Sleeping Next to the Pirate King

The image of Baron's green eyes shining like emeralds under the sun with the sea in the background filled me mind. I felt my cheeks flush as I remembered the night we spent by the moonlight some time ago. 

MILA FOCUS! 

You are in the middle of a task yet you are lusting over a guy? Shame on you! 

I exhaled in frustration as the shrill sound of an alarm sounded. The four minutes begin now!

I took out the four envelopes and opened them all at once. The best course of action is to rule out two easy riddles and solve them in a couple of seconds, while leaving more time for the harder riddles. All of the riddles come in the same casing, and writing. An ordinary individual would have already forgotten which riddle belonged to which soldier. And as a result one would have to read all the riddles again, which would be a waste of time. 

I smiled as I looked at all four envelopes. I had anticipated this so in preparation I had used the wooden soldier's dagger to cut a small wound on my thumb. I then imprinted my thumbprint on each riddle as many times as I suspected the level of difficulty for the riddle inside. 

The wooden soldier's envelope was imprinted once, while the bronze soldier's envelope was imprinted twice. The silver soldier's three times, and the golden soldier's four times respectively. 

With this in mind I picked up the wooden soldier's envelope and read over the riddle. 

"If I drink, I die. If I eat, I am fine. What am I?"

I smiled. This riddle was quite simple as I remember memorizing it for the high school riddle competition in my old life. The answer was "fire". As fire dies with the water it drinks, and survives with what it eats, such as wood. 

I shuddered. 

The riddles seem to coincide with methods of ruining the armor of the four soldiers. As fire does eat wood. 

No use brooding over it. I need to focus on the next riddle. I then turned to read the bronze soldier's riddle. 

"Poor people have it, Rich people need it, if you eat it you die, what is it?"

My mind ached as I read over the riddle once more. The answer was on the tip of my tongue. I had also memorized it before for the same high school competition as that of the wooden soldier's riddle. 

The only thing that kills a person if they were to eat it would be poison, or something gone bad. But poor people don't have poison, and rich people certainly don't need it. Unless you belong to a certain family of assassins with a renowned white-haired, 12-year-old. 

I cracked my knuckles as I sighed. What do poor people have?

Nothing. 

Wait a second. 

Another shrill noise filled the cheering colosseum. I looked at the sundial to see the large shadow formed by the sun inching closer to the second tick mark. This meant that I have three minutes left. I smiled. 

Perfect. 

I have already managed to solve two of the four riddles. I then moved on to the silver soldier's riddle. 

"The man who invented it,

Doesn't want it for himself.

The man who bought it,

Doesn't need it for himself.

The man who needs it,

Doesn't know it when he needs it."

I crossed my arms over my chest as I thought of the riddle and reread it once more. 

Oh? 

This riddle was more challenging than the other two for sure. With long riddles such as these, the best tactic to use would be to go to the middle stanze or paragraph and solve outwards from there. 

Now, "The man who bought it, Doesn't need it for himself.", is confusing in itself as a statement. Most individuals buy something due to having a "need" for it. That need could be subjective or objective depending on the nature of it. Most individuals don't need toys, or materialistic items. With this in mind, I can rule out items such as food, water, clothing, shelter of any sort, or items otherwise found in grocery stores. 

I sighed. Now the first statement was the one that truly put me in a conundrum. "The man who invented it,Doesn't want it for himself." Most people invent items in order to use them or for others to do so. The vague nature of this riddle is what makes it so hard. As breaking it up into parts will only make me go crazy instead of solving it. The only items people invent and don't want are weapons, or other items related to death. 

The last part of the riddle states, "The man who needs it, Doesn't know it when he needs it." This statement has got to be the most vague. Everyone buys most thing because they might not know when they need it. This is true particularly with uncertain situations such as a pregnancy test or protection.

*author note: Stay safe kiddos and use protection*

Additionally a person may buy food without knowing when they may need it. 

If I were to look at the big picture of this riddle, it has to relate in some way to the actual soldier. The bronze soldier represents a rank which is most of the time neglected as it is not silver or gold. In jewelry terms, bronze is counted as nothing. Thus the relation of the soldier to the riddle. 

Now the answer to this riddle must relate to the silver soldier in some way. Silver is a metal. As well as an element on the periodic table. Silver also represents the second place or position to a competition. And most weapons or items have silver as an element. Another shrill noise filled the colosseum. 

I looked to see that I have about a minute and a half left. 

Fuck!

That is not enough time and I'm still stuck on this riddle! 

Ugh. Technically bullets and other weapons are not bought without the buyer having no intentions or plans. So weapons are out of the question. The only item type which is possible has to be associated with death. But what is something that someone regrets inventing, doesn't need it when they buy it, and doesn't need it for themselves?

Most death rituals involve incense, religious proceedings, or a coffin. Incense and religious proceedings do not match the path of the riddle. But coffin might. 

The person who invented coffins surely doesn't want it. Most people buy a coffin for another person, and people never know when they may need it! The answer has to be a coffin. 

