An awkward silence settled over the room.
For a heartbeat, everyone simply stared.
Rianna was still doubled over with laughter, tears in her eyes.
Valdax merely shook his head, though a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Even Keldras and Ereliara couldn’t suppress reluctant grins despite being the subjects of the joke.
A sheepish look spread across Amalica’s face.
“…S-sorry.”
The absurdity of the moment finally eased Alyssa’s embarrassment.
“Well,” Valdax said, pushing back his chair, “that’s enough politics for one day.”
With dinner finished, everyone began preparing to leave.
Alyssa turned to Amalica.
“Is there somewhere children usually play?”
He blinked.
“Where do young elves usually spend their afternoons?”
Amalica hesitated.
“I… wouldn’t know most places. I’ve never really left the royal district.” He scratched the back of his neck.
“There is a park nearby, though. Noble children play games there.”
Alyssa smiled.
“Perfect. There’s one close to Helvindar Manor.”
She turned to Keldras.
“You should go.”
Keldras wasn’t entirely convinced.
The park near his home attracted plenty of noble children, and many of their parents were the same people who had gathered outside the Helvindar gates hoping to curry favor with his father.
Still…
There were a few decent families, Saphira observed.
He nodded to himself.
Valdax gave a simple approving nod.
“Go make some friends.”
When they returned home, Valdax barely waited for the front door to close before waving Keldras away.
“Off with you.”
Keldras sighed.
His father clearly intended to question Rianna about her sister.
He left before he became part of that conversation.
The park was small but meticulously maintained.
Soft blue-green grass shimmered faintly beneath the cavern’s bioluminescent glow.
Towering stalagmites framed an open field, serving as makeshift goalposts.
A narrow stream wound past a quiet pond where giant mushroom trees spread broad caps overhead, their trunks wrapped in thick emerald vines.
“Goooooal!”
The triumphant shout echoed through the park.
A broad-shouldered elf with cropped silver hair stood with one boot planted dramatically atop a leather ball.
He hadn’t even kicked it yet.
Nearby, another boy sat quietly on a bench, thin silver spectacles perched on his nose as he read a book with complete indifference to the celebration.
Above him, a third elf clung awkwardly to one of the mushroom trunks, trying—and failing—to climb onto the cap.
The loud one spotted Keldras immediately.
“Oh! You’re that kid from the other day.” He snapped his fingers.
“The famous guy’s son. Val… something?”
The boy with the book sighed.
“It’s Valdax.”
He closed the book with a finger marking his page.
“I’ve heard your father is an exceptionally talented alchemist.”
Keldras snorted.
“He’s only good at making things explode.”
“Whoa!”
The climber nearly slipped.
He dangled from the mushroom cap for a second before dropping safely to the grass.
Dusting himself off, he grinned.
“Keldras, right? I’m Solnoz.”
He pointed toward the others.
“The grump reading is Filas.”
Filas rolled his eyes.
“And that’s Kronin.”
“The future greatest striker in the kingdom,” Kronin corrected proudly.
“Show-off,” Solnoz replied.
Kronin lightly smacked him on the shoulder.
Filas looked at Keldras over the rim of his glasses.
“Ignore them.”
“They’re jealous.”
“We’re realistic.”
Keldras couldn’t help smiling.
These three felt…
normal.
It was strangely comforting.
Kronin lightly kicked the ball toward Keldras.
“You play.”
Keldras hesitated.
There were no games like this in Blackspire.
It’s simple, Saphira said mentally.
Kick the ball into the goal.
He nodded.
“…A little.”
“Perfect,” Kronin replied.
“You and Solnoz versus me and Filas.”
Filas closed his book with a sigh.
“Reading can wait, I suppose.”
The four gathered in the field.
Solnoz took off, weaving downfield with the ball dancing between his feet.
Kronin charged after him but couldn’t match his footwork.
Keldras watched quietly, studying the flow of the game instead of rushing in.
Solnoz always cut inside after his third touch.
Filas rarely chased the ball.
He waited for mistakes.
Kronin never hesitated once he saw an opening.
Stay available, Saphira urged.
Keldras shifted into open space, giving Solnoz a passing option.
As expected, Filas moved to mark him.
Kronin finally managed to get between Solnoz and the goal and lunged for the ball.
Instead of challenging him directly, Solnoz flicked the ball over Kronin’s outstretched foot.
It sailed over his head, bounced once, and Solnoz casually spun around him to collect it before firing into the goal.
“One–zero!”
Filas patted Kronin on the shoulder.
“Don’t chase him,” he murmured.
“Just be where he wants to go.”
The next possession looked much different.
Following Filas’s instructions, Kronin stayed disciplined.
Every feint Solnoz tried met another obstacle.
A well-timed shoulder check knocked him off balance, and the ball spilled free.
Kronin scooped it up and sprinted downfield.
Keldras moved to intercept, but Kronin shot before he could close the distance.
The ball sailed cleanly between the posts.
“One–one!”
Filas collected the ball and calmly started forward.
