Chapter 11

I didn’t like the feeling of so many eyes on me, judging me even though they were the ones that were sending me to my death. Katie seemed to be taking it in stride, waving her middle finger around like she was a queen waving to the citizens in a parade. Judging by the confused look on everyone’s faces at her, they had no idea how rude her gesture was.

We walked towards where some men in suits - butlers or wait staff, presumably, who were beckoning us over to them, in the middle of the ballroom. When we made it to them, a light from above shone down on us.

“Our lovely surviving maidens,” the Emperor’s voice from above continued, “Will now get the pleasure of dancing with a Runner of their choosing, so let’s bring them out!”

Unlike when Katie and I walked into the room, the audience cheered loudly when the Runners came in through a door on the other side of the room. Kydro, Killian, and Zapp were all wearing perfectly prepped suits, clean and presentable, while Xelsa had his jacket open and his button-up shirt untucked, with no tie. When I saw the gleam in Katie’s eyes, it occurred to me who she had picked for the dance.

The four men all walked over to us, then bowed. I curtsied back, Katie following my lead, then stepped straight for Zapp, while Katie went to Xelsa. Killian looked disappointed when he realized he wasn’t getting to dance with either of us, while Kydro kept his stoic face and looked completely indifferent.

Xelsa looked like he wanted to rip Katie’s throat out right then and there, while Katie looked like she was having the time of her life as she basically dragged him to the dance floor. I wasn’t able to focus on them after that, since Zapp took me to the dance floor as well and I had to pay attention to him.

“Are you ready?” Zapp whispered into my ear, sending a chill down my spine.

“I’ve never been in a formal dance or anything before.” I whispered back.

“No need to worry,” said Zapp, “Just follow my lead.”

The man suddenly pulled me closer and my heart nearly popped right out of my chest, and he held me close as we started dancing together. The whole time we were dancing, Zapp would whisper directions to me like “Step to your left,” or “Twirl when I raise my arm,” which I did whenever he told me to.

Meanwhile, I could hear Katie and Xelsa cursing to themselves, or more likely each other, whenever we got close to them during the dance, and stumbling around like they were drunk. It took all my self-control to keep from laughing, and the smile on Zapp’s face indicated he found it just as amusing. It made my heart jump to see Zapp smile.

The music crescendoed out as Zapp moved away from me, kissing my hand once more before he stood next to the other Runners along with Xelsa, who looked more than a little pissed off. I glanced at Katie, who looked as though she was on cloud nine, and smiled a little. Katie’s happiness was a bit contagious.

“Now that the dance has ended, enjoy the ball!” the emperor’s voice boomed through the ballroom, then everyone started walking around. Katie took my hand, probably to make sure we didn’t get separated, though my heart skipped another beat when that happened.

“You wanna stick around for a bit and see what happens?” Katie whispered, “I kinda still want to get that reward for staying.”

“But what about Rhys and Tarja?” I whispered back.

“They’ll still be there when we get back,” Katie said, “We’ll be fine. Besides, I wanna see what kind of food this dump has, don’t you?”

I couldn’t deny that, so I allowed Katie to lead me to the table where people were gathering around, plates of food stacked high. Katie grabbed one of the empty plates and started filling it, so I followed suite. Most of the food was recognizable - meat, potatoes, carrots, things like that. Some of the meat looked odd, but I would be lying if I thought it didn’t look appetizing, so I took some anyway.

“It’s actually pretty good.” said Katie as I dug into my own plate. I nodded in agreement, since my mouth was full of food, then nearly got plowed over as Xelsa nearly knocked me on my ass while he was getting to the meat.

“Hey, watch it!” Katie said as she grabbed my arm to keep me on my feet and people standing around started staring at me. I was more shocked that Katie was able to have so much strength in her one arm.

“You watch it, meat,” said Xelsa, “I’m starving!”

“Nice to meet you, now get to the back of the line!” said Katie. Before I could stop her, she grabbed the back of Xelsa’s jacket and pulled him away from the table so she could retrieve the plate that she had left there. I couldn’t help but laugh when Xelsa tripped on his own feet and fell flat on his butt with a yelp like an injured puppy. Everyone around us was staring, some in amusement, some in horror.

