“I guess we should get dressed now,” Mercy said as they walked back through the castle entrance.

“I’m not getting changed at all,” Tallow said. “I don’t want to have to look good for some stupid-”

“Hey!” Mallory ran back to them, holding a package. “I almost forgot something!”

He handed the package to Tallow.

“What’s this?” Tallow asked.

“It’s a package from Sabez,” Mallory responded. “It’s for you. He says to be on your best behavior, and to represent the Vindhazi with elegance and pride.”

“You… told him?” Tallow asked. “You’ve been sending messages to him?”

“No way,” Mallory answered. “Lana told him. They’ve been in contact, remember?”

Mallory waved the package in her face.

“He said to make sure you didn’t throw it out.”

Tallow sighed. She grabbed the package and tore it open.

“I gotta go, see you guys there!” Mallory ran back off to the main hall.

Jon looked past the soldiers blocking off the main hall and saw lots of food and people talking. It was still a bit hard to see past everyone’s waists.

“Aw, damn.” Tallow held up a golden badge with blue colors on it.

“You have to wear that?” Mercy asked. “That’s kind of cool.”

“It’s lame,” Tallow said. “But whatever. I’ll have to take this one seriously.”

“I’ll walk you to your room.” Mercy said.

Mercy grabbed Jon and they followed Tallow into the hallway until they were in front of her room again.

“Alright, Jon, I’ll take a moment,” Tallow said.

“What do you mean?” Mercy asked. “He’s coming with me.”

“...You’re gonna drag him up the stairs?” Tallow put her hands on her hips.

“Why should he stay with you?” Mercy responded.

Oh no. Jon looked at his gun.

Could he use it? Back in the gym, he fired the biggest blast he had ever seen. If he could shoot something bigger than normal, then maybe he could shoot something smaller than normal.

Or maybe it wouldn’t matter.

Jon pointed the gun forward and fired.

The wheelchair blasted backward until he was at the end of the hallway.

Mercy and Tallow watch him with confused glares.

Jon waved. At least this way, if he could take care of himself, they wouldn’t argue and more.

He shot again to the side to turn the wheelchair 90 degrees, then fired again to launch himself down the hallway.

Jon had rolled in the wheelchair enough to recognize his way back to the main hall. He was soon within view of the ball.

He wondered if there was any way he could shoot himself at the guards without scaring or bumping into them.

“Jon.”

Jon looked and saw Macy. She was dressed in a large pink skirt that went down to her ankles, and a top that matched in color. The arms were long and flowy, and it stopped at just above her belly button.

“...You look nice,” Jon said.

“Awe, how sweet.” Macy rubbed his cheek. “You wanna get in and annoy my brother?”

Jon nodded until he heard the second part of the question.

It hadn’t mattered, as Macy had already grabbed Jon’s wheelchair and pushed him towards the men before he could respond.

“Outta the way!” Macy said. “Before I bust you in the jaw!”

Two of the guards looked at each other, trying to decide what to do.

“Let her in!” Mallory came to the rescue, gesturing for the guards to let them in.

Macy pushed his chair in.

“Why didn’t you just tell them who you are?” Mallory asked Macy.

“'Cause, I don’t wanna get stuff because of my brother,” Macy responded.

“You’re in the castle because of your brother,” Mallory added.

“Please don’t remind me.”

Mallory reached for Jon’s chair, but Macy slapped his hand.

“No! He goes wherever he wants, right Jon?” Macy asked.

Jon opened his mouth to answer but didn’t know what to say.

“And besides,” Macy added, “aren’t you busy, Mallory. Talking the talk?”

“Yeah…” Mallory said, peeking back and forth between the rest of the crowd and Macy. “But if Jon needs my help-”

“I don’t think Jon needs your help. You want Mallory to do his job, right?”

Jon nodded.

“Come on, Jon. I don’t have anything to do,” Macy said. “You can follow me.”

She began to walk away.

When Jon didn’t follow her, she stopped.

“You can make it, can’t you?” she asked.

She continued walking.

Jon nodded. He began to turn his wheels to go after her.

“Wait!” Mallory grabbed Jon’s shoulder.

Jon looked up at him to hear what he had to say.

“...Be careful, Jon. I know you’re trying to be a stellar guy, but remember what they say.. Play with fire, you get burned.”

Jon frowned, but he nodded in response.

He then pushed himself away.

Despite the ball being in a large place, there didn’t seem to be that many people in it. So, Jon had an easier time navigating himself through the crowd. Some people would even step out of his way without him having to speak.

He went around a conversation to catch a glimpse of Macy’s dress. Continuing on, he saw Amalia, who was in a large pink dress. It was larger than anything else anyone in the room was wearing.

