by K. M. Link
Tia kicks Quade in the shin. He turns and glares at her.
“Four!”
“What was that for?” he snaps, rubbing his leg.
“Three!”
“You know why, Quade,” Tia retorts, brows furrowed.
“Two!”
They glare at each other.
“One! And queue curtain! Everyone stand straight and look ahead,” the lady calls for the last time.
Quade leans into Tia’s ear, as the curtain rises, and whispers, “You look beautiful today, by the way.”
Before she can answer, the curtain is up, revealing the crowd. She no longer feels the knot in her stomach. Her whole body goes numb.
Chapter 3
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of humans stand, clapping continuously as Carmen Flame enters the stage, in front of the platform. She is a slender woman with short, red hair and a bright smile. Her dress is floor-length and covered in sequins with a deep v-neck, reaching past her large bosom. For the past four years, Carmen hosted the Electus.
Her undeniable beauty and booming voice, make her an excellent host.
“Thank you for joining us as we celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of the Electus!” she announces. The crowd goes wild and stands for a lengthy amount of time, in honor of the milestone. Carmen waits for the applause to die down and the audience to settle in their seats, before speaking again.
“What a wonderful group of candidates we have this year!” she declares. The audience begins their applause once more.
The arena is set up in a large dome, with the stage on one end, and the seating curved on the other. There is a section, in the center of the arena, open for other events, throughout the Electus. It appears similar to a stadium. During the rest of the year, in Urbi, they hold concerts and sporting events. Both are luxuries that most Regnumians do not participate in.
Along the wall of seating, in the arena, are flags from all the capitols. Tia recognizes Urbi’s flag. It has a black background with the outline in white of two hands, cupped around a lit match. The flame on the ignited match is orange. The flag from Urbi is in the center since it is the host this year.
All five flags are present, along with the flag for the Electus, which hangs above the stage. It is a circle surrounding a triangle which represents the three categories of the Electus. Inside the triangle is the plus sign that marks the back of Regnumians’ necks.
“Before I introduce our stunning selection, allow me to announce our leaders, who without them, this event would not be possible.” On the right side of the stage, sit five leaders from five capitols.
“Our first leader is Mr. Anscom Avery, head of Urbi in Vetus.” Mr. Avery stands, collecting his applause from the audience, before returning to his seat. He is a plump man with thinning hair and a thick mustache. The buttons on his suit jacket are straining to hold it around him. His beady eyes move along the platform, performing a quick survey of the candidates.
“Next is Mrs. Mana Pusillus, leader of Ignosco in Otium.” An extraordinarily petite woman stands up and smiles politely. It is difficult to tell if she is standing or sitting, due to her tiny stature. She is dressed in a lavender skirt with matching jacket and has coarse auburn hair that is placed in a bun.
“Next, Mr. Javan Leporem, who is a new leader from the capitol Elatus in Novo.” A very young man stands erect, from his seat. He is a clean cut gentleman with dark hair and a charming smile. He dons an all black suit with a white tie.
Carefully, Tia examines him through the rest of the introductions. She feels a strong connection to this man, for some reason. Sensing the presence of someone watching, he returns her gaze, neither of them moving their eyes for a few minutes. He appears to be studying her, just as much as she is him. But why?
Her regards are, once again, on Carmen, as she is finished with the rulers of the capitols and is ready to announce the candidates.
“Our first Regnumian candidate is Nathan Adams, son of Angela and Bradley Adams, from Elatus in Novo.” A boy with dark skin and hair, in a grey suit and purple tie, leaves the platform, walking across the stage to stand next to Carmen. He waves at the audience and smiles. “Nathan is full blooded Mediocris. His magical strength in which he will present in the third stage is mind infiltration.”
The audience continues to applaud for each candidate as they leave the platform for the stage. When Mina is announced, she smiles and blows a kiss to the audience, then to the leaders. Tia swears she sees Mr. Leporem roll his eyes.
