Lifted Spirits was twice as loud as it had any right to be. Archie saw about twenty people, but they made the noise of a hundred. The patrons sat around tables and couches and cushioned chairs, giving the impression of a lounge, but somehow the sound of a raging party filled the room.

The bartender stirred a massive cauldron of something brown and attended a dozen guests, while the waiters and waitresses handled the rest.

Nori pulled Archie over to two cushioned linen chairs that faced a shared coffee table surrounded by couches and chairs.

One of the sofas hosted a couple that were too into each other to be into anything else. On the other sofa, a young woman feigned interest as her male companion argued with the two other men in the chairs.

“No, no, no. Tataki is going to win it all. He’s just one match behind,” the man said. He swayed as he talked and put his drink upside down on the table. Archie expected to see liquid pour out onto the table, but nothing happened. Odd.

“Samphire is a lock. He’s going to repeat,” one of the others said.

“Dude, Tataki beat Samphire last month!”

“Yeah, but Samphire doesn’t lose to bad Chefs. Tataki dropped points to who? Laurel and Pepper Ivy?”

“Maybe he struggles against women?” the friend added.

Despite having only been to one match, Archie had plenty of opinions about the sport. He opened his mouth to share them but stopped when he noticed Nori. She shifted around in her chair, clearly uncomfortable, eyes looking anywhere but at the men in front of them.

“What’s up?” Archie asked her.

“Looking for a drink.” She spotted a waitress and flagged her down.

Archie slumped down in his chair and looked up. A mirror stretched across the entire ceiling, showing a tavern scene that seemed even more lively in the reflection. But something about it was…off.

“Hi there, welcome to Lifted Spirits,” the waitress said, bringing Archie’s attention back down. “First time here?”

“Yes,” Nori said too formally. Whatever childlike eagerness she had entered with had been ironed out of her.

“Okay! Well, I’d recommend starting off with a couple of Lifts. It really is a different experience up there.” She pointed at the ceiling.

Archie looked up again, wondering what she meant. He looked at where his reflection should have been—but that man was blonde, not brunette. The reflection drank and spilled. The liquid fell, fell, fell, splat!

Liquid hit the ground, splashing up on Archie’s shins. The man on the couch laughed and grabbed his upside down cup from the table, tilting it to pour up. Pastel blue liquid defied gravity as it rose and hit the reflection on the shoulder. The reflection looked back at them and laughed.

Archie felt his brain melting.

It didn’t make any sense.

Lift.

“Okay, two Lifts then,” Nori said. “How long does it last?”

Archie blinked. It wasn’t a reflection. It was the real Lifted Spirits. The party. The source of all of the noise. He was still waiting in the lobby.

“A standard pour will put you up there for about an hour. Him for just a little less. But we have a drink called The Comedown that can bring you down whenever you’d like.”

“No way!” the man on the couch yelled. “No shot he loses next week!”

The woman accompanying him rolled her eyes. “I’m going up,” she said as she took the upside down cup off the table and tilted it into her upper lip, holding the cup upside down the whole way.

“Oh, babe,” the man complained. “Wait.”

The woman levitated over the sofa. She spun slowly to put her feet above her head. “Have fun with your sports,” she said as she floated up.

Nori giggled, childlike wonder having brought her spirits back. “Yes, two of those, please.”

The waitress nodded and left while the man on the couch jumped up to try to grab his girlfriend. A trio in the corner picked up their instruments. One of them started tapping on his tabor drum, giving the room a fast, springy tempo to follow.

Nori settled back into an uncomfortable position. She looked around like she was deciphering a puzzle. The other members of the band started playing, one member blowing into a shawm while the other started fiddling on the lute.

“You good?” Archie asked, nearly yelling to be heard over the music and crowd.

“Yeah. I’ve never been in a place like this.”

Archie offered her a sarcastic grin. “You mean one with another floor on the ceiling?”

“No,” she said with feigned annoyance. Then she became unusually genuine. “I mean a place where you can have fun.”

“What?”

“I was kept on a tight schedule. Under lock and key. The only time I went somewhere without my dad knowing about it was…I have this aunt, she would always claim she was taking me to help carry groceries, but then we’d go get mochi and candies. But even she would never take me to a place like this.”

