Alfheim

XXI. The helper

"Are you alright?" he asked while holding me tightly against his chest.
"Yes, I'm fine. Now let me go!" I shouted while I was trying to get out of his grasp.
But he kept holding on to me. "Look," he said while he gestured with his head to the crystals in front of us.
The crystals kept us away from the exit. The crystals grew and grew. Gideon suggested to throw me over the growing crystal wall.
"You sure about this," I asked him again.
"I'm sure," he said before throwing me.
I landed with a crash. The ground under me started to shake. I hurriedly ran towards the exit and the next thing I knew I was outside. The sun was shining brightly and there was a forest.
"Timothy!" I quickly shouted. "Kira! Grant!"
"Shh... not so loud, princess. You don't want to wake unwanted guests right," Timothy responded while he came walking out of the forest with the others.
They're safe... Thank goodness...
But what about Gideon. I had mixed feelings. I was sad because I lost him and I was happy my team was safe. It is funny how great of an impact Gideon has mad on my life in a short period of time.

Gideon's POV

The ground began to shake and the crystals were closing in on me. I closed my eyes and braced myself, but then nothing happened.

"Gideon Wubi your team has lost the challenge. This means everyone of your team will stay frozen forever," I heard Credusa's voice say. "But since you've helped the other team I will grant you a chance to keep three of you're teammates. Choose wisely."

When I opened my eyes I was in another room. The room was completely white and the statues of my teammates were presented in front of me.

"Choose," a voice then said. Alright, four people. So I have to kill one person. No big deal. It's not like I haven't had blood on my hands before.

*****************

Flashback to after the emotional regrouping...

"You did what?!" I asked full of anger.

"Queen's orders," Greg said with a smile on his face. The others nodded in agreement.

Greg had killed Hugo after Hugo had fought off the trolls. Emilia got killed by a troll.

*******************

Back to the current situation...

"A life for a life," I said to myself.

"I choose Greg to be the one left behind," I said.
"Very well," I heard the voice of Credusa respond.
Then everything turned dark and I was teleported out of the cave with my remaining teammates lying on the floor unconcious. I should've been worried about my teammates, but I could only think about her. Did she make it out of the cave safely. I must assume she did. I helped her win the challenge after all...

Ysabel's POV

"Ivy!" Kira ran towards me and gave me a hug. "I was afraid we'd never see each other again."
"It's going to be okay," I said while I stroked her hair. I was deep in thought. Why did Gideon help me? Why would he? Why would he first kill my friends and then help me? Gideon is confusing me so much. "Don't try to get attached Ysabel," I repeatedly kept saying to myself. I have to get back home.
"Let's move on," Grant suggested.

And they did. Ivy's group walked and walked till they arrived at their third obstacle. The Golden Phoenix Arena.
As we entered the arena there were was a guard in hefty armor guarding the entrance. When she saw us she slid her sword from its sheath and pointed it at us. "Who are you?! State your business!!"
"We're supposed to complete a challenge in this arena," Timothy said.
"We're representing the Hiems Realm," Kira added.
The guard scanned us from head-to-toe and let us through. We sat down on one of the steps of the stairs. We didn't quite get the challenge till the other team also appeared. And then I saw him again... Gideon, he is still alive! I thought he died in the labyrinth. But how did he and his team escape? I can describe how happy and relieved I was to see him again.
When everyone was seated the guard walked into the arena and turned herself into a flying Phoenix.
"Listen closely. It's gonna be duel. But not any kind of duel. In this Phoenix Arena I'm going to allow all magic. So that means if you can pick up another power within 15 minutes you can use that during your fight as well. The last two with the least wins will lose their life.

I looked over at Gideon and our eyes met.

"Begin!" the Phoenix then shouted while disappearing in a large blue flame in the sky.