Aurin, Luna, Kyle and Garnder sat in the carriage of the private train. The boys were dressed in their finest suits—Aurin wearing the blue suit Luna had given him for his birthday—while Luna wore a shining purple dress and long white gloves. The group of four wouldn’t have looked out of place at a ballgown.
“I can’t wait to see what Lord Kensington’s up to,” said Gardner, for once not looking like he’d spent the entire day in a greenhouse.
“The man wasted no time,” said Kyle, gazing out the window at the mountain, “he had the invites ready delivered the day after Tamer Day. That must have been the final criteria for this event.”
“I wonder if he’s putting on a show for us?” asked Luna.
“Why would he ask us to bring three summoning stones then?” asked Aurin, pulling out the identical letter that each of them had received.
Greetings Esteemed Tamer,
You have hereby been invited to attend a special event at the Kensington Estate. Please dress in your finest formalwear for the occasion and do not concern yourself with food and drink as all will be provided free of charge. It is also requested that you bring three summoning stones attuned to whichever Minakai you choose. A private train has been arranged to collect you from Hazelton Station at 11 o’clock on Saturday morning.
Please be aware that no Minakai are to be brought onto the train or summoned to the estate without permission to do so.
Sincerely,
Lord Theodore Kensington
“He’s going to make us battle,” said Kyle.
“I’m not so sure,” said Gardner, “it could be like something he did at Tamer Day where different Minakai are suited to different roles.”
Kyle shook his head. “I’m telling you he’s going to make us battle.”
“In formalwear?” asked Luna.
“The Minakai aren’t dressed up for the occasion,” replied Kyle.
Aurin stayed silent as he reread the letter for the fiftieth time this week. Once he had finished, he stuck his head out the window to try and take a peek at the other carriages. He didn’t have the chance to see who else was invited as they were running late thanks to Luna.
The train soon started to come to a halt. It had been a short journey lasting no more than fifteen minutes, but it felt longer to Aurin as he had been eagerly anticipating arriving having the mystery answered.
As the four tamers stepped onto the platform, Aurin glanced around. He spotted Percival from the most recent Hazelton tournament and the national championship. There were a few people he had seen more recently at Tamer Day, including Jimmy, Eclare and even the pageant queen, Abby, who served as a judge for one of the Tamer Day contests. There was even…
“Aurin,” said Frederick, giving Aurin a smirk and a nod as he walked past.
“Leo,” muttered Aurin, “I should have known he would be here.”
“He’s in civilian mode today, mate, don’t worry about him,” said Gardner while watching Frederick like a hawk.
“It wouldn’t be like a Zodiac Squad member to cause trouble now, would it?” came a familiar voice from behind the group.
“Hunter!” called Luna excitedly, turning around.
“I wasn’t sure if you would get invited or not,” said Aurin, shaking his friend’s hand.
“Why’s that?” Hunter asked.
“You’re too big league for us Hazelton folks these days.”
Hunter laughed and looked around. “It does seem to be people either from Hazelton or those who’ve competed in Hazelton events, doesn’t it?”
“Seems that way,” agreed Kyle.
“How rich is Lord Kensington if he has his own train platform and pays for us all to be brought here?” asked Luna.
“He comes from old money from what I’ve heard,” replied Kyle. “You take everything each of us has ever earned at the tower, add it all together and times it by a hundred and we’re probably getting close.”
“Let’s get moving,” said Aurin as the crowd started to thin out, “I don’t want to be the last ones there.”
The group of five followed the crowd. The path to the estate was paved with pale bricks and surrounded by large hedges and trees. Everyone was funnelled through an entranceway where the large metallic gates twisted and swirled with the words ‘Kensington Estate’ forged in cursive within them while a coat of arms bearing a badger and crossed spears rested beneath the lettering.
“It’s chilly,” muttered Luna, rubbing her arms so Aurin took off his jacket and place it over her shoulders. Luna turned red, but she was smiling.
As they walked up the path, the residence itself came into view. To call it a manor was doing it an injustice, it was most certainly a palace. The walls were made from limestone bricks reaching multiple at four storeys high at the highest points, while there were nearly fifty windows on the front of the building alone. The fountain in the garden caught Aurin’s eye as everyone made their way up the staircase and towards the door where a carriage and its two horses stood in wait. The front door was already open and a pair of guardsmen were ushering people inside.
