"Okay, Freddy, here's the zombie powder," Zane said, handing me a small, sealed bag of reddish dust.
"Is that really what it's called?" I asked, tucking it into an inside pocket of my suit.
"No, it's got some fancy Latin name, but that's what I like to call it," Zane replied with a sly grin.
We were in a small waiting room at the top of a massive staircase that led down into the banquet hall of the old castle. Travel up to the surface from below had been pretty congested with everyone trying to get up for the gala, but somehow, nearly a thousand people had successfully made the trip. I could hear the noise of the crowd that was gathered down in the banquet hall, and my nerves were about to overtake my senses. Not only was I anxious about being presented to all those people and playing my guitar in front of them, but I was also on edge about Zane's risky plan to get me to Indiana.
"Near the end of the banquet, they're going to do a ceremonial toast for your entrance into Gulbranian society," Zane explained. "Just pour the powder in your glass and drink it down. Make sure you're not near anything sharp because you'll lose consciousness immediately, and you don't want to injure yourself unnecessarily. It'll look like someone poisoned you, and you'll appear lifeless for about three hours."
"And then what?"
"The security team will transport you to the airport. You should be awake by the time you get there."
I shook my head. There seemed to be a million things that could go wrong with this plan. "How do you think my parents are going to feel about this when they find out?"
"Oh, they'll be livid," Zane replied. "They'll go berserk. I might just lose my job," he added, smiling excitedly. "But if it gives them an advantage over the Jumerum, and I think it will, then they'll forgive me. And you'll get to see your girl, so, it's a win-win!"
I gulped. Nothing about this seemed like a win-win. I felt immense guilt at the impending grief I was going to be inflicting on my parents. What kind of son was I? To fake my own death just to go see some girl? And yet, she wasn't just some girl. She was the girl of my dreams, and she loved me. Plus, my parents had put me through a lot of pain over the past ten years, so I figured that on some level, this was payback.
"Anyway," Zane said, patting me on the back, "I've got to go. Your date is going to be here soon. Good luck!" Then he turned and nearly skipped out the door.
I looked once again at my reflection in the mirror across the room. I had to admit that the royal suit was really nice, with its regal high neck and the threads of Gulbranak woven in. I once again had to remind myself that this was the real me, even though I still felt like that scrawny guy that had been tormented so often back in Indiana. A few moments later I heard giggling outside the door, and I knew that Kirsten had arrived. I took a deep breath and stepped out to meet her.
"Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed. "You look so amazing!"
I reddened. Her unadulterated adoration was a little embarrassing. "You look very nice as well," I replied. She did, in fact, look very pretty. Her blonde hair was done up and she was wearing a pink dress that was probably a little too tight, but my thoughts at that moment were almost entirely on Kayla. Nothing could compare to her beauty, the kind that radiated from deep within her because of the amazing person she was.
Kirsten took her phone out of a small clutch and handed it to a guard that was standing at the top of the staircase.
"Will you take our picture?" She gushed, grabbing my arm and pulling me closer. The guard quickly complied, then instructed us to wait silently for the announcement.
We stood there for a few agonizing moments, and I took the time to study the banquet hall. It was beautifully decorated, with lush greenery and ornate lanterns that framed the huge windows that lined each side of the giant room. Then the crowd below quieted and a loud, deep voice spoke through a microphone.
"People of Gulbrania, may I present to you your prince, Frederick Vonnegan!"
I took Kirsten's arm and we descended the staircase to loud applause that didn't let up until we reached the bottom. A few members of the press took our picture, and then we stood there awkwardly with everyone staring at us. I didn't know what to do or how to react. Was I supposed to say something? Then two dignitaries came forward to greet me, and the room broke into the pleasant sounds of chatting and laughter. From that point on, there seemed to be an endless supply of important people who wanted to meet me and introduce themselves. At first my conversation with them was stilted and uncomfortable, but after about an hour I fell into a congenial pattern of conversation, and I was actually grateful for Tabitha's etiquette lessons. Kirsten didn't leave my side or even let go of my arm, which was actually fine with me, because whenever there was a lull in the conversation, she jumped right in.
We finally broke away long enough to get a drink, and Kirsten pointed to a tall, gangly teenager with a large nose and beady eyes.
"Do you see that guy?" She whispered, her eyes playful.
"Yeah," I replied. "Why? Is he someone important?"
"No," Kirsten giggled. "I have no idea who he is. But he is so ugly! Have you ever seen anyone so unattractive?"
I straightened, feeling a little sick to my stomach. In just those few words Kirsten had shown me her true colors, and I wondered how she would have felt about me if she had met me just a few months before.
