by Katie Cherry
“Except enter the Games,” I mutter. Thaddeus pretends not to hear me, continuing instead to lecture us about different creatures until my brain feels like it’s going to split open. The only things that caught my interest were dragons, phoenixes, and vampires, but not much else. There were a few other creatures as well, but I had already forgotten what they were called. What gave me a chill, though, is that there are werewolves here. They were known for their bloodthirstiness and lack of mercy, as well as the stories of what they do to girls before they kill them.
Finally, it’s time for Nathan to meet Vlad- and time for our instruction on creatures to end, which I can’t help but be elated about. The sad part is that does not necessarily mean that I am free to do whatever I wish. I want to try out the weapons again, but Thaddeus has other ideas. As Nathan rides an elevator to the ground, he turns to me.
“Let’s exercise your planning and strategy.” He reaches behind his back, eyes glinting. I brace myself for a big book he’ll quiz me on or something. But what he pulls out is something completely different. “…And the best way to do that… is to play chess!” I blink in disbelief, staring at him.
He smiles. “I know what you’re thinking, but it really does help you to both formulate a plan ahead of time as well as improvise when things turn out differently than you might expect. Plus, it’s fun- arguably the most fun you will have today. I will be white, and you can be blue. I will not go down easily, I warn you,” he adds with a twinkle in his eye. “I have only ever been beaten by two people- your parents. Even then, I still beat them as often as not.”
“Well, let’s just see what I can do, then,” I say, swallowing back the grin that’s trying to creep onto my face. I love chess. I started playing when I was a toddler, and I have rarely lost. Thaddeus has no idea what he’s getting into, challenging me… I haven’t lost at this game in years!
Thaddeus lets me start. I’m pretty confident I can beat him. I have an arsenal of strategies to win due to my years of playing. I have planned for every possibility I have ever seen, as well as a few I haven’t. Even if I don’t beat him in the first game, afterward I will know his strategies and the way he thinks. I will be able to anticipate his every move.
After more than half an hour, I think that I finally have him set up how I want him to be. Confident that he has no moves, I grin after moving my final piece. “Checkmate.”
Not looking concerned at all, he contemplates the board. For five minutes. I’m about to snap at him and assure him that he has no chance of winning now, when he looks up at me and says, “Patience is a virtue.” This rubs me the wrong way since I’ve heard that all my life and I’m thoroughly sick of it. Frustrated, I look at the board once again, and something I didn’t notice before stands out to me. Oh no! I… I can’t believe I left that pathway open! Then again, I guess it couldn’t really be helped since my few remaining pieces are all occupied. Still… I hope he doesn’t notice…
Just as I’m thinking this, however, Thaddeus reaches out his hand and takes advantage of my lapse. Using his king, he kills my queen and then he says, “Checkmate.”
Astonished, I look at the board, only to find that it’s true. There’s no way around it. “How… how on earth?! You turned that completely around! I had you!”
“I admit, that was a little too close for comfort,” Thaddeus concedes. “But luckily for me, I eventually found your mistake and exploited it. Don’t be too disappointed, however! You had me worried there, and as I said, the only ones to ever beat me were your parents. You are still an extraordinary chess player.” He stands, pushing back his chair. I follow suit. “Looks like it’s time for lunch, my dear.”
We ride the elevator on the outside of the building, going slowly so we can look out over the land as we descend. The sparkling castle catches my gaze once more. “Hey, Thaddeus? Why does the castle sparkle like that?”
“Ah, the Dragon castle,” he begins, holding his hands behind his back as he gazes at it. “It was built with the dragons’ help. They gathered the stones from their mountains. They have gold and other precious jewels throughout. That is what you see catching the sunlight.”
“The whole thing is like that?”
“Indeed.”
“Wow,” I murmur, gazing at the beautiful, priceless castle before us. When we reach the ground, we walk to the square and eat with the rest of the contestants and advisors. I can’t help but notice that Nathan and I are the only ones walking around with winces. Great. I knew being this sore would put us at a disadvantage, I groan to myself. Nathan and I eat together while Thaddeus heads over to talk to Vlad.