Aurin couldn’t help but laugh when he saw the chessboard-like pattern of the tiles on the floor as it reminded him of the floor of the monster towers. As everyone moved through the entrance hall towards another set of double doors, Aurin tried to see what else was in the hall. It was filled with paintings, old suits of armour and vases aplenty, but he was being moved along too quickly to take it in as well as he would have liked.
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“Your name, please,” said a man at the door.
“Aurin,” said Aurin.
“Aurin who?” asked the man.
“It’s not a very common name,” remarked Aurin more rudely than he intended, “there should only be one.”
The man scowled at Aurin but, sure enough, there was only one on his list. “You’re at Table One by the front.”
Aurin didn’t even notice where he was at first, but it became clear now that it was a large dining hall. There were eight round tables along, each of them sitting eight people, with a larger rectangular table at the front of the room. Aurin took a reasonable guess that there were sixty-four people invited to this event other than Lord Kensington, staff and whatever special guests he may have invited.
Aurin walked towards his table and spotted Frederick who laughed that he was sitting at the same table as Aurin. Alongside Frederick was Abby, Percival, Bentley—who Aurin had knocked out of this year’s Hazelton tournament—and another man who he didn’t recognise. Shortly afterwards, Hunter and Gardner approached the table too.
“It looks like we’re the table of elites,” joked Bentley once everyone had settled down.
“Yes,” said Frederick taking the comment seriously.
“I recognise you from Tamer Day,” said Abby, smiling at Aurin, “weren’t you there with the girl who was runner-up in the pageant?”
“That’s me,” said Aurin.
“Tamer Day?” said the man who Aurin didn’t know. “Nah, this kid got all the way to the nationals with these other three. Aurin, right.”
“Yes,” said Aurin. “What’s your name?”
“Clarke,” said the man. He was a black-haired man, a little older than Kyle by the look of him. “Me and Hunter go way back to other national competitions, but I haven’t competed in Hazelton in a few years.”
“How’ve you been, Clarke?” asked Hunter.
Everyone engaged in small talk except for Frederick who sat there looking bored. Aurin glanced over at Luna who was sat at Table Two with Jimmy. Kyle, meanwhile, was sat behind Aurin at Table Four with Eclare. If they truly were sitting in order of rank, Aurin was going to tease Kyle about being ranked much lower than him later.
It wasn’t long before Lord Kensington arrived. He walked to the front of the room and stood behind the chair at the centre of the table. He picked up a glass and clinked it with his spoon causing everyone to fall silent.
“Welcome, welcome,” said Lord Kensington to the intrigued crowd. “I am thrilled that every single one of you has made it here to take part in this grand event. I’m sure you’re all most curious about what the day has in store and, rest assured, I will answer that in due time. Before any of that, however, please enjoy a fine lunch courtesy of my fine team of chefs.”
Lord Kensington sat down and immediately a stream of servers appeared from a door in the corner of the room and began serving food to the guests. Aurin had skipped breakfast today, so he was thrilled to see a roast duck set down before him along with a helping of vegetables and plum sauce. He grabbed an additional serving of mashed potatoes from a bowl in the centre of the table and wolfed down his food faster than any of his tablemates.
Once everyone had finished eating, Lord Kensington stood up once again. “I trust that you are all well fed and watered. I certainly hope so because you are going to need that energy, tamers, for now it is time to inform you of the reason that you are here. You are all participants in the first ever Palace Royale!”
The crowd murmured amongst themselves, unsure of what to make of that statement. Lord Kensington chuckled to himself, no doubt expecting this sort of reaction. He continued.
“The Palace Royale is a Minakai battle tournament that will take place across the entirety of my estate, but it is much more than a tournament. You may also think of it as a game of elimination. Each of you has brought three summoning stones that will allow you to call upon your Minakai, but once all of your Minakai is defeated you are out. That is standard, yes, but you will not be separated into brackets for one-on-one fights, no, you are all competing against each other at all times.”