I smiled as another shrill noise sounded from the sundial. I only have one more minute to solve the last riddle. I coughed before reading the golden soldier's riddle. 

"It brings back the lost as though never gone, shines laughter and tears with light long since shone; a moment to make, a lifetime to shed; valued then but lost when your dead. What Is It?"

Shock filled me. Surprisingly this riddle seems easier than that of the silver soldier. There are technically only a handful of items which take only a moment to make. That being a noise, an emotion, sometimes a decision, and a movement.

Noise is lost when one is dead, and valued when one is alive. But it does not bring back the lost as though never gone, and doesn't take a lifetime to shed. Emotions and movement are the same thing. But technically a decision could shine laughter and tears with light, and could take a lifetime to shed. But it does not bring back the lost as though never gone and is not lost when one is dead as some decisions could follow one to the grave. 

I felt sweat bead my forehead. I only have a few seconds left. A few seconds and I could change the whole course of this trial. A few seconds and I could lose a large form of support which I would rather have here with me. 

I slapped the back of my neck and wiped my hand on the sand ground. Even in this imaginary world, mosquitoes exist to terrorize me. As the seconds continued to tick by the deadline of the bet only neared closer and closer. My heartbeat continued to quicken. All senses of danger awoke as feelings of despair, helplessness, and wanting to give up followed closely behind. This reminded me of the high school competition the answer to the riddle which I had lost the championship was the word "memory". I chuckled. 

How ironic. 

Wait. 

Doesn't this riddle seem similar? 

Holy fuck. 

Holy shit. 

The riddle which made me lose the championship in high school in my previous life was the one that I was struggling to solve now. The answer has to be memory! 

Memory can bring back the lost, it takes a moment to make, and a lifetime to be lost. It is valued in life and lost in death. It has to be memory!

A second later the familiar shrill noise filled the colosseum for the last time. I laid back on the sandy ground as my laborious breathing calmed down. The crowd cheered, causing the ground which I laid on to shake as if an earthquake were rocking it. 

I smiled as Maldonius's familiar voice boomed. 

"Well my dear, have you solved the four riddles?"

I nodded as I recited the answers to the riddle as well as the explanation to my answers. 

Maldonius smiled and stood up. He then walked over to the railing of his high banister. He then snapped his fingers and said. 

"Well my dear, you sure don't seem to disappoint. As promised I will grant the wager of the bet."

A second later multiple familiar individuals materialized and faced me. I jumped up and ran faster than I had ever done in both of my lives towards my crew members. Confusion coated their faces as they were dressed in Gladiator themed clothing. A familiar man with sunlight hair and emerald eyes stood in the front of the crowd. His eyes setting on me. Their green color shining as he recognized me. A second later, the edges of his mouth turned upwards as he ran towards me to embrace me. The rest of my crew members doing the same. 

As I neared their outstretched arms a sudden roar filled the colosseum. I stopped in my tracks as I turned to see eight lions surround me and my crew members a few meters away. Fear filled me as I watched the lions open their large mouths to expose teeth sharper than knives. 

Suddenly a large cage seemed to drop from the sky and trap my crew members. They yelled out as they banged on the cage's bars. I looked up to see a smirking Maldonius. 

"What the fuck is the meaning of this, lizard breath?"

Maldonius's smirk dropped for a second before he regained his composure. He then coughed into his hand before saying. 

"Well my dear. For the bet the only thing that I've said is the fact that I would bring your crew members and friends. I never said that I would let you be with them. After all we are in a colosseum. I have a reputation to uphold as I must entertain my guests. How about this? If you manage to fight back these lions and get them back into their individual cages, then I will free your friends and allow them to accompany you for the duration of the trials. What do you think my dear?"

"You lying son of a bitch! You said that they could accompany me for the rest of the trials in the bet?!"

Maldonius smiled before saying. 

"Is there any proof of that my dear? I am growing old anyways, most things that I say seem to exit my memory per say."

My fists shook with anger. None of this fucking situation was fair. And to top that all off how the hell am I supposed to put eight, large-ass lions back in their cages? 

I turned to see a chuckling Maldonius. I then picked up my saber and pulled my arm back. My high school javelin skills coming back to me as I extended then let the saber fly towards my target. 

A second later the crowd quieted as a scratch appeared on Maldonius's face. My saber impaled on the wall next to his throne. For the first time Maldonius wasn't smiling. Instead he had a look of extreme anger. 

For the first time in this new world, I felt true anger resembling that of what I felt with Johannes and this dragon was the reason to it. I then said out loud. 

"Let that be a warning to you dragon. You might have gotten cocky lately due to the fact that I enjoy going with the flow of matters. But when it comes to my friends, I don't let shit like your games put them in an undesirable situation. Instead of betting on letting my friends go, why don't we add another bet?"

Maldonius nodded as he wiped away the blood oozing from his wound. I then picked up the wooden soldier's dagger. 

"Why don't we bet on whether or not I could kill you with only one throw of this dagger?"

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