Game of Shadows

Part 1

 Echoing through the narrow, labyrinthine streets of Cebricea, the sound of the gong struck fear and anticipation into those who heard it. It also struck anger and confusion into a pair of 15 year olds, who previously had been sleeping peacefully. The girl scrunched her face and stretched like a cat in the sun, before kicking her brother swiftly but gently in the stomach. He awoke with a grunt. "Wake up loser, gong ceremony.". He buried his head in his arms and groaned as a response. Iris looked at her brother disappointedly and kicked him again."Iros wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up!", she chided, delivering each command with another kick. "Fine, fine, I'm awake! Now piss off, I need to get changed". Iris left the room and returned minutes later in a light cotton tunic almost identical to her brother's. They tied their belts in almost perfect synchronisation and both began rummaging around the floor of their small attic room, their backs turned on each other. "What're you looking for?"

"Sword. What're you looking for?"

"Bow."

"You have your arrows?"

"Yep."

"You sure?"

Iros sighed. "Iris give them back.". Iris threw a leather quiver of arrows to her brother and continued looking for her sword. She retrieved it from under a collection of brooms and turned to face her twin. "Iros your hair is a mess.". Iros bent over and shook out his brown hair, his ringlets bouncing as he straightened up. "Thanks. Yours looks terrible too." Iris scoffed, but still ran her fingers through her floppy brown hair, pulling if over her shoulders so it sat just below her collar bones. The pair collected their weapons and left for the town centre. As they made the short and relatively boring journey from their house to the square, it got harder and harder for them to squeeze past people, the crowds thickening every step they took towards the gong. When they were as close as they could get, they stopped and took in the people around them. There were children like them, each with a weapon of some kind, parents wringing their hands nervously or tousling their child's hair in pride, or ordinary townspeople praying for the distant hope of this event being the last of it's kind. The twins were jostled out of the way as the crowed parted for a priest, pulling a lamb alongside him. Once he was through, the path was immediately sealed by the crowd, vying for a better view. The priest help up his hands and the murmuring crown fell silent. "Today we will once again attempt to save ourselves from the torment laid upon us by the gods. We will honour our debt, and appease the monster that lurks beyond our town's walls.". The crowd glanced nervously in the direction of the town's gates. "We have, in the past week, selected our..", the priest paused uncomfortably, "our repayments, by way of a vote. They will be announced now, they will be prepared, and then they will be... they will be led away. But first," the priest lifted the lamb onto a stone pedestal, raised a dagger above his head, and plunged it into it's stomach. Blood splattered outwards and ran down the pedestal, only increasing in volume when the priest dragged the knife through the stomach, spilling entrails onto the dusty floor. Iros everted his eyes, and caught sight of a boy about his age doing the same. He was paler than Iros, though still tanned, and had floppy black hair that fell over one of his eyes and sat comfortably around his ears. They made eye contact for a moment, and the boy flushed and looked at the floor. Iros turned his attention back to the service, oblivious to the amused glances from his sister. He stared fixedly at the lamb, ignoring the spot where the boy was standing. The priest finished examining the entrails, and raised his hands, once again commanding silence. "The entrails look promising, these children will meet a swift and painless end.". The crowd stiffened. "Let us announce the sacrifices.". An assistant handed him a sheet of parchment, which he took gingerly in his bloodstained hands. "Laodice. For all the trouble you've caused." A ripple erupted in the crowd, and a little girl came forward. Her raven hair was pulled into multiple buns, and her eyes were narrowed, daring the crowd to feel sorry for her. The priest continued. "Iris. For your high chances of victory.". The twins looked at each other in panic, and Iris grabbed and squeezed her brother's hand before joining Laodice at the front with her head held high. The sun bounced off her sword and into Iros' eyes, but he couldn't look away. "Nicholaus. For your lack of use." A tall, ebony-skinned boy with a chiselled face and tousled hair walked towards the clearing, and half the crowd flushed. He took his place beside Iris, and the crowd slowly regained sense. "Dorian. Also for your lack of use." Iros looked towards the movement, and saw the boy walking towards the priest, his straight hair swaying slightly as he walked. Iros blushed again, and moved his eyes back to the lamb until his blush went down. The boy took his place, and the priest read on. "Iros. For your high chances of victory." Iros shuffled forwards, murmuring apologies and 'excuse me's until he reached the front. He stood awkwardly next to Dorian and looked down at his feet, his face dark with embarrassment and sweating with nerves. "Ctimene. For all the trouble you've caused." A midnight skinned girl with hair down to her jaw came forward and stood next to Iros, completing the line. She had a powerful figure, but a kind, soft face, and was glancing in concern at Laodice. With the line completed, the priest dropped the parchment into the blood and turned to face the children. "As you know, you will be given some time to collect any belongings and say any goodbyes, then you will be led out of the town gates and left at the altar.". The group nodded their understanding, then left to follow the instructions. The twins regrouped and shuffled dazedly home. They packed their bags in silence, carefully considering what they would need. Iris packed weapons, rope, a shield. Iros packed food, fabric, flasks of water, clothes. They said a few words of goodbye to their mother and returned to the square. The sandstone fountain sat dry and empty at the centre, and the puddle of lambs blood had dried into a dark brown stain on the dust. Now that the ceremony had ended, the crowds had dispersed and the crooked streets stood empty. The twins were the only one's there, so they sat on the lip of the fountain and thought about their situation. In a few short minutes they would be taken in a group to outside the town, to the outer maze, and left to the Minotaur. They would be sacrificed to appease the Gods and apologise for a crime that had been passed down to them in myths and legends. They weren't even sure what it was. But they would be taken anyway. Killed anyway. And then, in a year, another group will be sacrificed. And another, and another, and another. The twins had long since given up any belief that the Gods were merciful, because if they were then they wouldn't have built a maze to trap the town, and set a Minotaur as a prison guard. They wouldn't have demanded the death of children. If they were merciful, Cebricea wouldn't be trapped in the dead end corner of a maze and this wouldn't be happening. The twins were jerked out of their eerily synchronised thoughts by the arrival of Laodice, who sat on the edge of the fountain next to Iris. Her legs didn't reach the floor. Iros leaned forward to see past his sister and tried to engage with her. "Hello."

