The Gamer: Battle Of The Ten Kings

Chapter 11.0

"That's enough." I said and looked out of the window. Dunes of sand reflected the sunlight from as far as the eyes could see. The SUV slowly moved ahead and went up and down like a roller coaster for five year old's. Thinking about the people trapped in Antarctica always made me sad.

"Chinta mat karo. Tum zaroor sabko mana loge. (Don't worry. You'll definitely convince them.)" Lucie put a hand on my shoulder. She was learning Hindi for my sake. I appreciate her efforts very much but honestly, her Hindi pronunciations were terrible. It is a far more complex language than French in my opinion. I was glad to learn that Lucie and I shared a common interest in learning new languages. Our other common interests included Guns and sports. Sports was always the topic on which we fought the most. Supporting different teams and athletes can be a little downer for couples. But at least I am not afraid to admit that we do fight sometimes. Small fights. Life is not always a cruise. But as in combat and in love, the more you fight someone, the more you understand them.  I feel lucky sometimes that I have someone to fight with, someone to love!

I laughed a little at her horrible Hindi accent.

"See. I knew my bad Hindi would cheer you up." She kissed me on the cheek.

"Get a room, you two! When are you getting married, again? Marry already and stop being so lovey-dovey." Dan moaned from the front.

"Shut up Danny! The wedding's still a month away. Concentrate on the GPS device in your hand." Lucie said.

"How far are we Danny?" I said mimicking Lucie.

"Only 6 people in the world get to call me Danny, you maggot! My mother, Charlie, Gina, Rachel, Lucie and your Grandma. That's it. You're not included. We'll be arriving in 10 minutes." Dan spoke in one breath.

"As you say, Danny." I said tongue in cheek.

Dan controlled his annoyance. He knew better than to fight with me either with words or with a sword. We arrived at our destination in the middle of the desert.

"Wake up Markos. We're here." I rolled up the newspaper and hit him on the head with it.

It was a small tent city built just for the summit. The summit would last two days with most Kings arriving early morning on 21st and leaving for their respective kingdoms the next day. We were the last ones to arrive. There were four cars parked in a secluded area. Fifteen Dragons, few of them belonging to Khan, I assumed, sat far away from the tents along with several Pegasi(Flying horses) and a few Griffins(Eagle Lions). Teleportation was not an option since this place was in the middle of nowhere.

A temporary road like structure had been made to the tent city from a few kilometers away. Tents that acted as living quarters for Kings and their entourage were drilled into the sand on both sides of the road. As we got off from our car, a chauffeur came and led us to the two tents that had been assigned to us. Aditya insisted on parking the SUV himself despite the chauffeur's offer.

Lucie had a tent all to herself and the rest of us, including me had to settle for the other tent. Hindu culture not to live with the bride before marriage. Even inside the palace we had separate rooms. Lucie hadn't had a religious upbringing. Her catholic parents had died in a car accident when she was young. Her master, who took her in and trained her was an atheist. They never discussed religion, she told me. She had been very accepting of my Hinduism to my relief and delight and had herself become a believer. She came to the men's tent when Lunch was served to us. Ammon, the Egyptian King was the host for the summit. He had taken care of serving only vegetarian food to me and my friends.

Ammon was a good friend of mine. This summit would be our second time meeting face to face. The meeting, I was told by one of the servants in the tent city, would take place in the largest tent at 6 P.M. sharp. As the meeting between individual Kings continues outside the main tent, the Kings will have buffet dinner. The Kings can talk about trade and pacts among other things.