Dragonslayer

Chapter Three

I catch up to Stedan at dinner. We always sit together, because we know no one else would want to talk to us.

He's shovelling down mouthful after mouthful of chips, his eyes glued to the screen.

"Hey," I volunteer as I sit down.

"Hi," he mumbles around the chips. "Guff fide."

I laugh, sort of knowing what he means. "Thanks. Should have been faster though."

He shrugs and swallows. "Don't think it matters, really. You won, and it was quick enough."

The waiter approaches, dipping his head in his well-trained way. "What would you like, Miss Sequeter?"

"Hmm." I tilt my head to the side, considering. "May I have a red velvet cheesecake? And a cup of vanilla cream coffee." Despite my rough childhood, I'm pleased to say I have immaculate manners.

He bobs his head. "Certainly."

Stedan tuts. "You're not meant to be having coffee."

"Who cares?" I reach over the table and steal one of his chips. "I need it."

He swats my hand away. "If you wanted chips, you could've ordered them!" he protests.

"But I don't want a whole plateful," I reason.

He rolls his eyes. "I don't get you."

"That's the point," I tell him.

We eat mostly in silence. I'm quite tired, and I'll bet Stedan's been training practically all day.

"So," he says as I polish off my cheesecake. "One week till your fifteenth."

"I haven't really thought about it." It's true, I haven't. Champions' birthdays are a big thing. It'll be Stedan's sixteenth birthday in a month and a half, and the planning is already well underway.

"You're having a party," he informs me. "Lots of important guests."

I groan. "Fun. Exactly what I want."

"I can tell," he says with a laugh. "Just sneak out halfway through. Pretend to be drunk or something; the media'll love to hear that."

I sigh. It's always so much effort, keeping up an appearance for the media. "I'll have to bear it and act all happy, won't I?"

"Yeah, you will," he chides. "Enjoy it."

I don't bother answering him. I just nurse my coffee, even though it's gone cold. I hate parties, especially the big kind. Stedan, of course, loves them.

"I'm going," he says. "I've got a new game I want to beat."

"Good luck," I reply, and watch him go. He can say what he wants, but he really does fit in here. He likes partying, he trains and trains all day without missing a session, he takes down opponents without remorse.

His ambitions have been reduced to finishing a game the night he gets it.

I dream bigger. I have a good future ahead of me, I'm a celebrity teenager, but I want more. More of something this life I'm trapped in can't give me.

I take the lift up to my room by myself. I've managed to dispel the fear that had frozen me in paranoia this morning. Has it really just been one day? It feels like so much longer.

The lift halts gently outside my door, and I place my palm on the sensor pad and let the scanner inspect my eye. My room door slides open at the same time as the lift doors close.

I planned on watching some sort of show, or reading a good book, but I'm far too exhausted. I just lean back into my soft, fluffy pillows and collapse without even switching off the light.