Episode II
Back in the castle, King James told me he had a surprise for me. “Would you like to join the Battle Team? We have battles every Tuesday mornings.” he said. I was speechless, but I could tell he understood that my answer was yes.
I was overjoyed as I had found a way to prove myself and show my master what I was capable of. I was careful not to grow too out of control, as King James reminded me my first official battle was tomorrow morning and to meet in the Main Hall.
“And before I forget, Danny, now that you have come to our castle, your room is the second door down the hall on the left side of me. You may settle yourself in there if you like,” he added.
“Thank you, sir,” I bowed.
King James winked at me. “Just a tiny secret, Danny, I’ve been waiting so long to unlock a cannon, until I finally found you in my silver chest earlier today. You might not understand, but cannons are amazing right now, and you were the last piece I was missing to form a perfect Battle Team, otherwise known as the Trifecta.”
“Trifecta?” I cocked my head to one side.
“Yep. That’s the name of our Battle Team,” he smiled a kingly smile.
“Oh.”
“Don’t be nervous. Even if you lose your first battle, which I’m sure you won’t, I’ll keep you in the Team. I’m sure you’ll meet every expectation I have for you during your first battle. Off you go to dinner. Good luck tomorrow!” he waved at me.
I couldn’t hold back my happiness, so as soon as the king dismissed me, I rushed to find Violet in the Cafeteria after I stopped by the kitchen to get my dinner.
I brought my meal to the Cafeteria and found Violet and Scarlet sitting at a table together, eyes glued to a newspaper titled “News Royale”. They saw me approach them and Scarlet set the newspaper back on the table. I noticed that both of them were changed out of battling armor, and Scarlet even had her hair tied in a messy ponytail.
“How did it go?” asked Violet, before biting into a chunk of chicken.
“I did it!” I exclaimed. “I’m part of the Battle Team!”
“Nice,” said Scarlet, her eyes moving down the newspaper again. “Hey guys, check this out!” She pointed to one of the main headlines and the paragraph underneath it. It read:
Let’s Welcome Two New Warriors to the Arena by Nick A. Nyte
There have been rumors about two new warriors in the Arena, but no one has ever been sure of those interesting theories. It has now been confirmed that Stephen Supercell has surely created them as we had expected, and you will read about them in a moment. These two are extremely rare to be found in chests and can be considered legendary.
First off, there is the Princess. This stunning Princess shoots flaming arrows from long range. If you’re feeling warm feelings towards her, it’s probably because you’re on fire. Hopefully, she won’t make the Tower Princesses too jealous, as she is clearly much more powerful.
The second new warrior is the Ice Wizard. This chill caster throws Ice Shards that slow down enemies’ movement and attack speed. Despite being freezing cold, he has a handlebar mustache that’s too hot for TV. As handsome as this bad boy is, he still has some competition with his long lost brother, the Wizard.
Welcome to the Arena, most beautiful Princess and most handsome Ice Wizard! That’s all the news we have.
“Cool!” said Violet. I nodded. The Princess and the Ice Wizard were probably both what people would be looking forward to. I, myself, couldn’t wait.
“I hope they join our castle soon!” I commented.
“It’s possible that they never will, actually,” said Scarlet reading over the paragraph again.
“Why not?” asked Violet looking up from her plate.
“Well, these warriors are ‘Legendary’, meaning they are much harder for kings to collect. It’s very likely that King James won’t ever find them in his chests,” Scarlet explained.
I lowered my head. “Oh, that’s too bad then.” We finished our dinner and dashed downstairs, only to find ourselves interrupted and followed by a Skeleton.
“OMG!!!” he shouted in a squeaky voice. “I’m your guys’ biggest fan. I’ve always dreamt of meeting you all in person, as the closest I ever get is watching every one of your battles. I sooooooo wish I could be part of them though, but still… THIS IS SO COOL!!! May I PLEASE have your autograph?” The skeleton stuck out his bony arm and grabbed a pen. “Please, please, please, please–”
“LARRY! Come back here, right now!” A Witch was catching her breath and running towards us. She turned to Scarlet, Violet, and me. “I’m so sorry. My son’s kinda…” she moved her index finger in a circular motion beside her head.
