“Prepare your court to face the Tournament”

Ria crouched down. She poked the sleeping figure with her foot. “Old Luce? Old Luce, we need to talk.”

The man continued to snore away.

The girl sighed. She grabbed the bucket she had prepared. “You leave me no choice.”

Raising the bucket above the man’s head, she jiggled it around so that the sleeping man could hear the ice cubes jostling around. If he didn’t wake up now, the freezing water would finish the job.

Just as the bucket tipped, the man sprung up. Scowling, he shoved the bucket away from his face. “Put that dastardly thing away!”

Ria reluctantly set the bucket to the side. She had been looking forward to that.

Sitting down, she pulled out Carmae. “I need to know about this. I need you to tell me…what is it really?”

Old Luce shrugged, “A piece of paper?”

Ria slapped her forehead. “No, it’s the Sacred Piece, remember? You were the one that taught me how to use it originally.” She paused, trying to choose her next words so that they made sense. “But what is it really? Is it like an object or an extension of something? Why is it able to tell me all these things? Where does it get all this information from?”

The man scratched his head. “The paper talks to you…” he leaned back. “About what?”

“A bunch of stuff,” Ria shrugged helplessly. “Like, I asked it how we could generate money and it showed me the path to the secret storerooms. I tell it to recount Oceanport’s history in five minutes and it does it.”

She let out a freaked-out laugh. “Niamh, I even asked for the Capital’s economic situation and it was able to give me all the numbers.” It was her turn to scratch her head. “But if I ask it what’s the best way to defeat Rex or get revenge for the miners… it just repeats that old line about the Court and Tournament.”

“Sounds like it can only tell you of things that have been not things that will be,” murmured Old Luce.

Ria’s brows pinched together in consideration. That would make sense. “But it can also just talk to me. Like, I literally know that its favorite color is blue and a parchment hates the smell of PB&J. Like, is it allergic to peanuts? Is that possible?”

“Sounds like it's just lonely.”

Ria tilted her head. “Lonely?”

“And maybe you’re the first to treat it like a friend… A being with worth rather than just a tool,’ murmured Old Luce, the words coming from a deep place in his heart.

He lifted his gaze and cowered away at Ria’s piercing stare. “What?”

The girl studied the man. “You’re… are you, all right? I mean, you just seem like two very different people at times.”

To her surprise, the man didn’t run away at the question or burst out into frantic, crazed laughter like usual. His eyes held a faraway look. “Sometimes, I feel like I was just dropped into this world. I have no memory of my past, but I just… feel like I don’t belong here. I’ll sleep and wake up in the mines, or in a boat, but I can’t, I don’t know how or why. It’s like I lose control of my body,” his voice shook, “All the goddamn time.”

Ria’s brows furrowed. “That sounds horrible.”

The man kicked his feet out. “It is what it is.”

The girl sighed. She offered the man a small smile. “I think this is the longest conversation we’ve ever had.”

“I’m usually crazier, right?” Old Luce smiled awkwardly.

Ria shook her head. “No! Of course not… I mean, okay, maybe a little.”

Old Luce shrugged.

“Thanks for trying to help,” the girl got to her feet. “I didn’t come just to ask you about a piece of paper. You know you don’t have to sleep in the streets anymore, right? The castle has more than enough rooms. You can pick one that you like.”

Old Luce shook his head. “Thank you for the offer, but I feel safer out here.”

But why, the girl wanted to ask. Still, she held herself back.

Ria deflated, “That’s all right. Just know that if you ever need it, the doors are open. And… I don’t why you think of yourself like a tool, but if you ever need someone to talk to,” she gestured to herself, “I’m in the big castle. Pretty easy to spot.”

There was silence on the other side.

Old Luce’s eyes glazed over. “You’ll make a good queen, Four.”

Ria froze. She turned back to the man but his eyes were downcast, hooded by his hair.

“You want to ask Carmae why you were chosen, right?” he murmured.

Ria shivered. She had a feeling this was the other Old Luce.

The man drew shapes in the dirt, saying “But don’t you get it?”

Ria pursed her lips. This might be her only chance to get her answers. “What don’t I get?” She pressed a hand against her chest. “I just want to make sure it didn’t make the wrong choice.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“It didn’t choose you, Four,” snapped the seated man.

The girl clenched her fists.

A breath exhaled. “Don’t you remember?”

Suddenly, an image flashed before Ria’s mind. The chess piece she had picked up. Her eyes widened. The cloaked figure! She had refused to cross the bridge, choosing to stay with… His name wasn’t Caramel but Carmae!

Old Luce’s milky pale eyes gleamed excitedly.

“You chose it.”

—

The desk was piled high with old scrolls and drawings. A pencil worked away. The hand controlling it drew fine, controlled lines across the faded white canvas.

The head minister poured over his drawings in an almost fanatic manner. If it weren’t for his very human needs, it was unclear whether the man would ever leave the room.

His old colleagues would have dropped dead at the shocking sight. The head minister actually working? And over time?

He brushed away his sweat, fearful of anything marring the precise drawings of the castle. His canvas held an exact replica of Oceanport’s castle, with labels and diagrams scattered on the sides.

“You know you don’t have to stay here,” Ria called from her place at the door.

The head minister turned to face her. He got hurriedly to his feet. “Your Highness.”

Ria laughed, “You can just call me Ria.”

The man shook his head. “I mustn’t. Please do not ask such a thing of me.”

The girl sighed. He had the same reply every time she asked. Placing her hands on her hips, she suggested. “What about Four? It’s the best compromise you’ll get.”

The other sighed wearily. “Very well… Four.” He tilted his head. “What is it I can do for Your Highness?”

Ria wanted to facepalm. Old habits die hard. She glanced at the messy desk. “You know you’re free to leave anytime, right? We won’t force you to stay.”