"Yes, actually, I have," I said soberly. "I used to see someone uglier than that every day in my mirror."
She gave me a puzzled look, but then went back to preening for pictures and finding other people to gossip about. I had never appreciated Kayla more. After that I made it a point to go talk to the gangly guy Kirsten had singled out, who turned out to be really funny and nice.
The evening seemed to fly by, and before I knew it, I was on a small stage, preparing to perform for an expectant audience. My fingers were a little stiff as I started to play my guitar, but after a few moments my anxiety melted away as I got caught up in the music that had always been such a helpful distraction in my life. I played and sang the same song I had performed at the school talent show months ago, but there was no screen in front of me, and nobody laughed or made fun of me. When I ended there was abundant applause, but I wasn't sure if it was because they had really enjoyed it or if they just felt obligated to please me.
Immediately following the performance was the ceremonial toast, and all of my nervousness came rushing back. I sat down at a long table as the glasses were filled. My father stood and was saying something about me, but I couldn't concentrate on his words because I was so consumed with what I was about to do. For a moment I considered abandoning the plan, of saving my parents the momentary heartache, but my desire to see Kayla was so strong that I was willing to go through with this bizarre charade. I had the presence of mind to notice that my father was finishing up, and I reached inside my suit pocket to retrieve the powder.
And then, suddenly, an alarm sounded. Most of the people looked confused or afraid, but when I glanced at my dad, he almost seemed excited.
"Citizens of Gulbrania, we are under attack," a sterile voice announced through the speakers. "There are evacuation routes on the east side of the hall. Please evacuate immediately."
There was a grating sound as five large tunnels opened up along the wall on the east side. I watched as large groups of guests in formal wear fled through the openings. A few moments later, the windows shattered as dozens of armed people crashed through them, rappelling onto the floor. There were about 200 guests that had not yet evacuated, and they picked up the pace of their exit at the sight of the obvious danger.
In utter confusion, I scanned the hall and saw my mother and father and a number of their agents and guards engaged in combat with the armed intruders. What is going on? I thought as I stood there, dumbfounded. Then I saw a familiar face.
Over by the refreshment table, I noticed Boris Haugen, the man who had kidnapped me a month ago, grappling with one of the guards. That's when everything started to make sense. This was the Jumerum. And of course it was the Jumerum, who else would be attacking us? But I only got to bask in my revelation for a moment before someone shot me in the shoulder. I was propelled backward from the force, and I fell under the table. I groaned as I grabbed the place where the bullet had hit me, but to my surprise, there was no blood, no hole, not even a tear in my suit. The only thing I felt was a little soreness.
"Frederick! Are you alright?" Alm exclaimed as he slid under the table next to me.
"I… I think so. I thought I got shot, but…"
"It's the Gulbranak," Alm interjected.
"What?"
"The Gulbranak in your suit. It's bullet proof. Look," he said, pointing out at the melee, "we all have it."
I peered over the table and focused a little closer on the fight. It was pretty easy to see who the Gulbranians were because they were all dressed up. I watched the Jumerum fruitlessly firing their guns at their opponents. The bullets just bounced right off of their clothing. One guard raised his arm to protect his face from a shot. Even my mom, who was fighting expertly in a regal ballgown, was effectively shielded from the Jumerum's guns.
"So, are you just going to hide here all night?" Alm asked.
I stared at him. His eyes were oddly bright. "What do you mean?"
"This is your fight too, kid." He smiled at me, then charged back out onto the floor.
I gulped. It was one thing to practice combat in training, but an entirely different thing to experience it in real life. I wasn't sure I was ready for this. I considered just staying under the table while everyone else fought. I needed to stay alive for the Gulbranak, right? I rationalized that it would be selfish for me to go out there and risk my life. But then I watched my parents as they relentlessly battled against the Jumerum. I watched everyone else do their part, and I realized that they were doing it for me, for Gulbrania. And for the first time in my life, I felt a sense of pride for my homeland.
I stood and headed into the battle, attracting the attention of several members of the Jumerum. They all fired their guns at me. One bullet missed, one hit me in the leg, and the rest appeared to be darts, which, luckily, my suit protected against as well. I came up on the side of a large man who was attacking Alm and roundhouse kicked him in the ribs, knocking him to the ground.
"Yes! That's what I'm talking about!" Alm shouted. It was the most emotion I'd ever seen him show.
