MORNING ROUTINE

IN THE PALACE OF THE KING

A servant was stationed near the king's seat. To keep himself occupied, King Vonner sat on it, gnawing away at his nails. For the past two days, he had not left his palace. When he learned of Mr. Starkridge's death, he knew he was next on the assassin's hit list.

The queen sat next to him, as usual, completely silent. The servant gulped hard and fidgeted behind his back with his fingers. He wiped a stream of sweat that threatened to run down his face every now and again. He didn't want the king to notice how terrified he was.

“So you're telling me the cops haven't discovered the boy yet?” He inquired, his eyes widening as he yelled at the servant. As he screamed, a jet of spit escaped his mouth unintentionally. He didn't bother wiping away a speck of it that had remained on his chin. Before he spoke again, the servant glanced at it awkwardly.

“Sir, no. They claim they have no way of getting in touch with him. He has not taken public transportation and is not registered as an Ithean, so they are unable to trace his activities; he may be paying cash for whatever he purchases,” the servant explained. King Vonner screamed his way out of his seat, ironing a crease in his jacket. His trousers had collapsed in the area around his knees, revealing his pink socks, which were adorned with flowers. The servant was almost duped into lowering his guard because his gaze was fixed on the socks.

The monarch snatched an empty glass from an armrest and hurled it across the room. It whizzed by the servant's ears so quickly that he didn't even flinch; he was only startled when he heard it break behind him.

“Tell that dumb police director that if he doesn't bring me that bastard youngster before dark, I'll have his head!” the king said. As he ascended the stairway to his chambers, he burst out of the room with loud steps. The queen descended the thrones in style, delicately picking up her lengthy gown. Because the servant saw she was wearing heels and would fall, he ran over to her and grasped her hand, seeking to assist her descent. The queen drew her hand back, almost tripping over herself. The servant could see her huge eyes and shrinking pupils through her white veil draped over her face. He observed the black ring around her eyes, as well as the bloated bags underneath them, as she peered at him.

Until he recognised the hand he was reaching for, the servant had no idea what he had done. The queen's wrist was swollen and painful, with red blotches all over her flesh. The servant spotted the bruises on her face after a closer look. The queen tried her hardest to conceal them underneath her make-up and veil, but they stood out far too much to be overlooked. Her face was covered in lumps, and a scarlet blotch across her neck indicated that she had been abused by her abusive spouse. The servant was speechless and stood there for a long time, unable to make a decision. The queen walked down the stairwell, avoiding eye contact with him. She finally stepped onto the marble floor and made her way to the stairwell. The servants noted the queen's limp and how she favoured her right side, occasionally laying her hand on her hip as she walked up the stairs, albeit it was subtle.

SUNSET CITY

The pupils were awoken by a cool breeze in the morning. Norval was always the first to arrive. He was up even the before the day shift shit receptionist had reported to work. He saw the night shift receptionist in her seat sleeping through the night, and he rudely disrupted her sleep by asking for instructions so he could leave for his morning exercise. Later, just before dawn, Luciana and Jalon awoke, before the night sky had been consumed by the dazzling beams of the rising sun. Despite the fact that their rooms contained a completely functional shower, Luciana chose not to use it. The weather was bitterly cold, and her body had tightened from continual travel; she needed to unwind. She was used to dipping her body in a chilly bathtub, but when she heard that the hotel featured a luxury pool on the rooftop, she couldn't pass up the opportunity to try it out before the trials started that day. She knew the swimming pool would be bone-chillingly cold, precisely what she needed to alleviate the pain in her muscles. She slipped her slim, curvaceous form into her blue and pink swimsuit and covered it with a robe she found in one of her room's drawers.

She walked past Jalon's room and could still hear the TV's blasting volume. Jalon was a gaming enthusiast, so Luciana assumed he had been broadcasting his gaming throughout the night, or that he had gone live on his social media account and blurted out his experiences from the trials to his fans. Jalon was a night owl, so he'd most likely be sleeping at that hour, and Luciana had no desire to trouble him, though she did love tormenting him and listening to his bizarre stories.

The elevator ride to the top floor was quiet, which was just what she needed. When she got on the rooftop, there was an open bar by the blue-lit pool, with seats and beach chairs tossed about carelessly. It appeared that there had been a crazy party, and the employees had forgotten to clean up. Luciana untied her robe and sat down in one of the poolside seats. She sucked in her stomach and narrowed her eyes at the motionless water inside the pool. The lighting tubes beneath the pool gave the water mass a supernatural appearance as if she were about to enter a vortex.

