Chosen

Chapter Twelve: Julian

When I was woken up for the Championships, I wasn't ready. I had hardly slept that night, worrying about Scarlett and forming plans to survive. No matter what the other two believed, our lives had to come first.

I was lead to the same large room that Azreal's queen had lead us to yesterday. Athena was there, dozing off against the wall, and so were the rest of the Chosen except for Scarlett. Where was Scarlett?

I told next to Athena, leaning against the wall and going over our plans again and again in my head. We needed to survive... All of us needed to survive.

A few minutes later, Scarlett was lead in looking exhausted and terrified. Her hands were trembling, picking at the hem of her sleeve. She was chewing in the inside of her cheek.

"Are you alright, Scarlett?" Athena said, having woken up.

Scarlett nodded slightly and sat next to Athena. Scarlett's face was pale and her eyes had dark circles. I hadn't noticed that before now...

Someone came in with a stack of clothes and tossed them out. I got a white button-up shirt, black pants, and steel boots. Athena got a thin white cotton dress that was more flowy and easier to move in than her pajamas. Scarlett got the same thing, and they both got steel boots that looked more lady-like with many buckles. Scarlett frowned but folded the clothes and carried them under her arm like everyone else was doing.

Then we each had a servant lead us to different carriages and we rode the bumpy carriage for about a quarter of an hour. Nobody spoke lest we were overheard.

Then Athena, Scarlett, and I were lead through woods with trees very close together and hard to maneuver through. Athena held Scarlett's hand the whole way through.

There was a small, gloomy castle with overgrown vines crawling up the walls and crumbling bricks. It was still about two stories high.

"This is where I leave you," the servant said. "The Competitions begin when the cannon goes off. Do not leave these spots until they do, or face the consequences. Off I go."

Athena, Scarlett, and I stood still and quiet, exchanging puzzled looks as the servant slipped away. Then their was a loud blast that made Scarlett shriek. Her face reddened when she realized what it was.

We made our way to the castle. Athena magicked the door open and we all walked inside. It was dark, dusty, and damp, and it smelled like spoiled meat. Flies buzzed everywhere - how they got in, I don't know - and there were suspicious dark stains everywhere. Scarlett was pale and looked as if she was going to get sick.

Athena hurried her up the spiral staircase that lead out of the room next to the entrance. The smell seemed to lessen the farther up we got.

We found a library-like room with several shelves of books and a round table in the middle. It was very dusty. I sneezed. Athena waved her hand and the dust disappeared, leaving a faint golden glow behind that faded slowly. Scarlett looked around in wonder. Athena smiled.

"So," I said, clearing my throat. "So, what are we going to do?"

"We have to hunt, obviously," Athena said. "Someone has to look through the castle to find anything that may be of assistance here. And I need to set up the wards. Julian, start hunting. Scarlett, could you look through the upstairs? I'll help with the downstairs after the wards are up."

Scarlett nodded and left the library room. I frowned. "Weapons?"

"I can't conjure weapons unless I have had them stored in a different universe nearby. I saw a weapon room downstairs, to the right of the door."

I nodded and walked downstairs, Athena behind me, plugging her nose.

"It's awful," she said. "Dead bodies, maybe?"

I shrugged, and then we left our separate ways. I found the weapons room. It looked looted, or maybe there was not much there to begin with, but there was an expensive-looking bow and arrow hanging on the wall. I grabbed it and a quiver of mostly-broken arrows. Then I left the castle and wandered into the woods.

It was quiet, with barely even a whisper of wind. My shoes crunched loudly as I stepped, breaking twigs and crushing dried leaves. There wasn't a sign of animal life at all for a few minutes. Then I heard a squirrel chatter. Nocked an arrow, aimed, and then shot the poor animal down. I grabbed the squirrel and wished I brought a pack.

A dozen more feet in, I saw a doe. All by her lonesome, barely grown up, a magnificent creature. Again I nocked an arrow and shot the animal. I wished I didn't have to kill her, or the squirrel, but we had to survive.

I slowly made my way back to the castle with the deer and the squirrel and hoped this would sustain us for a bit, at least until we found some plants or a good food source.

The castle was surrounded in a golden glow, the remnants of Athena's magic. The magic would disappear visually, but the wards would only get stronger. I walked inside and called for Athena.

"Come help me skin these animals, please!" I shouted. Athena came down looking a bit annoyed - at me, maybe? - and waved her hand. The skins separated from the meat and floated to her.

"I ought to clean these and make clothes out of them," Athena said. "Yes, I'll do that later. Um, can you cook those, and preserve the leftovers, please, Jules?" The skins disappeared and Athena jogged back upstairs.

I wandered around downstairs, carrying the meats and wondering about Athena's odd behavior, until I found a kitchen area. I found a knife, wiped it clean with my shirt, and started cutting the deer and squirrel meat. I lit a fire and cooked each bit, little by little until it was all cooked. I would season it later.

I walked upstairs to find Athena and ask her to find a place for the meat in her magical universes, looking in each room until I found her...

My stomach burned with jealousy. Scarlett was with her. They were kissing.