Chapter 4

“What do you suppose the challenges will be? I’m sure they’ll be hard, I mean, the Champion of the Kingdom can’t be just anybody, so they’ll need to be a… well, a challenge. Who do you think will get out first?” said Kerry excitedly, not seeming to realise that she was having a one-sided conversation. “I think it’ll be Celeste, she’s such a dithering idiot. God I hate her! Then probably Lillian- I mean, she never says anything!” Sebastian wasn’t really listening. He was going over a complicated sword sequence in his head. He was also thinking- well, more worrying- about his mum and Mergol. Many times, he had considered writing a letter to ask how everything was going, but he dreaded what would be in the reply so he had put it off again and again. Not knowing was better. He knew Kerry had written home once and hadn’t yet got a response. But it had been less than a week. If he couldn’t last that little time without checking in on his mother, then how was he ever going to survive if he won the Battle of Larion? Not that that was a likely outcome.

 

The training for the first week was almost at an end, but there was more work than ever to be done, especially with Arrow, who simply refused to be tamed beyond the lead rope stage. As the group of thirteen anxious men and women rushed toward the single combat training area, there was a strangled cry and Patrick was suddenly on the ground. His brother, Jeremiah, dropped to the ground beside him seconds later. The party halted, a few people bending down to talk to the men, others calling for help. Kerry, among those crouched in the dirt, was carefully examining Patrick’s lower leg, which had quite suddenly broken out in a fierce rash and seemed to be causing him a lot of pain.

“Are you ok, Pat?” she asked as she gently poked and prodded the swollen area.

“What do you think?” Patrick snapped back, wincing.

“Coming through!” announced Instructor Hodges as he made his way through to the centre of the group.  He took one look at the leg, and laughed, without a touch of humour.

“You think this is funny, do you?” demanded Jeremiah, also baring a nasty, bright red rash on his leg.

“Watch your tone! I could have you thrown out of this competition right now, if you want.” Dark eyes glared threateningly. “You both seem to have hit a patch of Grassis Infectatious, is all.”

“Excuse me?” said Patrick, not comprehending.

“Grassis Infectatious. It grows in a few spots around the castle. It’s quite valued actually, a very rare species. Perfectly harmless… unless stepped in.” At this, both men gave their instructor pained looks. “A rash will develop on skin that comes in contact with the grass. Worst case scenario, the injury can become infected and spread through to the muscle and bone. In which case, limbs might require amputation.” Horror-struck looks were passed around the spectator’s circle, though their expressions were nothing on the ones worn inside the circle. “No need to worry, though. We seem to have caught this one just in time. I’ll apply a little remedy and then we can be on our way.”

“Can you- can you give us something for the pain?” said Jeremiah.

“Nope,” was the calm response. A thin-lipped smile spread across Hodges’ face. He was clearly enjoying their suffering. “You’ll just have to grin and bare it. Trust me, if you can’t handle a little skin twinge, you won’t go far in the Battle of Larion. We’ve got some stunners in store for you idiots.”

 

As the Thursday of the first week came to a close, Sebastian flopped back onto the hard bed at the end of their sleeping quarters and stared up at the ceiling with his hands locked behind his head. Ed, sitting on the bed beside him, was chattering away about Jeremiah and Patrick and the grass, but his voice faded into the background, the same way Kerry’s had done earlier. How are you going to survive this? said the patronising voice inside Sebastian’s head. Hodges had taken great pleasure that day in warning them that their lives could be at risk during the challenges, and Sebastian was worried. He was no coward, and he didn’t like to admit when he was scared, but it was a strange thought, that he could die in the middle of some stupid contest for the title of ‘Champion of the Kingdom’. And it freaked him out. But he guessed not as much as it had Gregory, from the look on the Prince’s face across the room. He seemed totally petrified at the idea of facing death and he made no effort to hide this feeling. Poor man, Sebastian thought. He probably didn’t even choose this. It was forced upon him, and he can’t back out.

 

Kerry pretty much failed at archery as well as combat with a sword, and her stupid mule of a horse bit her hand, causing an array of discoloured flesh and bruising to appear. So overall, the first week was going badly for her. She felt a little better when a small dove arrived, bearing a letter from home, but even that minimal excitement was soon flattened.

