Chapter 10

Darkness.

It took me a second longer than I was willing to admit to realize that I wasn’t dead. As soon as it clicked, I sat up and gasped in a fresh mouthful of air, almost colliding with Tarja, who had been standing over me.

“Easy, easy Riley,” said the elf as she gently took my shoulders and pushed me back onto the bed, “You’re safe, alive, and everything’s fine.”

“I am?” I asked, still in a daze, “Are you sure?”

Tarja smiled at me as she took my hand, held it close, and said, “I am absolutely sure you are alive and safe right now. You made it to a safety point, which means you and Katie get twenty-four hours to recoup before going back in.”

Her words were getting through to me as I relaxed and allowed myself to un-tense a little. My eyes drifted around the room, and it was then that I realized a certain orc was in the room as well, standing in the corner by the door.

“Rhys?”

The orc woman smiled as soon as we made eye contact and she rushed to my side.

“It’s good to see you again Riley,” Rhys said, “I never thought I would see you again when you went into the Run.”

“You two know each other?” I asked.

“I was about to say the same thing,” said Tarja, “Riley, when did you meet Rhys?”

“In the library, during my day with Zapp,” I said, “I caught Rhys and hid her when Zapp came back.”

“Rhys, I thought we established you wouldn’t leave our room when the Requiem Run is in session?” said Tarja, looking at Rhys the way my mom used to look at me when I would sneak out of bed as a child.

“I forgot my book, I thought I had time,” said Rhys, “But hey, Riley, are you feeling alright? Mama said you were pretty banged up.”

Then it all came back to me.

“Wait, where’s Katie and Emma?!” I said, “Are they okay?!”

“Katie’s fine,” said Tarja, “Missing an arm, but she’s fine. Emma…”

Tarja trailed off and looked away. I knew exactly what she was talking about.

“Emma’s dead, isn’t she?” I asked. Tarja nodded slightly, but said nothing. Rhys looked uncomfortable. Something on my face was itching, so I went to scratch it.

“Don’t touch your face!” Tarja said, quickly rushing to stop me, “I just put all your makeup on and I’d rather you not ruin it before the ball!”

“Ball? What ball? What makeup?” I said, taking my hand away from my face before I jumped out of bed. As soon as my feet hit the floor, something occurred to me; I could stand on both feet no problem, even though I had wrecked my ankle in that fall. When I moved my arm and look at it, the hole where the tree branch had impaled it was gone.

“What happened? I thought Xelsa had me dead to rights?” I asked.

“Xelsa did almost kill you,” said Tarja, “You and Katie were lucky to make it to a control point before he could deliver a final blow.”

“Control point?” I asked.

“Any maidens that get out of the initial buffer woods get a breather night, where the Emperor hosts the Control Point Ball. The Requiem Run will resume tomorrow.” said Tarja.

“Oh… great.” I said. By this point, I realized that I had been changed; the rags of the dress I had been wearing before were gone, in place of a silver floor-length spaghetti strap dress and stockings. I could feel a garter belt holding the stockings up, and different underwear underneath the dress.

“Where’s my jacket?” I asked.

“I knew you would ask me about that,” said Tarja, “It’s in the wardrobe, but please Riley, can you not wear it to the ball? I promise, I’ll keep it safe until you get back.”

I wanted to argue, but there was a gleam of desperation in Tarja’s eye that made me stop before I opened my mouth. It seemed like Tarja’s ass was on the line for something, and my jacket was a key ingredient in the equation.

“Fine,” I said, “But just this once.”

Tarja’s look of desperation was immediately replaced by a look of relief as she took my hand and kissed it gently.

“Thank you Riley,” said the woman, “You’re a true blessing from the Divines.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” I said as I could feel my face go red, “But thank you anyway. Can I see myself in the mirror real quick?”

Tarja nodded and I stepped over to the big mirror against the wall. As soon as I got a good look at my face, I gasped in shock.

