The Column Racer (9 page)

Areli awoke screaming. Her parents surrounded her. Her mother held her around the waist and sang gently into her ears, and her father held her hand until she fell asleep once again, letting her mother’s soothing words take her far away from where they were. To the peace of sandy beaches and cascading waterfalls. But the pleasant dreams didn’t stay for long.

“Please, don’t make me do this,” cried Areli, the Emperor’s body pressed against her, steadying the crossbow against her shoulder.

“Just pull the trigger, Areli,” said the Emperor, “what is he to you? Just pull the trigger. It’s not like he’ll ever love you.”

“No,” cried Areli, “please, I beg of you. Please, don’t. I beg of you.”

“Either him or Kaia, Areli,” said the Emperor, “you decide.” Areli looked into Talon’s eyes, which were bloodshot and teary.

“I’m so sorry, Talon,” said Areli, “I’m so sorry.” She felt her finger begin to squeeze the trigger. A tear rolled down her cheek.

There was a knock on the door. Startled, Areli opened her eyes as Aria peeked her head past the door.

“I am sorry to disrupt, Miss Roberts,” said Aria, “but it’s time to wake. Everyone has a very busy day, and the cook has been up since before light to prepare for you and your family a satisfactory meal.” The young woman was a couple of inches shorter than her and adorned with expensive jewelry in her ears and on her fingers. She had long brown hair wrapped in a ponytail, which looked like someone had slashed at it with a sword, cutting it evenly across. She walked gracefully to the curtains and pulled them open.

Areli nudged her parents awake. Her father shielded his eyes from the light pouring in through the panes, and her mother mumbled non-sense until she finally opened hers. The three of them sat up in Areli’s bed, looking at Aria’s young, jubilant eyes as she stared down at them, still wearing her innocent and tactful smile.

“Breakfast is being set,” said Aria, “Mr. Roberts, you’re carriage is already outside, as is yours Miss Roberts. A bath is already being readied for each of you, and Miss Roberts, I hope you don’t mind, but I already took the liberty of laying out your papers on your dresser.” Her parents still had sleep in their eyes and fog in their ears and could only reply in nods and incoherent ‘thank-you's.’ Areli gave her customary nod.

“Miss Roberts, are you feeling well?” asked Aria, “is there anything I can get you?”

“No, I’m fine, Aria . . . thank you.” She wasn’t fine. She felt nauseous and felt like she was about to puke. Her forehead was covered in beads of sweat, and her face had lost all color. But she was grateful Aria had woken them up. Grateful to have escaped the nightmares that had plagued her as she slept.

The house was bustling with activity as Areli and her parents walked through the halls and down the steps to the dining room. Their new servants were eager to please their new masters. Areli smiled at any people they passed, hoping to be thought highly of by all who served them.

When they entered into the dining room, the table was filled with every breakfast item imaginable. There were freshly made dragon tracks, egg-battered bread, fried potatoes, biscuits, croissants, jellies, jams, and preserves. There was sausage, bacon, and cheeses, as well as eggs made to order. Their cups were never left empty, as each family member had a personal dining servant who filled their plates and their drinks.

Neither Areli nor her parents spoke much as they ate, and Areli was grateful no one mentioned the nightmares that stripped her of a restful night’s sleep. When everyone was finished and full to the point it hurt to move, they were escorted to their respected bathrooms to prepare for the day.

Each family member had assigned bathrooms on each level of their two-story mansion, as well as in the lower level beneath the home. There were also private bathrooms adjoined to their rooms, and this is where each of them was escorted. As Areli stepped into the tub of her bath, the warm water toiled to ease away her pain, and the bubbles worked to dissolve thoughts of the monster that now lived in her dreams and towered over her while she was awake.

When she was seated at her vanity, she asked her servants to apply light make-up, a request she was set on making every morning. To remember Emilee. As she stared into the mirror, she wished the hardened woman was with her now. She wished she could rescue her from such a horrific plight.

