The Red Knight - Merlin BBC [2]

Chapter 12: The First Trial

The room begins to fill. Hundreds of people flood into the cavern, drinks in hand and laughing in their wake. I can feel the beat of my heart thump with the sound of the drums that fill the room. I can't hear beyond that.

I'm sure I look pale and unkempt. I haven't managed to sleep at all the night prior. It was partly out of fear but also because of scheming. I have to show Merlin that my words last night weren't false.

Merlin and I manage to find a decent spot to oversee the cage. Not too far away and not too close to see all the gory conflict. Nausea begins to come back from the night before with the sight.

The cage still stands beyond measure in the entire cavern. Old blood still stains the floors from which hundreds have died for entertainment. For the immortal life of Ronon. I cannot begin to imagine how he sleeps at night, knowing he breaths only because he stole life from others.

"Welcome, my friends!" Ronon's voice booms over the crowd, gaining a loud cheer. "I welcome you all to my home! And to another celebration of our year with endless entertainment!"

The crowd cheers with such intensity that I can feel it thud through my bones and into my very soul. I glare with disgust. Even though I know, I should be trying to blend in. I can't hold back the distaste. Once I had sat beside Ronon upon his throne that oversees the cage, above the crowd, above the champions. Above society, where he thinks he belongs.

That girl was too frightened to say or do anything. I thought she was long gone, but alas, still she is here, terrified of the man who claimed to love her like a daughter. She's still frightened by the mere memory of him.

Resentment festers in my blood, not for Ronon but for myself. I allowed fear to control me and in result, forced Arthur and the knights into capture. I have grown weak, not because of love because of fear. I have forgotten who I am, allowing Ronon, Blaze, Aro and countless others to walk over me.

No more. I need to break free. To save my family. My true family. I'm going to have to stop being that frightened little girl. It was that scared little girl that got her family in this mess, and it was she who got Tyrant killed.

Tears well in my eyes like acid, not from sadness but pure fury. Why should I succumb to a man who fears death? A man who lets fear control him. A man who uses fear to control others, when fear is the very thing itself that holds him.

I am no better than Ronon if I succumb to it.

"You ready to meet this year's champions?" Ronon yells arms spread wide in welcome. The crowd gives a loud but weak cheer. "I said, are you READY to meet your campions!"

The crowd gives a louder howl and scream of encouragement. The chaos seems like nothing but a distant blur in my ears as I stare up at the man I now loathe. Pure hatred is what fills my body with so much anger my bones begin to shake and crack.

"Let the tournament begin!" He announces, once again clouded in praise. The Wolf himself falls back into his throne in contentment and self-satisfaction. Blaze whispers in his ear as he takes his seat beside his master, the two sharing a chuckle.

"You okay, Edythe?" Merlin asks, placing his hand on my shoulder.

This small gesture, his light tough, pulls me from my daze. "What?"

"You're trembling."

I look down, seeing how my body shakes in the anger I had built up. I take deep breaths to try and cool myself down. I release my fists that had been so tightly buried my nails had started to draw blood. I hiss as my nails dislodge from my palms, leaving four distinct half-moon shaped cuts in their wake.