Here's the second chapter. Again, I'd love to get feedback on this, good or bad, so please review. There is some description of violence and blood, so if you don't like that, then don't read. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy!
Len stood among the mass of people waiting outside the castle doors. The day had finally come for the servant to be chosen. There were more people than he had expected waiting outside. Since Rin had such a bad reputation, Len had assumed that many people wouldn't want to suffer abuse as her personal servant. However, the pay was very high, which was probably what had attracted many people.
Len was wearing his most formal clothes—a simple white dress shirt, simple tan dress pants, and cheap dress shoes. It wasn't anything terribly fancy, but he hoped that it would be accepted.
Everyone pushed and shoved, trying to move closer to the large wooden doors so that they could enter first when they opened.
A trumpet sounded from above. "Attention!" All heads turned upwards to squint at the figure standing on top of the castle wall. "Would all people interested in becoming the princess' personal servant enter the castle and await further instruction. Please take note that once you enter these walls, we cannot guarantee your safety." Those words left many people confused, but as the large wooden doors slowly creaked open, people rushed in without a second thought. The flow of people was hard to resist and Len had to move quickly to avoid being trampled.
Once all of the people had entered the castle, the doors creaked and closed with a bang, causing many people to jump. Len looked around. Guards were stationed on the castle walls with bows and arrows and others were stationed at the bottom of the walls with swords and knives. Len had a bad feeling about what this test was going to be about.
The man spoke from above the gate again. "For the first test, there is one simple requirement for you to pass: Survive. It doesn't matter how. All you have to do is to stay alive for one hour. Begin." Without waiting, arrows rained down from the sky and the crowd was thrown into panic. People ran around, desperately looking for some way to protect themselves from the shower of arrows and rocks. People fell to the ground as they were struck in the head. The rain of arrows stopped, leaving many people still standing. Many were also laying on the ground, blood staining their clothes and ground red.
The sound of swords sliding out of their sheaths filled the courtyard as the soldiers stationed beneath the wall pulled out their swords. They charged at the people standing, cutting at vital spots. Len was standing near the center of the courtyard, so he was not immediately attacked. Looking around, Len estimated there to be about 50 soldiers and about 200 people.
Hearing the rustle of grass behind him and the dull clop of boots, Len turned around to find a soldier running towards him. He couldn't have been much older than Len—probably around 18 or 19 years old.
Instinctively, Len pulled out the knife he always kept with him and parried. The sword was significantly longer than Len's knife, so Len had no chance of winning if he stayed at a long range. He needed to move in. If the soldier was surprised to see Len had a knife, he didn't show it. He stabbed at Len's stomach. Len turned and blocked, allowing the sword to slide past him on his knife. Len grabbed the soldier's arm and pulled, using the soldier's momentum from before , causing him to stumble forward. Len slashed across the soldier's neck, blood spraying everywhere as the soldier fell forward.
Len stepped towards the soldier cautiously, unsure on whether or not he was truly dead. Just to be safe, he stepped on the young man's back and pulled his sword out from his hand. Len had never killed a man before and this experience left him feeling guilty, deep inside, but he didn't have time for unnecessary feelings. He had to survive to see Rin again. He wasn't going to die before that.
Len tested the sword, seeing how it felt in his hand. It was a little heavy, but he was going to have to work with it. Len quickly wiped the knife blade on his dress pants and slid it back into its sheath. He didn't want to get his best clothes dirty, but there was nothing else to use to wipe the blood off. Len held the sword in both hands, ready to fight again.
The other soldiers must have discovered that he was one of the more skilled in the group, since nobody came to fight him immediately after. The ones that seemed weaker were targeted first. Unable to put up much of a fight, Len watched as they dropped to the ground. He also saw some other men who had managed to get themselves a sword or a weapon and were able to fight with the soldiers.
Eventually, it came to the point where the people had been pushed towards the center with the soldiers surrounding them in a loose circle formation. Holding his sword in both hands cautiously, Len knew that one wrong move could be fatal. Against a common enemy, the men in the center seemed to form a mental agreement to work together as both sides charged towards each other shouting.
Swords clanged, the harsh sounds ringing throughout the courtyard. Len fought instinctively, each attack coming without enough time to think. His harsh sword fighting training had paid off. Len made a mental note to thank his instructor if he ever saw him again. Len hadn't fought with a sword for a few months though and his arms were starting to feel heavy with fatigue. He struggled to keep up with the soldier who trained for hours every day. Something flashed in the corner of his eye and Len knew that a sword was coming at him from the side, just as the soldier he was fighting swung his sword down at Len's head. He couldn't block both at the same time. Len waited for the searing pain in his side, but it never came. He saw a flash of dark blue, almost black, and heard swords clashing behind him. Someone had blocked it for him. "Don't switch opponents in the middle of a fight," a voice growled from behind him. "It's rude." Len couldn't turn to see the face of the person who had just saved his life, but he could tell from the voice that it was a boy.
Finding new strength from the adrenaline rush of the near-death experience, Len swung his sword, putting more power and determination into his attacks. The soldier backed up a little, miscalculating the force of Len's blow, leaving an opening. Len took this chance and stabbed the soldier in the stomach. The soldier jerked and tried to cut Len one final time with his sword, but Len pulled the sword out and watched the soldier fall onto the ground, his body shuddering once before becoming still.
Len stuck the sword into the ground and leaned on it, gasping for breath. He looked around. People were still fighting. It didn't seem that there were any soldiers left to fight him. He wanted to thank the person who had blocked the sword from the side for him, but Len hadn't seen what he looked like, so he couldn't determine who it was out of the people fighting.
"End of the first test! Stop fighting!" Weapons stopped in midair and slowly lowered to people's sides. Len breathed a sigh of relief. He felt weak and thirsty. If he had to fight another soldier, there was no way he could have won.
Now that Len could relax a little, he looked around and took in his surroundings. Everything was red—the grass, the swords, the bodies. Bodies of people and soldiers lay on the ground, trampled and soaked in blood. The ones who were alive didn't look much better. Everyone was covered in blood—their hair, faces, clothes, weapons. Some were wounded. Len was lucky to have only received a few minor cuts and bruises. He looked down at himself to see clothes splattered with blood and hands covered in red. Only 24 people were left out of the 500 people who had entered the courtyard just one short hour ago.
"Congratulations to all who survived," the voice bellowed. "You will all be able to enter the second test. First, though, you will be allowed to take a shower and you will be given a new set of clothes. A servant will guide you to the showers and changing rooms."
Everyone turned to find a male servant standing next to a door and walked in that direction. Len was looking forward to a shower and new clothes. He wanted to be rid of the crimson red that surrounded him.