She had felt uncomfortable keeping the man prisoner, but it had been necessary to learn the basic ins and outs of how Oceanport worked. Now that it had all been recorded and some of the refugees were learning to read and write in order to become proper ministers… it seemed cruel to keep the man. Ria shuddered. The act reminded her too much of Eres and the mines.

“In fact, if it’s a horse or some gold or silver you need for the travel home, I would be more than happy to provide it.”

After Carmae had helped Ria discover the castle’s old vaults, they had been shocked to find the vast amount of treasure hidden inside. A treasure that had remained unknown even to the puppet ministers despite their long-term occupation of Oceanport. Eventually, their government would need to collect taxes and set up proper forms of revenue, but for now, the gold was more than enough to keep them afloat as the kingdom got back to its feet.

The head minister was silent for a long time. He set the pencil down. In a swift motion, the man got to his knees.

Ria sighed. The action was becoming more and more frequent. It had taken a while to realize the futility of trying to persuade the kneelers to stand. She found it was easier to let them say their piece and then inform them of how unnecessary such an action was.

The head minister’s voice shook. “I have no right to ask this but, Your Majesty, I mean, Four,” he looked up, eyes shining. “Please allow this lowly one to stay in Oceanport!”

Ria’s eyes widened. She… had not been expecting that.

“It may sound ironic, but I have stayed in Oceanport for ten long years.” He smiled at a distant memory. “At first I hated every moment of it, but this land found a way into my heart.”

Ria bent down, squatting so that she was at the same level as the other. “But don’t you have a family? Someone waiting for you back home?”

The head minister chuckled bitterly, “Yes, a mother and loads of nagging siblings and in-laws.” He sniffed, “I am the youngest of fifteen.”

“Your poor mother,” whispered Ria.

“All my life I have been told what to do and what not to do,” continued the man, voice frustrated.

The head minister raised a determined fist in the air, “I came here, ready to finally be in charge,” he lowered his hand. “And yet I spent all my time having my every move controlled by the higher-ups.”

Ria paused, trying to consider her words. “I’m very sorry to hear-”

But the head minister was not finished!

“Everyone hated me! My neighbors, my underlings, heck, even the cat I adopted from the street ran away after scratching up all my furniture in revenge,” his eyes were teary as he listed his grievances. “I couldn’t leave. I couldn’t go back. It was like Niamh herself had cursed me! My life was…” his mutterings continued.

Ria glanced at the exit, slowly inching towards it. “Well, it seems I’ve caught you at a bad time. Maybe we can continue this discussion-”

“Until you came!”

Ria’s movements halted. “What?”

The head minister smiled at the ground. “You were supposed to ruin everything in my life, Four but… you were the very first person to make me want to stay. You gave me a chance.” His shiny eyes lifted to meet hers.

“The coronation,” breathed Ria. She hadn’t thought much of it at the time but…

The man nodded fervently. “It was the first time I was able to do things my way. Drawing those designs, organizing the event… it was like I finally found out why I was born into this world.” He paused. The man lowered his head to the ground. “Thank you, Four. Truly.”

“I had thought I was broken, but I never realized it was okay to just,” he laughed wetly. “Be me.”

Ria found it hard to say anything in the face of the man’s sincerity. His words resonated with her. In a way, after this whole adventure… Ria thought she understood what he meant. Ria was no longer the nobody, but she wasn’t exactly just Four either. Ria was Ria. Being who she was had lost her Daisy, Derek, and her sanity at many times… but it had also led the miners out of the Citadel and finally gave Oceanport a leader that at least, cared.

She shook her head. “I would have said yes if you just asked to stay.”

The man chuckled. Ever since he had been freed from his bureaucratic duty, he had become a lot more fun to be around. “I could not chance it, Your Highness.”

“Call me R-” she paused, “You know what, never mind.” Ria placed her hands on her hips. “If it’s your wish to stay, I won’t stop you. Oceanport doesn’t have much to offer now-”

“Oh, but it does,” interjected the other. “It has one of the most precious things in the world.”

Ria humored him. “And what’s that?”

A pause.

“Hope.”

The man looked out the large window which overlooked the city square. Oceanport looked the same… but there was also something different about it. The colors of the houses were a bit brighter. Kids brawled in the streets, but now the sound of young laughter floated through the air.

Merchants haggled and old wives continued to drag their drunk husbands out of the Tavern, but people weren’t so on guard with one another.

It was louder as the Port-Dogs enjoyed the sunny weather. Sounds of building and construction pierced the eardrums in place of the sounds of wailing and deterioration from before.

In the far courtyard, guards trained with wooden swords. A sweaty pirate led the practice, saber flying through the air with practiced ease.

Small ships dotted the beach as wares were brought in and out of them.

Ria turned to the man. “What is your name?” She had never gotten the chance to ask.

“Michelangelo,” answered the other.

The girl’s eyes widened, frozen in shock for a moment. She laughed, “No way, seriously?’

Michelangelo looked around, confused at the confusion. “Yes?”

“Like the artist?” asked Ria.

The man had a puzzled expression on his face. “Possibly? Although I have never met an artist that shares my name, I suppose there could be one?”

Ria laughed, face a picture of bewilderment. “Maybe it is just a coincidence… you don’t happen to like sculpting, do you?”

“Only in my free time,” answered Michelangelo flippantly.

Ria sighed. What was her life?

“Is it such a funny name?” asked Michelangelo. “Because the men you sent to knock out the Capital guards were also very intrigued by it.”

“I mean, it’s definitely not common,” the girl’s head shot up. “Wait, what did you just say?”

After hearing the other’s explanation, Ria’s jaws dropped.

“You mean to tell me we have how many people sitting in our dungeons right now?”