Bran was just getting comfortable in his seat when a couple of guards came up on both sides.

"You there, what are you doing here? You should be preparing for the tournament."

Before Bran could say no they took him forcefully by the arms and dragged him to the prep area. They pulled him into a large red and gold tent. The tent was filled with swords, spears and bows of many shapes and sizes. Hundreds of throwing knives and daggers of the finest quality adorned the walls. The guards dropped him on a large bench and walked back to the entrance. Bran brushed himself off and immediately made his way to the guards. They blocked his path with their spears and Bran just sighed.

"Hey guys this is a nice joke and all but can you let me out? I left my book back at the arena."

The guards stood firm with their spears out. They had actually been ordered directly by the king to kill him if he made any attempt to escape.

-what in the world did I do to deserve this? He thought

-maybe someone thought I had the hots for the princess and decided to help? Naaaa

-Maybe this is a test from the higher ups to see if I have the skills to make it on my own... yeah that's probably it. In that case, o god I'm screwed

Bran walked slowly back to the bench with his shoulders slouched, then giving a loud groan he buried his face in his palms.

-I knew that test was too easy, now look at the mess I'm in. This is probably going to hurt a lot, if I put up a fight I might die! I don't care how pretty you are if I can't appreciate it later!

The other contenders looked at their new companion with amusement and pity.

"Poor guy he's going to be slaughtered"

"If I get him I'll play around until he begs"

Bran was a puppy thrown into a wolf's pen.

Suddenly two more guards came into the room escorting new contender. Bran looked up surprised, none of the local citizens signed up due to the sheer level of the opposition involved. Yet here was someone new. The guards back in the stands ran up to the king out of breath

"sir we have a last minute sign up but the pairings have already been set and the spectators bets were already placed as well!"

He looked at them critically

"Does he have a chance?"

"No sir, if I may, in my honest opinion he seems built like a toothpick compared to the others"

Alden chucked grimly

"pair him up with that officer from before"

Back inside the tent the two new contenders or 'fresh meat' as many of the others were now calling them sat side by side in the far corner. The guards had come in earlier and announced that Bran was to fight alongside the new challenger until the final round in which they were to face each other for the grand prize if they persevered.

-wow they really don't think we'll make it, though who am I to doubt them Bran sighed.

Bran decided to take a good look at his new partner. In addition to being completely silent he wore a set of dark maroon light armor pieces and a romanesque helmet. A thin piece of cloth was wrapped around their face for easy breathing in the dusty arena. All in all he wasn't to impressed by his new companion. Their stature and build was dwarfed by their competition. Though there were some interesting points he was keen on finding out.

"Hey it's going to be a rough ride but nice to meet you" He tried to sound as natural as possible

His new comrade jumped at his voice as if they were in a different world and gently nodded his way in acknowledgement.

-well he's not a completely unpleasant fellow now is he?

Bran tried to be a little bolder.

"what's your name?"

Silence

"Your favorite book?"

Silence

"Color?" He was desperate

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

his companion pointed at the tent wall

-ah, red, the color of my blood mixed in the arena dirt... Bran wallowed in his failure.

The most curious thing about the person next to him was their posture, and second their weapon which was concealed in a long leather bag.

Bran decided to give up and focused on his upcoming strategy. It was ominously quiet inside of the tent. There were about fifteen other people besides them scattered around the spacious area. Those who had been mocking openly before had grim countenances, they sharpened their blades and stared at the dirt floor unblinking.

Bran observed his opponents and then looked back at his teammate who still sat motionless and silent, he had a plan.

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The two would go last in the first round and they needed to win four matches in order to face each other. The same two guards from before entered and escorted the first two suitors out of the tent. The sounds of the crowd were terrifying. Clashes of swords could be heard repeatedly over the crowd's tiding roars. Then it suddenly grew quiet and Bran heard a collective "oooo" from the crowd. A woman in the stands screamed in the middle of the silence and after a second or two the whole arena went nuts. The guards brought back the first victor, and what was left of the other suitor in a large brown sack.

-heh, holy S***!

The winner had a wild look in his eyes. Blood was splashed in places blood shouldn't be and his arms were coated in cuts and bruises.

-this does not alter my plan I must push through the fear and stay confident Bran looked ahead and cleared his mind

The next six matches ended with either fighter severely injured or in a body bag. The medics tended to the contestants wounds as the guards strode to Bran's corner. It was finally their turn in the arena.

Bran and his companion were escorted through the entrance and walked into the blood soaked grounds. His companion whom he decided to just call Red due to his current knowledge was currently looking at the opposite side of the arena where their chosen opponent would soon emerge. As their opponent revealed himself Bran gave a hopeless crazy laugh.

-wow, he's huge...haha

The man towered over 7 feet tall, his inhuman muscles rippled under the intense sun. The man's face was covered in scars from previous battles and a confident smirk revealed his pleasure in seeing the match-up. His weapon was a massive double mace with two deadly spiked balls on chains. The two balls were each the same width as Bran's torso and the man swung them around as if they were beach balls. Bran then looked at Red who was taking his weapon out of the bag. There was no other way to describe it. The blade was plain beautiful. On the hilt there was a design of pink blossoms on pure white. The blade glowed in the sunlight and emanated pure brilliance. The crowd gave another "ooooo" and the King's eyes widened in alarm as if the blade itself had pricked his neck. Bran knew of the blade from the books he read. It was the blademaster's legendary weapon "Albus". Bran pulled Red to the side and held him against the wall out of sight from the crowd. It was easy as they were both pretty light when it came to weight. He pulled the cloth from his face only to find it wasn't a "him". There was Grace Alden staring him back in the face, her eyes ready for a fight...

-ugh. oh god, its going to be a long day Bran moaned as he held back a massive headache.

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Soo sleepy goodnight