tw: blood, death, romance (hehehehe the romance plot starting to unfold) rated for ages 12+ new character narrating this :0 Chapter 4: Kolton It’s rare that somebody gets chosen from the north side of Heathe. And nobody under sixteen ever gets chosen. But with my luck, both of those things happened. It has been a terrible week. My boyfriend broke up with me for a faerie. My mother declared that we were going to have to sell the house, due to the fact that we couldn’t pay the rent any longer. And now, I have gotten chosen for the Twilight Gambit, which I will ultimately fail and die a pathetic, painful death in. On top of that, it seems nobody in my town can stop gossiping about the “poor little fifteen year old boy chosen for the Twilight Gambit” even though I’m only a year younger than most of the contestants. “Kolton! The carriage!” My mother hollers up the stairs to my room. “It’s here already? Dang it!” I shout. I grab a random white tank top and a pair of blue jeans and change into them. I glance in the mirror. The pale, faded scars running up and down my arms are showing, but I don’t care. I got them from sword fighting. Maybe it will give the other participants the impression that I’m not just a helpless little boy. For a second, I consider tying back my choppy, uneven white blonde hair. It falls just below my shoulders and tends to get in my face. Realizing that the carriage has probably been waiting, I ditch the ponytail idea and sprint down the stairs. My mom is standing there. I feel a bit guilty when I notice that she’s crying. I smile at her. “Mom, I’ll be fine.” I whisper as she hugs me tight. “I’ve been sword fighting for six years. I’m sure I’ll win this.” I’m lying. I am absolutely, positively, outright lying. I’m not going to win The Twilight Gambit. My mom cries quietly into my shoulder. I feel my eyes tearing up, too, but I take all my willpower not to cry. If I start crying, it will make her even more nervous than she already is. “I love you, Kolton.” she murmurs, wiping her eyes. I smile, a sad smile. “Love you, Mom.” She gives me one last hug before we hear a man’s voice shout from outside. “Hurry up, kid!” he hollers loudly. Slowly, I release from the embrace and turn to leave. I glance back and give her a smile with as much confidence as I can muster. “I’ll see you in a week mom, I promise.” and then I walk out the door. I feel empty knowing it’s the last time I’ll see her–and the last time I’ll be in this house. The ride there is eerily quiet. We all know where we’re going–Saelmere Palace. It’s the place where the participants stay. They stay there for a week until the Gambit starts, and stay there every day the Gambit is going on, only leaving the palace at midnight, when the trials take place. I focus on the people around me, taking in who might be competition. There’s Prince Atticus–I highly doubt a rich boy like him is trained in the skills needed to win the Gambit. The pretty girl sitting next to him–Kiara Huxxley, I know from school–I am sure will be tough to beat. I’ve seen her in gym class. Then there’s this tiny redhead girl, who’s been crying the whole way here. She looks too frail to be much of a threat. I go through this process with all of the other people–most of them don’t seem very intimidating. Except for Kiara, of course. That girl scares me. We arrive at Saelmere Palace disappointingly quickly. It is beautiful though, with its cobblestone towers and thick ivy vines that creep up the walls and spires. All fifteen of us clamor out of the carriage, occasionally pushing and shoving. Yet to say a word to each other, we walk silently into the palace. The interior of Saelmere Palace is rather plain. There is no decor, making the mossy cobblestone walls and floors look bare. The ceiling arches toward a clear glass dome, providing a view of the sky from inside. There is a single spiral staircase wounding up to somewhere out of sight. (continued in Notes and Credits)
“Welcome to Saelmere Palace,” a male voice says, directing my attention to the center of the room. There stands a tall man with close cropped blonde hair. Behind him are fifteen others, all in dark green uniforms. My pulse quickens. Isleen’s servants. “You will be staying here until the Gambit begins,” the blonde man continues. “As your name is called, please step forward.” The man unfolds a wrinkled piece of paper. He clears his throat. “No. 1. Prince Atticus Abernathy,” he is careful to address Atticus correctly. “Please follow Kayla to your new room,” he gestures at a small woman in a uniform with a pixie cut. Kayla leads Atticus up the stairs, her gaze distant. “No. 2. Thorn Raya.” A kid wit chin-length black hair and freckles steps forward. They’re older, but I know them from school too. I’m pretty sure they’re non-binary Thorn follows a different uniform man up the stairs. It continues like this until I’m the last one standing in the room. “No. 15. Kolton Cyprus.” The man drawls. “Sir,” the last uniform lady inquires, surprising me. I haven’t heard any of them speak. “The last room is occupied by…by the boy,” I can’t resist wondering what they are talking about. What boy? “Oh, fine. They will have to share.” the man grunts. The lady nods. “Yes, of course, sir.” The uniform lady looks at me. “Please, follow me.” We walk up the spiral staircase so long I get dizzy. After that, we have to walk all the way down a long hallway filled with doors We come to a halt at the very last door. On it, the number ‘15’ is engraved into the polished oak wood. The lady opens up the door and gestures politely for me to go in. I’m barely through the doorway when I am stopped in my tracks by the sensation of a cold blade being pressed to my neck. “Who,” my new roommate says, blinking his golden eyes. “are you?”
