Alfheim

XXIII. The sacrifice

When I got back to the tents, Timothy had been waiting on my arrival. "Did you went to the lake with Gideon?" he immediately asks.
"How did you-.." But before I could ask how he knew where I had been, I continued.
"What did he say? Do you know that that was the lake of the truth. Those who ride the boat tell each other their true feeling. "What did he say?"
I wasn't feeling like sharing, because he kept confronting me with questions. So I walked past him and said: "Nothing." Then I entered my tent again and went back to sleep.

The next morning Timothy was gone and I got a letter from Gideon that two of their teammates was found dead this morning. Timothy's doing? It couldn't be right? We kept searching for him this whole morning till the Phoenix appeared in the sky and urged us to start the challenge.

We went in and in the sky we saw who our opponents were. No, my opponent is Gideon.

"Let's begin the battle!" the Phoenix said and the attacks begun. It was so chaotic. I tried to see what Gideon was doing. But he was just dodging the ongoing attacks from the battle like I did.
Kira's opponent was the girl from earlier who rode with Gideon. They threw the knives at each other the same time, but the girl got hit. She called out to Gideon. But Gideon didn't seemed to hear her through the chaos. The girl died. You heard a canon sound go off by every death. Then as Kira was to leave the battlefield, cause she had slayed her opponent, someone from Gideon's stabbed her from behind.
I tried to warn her. "Kira! Behind you!" But I was too late. Kira collapsed and was coughing up blood. I shot my arrow at the guy who stabbed her. It was a headshot. He died intstantly. I looked at my trembling hands. I...I just killed someone. Then I ran to Kira's side and put pressure on her wound firmly. "I...vy," she said weakly. "I'm here...I'm here..it's gonna be okay. You're gonna be ok," I said while crying. She had lost too much blood and then she was gone. And again I heard a canon sound. Grant luckily managed to kill his opponent, so he was done. Or so I thought... All of a sudden Grant thrusted his sword at me and managed to hid the side of my right arm. The wound started to burn and started to bleed. "Grant, why?" I ask him still with tears in my eyes from Kira's death. Before he can attack me again Gideon joins me at my side and shields me with his sword. "Stand behind me," he says. I do as he says.
"Working with the enemy, Ivy?" Grant asks his eyes full of anger.
"Grant... what's wrong with you?" I try to talk some sense in to him.
"The power will be mine!" Grant shouts before he attacks Gideon. It is an intense fight, cause they were equally skilled in sword fighting. Grant managed to cut Gideon several times. But because of his rage, Grant lost. This time I didn't cry, because Grant tried to kill me.
Then it was me and Gideon.
"You're the last ones standing, go on kill each other," we heard the phoenix voice say.
Then Gideon said. "No." He dropped his bloody sword on the ground and fell on his knees. "Go on. Finish me," Gideon said to me. "Gideon...what are you doing!" I shout with tears welling up in the corner my eyes.
"Very well," the phoenix says. And then all of a sudden Gideon gets pierced by a lot of arrows coming from every direction. Every time he gets hit he spurts up blood.
"Gideon," I say while running towards him.
"Stay away, I don't want...you to get hurt," he managed to say weakly.
"Why are you doing this!" I say while I join him on his knew and hug him to protect him from the arrow. And then there was light. Everything became bright.