Xia had no idea what to do. She didn’t know if she should go and hide in her bedroom, wait for them to come to her and then fight. Or, if she should step up, be brave, and go out to find them like Stella. Slowly and silently she slid the sword back into its sheath and lifted herself up.
The faint sound of a person’s footsteps sounded from down the hall. At first they were faint but soon started to get louder and louder. Taking a step back she hid herself in the darkness that shrouded the walls. Her gaze stayed focused down the hall as the outline of the person’s body became visible. It was a girl, Meg, which wore a white dress that fell to her knees. Rich auburn hair fell in waves around her heart shaped face and olive colored eyes. A Halberd was attached to her back with a fox tail attached to it.
She rushed right past Xia, not even noticing her as she rushed down the hall and turned to the left at the end, it was the same way Stella had gone. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves she slowly made her way down the hall in the opposite direction. She made sure to keep her body close to the wall to remain in the shadows and moved careful as to make no noise. Slowly and carefully she soon reached the end to find the feast hall that she had been in earlier. Her gaze moved over the room to see if there was anyone else there, but there wasn’t. Her gaze stopped on the candles, seeing that one was lit, and knew it was lit for Bruno.
“One down… twelve more to go…” She whispered to herself.
“I think it’s eleven more to go.” Whispered a voice in her ear, making her nearly jump out of her skin.
Grabbing her sword, she drew it and whipped her body around to put the point of the sword to Peter’s throat. Amusement was dancing in his eyes as he watched her, “What do you mean?” She asked, glancing around the room to make sure no one else would sneak up on her.
“Eleven more to kill.” He said pointedly, “One girl, and one boy can come out alive. So that means only eleven more to go for everyone that wants to live.” He studied the point of her sword as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, “And you know… I want to live, and you want to live, so why don’t we work together?”
“How about we don’t.” She growled, swinging the sword at him. Right before it made contact with his body he vanished in a puff of black smoke.
“Suite yourself, but you’ll want to later.” His laugh surrounded her as it faded away.
Shaking her head, she decided against re-sheathing her sword and made her way across the room. The table had been re-set again with foods and drinks, a few weapons were scattered in between them. Her stomach growled in hunger at the sight of the warm and juicy meat, but every other part of her told her that it was a trap.
She forced her eyes away from the food and picked a hallway at random to go down. This one was lit a little bit better than the last and the coloring was way different. It was all white and creamy, and instead of roses it had daisies. For a small moment she felt as if she had stepped into completely different castle. But like all good things, it ended, and it ended quickly. Three little daggers flew past her head, barley missing her, and embedded themselves into the wall.
Stopping, Xia looked to her side to see the girl that had been fighting Bruno, running across the room towards her. Daggers slipped out of her sleeves and into her hands as she jumped onto the table and threw them at her. Eyes widening, she ducked down with a second to spare and took the second to run. Gripping her sword tight she ran down the hall and ducked every time she heard the faint hum of the daggers slicing through the air. Skidding to a halt, she grabbed the door knob of the door to her right and rushed inside slamming it closed.
Turning her back to the door, she put all her weight on it so the small girl would not be able to open. No weight on the other side ever came as the girl didn’t try to get on. Xia knew she was there though for she could hear the girl scrapping the daggers on the door. Closing her eyes tightly she tried to block out the sound but didn’t have to try hard because after a little while the girl grew bored and went to go find someone else.
“Pst…” Xia’s eyes snapped open to see a girl motioning for her to go to her. She was dressed in huntress clothing and had a pixie cut. An elfish type sword was attached to her hip and her ears curved and pointed, making it obvious that she was a wood elf.
She clutched her own sword tightly, ready to defend herself if she needed to as she approached the girl, “Are you hiding in here?”
The girl nodded and slowly stood up from where she had been crouched behind a large chair, “I’m not good with a sword… Only with poisons and traps… But I’m not in the forest so I can’t really fight…” Her hazel eyes dropped to the floor, “But you can… And… I was wondering… Since you didn’t kill that girl and you hid to… Would you join up with me?” She looked at Xia with hope shinning in her eyes.
Xia knew it was a bad idea because only one of them would be able to survive and she didn’t want to make a friend to just have to end up killing her later, “You do know only one of us can live, right?”
“Yes,” She nodded and fidgeted with her fingers, “I already know that I will die, but I wish to stay alive as long as I can… You don’t even have to protect me… Just help me get to the forest so I can have a chance.”
Sheathing her sword, she stepped up to the girl, “Fine, I’m Xia by the way.”
The girl’s face lit up, “I’m Sasha!” Xia couldn’t help but notice that the girl seemed to glow when she smiled, her eyes sparkling with life.
“Sasha.” Xia crossed her arms in front of her chest, “I come from a poor kingdom that will not survive this coming winter, there will be nothing for me to go back to and my mother always told me to go with the one that has a better chance.”
Sasha frowned a little in confusion, “What are you saying?”
She took a deep breath, not really believing that she was actually going to say what she wanted to do, “I will protect you to the best of my ability, to keep you alive throughout this whole thing. And then when it is just the two of us I will let you win. I know that you come from a large kingdom that loves you…. They need you, and I won’t let you get taken away from them.”
Tears brimmed Sasha’s eyes and she quickly looked away to hide them, “Thank you Xia… But if I do die… Promise me you will win?”
“I promise.” She stated firmly, lifting her arm up and stretching it out to her. Sasha looked at her hand before lifting her own up to shake her hand. Sealing the deal.