I had assumed Tarja would just put on some lipstick and eye shadow, or whatever Xeastea’s equivalent of those would be, but she went all out. My face was powdered down matte, not a single blemish or sign of unintended redness, my cheeks were perfectly contoured, my lips a pale pink that complimented my face color. I looked like a supermodel.

“Wow…” I said, blinking a couple of times to see my darkened lashes flutter, “I don’t think I’ve ever looked so good. Thank you, Tarja.”

“I didn’t have to do too much,” said Tarja, but she was blushing and looking away, “Katie’s waiting in her room, I’ll go fetch her and escort the two of you to the ballroom while you prepare yourself in your shoes.”

Tarja motioned to a pair of silver-colored high heels in the corner of the room, then she hurried out the door, leaving me alone with Rhys while I got the shoes on.

“Have you ever worn these types of shoes before?” Rhys asked, “They’re not very common around here unless you’re mega-wealthy.”

“They are where I come from,” I said as I stood up and wobbled a little, “I haven’t worn them all that much though.”

I took a couple of good steps, but one too big and I tripped on my dress’s hemline. Before I could slam into the ground, Rhys shot over and caught me, gently helping me back up.

“Oh! Thanks!” I said, taking a couple of breaths and blushing a little. Rhys was a head taller than me, and really close, and her arm was draped around my lower waist like she was dipping me in a slow dance. I tried to keep my cool, but I could feel my face getting hot. When I looked at Rhys, I could see a light flush on her cheeks as well.

“Uh… no problem,” said Rhys, though she made no attempt to let go of me. I didn’t mind at all. Even though Rhys’s visible eye was red and glowing slightly, it was very pretty to look at. We were close enough that I could see the other eye behind her long black bang. To my surprise, that eye was fogged over gray, and there was a long scar over her face that her hair hid.

Before I or she could say or do anything, the door opened and Tarja and Katie came into the room, freezing when they saw the two of us. Katie’s dress looked exactly like mine, and her makeup looked similar as well, though she had black lipstick on instead of natural pink.

“Uh, are we interrupting something?” Katie asked when the silence kept going for several more seconds. Her words brought us back to reality, and Rhys and I separated.

“I tripped.” I said, “Rhys caught me before I could bust my ankle… again.”

“Nice catch,” said Katie as she winked at the orc. Rhys’s blush got even harder as she stepped away from me and Katie took her place.

“You look good Riley,” said Katie, “Glad to see those healers aren’t screw-ups.”

Katie waved her stumped arm for good measure.

“They could fix a hole through my arm and a busted ankle, probably some broken ribs too, but they couldn’t make Katie a new arm or something?” I asked.

“They wouldn’t see much reason for it,” said Tarja, “After all, you’re both still supposed to be killed soon.”

“That sucks.” I said, “Sorry to hear that, Katie.”

“Hey, cool new discussion topic for when we get back home,” said Katie, “And if anyone pisses me off in this stupid ball crap, I’ll shove my stump in their faces until they vomit. Speaking of which, what are we expected to do in this ball?”

“You’ll be introduced when you walk in,” said Tarja, “Then you’ll be allowed to choose one of the Runners to have the formal dance with. After that, you may do as you please in the ball, within reason, or return to your room.”

“Wait, we have to dance with one of those assholes?!” Katie said.

“Yes, it’s mandatory,” said Tarja, “The guards have forced them in the past. If you comply, you may receive a reward post-ball, though no maiden has ever received the award.”

“Well, that changes things,” said Katie, “Challenge accepted. Riley, who are you gonna dance with?”

“M-me?!” I said, more shocked that I had been brought into the conversation.

“Of course, we’re both gonna have to dance with someone!” said Katie, “I want to know who you’re eyeing, just so I won’t take ’em first! Though, I think I know who you’re gonna pick…”

Katie didn’t say it out loud, but it was pretty clear she was implying Zappiel. My heart fluttered just thinking of him, for some reason.