As the row empties, the platform shifts, and the first ten candidates, already announced, form a line, walking to the top of the platform. This continues for each row. Before Tia knows it, Quade is up for introduction.
“Our next candidate is Quade Tendo, son of Charles and Nina Tendo, from Urbi in Vetus.” Quade strolls across the stage, to stand next to Kira. He grins and bows. What a ham, Tia thinks. “Quade is full-blooded Pruden. His magical strength, in which he will present in the third stage, is potion mastery.”
Tia takes a deep breath as she stands waiting for her queue.
“Our next candidate is Conscientia Trumble, daughter of Osborn Trumble, from Urbi in Vetus.” Tia realizes it is time to move, yet her body refuses. Clapping fades, and the audience begins to whisper amongst themselves. She suddenly feels like stone. What am I waiting for? she thinks to herself.
Her face turns red, and her entire body heats up. Tia glances over at the judges, who stare blankly at her; all of them except Mr. Leporem, who has his hand gently resting on his chin. It’s been at least a minute and Tia has not budged.
“Come on Conscientia, come join us up here!” Carmen calls with a bright smile. Tia looks out at the audience and then to Quade, who is mouthing to her “What are you doing?” Sweat is dripping from her forehead, her stomach churns. Finally, she wanders over, next to Quade.
“I think someone is a little shy,” Carmen remarks and makes the audience chuckle. Bile rises in Tia’s mouth. Without warning, she turns away from Quade and vomits on to the stage. The audience trades laughter for gasps. Her whole face is bright red as everyone stares at her.
“Tia, are you alright?” Quade asks, touching her back, ever so gently.
Tia nods; a man from off stage comes over to wipe up the mess. “Oh sir, I can get that,” Tia offers. Laughter protrudes from the audience. Tia eyes them in confusion. How is that funny?
“It’s okay, miss. You don’t want to ruin that pretty dress of yours.” He smiles at her, and finishes his job while Carmen continues. “Conscientia is half Pruden, half human. Her magical strength, she will present in the third stage, is transformation.” The audience applaud Tia, and Carmen quickly moves on to the next candidate.
Back stage, after the show, a lady hands Tia a glass of water and advises that she rest in her room until the Electus dinner. Each candidate is assigned their own room in a lavish hotel, during the week of the Electus. After several attempts with the key, Tia finally enters her temporary oasis.
The room is larger than the whole first floor of her house. It is equipped with a four post bed, couch, dresser, night stand, and a fully stocked kitchen. The bathroom holds a corner tub and shower, and is supplied with fresh towels and a robe. It is more of a mini apartment than a hotel room.
There are mints placed on the pillow, along with a note from the staff, welcoming her to the Urbi hotel. Her father and uncle had her bag sent over with some essentials, that is sitting on the bed. Next to the bed, on the night stand, is a list of events during the Electus, as well as their times. She notices the phone and feels the urge to call her father. However, she realizes it would be best to rest for a while. Tia lays down on the bed only for a second, before she hears a knock on the door.
“Who is it?” she calls, from atop the covers.
“Quade. I just want to talk to you for a second.”
“It never ends,” she mumbles to herself. Tia crawls out of the bed and heads toward the
door. She opens it to find Quade, looking just as groomed as he did earlier.
“Can I come in?” he asks with concern in his eyes.
“I suppose.” Tia closes the door behind him. “What’s up?”
He shuffles his feet across the carpet, waiting for the words to come to him. “How are you feeling?”
“Hmm, probably about as shitty as I could feel. How about you?” Tia remarks, turning her back to him and walking towards the couch.
“Well, if it makes you feel better, I heard you aren’t the first to get sick on stage. One year, some girl actually fainted.”
“I’m going to be known as the stinky girl from Urbi,” she mutters, ignoring Quade’s attempt to comfort her. Tia rests on the couch, with her chin in her hand, staring out at his feet.
“No one is saying that.”
Tia glares at him.
“Okay, maybe a few of them,” he admits.
