Zora was about to answer “No,” when a sudden movement awoke her. Her head was on the carriage seat, her cheek wet from drooling. Weird dream. She didn’t believe in gods and goddesses. Maybe as a representation of something greater. Still. And she had never heard of any bloody cup. Zora sat up.
Across from her, Stavos looked out the window. The smell around them was different. It was no longer just nature and earth, but rather food, smoke, people, and even some nasty smells. This was Gravel City, which surrounded the castle. Zora peeked out and saw that they were on a wide street with buildings around it. This was quite different from the valley, where the houses were not close together like that and there were no people selling things on the sidewalk. The valley had no sidewalk either, and certainly no carriages or horses.
Such a multitude on the streets. Then, far ahead, gleaming white towers from the Gravel castle, with golden roofs and turrets. Emotion swelled up on her chest as she realized that yes, she was getting to her destination.
The carriage slowed down as they got closer to enormous metal gates. A girl came to their window, no older than seven or eight, face dirty, wearing rags, her hand stretched. Zora wanted to ask her who she was and what was happening, but the carriage jerked forward.
Zora tapped on Stavos’s shoulder. “There’s a lost child there.”
He stared at her. “And what do you expect me to do?”
Was that a question? “Find her parents. Check if she’s hungry.”
He waved a hand as if dismissing her. “We can’t solve all the problems in the world.”
Zora looked back. And the image got clearer. It wasn’t just the snobbish blond assistant who was ignoring the girl, but the multitude on the street. How could these people go about their day and not do anything? How could they be so heartless? There were orphans in the Dark Valley, of course. Shadow creatures spared no parents, who, in fact, sometimes died protecting their little ones. When it happened, another family took the child in. Either way, there was always food at the school, and nobody wore rags.
A tear ran down her cheek. She wasn’t sure if it was for the child or for the people whose hearts were so cold they could no longer feel compassion. And Zora, without money, means, or anything, felt helpless. Maybe she could find some of these kids, and if they were orphans, bring them to the Dark Valley. And now she was getting all confused because life in the valley wasn’t easy either. She’d come thinking of getting more help for her people, and had never imagined that she would see such callousness.
“The child is probably pretending,” Stavos said. “They do that to get money from gullible visitors. The mother or father is probably close by, counting the coins they get.”
“Oh.” That had never come to her mind. “Thanks. For letting me know.” It was still upsetting that someone would make a child do that, but perhaps not as terrible as what she had first imagined.
Stavos was looking out the window, but he’d said that for her benefit, so that she wouldn’t feel so sad. Perhaps he wasn’t that bad after all, and the whole looking at her as if she were an insect was maybe just the way people in the castle behaved. Or maybe it was just her impression.
Fascination, anxiety, hope, eagerness, fear—so many emotions at the same time when they crossed the gates. This wasn’t just leaving her valley for the first time, it was going to the castle, being in the most important place in Gravel, and soon at the center of the most important event in the kingdom, a competition only held every three years. No wonder Seth had been so excited about it. Too bad he’d been an asshole to Zora.
With a chill in her stomach, she realized that at this time he must have already woken up. She took a deep breath. The royal delegation was now far from the valley. For Seth to get to her, he’d need to convince the guards at the gates. They’d probably just send a message whenever they could—if they decided to do anything. It wasn’t as if one of them would gallop to the castle. Zora had the paper with her name on it. It would be easy to dismiss Seth’s allegations as some lunatic’s ramblings. If ever these allegations got past the Dark Valley’s walls.
The carriage passed the castle yards, then stopped at a building on the back of the castle, some distance from it. Zora followed Stavos through a dark hallway with metal doors leading to bedrooms.
“This is the house of champions,” he said. “Simple but comfortable. The idea is that we can keep track of all of you.”
They came to a closed door. It had a sign saying “Dark Valley.” For some stupid reason, Zora felt emotional, understanding how much she would represent her people.
The blond man opened the door and pointed inside. “There’s a bed, a small table, and a water basin. There’s a communal bath area, but we’ll see what we do about your…” He looked at her up and down. “Specific needs.”
Meaning the fact that she was a girl. Which likely meant she was the only female champion.
He continued, “When the prince gets here, we’ll see your contract. You can rest now.” Pointing to a huge metal bolt, he said, “Always bar the door. We can’t guarantee your adversaries won’t resort to…” He sighed. “Unethical deeds when away from our eyes.”
“I will.” Then she smiled. “Thank you.”
He had a half-smile that was more like a grimace. “It’s my pleasure.” Then he turned around and left.
Zora ran to the door and barred it. Unethical deeds. What a thought. It hadn’t crossed her mind but made total sense. She wasn’t the only one who wanted to win.
Light came from a small, high window with bars. At least she was safe, even though this place looked like a prison. But what bothered her most were the shadows. Dark spaces everywhere. And the covers on the bed. She lifted them and realized the bed was on four legs, with a huge space beneath it. In the Dark Valley, even human shadows would be coming out of there in no time. But this wasn’t the Dark Valley. Still, she sat on the bed and couldn’t shake the thought that her life would be in danger if she closed her eyes. And yet she was exhausted.
“A girl?” Griffin was surprised, as he followed Stavos to the house of champions. He had never considered the possibility that any region wouldn’t send a man, but was curious to meet the female warrior. He was then considering the implications. “She’ll need new lodgings, then.”
“I wasn’t given instructions for special accommodations, your highness.”
Stavos had a certain bitterness in his tone, as if Griffin had just reprimanded him. He still hadn’t gotten used to taking orders from him.
“No,” Griffin tried to sound casual. “It’s just something that came to my mind now.”
“I told her to bar her door.”
“Good.”
In truth, Griffin’s head was far away, still with Alegra.
Stavos knocked on the door with the sign saying “Dark Valley”. It had been worth it to miss his visit, and yet, Griffin needed to know more about that place, more about the strange magic creating creatures from the dark. Perhaps it would allow him to understand…
The door opened.
Griffin was stunned. It was the crazy girl from the tavern, sunlight illuminating her hair. Her hazel eyes were wide as she looked from him to Stavos, then put her hand over her mouth. And there was no doubt about her mental state, as he noticed the room. The mattress was on the floor, without covers, and the bed frame had been put up and leaned against a wall. A table was upside down.