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Chapter Seven
I was still surprised that Julian Konzern himself had offered a position on the team, but I was in no hurry to complain. Especially after what I was looking at now.
"What's wrong?" Wales asked, looking back at me. The others were heading for a large building off to one side.
"This is…" I trailed off as Fisher took off, flying over the grounds.
"A bit more than you're used to?" Sophie asked, a light smile on her face. I nodded, gazing around the gardens.
"We don't have time to stand around." Julian pointed out, turning to continue towards the large building. I blinked at his tone. It almost sounded like….
"That's right. You have that press conference to discuss the Festival of Warriors." Wales said turning back to follow behind Julian.
"I'm sorry, the what?" I blinked, quickly falling in behind Klaus.
"Festival of Warriors. It's a very special tournament that we hold here in Italy involving a single blader from every country in the E.U." Sophie explained.
"Every year, countries send in their strongest bladers for a chance to claim victory in the name of their land." Wales continued.
"Wow. Sounds intense." I said, glad when Fisher finally landed back on my shoulder. I stroked his feathers as Julian opened the door to the building. As the group stepped in, I paused when Julian turned to face me.
"Right. As a member of Team Excalibur, you are allowed to be there. Expected to be there, in fact." Julian narrowed his eyes. "You will be with me in watching it while Wales and Sophie act as judge." I nodded. Julian turned back around and walked over to the front before turning to face us.
"Alright, listen up. With this festival only days away, we have to get as much training in as possible. Head to one of the stations and get to work." With that, the others gave some sort of salute and headed over to different sections.
"Come on, Ariao! You can join us over here." I looked over where Wales and Sophie were starting with the treadmills.
"Er…yeah. Thanks." I choked out and headed over to them. I wasn't used to seeing bladers train using these hi-tech machines.
"Let's see how well you can keep up!" Sophie challenged, smirking at me. That did it. Narrowing my eyes, I allowed one of the doctors there to hook up some wires and what not before I jumped on and we were off.
"You'll regret that challenge." I promised, setting the speed to match theirs on the treadmill. I caught the look of surprise from Wales and Sophie out of the corner of my eye while Fisher flew around above my head.
"How are you not tiring?" Wales asked, starting to breathe harder. The only response I gave was a soft chuckle. They would find out one day, but for now, I wanted to keep a bit of my secrets…including the training we did at Beylin Temple.
"Alright, you all can break for now." Julian said, coming over to us, a white towel draped over the back of his neck. "It's time for the conference."
"Hold on, we're all going?" I asked, jumping off the treadmill before it could throw me off. Fisher landed on my shoulder again and fluffed his feathers a bit before settling into place.
"It's how we always go." Sophie explained, taking a towel from the closest doctor.
"As the unbreakable Team Excalibur." Wales added, tossing his own towel at the doctor Sophie had taken one from.
"Well, come on then." Julian stated before I could ask any more questions, turning towards the door, grabbing his red jacket on the way.
Looks like I'm not the only one with secrets. I told Fisher.
"Perhaps it is fair that way. But is it really wise to hide so much from them?" Fisher asked me, nudging my cheek with his head.
Maybe…I don't know. We still don't know if they really trust us. It was just so sudden. I sighed as I handed my towel to one of the doctors before hurrying out to catch up to the rest of the team. We were heading towards the mansion and had just rounded a corner when the barrage of reporters tried to press forward.
Wait…it's being held HERE? I was startled by the sudden onslaught of noise and took a step back, only to have Klaus push me forward again. Almost at once, questions were being fired, some of them were curious as to who I was and what I was doing there. As if tired of the questions, Julian finally pulled me up beside him before turning back to the crowd.
"For those of you wondering, this is Team Excalibur's newest member. Our support member, Ariao Wang." He said my name slowly as if he were trying to preserve the moment. There were flashes from cameras everywhere and Fisher let out a small cry of surprise and fear that was probably more of a reflection of my own emotions than his.
Why did he pause like that? Is he… My thoughts trailed off as I glanced at the Excalibur leader from the corner of my eye.
"He could very well be thinking that Dashan will be watching this." Fisher replied grimly. "And if he does indeed get word of it, then it could mean trouble when they meet in battle."
Too right. I told my partner as Julian waved me back to stand with the rest of the team. Once I was back in line next to Klaus, Julian turned back to the reporters.
"Members and bladers of the European Union. It is my great honor and privilege to announce that the time for the Festival of Warriors is almost upon us. Countries, choose your bladers wisely, for victory will not come easy this year, but know that as long as you fight with true honor, you can all take some satisfaction for your countries. I wish you all the best of luck in the coming days." With that, Julian nodded to the reporters and the more intense questioning began.
How is he able to keep so calm? I'd be losing it by now. I asked Fisher, stroking the feathers on his head absentmindedly.
"I suspect he has had a great deal of practice in front of a crowd. The Konzern family seems to be seen as almost royalty here." Fisher replied, rubbing his head against my hand for a moment before turning to look at me. "By the way, are we going to actually get back to practicing tonight?" I smiled at him.
It's time I got back into my old routines. I agreed with a small sigh. And tonight seems like the best time to start.