Solnoz burst toward him, expecting a long pass.
Filas obliged.
Kronin had only pretended to continue his run.
The instant Filas passed, he spun back toward midfield.
Keldras intercepted—but Kronin was already charging back into the same lane.
Keldras stepped into the passing lane and intercepted it cleanly.
He turned to counter—
A foot hooked the ball away.
Kronin.
They expected me to intercept.
Without hesitation, Kronin fired.
Thunk!
The shot slammed into the post and ricocheted back into play.
Solnoz recovered it first.
Determined to outmaneuver everyone, he relied more heavily on his agility, but Filas anticipated every cut.
Together, he and Kronin gradually boxed Solnoz in, denying him any path toward the goal.
Keldras drifted into open space.
At the last second, Solnoz threaded a pass between Kronin’s legs.
Keldras received it cleanly and pushed upfield.
Filas immediately began closing the angle.
Kronin slid into position.
The same trap, Keldras realized.
He planted his foot as if preparing to shoot.
Both defenders committed.
Instead, he flicked the ball behind his heel.
It rolled into the open space they had just abandoned.
Solnoz was already there.
“Nice!”
He struck it first time.
Straight between the posts.
“Two–one!”
Filas stared at Keldras in surprise.
He figured that out after only a few minutes of watching?
“Ha! Nice play!”
He slapped Keldras across the back.
“You’re learning fast!”
Filas rubbed his chin.
Keldras learned quickly.
Next possession, he’d have to change the tempo before Keldras settled in again.
Kronin got the ball and passed it upfield to Filas.
Filas barely held onto it before passing it back to Kronin.
Keldras tried to get a read on their strategy.
Heh, they’re trying to keep you from guessing their intent, Saphira said in his mind.
Keldras moved to defend their zone, but before he could get there, Kronin fired immediately.
The shot clipped a stalagmite and deflected into the net.
Keldras paused to think.
“Stay on Kronin. Don’t worry about the passes,” he said.
He was convinced he could beat Filas in athleticism.
As long as Solnoz kept Kronin from receiving a pass, they were set.
Filas couldn’t hear what had been said, but he saw the exchange between them and guessed its meaning.
So he intends to force a one-on-one between the two of us, he thought.
Not going to let that happen.
“Play to your strengths,” he told Kronin.
“Solnoz is going to try to intercept the pass when I send it. Don’t let him.”
Solnoz danced forward until Kronin forced him wide.
His hurried pass found Keldras, but Filas was already waiting.
Filas poked the ball free and nudged it toward Kronin.
Solnoz gambled on the interception.
Kronin saw it coming.
Instead of avoiding him, he planted himself.
Solnoz bounced off the larger elf.
“Strong doesn’t always mean fast,” Filas said.
Kronin had his lane.
Saphira laughed in Keldras’s mind.
Bet you didn’t see that coming.
Keldras panicked.
Kronin had an open lane to the net.
Just as Solnoz regained his footing, Keldras rushed to intercept, Filas delayed him just long enough.
Keldras broke free as Kronin shot, stretching out a foot.
He managed to nick the ball…
Kronin’s shot struck the inside of the right stalagmite and ricocheted across the line.
Three-two.
Kronin’s team won.
The four teens were panting heavily.
Filas pointed toward the stream, and the others nodded in agreement.
Keldras splashed water onto his face while Kronin leaned over the bank and took a long drink.
Nearby, Filas cracked open his book once again.
“Heh, we win,” Kronin beamed.
Solnoz splashed a handful of water at him.
“I carried my team.”
Filas scoffed.
“If left to your own devices, you would’ve spent the whole game trying to dribble around everyone.”
“I’d have managed,” Solnoz replied.
He pointed his chin toward Keldras.
“How long have you been playing?”
“Today,” Keldras answered.
The three boys stared at him in surprise.
“Seriously?” they asked almost in unison.
“I watched.”
“I learned,” Keldras replied flatly.
He could feel Saphira rolling her eyes.
You didn’t help that much, he thought.
Saphira scoffed.
Kronin let out a whistle, and Filas adjusted his glasses.
“Not bad,” Solnoz admitted.
Solnoz looked across the stream toward the district wall.
“You guys ever been outside the city? My uncles take me hunting sometimes.”
“Only the trip here,” Keldras replied.
“Nope!” Kronin said.
“Why?” Filas asked curiously.
“We should go.”
Keldras considered the idea.
“Adventure! Count me in!” Kronin exclaimed.
“It’s against the rules,” Filas argued.
“It’s against the rules,” Kronin mocked in a nasally voice.
Solnoz laughed.
“He has a point,” Keldras reasoned.
“Who cares? It’ll be fun,” Kronin and Solnoz said together.
Filas rubbed his chin.
“I could see some alchemy ingredients in their natural environment,” he mused.
“Exactly,” Solnoz said.
Keldras hesitated for another moment before nodding.
“Very well.”
“Tomorrow,” they all agreed.
There we go everything edited, not going to do that anymore that took forever.
Chapters aren’t going up till they’re up to standard now.