“Oh well, what’s the worst that will happen? I don’t get any leaders bidding on me and I end up working in prisons, in Letum. No big deal, right?” She avoids his gaze by staring at random parts of the hotel room.
“You could kick prisoner ass better than anyone I know.” Quade smiles at her, and Tia attempts to return it. There is a long pause between them. Quade appears tense in her presence, as usual.
“So, are you excited about your date this evening?” she asks, cooly.
“Huh? Oh! Yeah, her. I am not sure if she was really interested in me.”
“She is pretty, at least. I guess that’s what you’re really looking for.” Her eyes are glued to the floor, while she fiddles with the hem of her dress.
“What does that mean?” he snaps.
“I’m just saying,” Tia starts, as she peers up at him, “you found a girl who is probably more oriented to your personal taste.”
“Why do you care? It’s not like you want me.” He turns and looks away from Tia, clenching his fists. “The moment things started to get real between us, you ran.”
“I ran?” Tia is standing now, losing her cool. “You didn’t talk to me for three weeks! My best friend just deserted me right before the biggest day of our lives, and I’m the bad guy?!”
“You rejected me, Tia!” He turns back towards her, his eyes glowing red in anger. At first, he throws Tia off balance. She never saw Quade this fierce.
“All I said was that it was a bad idea to start anything too serious right now, considering we may never see each other again. I don’t think that was rejecting you...I mean...I guess it does sound like it. But it does not mean I don’t care about you. It’s just....I’m not sure.” Tia begins to feel faint again, she leans against the bed post.
“I get that you are scared, Tia. What I don’t understand is how you can say it is not okay for us to be together now, but you get mad at me when I attempt to get over you.”
Tia runs out of words. He does have a point. “So, you want my blessing. I give you my blessing. Go sleep with every girl in the Electus,” she responds, as she releases the post and approaches him. Her body is a lot weaker than she remembers.
“You are my friend. I shouldn’t be so possessive, I guess.” Her knees buckle, and she heads for the floor. Quade catches her by her waist. His arms wrap around her for support, and she grabs hold of his neck.
“Are you sure you are okay?” he questions.
“Yeah.” Tia peeks up at him. They lock eyes. “I just didn’t eat much today.”
Quade sighs and helps Tia into bed. “Maybe you should rest while I grab you some food. They might have something in this fridge worth snacking on.” He opens the refrigerator door to a wide variety of snacks, provided by the capitols. “How about a sandwich?”
“That’s fine,” she answers, fluffing her pillow.
“Coming right up.” Quade grins as he pulls out the lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.
“Thank you, Quade,” Tia replies. “You really don’t have to do this for me.” A pang of guilt tears Tia up inside. She never meant for Quade to take care of her.
“You would do it for me.”
“That’s not the point,” she adds, “I can take care of myself. You have plans.” Remorse about being jealous chokes Tia. She never intended on hurting Quade, or preventing him from finding someone. Although, it seemed so little importance to kindle a romance right now, when everything they know could be ripped away from them within a week’s time. Maybe I’m just too much of a realist.
Quade brings her a sandwich and some water, which he sets on her night stand. He sits at the foot of her bed. “Please eat. I will catch up with Kira later. This is more important.”
Tia reluctantly picks up her sandwich and begins eating. Quade always made delicious foods. She figured that was why he has such a knack with producing potions. Even a simple turkey sandwich made by him, seems to have more flavor, than if she arranged one herself. “You are a god,” she moans, as she dives in for a second bite.
“I’m glad you agree,” he smirks. Tia throws a pillow at him, finding her smile again.
“Really, thank you, Quade. You are a good friend.”
“Yeah,” he exhales, the ends of his mouth dropping. “Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes, much better.”
“Then I should let you rest.” His eyes examine hers.
“Oh, okay.”
Quade stands up and heads for the door.
“Quade,” Tia squeaks out, barely hearing her own voice. It must be loud enough for him to catch, because he turns back to look at her.
“Yeah?”