We’re both ravenous, so not much is said until we are done with our food. It’s a simple sandwich, like the one Vlad gave me when we first met, so it doesn’t take long to finish.
Swallowing my last bite, I ask Nathan, “So, how did it go with Vlad?”
“Not too bad,” he says, leaning back. “He didn’t say much, just asked me some questions to test for a logistical Gift, I guess. He also had me run, try to fly, read his mind, and disappear… just tried to see which Gifts I might have, I suppose. What did you do with Thaddeus?”
“Oh, we just played chess,” I respond nonchalantly. I immediately laugh at the confusion on his face and explain. “He said it would help with logic and planning and stuff.”
“Oh, okay. Did you win?”
“No,” I sigh. “But I was so close! I had one little mistake that he somehow found after five minutes, so he had me in a checkmate right after I thought I had him in one! Ugh, it was frustrating! That was the first time I’ve lost in years. And yes, I did play during that time,” I tell him before he can ask.
After that, we can’t think of much to talk about except the First Challenge, but we don’t want to talk about that, so we simply sit in companionable silence. After a while, I spot Sierra and Ham coming over to us.
“Hey, guys! What’s up?” I greet them.
“Oh, you know. Training and stuff,” Sierra replies matter-of-factly, sitting down next to me as Ham sits next to Nathan. “Not that I know why they even bother,” she adds. “There’s no way we’re going to win. Not compared to Kat and Jake, Odette and Frazer, Star and Drake… well, we don’t have a chance against any of them, honestly. Except maybe Roxane and Lloyd. Lloyd will probably be awesome, but I can bet you that Roxane will hold him back.” She stops and blushes. “Sorry, we just spent the morning going over the teams, I guess my mind is still lingering on it.”
“Come on, guys!” Nathan protests. “Don’t talk like that! If you think you will lose, then that is what will happen! For example, I thought that I would never make it to state at Track and Field for my school, so I didn’t. But the next year, I told myself that not only could I make it to state, I would be in the top three. So I ignored the other runners and just did my best, and I won! So, I’m trying to do that here as well. I have to, for my family.”
I nod, touched by his little speech. “So do I. I owe it to my little sister, and to Nathan and his family. But that doesn’t mean that you guys can’t win as well. We should all protect and help one another, and they won’t have a choice but to make it so that all four of us win!”
“Yeah…” Ham slowly agrees. “Sure. I’ll go along with this. We’ll try our best.”
“That’s the spirit!” I cheer. “So, how’s Zelda?”
“Oh, she’s great!” Sierra says, smiling. “She’s very understanding and… well, not like Vlad. She’s not pushing as hard as I thought she would, luckily. How’s the special treatment with Thaddeus?”
“It’s a little tough,” Nathan admits. “But I can already tell it’s worth it. And you’re right; he’s also much better than Vlad. Then again, Vlad just seemed to have it out for us. I’m sure it would be nice to be his favorite as well- he probably gives them inside information. I just hope he’s not telling them secrets about us…”
“Oh, I’m sure he would love to,” Ham comments. “It’s just too bad it’s against
the rules- if he did cheat, then he would be replaced, and he would hate that. But you can bet he’s doing what he can, giving his teams little ‘hints’ under the table so no one knows. It’s a little unfair that he’s the only one doing the Gift testing instead of spreading it out or having someone who’s not an advisor do it if you ask me.”
Looking up, I see that Vlad is coming towards us. “Speak of the Devil,” I mutter. “Here comes Vlad.” The three of them turn and look. I have a terrible feeling he’s here for me.
“Greetings,” he says when he reaches our table, inclining his head a little to acknowledge Ham and Sierra. “May I have a word with Crystal?”
The three look at me, concerned. Touched, I tell Vlad, “Sure.” As he begins walking away, I quickly assure my friends, saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. He can’t do anything to me, especially not in front of everyone. Be right back!” I quickly hurry after Vlad. Once we’re out of earshot, he stops and turns back to me.
