by Jakob Tanner
Max felt his legs shaking and his foot tapping like a crazy person as Casey’s words bounced around in his agonizing skull.
Someone else!?
Who!?
Did she mean me!?
This was the opportunity.
This was why he’d ran back to the outpost so quickly.
Why wasn’t he saying anything?
Why wasn’t he moving?
What the heck was wrong with him?
Finally, Casey looked up and her beautiful green eyes locked onto his.
“So, bozo,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes and shooting him a gorgeous smile. “Was there something you wanted to ask me?”
43
On the eve of the tournament ball, Team Zestiris met in the common room of their outpost when they were all ready to go.
Max felt kind of silly in his toga, but all sense of embarrassment disappeared when he saw his date to the dance.
Casey stepped out from her room and Max was speechless.
She kept her hair up, showing off her beautiful long neck and bare shoulders. She wore a pair of emerald earrings that matched and brought out the color of her eyes.
The white toga hugged her body in all the right places.
Casey smiled and blushed when she came up to him.
“Do I look okay?” she said. “You’re staring!”
“You look...” Max began, but he was at a loss for words. “You look beautiful.”
Casey’s cheeks went even more red than they were before.
“You clean up pretty well yourself,” she said. “But to be honest, I feel a bit strange wearing a toga.”
Max sighed with relief. “I’m so happy to hear you say that. I feel the same. Where’s Toto by the way?”
“He’s taking the evening off in my room with a giant carrot stick to gorge on,” laughed Casey.
“Of course,” said Max.
Blake and Harold were next to join them in the common room.
Blake wore his toga with a bit more confidence than Max, but it also had a few gray stains on it from cigarette ash he must have accidentally spilled on it already.
“No date, Blake?” said Casey.
“Going stag,” said Blake. He then wrapped his arms around Harold’s shoulders. “Or, you could say I’m going with this guy right here—!”
“Don’t touch me,” said Harold, sternly.
Sarah and her date, Oliver, arrived last.
Sarah looked fantastic in her toga. She normally kept her hair up in a studious fashion but she kept it down for tonight’s events. Her cheeks were rosy.
Oliver, the Elestrian B-ranker, looked slightly nervous amongst the human team.
“Oi, is it safe to have an opponent here with us?” said Blake.
“Well, the Elestrians are already knocked out of the tournament,” mused Harold. “So this weedy guy shouldn’t be a problem.”
“You guys realize I can hear everything you’re saying,” said Oliver.
Harold’s eyes narrowed. “Do I look like I care?”
The old man very much did not seem to be in the celebratory spirit that everyone else was in.
He stood in the middle of the common room, arms crossed. He had a serious expression on his face. If it weren’t for the white toga that he was wearing, you would have thought he was a coach preparing his team for a big match.
“Remember, this isn’t just about having fun,” said the old man. “We have work to do. Remember your mission for tonight: find out as much as we can about the semi-final match. Who are we facing? What kind of match will it be? Got it? Oh—and be mindful of the purple-eyed spy with us tonight!”
Oliver blushed. “I promise, I have no ill intentions—”
“Yeah, keep it that way,” said Harold. His eyes narrowed like a father sizing up a boy picking up his daughter for a date. “I’ll be watching you.”
And on that threatening note, they set off for the tournament ball.
The tournament ball was held in the marble halls of a magnificent stone temple.
Mana lamps floated up towards the high ceilings beneath the glass roof that let the evening’s moonlight and stars shine through.
There were loads of people gathered throughout the halls, drinking champagne and chatting with one another.
There was a band at the other end of the hall, playing a mix of jazz and funk.
“Wow, this has really outdone the crummy ball the climber academy hosted when we were student climbers,” Casey observed.
“I’m sorry—what did you just say about the climber academy!?”
Max and Casey looked over their shoulder to see Sakura, dressed in a toga herself.
“Sakura!” both Max and Casey cheered. “What are you doing here?”
“All the leaders of the tower races participating in the tournament gather for the tournament ball,” said another voice behind Sakura.
Appearing behind her was none other than Queen Violet.
“Violet!” Casey exclaimed. “What a reunion!”
“So nice to see you two,” said Violet, smiling. “I hope you guys are doing okay. Not getting into too much trouble I hope.”
“Just the same amount,” laughed Max.
“So a lot,” grinned Violet. “I wouldn’t expect any less. I heard you guys fared excellently in the first round of the tournament. I wish I could say the same for my fellow Elestrians. I’m now rooting for you guys! Though, technically, I’m not supposed to say that. You know, for diplomatic reasons.”
Sakura appeared to not be listening to their conversation, looking off in the distance at a group of diplomats and leaders heading into a room at the back of the banquet hall.
“C’mon,” said Sakura to Violet. “The others are meeting now.”
“Oh yes,” said Violet. “We cannot miss the meeting.”
Max looked to Casey to see if she had any idea what the two leaders were talking about, but she was as equally confused as he was.
