Groom Wars

25. His Plan

After his public whipping, a small crowd of concerned players gathered in Leandro's room.

A young man stood in the centre of the chamber. His black hair had been groomed into a fashionable pompadour; the sides were shaved while the tall hair on top was swept back. He said, "Isn't this show supposed to be equal opportunity for all? How can we be equals if we are forced to obey the royals?"

Others murmured their agreement.

Leandro's back stung, and he didn't know the extent of the damage but guessed his skin was covered in welts and carried a few trails of dried blood. From the satisfied expression on Steven's face, Leandro knew that his brother had planned this.

Though Leandro was usually calm, he had a few ticks that led to his eruption. Ticks that made him forget reason and challenge others to fights. One of his ticks had grown to be Adriel. A fight at a movie theatre had revealed the extent to which Leandro cared about Adriel to Steven. When a man had threatened to rape Adriel, Leandro had fought him and knocked him unconscious without care for repercussions. Steven had watched the event, thinking, and pondering how he might be able to use knowledge of Leandro's weakness in the future.

The majority of the players had no reason to think that Adriel and Leandro were a couple. Players had gathered from different provinces. Most of them only conversed with a few dozen people. To most of them, the players on other floors or different rooms were mysteries. Unknown shadowy organisms of which they might faintly recall a face or a voice. These people couldn't have known about Leandro and Adriel. That meant someone close to Leandro had spread the rumours. It could be someone he knew from outside the mansion or a roommate.

But Leandro's eyes were drawn to one person.

Whenever people questioned the relationship between Leandro and Adriel, Steven smiled. Though Steven tried to hide it, his eyes shone when he watched his brother despair as if he delighted in it. He hated seeing the two boys together and would do anything to separate them.

Another reason why Leandro had begun to suspect his brother was that while David insulted Leandro and Adriel, Steven had been quiet. The usually uncaring Steven had pretended to be angry and shocked when Leandro had insulted David, but Steven had planned it all, hadn't he?

He had known that in his unstable condition, Leandro would have picked a fight with Lord Columbia. And that David would have punished Leandro for his arrogance.

Steven was aware of the feud between the nobles and commoners.

He knew that the working-class individuals were tired of the nobles abusing their power.

He had known that the players wanted to be treated equally.

And he had known that upon the nobles abusing their power, the lower-class players would panic.

At that moment, Leandro felt that everyone had become his brother's puppets, waiting till Steven tugged their strings to jump or run.

Now, at Steven's pull, their working-class roommates and their allies had gathered in one room.

Unable to ignore the chaos, Adriel had awoken and watched Leandro with a perplexed countenance. He saw the marks on Leandro's back but made no comment; Adriel's lips twisted into a grimace as he hurried to understand the situation.

Steven took centre stage, his eyes glowing as he gazed at the attendees. Leandro knew there was nothing this man wouldn't do for power. He would grovel, beseech, cheat, lie, kill, and even sacrifice his own family to get ahead. He was just like their father.

Steven said, "We were told that all participants would have an equal opportunity to marry the princess. But Lord Columbia has shown that he has power over us. Columbia can use his words, influence, and sway to control the game. If we leave him unchecked, he'll vote us out one by one if we do not work against him behind the scenes. He'll start with my brother and me, then work his way down to the rest of you.

"You'll not only lose out on the opportunity to marry the princess; you will lose out on the opportunity to earn money as we are paid for each day we stay here. David has the producers and writers in his pocket; they'll manipulate things to his advantage.

"Brothers, we may lack his influence. We may lack his wealth. But we have our hearts." Steven knocked his fist on his chest. "We have our strength. We have our wits, and if you decide to join me, right here, right now, we'll have each other. The next stage requires only a hundred participants. Over the next eight months, a hundred and sixty of us will be sent home. But if the thirty people in this room stick together, plan, and work together, we can ensure that a good majority of us will be among that hundred. So, who wants to make an alliance for us common men?"

There was a pause, a threatening silence.

Then some boys roared, and one shouted, "I'm in. Fuck Lord Columbia."

Cheers enveloped the room, and people signed their names on the piece of paper Steven produced. Adriel jumped off his bunk, landed with a soft thud, and then went over to Steven. The two stared at each other for a moment. Neither said a word, then Adriel held out his hand. "Pen?"

After a moment's hesitation, Steven gave the pen to Adriel, and the boy added his name to the long list.

***