“As you know, you need to train with me alone right after lunch. I will attempt to assess which Gifts you may have or receive. Although this is difficult to do while you are going through Zilferian puberty. So, and I’m just warning you, your assessment from me may seem harsh. Do not be a baby and whine about it or make my job harder in any way, or else I might ‘accidentally’ arrange for an accident to happen in the arena. I am in control of the Games this year, so I can do anything I want to you.”
“Not necessarily,” I bite back. “I don’t think my parents would be too happy with you if you ‘accidentally’ got me killed.”
“Don’t play the Princess card on me, princess. You don’t rule over me, and your parents aren’t alert. They can’t save you. You have no power over me, whereas I have all power over you.”
“Not for long,” I can’t help but retort. Vlad reddens, getting angry.
He lowers his voice, coming closer to me. I stiffen and will myself to not back away. “I would watch where you step, princess. And that means coming to your assessment, no matter how much you and I dislike each other.” He comes even closer, his mouth next to my ear. “But you’ve pushed too far. I will have my revenge. Let’s just say… I hope you aren’t afraid of werewolves.”
Thanks to my newfound knowledge of werewolves, this sends a shiver down my spine. Backing away, Vlad sends me a crooked smile, satisfied that I am now terrified of him. “See you in a few minutes back here, in the square. Try to run away and it will be worse for you.” And with that, my newest and most powerful enemy stalks away.
Chapter Seven
Afternoon Training
“What did he want?” Nathan asks with concern as I slowly walk back to my friends, hiding my feelings behind a nonchalant smile. He should be concerned, I think to myself. I have now made a powerful new enemy… and it doesn’t affect just me, but him as well!
“Oh, nothing,” I reply, sitting back down. All three look at me disbelievingly, but I’m not ready to tell them about Vlad’s threat just yet. So I continue with, “No, really. He just wanted to remind me to meet him here after everyone leaves. That’s all.” Ham and Sierra look relieved, but I can tell that Nathan doesn’t quite believe me. He doesn’t argue in front of the other two, although I can tell by the look in his eyes that he’s going to question me about it later. I notice people beginning to leave the square just as Thaddeus comes over to our table.
“Greetings, Ham, Sierra,” He nods to each of them in turn. “I believe it is time for you to go- lunch is over, and training resumes immediately afterward.” They nod and leave, waving goodbye to us. Thaddeus now addresses Nathan. “If you will come with me. Crystal needs to be assessed by Vladimir.” Nathan nods, giving me a supportive thumbs-up. I return it, trying to look confident even though I’m anything but confident at the moment. My whole world is crashing down around me- isn’t that a good enough reason to be wary of everything?
Everyone clears out of the square within minutes, and I’m alone but for the cleaners who are swiftly moving the tables out and sweeping out the square. Soon enough, they’re gone as well, and I’m left alone with my thoughts, waiting for Vlad to return and make my life even more miserable.
He arrives shortly with a clipboard, paper, and pencil. Apparently, he’s taking notes, just waiting for me to screw up. I sigh. Here goes nothing. A handful of people are following him. They’ve brought weapons, chess games, books, weights, cages with animals in them, and various other objects. That’s right… he’s going to judge me and try to see what Gifts I may or may not develop. Well, I can’t make anything much worse with Vlad, now can I? Whatever I do won’t matter much. Even if I try to fix what I’ve done, he won’t forgive me- he’s even more stubborn than I am.
Once everyone leaves and I am alone with Vlad and one guy by the weapons, he jumps right into it. His voice doesn’t betray any emotions as he tells me to try to move one of the books with my mind. Thinking that it’s stupid, but not wanting to fail, I concentrate hard on the nearest book. I then picture it moving, jumping into the air and hovering there. It moves about an inch and falls back onto the table. Vlad doesn’t say anything, but I can tell by the look on his face that my effort was pathetic. Next, he tells me to bench-press some weights- as many pounds as I can manage. I’m not too great at that, either.
He then looks me up and down before telling me to try and ‘charm him’ into doing something for me. I try, but when I do, he raises an eyebrow and jots something down. I can’t help but feel down about it. What if I end up having no Gifts? What a failure ‘princess’ I would be. Next, he has me read a passage from one of the books and then repeat it to him. I try to tell it word for word, but I can’t help but paraphrase.
