9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
Eli
Rain began to fall more steadily, rattling Eli’s nerves.
Aside from the bad omen rain tended to signify, Eli hadn’t practiced in these conditions.
All of his training had been in perfect conditions.
Already, rain dripped past his eyelashes and his fingers turned cold.
The men around him looked equally disgruntled, except for Trevor and the man next to him.
They both looked smug and eager to knock other suitors out of the running.
The man who had introduced himself as Fox explained how the first round would work. “In a few minutes, Lady Ellen will say a few words and then we will begin. You’ll find markers spaced evenly around the mud pit, which is where you will stand until we tell you to go. One suitor per marker.
“There are only eight medallions, so half of you will be eliminated today. The medallions have already been tossed into the pit, and no one knows where they landed or which starting markers will be most advantageous. When I say ‘go,’ you must find a medallion and exit the pit with the medallion in your possession. If you drop it, it’s fair game.
If someone rips it from your hands before you exit, it’s fair game.
If you’re bad at following directions and exit without the medallion still in your possession, it does not count. Have I made myself clear?”
Murmured acknowledgments rippled through the gathering of suitors.
“There are very few rules aside from exiting the pit with a medallion in your hands. It’s expected that things may get physical.
This will not be an easy task. There will be no pauses for injuries, foul play, or any other complaints you may have.
The only rule we have is to not kill each other.
I expect most of you should be able to abide by that. ”
Eli could’ve sworn he saw Trevor and the man beside him share a knowing look and then a grin.
Whatever. He didn’t have time to interpret their weird behavior. Trevor wasn’t stupid enough to try anything in front of an entire audience of people.
“Any questions?” Fox asked.
When no one spoke, he dismissed them to find their marks.
Eli avoided the corner he knew to be the deepest. He chose the first marker available after that, on the opposite side of the pit from Trevor.
As he waited for Ellen to make her speech, Trevor studied him through squinted eyes and pressed lips.
With any luck, Trevor would be out the first round and Eli wouldn’t have to put up with him any longer.
He wouldn’t be intimidated by a barbarian pretending to be a noble.
It didn’t matter how long his family had been in Berland or how proud he was.
Trevor was just a thief hunting for something that wasn’t his.
The crowd went silent and Eli looked toward the stage where Ellen was standing.
He was easily distracted by Grace sitting beside Theo, looking like an absolute angel sent straight from heaven.
He smiled, and she tilted her head in acknowledgment.
Her entire face seemed to brighten, and it warmed his cold, wet skin.
He shook out his drenched hair.
He could do this.
Ellen’s greeting was short. Eli hardly heard a word of it while he stared at Grace. He couldn’t wait to get the first round over with, so he could be one step closer to calling Grace his.
The crowd cheered and clapped, and Eli realized that Ellen was done speaking. She returned to her seat and Eli finally tore his eyes away from Grace, searching for Fox instead.
He held a hand up, paused, and then brought it down, shouting, “Go!”
Eli jumped into the pit, wasting no time digging in the mud and searching the bedrock for that solid circle of glory.
Given how long the medallions had been in the pit, they had to be near the bottom.
He felt his way along the surface, moving toward the deeper end in case the medallion had drifted farther down.
He did his best to tune out the surrounding competition, but when he heard roars of delight and chaos, his attention turned to his left. One of the men had found a medallion and two men were already at his back, clamoring to rip it from his hands. Another was headed in his direction.
Eli diverted his gaze back to the pit. It was no use even trying to retrieve that medallion. He was too far across the pit and his time would be better spent continuing his search.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement. A suitor with a bald head and a pierced brow was searching the bottom just like Eli, but he kept a close watch. It was clear he was hoping Eli would find one first and the man could simply steal it from his possession.
Absolutely not.
Eli switched directions and moved away from the potential pillager.
Another round of applause rang out, but Eli ignored it. He couldn’t afford to get caught up in the commotion. Not when his future with Grace was on the line.