Areli’s servants pulled in a rack full of clothes that were created from the hands of the best designers and the most renowned fashion houses. Areli chose a simple, light-weight sweater, leather pants, and a gold jacket with a black belt. She looked at herself in the mirror as her servant’s fetched heels, which she wished she didn’t have to wear, but such shoes were custom here and were always required.

Areli grabbed her papers and documents from the dresser and nearly stumbled twice, almost twisting her ankle, as she walked to the lower level without really focusing on the position of her shoes.

Her parents were already standing by the door, as was Aria. They walked out to the parkway together, and Areli and her mother gave their best wishes to her father as he entered his carriage. They waved and watched after him until his carriage could no longer be seen past the bars of the front gate.

Areli hugged her mother forcefully, wishing she could take her with her, but she knew Aria was going to keep her busy the rest of the day. Areli looked at her carriage, which wasn’t crafted from pure gold like the one that carried them on their journey through Abhirn. This one was made of black lacquered wood with gold trimmings, and the crest of the Empire, which consisted of Emperor Abhiraja standing in-between two kneeling battle dragons, rested on its doors.

The roof seemed to have a million small statues of dragons facing the center, as a statue of Abhiraja stood there gathering their attention. The driver opened Areli’s door, and she got in, holding her mother’s hand. Both mother and daughter were reluctant to let go. But it was insisted upon by Aria that Areli was on a tight schedule. Their fingers relinquished their grasps, and both felt like they had fallen off a cliff.

“I love you, Areli,” said her mother, tears in her eyes.

“I love you, mother.”

As the door was shut, and as Areli’s carriage continued down the drive, she never took her eyes off her mother. Even when they were past the gates, Areli didn’t look away from where she pictured her mother standing. But as she sat forward, her eyes wandered to the gates of the other Hall riders and then across the lake. A feeling of warmth entered her, as she saw the glimmering of precious metals and stones on the other side.
You’re going to make it, Areli
, she told herself,
all you have to do is win
. Nothing would stop her from winning the World Race and protecting her family from the sadistic hands of the Emperor.

The streets were back to being full of beautiful people, carriages, and messengers on horseback. The center of the world had the best of everything. The most profitable businesses, the most talented artists, the greatest chefs, and the most passionate politicians. All brought to Abhi by a man whose skin didn’t reflect his heart. Emperor Ailesh loved beauty, and so did his father, and his father before that, and so the city of Abhi was free of the poor, the sick, and the ugly. Everything had to be perfect, at least on the exterior.

When they got back into the walls of the boarding hold, the outer landscape was more intricate than Areli had noticed the night before. Beyond the dragons were high hedges guarding the most beautiful and colorful gardens and fountains she had ever seen. The boarding facility itself had large columns on the outside which were made of marble and were connected to the stone by meticulously detailed fixtures. And a statue in the form of Emperor Abhiraja stood proudly in front of the building.

The stall room was nicely lit, as the ceilings were made of glass with metal webbing. The stalls were more detailed than Areli initially thought, as each door carried a specific story told in brush strokes. And each of the Hall stalls were empty, except for the final stall – her stall. Kaia was already on her feet, as she could sense Areli’s presence. A trailer was already waiting for them to use next to the stall door.

Guards and servants funneled out of doors as the carriage came to a halt. Areli was introduced to the facility’s commander and his high-ranking soldiers. She also met with the head servant of the facility, who instructed her that she could go to him or any of his workers for anything concerning the care of her dragon.

After Areli transferred Kaia into the trailer, they were led to the veterinary room where Kaia’s papers were scrutinized and updated if necessary. They didn’t need to wait long before a man with brown hair and a thin frame came to meet them. Like everyone else in Abhi, every blemish of his was masked by make-up.

She handed him Kaia’s papers, her skoggins, and shot sheet.

“Well, it all looks good,” said the vet, “I hope you don’t mind if we update the shots, and we should probably address her teeth and talons.” Areli nodded her head in agreement and stood next to Kaia as he prepared the needles. They were large, almost the length of her leg, and about just as thin. He dipped the needle into a large bottle sitting on a table. The bottle was full, but after the needle stabbed into it, its entire contents were transferred out.

