The Vampire's Hybrid Mate

The Warrior's Test

“Well, well! Look who it is!” A masculine voice spoke up immediately, as she entered the tent, all heads turned to her direction and they started talking in hushed tones. She ignored the person who called for the attention and kept walking. Everyone seems to know her but she barely knows anyone. There was a man handing the warriors, their swords and armors. She walked up to him to get her own materials.

“Hello, I was asked to come here to get the things needed for the warriors test” she spoke.

The man looked up and saw her, he seemed confused, then responded, “You?”

“Yes”

The man looked at her from head to toe as if he was weighing her strength and ability. He lowered his head and brought out a shiny sword, armor, black gloves and boots.

“Here” he says as he hands the items to her and continues, “what is your name?”

“Lala” she says and collects the items.

“Get ready, you will be addressed soon”.

“Okay” she responds and walks away from the man. Other warriors were staring at her but she kept a straight face till she got to the end of the tent, then put on the armor swiftly, wore the boots and placed the sword inside its scabbard. She found a small seat, close to where she was standing then proceeded to it.

“Hear ye! Hear ye!” A man spoke up suddenly. She looked up and recognized him as the man she spoke to in the first tent, he scanned the room of warriors and continued, “in no time, there will be a contest to pick the fearless warriors amongst you. There are some rules that you all will need to follow” he pauses then paces around.

“You should endeavor to defend yourself against your opponents, to be able to come out alive from the dark forest, you need to be able to defend yourselves” he stops, seeming to enjoy the silence that filled the entire tent.

“By now, you all should know our aim of going to the dark forest, we’re seeking the golden fruit. We would need strong, and able bodied men to embark on this journey, the contest starts in a few minutes. Divide yourselves into groups, four persons in each group then move to the fighting arena. You are not permitted to kill anyone but once your team is down to the ground and subdued by the opponent, the team is out. Injuries are permitted, just be cautious while fighting. Is that fully understood?”

“Aye, captain” they all said in unison.

Immediately he left the tent, clamoring filled the air, everyone got busy pairing with their partners. No one wants to partner with her obviously, so she decided to walk up to three men looking for someone to complete their team.

“Hello, can I join you?”

They looked unsure about her quest but one of them seemed tired of looking for a partner, so he responded in a hurry

“Yes, join us.”

“Since we’re a complete team, we have to fight together and protect each other.” Another warrior spoke and said to her, “ I’m Damon by the way, that’s Macbeth and this is Saltzman”he said pointing at the men respectfully.

Lala nodded and kept listening to how they prepared for the contest. She took out the gloves given to her earlier and slipped it on her fingers.

As they proceeded to the fighting arena, Damon spoke, “Remember, we are to defend each other and fight as a team” they all nodded in agreement, they all seemed lost in their various worlds. A man was standing at the entrance of the arena, handing each warrior, a shield. She collected hers then scanned the entire arena. She locked eyes with her father who was sitting amongst the dignitaries, he didn’t look surprised to see her as she had expected. She saw her mother and her sisters, they all locked eyes with each other. Merida gave her a reassuring smile and mouthed “I love you”, She felt grateful and motivated, at least someone cares and is rooting for her. Looking over at another direction, she saw Mayre and Marcus, looking hopefully at her.

In no time, the contest started. Different teams fought till it got to their turn, they fought as a team and scaled through the first round. There were only sixteen teams left, they remained as a team and fought till there were five remaining teams. They fought hard and defended each other all through until it was time for the third round. They were to divide themselves into a group of two persons per team. She and Damon became a team and fought till they became the last team standing.

She stared at her father who looked at her in surprise, he seemed to love what he was seeing. She got exhausted from the fight, she left the arena to rest at a corner. The head warrior came with some water for she and Damon, she took it and gulped the contents from the cup within seconds. The blazing sun and the rigor of the contest made her sweat profusely.

“I guess it’s me and you now” Damon said looking at her. She was too exhausted to say anything so she just nodded and smiled.

The head warrior went forward and said to the crowd with a loud voice. “We congratulate the last five teams, they have made it to the final round, they are the chosen ones to go to the dark forest. But we need a head warrior for the journey , which is why we have decided that the last team standing will contest with each other. And the last man standing is to be crowned as the head warrior. Let the last team move forward to the arena”. He said and walked away. Lala and Damon walked to the arena with fierce looks, she looked at her dad and saw him adjust on his seat. He seemed uncomfortable looking at her about to be devoured by a man, she also looked at her mother who wore the same expression as her dad. She looked at Damon who was already swinging his sword at her, they took their positions and looked at each other eye to eye.