“You… you…!” Xelsa sputtered as he struggled back to his feet in a very ungraceful way and slipped right back down, “How dare you! I’ll rip you apart you one-armed freak!”

“Yeah, well, there’s a waiting list.” said Katie as she turned back to the wolfman, “You’ll just have to take a number.”

Xelsa’s face was almost pure red with rage. Just as he opened his mouth to yell, a laugh caused everyone, especially the women in the area, to stop dead in their tracks.

“Down Xelsa, you remember what happened at last year’s ball when you flipped the table?”

Killian Renwick walked over to us, smiling that smug smile of his and maintaining full eye contact with me as he knelt down and reached his hand out to Xelsa in the most exaggerated, humiliating way possible.

“Come on, get up, the floor is no place for a great wolfman such as yourself to be.” Killian said, his voice dripping with so much condescending sarcasm even Xelsa couldn’t miss it as he slapped the vampire’s hand away and stood up himself, brushing off his jacket and trying to play it off as he stalked away, disappearing back into the crowd.

“A very nice display of force, Katie.” said Killian as he stepped over to her. Katie stood her ground, but I went to stand next to her anyway as Killian got closer and closer, until her nose was almost touching his chest.

“That bad dog got exactly what was coming to him,” said Killian, “Much applause.”

“Back up a little and I’ll take it.” said Katie. She sounded pretty sure of herself, but a small crack in her voice when she said “back up” gave away her nervousness to me. Killian, still with a smug grin, did as he was told.

“Well, it’s just about time for some more couple’s dancing,” said Killian, “Would either of you two lovely ladies care for a dance?”

“Nope, I’ve got my partner right here,” said Katie. Before I could respond, Katie immediately took my hand and started leading me towards the dance area. My cheeks went hot immediately, which only got worse when Katie spun to face me. The woman proceeded to rest her right elbow, the one without an arm, in the crook of my elbow, took my other hand into hers and pulled me close.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” I whispered as Katie and I started moving around the dance floor together.

Katie just smiled and whispered back, “Not a damn thing, but has that ever stopped me before?”

What followed was probably the most embarrassing thing anyone had ever seen in history, both on Earth and probably Xeastea as well. Katie and I kept bumping into one another, or someone else who would mutter under their breath, while everyone else stared in amusement, embarrassment, or just confusion.

I was having the time of my life. Katie was too, or at least she was acting like it with a big smile on her face, keeping our eyes on only each other and no one else. It felt like she was the only one there, and the only one for me.

Katie leaned in close as the music for the dance began to reach its crescendo. Before I even realized what her plan was, the music ended as our lips touched. My eyes widened, but I made no attempt to move away. I just let Katie do what she did until she broke it off.

“That wasn’t too much, was it?” she whispered, ignoring the people who were giving us dirty or judgmental looks.

“I can’t complain.” I whispered back.

Now it was Katie’s turn for her cheeks to go red and become speechless as the two of us walked away from the dance floor, still holding hands.

“Honestly, it looks like everything’s starting to wind down,” said Katie, looking around at the crowds that were starting to thin, “Maybe we should head back to the rooms? I think we’ve earned that reward.”

“I’m following you.” I said. Katie took my hand and led me past some people, heading for a pair of double doors that everyone was filing out of. Before we could make it to the doors, a pair of guards roughly grabbed us and dragged us away.

“Ouch, not so rough!” I said, while Katie seemed to just struggle out of principle. When we were against the wall, away from most of the people still in the ballroom, the guards got up in our faces.

“What exactly do you bitches think you were doing?!” one of the guards yelled, “Trying to pull an escape?!”

“What the hell are you talking about?!” Katie said, “We were just going with - OW!”

Katie shrieked when the guard who grabbed her hand jerked it forward and she nearly fell to the floor. I tried to shove the man away, but the other guard was in my way, giving me a look that made it clear he wanted to hurt me, but was trying to keep a lid on it.

“We know exactly what you were trying to do!” the guard holding Katie barked at her, “You were trying to slip away! Do you honestly think you’re the first maidens to try something like that?! You -“

“Boys, what’s going on around here?” a gruff woman’s voice said. Both guards turned to look, then immediately parted and bowed as the mean-looking red-skinned elf woman who was usually by the emperor’s side walked over to us.