“So, since you’re taking… him,” said Katie, “I’ll take whoever looks the most awkward, or who doesn’t want to be there. That, or Killian, whoever comes first. So, when do we have to present ourselves, or whatever?”

“The ball will start shortly,” said Tarja, “A guard will knock at the door when we have to leave. In the meantime, did anything happen in the Run? Anything we should know?”

“What else is there to know?” Katie asked, “Were we even expected to last this long?”

I was about to tell the other girls about Felice and what happened when I woke up, but before I could even say anything, I clammed up. It was as if I couldn’t make any words come out even if I wanted to.

Felice’s voice in my head made me flinch a little, but I did as she forced me to do, not like she was giving me much choice in the matter.

“I haven’t seen a maiden make it to the Control Point Ball since I first started working in the castle,” said Tarja, “That was thirty years ago.”

“Thirty years?!” I said, “Wait, how old are you, anyway?!”

“I’m forty-six years old.” said Tarja.

My mind was blown. Tarja’s clean, youthful skin and red hair made me think she was in her early thirties at worst, so to hear that she was in her later forties was shocking. Even Katie looked so shocked that she had nothing to say to that.

“So… think we still have a chance at living?” I asked. I had just wanted to say something to break the silence, but the shocked looks on everyone’s faces made me wish I could eat my words. My eyes quickly went from trailing around the room to looking down at the floor.

“I… I think we still have a chance.” Katie said. She sounded like she was trying to convince herself as well as me.

“Actually, I’m so glad you brought that up!” said Tarja as she suddenly jumped up and made her way to the drawer next to my bed, pulling out Felice’s necklace and the book I had stolen from the library with the chapter on possession gems.

“First of all, I believe this belongs to you?” Tarja asked, presenting me my necklace. I happily took it and slipped it back under my gown, just barely hiding the gem itself as Katie and Rhys looked on.

“That gem looks familiar…” said Rhys.

“You’ve probably seen one of my jewels that looks like it,” said Tarja, “But what I am more interested in is book, specifically the chapter that you bookmarked.”

“I bookmarked it,” said Rhys, “That was the book I dropped in the library when Riley found me.”

“I figured you would want it back, but I never got the chance to return it.” I said.

“Anyway, the bookmarked chapter,” said Tarja, “Possession gems. I thought it was just a ridiculous theory, but after Rhys told me about the chapter of the book she had been reading, it got me thinking-“

Tarja stopped mid-sentence when there was a loud knock at the door, like a cop was on the other side with a search warrant.

“The maidens are needed for the ball.” A gruff voice said from the other side.

“I’ll send them out right away!” said Tarja. There were some footsteps as the guard stepped away from the door, then Tarja leaned in to whisper to us.

“Riley, Katie, you two have to get going, but see if you can leave the ball as soon as you can, and we may continue this discussion, okay?”

“Gotcha,” said Katie, “We’ll see you when we see you.”

Katie stood up and wrapped her arm around mine, making my eyes widen and I blushed a little.

“Shall we get going? You are my date, aren’t you Riley?” Katie said. I blushed harder as Katie led me out of the room to the waiting guard, who just looked exasperated.

“Let’s go.” said the man, though his eyes furrowed at seeing Katie and I walking together in arms. The man led us through some corridors, down some stairs, and stopped us in front of a pair of double doors.

“The Emperor will introduce you through his speech amplifier, then you go in.” said the guard.

“Wait, is the Emperor going to be there?” I asked.

“Of course not!” the guard sounded like what he was saying was the most obvious thing in the world, “The Emperor introduces the two of you and that’s it, you maidens should be grateful!”

“Sure.” Katie said as dryly as possible. The guard either didn’t understand the sarcasm or didn’t care, since he didn’t respond and instead opened the double doors.

“While I do hope you’ve all been enjoying yourselves, please welcome the two surviving maidens of the Requiem Run, Riley Newman and Katherine Menton!”

The chatter that had been going on in the ballroom beyond the double doors silenced as soon as the Emperor spoke, then everybody in the room was looking at Katie and I as we walked into the room.