The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 13: The winner. (Part 1)

Chapter 13: The winner.

2 months before the Fall:

"Hey you, yeah you!" the woman suddenly yelled at me. Her skin was light and her hair a pale blue. The two small horned protruding from either side of her forehead were a significant indication she wasn't human, that and her clearly pointed ears. She smiled widely, green eyes shining. "You're kind of cute. Get a drink with me!"

"Ah-um, excuse me?" I was baffled from the sudden interaction. I had just left the assembly building of Crysis and the young women had come out of nowhere.

"You are excused," she nodded, "to get a drink with me that is! Come on this way. I now a good bar."

Before I could say no she had already taken my hand and pulled me down the nearby alley. I couldn't even stumble the correct words out before I had been pushed inside a store and suddenly found myself sitting on a cushion beside a low set table. The women laughed.

"Are you okay?" I had to ask.

"Hmm," her expression turned to a deep dissatisfaction. "Frankly no! There's too much that needs to be done and not enough time. I was meant to get a drink with my brother but he stood me up! You'll take his place won't you?"

I laughed in understanding, "There certainly is a lot to do. But you should be careful. You shouldn't just drag a random person to go for a drink. I could be a bad person."

"Not a chance," she cackled as if I had made a grand joke. Her eyes became clear as if piercing mine. "My gut says you're a good guy. In fact it says you're an even better guy when a bit tipsy!"

That was the first time I met Endithalia, Vanter's half sister.

*

Zen:

"Oh my god!" Aria jumped up and down from the couch. "Ardy won! Ardy actually won!" Her excitement filled the room. "Dad, Zen, Ardy won! He's alive."

Arthur smiled, wiping away a happy tear, "He really did. We have a minor celebrity on our hands now."

"He worked so hard!" Aria spoke proudly. "Zen, are you so shocked you can't say anything?"

"Oh!?" Zen snapped from her thoughts. "It's amazing. Ardent did really well."

"Not just really well. Amazing!"

"Yes...," Zen nodded. "Aria, Arthur, has Ardent ever studied martial arts before meeting me?"

"Not at all," Arthur replied. "Why?"

"He moved really well," Zen answered.

Aria nodded smiling, "Yeah, he said before he owed that to you. Though don't expect so much from in real life. After all it's just a game. He's not going to flip in mid-air like that in real life."

"Of course," Zen knew that as well, but she couldn't shake off what she just saw. The way he moved in those final moments, that was something she had never taught him, it was something that no ordinary person could do. "I really should see the game myself sometime."

"Oh-oh! We have money now! We could totally do that," Aria jumped excitedly again.

Arthur however cut into her elation, "Doesn't school start next week for you?"

"O-oh...," Aria simmered down.

They continued to watch together as the interview started.