“These maidens were trying to escape, sir,” said one of the guards, “We were just -“

“That’s bull!” Katie yelled, trying to push past the guard so she could get to the woman, “We didn’t know where to go and these assholes started yelling when we just went with the crowd! how the hell were we supposed to know where to go?!”

The woman’s brow furrowed, and I realized I needed to step in.

“Miss, I’m sorry,” I said, gently squeezing Katie’s hand so she wouldn’t say anything, “We really didn’t know what to do, and these men yelling at us out of nowhere made us a little apprehensive. I’m sorry if we caused any trouble.”

The woman’s face seemed to soften a little.

“That makes sense,” said the woman, “I thought the memo went out that the maidens were to be escorted back to their rooms when the ball came to a close, or when they asked to leave. So what did they do?”

“Well, sir…” one of the guards stuttered, “We… we didn’t…”

“Silence.”

The woman’s venom-filled voice silenced the guards immediately.

“Leave. I’ll have you dealt with later.”

The guards scurried off out the door, and the woman turned to us. While her brow softened a little, the hard lines on her face, and the fact that she was about half a foot taller than the guards, which meant she towered over us, still made her a very intimidating figure.

“I would like to apologize for the utter idiocy of those fools,” said the woman, “Rest assured, they will be corrected for their behavior. My name is Sallaena Iandi, I’m the emperor’s thane.”

“Uh, yeah,” I said, “I remember seeing you by his side.”

“Of course,” said Sallaena, “I’m always by the emperor’s side to protect him from anyone who would try to do him harm. As it were though, you two were planning on heading back to your rooms, correct?”

Katie and I nodded.

“Well, I’ll have one of my competent men, bring you back,” Sallaena said, “Rest assured, for not making too much, of a scene at the ball, you’ll receive a very special reward for staying for the entirety.”

“Sweet.” Katie whispered to me when Sallaena turned her back. I nodded as we followed the woman through the now-empty ballroom towards a different pair of double doors. A guard was waiting by them.

“You,” Sallaena said when she got over to the man, “Take the maidens back to their rooms, and -“

“Uh, hold on,” I said, “Uh, Miss Iandi -“

“Sallaena,” the woman said, “I dislike formalities unless they’re necessary.”

“Okay, Sallaena,” I said, noticing out of the corner of my eye that Katie had just rolled her eyes, “Can Katie stay in my room tonight? I’d… rather not be alone.”

“Usually maidens are separated during the night,” said Sallaena, “But since the two of you are the only ones left… I don’t see why I can’t make an exception.”

“Thank you, ma’am!” I said, curtsying for good measure. Sallaena nodded as she turned away, nodded to the guard, and motioned for us to follow him. The guard pushed through the double doors into a hallway, the same hallway Katie and I went through when we first got to the ball. Before we knew it, we were back at my room, where Tarja was waiting for us.

“You two are okay?” Tarja asked, subtly glancing at the guard as he started walking away.

“Right as rain,” said Katie, “I get to sleep in Riley’s room tonight, so that’s nice.”

“That’s great, I’ll go get our friend and we’ll discuss things,” said Tarja, completely ignoring my blushing at Katie’s words as she left the room and quickly returned with Rhys in tow.

“How was the ball?” Rhys asked.

“Eventful.” said Katie, “I think we’ve earned that reward, whatever it may be. So, what happens now?”

“Weren’t we talking about that book from the library?” I asked.

“Ah yes,” Tarja said as a big smile grew on her face and she went to retrieve the book from the bedside table. Katie and I went and sat down at the edge of the bed, while Tarja and Rhys sat at the small table, her hand resting on my map, where Tarja placed the book and opened it to the chapter that had been bookmarked.

“Possession gems, possession gems…” Tarja said to herself, “I knew something was going on, but this is what finally breaks that theory wide open.”

“What are these possession gem things?” I asked.

“Medium sized red-gems, about the size of the palm of your hand,” said Tarja, “When placed on the upper chest of a person, the person is forced to do the bidding of the master of the gem, until the gem is removed.”

“And you think the Runners have these gems on them?” I asked.

“It’s more likely than you think,” said Tarja, “I’ve never seen any of them shirtless since I started working here -“

“Killian seems like the kind of person who would always walk around without a shirt on if he could.” said Katie.