Archie shifted to settle in his chair. The uncomfortable question that he had always wanted to ask bubbled its way to the surface. “So like…why?”

“Why?”

“Yeah. Like, I don’t get it. What’s your family’s deal?”

Nori laughed at Archie’s ineloquence.

“Seriously,” Archie insisted. “So your family is Cafe Julienne famous. Why are they such hard-asses?”

“You think we’re Cafe Julienne famous?” Nori’s face held a frozen laugh, her eyebrows raised in disbelief. She knew something he didn’t.

“Aren’t you?”

“Cafe Julienne,” Nori said as she put one hand at shoulder-level. “Harper clan.” She put her other hand above her head. For as much as she had sworn off her family, she performed the gesture with pride and always spoke of them as ‘we.’

“Really?”

“Well, not to say that our restaurants are any more revered than Cafe Julienne—”

“Wait, restaurant-s?” Archie put extra emphasis on the ‘s.’

“Yeah. There are seven.”

“Seven?!”

“Yeah. Two on the mainland. Five on five different islands. Although two or three of those are small. Not The Gift small.” She laughed. “My dad runs Shilkai on the main island. That’s the main restaurant.”

“So you’re like…mainline Harper blood?”

Nori sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yes. So I’m supposed to be perfect. Anyways, I was saying—food is just a small part of the Harper clan.” She looked around, realizing she had been speaking too loudly. She leaned in. “The military is the rest of it.”

Archie laughed. “Is that supposed to be a secret? Are you a spy?”

Nori was not amused. “The war wasn’t that long ago. Chances are, someone here had a dad killed by a Harper. I’d rather not draw attention and end up in a relative-for-relative situation.”

Archie shifted back in his seat, unsure how to respond. “So uh…a lot of good fighters, then?”

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Nori shrugged playfully. “Apparently once Tataki learns how to fight against girls, we’ll have an IKC champion.”

Archie sat up, adrenaline pumping through him. “Tataki is a Harper?”

Nori nodded. “My cousin.”

Archie stood up. “What?!”

Nori yanked his arm down, forcing him back into his seat.

Archie did his best to contain his excitement, but still came up short. “Oh my. Can you—can we—can you set up a meeting? Can I meet him? That’d be so—”

Nori’s face turned to stone, causing Archie’s manic ramblings to peter out.

“I’m not exactly on speaking terms with my family,” she reminded him.

“Oh. Right.” Archie deflated like a balloon. “I’m guessing that’s why you left—one of the things you don’t like about them.”

“What?”

“You know, um, that they’ve…killed a lot of people.”

Nori chuckled and shook her head. “I mean, I don’t love it. But…Look, there’s the royal family, right? And then there’s the family that exerts the royal family’s will.”

Nori stretched her shoulders back, revving up for a speech that she had undoubtedly told herself many times before running away.

“The Harper clan…we call ourselves enforcers, but really, we’re bullies. Shilkai is the greatest restaurant in Uroko. And it’ll stay that way because we keep it that way. Uroko Institute? It’s not like the Academy of Ambrosia. It’s controlled from the outside. By us. You want to rank up in Uroko? You better do something for the Harpers.

“And that’s just domestically. Did you know that thousands of people die in Khala every year from starvation? Starvation, Archie. Their lands don’t have enough essence, so they have to rely on the sea. But Uroko controls the sea. The Harpers control the sea. And we let them fish just enough to keep them alive. Just enough to keep them underfoot. You think United Ambrosia is made of five kingdoms? Khala belongs to Uroko, and the Harpers keep it that way.

“That’s why I ran away. That’s why…we’re just…they’re just…not a force for good.” Nori gave a great, heaving sigh. “I still feel…like I’m not doing enough. To counteract it. I don’t know. I need to…I’m glad Rowan is my sponsor. I think The Gift is exactly what I need to be doing. I should spend more time there.”

Archie blinked.

Nori sighed.

The party continued overhead.

“Nori…you don’t…” Archie scratched his cheek. “You shouldn’t feel guilty about what your family’s done.”

Nori stared at the ground. “Is that what you tell yourself?”

“Alright, here’s those drinks!” The waitress’s bubbly voice broke through the doom and gloom of their conversation. She held a tray with two upside down cups on it.

