Before the Big Show
We had two days left, before the big performance would take place. After the big performance, the contests would start. The endurance contest was last in clue, and required a whole day. With the approach of the large performance, more people arrived at the Arena. The crowds got bigger, while even the corridors got packed. We didn't have issues returning to our room though, people were really nice and gave us space.
Mom told me to stay inside the room, while she checked up on grandpa. 'Grandpa is really weird. How can a simple blob be more interesting than all those performances?... I don't understand', I thought and grabbed a book to read. 'I have another hundred and twenty Runes to learn. Suly said these Runes are intermediate and much harder compared with the basic Runes. I wonder how long it will take me to perfect them?', I asked myself. Mom returned a while later, and grandpa was there too. "Did you enjoy yourself today, Anna?", he asked. "Yes! You should watch the performances with us too, they are great", I replied. "Sorry, sorry, grandpa was really intrigued by that slime creature. By the way! I called it Splat, a great name for a slime, eh?", he said while showing me the jar.
'He even named it already…', I thought dejected but nodded. Grandpa opened the jar and let Splat out. The slime wobbled about as it sat on the ground, but didn't do anything else really. 'What a boring pet', I thought. "Look Anna! Splat can already change into a few things", he said and ordered Splat to change into a chair. The slime wobbled a bit , then started morphing until it became a chair. "See!", grandpa exclaimed. 'I mean, isn't that what this creature is supposed to do? Why get so excited?', I asked myself and replied dismissively, "Yes grandpa, very nice".
"Grandpa is sad… Little Anna thinks this is no fun", he said. I just shook my head and didn't reply anymore. "Tomorrow, there will be more performances taking place. Father, you should go as well, that is why we came here after all", mom said. "Sure, of course I will go. I can take Splat with me anywhere I go", he replied while playing around with the slime. Mom just shook her head, and joined me in bed. "Alright father, go get some sleep. Don't stay too long watching that slime", mom added. Grandpa made Splat enter the jar again, then bid us good night. "Men and their stupid hobbies", mom said quietly. "I also don't understand", I added. "Don't worry dear, men are like that. They have their own things in life, they just have to do no matter what. Grandpa is no different", she said and read the book with me.
The next day, grandpa joined us to watch some more performances. He still brought Splat with him, but at least we all enjoyed ourselves. Mom had to take care of something in the evening, so grandpa came to my room to keep me company. 'Mom even works when on a trip. She should get more rest', I thought. Grandpa was useless though. He played around with Splat all the time, and even showed off new things Splat could do. I wasn't that interested, and grabbed a book to read.
The next day was busy, or rather crowded. 'There's a lot more people today. They probably arrived for the main performance', I thought. Moreover, we saw paintings of the star that would perform. "Mom, who is that person?", I asked while pointing at the painting. "You mean what race she is from? She is a Slether. In other words a half-snake, half-Human. Although I say this, Slethers are not related to Humans at all. Just like Flame Monkeys are not related to Atols. I used Humans as it's easier for me to explain. Slethers' population is rather small compared to others, which means they are a minor race here in the North", she explained. 'Her eyes are different too. Unlike those of a Human, and more like those of a snake', I thought. "Mom, shouldn't we get the tickets? Look at the crowd, we might not get any seats if we are late", I said. Mom assured me we had the tickets already, and wouldn't miss the performance.
We roamed the Arena for a while, but I noticed people acted really weird. They bought all sorts of things with the star's face or body painted on it. Clothes, trinkets, paintings and whatnot. I wasn't sure why they needed that, since everyone who bought tickets could watch her perform. 'It's not like I will forget what she looks like, if I don't have her painting…', I thought. I guessed that many things didn't make sense to me, so I decided not to bother about them. Before we watched some performances that day, we went for lunch. Grandpa said he would retire to his room after lunch, but he would join us the next day.
Just as we were about to leave, someone familiar approached us. "Eh? You really did take Anna to see the show?", aunt Alicia asked. "You guys are here too? Great, we can watch together", I said and welcomed them. "I promised her after all. Are you guys heading to see some acts?", mom replied. "We want to grab some food first, then we will head out. You guys are done, right? There is no need to wait for us. Just go and enjoy yourselves, we can join you after", uncle Lazar said. "Ah! Before you go. Here, take this", aunt Alicia said and handed something to mom. Mom didn't seem to like what she got, because she stared at aunt Alicia. "Don't look at me like that. Besides, it's crowded out there...Anyway, we will see you guys later", aunt said. We bid them farewell and went to see the acts.
I followed mom up the stairs, and noticed that we were walking towards the top of the Arena. There were very few people around, which struck me as weird. "Mom, where are we going?", I asked. "Your aunt gave us a private section… that Alicia", she replied. "Is aunt very popular?", I asked. "Yes, she is popular and quite rich too. Next time make her buy something really expensive for you, alright sweetie?", mom replied with an evil grin on her face. 'Mom's evil side resurfaced again', I thought. We entered one of the rooms, where a few comfy looking chars stood in front of a window. I checked the room out, but I wasn't sure why it was such a great place. Maybe it wasn't crowded, but we were so far away from the stage, I could barely make it out. "Mom, I think this place doesn't make sense. It's so far away from the stage, I can barely see what's going on", I complained. "Don't worry, there is a Formation here… There, it's active now", she said as the small stage became bigger. "Huh? How did this happen? I can see the whole stage clearly, and even better than from the seats we usually got!", I exclaimed. "As I mentioned, it's thanks to that Formation I activated. Sit down sweetie", she said.
The seats aunt Alicia gave us were really great, I could see everything clearly, as if I was there with the performers on the stage. One performance later, aunt Alicia and the rest joined us. "How do you like the seats, Anna?", aunt asked. "They are great, I can see the stage much better. I didn't know you were so wealthy", I replied. "Hehe, I'm not that wealthy child, but we don't complain either", she replied. "Tomorrow's performance will be great, Leran can't wait. He's a huge admirer of Selena. You guys will join us here, right?", Suly asked. "Sure. Since Alicia pays, why not", mom replied. They all laughed, but didn't comment any further. "Sister An! Selena is really beautiful. She can sing and dance as well. You will see tomorrow, it's gonna to be great!", Leran said excitedly. "Yea, I'm looking forward to it!", I replied excitedly as well.
"I heard you signed up for the endurance contest?", uncle Lazar asked. "Yes! The winner will get a mysterious pet as a prize. I want to try and win it", I replied. "Hmm, it's not going to be easy. The contest is not only difficult, but you are quite young too. Usually, they admit kids from age twelve to age sixteen. I'm surprised your mother allowed you to take part", uncle said. "It's fine, besides I have something… Oh! There it is", mother said and took out a small leather backpack. "Anna, come over for a minute", she beckoned.
"This will be your backpack from now on. I want you to wear it when you take part in that contest. I will give you some medicine and other things, just in case. It's against the rules to use anything during the contest, but I'm more worried about your health than some contests, alright? If you get hurt, take the medicine and retire, promise me that". Mom was very serious, so I promised her. Although I wanted to win, I didn't want mom to worry too much. "Does this have a Formation on it?", I asked. Mom shook her head, "No, it's just a backpack. Your aunt can place a Formation on it if you want, but it will be useless for you now". I handed the backpack to aunt Alicia, "I want!".
She sighed before taking it. "I will deal with it later, tomorrow you will get it back. Even though you won't be able to activate the Formation, the backpack can still be used regularly. Therefore you don't have to worry, alright?", she said. I nodded, and thanked her. We watched two more performances, before retiring to our own rooms. The next day would be full of excitement. I couldn't wait to find out how Selena performed.