Why was it taking so long? Every time he’d practiced on his own, he’d been able to find the medallion within minutes. Of course, the time it mattered most would be the time he struggled.
A large form moved into his vision from the right side, and he drifted to the left, hoping to avoid a confrontation.
But when he looked up, he noticed the man was headed right toward him, beady eyes locked on Eli.
Apparently, now that the first two medallions had been found, suitors were getting more aggressive.
The man shoved Eli aside, and Eli struggled to stay upright. The last thing he needed was to submerge in mud and lose his vision. His feet slid on the smooth surface beneath him, and he regained his balance just in time for the man to deal another blow.
“What the fuck?” he said through gritted teeth. He held up his hands, which were covered in mud. “I don’t even have a medallion, you dipshit.”
The man continued to charge at him, not seeming to care that Eli’s hands were empty. It seemed as if he were only concerned with making sure they stayed that way.
There was no use fighting him, so Eli dodged away and headed toward the opposite side of the pit, groaning internally when he saw Trevor searching the muddy depths. He needed to find his medallion quickly and get the hell out of here.
Just as he began to search his new location, more cheers erupted and two men left the pit, medallions in each of their hands.
Four down, four to go.
Fuck.
He kept his head on a swivel in case the aggressive suitor had any intention of sneaking up behind him. Thankfully, the man seemed to have moved on to harass another, smaller competitor.
Eli shook his head and scraped the bottom of the pit with his fingers. He felt nothing but slimy, thick goo. The erupting crowd let him know that the fifth medallion had just been found.
His heart raced. It was only a matter of time before they were all found, and he needed to be one of the men who made it out of the pit with a muddy medallion in his hand.
As his breathing became more frantic, so did his search.
He felt his chance slipping away, his one shot at his happy ending with Grace—
There!
His fingers wrapped around a coin that was slightly smaller than the palm of his hand. He could tell before he even brought it out of the mud that it was the object he sought. He ran his thumb over the jagged edges and the star design imprinted on the face.
Without thinking, he darted toward the edge of the pit with a manic smile on his face. He’d done it. Just a few more feet and he could…
A body rammed into his side, jostling the medallion free.
“Won’t be that easy, pretty boy.”
Eli snarled at Trevor. If he punched him now, there would be no repercussions. He was well within his rights to defend himself and his claim on the medallion.
As if Trevor could read his mind, he threw the first punch, missing Eli’s nose by a fraction of an inch. Blinding pain shot across Eli’s face and his vision momentarily went black. He retaliated with a punch to Trevor’s throat, sending him back a few steps.
Trevor wheezed as he gripped his throat with one hand.
As much as Eli wanted to bask in the well-placed hit, he needed to grab the medallion and get out.
It didn’t take long to find the dropped prize, but as he stood up, another set of hands pulled him to the side and then wrapped an arm around his throat.
He choked, dropping the medallion once again so he could try to pry the thick arm from his airway.
As he struggled to breathe, Trevor smirked and nodded in appreciation toward the stranger at Eli’s back.
He didn’t have to look to know it was Trevor’s friend, the one he had been chatting with before the match started.
Of course Trevor had people on the inside helping him. How had Eli been so foolish to not consider it? Was the other aggressive suitor also working with Trevor, or was that a mere coincidence? He suddenly felt as if he couldn’t trust any of the other suitors.
Eli watched in horror as Trevor bent down to grab Eli’s medallion. He waved it in front of Eli’s face just to add salt to the wound before heading toward the rim of the pit.
Words failed to describe the devastation Eli felt as he watched Trevor climb out with a medallion in his hand.
Six medallions. That only left two still in play.
The brawny arm relinquished its hold on Eli, and after sucking in a sharp breath, Eli spun and landed a punch to the man’s right eye. The man groaned and fell back a few steps, but not before Eli got in one more punch to his gut. The man coughed and for a moment, Eli thought he may throw up.
