The Red Knight - Merlin BBC [2]

Chapter 11: The Feast

"There are three stages in the tournament", I explain, the knights listening closely. "The first will be normal one on one battles. Each of you will be paired against someone, and you'll have to fight to the death. None of you will have to face each other. Ronon knows you'll refuse. He'll choose, later on, to pin you against each other. Trust me. He enjoys mind games."

Percival lets out a shaky breath. "Great."

"Which brings me to the second task. The labyrinth," I continue. "In the second task, you'll simply have to wander through a long cave."

"You're kidding?" Gwaine snorts.

"Yeah, no, it's designed to kill", I object. "Ronon possesses a gift. It allows him the ability to mess with minds. He can make you see, hear and feel whatever he wants.

"Whilst you're in the cave, he'll dig through your minds and make you see your deepest fears. If you stay in a trance for too long, you die. Trust me. It's not fun for two minutes, never mind an hour. If you're stuck with it for more than five hours, it kills you."

"Lovely", Arthur mumbles.

"But, if there's meant to be an audience, how is that entertainment?" Leon argues, confused. "The crowd won't be able to see the real battles happening."

"That's the point. It's all the fun, watching your favourite competitors enter a cave and then waiting to see who will come out. As I said, Ronon will weed out the weak for the final battle."

"Which is?" Elyan frets, voice high in concern.

"The arena", I snicker, looking over my shoulder as a couple of guards pass by. "It's different every year. Ronon puts all manner of creatures in there. Hell, it even makes the scenery itself a weapon.

"You don't have to fight anyone. Just survive. But like I said before, Ronon will play mind games on you. It doesn't matter how many are alive at the end of this. They're all winners. But he'll make it seem at times like there's only room for one winner. You just have to remember who your allies are."

Percival frowns. "What is the point in all this?"

"There's not so much of a point to it at all", I explain. "Ronon needs souls to continue living forever and so that he can remain powerful. This, this tournament is just for his sick pleasure."

"You say he's very ancient", Elyan observes "how old is he?"

"No idea. But somewhere between a few hundred give or take. Just very old is all I know. Old enough that he knows the old religion and the old worlds."

Gwaine shrugs. "Alright...should be a piece of cake."

"I promise I'll try to find a way to get you out. I'll try to get you before the second challenge, hopefully. But I can't be certain-"

"It's okay, Edythe. We know you're trying", Leon reassures.

"And we trust that you'll be able to," Percival adds.

I smile weakly, feeling tears in my eyes once more. "I love you guys. You know that, right?"

All the knights give me warm, loving smiles, "we know. As we love you," Arthur promises, squeezing my hand through the bars.

"Okay, visiting hours are up. Sorry Miss Edythe, but we aren't allowed to have anyone down here disturbing the competitors sleeping." The guard who let me in approaches me cautiously.

My eyes remain locked with Arthur's, my smile dropping from my face. The mask I have been displaying falls over my features. I release Arthur's hands, turning to the guard with a fake smile. "Of course. Wouldn't want them to be fatigued, would we?"