Gangs And Pains

19: The night of the ball

Melissa is sitting at her desk, three envelopes in front of her. Each one held a location and they would be given to the guys at random. It's the middle of the day and she has the curtains drawn, the only light she has is the dim light of the small lamp she has on her desk. She has to finish preparations for the Thanksgiving feast and Thanksgiving ball that the gang holds every year.

She sighs and collects the envelopes. She leaves her room and heads down the stairs, she goes down a hall and slides the envelopes under three doors. She then heads back upstairs to the infirmary.

"Okay, get it over with." She tells one of the staff members.

She sits on one of the examination tables and takes off her glasses. She takes out the contacts she has on and the grey splotches forming in her eyes have gotten worse.

One of the female doctors goes over to her with a small flashlight and carefully points it to Melissa's eyes. "Can you see the light, how bright is it for you?" she asks.

"It's... it's not as bright as last time. It's dim but I can see it, but there are dark spots here and there and I know it's not from the light." Melissa says gesturing with her hands.

Melissa can't really tell, but the staff member gives her a worried look. "What do you mean dark spots?"

"Umm... there are splotches of just darkness and there are some things that they cover. I can see some of the covering your face." she explains while rubbing her eyes, trying to make the dark splotches go away.

The doctor taps her chin before making a decision. "I'm calling your brother in."

Melissa groans and rubs her eyes again. She knows she can't go home alone anymore, with the way her vision is. She nearly got in a crash last week and almost got pulled over by a cop. She has gone back to using braille as a precaution and started using echolocation more than ever. Oftentimes when she wakes up now, she doesn't know when her sight will fully leave.

She can hear voices, she can hear them but not see them. She knows it's her brother and the doctor, they're talking about what might happen if they can't cure her eyes. Melissa knows that there is no cure for aniridia, it is something she was born with and she has come to accept what's going to happen to her.

"Come on sis, let's get you to the throne room. You have to announce what's going to happen during the trials." Hunter helps Melissa off the table.

Melissa puts on her glasses and tries to blink the spots away, "I hate having to go to the throne room." she mumbles.

"I know sis, me too." Hunter agrees with her.

Meanwhile, the three champions are waiting in the throne room for the queen to arrive. Tyler is looking at a portrait while the other two talk. It's a portrait of the royal family. But looking at it and comparing it to how the throne room is now, makes things seem empty.

In the portrait are three thrones, one for the king, the queen, and a bench for the children. The king's throne is embellished with designs, the king sitting on it with his crown and a proud smile. To his right, the queen, his wife. She is holding his hand, her crown gleaming in the light and her smile as bright as the day they married. To the left of the king, on the bench, their children. Hunter looking around fourteen and with a young Melissa sitting in his lap. Both of them with large smiles, Hunter a small crown on his head and Melissa with a dainty tiara.

But now, there is only one throne. Resting on it right now is a crown, like the one the queen wears in the portrait. The throne is the one the king had, Tyler doesn't know what it means. No one has in years, not ever since the king died.