Aurin looked over at Kyle who gave him a knowing smile. He had been right about making the tamers battle. Aurin looked down at the tamer glove he was wearing where a brown and two grey crystals resided. He suddenly regretted his choice of what Minakai to bring along.
“If you will all make your way into the entrance hall, I shall explain the rules to you,” said Lord Kensington, walking around his table and leading the way to the doors.
Everyone followed and Aurin caught up with Luna and Kyle. “What do you reckon?” he asked them.
“It sounds fun,” said Luna with a giddy smile, “I just wish I hadn’t picked a dress like this to wear.”
“I’m wondering what the catch is going to be,” said Kyle. “I suspect we won’t simply start brawling like what happened on Tamer Day.”
“Maybe he’s set up arenas throughout the grounds?” asked Aurin.
“Possibly,” said Kyle, but he didn’t sound convinced.
When everyone had gathered in the entrance hall, Lord Kensington stood by the front door to the palace. “I shall now explain the rules and we will begin momentarily. The first rule is that you must summon all three of your Minakai once you leave through these front doors. When a Minakai falls unconscious or is banished, it cannot be used again. This will be monitored closely, as will everything else that happens in the Palace Royale. To break a rule is to be disqualified immediately.
“The second rule is that you must not attack other tamers. The third rule is that you are not allowed to enter this palace while you are in play, but you must return here immediately once you have been defeated. It will be announced across the state when that happens, so there can be pretending you are still a contender.
“The fourth rule is that there are items scattered throughout the estate and, should you find one, you are free to use it at your leisure. What are the items? Well, that is a secret for you to discover. Search high and low, for they may give you the edge you need. The last rule is that you must be the last tamer standing to win the prize.”
“What’s the prize?” asked Kyle.
“Ah, Master Kyle,” said Lord Kensington with a sly grin—Aurin half expected him to start stroking his goatee like a villain from a spy film. “The prize is a secret, but I assure you that it is something that every single one of you will find valuable. It is something that I must admit will be hard for me to part with. Does that answer satisfy you?”
“Consider me intrigued, Lord Kensington,” said Kyle with a nod.
Lord Kensington pushed open the doors. “Each of you has been assigned an identification number in line with the rank you have been given. When your number is called, you have thirty seconds to leave the palace. Make use of that thirty seconds wisely and do not loiter too close by, that is all I will say.”
A steward approached Lord Kensington and held up a sheet of parchment. “I will now call out your numbers and your thirty seconds will begin. Summon your Minakai as soon as you are clear of the entrance. Tamer number sixty-four, Lady Lavender.”
A brunette girl that Aurin didn’t recognise stepped forward, looking panicked. She hurriedly threw on her tamer glove and ran through the door—something made difficult by the high heels she was wearing—and out of sight.
“Tamer number sixty-three, Master Morris.”
Lord Kensington continued to call out names and the tamers all made their way into the grounds. As the numbers moved along, Aurin noticed the pattern. Everyone was indeed being called out based on the tables they were sat at; Frederick was right to take Bentley’s joke seriously.
“Tamer number thirty-two, Master Kyle,” called Lord Kensington.
“Good luck,” said Kyle to his friends as the rancher ran out the door with his gloved hand clenched.
Luna was assigned number fourteen and she had the sense to kick off her heels so she could run more easily. She smiled and winked at Aurin before departing.
There were suddenly only eight tamers remaining. Abby departed, leaving seven. Frederick departed, leaving six. Bentley departed, leaving five. Clarke departed, leaving four. Percival departed, leaving three.
“Tamer number three, Master Gardner,” said Lord Kensington, taking Aurin and Gardner by surprise. They did not say anything to each other, but it was obvious to the two that they both expected Gardner to have a better rank than Aurin. Gardner departed, leaving Aurin and Hunter as the last two tamers standing in the entrance hall.
“Tamer number two, Master Aurin,” said Lord Kensington.
Aurin immediately ran through the door and turned left, leaping down the stairs as he summoned his Minakai. Shamtile, Gorunze and Snippet all appeared in bursts of light. Nobody else was nearby, but Aurin could see a few tamers running off into the distance.
“Follow me,” Aurin said to his three Minakai and they all made their way towards the fountain. “We’re going to have to play this smart if we want to say in the game until the end.”