Nori’s face lit up, shedding its grief in a heartbeat. She was practiced at feeling bad and knew how to come out of it.

It took Archie a little longer.

Nori snatched up her cup, spilling a little bit of liquid that dribbled up to the ceiling. “Ah!”

Archie took his slowly. “Thanks,” Archie said to the waitress as he paid her.

Nori raised her eyebrows at Archie. “Meet you up there?”

She tried to move the cup to her mouth, spilling in the process. Her laughter snapped Archie out of his pensive state. Now wasn’t the time for thoughts. Now was the time for drinks!

“You’re not gonna have any left to drink!”

“Okay.” She took a second to figure out how to operate the drink. She put the lip of the cup to her upper lip and tilted her head down, angling the cup away from her to take a sip.

“Oh!” She laughed as her body tilted forward. More drink spilled from her cup. She took another sip. “Do you remember the first time we ever really spoke to each other?”

Archie thought back to the cold, distant girl he had met when he first arrived. “Uh—”

“At the feast? It went something like this.” She took a massive swig, her body drifting up off the couch as she swallowed.

“Nori, Nori!” she said in a whiny mockery of Archie’s voice. “Help me! Help—ah!” Her body rotated unexpectedly, her feet rising above her head. She grabbed Archie’s hand to tether herself to the ground.

But she didn’t stop. She took another drink and dropped her cup. Her cup spun as it toppled to the ground, pastel blue drops going up as the cup went down. She laughed as she continued her impersonation. “Pull me down, Nori! Pull me down!”

“Oh yeah?” Archie bent his head down and drank. The sweet burn of brandy pooled on the roof of his mouth, requiring him to swallow forcibly to get it down. He kept drinking, feeling lighter with each swallow. Eventually, his weight could no longer anchor Nori, and the two started to drift upward.

Nori couldn’t stop laughing. “Nori, no!” she yelled. “We’re going to float awaaaay!”

Archie jumped off the chair as he finished drinking, launching them at the ceiling. Nori screamed in delight as Archie yanked her arm, spinning himself around and putting himself closer to the ceiling in the process.

Above them—or below?—a man looked up—or down?— and jumped out of the way. Archie landed hard, guiding Nori down gently with both arms.

“Thaaaank you,” she said with a giggle.

It only took Archie a moment to get accustomed to his new surroundings. This part of the tavern had no couches or lounge chairs. Instead, wooden chairs were nailed down and mostly unoccupied—no one wanted to sit once they were lifted.

Standard cups had been swapped out for martini and whiskey glasses. People waved streamers that waved above—or below?—their heads. Bartenders poured upside down—or rightside up?—drinks with expert deftness.

Still holding Archie’s hand, Nori pushed through a crowd to get to the bar.

The counter had two shelves with display drinks. From Archie’s perspective, the bottom shelf contained little paper triangles that labeled the drinks that hung upside down from the shelf above, the liquid seeming to defy gravity. On the upper shelf, a pastel blue drink sat upright with a little label next to it that said, “Stay Lifted.”

Nori bent down to look at the variety of drinks. The bartender, a young blonde woman with the determination to get a tip, walked over.

“Did you just come up?” she asked.

“Yeah. So what are these?” Nori said.

“Alright, we have seven drinks. First, we have one that you should already be familiar with. The Lift.” She motioned to the upright pastel blue drink. “In case you want to stay lifted longer. Then we have The Comedown.”

She motioned to a stout glass with brown liquid. Archie looked closer, noticing pastel blue liquid trapped in a second layer of the glass.

“The Comedown is for if you want to leave before The Lift wears off. Not sure why you would though. Next is The Groove. This one puts a tune in your head that will have you dancing out of your shoes.”

Archie looked at The Groove, a tall, slender glass of colorful liquid garnished with a lemon. Another layer of pastel blue liquid was sealed into the glass.

“This green one is Hysterics. It’s laughter made liquid.”

A curvy cocktail glass of frothy green liquid. The short stem had a little orb of pastel blue liquid in it.

“Sorry,” Archie interrupted. “What’s the blue in all of these?”

“That’s a little bit of The Lift that we put in all the glasses. So that when people get drunk and drop their glass, their liquid pours out but the glass stays up here. One second.”

