The Other Side of the Lie (EDITING, ON HOLD)

Twenty-three-Bella

Bella was brought to an arena that sat high on the mountain. The air was cold, and the wind whipped Bella's hair about her face. The arena was large, easily the diameter of one of the soccer fields at home. In the center stood Hawk and his mother, with Lord Galvin at their side.

"A Challenge has been put forward! Prince Hawk, the third of his name, of the line of Shrike Stormbreaker, the greatest Sky fey warlord challenges his mother, Lady Raven of the line of Nightingale Winddancer, for the Sky fey throne." Lord Galvin spoke into a small disk of smooth gray stone and some magic in the stone amplified his voice so that it could be heard from anywhere in the arena and the seats flanking the arena floor.

Bella scanned the crowd for her brother and friends. She was high up and far from the arena floor and couldn't go anywhere because of the chains shackling her to the stone of the arena seats. Then there were the eight guards stationed around her to make sure she could not escape.

She was surprised that she had been allowed to come watch. But one of the guards had informed her that it was because Queen Raven had wanted to see her reaction when Hawk died.

"If she's the queen, why did Lord Galvin call her Lady?"

The guard she'd asked backhanded her. "Quiet, you insolent girl. You don't know the first thing about our ways."

Bella glared at him.

"The first test," Lord Galvin announced, "is of strength of will and mind. The council has decided that it will be a game of logic, and it will also determine who will have the advantage in the second test."

Two soldiers joined the trio on the arena floor, carrying a small table and a small crate respectively. The table was placed between Hawk and Queen Raven, and five glass bottles were removed from the crate and put on the table. A shimmering shape appeared over the arena, a larger-than-life magic hologram of the scene on the arena floor.

The five bottle's contents were all different colors. One was a pale sage green, another black, another sky blue, scarlet, and finally gold.

"One is harmless, one is a potion that grants extra stamina and strength to the drinker, and the other three are poisons of various designs, none of which are deadly but have varying degrees of, shall we say, unpleasantness. Drinking any of those will cause a disadvantage during the next test." Lord Galvin took a small sip of paper from his breast pocket, the shimmering figure above him replicating the gesture. "It's at night that we sleep in comfort but in the dark lifeblood is shed," he read. "When the sun rises it lights up every crack and cranny so that everything is seen. The clouds hide the faint moon from our view, and the trees grow beneath the light of the roaring sun." He cleared his throat. "You must choose and drink the contents of one bottle, no more, no less."

Bella bit her lip. She didn't know how good Hawk was at riddles, but at least it was obvious. The scarlet liquid was dangerous, and so was the black. Blood and dark nights. The gold or the blue, Bella guessed, because they were Sky fey after all. The green, she was not so sure of.

When Hawk reached for the scarlet vial Bella leapt to her feet and would have screamed at him to stop, not to take that one but she was immediately shoved roughly back into her seat.

"You make another sound and I'll gag you," the guard who'd pushed her threatened. Bella didn't dare point out that she hadn't managed to say anything.

Hawk waited for his mother to choose her vial, and Bella felt a small sting of satisfaction when Queen Raven picked the black bottle. At least Hawk would not be the only one at a disadvantage. Then again, Bella doubted it would be Queen Raven who fought. She would very likely choose a champion to fight for her.