"Hello."

"Are you alright?"

"Yes."

"How old are you?"

"12."

Both twins sucked in their breath. "Oh. Are you scared?"

"No."

"Good. What sort of trouble did you cause? To be voted out?"

Laodice grinned. "I'm good at being quiet, and so I'm good at stealing. And scaring people. It's fun. Why are you two such good bets?"

Iris spoke for the first time. "I'm good with a sword, and my brother' s good with a bow."

"Ooh, nice variation. I'm a slingshot guy myself". A smooth voice came from the other side of the fountain, and all three children whipped their heads round to see who it was. It was Nicholaus, who came and sat next to Iros. "Yeah, I can whip a stone fast as you like but give me a sword and I'm useless.". He chuckled a little. "Are you okay? You look a little drawn.". Iros nodded, "I'm fine, thanks. Just waiting." Nicholaus nodded back, and everyone returned to looking blankly at the ground. Eventually, Ctimene and Dorian arrived and soon after them 6 assistants came to escort them. Each assistant gripped the forearm of a child and led them to the gates. They were led through the town, passing the scenery they had known their entire lives. They passed shops selling flat, dry bread from under rickety wooden shades, they passed playgrounds with court markings scratched into the floor, they passed flowerbeds growing weak, thin wheat that was droopping under the sun. They passed skinny dogs lying in the middle of the road and fat cats hiding in the shadows of the many twists and turns of their town. They passed the training ground, full of children trying to find a weapon that suited them, or training with one they already knew. A cloud of dust surrounded them, as the children ran, jumped, kicked, and slid, rehearsing any hope of escape if they were ever put outside. The short, squat clock tower tolled, and the children dropped their weapons and went to help their parents work. Iros heard Ctimene tut sadly, and Laodice scoff. Iros turned to look at them but was pulled roughly back to face forwards, and then tugged right around a sharp corner. They had reached the gates. The rusting, twisted metal screeched against it's hinged as it's ornate doors were heaved open, and as they walked through the assistant holding Laodice grinned nastily down at her. "Are you scared? Of the big monster that will rip your little-wittle head apart? Are you, little girl? Are you scared of dying?" Laodice looked up at him, and kicked him firmly in the shin. He shouted and doubled over in pain, releasing Laodice and clutching his leg. She walked on at the same pace and held her head a little higher. The walk through the maze was as twisting as in the town and darker too. Dead plants grew up the dark sandstone walls, and piles of dust sat in corners. Iris knew that even if she and her brother did survive somehow, they could never find their way back home. And even in they did, the townspeople would never open the gates. This was the end. The group rounded left and came into a circular clearing, with a wide stone altar at it's centre. Iros thought of the lamb and winced. They all formed a circle around the alter and looked at each other, a mix of confusion and fear on everyone's faces. The assistants nodded to them and hurried back to the town, not wanting to be caught up in the 'repayments'. Their eyes were all wide and their faces were drained. Once they had gone, Ctimene took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Okay, introductions. Who'll go first?"