Reyna's fairy tale

Part 32

I almost sighed in relief when the elevator doors closed behind us, blocking of the angry citizens of Zahee. Ryan wasn't kidding when he said that they didn't like him. The sigh however didn't even reach my lips when I saw Razzardus. The escort bowed in respect towards us before heading back down to the ground.

We were seated in the highest cubicle with Razzardus. It was extremely large with a food table stalled out behind rows of chairs. As Razzardus spotted us he stood up from his red and gold royal chair and headed towards us with a big smile.

"Ahhh my friends! I am so happy to see that you could make it!" he said taking Ryan's hand in his in a firm handshake. "And of course his lovely true love!" he said taking my hand and with a bow placed a kiss on it that made me feel dirty. "Reyna,is it not?" he asked in a friendly manner. If I didn't know any better I would think that he was the good guy. Especially after seeing the look of hatred shining from Ryan's eyes.

I however did know better. The people already sitting in the cubicle were not unknown to me. In fact most of them have been in the castle countless of times since my arrival. These were only the most elite from the races, and Razzardus would do anything in his power to stay in their good graces. "That's correct. I'm terribly sorry for not being able to attend one of your... functions until today. Personal issues prevented me from attending" I said trying to be civilised. I saw a couple of people turning our way in curiosity at the spoken words. Obviously trying to find out the whole story of the rejected invitations. I got a pointed look from Ryan, telling me that he heard my lie. It wasn't a lie though. Well, not really. I have a personal issue with Razzardus and that's why I couldn't stand to be in the same room as him.

"Oh I'm terribly sorry to hear that. I do hope everything is fine now?" he asked politely, his eyes laughing at the little show we had to put on.

"Actually it has just gotten worse. But after I heard about this invitation and what a scream it will be, I was practically forced to come and experience it for myself" I replied to his question with a small smirk. He knew that I was speaking in the literal sense. Luckily the rest of the guests weren't as observant

"Everyone please take your seat. Round one is about to commence." A loud voice boomed out of the speakers.

"Oh goody, the fun is about to start" Razzardus said with a excited face showing us to our seats. From where we sat we could see the whole arena. It was packed with at least 2000 people. The arena itself was covered in nothing but sand. I felt nauseous at the sight of his excited face at something so cruel.

"Round one?" I asked curious. I remember Ryan talking about different obstacles but I never asked him about it.

"Yes every game has 5 obstacles, and no games obstacles are exactly alike. Since there weren't that many entries this month, at the end of the games the last 5 people standing, gets to become a part of my army. Usually there are more than a hundred contestants that enter these games and I can recruit up to 20 people for my army " Razzardus explained. "But with the blood lust it's hard to know how many will actually remain standing" he explained with a chuckle

"What is the first round going to be today?" Ryan asked when he saw that I wasn't going to reply.

"Oh Ryan you know the first round is only to eliminate all the weak. All contestants enter the arena and as soon as only 50 creatures remain standing, the next game can begin." Razzardus explained using his hands for emphasis. "It would be no fun to see the weak trying to battle each other so best to get rid of them quickly, don't you agree Reyna?" he asked daring me to oppose his decisions on his own turf. As I learned from Ryan even the smallest of sentences can cause your death if the King feels offended in any way. Especially since nobody knew that I was anything more than a lucky citizen for being the true love of a royal.