Chapter 27: Dagger

Bradley

I am not so sure if I did a good thing.

My fellow contestants were surprised by my statements in the news. They assumed that Prince Elton accosting me in the bathroom was about the tournament, not Princess Emily. Colin did as well. Nobody bothered to ask me what that was about; they simply assumed the worst.

It's fine. It wasn't a terrible assumption, just an incorrect one. It happens. Now the nation is thinking that Emily and I are star-crossed lovers destined to be mated to each other whenever she figures out her challenge - which could take years, if not decades. *gulp*

Honestly, who has that kind of time?

I want to know who my mate is now! Before I lose my place in the tournament. Who knows what awaits us tonight? I know Armstrong won't be pleased with me. I had the chance to get rid of Elton for good but squandered it.

I don't know, something about his raw honesty spoke to me.

When he told me that he was doing this for his family, I related to him right on the spot. I am doing the exact same thing. It is hard for me to put it into words; I just connected to him on a deeper level. I just couldn't say no to a boy fighting for his family. It spoke to me.

My sisters called after the CNN interview I gave aired. They saw it later online and were very impressed that Princess Emily was interested in me. My mom also called to tell me to focus on the tournament and on finding my mate. She said nothing good would come from clashing with the royal family. Well, she might not be wrong there.

What can I say? It gets lonely here, despite the lovely company of Colin, my roommate, who was really taken aback by the fact that the whole thing last night was about Emily and not the tournament. I confirmed it to him, and he still looked puzzled at me.

In the end, we are all brothers to younger sisters, so we get it. Elton was just too passionate about it. Let's put it this way: It certainly won't happen again.

Later that evening, all the contestants were assembled inside McCarthy Hall at the time we were told yesterday to arrive. More than two thousand men were ready to fight for our placement in the competition now that many believed it would lead to the next King being chosen. There were doubts before, but no one is doubting it now. Who knew?

"Good evening, gentlemen." Colonel Armstrong greeted us before the cameras started streaming. He will brief us on the challenge first, before the official live streaming starts. He was looking annoyed at seeing Prince Elton in the lineup — consequently, mad at me for having allowed him to be there through my tell-all interview.

"Let me start by saying that when I told you guys it was forbidden to assault one of your fellow contestants, I wasn't being facetious. I meant what I said and if I hear of another incident like what happened yesterday, I don't care if the guy fucked your sister, you are not allowed to put your hands on him!" He raised his voice, glaring at Elton as he said that. He did not appreciate the coarse language, let me tell you.

We all felt uncomfortable as he was ripping us a new one. He looked mad.

"I hope I am making myself clear now. Because His Majesty already cleared me to disqualify ANY contestant who disobeys the rules." Again, he spoke looking right into Elton with a fury beneath his eyes.

"I get it, man. Move on!" Elton clapped back, annoyed at him.

Oh boy!

"My name is Colonel Armstrong. You wouldn't like me to call you El-El, so do not disrespect me, young man. It won't end well for you!" He was fuming as he put the Crown Prince in his place. It was a glaring competition that lasted longer than it should have.

"I'll remember that when I'm King one day." Elton stated, aggravated.

"There is a long road for that to happen. Who knows if you'll survive my challenges? I heard a rumor that you are deadly terrified of snakes." He smiled at him wickedly. Elton's face descended into an ugly scowl at the proposition.

"You can't create a challenge catered to defeat me! Have you no honor?" He was nearly in tears at the mere suggestion of facing snakes. I guess he truly is deadly afraid of them. I am not a fan, either.

"Relax, Your Highness! I was just joking! Of course, I would never create a challenge specifically to disqualify you. I have twenty-five years of military service and His Majesty's trust. Why would I jeopardize that?" Armstrong spoke, trying to be humorous about it.

"I only said that to make you understand that you don't know what lies ahead of you in the challenges. So, do not assume you can win simply because you are a prince. That does not make you a special Alpha. You are all created equal in the Goddess' eyes." He lectured while the prince grimaced.

"So, as I was saying, from now on, focus on getting through the challenge and respect your fellow contestants. That's what is required of you all." He spoke, now addressing the crowd lined up by the wall.

"For tonight's challenge, you will need to select a weapon of choice. It can be any of the weapons we have available to you. Obviously, guns are not included in the variety. The aim here is not to kill, as I said before." He instructed, causing some of us to gasp in shock, including me.

"Each contestant is allowed only one weapon, though some choices involve a pair. Your objective is to draw first blood. Whoever draws blood on his opponent first wins. Simple." He continued, now having his soldiers show us cases containing several weapons. They do not have enough weapons for everybody to choose and grab them now, so the choice will be made after our name is called to fight.

The men carefully examine the options in the cases. We are allowed to grab a few of them, to have a feel for it before the fight. We shall make informed decisions before we have to face our opponents. Each man is allowed a minute with the weapons, selecting what is best for them. Naturally, the ones with sharp, pointy edges are the most popular.

We do not have to make the decision now, only when our name is called.

"Be smart about your choices. Especially because you have no idea what your opponent will choose." Armstrong cautioned us while we were still experimenting with the weapons.

"A couple of ground rules as you try them out. Do not aim for any vital organs of your opponent's body. Your objective here is to draw blood, not kill him. And nobody here has immunity from prosecution. If you break the rules, the referee will stop the match, and you could be arrested for the damage you inflicted on the other person. Be advised. This isn't a free-for-all." He continued, sternly. His expression was as serious as the subject required of him.

"The same rules that were informed to you last time apply. So, please do not aim for any 'illegal' areas of the body. Most of the men here are unmated, so I bet they will want to start a family someday." He spoke, referring to possible blows to our groin. Ouch!

"Also, you are not allowed to throw your weapon at your opponent. If you make a mistake, you can hit another contestant and damage his prospect to do well in the challenge. Or even worse, you could kill him. Unless you want to go to Federal Prison, I'd steer clear from breaking the rules." He advised us with a serious look on his face.

Sometime later...

"Before we start the live streaming, I would like to begin a new tradition. Actually, it was suggested to me by my teenage daughter who is loving this competition just as much as the rest of the country. As you all know by now, your opponents are selected by a computer program, randomly. However, who gets to fight first is within my discretion." Armstrong spoke with a mischievous grin.

"Last time around, our team, who is monitoring the live stream and the comments on social media, tallied which contestant generated the most comments on our YouTube channel. Starting this week, the contestant who generates the most buzz online will have the privilege 'or curse' to participate in the first match of the night." He announced, excitedly.

All of us who grew up with social media were surprised to hear that from a seasoned veteran. I am not surprised that it was his daughter who suggested that to him. It was a good call to fire us up for the tournament.

"With that being said, the person who will have that honor tonight is none other than the Alpha from Alabama, Colin Merlin." He announced, catching my roommate by surprise. The guys gave him a round of applause for the achievement while he blushed under the attention. He deserved it, in my opinion.

*Flash forward to an hour from now*

A guy is swinging a dagger near my throat, just missing it by an inch. What the fuck happened to the rules?

A|N: Danger?

Watch out, Brad! They're coming for you!

Love,

Léo.