The waitress poured a couple of drinks for another patron. Archie remembered the liquid that had almost hit him earlier. Better that than a cocktail glass. The waitress returned.

“Three more. Confession…”

Pink liquid with a mist rising from its elegant martini glass.

“If one of you lovebirds has pent up feelings, this’ll have you spilling your guts.”

Archie slipped his hand out of Nori’s. Nori’s neck went rigid, preventing her from turning to Archie.

Nope. Not drinking that. No way.

“This little glass of sunshine is Early Morning. For those that have work tomorrow. One drink will put you under—or over—the table, but after a couple of hours, it’s totally out of your system.”

A nice orange and yellow blend in a square glass with an orange garnish.

“And finally, Prismatic. It makes you see different colors. It’s…wild. I can’t explain it well—you really have to experience it. Oh, hold on. You two decide, I’ll be right back.”

The bartender went to pour a couple of drinks for someone else. City speed.

“What do you think?” Nori said to Archie without turning to him.

“Uhhh. Early Morning sounds pretty practical.”

Nori looked back at Archie, standing on her tiptoes to put her face near his. “Boooooooo! Booooo!”

Archie recoiled and laughed. “What? I want to work on cooking pasta tomorrow.”

“Booooo!”

“You pick, then.”

“I wanna dance! I’m getting groovy. And then you get the Prismatic. Because you need to color shift your attitude.”

Archie smiled, his cheeks going a little numb. Even without the drink, Nori danced a little. Whatever inhibitions she normally carried had been left behind on the ground floor.

The bartender returned. “Sorry about that,” she said. “We lost an employee last week, so we’re slammed. Normally I have someone working up here with me, but he’s back helping make the drinks. Anyways, what’ll it be?”

“The Groove for me,” Nori said. “Prismatic for him.”

“Good choice.”

The band kicked it into a new gear, filling the entire tavern with a wall of noise.

“So like, are you hiring?” Nori yelled as the bartender poured.

“For a drinkmaker, yeah. You interested?”

“Not me. I’ve got a friend. He’s a Student Chef.”

“Send him around.”

The bartender handed the upside down drinks over. Archie looked at his—a tall, slender glass full of liquid that shifted from yellow to blue to red to purple. Nori clinked their glasses together.

“Cheers!” She threw her drink back, taking half of it in one pull.

Archie had to rush to match her enthusiasm, bringing the drink to his upper lip and spilling as he drank. It tasted sweet, then sour, then spicy, then strong, then sweet again.

“Chug it!” Nori yelled.

Archie only managed an extra swallow before the alcohol overpowered him. One of his eyes twitched and went foggy. He rubbed it until it stopped twitching, but his vision doubled. He saw two overlapping Nori’s—the tan, black-haired Nori he knew and another Nori, this one with sky blue skin and silver-white hair.

“Come on!” Nori grabbed his arm and pulled. He resisted just long enough to take another drink. As Nori pulled him to the dance floor, his vision undoubled, leaving only the new Nori as she started dance-walking across the lime green wood.

Nori let go and started dancing on her own, leaving Archie stranded in the midst of multi-colored aliens. The lanterns cast a pale purple that clashed with the pinks and oranges and greens that filled the room.

Archie felt like he had fallen into a painting, pulling and stretching all the colors of the canvas with him as he fell into some technicolored dreamscape.

“Dance with me!” Nori yelled. She churned one of her arms to the side and back, her hips swaying opposite to the motion as her feet slid back and forth in little circles.

Archie tried to listen to the music, trying to figure out what Nori was hearing that he wasn’t that made her dance that way. The colors overwhelmed him, drowning out his other senses. Nori shuffled over to him.

“Here!” she said as she put her drink to his lips. He swallowed once and pulled away.

“I don’t drink much.”

“Oh, you’ll be fine.” She pushed her drink back to his lips and took his drink, her blue fingers sliding across his red hand.

She drank the rest of the Prismatic, her eyes going wide as the world shifted.

Archie heard a tune in his head. Thumping, pulsing, but distant. With each swallow of The Groove, the music got louder, filling his head. He looked down at his turquoise shoes, which seemed to be moving on their own.

Archie and Nori looked at each other and laughed. Their swaying synced up to the same beat. As Nori got close and danced, Archie noticed her cheeks start to turn dark green.