The Wish Game

Dealing With Consequences

Upon returning to Choire, I got pretty badly scolded by my instructors for my bad conduct. I was grounded for a month and two guards always kept an eye on me. The guards were allowed to use their weapons in case of any other such incident. I was almost imprisoned in the mansion, completely isolated from other contestants.

“Your performance in classes has been very poor. And now for your escape attempt, you’ll be grounded for a month. If you manage to perform well in the upcoming intra-class competition, coming in two months, then you’ll be allowed to attend regular classes.” The warden said when he awarded me my punishment.

I sat gloomily in my room, still trying to overcome my interaction with my parents. There were almost tears in my eyes when I heard a knock on the door. “It’s open, come in.” Two guards came in with a tray and said, “Food.” I got up and took the tray from them and, without turning back, asked them to leave.

“Only one month is left for the competition, shouldn’t you be training hard for it?” A voice came from behind as the guards left and I began to eat. I turned around to find the old lady who helped me escape back then.

“What are you doing here?” I asked her indifferently. “You’re certainly changed into this gloomy self from that optimistic and cheerful little girl back then.” She commented, her voice showing signs of concern.

I laughed, “Say that about someone whose parents threw her away to be cannon-fodder.” She came to me and said, “Don’t be such a pessimistic child. You can have new friends, new family, or even start anew here.” Her face had a motherly smile on it.

“Then, tell me this, why were you helping me back then and why now?” I asked almost unconsciously. “Hmm…You are quite an interesting fella; I don’t remember anyone who’s so interested in answers.”

She cleared her throat and replied, “I saw you for the first time during the governor’s introductory session. Well, before I go into details, do you remember what he said?” I tried to get something out of my brain but failed. I wasn’t attentive during that session at all.

“No, I don’t,” I said straight up. “Whoa, I straight no. Usually, people make excuses if they miss any key information.” She was surprised at my bluntness and I added, “It doesn’t matter. I don’t think anyone would care if I started making excuses.” She sighed at the response.

“You’ll be granted a single wish upon winning the wish games. That being said, I did tell you that I saw you first during the session. I saw through your potential and also the conflict you were facing. So, I decided to help you.” She answered, forcing me to contemplate that particular day’s events.

“How did you help me escape? I simply got the chance and took it. I don’t know what it has anything to do with your help.” She answered smilingly, “And how did you exactly get that chance.” “Well, I…” I thought for a while and it suddenly came to my realization that, “It was too easy.”

The old lady clicked her tongue in agreement and said, “I had everything set up. Almost…” “Almost, what do you mean by that? And what do you want with all this?” The lady took a seat on my bed as I put my food tray on the table and sat on the chair next to it.

“Well, I think you should prepare yourself for this because it’s gonna be a long story.” She said and began. “I have been overseeing the training of the selected candidates and when I saw that you were underperforming in spite of your potential, I had your history dug up.”

She paused for a while and pointed towards my food, “You should continue eating, it’ll get cold.” I looked at the food and back at her, “But you?” She, however, downplayed my concern, “I just had mine, so there’s no need to worry.”

I looked at her suspiciously and took a bite from my food. She looked at me as I ate the food and continued, “I zeroed on the guard that escorted you here and had him tell me the whole story. Then I learned that your parents had to choose between you and your brother and all that stuff.” She kept on smiling and pausing after short intervals.

I processed the information and asked, “Did you spy on me and my family?” Because I had my mouth almost full, the words appeared vague but she understood it well. She replied, “No, I didn’t need to. A little bit of insight was enough to reveal the whole big picture to me.”

“So, I told your guards – the ones who guard you directly, to loosen the security bit-by-bit every day. You noticed the lax quicker than I thought and made the escape.” She paused again and looked into my eyes.

“What happened?” I tried to look away and she replied, “Nothing special, but anyways. After you escaped, it took the administration two hours to realize that you were gone. I followed you when you were making your way to the border of the city.”

“But then.” She closed her eyes and sighed, “I never thought that you didn’t have any plan in your mind when you started. So I had to intervene and give you some…you know what.” By then I had finished my food and asked her, “So, actually you were there to just observe me?”

“Um…yeah kinda.” “And about the dagger and the money?” I asked her and this time she smiled embarrassingly. “It almost slipped my mind that you won’t have any money to travel back. So, I wasn’t that much mad at you for not having anything on your mind. Now that I think of it, maybe because of that scenario you were unable to decide on your future actions.”

“Now I see, the authorities had you pinned down after the event and had the other lady chase me down.” I asked her for confirmation and she replied, “Well it’s partially true and partially not.” “What do you mean by that?”

“They did grill me about that incident and sent me to fetch you back.” “You?” I asked and the lady’s body began to glow. Like the scales of a reptile, the old lady’s disguise fell away and the young lady who escorted me back to Choire emerged from behind.

“What was that about? Who are you?” I shrieked and she laughed, “Look at you. I can’t believe you thought that the old lady was my true self.” I grumped and replied, “As if you gave me any hint or something.”

“Anyway, my name is Mineva. And as I already said, I am the overseer of your training for the games. Till now…” Her sudden addition of till now had me on the edge, “What do you mean by till now?”’

“Well, because now I am your new mentor. Unless you raise an objection, I’ll be giving you one-on-one lessons in the required fields.” “Mentor? Wait, does that mean I won’t be attending classes?” I asked and she winked, “Exactly, you’ll be training under me and will only be taking exams with the class.”

I was a bit confused about this proposal and asked, “Why?” “Well, the answer to this question is twofold. Because of the incidents that happened and your previous interactions in class, it was deduced that you’ll have a hard time catching up.”

I interrupted her in between and said, “That’s a lie. You’re lying.” She was surprised at first but then smiled, “Yes, you’re correct. But that’s the official statement. What happened is that during your infiltration in your village, they watched what you did through transmission crystals. So, they knew what you’re capable of and I volunteered to be your mentor.”

Whatever she said went way above my head but I couldn’t say no. I accepted her offer the same evening and she took me for a conversation with the warden. Everything almost went smoothly and I was exempted from classes. Though most teachers must be more than happy with that.