"Place your bets! Place your bets here!" they called out.
Upon hearing Yelena's Voice Valek, Janco and Ari looked up from the table where they had been talking. Yelena and her friend were walking around telling people about a bet, but they didn't hear the details. It was then they saw the table with two chairs underneath it, it had ten or so small crystal glasses on it – whisky glasses. Just when Ari was about to get up and ask Yelena about it she walked over to them.
"I guess you want to know what the bets are about?" she asked them. Valek and the Power twins nodded. Yelena smiled at them and sat down next to Valek.
"We're having a drinking competition, just between two people. Well the bets are about who will win. The winner is the person who has at least one more drink than the other person. Normally they only stop drinking when they are: passed out, too drunk to hold the glass or feel too sick to drink anymore." She paused before continuing.
"We have no idea how people normally place bets so we do it our own way, it works for us." She finished talking and looked at the men as if to say 'does that answer your question' they nodded.
"So... what way do you place bets Yelena? I might want to place one myself" Janco asked Ari snorted. Yelena's friend, who happened to be Called Onyx came over to them at that point and heard the question.
"Well, you write down on two pieces of paper who you are backing to win, we keep one and you the other. Our wager for these kinds of bets are fixed this time it's one-hundred, anyway you give your money into us and we put in all into a box and keep it safe. After the competition is over the people who backed the right person get all the money split equally between them. But if it's a draw then the money gets given back. We don't bet on draws so..." Yelena sighed after saying so much in one flow of words. The power twins seemed satisfied but Valek wanted to know the drinkers names – he had the horrible feeling he wasn't going to like it when he found out.
"Who is the competition between?" he asked to the girls.
"Yelena and Oranu, I'll be the one refilling the glasses." Onyx chided before Yelena had the chance to open her mouth. Ari and Janco gaped at Yelena and Onyx before laughing. Valek as he predicted did not like the sound of it one bit.
"Are you sure it's going to be okay? You have to taste The Commander's food tonight, and tomorrow morning. You won't be able to do that due to drunkenness and a hangover." Valek asked Yelena. Her smiling expression dropped slightly. Onyx just slimed brightly.
"Urm... Could you taste it tonight? And if my hangover is too bad tomorrow maybe then too...? Please Valek?" Yelena asked him, Valek sighed looking at Yelena's pleading face he nodded. At this Yelena squealed hugged Onyx before throwing her arms around Valek's neck, hugging tightly and kissing him in the cheek.
"Thank-you Valek!" she sang before skipping off to get more bets. Onyx turned to the men at the table.
"I know she looks like a light-weight and will be no good but I'm pretty sure she'll win, she always has tricks up her sleeve. Don't tell anyone I said that we don't want anyone else backing her, if we're the only ones backing her then we'll get a hell load of money at the end. Yelena and Oranu are backing themselves so Yelena will be included in this big pay out." Onyx concluded and walked off to tell more people about the competition and collect more bets.
Soon it was time to start the competition. Valek, Janco, Ari, Onyx and Yelena all had placed bets on Yelena to win, the other hundred people all thought otherwise. Valek had tasted the two huge bottles of whisky for poison (just to be safe) so it was fair on Yelena (also it was Valek who wanted it tasted and not Yelena). Oranu took the first drink, he finished the glass in three swallows, upturned the glass to show none was left and placed it on the table. Yelena unlike Oranu took the glass and downed it in one, she then continued by doing the same this with the empty glass as Oranu. Taking this as a challenge Oranu tried to mimic Yelena and downed his whisky in one just to realise that it was a big mistake after coughing and spluttering when the liquid burned his throat. Valek could see by the way they were drinking Yelena was a lot more experienced in it.
When about half of the first bottle was gone Yelena's movements became jerky, unconnected. It seemed the whisky was affecting her faster that it was Oranu. He also had unconnected movements but not as much as Yelena. She rested her head on the table and Oranu smirked.
"I guess that means I win then." He said as he got up, no-one noticed Yelena's smile but Onyx and Valek; it seemed Yelena was only acting to embarrass Oranu.
"Did I say I would give up? Get back down, we're not done yet! I will win!" Yelena said in a sly voice. She took her glass, saluted Oranu with it and downed her drink.
"What's this? Can't hold your whisky?" Yelena teased, Oranu's face reddened with embarrassment.
"Oh yeah, I can hold it better than you can! In fact I bet I could last ten more drinks than you could!" he huffed, Yelena's smile grew wider.
"Oh really? I'll take you up on that bet. If you beat me by ten I'll pay out but if I beat you by ten then you'll pay out. Okay?" Yelena asked. Oranu nodded.