“What’s this?” Max asked.
“The leaders are having a meeting of the United Floors Alliance Council before the Caesarian Emperor makes a toast to the entire ball.”
With that the two leaders hurried off to their meeting.
A few seconds later, Blake emerged with two glasses of champagne.
“Oh hey, Sakura, fancy seeing you—” Blake stopped and turned his neck back and forth and then looked at Max and Casey, sadly. “Where did Sakura go?”
They both shrugged and said, “A meeting of the leaders, supposedly.”
“Are you freaking kidding?” Blake sighed and then slumped away. “If you’re looking for me, I’m having a cigarette outside.”
“Poor Blake,” said Casey.
“He’ll get over it,” said Max. “It isn’t as if Sakura hasn’t already rejected him hundreds of times.”
“That’s true,” said Casey. “Anyway, where’s everyone else gone?”
Their team had dispersed upon arrival.
Sarah was speaking with Oliver in a corner, while Harold looked to be patrolling the dance as if he was hired security.
“So far, it looks like Harold is the only one sticking to the plan,” said Casey.
With all the glitz and glamor of the ball, Max had forgotten the night’s mission for a second.
They were here to gather intel.
He looked around the ball with a new sense of purpose.
Who would have the most intel on the match?
He quickly scanned the room.
The frog-folk stood sheepishly in one corner, perplexed and overwhelmed by all the strange Caesarian customs.
The cat-folk sipped on their drinks off to the side, cloaked in shadow.
The mercenary collective stood near the punch table, looking around awkwardly.
Finally, Max spotted Hermia and Regulus standing near the door of where Sakura and Violet had just passed.
The two United Floors Alliance ambassadors would be the perfect people to eavesdrop on.
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The only issue now was that they were probably about to step into that meeting with the other leaders.
They had to act fast.
“Follow me,” said Max and led the way towards the two ambassadors.
As Max weaved through the crowd of toga-wearing ball goers, he kept his eyes locked on Hermia and Regulus.
They appeared to be having some kind of serious conversation. One that was delaying them from entering the meeting everyone else had gone to.
Max stopped when they approached a nearby column to hide behind.
Casey stood behind him too.
Their shoulders touched as they stayed out of eyeshot of the two ambassadors.
“...We can’t keep discussing this, Hermia,” Regulus said. “We have a meeting with the members of the alliance.”
“I actually agree with you, Regulus,” said Hermia. “Besides, we’ve attracted two eavesdroppers!”
Max stood up only to find Hermia and Regulus had walked around the columns to catch Casey and him in the act of spying.
“I must say,” Hermia began, “this eavesdropping strategy of yours is much less impressive than what you displayed in the opening challenge.”
“I concur,” said Regulus.
“We weren’t eavesdropping,” said Max. “We were just hanging out by this column. Admiring the...um...marble.”
Hermia looked even more unimpressed.
“Why don’t you just ask us what you want to know?” Regulus replied. “Not that I guarantee telling you anything.”
“We’d like to know who we’re facing in the next match and what the next match will be,” said Casey.
Both Hermia and Regulus chuckled at that.
“Well, of course, you do,” said Regulus. “Every team still in the running wants to know that.”
“So are you going to tell us?” asked Max.
“No,” said Hermia. “But this might satiate your appetite. Your opponents will be revealed tomorrow, giving you just under a week to fine-tune your strategy. You won’t know what type of contest it is, though, I’m afraid.”
“We really must be going,” said Regulus.
The two Caesarians walked away through the back door to the meeting room.
Max and Casey grinned at each other.
“That’s pretty good intel,” said Max.
“I’m sure Harold will be happy with us,” said Casey.
They both didn’t say anything, smiling at one another.
“Well, since we’ve succeeded at tonight’s mission so soon,” said Max. “Should we da—”
Casey didn’t even let him finish, grabbing his hand and leading him to the dance floor.
44
Sarah sipped on her punch as Oliver bombarded her with questions.
He looked at her with intense curiosity and admiration.
She blushed, both flattered and overwhelmed by the Elestrian boy’s interest in her.
“What are your plans for after the tournament finishes?” Oliver asked. “Every climber I’ve ever met has a goal. Usually it’s more power or something like that, but you strike me as someone who might have a different perspective.”
The question made Sarah feel anxious.
She’d always hated such questions even in high school. Questions like, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” or “Who do you want to be?”
Now that she would be attending climber academy soon, such questions seemed even more difficult to answer.
Though, she did have one idea, but it was dumb.
“Sorry,” said Oliver. “I didn’t mean to push anything on you. It’s okay if you don’t want to—”
“I do have one idea,” she said. “But I bet you’ll think it’s silly.”
“Try me.”
“Well, so, I grew up in an orphanage,” she explained. “And for various reasons I’ve been helping manage the place for the last few months. I’ve come to really enjoy it, but I feel like working there might be in conflict with being a climber, you know? I’ll have to leave those kids I’m currently helping behind.”
