show for the crowd. Just some light hand to hand combat at first. But, we will make it look intense. We might have to exchange a few blows to make it look real.”
“Okay. Well, that could be fun,” replied Gavin. “But how am I going to pretend I'm dead?”
My eyes squinted as I replied with confusion. “Fun? How is this going to be fun?”
“Well, maybe not fun. But, an adventure,” Gavin said. “Like something in a old story. Remember that one story mother would read to us? The one about the knight who had to fight in the arena. Remember how glamorous it was with the crowd cheering his name?”
Both hands went on top of my head as I tried to understand what Gavin was talking about. “Yes, I remember that. It was only a story though. This is real life Gavin. What has gotten into you lately?”
'Nothing,” replied Gavin as he shrugged his shoulders.
My fingers went into my mouth as I felt nervous energy take over. “Back to our plan. I will pretend to strike you with my sword. I will position my body close to yours so nobody will be able to clearly see what's truly happening.”
“That's your plan?” Gavin asked. “That's like the oldest trick in the book. Besides, how about blood? There's gotta be blood for the Mage and crowd to believe I am dead.”
“I know that,” I replied. “I will lightly cut my hand and smear the blood all over you. I think it will work.”
“What if it doesn't,” asked Gavin. “Then what? We just die?”
With that reply, the reality of the situation hit me. My head shook as I tried to remain optimistic. “No. I don't think so. You heard what the Mage said when I asked him. He said we decide what happens. Remember?”
Gavin shook his head as he didn't seem too confident about the plan. “I don't know. It just seems so risky. I don't wanna to die Edmund.”
“You think I want to die?” I asked. “If I thought we were going to die I wouldn't suggest this plan. You remember the promise I made you? Never again will I not be there for you. That is final.”
There was no reply from Gavin as he looked a bit worried. Being a good big brother, I tried to remain confident in ensuring him of our safety. “Look at it this way. The Mage said he wanted only the best elves in his kingdom. This could be a test. He might even be impressed with our courage and loyalty to each other. Yea, I bet that's it!”
A surge of excitement came over me as my confidence grew. This was surely just some sort of test he was putting us through. Why would a Mage want an elf in his kingdom that was willing to kill his own brother? It just made no sense. “I think this is really going to work Gavin. The Mage must simply be testing our loyalty to each other. It all makes sense now.”
Gavin's head came up as a glimpse of hope sparkled in his blue eyes. “I hope your right Edmund,” he said. “Then maybe we could be free in his kingdom? Could you imagine having your own home? The friends we could make, and the great food we could eat?”
Hearing Gavin describe that lifestyle did make me a bit excited. My imagination could see it so clearly. Me and Gavin living together or even in separate houses. It didn't matter. It all seemed so perfect. We could forget about the war and the Greylands all together. I gave Gavin a hug. Then, the door slammed open. It was the Mage.
Chapter Seven
The Mage stuck the key into our cell door without saying a word. A loud thump followed as the door swung open hitting the wall. Then, the Mage pointed straight at Gavin. “Full blood. Come to my side.”
Gavin looked at me and then back at the Mage. Slowly, he made his way towards him until they stood side by side. One arm went around Gavin as the Mage spoke softly. “Tell your brother to come stand beside us.”
“Come over here,” yelled Gavin. “Stand right next to me.”
“That's a good elf,” said the Mage. “Doesn't it feel good to be in control? You're old enough that you don't need to take orders from anyone. You control your own destiny Gavin.”
“I know that,” replied Gavin with a look of determination. “My brother tries to look after me. That's all. He means well by it.”
The Mage said nothing as he pulled out his watch. His palm opened as the watch dropped and dangled in mid air. Swinging back and fourth, there was a moment of silence. Then, he said, “the time has come. Out the door we must go.”
We followed behind him as we made our way out of the holding cell. Outside, it was like a different world. A festive atmosphere. Elves were carrying their babies on their backs as they raced towards the large arena near the center of the kingdom. Screams and yells, there was excitement in the air. Oddly enough, I had never felt so alive, yet so dead at the same time. In fact, it was so festive, that I almost forgot what was about to happen. Nudging Gavin in the shoulder, I gave him a little smile just to let him know that everything was going to be okay.
The arena was grand. Stone white floors that were white as snow. It was large and shaped like an egg. Around it, stood at least a hundred different elves cheering like it was the best day of their life. Some of the elves were selling food, while others were passing out colorful flowers.
The Mage made his way to the center of the arena and faced the crowd. On his left was Gavin, with me on his right. Then, he raised his arms into the air as the crowd went quiet. “Today is a special day. I say this because it is a rare event. So rare, I think we have yet to encounter this. Two brothers will fight. One brother will travel to the heavens for his freedom, while the other will gain his freedom here.”
The crowd erupted as their screaming and yelling reached a near deafening level. It made me wonder how these elves could be so happy to see two brothers fight. How did they see this as acceptable? It was as if they were brainwashed.
The
Mage put his hands back into the air as the crowd started to quiet. “One true warrior will emerge today. The Knights of Stonewood will once again gain a new elf. Who will it be? The half blood, or the full blood? That is the question, is it not?”
As the Mage continued his speech, I whispered into Gavin's ear just to make sure we had our plan straight. “Remember, I will get the sword. We just fight for a few minutes. Nothing too rough. Then, I will give you three nods. When you see three nods, that's when I will stab you. Well, that is pretend to stab you of course. Got it?”
The look on Gavin's face was blank as he stared straight ahead. His head nodded as he puffed his chest out. “Don't worry, I got it.”
My hands came together as my fingers started to twist. It was something I had never said to Gavin. Maybe it was because we were raised to be pretty tough, I don't know. Under the circumstances though, I felt like I had to say it. “I love you Gavin. Don't ever forget how much I love you.”
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