“… Anyway,” Tarja tried to keep the conversation where it had been, “And they always wear covering clothing, even during the warmer seasons. It speaks volumes to me that this might be what’s happening! Which means we could put a stop to the whole game!”

“How do you suppose we do something like that?” I asked, “These guys are trying to kill us, they aren’t going to sit down and have a serious conversation about that sort of thing.”

“No, you are correct,” said Tarja, “But I know these gems can be removed, the books make that clear. It won’t be easy, but with enough force -“

“Hold it right there,” said Katie, “We just said they’re not gonna talk this through, what makes you think we’re gonna be able to hold them down and rip these gems off their chests?”

“That’s the thing,” said Tarja, “First of all, the Runner’s have to choose different regions to stay in during this second half of the Run, which means they can’t work together anymore!”

“Which doesn’t mean much since they’re all heavy hitters.” said Katie, “Besides we don’t have any weapons.”

“That’s the other thing!” said Tarja, “The reward for going through the ball is a weapon of your choice! you’ll be able to fight back! Maybe, if the gems are on their chests, that means you could cut it off, or fight them off!”

“Uh, about that…” Katie said as she waved the stump of her right arm, “I was a righty, so a sword for me would be pretty much useless, even if I knew how to fight with one.”

“I’ve never handled a sword before,” I said, “I’ve only ever fired a gun, and that was at a shooting range with my dad when I was thirteen.”

“Gun? What’s that?” Rhys asked.

“Another time.” said Katie, though by the snort in her voice, she was trying as hard as possible not to laugh.

“There has to be some way…” Tarja said.

“I don’t…”

I stopped before I finished that sentence. My mind had been drawing a blank for how Katie and I could fight back, and just as I was going to say that, I thought of Felice.

“You rang?” Felice said, suddenly sitting behind me on the bed from my own perspective.

“I think you need to introduce yourself now,” I said, “I have an idea.”

“I think I just read your mind,” said Felice, “Prepare for a storm.”

“Uh, guys,” I said, “Let me introduce you to…”

A white light appeared to outline Felice for a moment, then disappeared. When I glanced at the others, they were all looking at her in shock.

“What… what is…?” Tarja whispered, “Who are you?”

“Greetings,” said the white-haired ghost, “My name is Springbraid Felice. I’ve been soul-joined with Riley for a while now, ever since she found my necklace.”

“Soul-joined?!” said Tarja, “That’s old magic! Older than me! Felice -“

“Before you ask,” said Felice, “My memories are far too fuzzy to recall anything. However, there is something I think Riley and I were thinking of. Bear with me for a moment, would you Riley?”

I nodded, and Felice suddenly vanished. A cold wave washed over me, and suddenly, I was on my feet, jumping off the bed and moving around quicker than I thought I ever could. It was a bit nauseous from my perspective, since I felt as though I was being dragged around, especially when Felice strung me into wall running for a couple of seconds, but I could tell that Tarja, Katie, and Rhys were watching me with awe until I sat back down at my seat at the bed.

“What the hell just happened?!” Katie asked.

“I took control of Riley’s body,” said Felice, reappearing at her place on the bed, “I do recall, rather vaguely but still, I have had some experience fighting.”

“Then… then we have a chance!” said Tarja, clasping her hands over her mouth, “We might be able to finally put a stop to all of this! We could save the Runners, save all of Xeastea from the emperor!”

“Wait, save the Runners?” said Katie, “You know, we don’t actually know if these guys have these gem things on them, and just because Riley can be possessed and do some parkour doesn’t mean we really have a chance!”

“That’s wrong!” said Tarja, “It means that there’s a chance at all, and we need to take that chance! We need to have hope that we can end all of this! I… I need that hope.”

Tarja suddenly slumped in her chair and her eyes went dull.

“I’ve been forced to work in this damned castle for over thirty years, watching maidens cry and beg and plead as they were sent off into the slaughter. This is the first time since I walked across that bridge that I’ve felt like things could change.”

Tarja’s eyes were wet, like she was about to cry. Rhys was gently rubbing her shoulder like a child who wasn’t sure what to do about her crying mother. My mind was made up.

“I’ll do it.” I said, “We will survive this game, and I’ll free all the Runners from that asshole emperor’s control.”