78: Changing things up

We met in the Grand Hall, the place that had, by now, seen its fair share of comical displays of vampiric idiocy. In fact, now the silver table and beautifully polished chairs had lost their grandness, and their shine had become dull.
I took a seat beside Sebastian and Liam and Xavier sat across from us. Demetri waited outside of the Grand Hall. Unfortunately, this meeting was exclusive to those it concerned, and the council decided that this did not concern him.
“What do you think this is about?” I asked Sebastian as I reached for his hand under the table and held it in mine. He smiled briefly, and then let his smile disappear in fear of the nobles noticing.
“I’m not sure either. It’s unlike the council to gather us on such short notice. It must be important.” He said in a low whisper. I nodded and then turned my attention back to the table. Some of the nobles were unfamiliar to me, and I could only recall meeting them at the previous grand meeting. I suppose some of them preferred not to stay here, and wondered, for a moment, if it had anything to do with me and my presence here.
It took a moment or so before all the nobles found themselves seated at the table, all dressed, once again, in that shade of deep maroon. Amongst them, was Meera, who stood out amongst the rest with her intense air of superiority and false sense of decorum. She smirked at me and placed her hands neatly on the table in front of her. Her smirk was unsettling, and her brown eyes held a skin-crawling look in it. It was a familiar look, one which I recalled from centuries ago, and the idea brought back a sense of revolting, uncomfortable nostalgia. I scratched at my skin, itchy suddenly and then looked away from her.
“I apologise for the late-night meeting. However, the council has decided on changing the date of the Games of Successio. Meera?” The tall, lean blond man who’d said this tilted his head to Meera and motioned for her to continue.
By now the table had begun to break into a series of hushed whispers and surprised comments. I couldn’t deny that even I was surprised, and so I glanced at Sebastian with my brows raised in astonishment. He matched my look, but we said nothing to each other. Instead, my mind began to fill with the possibility that perhaps we’d receive more time to prepare for these games. It wasn’t so much that I needed more time to practise, but I hadn’t trained in all the rooms as yet and I figured that it would give me an added advantage to have practised in each of them.
Meera stood up with her eyes never leaving me once. I could feel it, like a layer of dirt covering me, and eventually, I had no choice but to meet her intrusive eyes again. They glinted with something downright wicked, and I could see from the corner of her mouth, a small smirk beginning to form. It was then that I realised that whatever news the council had to bestow on us, it would be bad news. How bad? I could not yet tell.
“Well, I think our kingdom has become in dire need of a new monarch. As of late, there has been quite a bit of unrest amongst not only the vampires, but the werewolves as well. It seems the fact that our dear Phoenix has a claim to the throne has finally reached all of the ears it had to. Not only that, but after today’s little… incident-” the entire table shifted their focus towards me, and I let out a bashful smirk, “-I think it’s time we finally settle this brewing tension amongst these young nobles. We need our eternal monarch, and we need them right at this second. We’ve prided ourselves on our superiority regarding how our system of governance works, and yet it is about to fall to pieces.” It was at this moment that she finally shifted her gaze from me and let her eyes wander amongst the faces at the table. I could barely breathe, wondering what she’d say next, and I was nothing, if not heartbroken when she finally uttered her next few words. “The games will begin tomorrow.”
The entire table shook the moment it left her mouth. Shouts arose, cries, gasps, violent words of disagreement. But I uttered not a single word. Instead, I just stared down at the table, and strangely this foreign sense of amusement began to flood over me. She knew we knew her true identity, that was obvious by this annoying decision she’d made. I wondered, however if it was worth all the clear hatred being thrown at her at this very moment.
But Meera seemed unphased by the commotion at the table, and I found her eyes back on me, watching and waiting for a good reaction. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction though. Instead, I continued my blank stare until I heard Sebastian yell next to me. His hand still clutched at mine under the table, only I could feel him shaking in anger.
“This is outrageous! Who the hell do you think you are!”
Meera raised a brow, “Who the hell do *you* think you are, Sebastian. The last time I checked, you were nothing but Phoenix’s advisor. You’re a servant, her servant, and that’s all you’ll ever be.”
To anyone who didn’t know the past the three of us shared, it would have sounded like a careless insult inflicted by Meera. But not us. Her words were loaded with centuries worth of hatred and resentment for her son, and it was now clear on her face. But Meera wasn’t done with her tricks just yet. She stood up, placed her hand on the table, silencing everyone, and then clapped her hands. Immediately servants pooled into the room and took their places behind each and every noble offspring, including me.
“Now, this year we have decided to change things up a little. It wouldn’t be right to have an exact replica of the previous games.”
She then nodded once, smiled at me and suddenly, I felt this sharp pain in my neck. I touched at the spot in which I felt pain and then brought my fingers forward where I inspected them. Blood glistened against my fingers. I looked up and was surprised to see that now, the servants had begun injecting something into the other nobles’ necks.
Sebastian glanced towards me, worried, and then glanced back at the servant. I could see his lips moving frantically, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. All I could hear was a loud, irritating ringing within my ears. I pulled at my ear and grunted in discomfort. And then, slowly my vision began to blur, and I could no longer even make out the people around me. All I saw were colours which slowly swirled before me and transformed into a dark black. The last thing I felt before falling completely unconscious was the coldness of the floor beneath me.
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Tricky, tricky Meera.
Stay safe! Stay healthy! Sending my love!