 

My darling daughter,

 

It was good to hear from you so soon. I hope you are well. Actually, you better bloody well be or I’ll creep into Siotan's room at night and chop his head off, even if he is the King! All of Hansville is praying for you, and wishing you luck in the tasks ahead of you. I know you will try your best, Kerry; you always do, except when there are chores involved... Anyway, to do your best is all anyone can ask of you. Refer them to me if those bloody sods ask any more of you, alright? I’ll give them a right good whollop over the head for their trouble.

 

But it is with a heavy heart that I tell you that Lea has fallen ill. I didn’t want to darken your day, but I thought you would want to know. Mergol came to see her earlier this morning and apparently she has come down with a disease he has never seen before. Imagine that! He’s supposed to be a bloody amazing healer and all, but he can’t even tell us what’s bloody wrong with her! She has a fever and a cough and sometimes she goes into odd trances. But when she has been lucid, she’s been worrying about you. The problem with this whole thing is that Mergol doesn’t know much about it, so he can’t really treat it and we don’t know how serious it actually is. I’m sorry you had to read this, Kerry.

 

We look forward to hearing from you soon,

 

Your loving mother

 

Kerry had never been so worried in her life. Now was really not the time for her baby sister to fall ill with some mystery disease that couldn’t be treated. What if Lea were to die? How would Kerry feel then, knowing that while her sister was suffering, she had been halfway across the Kingdom, concerning herself over a few meagre challenges? And she knew that Mergol was one of the best healers there was, so if he didn’t recognise the disease then there wasn’t much chance anyone else would. There’s something suspicious about this, Kerry decided. She knew she had to somehow find a way to help. She had no idea what she would do, she just knew there had to be something. On Thursday night, Kerry cried, for the first time in years.

 

Arrow threw his head back, as if he were laughing, and cantered away again, kicking up his back legs. Sebastian sighed and chased after him, yet again. He glanced over at the arena beside him, where Kerry was calmly saddling her stocky little horse. He turned to the other side, and saw Marcus sitting astride a jet black mare. How was that possible in just a week? Sebastian leant against the railing and watched his chestnut yearling rearing and bucking against the blue-gold sunset and smiled. He thought about everything that had happened, everything that was going to happen, and was completely overwhelmed by it all. But it was nice to have this moment of peace to look around and not be suffocated by problems left and right. The moment was short-lived, but it gave him a new sense of clarity.

 

The first week came to a sudden close, and- after being flooded with seemingly useless information about battles tactics, law and history- so did the second. Sebastian began to feel more and more anxious about the tasks ahead, and he wasn’t the only one. Even Octavia’s broad grin was beginning to fade as the Battle drew nearer, and while nine weeks may sound like a long way away, the competitors knew that time could pass by in a flash when you least wanted it to. So, as the group sat in one of many rooms in the castle, listening to a new instructor talk about ‘the power of the mind’ as an introduction to their third training week, Celeste leaned in to whisper in Benjamin’s ear.

“Nervous?” she asked. He turned to face her with a look of irritation.

“Look, Celeste, I thought I told you this couldn’t happen,” he snapped. She drew back as if he had slapped her.

“We can’t still be friends?” she said, her tone hopeful. Benjamin rolled his eyes.

“You don’t want to be friends with me,” he replied icily. “You don’t want to be friends with anybody!”

“Now Ben, you know that’s not true,” Celeste drawled, her voice silky. Benjamin looked into her eyes and suddenly lost all his previous conviction. From a couple of rows back, Octavia looked on disapprovingly. She had started to fall asleep listening to the boring old man at the front talk, and the fact that she was back sitting at a desk, as if she were at school after almost twenty years, made her all the more drowsy, but her eyes snapped open as Celeste spoke to Benjamin. She twisted to talk to Kerry behind her. If Benjamin and Celeste were going to carry on as if they hadn’t even heard her, then she was going to spill their secret.

“Hey Kerry, you want to hear the gossip?” Octavia whispered.

“Always,” Kerry smiled back.

“Well, in the first week, I caught Benjamin and Celeste kissing in a corner,” Octavia announced. Kerry’s eyes looked like they were about ready to pop out of her skull.

“What?” she hissed. “I always thought Ben was a decent bloke!”

