Luna Felix

45 | The First Challenge

As I was dragged to stand on the shabbily made platform, I couldn't see anyone from my family there. A man who looked to be a young judge stood on one side of the platform with his face covered, he was looking calmly at the protesting people who had gotten even more agitated from the moment I was onstage. Some warriors in weird uniforms were trying to contain the crowd and get them to quiet down. There were high torches of fire lit around the field to provide light on such a night. 

"Former Alpha King Orief Rei Vadeus, are you ready to start your final trial?" Asked the young judge once the crowd mellowed down. His voice sounded awfully a lot like Flynn. But why would Flynn be here? Still, I fought through the oncoming emotions and nodded my head in agreement.

But it was Flynn. And to my surprise when he removed his mask there was no trace of his usual innocence. He looked stone cold, just like his sister when I met her the first time. I haven't seen Felix so far in this illusion, and now I am afraid to ask anyone about her. Because I can guess the answer and dread those words even though I know this is all false.

"We all trusted you Orief," Flynn's words snapped me out of my thoughts, "We put our life in your hands and what did you do? You played with it. You were the one who sent Luna Queen Felix, my sister, my happy happy, our only hope to that country," his voice gained decibels as he delivered my worst fears to me, "you didn't bat an eye when she died, you were the one who refused to investigate her death properly, you were the one who refused to mention her because you were too weak to live a reality without her."

He paused to take a breath, and so did I. 'It's all a lie', 'It's all a lie', 'It's all a lie', 'It's all a lie', I keep reminding myself. But it was getting harder to breathe with each sentence. But unfortunately for me, Flynn continued dishing out my failures, "She left you clues, she left you messages, she left you letters. But you didn't read any single one of them. If you did we won't have been a defeated nation right now."

My shock might have reflected on my face because Flynn scoffed at my face, "You don't remember. Of course, you don't remember, how fucking convenient. Why would our hell be any worth to you? All you care about is yourself. Your carelessness ended up getting your parents killed in an ambush." 

Breathe Orief, Breathe Orief.

"And what were you doing, you were at the borders my sister was trying to warn you about, asking for help. The same nation which was about you assassinated you, but you were lucky. But no you left your brother and best friend behind, they were the ones who died. And between your indecisiveness, the nation is burning and you still don't remember anything. You know what happened to Lilly-"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" I was so suffocated, how did this happen, how did life get here, how how how How HOW. I didn't look back and ran. I just need to know I had to be away, I can't be there, I just can not be there. I didn't see where I was going, I just ran wherever I saw an exit, I threw anyone who tried to stop me not caring who it was. I just ran and ran and ran. I didn't stop. I ran till my legs gave out, till my heartbeat was louder than my fear, till my physical pain brought me back to reality. 

Yes, they are alive. She is alive. But god knows how much danger she might be in alone in that maze, protecting my body and herself. I need to get myself together. Just because this is my nightmare doesn't mean it can defeat me. I need to get out. But I need information for them. 

I know that I need to remember the name of the artefact to at least have some idea of the way out. I took stock of my surroundings and tried to identify where I was. I ran so deep into the forest that I could almost make out the border of the capital a mile away from my hiding place. It's good that my mind kicked in when it did or I would have walked straight into the guards.