We play chess so he can see my level of logic next. I beat him easily. He then has me run as fast as I can around the square four times- just over a mile. I do better than I ever have before- by about a minute- but he just shakes his head and writes on his paper. I’m frustrated by the time he tells me to control the weather, so I imagine a bolt of lightning hitting the ground between us, feeding my frustration into it. Suddenly the air is filled with electricity, and a bolt of lightning actually hits the ground in front of him, surprising me. I didn’t think it would really work. Vlad looks charred black, and his hair is sticking straight up. I begin laughing, then realize that my hair is behaving the same way, ripped out of my neat little braid, although I’m not all charred with tiny bits of electricity still running between my fingers and strands of hair. The paper, however, is history. It’s all but disappeared. He goes to a table, muttering the whole way, and retrieves another paper and clipboard. He writes quickly, covering the previous tests as well as the most recent.
Now, grinning with satisfaction, he instructs me to talk to and attempt to pet a tiger. He backs away hastily when it roars at me, but I hold my ground. Talking to it soothingly and assuring it that I mean it no harm, the tiger calms. It even lets me pet its snout, which is softer than I expected. I then tell it to relax and rest. It lies down and puts its head on its paws, looking up at me sorrowfully. Swallowing, I force myself to turn and walk away without freeing it. Behind me I see Vlad scrambling to hide his surprise and awe. He looks away from me and writes down my results for befriending creatures.
Then, face expressionless, he tells me to focus on the tiger and ‘put myself in its shoes.’ He tells me to think of how it would feel to be that powerful creature. What I would feel, hear, and smell. So I do. It’s surprisingly easy. Next thing I know, I’m on all fours and flicking a tail around. A sudden barrage of smells assaults my nose. There are so many, I can’t sort them out. Sudden, feral thoughts fight over control of my body. I feel like I’m on the line between being a tiger and a girl. Finally, my thoughts overrule the tiger instincts and can focus on Vlad, who seems to be yelling at me. I flick my ears back, annoyed at the harsh noise.
“…Now! That’s long enough! Concentrate on how you are as a human! Change back, or you may be a tiger forever!” He’s panicking, I can
tell, but I am calm. Yeah, I don’t think so. I’m stronger than you are. I could do this all day. Then I remember that I’m trying to get on his good side- if he even has one- so I do as he says, and suddenly I’m me again, my clothes thankfully reappearing with me. Sighing with relief while simultaneously trying to hide it, he scribbles on his paper. I have a feeling I got a perfect score on shapeshifting.
Once he’s finished, he tells me to picture myself invisible, completely unseen. I try, but don’t disappear entirely. I can still see my body, only I can see through it as well. It’s disconcerting, so I quickly imagine myself visible again, and it works. Vlad again takes notes.
Now we finally go over to what I’ve been looking forward to since I practiced with them that very morning with Nathan- the weapons. The guy there bows to me, and I awkwardly bow back. He invites me to choose a weapon, assuring me that it won’t affect the Gift working or not. I choose the rapier again, so the other man does as well. Before we begin our duel, he warns me that Fighting is his Gift and that he won’t be holding back much, although he promises not to harm me. We will fight for only five minutes. I agree to this, then settle into a defensive pose, preparing myself for his first strike.
It’s a good thing I do. The instant I settle into my pose, he attacks, swinging his rapier at my head. I duck, and then, thinking quickly, I punch the back of his leg with my free hand as I sweep under him, giving him a dead leg. He recovers by the time I get back to my feet, so I am again on the defensive. I make sure to stay light on my feet, just like my teacher back on Earth taught me- and again, it’s a good thing I do, because I can barely avoid some of his attacks.
I even get in a few strikes now and again during our duel. By the time we stop, we both have minor cuts, even though we started out trying not to hurt each other. As we return the swords, he asks if I can remember the duel. I reply that it’s no better than usual, although it’s a little better than that morning when I first attempted to use the Gift. He nods thoughtfully. “That surprises me. The way that you’ve been fighting, I thought that this was your Gift- you’re almost my match, even though you had no one to teach you how to fight.”