She dipped her toe in first to mentally prepare herself, but the water retaliated with an incredible shock of freezing cold, sending shivers up her spine. Her skin began to break out in goosebumps, and she began to have second thoughts. She eventually spoke up for herself and imagined being pushed from behind. She dove into the water in an unusual manner, more like a bag of potatoes tipped by the wind than a diver. As her body came into contact with the water, she caused a massive splash. She was buried deep into the pool for a few seconds and couldn't breathe; she eventually reappeared and took a deep breath, inhaling as much oxygen as her lungs could handle.

As she swam in the frigid water, she trembled as her body temperature fell and her teeth ground against one other. She eventually grew accustomed to the cold and sought refuge in a corner, where she leaned her back, closed her eyes, and began to dream. She periodically opened her eyes and looked up at the sky; clouds obscured the stars, which bothered her slightly; however, she appeared to forget this, and after a while she would look up again and see the dense clouds, smacking her lips. She was enjoying some alone time when the coolness seeped into her muscles, entwining them and alleviating the painful sensations.

There was a door on the other side of the rooftop that led to the stairwell. It swung open and closed on its hinges, eventually crashing into the walls. Luciana, who was calmly swimming her worries away within the pool, was startled by the impact. She took a deep breath and her pupils dilated quickly, indicating that she was very alert.

Her loud heartbeat made ripples in the water beneath her chin, and she felt her limbs tighten. She could hear footsteps arriving soon after. She initially assumed it was the cleaning crew arriving, but quickly realised it was too early for the cleaning crew to report to work. She rotated her head slowly to see who the stranger was, and she eventually saw him. He was dressed in a robe similar to the one Luciana had discovered in her closet. His long hair was twisted in a bun behind his head, and he had a half-eaten sandwich in his hands. Some hair strands escaped the band's grasp and hung over his face, making it difficult for Luciana to see his face clearly. He was listening to music and scrolling through his phone on the open bar's countertop while rocking his head back and forth. He ate his sandwich while scrolling through his phone, periodically adjusting the earphones that were stuck in his ears.

“Hey!” Luciana yelled at him, but he remained silent. As he swallowed the meal in his mouth and let out a slight whistle, savouring the music playing in his head, it appeared that he had finally discovered what he was seeking. He let the robe fall to the ground after untying the belt around his waist that held it to his body. Luciana was on the verge of screaming because she suspected he was naked.

She shouted once more at him but he seemed to genuinely not hear her. Thankfully, he was dressed in trunks. Luciana was ready to let out another yell until she finally saw his face. His symmetrical face shone, and he was nothing like the man Luciana had seen earlier on Jalon's phone screen on their trip to Sunset City; he was completely different. The way his prominent jawline shifted from side to side as he nibbled on his sandwich fascinated Luciana. The light from the pool's water seemed to shine off his silky skin, which was unusually smooth for a man his age. His face was meant to be covered in acne caused by adolescence, but he appeared to be free of scars and imperfections. He wasn't large, and his muscles weren't bulging, but his body was well defined, and his muscles stood out like they'd been sculpted by a skilled hand using nothing but a chisel.

His eyes connected with Luciana as he began his descent into the water, and they were trapped in a dance of glares as their eyes battled.

“Do you have any idea what you're doing?” Luciana had inquired. She was taken aback by how high her voice soared.

“Isn't this a public pool?”   He dipped in the rest and remarked, “Last time I checked, it was open to everyone.”

“Well find another spot to sit in. you are too close to me for my comfort,” Luciana said, retracting her arms and wrapping them around her chest.

The man took a few moments to realise what was going on before pulling his leg out of the water and waiving his hands as he backed away. As he retreated, a piece of kale jumped from his sandwich, almost landing in the pool,”Whoa whoa don't get the wrong impression lady!"  As he backed away, he remarked, "I'm just here to go for a swim, like you." Luciana assumed he was returning to where he had come from, but he picked up the robe he had brought and strolled across to the other side of the pool. He laid the robe on another chair and returned to the pool.

After he was fully submerged, he leaned his elbows on the pool's edge and continued to listen to his music, while Luciana remained on the opposite side of the pool, staring at him with a repulsive expression because he had ruined her alone time. Her eyes were raging and she felt like tilting the entire building so that the man would fall off it. There was no mistaking it, he was Vandrad Stanier, the self taught Lorth mage from the Sacred Mountains of the South.