“I forgot to tell you, you look handsome today.” The corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
He grins while staring at the floor. “Thank you, Tia.” His body turns to the door, then pauses at the handle. “Happy Birthday,” he mumbles before he disappears.
Tia continues eating her sandwich. For the first time today, she has a sense of peace.
The Electus Introduction dinner commences each year at seven, sharp. Tia wakes late from her nap and hurries freshening up. Luckily, Fera gave her some make up to borrow and Tia found a hairbrush in her bag. She pulls out the necklace her father gave her, earlier, to go along with the beautiful dress. After some prepping, she feels polished and decides to head down to the dining room.
All of the candidates and leaders, along with other high officials from the capitols, attend dinner in the great dining room of the hotel. The room is large enough to hold over five-hundred people if necessary, however, this dinner is reserved for interaction between the candidates and leaders. It provides a chance for them to make a one-on-one impression. Tia fears this will be another event that she will fall short in. Her social grace and etiquette is not up to par with some of the other candidates.
White linen tablecloths cover ten round tables, with five chairs at each one, spread out among the room. Up front is a long table, where the five leaders of the capitols sit, in order, as they were earlier that day.
Tia walks around, searching for her assigned spot, when she hears Quade yell for her across the room. Of course alphabetical order, she remembers.
“How is it going?” he engages as Tia scans the table.
“My name isn’t here.”
“I think I saw it over on that table.” He points to the one near the back.
“Thanks,” she walks over to the table and sits next to a young Regnumian from Elatus, named Lucas. He has thick framed glasses on and wears a hand-me-down black suit with a grey tie. When she walks over to sit, he is invested in plucking the fuzzies from his jacket.
“Hello,” he salutes Tia, offering his hand, “I’m Lucas.”
“Hi, Lucas. I’m Tia.” She shakes his hand and smiles.
“You are the girl who threw up.” He stares at Tia, with his mouth agape.
“Yep, that’s me,” she sighs, turning her head toward the leader’s table. Javan Leporem enters and sits down in his chair, not interacting w
ith the other leaders. Tia has a difficult time determining why his face is so familiar to her. His eyes scan the room, as if he is searching for something, landing where Tia sits. She quickly turns back to the conversation with Lucas.
“Did they say what they were serving for dinner?” Lucas wants to know, pushing his glasses up on his nose.
“Not sure,” she responds, turning back towards Mr. Leporem. He is now sharing pleasantries with the leader of Ignosco, Mrs. Pusillus. Tia has to admit, he is handsome.
“I am allergic to anything with fish.”
Tia snaps her attention back to Lucas. “What’s that?”
“I hope it’s not fish, cause I’m allergic. Well, shell fish mostly. But any kind of fish makes me vaguely ill.”
“Oh,” Tia mumbles, half listening. Her eyes find Quade, who is chatting with Kira. Tia feels a pang of jealousy rise up, momentarily, in her chest.
“I’m also allergic to grass, dust, and dander,” Lucas yammers on.
A clink on a crystal glass rings from the front of the room. It is Mr. Avery, who stands at his seat. “Let dinner be served!”
Following his words, a long line of servers appear with the first course. They are dressed in red, collared shirts and black slacks. Each one is smiling as they enter the room. Tia wonders if they are trained to appear happy, or if it is actually a fulfilling act for them to serve other people.
“Thank you,” Tia tells the server, as he places a bountiful salad in front of her.
“Oh, do you have one without nuts?” Lucas requests.
“I’m sure that can be arranged,” the server assures, grabbing the plate back.
“Thank you, I’m allergic to nuts.” What a surprise, Tia thinks as she takes her first bite of the salad.
Each course is more lavish than the previous one. The second course is a creamy soup that Tia does not recognize, but is warm and delightful on her tongue. The third course is poached salmon with Mousseline sauce. For the main entrée, they enjoy Filet Mignon with a rich balsamic glaze, a side of fresh cut green beans, and seasoned potatoes. Tia is uncertain how much more food her stomach can handle. Her body is used to so little that she has no room for dessert.