Young Writers Society

*Okay* Roland sat and when the food came out, he didn't touch his, neither did the governor.

"Well, Roland...how have you been? I haven't seen you in a number of years," he said rudely. Roland shrugged.
"I've been in all sorts of places for that number of years. I just thought it would be nice to see an old friend," he said glaring at the man. He glared back. The history behind Roland and the governor...and it all included special powers. They both harbored eachothers secrets and were both deathly afraid of eachother.

**All I got**

Roland ran his fingers along the rim of his glass wondering if he should leave Arden in the position she was in or not. If she got something extremely dangerous, like being hung, he could always save her and no one would notice. Him and the governor stared at eachother for a while.

"So, what's the big deal about your son dying? He wasn't anything important or anything," Roland said testing the Governor's temper. The governor caught on quickly.

"He was blood, Roland. When your brother died, didn't you acuse me of murder?" Roland cringed.

"Shut-up," he said. The governor kept on.
"Wasn't it poisoning him you acused me of? Because he was a lousy drunk that cared nothing of you?" Roland closed his eyes trying to block out his voice.
"Jonathan!" His wife yelled. He ignored her.
"But his blood was on your hands, wasn't it Roland. The truth was that you had fought with him and it had gone to far. He tried to kill you so-"
"Shut your fucking mouth, Jonathan! You don't know a thing about my brother!You don't know what happend so just shut up!" Roland yelled. His voice boomed throughout the home and the lights flickered. He slammed his wine glass down, breaking the fragile glass and stormed out of the house. Now that Arden had seen his temper, what was she going to think of him.

Arden stared, wide eyed as Roland stormed out of the house. She had never, in all the time she'd known him, seen him so angry. The governor turned his glare on her and she shot her gaze down to the food before her, gingerly picking at the roasted quail. "What's wrong girl? Don't like the fact we cooked one of your friends?" The governor growled lowly. Arden's bottom lip quivered. He was right after all. She did not like meat. Period. "Aw, I'm sorry, did I hurt your feelings?" She kept quiet, yelping when his hand came down on the table, making a loud slam. Her yelp caused the men of the table to laugh, the one nearest to her eying her up and down.

"Hey father, if her death isn't bloody, can I have her afterward?" The young man smirked and Arden jumped at them soon realizing she was shackled to her chair. The young man laughed cruelly as she struggled to get of the ground. "Here animal girl." He smirked, helping her up. His hand fondled her breast and she yelped, slapping him across the face and making him shout. Guards were suddenly on either side of her, dragging her away from the table as she kicked and screamed about it not being fair and that the young man hand touched her in a ungentlemanly fashion.

Roland walked into the woods as he slowly began to calm down. He started to wonder of Arden. He shouldn't of let Jonathan gotten into his head. Roland should of been smarter than that. What was he going to do now? With the temper that he had seemed to have at the supper table surely affected Arden's thinking of him. He became angry at this thought. He had finally gotten the guts to talk to her after several years of obseervation...and this is how it crumbles down.
He stormed into his little cave and punched the hard wall. The shadows perfected his punch and the wall cracked. Now he would have to rely on Jonothan for one thing. To choose the Arena.

Arden could hear everything they were saying. She would be thrown in, not with one, not with two, certainly not with three, but four starving man-eaters. Her bottom lip quivered as she looked up through the bars of the dungeon, able to see the men above talking. Tomorrow. She'd be killed tomorrow. Killed by the creatures she'd put all she had into being one with.

With a shake of her head, Arden stood, pacing back and forth. She refused to die. She had too many things to do. She would escape. Yes. Escape. The lions would be let out, and she'd run. Roland would have to be waiting for her somewhere in the arena, and she'd run in his direction.

But what if he wasn't on her side?

Of course, with the show and dinner, he was obviously angry and the governor, but what if it was all a show? A ploy to make Arden give up and let the lions tear her apart? What if it had been like that all along? Just to make the animal girl die and painful, undeserved death.