Dodging the path of projection, Eli slipped and stumbled, desperation sinking in. He put more distance between himself and Trevor’s friend to buy some extra time to search. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he found the man still wheezing and looking around with one eye closed.
Eli felt a surge of satisfaction knowing he was the reason for the rapid swelling and purple tinge that marked his skin. Hopefully it would be enough to keep the man out of Eli’s way so he could finish the round.
Sparing a glance at the rest of the pit, Eli found the remaining suitors scattered about, their heads down as they searched frantically.
A couple looked as if they’d given up already, shoulders slumped and faces downcast. One man was splashing mud as he went, and Eli silently reproached him. He’d never find anything that way.
Choosing a spot he’d yet to visit, Eli waded into the deeper portion of the pit.
He’d been avoiding it, knowing it would be more difficult to search, and he’d have to use his toes rather than his fingers to seek the medallion.
He wouldn’t be able to grab it without submerging in the mud and losing his vision for the remainder of the round.
He sighed and pushed forward until the mud rose above his belly button.
Using the same method as he had before with his hands, he dragged his feet back and forth and hoped to strike a solid object that clashed against the slimy bed of the pit, praying to god he didn’t come across a mud snake.
As far as he knew, the ones in the region were not poisonous, but he preferred not to test that theory.
After what felt like hours, he abandoned the small square and moved to the left. He’d search the entire pit if he had to. Moving inch by inch, foot by foot. He’d do whatever it took to claim one of those medallions as his own.
As he moved another inch to the left, his foot grazed something that felt like a cool, hard metal coin.
His heart soared, but he quickly masked his face in case any of the remaining suitors saw the glee in his eyes.
He looked around, but none of them were paying him any attention.
They all had their heads down as they continued their own searches.
Eli took a moment to consider. If he pulled the medallion out now, there was a good chance the other suitors would notice and rush him before he had the chance to make it out of the pit.
Using his foot, he slowly pushed the medallion toward the edge, pretending as if he were still searching. If he could just reach the perimeter, he’d be able to snatch his prize and climb out of the pit before anyone realized what had happened.
His ears rang with the roar of the crowd, and he realized the seventh medallion had been found. Judging by the splashing noises behind him, several of the suitors were now engaged in a fight to claim it.
The edge of the pit was just beyond arm’s reach. He couldn’t be distracted by the commotion behind him. Though it was only a few more feet, every nudge of the medallion felt like he was kicking a rock up a mountain. It was painfully slow, and his head throbbed from the adrenaline.
Just a few more inches…
The crowd erupted in cheers. Someone had been victorious in the struggle for the seventh medallion. It didn’t matter, though.
He hid his smile as he reached into the mud and picked up the medallion beneath his foot. Then he placed both hands on the solid ground and pulled himself from the pit, raising his hand high above his head.
For a moment, he couldn’t hear anything but a high-pitched buzzing. Couldn’t see anything but a blur of muted colors as he turned toward the platform where he’d last seen Grace. It felt as though time stood still until the moment their eyes met.
He watched through the rain as her eyes moved from his face to the hand extended above his head and the medallion held high.
Then she smiled and clasped a hand over her mouth, grabbing her brother’s arm and pointing toward Eli.
Theo saw the medallion in Eli’s hand and wrapped Grace in a hug, cheering with the rest of the stands as their roars broke through the ringing in Eli’s ears.
He felt a hand on his back, gently guiding him toward the platform where the other victorious suitors were waiting.
Taking his place in line, Eli tried to calm the heart beating wildly in his chest. The moment felt surreal, like a dream, and he was only a spectator.
He clutched the cool metal in his hand, reminding himself that this was real.
He had successfully completed the first round.
One of the council members made a few comments and congratulated the eight remaining suitors, then offered condolences to those who were not fortunate enough to continue.
Eli hardly heard a word. His eyes were glued to Grace, a beacon of light through the dreary, rainy day. She beamed at him and mouthed a set of words that made his skin tingle. I love you.
He winked and responded in kind. I love you, too.