From there I engaged with a woman with red, spiky hair and a vicious look in her eyes. At first I fought tentatively, feeling weird about attacking a female, but when she head-butted me, I knew that all bets were off. I punched her in the chin while she was trying to stick a dart in me, sending her toppling backwards. I went on, fighting with several other members of the Jumerum, knocking some of them out and getting pretty beat up in the process. I might have been tempted to congratulate myself on my relative success, but I had noticed that some of the Gulbranian agents and guards were hovering close to me, making sure I didn't get shot or taken. At one point a dart whizzed past my ear and stuck into the neck of a guard on my left, and she promptly passed out.
Several minutes later, when I couldn't find anyone else to fight, I looked around and triumphantly realized that all of the Jumerum were either unconscious, incapacitated, or tied up. The Gulbranian guards and agents looked battered, but from what I could tell, they were all alive. The adrenaline that had been coursing through me just moments before seemed to disappear as I collapsed in a nearby chair, feeling exhausted but strangely at ease.
"Is that all of them?" I heard my dad say from across the room.
"Yes, your Highness," Alm responded, "looks like we got the whole organization."
My father smiled and I saw my mom sigh in relief as she wiped some blood off of her cheek. The two of them came together and kissed long enough to make me feel really uncomfortable. "We did it, Evelyn," my father whispered, kissing her lightly again. When they finally broke apart, my dad turned back to Alm. "And how did we fare?"
"Lila got sedated, Bruce broke his leg and Phineas got shot in the hand, but otherwise, everyone is fine, including," he added, pointing to me, "the prince."
My father joyfully rushed over to me and embraced me, which was a little weird, since he hadn't shown much affection in the last few weeks.
"We did it, son!" He exclaimed. "We captured all of the Jumerum! They fell for the trap!"
I frowned. "Trap? So, wait, you knew they were coming?"
"Of course!" My father responded unabashedly. "We purposely leaked the information about your presentation gala and decided to hold it up here on land. We knew the Jumerum wouldn't be able to resist having both of us in one place!"
I felt my temper rising. "You used me as bait?" I shouted. "You guys went behind my back and planned out this whole thing?" I couldn't control my anger. It was too much. They had left me in the dark, again.
"Frederick, it was all completely controlled," my father explained, waving his hand in the air. "Your were protected the entire time. There were a dozen guards assigned to you, your suit is bulletproof, and there's even a deflecting mechanism in your collar that redirects bullets away from you."
I shook my head. I felt betrayed. Never mind that just a few minutes ago I had been planning to fake my own death and run off to Indiana. This somehow seemed a lot worse.
"I just don't know that I'm ever going to be able to trust you," I said, leveling a nasty glare at my father.
He furrowed his eyebrows, looking serious for the first time that night. "Frederick, I'm sorry that we've kept so much from you, but now with the Jumerum out of the way, we can turn over a new leaf."
I rolled my eyes at him. I wasn't going to let him get off the hook with promises. I knew he had his reasons for what he did, and they were probably really good reasons, but I was still mad.
I was about to reply with another snarky comment when the sound of a bullet ripped through the air. I looked around to see where it had come from, but the next moment my father was falling forward and hitting the floor in front of me. There was blood running from the back of his head. I heard my mom screaming.
I managed to tear my eyes away from the impossible scene in front of me to see a man sitting on the floor across the hall, holding a gun. His legs were tied together. He must have wriggled out of his bonds to reach the weapon.
"You'll never kill the Jumerum," he wheezed with a sickly smile, and then he took aim at me.
Another gunshot rang out and the man collapsed. Alm ran over to make sure the man was dead, then he ran to my father, who was lying still on the floor.
I fell to my knees, looking between the lifeless form of my dad and my mother, who was crouched down next to him, shaking with sobs. It all felt so surreal. I couldn't react, couldn't feel. Had my dad really just been killed?
A stocky guard approached me. "Your highness, do we have your permission to take your father to the hospital for final preparations?"
I stared at the guard in confusion. What was he talking about? "I don't… why are you asking me?"
"Your father is dead," my mom managed to choke out. "You're in charge, Frederick. They report to you now."
I felt as if an unknown force was pulling me into the floor. In my silence, the guard spoke again.
"Do we have your permission to defer to the queen?"
"Yes," I whispered, feeling as if someone else was saying it.
Everything became blurry as several guards carefully lifted my father's body and took it from the room, my mother following close behind them.
The rest of the guards took the dead, unconscious, and bound Jumerum members out of the hall, but I barely saw any of it. I couldn't process anything, it was too much. I put my hand on my chest in an attempt to steady my breathing, and I felt something in my suit pocket. The zombie powder. I closed my eyes.
Indiana.
Kayla.
None of that mattered anymore.