"Fifty sound good to you Yelena? Are you rethinking now? HA!" he waited for her answer, it came shortly after.
"Fifty sounds good. And I have nothing to worry about!" she answered. They put both their fifty on the table (Yelena's money was all gone now). Janco saw that Onyx's eyes flashed with excitement.
"What's her limit? How long until she gets drunk, until she passes out, until she gets ill?" Janco asked, Ari and Valek also wanted to know the answer to this.
"well I don't really know, sometimes she gets drunk on a little but then other times she can have loads before getting drunk. It varies, she once downed a who bottle of whisky at once and she was fine but then another time she had two glasses and was out of it. Probably whisky is the strongest thing she's had a lot of. It all varies from beer to whisky you know? And getting ill, no need to worry about that." She finished although not really answering any questions, just making new ones like 'what has she gotten up to' and 'in what situation did she down a whole bottle of whisky by herself?' Yelena brought them back into the competition. The first bottle was empty and the second one was two thirds down.
"Giving up? You know the rules, you have five minutes to start drinking and then five to finish, every last drop otherwise it doesn't count." Yelena asked innocently but with a hint of victory. Oranu looked up annoyed, brought his glass to his lips but did not drink; instead he spilt his drink and fell into an alcohol induced sleep.
Yelena was declared winner. She got reminded that she had her own bet to win now and decided to honour it. Ten glasses were poured out and she drank it all. She took the money that was on the table and stood up.
"Technically I have now drunk eleven more glasses that him. Hmm, there's still some left in the bottle. Anyone want this? Or shall I have it?" she asked the room, they replied that she should have it so she drank from the bottle. Yelena walked over to where Onyx, Valek, Janco and Ari were and was rather co-ordinated considering how much she had had to drink.
"How much we win? I hope you got everyone to bet on me losing." Yelena said to Onyx, who replied with a nod and an absolutely huuuuge grin plastered in her face.
"Yeah. So between us we have won ... ten-thousand. Oh-my, oh-my, oh-my, that the most we've ever won before." Onyx told them, all their jaws dropped, that was a little over what Valek earned in a year (of course it wasn't betting in gold coins).
Yelena just then declared she wanted to dance and dragged Valek into the middle of the floor, everyone who had lost the bet had cleared out do it was just them and the unconscious form of Oranu there. Yelena was drunk, she just was – but her head was clear enough that she still wanted to dance with Valek. So they danced with each-other, then Yelena danced with Onyx and then with Valek again. In the other part of the room, Onyx and the power twins were having a conversation.
"She really does like him, doesn't she?" Onyx sighed; Janco and Ari just looked at her with berwilded eyes.
"What? She never said that, I doubt that she could love him, I mean or one thing they're the people keeping her here and for another he's the one with all the constant tests of loyalty and food taystering..." Janco said slightly going of what he meant by the end.
"Oh no, ii can tell she loves him. He is also the one keeping her alive by being here, life for a life remember? And she's gotten over those, its part of his job – and hers." She answered him.
"Urh, how can you tell she loves him" Ari asked. Onyx smiled wryly.
"Well, Mr power-twin, because I've seen it before... with me, we used to date." At this their jaws dropped again, and Valek and Yelena looked over at them.
"You're not talking about my love life are you now? Don't look so surprised! Who cares if I'm bi?" Yelena called over to them.
Hours past, they all had more alcohol, Yelena got even more drunk. She wanted a kiss from Valek (well she wanted more than a kiss) but Valek said she shouldn't do anything she wasn't going to remember in the morning. Valek had been to taste the Commanders food a while ago and now they were about to retire to their rooms. They bid each-other good night and went to their rooms. Valek walked with Yelena (they were both in his suite) well Valek more liked carried her to the room.
"Hey, Yelena? Can you walk?" Valek asked her just to realise, she was passed out in his arms. He just chuckled to himself and continued on walking. He knew that the servants would be watching and gossiping about this, about what happened today in town, about Valek carrying Yelena in his arms to their Suite but he didn't care.
He got to her room and gently lowered onto her bed, draped the blanket over her. He got a jug of water and put it outside on the balcony, deciding he would let her sleep through the worst of her hangover. Before leaving he placed a kiss on her forehead, smiling to himself when he heard the small, tired, content moan fall from her lips.
The next morning Yelena had the worst hangover in her life. And all that could be heard throughout the suite was the mumbling and groaning of incoherent swearing and the sound of throwing up. But all Yelena could think was 'heh worth it! I won two-thousand!'