“But, Mom! They’re part of the Battle Team. This is like my only chance!” Larry complained. The Witch and Larry soon left the scene and Scarlet let out her laugh.
“That guy sure has a lotta energy,” she said.
“I think we should have signed his arm…” Violet noted, adjusting her curls.
“I dunno, that was pretty awkward,” I admitted. We were about to enter the Game room, but then we were interrupted again by a Prince this time.
“Have any of you seen my horse?” he asked, scratching his head. It seemed to me that he was the only one wearing his battling armor.
“Um, can you describe how it looks?” Violet asked.
“She is the most beautiful thing that has ever existed on Earth, almost as beautiful as you, my lady.” He knelt down and kissed Violet’s hand.
Scarlet cringed. “Thank you for your very precise description of your horse. It really helps a lot. And no, we haven’t seen her. Good day, Charles,” she said, grabbing Violet’s arm.
We walked inside the Game room, seeing that we were the only ones there, occupied the softest pillows and set up a game of chess.
Violet and Scarlet sat there, moving pieces as the game went, and I was watching carefully to see if either of them missed any good moves. I noticed that Violet clearly had more skill than Scarlet, seeing that she had won the game in just two minutes.
“Checkmate,” announced Violet as she moved her Knight piece a few tiles forward. Scarlet examined the chess pieces carefully and nodded her head.
“Well played, my friend. I never seem to be able to beat you in chess, Violet, but arm wrestling is a piece of cake,” laughed Scarlet.
“Hey Danny! Wanna join the chess game? I’ll set up another board and I’ll play against both you and Scarlet at once,” said Violet. I agreed to her request and helped her set up another board. We played chess for about the next half an hour, and as expected, Violet won both games.
“So… what now?” I asked Scarlet.
“Um, do you guys want to play another round of chess?” Violet asked me and Scarlet, while she ran her fingers down her hair. Scarlet simply shrugged and I shook my head, as one round of chess was enough for me. Then, Joe walked into the room and took a seat on one of the pillows.
“Hey, guys! These pillows are comfy, aren’t they?” Joe asked as he patted the soft pillows with his hands.
Scarlet clenched her fists.. “Now that you’re here, they aren’t.” She stood up and headed towards the door.
“C’mon, Scar. Cheer up,” Joe said. “Is there any way we could just be friends?”
“Don’t you notice it’s impossible for me to be cheerful when you’re around? If you want to… well, be my friend, then leave the room. Otherwise, stay in here and flirt with Violet all you want. Good afternoon, sir.” Scarlet stomped out of the room and slammed the door hard behind her.
“Gee, why is she so savage towards me?” Joe turned to us, and we returned a shrug.
“Heard that,” Scarlet replied from the other side of the door. Both Violet and I were trying very hard not to laugh.
“Well,” Violet stood up and faked a cough. “I’m gonna go with Scarlet.”
“Same here,” I said, following Violet towards the door.
We left Joe inside the room all by himself and watched through the crack as he took out his teddy bear and clutched onto it tightly. “Theodore, sometimes I feel like you’re my only friend,” he sighed.
Violet held back another giggle and whispered to him, “Don’t worry Joe, Scarlet’s actually quite a nice person if you get to know her well enough. But for now, goodbye.”
We hung outside for awhile until it was getting late, and I soon headed back to my own room. I laid myself on my bed and looking towards the ceiling, I imagined being the all-star player focused in a battle on a floating island, in the place where we all wished to be: Legendary Arena. Everyone would be cheering for me “Danny! Danny!” and their roars would fill my ears. This was my one and only dream that I would set for the rest of my life, and there was nothing I could care more about right now.
But reality would always flow back to my mind, telling me that my dreams would never come true, that there was no way these silly imaginations could ever come to life. My head was always in the clouds, never on Earth.
Then thinking about my first battle that awaited me tomorrow, I closed my eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.
