My quiver held ten arrows, they forgot an additional two. I removed the short sword they gave me from my scabbard, the edges were dull. They forgot to give us knives as well.
"Nancy, did you check your spear?"
I looked towards her. Nancy was tying her bronze hair into a tail. The red in her cheeks were hot with rage, "It was laying on the floor. I picked it up and half of it broke off. Only my shield is in good condition."
We both spoke the same cursed name, "Arthur." Our older brother who's knack for sticking his neck in the business of others is next to none. The victims of his actions is the issue, us.
"They better pair us with dogs or a hog in the arena with this equipment. Enough to get us to bleed in order to pay back who ever Arthur annoyed." Said Nancy as she looked through the little peepholes in the gate that gave way to the arena.
I nocked an arrow in my bow to check its integrity. Surprisingly it's in perfect condition. Then the door to our room opened and in came the man of the hour, Arthur.
He stood tall and with a smug smile. His dirty blonde hair shined in the light of the torch on the wall and he carried a long axe that few in our little city could swing.
"Careful Baline, you might hit something for once. Nancy my sweet little sister what's with the sad face?"
Nancy clocked him as she swung a fist at his right cheek. "Every time we participate in the arena we risk our necks unnecessarily for your attics."
"Well the arena always has it's risks sis. And next time hit my abs. It's this face of mine that gets us extra rations." His way with women will be the end of him I swear.
"Insufferable, bigot, if we weren't kin I'd have your head-"
"Enough you two! They're announcing the next group." The gate opened before us,"lets see how much heat you got for your last indulgence Arthur."
The roars of the arena flooded in our room beckoning our lifes to be put to the test. We stepped out and without delay Arthur raised his long axe to gain their cheers. The audience shouted his stage name, "Arthur the lumber jack!"
I watched the crowd who just like us, were filled with labourers of our city of miners. My eyes flicked back and forth seeing the individuals who stood out from the crowd. For the last couple of weeks I've seen the same cloaked figures.
They've hidden themselves at the corners of our street and home. At first my kin thought I had gone insane until they appeared at the arena. Why are they here in a wooden arena where the people wear rags and the rich rule elsewhere?
Arthur came back from his stroll around the sands of the arena to line up with us. I whispered to my brother and sister, "theirs more of them. I counted fifteen."
"Perhaps they're scouting us... planning to take us away to a major city. To their arena?" Was Nancy's guest.
"But following us home-isn't that too much?" Spoke Arthur.
"Focus now, the spokesman is about to speak." I told them.
The one and only man with a belly enough to feed a family stood up from his wooden chair. He cleared his throat gaining the silence of the audience, "tonight we see once more one of our greatest veterans take to the arena."
He pointed his twisted finger at us, "three of a kind yet each their own flavor of warrior, no other city has seen such a sight! I have the great pleasure to present to you once again the tag team of the century, drum roll please!"
The crowd banged their feet on the ground, banging their cups of beer together from being riled up, "I give you the Tripplets!"
Nancy spoke, her voice barely making it through the screams of the people. "He really gave it his all this time Arthur. Must be a matter of life or death this time. I hope you said goodbye to your line up of harlots"
Arthur simply sighed as he waited for the announcer to tell us our opponent. He waved a hand across his chest silencing the crowd, "my friends, tis only right we give them a worthy foe. I have yet to lay my eyes on the beast that will show its mighty presence here on these sands. I've been told that even a pack of wolves hesitate to face one alone. I present to you! The apex predator of the dark forest, the mountain of a beast, the grizzly bear!"
The largest gate in the arena opened. A low groan came from it, growing louder as the creature came closer.
"Baline, nock an arrow already!" Yelled Arthur.
I saw eyes glowing back at me from the darkness of the gate. The eerie stillness of the creature spooked me and I released the arrow without aim. A menacing roar came from the beast and it finally crawled onto the arena. Walking on four legs with thick brown fur with the back of a mountain, on it my arrow was stuck in its hide.
It moved around the arena eyeing us, perhaps testing how compose we were. My eyes never left the arrow etched into its skin. Never had I encountered an animal that shrugged off an arrow to its back.
"Snap out of it Baline and fire every arrow before it reaches us." Screamed Nancy from the top of her lungs.
Quickly I nocked an arrow and made eye contact with the creature known as a grizzly bear. For some reason it waited until I began to pull the bow string and sprinted faster than any man towards me. I fired three arrows missing all but one of them.
"Steady yourself Baline! How can you miss a moving hill?" Screamed Arthur as he ran to confront the bear head on.
He placed himself in front of it and swung yet the beast caught the attack with its mouth. It's fangs held the shaft of the long axe and my brother used all his strength and failed to pry open it's grip on it. Then it began to stand on it's hind legs giving us a sight we'll never forget as it lifted my brother a few inches off the ground as he held onto the axe stuck in its teeth.
Taking the opportunity I fired an arrow into it's belly hoping the hide was thinner. With a screech the bear swung its head releasing the axe, sending it flying across the arena alongside Arthur. Once more it began it's attack heading towards me. Nancy tried to slow it down by stabbing at it's side with the short spear she held but the monster continued running at me ignoring her completely.
I shot five arrows at it only missing my last two as fear took over me. Just two meters away I nocked my last remaining arrow instead of running away. I was afraid that my legs wouldn't move if I tried to and that thought seemed to make its way to my arms as I miss fired the arrow. Time slowed down as if the world only had me and the bear within it. I could see the trajectory of the arrow flying right past the creature.
While the arrow was about to fly past its head I could see a faint thread of golden yellow pulling it. Time resumed instantly when I saw it and within a second the arrow whipped itself into the eye socket of the bear. It stopped it's deadly march and howled twirling its head side to side from the pain.
In bewilderment I stood a meter and a half away from it unable to reason what happened. A flash of metal appeared in my view as it came slashing downwards. Arthur had decapitated the bear with one mighty swing of his long axe. The grizzly bear's head plopped onto the bloody sand of the arena as its one good eye stared at me.
In the background the cheers of the audience shouted our names. My kin bathed in their glory. However I was held captive by the sadness trapped in the eyes of the animal who was brought to be slaughtered on these sands as it shed it's last tear.
Arthur's hand clasped my shoulder, "you did good. It was either us or him. It's better this way. That way he wouldn't have to live one fight to the next until being finished off. Come, let's get our pay and rest. You'll feel better at home."