Now, Jon was beginning to feel underdressed.

Amalia noticed him out of the corner of her eye.

“Jon!” she said. “Hi!”

Jon began to push, but Amalia ran over and grabbed his chair.

She pushed him over to Macy before taking her seat in a chair nearby.

“I was wondering how long it would take,” Macy said. “You wanna join our conversation?”

Jon nodded.

“So, like I was saying,” Macy turned to Amalia. “I think that Jordan is a way smaller size than Aaron, don’t you think?”

“Macy!” Amalia quickly hit Macy on the leg. “Come on!”

“I was obviously talking about his shoe size,” Macy commented.

“Ugh!” Amalia turned to Jon.

“Don’t mind her,” Amalia said. “She’s just being her. How’s your day been?”

Jon had begun to talk to her when they were approached by someone.

Jon looked to see who it was. It was someone who looked his age. He wore a nice yellow outfit.

Like Cecilia.

“Cecil,” Amalia said.

“Amalia, how wonderful to see you!” Cecil picked up Amalia’s hand and kissed it. Amalia didn’t seem too pleased.

“Please, Cecil, she just washed her hands,” Macy responded.

“I wasn't talking to you,” Cecil said. He turned his attention back to Amalia.

“My sister was so keen on coming here that my father canceled all of our plans to come here on time,” Cecil explained. “Apparently, she was the only one who felt indebted to do so.”

“There's people here!” Amalia said. “Just… it's early.”

“Hmm. Yeah.” His attention seemed focused on Junwata, who was talking with several other men. Junwata was definitely the skinniest one there, as well as the tallest. Jon wondered if it was because he walked a lot.

“It’s a funny world,” Cecil said, “when we start letting foreigners into our politics, right?”

“You can’t talk like that!” Amalia responded. “That’s rude!”

“Of course I can,” Cecil said simply while shrugging. “You can’t just have a new figure come in and start making demands and changes to a system they weren’t born a part of.”

“Isn’t that what your people do all the time?” Macy asked. “Get married with foreigners in order to consolidate power. Unless…”

She shrugged herself. “Maybe you do it the old way. You know? Keep it in the family? I suppose you and Cecilia would make a beautiful baby. Does it count as incest if it’s twins?”

“You’re… disgusting,” Cecil said.

“The only reason you can say that,” Macy said, stepping up close to him and pushing her finger into his chest, “is because if I hit you right now, you wouldn’t be able to get back up, and there’d be a real diplomatic-”

“Macy!” Hector’s shout had distracted both Cecil from being scared and Macy from being scary.

Macy seemed stuck in between emotions before her name was called again.

“Macy!” Hector was now standing behind her. “Dad’s calling you.”

He looked down. “Is that Jon?”

“Hi-”

“So, what?” Macy asked, cutting off Jon and seeming to have forgotten that Cecil was still standing there. She turned to her brother.

“I’m taking him,” Hector said before he snapped his fingers.

A small puff of fire appeared underneath and behind Jon’s chair, pushing him forward ever so slightly towards Hector.

Fun, Jon thought. Maybe I should learn fire.

He inched towards Hector, until another puff of flame ignited in front of him, sending him backward.

“He’s mine!” Macy said, her fingers up in a snap.

Hector snapped his fingers again, moving Jon forward again.

Macy snapped her fingers. Jon moved back.

Uh-oh.

After a couple of more snaps, which was gathering a crowd, Hector simply reached forward and grabbed Jon’s chair.

“Stop it!” Hector said. “Get your mitts off of him.”

Macy grabbed Jon’s chair from behind, leaning over his head. “Try it.”

Jon saw Hector’s hand try to make a fist while it was still holding onto the arm.

“Hector! Macy! What the hell’s wrong with you!” The crowd parted as Luther waved at them. “Come on! And leave the dang chair!”

Hector’s grip loosened, and Macy stood back up.

Jon felt a collective feeling grow between both of the siblings.

Macy came to Hector’s side and walked side by side to Luther.

Wow, Jon thought. There was something about watching the both of them walk together. It made him shiver.

“I don’t get why they have so much power here,” Cecil complained. “They’re… barbaric in the way they approach anything.”

“Luther has done more in this land than you could ever imagine,” Amalia responded. “And Hector and Macy have done more than their fair share in helping soothe the issues plaguing the countries. Both in their own way.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Cecil said. “People like that should be shoved under the rug and pushed out of the way. Not displayed to the public. Embarrassing.”

He turned to Jon. “I mean, what are you, a worker who snuck himself in the palace?”