“Alright, Miss Roberts,” said the vet, “I am going to need you to keep your dragon calm as I do these.” She nodded her head and allowed the veterinarian room as he prepared to give the first shot, which was to inhibit the breathing of fire. He opened Kaia’s mouth and Areli closed her eyes, focusing all of herself on relaying relaxing and soothing feelings to Kaia. She didn’t once let the thought of a man she barely knew, with a needle of gigantic proportions, fill her with doubt or fear. The vet positioned the needle into the back of Kaia’s mouth and stabbed it into the oil sacks in order to halt the formation of the flammable substance used to sustain the lanterns at night.

The next shot was to be injected into Kaia’s ovaries to prevent her from having babies. Areli continued to keep her dragon in a docile and sedated state to prevent any unnecessary movement that could cause the needle to go somewhere it shouldn’t, causing unspeakable and life-threatening consequences.

After the shots were given, the vet had Areli calm her dragon as he shaved down and rounded Kaia’s teeth and talons, and then afterwards, she and her dragon were taken to the tack room. They traveled by trailer again, as the facility was just too large and expansive to wander by foot. Even before they entered through the large doors, Areli knew that this would be the only time she would ever be in there, as servants were the ones in charge of washing and transporting the tack to the training and competition areas.

Inside the room, there were large gold lockers on both sides, which belonged to the Hall riders, followed by white-gold lockers for the Academy riders, and finally narrower wooden lockers for those housed in the condominiums. The trailer came to a halt in-between the first lockers, just in front of an older man with a thick white beard and a shaved head. Areli couldn’t help but laugh to herself.
I guess that’s one way not to have to wear make-up
, she thought as she was helped down onto the dark green marble floor.

The man was sharpening tools with arms so massive they seemed to want to break his shirt. He wore a white-as-clouds top and a dark leather apron that dangled just below his knees. He smiled at her, and then at her dragon, as Areli approached him with Kaia’s halter on.

“So, you’re the rider, huh,” said the man. Areli responded with only a slender smile.

“Well, when’s the last time you had your tack replaced?” Areli’s face turned pink as she looked down at the floor.

“That long huh,” said the saddlemaker with a chuckle, “so it’s true what they say then . . . Sector D, is laxed.” Areli stared hard into this man. She already didn’t like him. And he was wrong. Sector D wasn’t lax at all. It was a sector lying in ruin and flames, with death and misery rotting its center and its borders. But she kept these words from him – the last thing she wanted was a faulty saddle.

“Anyway,” said the man, “let us begin.” With a nod of his head, a servant went to place a ladder next to her dragon. “I’m going to need you to keep your dragon still, rider.” He grabbed a roll of measuring tape and climbed to the very top of the ladder that four servants had to steady. The end of the measurer was weighted and he let it fall to the ground gently, minding the marble.

“Fifty-one hands,” yelled the saddlemaker to a woman below, who jotted the number down on a chart. The man climbed down from the ladder and prompted the servants to bring him the scaler, which looked very much like a four poster bed. The posts of the scaler reached towards the top of the ceiling, but instead of a bed in the center, there was a wooden box with a door.

The scaler was wheeled next to Kaia’s side, and then lowered so the posts were placed firmly on the floor. The posts that weren’t facing towards her dragon were weighted with thick stone blocks. The saddle maker entered into the door and servants cranked the large steel handle on the side, lifting the man and the box higher, making clanking noises as he rose.

The man yelled when he was just above Kaia’s back and reminded Areli to keep her dragon steady. He wheeled out a plank that came to life beneath the box, continuing to push it out until it was at a distance at which he could walk out and be suspended above Kaia’s back.

He attached a leather vest around his chest with a thick cord to catch him in case he fell, and then he stepped out onto the fine oak plank and walked so he was just above Kaia’s back. With his measurer, he grabbed the proper increments for the tree of the saddle, which would serve as the base for everything else involved in creating it.