“So, you want to create an army of orphan climbers?” Oliver asked perplexed.
Sarah laughed. “No, though, you’ve seen both Max and me fight, so an army like that could be pretty powerful if you ask me. No, here’s what I’m imagining. There are orphans all across the tower. I saw homeless kids in the streets of Elestria, the Boldrin capital, and even here in Caesaria as well. If I become a strong enough climber, I want to create a home for all the different orphans across the tower, regardless of which floor they come from.”
Oliver didn’t say anything.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Sarah blushed. “You think it’s dumb, right?”
Oliver shook his head.
“No, I don’t think it’s dumb,” he said. “I think it’s a beautiful idea.”
Casey’s hand clutched onto Max as she led him to the dance floor.
Max felt his heart flutter when she touched him. Her hand was soft and cool.
“We’re going to sloooooow it down,” said the Caesarian singer on the stage.
Suddenly, the music turned into something slow and tranquil.
Max wasn’t sure whether to be more nervous or not at this change of events. Was a fast song or a slow song better for dancing? Really—he wanted the song that made him look the least like a doofus.
Casey stopped in the middle of the dance floor and let go of his arm. She turned around and their eyes locked.
“Is here okay?” she asked, blushing.
For a brief second, Max realized that Casey was as nervous as he was.
“Here’s great,” smiled Max.
Casey lifted her arms and wrapped them behind Max’s neck.
They stepped closer to each other, until they were only inches apart.
Max placed his hands on Casey’s waist.
They began to sway to the music, gently moving back and forth.
“So,” said Casey, looking up at him with her beautiful green eyes.
“So,” said Max, smiling.
Where their conversation was going, Max had zero clue, but it didn’t matter, because they were soon interrupted by another couple dancing beside them.
It was Tiberius, the A-ranker on the Caesarian team, dancing with Hadriana, the same team’s C-ranker.
What the heck did they want?
“Good evening,” smiled Tiberius, menacingly, as he and his dance partner slowly circled nearby in the rhythm to the music.
Max nodded.
He was already quite nervous dancing with Casey, now he had to dance beside one of his opponents.
He was struggling to juggle the different nervous-inducing aspects in his mind.
“I sure hope you humans fight better than you dance,” taunted Hadriana.
The two Caesarians snickered.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Casey, her eyes narrowing with venom.
“I guess you’ll find out tomorrow,” said Tiberius. “I forgot that we have a home team advantage in these games.”
With that, the two Caesarians danced away from the two of them.
“I guess that means we’re up against the Caesarians in the next round?” said Max.
“Sounds like it,” said Casey.
They were still dancing as they talked.
Max felt warmed by the intimacy of Casey’s fingers wrapped around his neck. He found himself excited by the fact that he was holding her by the waist, touching her, being so close to her.
He didn’t want the moment to end, but he had a feeling they both were having the same thought.
“We have to go tell the others,” they both sighed simultaneously.
They let go of each other and began looking around the ballroom for the rest of their team.
So much for our dance, Max thought sadly.
The first person they spotted was Blake.
He was standing by himself. He was leaning his head into his champagne
glass.
“What’s he doing?” said Casey.
When they got closer, they realized Blake could hardly stand up straight.
“Blake, are you alright?” said Max. “Where are the others?”
“I’m fiiiine! I’m fantastic!” he said, slurring his words, while speaking in a very goofy way. “Could you get me another glass of champagne?”
“I feel like you’ve had enough,” said Max. “Where’s Sarah? Where’s Harold? We’ve found out some pretty big news.”
“Sarah’s over there,” Blake said, lifting up his arm and pointing.
It looked as if Will was no longer holding his end of the bargain and both him and Oliver were competing with each other for Sarah’s attention.
“I’ll go get her,” said Casey.
She walked over and gave some excuse for Sarah to extricate herself from her growing collection of male admirers.
“What’s up?” asked Sarah.
“We may have completed tonight’s mission,” said Max.
“To have fun?” asked Sarah.
“No, the other mission,” said Casey. “The one Harold assigned. Speaking of which, where is that pervy old—”
Harold suddenly appeared around a column with a distressed look on his face.
“Harold,” said Max. “We found something out.”
“I did too,” said Harold. “We need to get out of here right now. Something very bad is about to happen.”
45
Sakura and Violet sat together at the round table of leaders.
Everyone was present: the different leaders of the tower races, the emperor of Caesaria, and the United Floors Alliance ambassadors.
They all had slightly irritated looks on their faces.
“Can you explain to me why on a night of celebration we’re being forced to discuss alliance matters?” asked the Caesarian emperor.
Sakura had called an emergency meeting of the alliance against the wishes of the majority of the leaders.
The strained relationship between humanity and Caesarians meant that the Caesarians felt obligated to agree to such a meeting, however reluctant they actually were to disrupt the tournament ball.