“He’s a farmer,” Amalia said. She stood up. “And he and the other farmers should be respected. They’ve done more for this land than anything you’ve done in your whole life. They’ve helped save countless villages and even entire countries from starving during droughts! And the only reason Jon is in a wheelchair is because he put himself on the line to protect me, and I’ll be damned if I let you or anyone talk about him or his fellow countrymen like that ever again!”

She was breathing hard, but she didn’t let up from Cecil’s face.

“Okay… I… I apologize, princess… I’ll just…” Cecil walked away awkwardly.

The scorn slowly left Amalia’s face. “I’m sorry Jon, I… I just can’t. I…”

Jon reached up and grabbed her hand. He didn’t think that Amalia had to say any of what she did, but he still felt touched that she felt so strongly, even if he wasn’t that good of a farmer.

And it wasn’t just that she defended him and the farm, she defended Hector and Macy as well.

“I… I can’t believe I’m expected to marry a jerk like that!” Amalia continued. “It’s not fair! And when I thought that maybe me and Hector would be able to… I… I…”

She gripped Jon’s hand hard. It began to hurt, but Jon dealt with it.

“It’s not fair…” Amalia said. “Either I’m forced to marry someone I don’t love who wants me, or someone I do love who doesn’t want me… and I… I…”

She began tearing up. Jon reached up for her face. She sat down so that he could brush off her tears.

“Thank you, Jon,” she said. “You… you always seem to know what to do. I’ve never had a friend like you.”

“...Now you do,” Jon replied. He gave a small smile. He didn't want to make light of her pain, but he wanted to encourage her to look beyond that.

He didn’t know how to say that in words, but he figured the smile would suffice.

“Jon… Jon… you…” she leaned forward towards his face.

Jon wasn’t prepared. He accidentally pushed his chair back and sailed backward a few inches from her.

“Whoops…” Jon said in embarrassment.

Amalia giggled. “It’s fine, Jon.”

She held her hand out. “Come back to me…”

Jon rolled his chair forward to get back close to her.

He almost grabbed her hand when a black figure stepped in between them.

Jon had to look up. It was definitely Mercy, but she was wearing a long black jacket now.

“What is this?” Mercy asked, her voice sounding deeper than ever. “What are you doing with Jon?”

“I was… he… I…” Amalia stuttered.

“Tell me… what the hell…” Mercy tried to draw her tool, but Jon felt a swift gust of wind, and Tallow’s hand was on Mercy’s wrist. It looked like Tallow had to lean forward to reach her in time as well.

Tallow was breathing hard. She finally stood up, but she still held on to Mercy’s arm.

“Don’t… do that,” Tallow said, catching her breath. “You wouldn’t be that stupid.”

Jon saw that Tallow had also changed. She was still wearing a white cape and pants, but she wore a brown top that exposed her arms and shoulders, and her recently acquired badge hung on the cowl of her cape on her shoulder.

“You testing me?” Mercy asked.

“I’m asking you… to think of Jon…”

Jon didn’t know why he was so important in this conversation.

“That’s all I’m thinking about,” Mercy said, her eyes still trained on Amalia.

Unlike Cecil, Jon saw the fear in Amalia’s eyes. He tried to comfort her, reaching out.

“Ah!” Tallow said.

Jon stopped. He knew it was meant for him.

“You’re not gonna do this, now?” Tallow asked. “You’re so close, don’t screw it up!”

“She’s gonna screw it up.” Mercy ripped her grip away from Tallow. “This would all be pointless.”

“You’re not fighting to be with him,” Tallow said. “You’re fighting for the chance to be with him, and unless I’m missing something, it looks like you’re afraid of a little competition.”

Mercy’s eyes widened. ‘How dare-”

“Mercy.” Junwata approached the group. His calming voice and presence soothed Jon’s anxiety. “There you are. I was looking for you.”

“You could have found me whenever you wanted,” Mercy said, her eyes still trained on Amalia’s frantic glare.

“But I waited for you to make yourself be found,” Junwata replied.

He’s like Sabez… but taller…

“Come with me,” Junwata said. “And leave the poor girl alone.”

“Trying to save the defenseless?” Mercy asked.

“I didn’t say she was defenseless,” Junwata replied.

Mercy turned to Junwata, her expression softened.

“What do you…”

“Come on. Somewhere quiet.” Junwata walked away.

“Of course.” Mercy went to grab Jon’s chair. “Come on.”

“Bye,” Jon said to Amalia. “Feel better.”

“Jon…” Amalia watched as Tallow, Mercy, and Jon went away.

Jon could see Amalia’s hand release itself from the side of her dress.

Is that… her weapon?