“You just fancy him, because he winks at you in the halls,” said Octavia.

“Don’t be stupid! Anyway, I don’t really care, they can be horrible together.”

“But that’s not all. Benjamin has a fiancée back home and he promised that if I didn’t tell anyone he would end it with Celeste, but I don’t think he did!”

“I definitely didn’t have him down as the cheating kind!” exclaimed Kerry, frowning.

 

Sebastian’s gaze was locked firmly with Ed’s as he tried to ‘read’ the other man. They had been at this for at least half an hour, just staring at each other, hoping that the slightest detail would reveal itself. Neither of them had been listening to the long lecture about mind control, but had a vague idea of what they were supposed to be doing. They were supposed to ‘use the power that resided deep within’ and read each other’s emotions, thoughts and secrets. Sebastian found it very hard to concentrate on Ed’s brown eyes, as many other features of his face demanded more attention. The horrible acne was one, as were the large ears, the bulbous nose and the shaggy eyebrows. And Sebastian had no idea what the other man was feeling or thinking. He felt warm breath on the side of his face, and turned to see the old and boring Instructor Goulamon peering at him.

“You mustn’t break your concentration like that, boy!” he cried. “Though it may not seem like it now, this is a very important skill to have. If you can interpret what an enemy is thinking and feeling, you have a definite advantage in any fight that may ensue. If you are very good, you may even be able to predict their next move. But we will start at the basics. Take you, for example.” Goulamon caught Sebastian’s gaze and stood there for a few seconds, searching. Sebastian felt decidedly uncomfortable under this scrutiny. “You are a talented boy, there is no doubt to that. But you are arrogant and you have a troubled past. It is hard to recover from that, but the Battle of Larion is a chance for you to get out from under your past. Mind attack was not a skill you were serious about learning until you heard its relevance to battle, which shows a distinct narrow-mindedness.” All thirteen competitors had turned to look at Sebastian now, listening to the instructor blurt out his thoughts and emotions to the world. “Your father is… dead, he must be. Your mother is still alive… yes… but, you’re an orphan anyway…? Bizarre… You have another secret, though, don’t you? You’re in love with someone… You haven’t told them. You might not even know it yourself. But I can feel the passion there, burning inside of you. A bright, flickering candle against the all-consuming black.” Goulamon gathered his bright-coloured robes around him and swept to the other end of the room.

“That was wicked!” laughed Ed.   

Reviews

[MaidMarian]

THAT WAS Amazing. Im speechless. Best chapter yet. I love how you went into the pshycological aspects the battle has on the people. The only suggestion I have is in the letter from Kerrys mother it uses the term 'sue' and in the time period I think the story is written they did not do such a thing. The kings word was law, you could not sue him. It was an incredible chapter. I cant wait to see what happens next.

[Addi]

Wow, thank you so much! I really appreciate that. And yeah, you're probably right, I'll fix that. By the way, dying to read the next chapter of your book, post soon! :)

[James Hanna-Magill]

Dear Addi

Sorry for the delay in getting onto chapter four.

Life just gets in the way.

But take courage, I am now an avid reader of your book.

There is so much to praise as you develop this story. Take this as a huge compliment. It is meant as such. I hear the voice of JK Rowling more and more loudly as I read on. She I respect as a writer. Yet you bring your own twist to her style and subject matter.

Any issues I had in chapter one have now gone. This perspective works well.

I continue to love the way you deal with the nascent intrigue of the young, their interaction as pre-sexual adults.

The way you change tone with letters now; the sad, the concern with the objective of winning the prize. The conflict between the two.

But I would be a poor and inadequate reviewer were I not to point out the areas where I feel you could improve the piece.

1) You still confuse with too many characters introduced too quickly. This is my major concern. Please try to think about saying more about them all earlier and more deeply or introduce them more slowly; and

2) I find it unnecessary that you use swear words where they are not needed as in the letter. In Split I feel that to be the same, however much O feel tthey may be justified. Does a mother rarely use that language to her daughter? It isn't hard to do Addi. Just tone it down a little.

This is turning into a hugely engaging read, my friend.

Chapter 5 in my sights soon.

Keep at it.

This is strong material well worth refining and completing

With all due respect and my kindest reagrds as ever


James