Prince's Gamble | HAOBIN

8. Forest Unkown

Two more training sessions had passed now, and Zhanghao had kept his promise to hang out with Taerae. They spent time riding bikes, reading and flying kites which had kept Zhanghao pleased over the past few days. His time with the younger had just distracted him from the bigger problem at hand. Although, his time with Taerae meant that he hadn't seen Hanbin since the time in the castle gardens. 

It was now the day of the first round in which two competitors would be eliminated from the competition. The training with Gunwook had made Zhanghao faster, agiler and stronger, giving him confidence. His skills had improved as well, while Gunwook had trained him to be able to use a bow and arrow and other weapons such as daggers, Zhanghao's personal favorite was the sword. 

"Look at me." Gyuvin stared into Zhanghao's eyes, hands on his shoulders. "I'm going to survive, because if I don't, Gyuvin won't be able to live anymore." He paused, making sure Zhanghao heard him, "Repeat it in your head and don't forget it, Okay?" 

Zhanghao nodded, "I won't." 

"Please don't die, Zhanghao." Ricky said, looking at Zhanghao with sad eyes. 

"I won't Ricky. I promise you." 

Ricky and Gyuvin had helped him get dressed in one of the rooms of the castle where he had been told to change and wait for the guards to come. They had given him dark brown pants and a waterproof jacket which had fleece on the inside to keep him warm. The variety of pockets also satisfied Zhanghao, providing him with space to put things if he needed. 

The three were chatting casually when the door opened. Zhanghao expected the guards but instead Hanbin walked in. Sitting down on the bed where Zhanghao, Gyuvin and Ricky were already sitting he gazed at Zhanghao. 

"Good luck." He said. "You'll be okay. You have to be." Hanbin shook his head in grief. 

Zhanghao looked at him, "Don't worry too much, okay? When I get out let's drink some Zero Cola." He smiled, Hanbin managing a smile back too.  

However, as the guards came to get Zhanghao, he didn't notice Hanbin slipping a small charm into the pocket of his jacket. 

—

Zhanghao stood facing a large slab of stone which was supposedly the door that was to let him into the first round of the competition. The guards stood a few steps behind him, waiting for the start to initiate. Gunwook had told him that there would be weapons scattered around the place, but to expect an unexpected territory that they would be on. 

As sirens started going off, counting down in seconds, Zhanghao thought in his mind, I'm going to survive because if I don't, Gyuvin won't be able to live anymore. He chuckled before the last siren went off and the stone door began to slide to the left, creating an opening.  

As the door opened, it revealed colors of dark green and brown as Zhanghao found himself looking at a thick forest of tall trees and dirt ground. Eyes widening slightly, he turned back to look at the guards. 

"You have to go in." One of them told him. "Trust me, you'd rather go in there than face whatever would happen to you if you don't cooperate." 

Sucking in a breath, Zhanghao turned back to face the forest, slowly taking steps towards the doorway after hearing the guards words. Had Taerae already gone in? He wondered, as his feet finally stepped into the forest fully. Suddenly, the stone slab door began to move again closing behind him with a thud. 

Zhanghao looked upwards, observing his surroundings. It seemed to be some sort of arena which had been transformed into a temporary forest for the competition. Zhanghao gazed back down, looking around for where he could possibly find the weapons. He had been told—and he was sure the other competitors had been told to—that there was only one way this round would end. 

When two of them were dead. 

One possible strategy could be to wait it out and avoid other people until two of them were dead, or he could end it quickly by finding people himself. However, he didn't know the skill level of any of the other competitors apart from Taerae, which proved a wall in tactic. 

Then, in the corner of his eye flashed a glint, turning Zhanghao's attention. There seemed to be something buried at the base of one of the trees, only a tip of steel peeking out from under the dirt. Walking over, Zhanghao bent down, using his fingers to brush the dirt away. There, at his feet, lay a sword, shining as if it was calling out for Zhanghao to pick it up. 

Zhanghao picked it up, turning the sword over in his hand to admire the it. Zhanghao recognized the sword as made out of Carbon steel, Zhanghao's favorite type of sword. Encrusted on the handle was a ruby gem which glittered in the light. 

Zhanghao smiled at his find before strapping it to his back for later. All of a sudden, he heard a yell in the distance, whirring around quickly to check where it had come from. A figure appeared in the distance, but they weren't far away for long as Zhanghao realized they were running straight for him.    

Through the heavy woodland he ran, the sound of a girl's loud voice calling out as she chased him. Looking out for a low enough branch to hoist himself up on, his eyes finally fell on one in the near distance, arms reaching out, ready to grab it. He ran until the branch was almost in front of his face, grabbing with two hands to pull his weight up onto the branch.

Heart beating fast and breath heavy, he began to climb higher into the tree—into safety. Her voice neared as she kept calling out his name, teasing his death. He was still climbing when he saw her finally catch up to him, stopping to look up at where he was holding onto the trunk for dear life.

"You think a tall tree's gonna save you?" She mocked, moving towards the base of the tree to shake it violently as if to make him fall out. Zhanghao held on tight, and did not budge. With an annoyed look, she gave a huff, still staring at him.

However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the girl pulled out an axe which had been concealed within her clothes and he watched as she swung it towards the trunk of the tree and landed it. He should've picked a stronger tree but there had been no time for that. His only hope now was that the axe wasn't sharpened enough, or that somehow the tree held its ground.

He was wrong. As the tree began to shake suddenly, hanging on it's last thread, she swung one final swing before the tree began to fall down. Knowing his only survival would be to jump off before he was crushed along with the tree, he jumped, feeling his stomach drop as he fell.

Zhanghao would need to stick his landing perfectly in order to begin his run away once again, but the girl was one step quicker than him, and as he hit the ground with forceful impact, the adrenaline rushed to his brain.

Because running right towards him, axe held above their head, was the girl. A smile in her eyes as she pelted, ready to feel the blood of him on her hands.