Today was the day we will be fighting our second opponent. It was also the day we were supposed to get interviewed by the king-to-be. I was curious about what he looks like. All I knew was that he was 21-years-old. 3 years older than me. 

"Attention competitors," this stupid loud voice woke me up from my slumber sleep."Today you will be getting interviewed before your second fight. Please report to the hallway where you were health-checked. You have half an hour."

Crap. I quickly got out of bed. I quickly got my toothbrush and toothpaste and went to the bathroom. I washed my face. I stared at the mirror. My eyes. The eyes that were once playful and happy. Now they were filled with the essence of nothing. Cold and emotionless. I really have to get my sh*t together. I looked at my watch. 10 minutes left. That was enough time for me to run there without being late. 

30 minutes later...

After awaiting my turn, I was surprised to see a woman awaiting me in a room instead of a 21-year-old looking guy like I was expecting. She looked 35-45 years of age though people nowadays age slower than back then. Her eyes reminded me of a woman who has been through all horrors of the world. I knew who she was. 

I curtsied. "Your majesty."

The queen said nothing. Just stared at me below her eye lashes. 

A few seconds passed..."Sit"

I sat on the chair across from her. A bowl of porridge sat in front of me. "Eat," she said expressionlessly.

Without doing what she asked, I leaned back against my chain. "No."

"No?" she said, a flash of amusement in her eyes.

"This is poisoned." I responded narrowing my eyes.

She stared at me for a moment, as if she just realized something about me. "Well, you're the first to pass this assignment." She snapped her fingers, a maid came in and took the bowl away, in replacement was a bowl of fruit. I could tell it was not poisoned judging by the smell.

The queen put her chin on her hands as her elbows rest on the table. "What is your name?"

I froze. I am more than sure that she knows what happened. Rumors spread fast around here.

"My name is Taryn," I said calmly. I didn't need to tell her my adoptive last name.

The queen nodded, a slight smile playing at her lips. At least I could delete her from the list of suspects I have for the person who murdered my friends. Her hair was a golden brown whilst the murderer's was dark red. 

"Why do you think you deserve the position to protect my son," the queen began.

I paused. " He is the king-to-be and I want to do what is right for the kingdom. I want to have a purpose for being here. If I have to die in order to fulfill it then be it." 

The queen nodded, observing me. "You are not afraid to die," she murmured, sympathy lacing her voice. "Ms. Lafar." 

"I have a question," I started. The queen beckoned for me to continue. " I thought that the king-to-be was supposed to interview the competitors."

"Do you think I am not capable of interviewing them myself?" the queen asked, amusement in her eyes.

I blushed. "I did not mean to offend you, meeting you face to face is already an honor itself. I was just a little bit curious."

The queen replied," Unfortunately, my son had an emergency he had to attend to which is why I will be interviewing the rest of the competitors."

I furrowed my eyes in confusion. Does that mean that he was here before I came? This seems too rude to ask.

The queen gave me a sly smile as if she knew what I was thinking. "If there are no other questions," her eyes flashed," You may go."

I nodded and stood up. " I thank you for your time."

I curtsied before leaving the room.

I passed General Maddox on the way out. He smiled. 

"I believe you are the first one to make it out alive," he said.

"It appears so," I replied, giving him a small smile. I felt like I knew him. His face looks familiar.

He caught me staring. "You must know my daughter, Freya."

I nodded before excusing myself. I haven't gotten that much sleep that night, thoughts filling up my head.

3 hours later another announcement was made.

"Since half of you are left we are going to cut this competition and get to the final test. Please be at the entrance of the arena in 10 minutes. You may have one weapon of choice."

I picked up my staff. It was no ordinary staff. It was made from rare metal stronger than 5 swords. It was seen as a small handle that activates from my fingerprint. Cressida had made it for me. Her father was a metal-smith so she could use any metal she wanted. I had given her the design and had asked her for a favor. It was technically a sword slash staff due to the top being shaped like a sword. I saw Freya leaving her room and hurried after her.

She had chosen a lasso made from strong cloth, I noticed. We said our greetings and I was happy to see her alive. Of course, she would be. She was the General's daughter anyway.

We got there just in time as her father started explaining the last part of the test. 

"The arena was newly programmed to resemble a forest," he began, looking around to make sure everyone was there. " Obstacles will get in your way, the paparazzi will be taking photos and videos from above. Under no circumstances are you allowed to have more than 1 ally. The goal is to make it to the end of the forest. However, the arena was also expanded to make sure it will take you at least a day. You are allowed to eliminate whoever you want. We will not stop until only 5 survivors are left. May good luck be on your side." And with that, guards started checking to make sure everyone had only one weapon. I noticed that only 4 girls were left.

There were 3 lights above the entrance. Red, Yellow, and Green. At the "ally" comment, Freya and I looked at each other and smiled. I knew I could trust her.

Beep... Red light beaming

Beep... Yellow light beaming

Beep... Green light beaming

The doors opened and everyone rushed in. The fresh scent of a forest greeted me. Boy, it really does look like a forest. I immediately started rushing to one of the nearest tall trees. I saw Freya do the same. I immediately started climbing using the branches and then using my staff by making it as short as a dagger. As I got to the top, I saw Freya waving from another tree. She put a finger to her lips. I was sadly reminded of "the night" before I shook my head to get it out. She looked confused and I grinned at her telling her it's nothing. I started observing the place. Many incredible stupid people had created bonfires. I could tell by the light coming from all sorts of places. I suddenly spotted a cave not too far from the tree I was staying on. I waved at Freya and pointed towards the well-hidden cave. She nodded in understanding. 

I saw the tree next to me and decided to jump, careful not to make too much noise. Freya did the same to my tree and then to the tree, I was currently staying on. We quietly, without any chatter, made our way to the closest tree to the cave and started climbing down. Halfway through, I noticed some odd-looking fruit. I suddenly remembered that it was poisonous. I can't believe I almost ate it. Freya however nearly had one in her mouth so I knocked it out of her hand and shook my head. Unfortunately, the fruit fell to the ground, more than 20 feet from the ground. It landed with a loud thud. Out of nowhere, a pack of wolves appeared and sniffed the fruit.

 It's leader, obviously the grey one, in the front. As if it knew where we were, it looked up and stared right at me. I stared into the green eyes of the wolf. I probably look like a koala bear hugging the tree like this. I could have sworn a flash of amusement flashed through the wolf's eyes before he barked something at his companions and they were off, not before he gave me another glance.

As we neared the cave, I bent down to pick a couple of branches to start a fire. I made sure to pick only a couple since we don't want to get noticed. Freya nodded at me and I started rubbing two sticks together. It took a while before a flash of fire was created but it was worth it. I felt warm and comfortable and it was getting dark in the arena. The cave was well-hidden and I knew it was a 15% chance that someone would discover us, not including the camera people who obviously hid secret cameras in here. I just hope they won't do anything to us as Freya was the general's daughter. Freya and I found some big logs to sit on and there was a moment of silence.

She told me about her family and how her brothers were in the royal guard. She said she wanted to be near them and not in her tiny hut. Her mother apparently, was a headmistress and was a friend of the queen's. She asked me what really happened that night. 

I took a deep breath before telling her what happened. In the end, she had a few tears in her eyes though she was struggling not to cry. I wasn't doing that well myself. In the end, I found some soft sticks to use as a horrible pillow but at least it was better than nothing. 

I closed my eyes and fell asleep.