Arden let out a growl and slammed her fist into the wall, letting out a loud cry before crumpling to the ground, cradling her now-broken wrist in her lap. The pain from her wrist, and everything that had happened just that day overwhelmed her and her eyes rolled into the back of her head, which fell back against the cold stone ground.

~

"Come on girl!" A guard grabbed Arden's broken wrist, causing her to wake with a scream of sheer pain. The guard smirked. "What, does that hurt?" He smirked and twisted Arden's wrist sharply, drawing another scream. The guard laughed loudly and grabbed either side of her wrist with two large fingers, rolling her small wrist in between his fingers. She whimpered pitifully, curled on the ground.

"P-please!" She cried. "STOP!" The guard grinned, his fingers still in the same place as he yanked Arden off the ground, leading her down the corridor. The arena was located next to the governor's mansion, so it only made sense that his dungeon led to the arena. The guard shoved Arden forward, a sharp pain drawing in her arm. She turned, looking at the rusty metal spike that dug into her skin, drawing large quantities of blood.

"And now ladies and gentleman, for your viewing pleasure, we introduce Animal Girl! The same person who killed Arthur, Governor Jonathan's eldest son!" The crowd shouted out nemorous amounts of things as the guards opened the door, shoving Arden out of it.

Roland walked into the entrance of the Arena, grinning.
"Jonothan is still as dumb as I remember," he thought. The guards let him in and Roland glided through the stands and slowly into the shadows. No one was watching him, it was Arden they were watching with thirsty eyes. They wanted to see death and blood. Oh, how they were going to be disappointed. Roland walked through the closed gate still unvisible to the human eye. He watched Arden as the fear in her eyes sent an aching pain through his stomach.

"Arden, Arden, listen to me. I am right here. The lions won't bother attacking you if you show no fear...and with your power, you can soothe them to less of an angry mood. I know you can, and if you fail...I will be right here," he whispered. He saw Arden's head turn just a tad showing that she was listening. The gates eased up to the caves of the big cats. Three slowly walked out followed by a raging fourth one. They all growled lightly as they circled Arden, waiting for her to mess-up.

Arden swallowed the lump in her throat, staring one of the lions in the eyes. After seeing the true pain and hunger these creatures were going through she seemed to gain power. She took a step towards one, causing it to bound at her quickly, the three others following, all with the intent to kill as their snarling filled the arena. She heard screams of joy from people waiting to see the show as she opened her palms at her side, one more painful that the other due to her wrist. The lions suddenly stopped, like the world was on pause. The stands were quiet, silence becoming thick.

With a small smile Arden kneeled on the ground, running her thin fingers through the largest lion's mane. A deep purr sounded as he closed his amber eyes, turning his head down. "It's okay now. Everything's going to be fine." She smiled when the other lions neared, each getting their share of touch. All four voices filled her head at once, relaying a simple message. A plead of help. "I will help you." She smiled softly.

Thank you. All nuzzled her with their large heads.

We come from a far away land. It's hot, and a paradise to us. The largest spoke.

"Yaerin?" All four nodded. Arden smiled in understanding. "Then I promise to help you find your way back. First, we have to get out of here tho-" Arden's voice was cut off by an angry shout.

"Stop your conversation and kill her already!" The governor screamed, alarming the lions. "Fine! If you useless animals don't," being called useless caused them all to growl and snarl, "then I will!" He cocked his bow, a shining arrow aimed at Arden, whose green eyes were wide in fear.

**Elly?**

*Sorry I just didn't know what to post*

Roland stepped foward a bit.
"Arden, come to me," he whispered. She took a few steps back. Roland stretched his shadow while standing at an angle so it just barely covered all of Arden. Jonothan lowered his arrow and glared. Roland heard him in his head.

"Why are you protecting her," he asked.
"Because she didn't kill your son. I did." And with that, Roland bent the shadows surrounding Arden and she seemed to disappear. Ooh's and Ah's arrose from the crowd.

"Arden. Walk towards me. Turn around, you'll see me."