Gaslight Trials | The Wattys2023 Shortlister ✔️

4 | A Tinkering in a Workshop

I don't have a clue what the Tinkering is, but I'd best not try my luck, after the lil' stunt I've pulled at breakfast. I lunge at the fries pile, ignoring eggs, bacon, and the fruit.

Taters are taters, after all.

When my stomach feels like it's about to be split open, I lean back and pat it with a content sigh. "Ready when you are."

Sophie chaperones me outside the castle, hauling my tattered rucksack, and I get my first proper glimpse of the Lighthaven, one of the richest cities of the Empire.

The majestic spires, clock towers, and domes glisten in a rainbow of hues that tower into the air. Auto cars glide down the wide paved cobblestone streets — nothing like rattletraps that crawl the roads of Fumedge. Elegantly dressed people with bizarre hairdos and painted faces stroll at their leisure.

None of it feels real, and when Sophie clears her throat and I turn around, I'm even more certain I have stepped into a dream.

Before me, attached to a small carriage, stands a majestic four legged, cream-coated creature with muscular chest. Its mane of pure white floats around the elegant snout. What skullduggery is this? I'm utterly vexed. I reach forth to touch it without a second thought.

The animal snorts and pulls away, the pale strands twisting gaily in the wind. Their wispy ends scatter, shattering the illusion.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" A tiny, chubby man half my size in an elegant black suit barks.

"What's it to ya?" I spit inna dirt.

"That's my horse right there, that's what. You are scaring it."

"A... horse?" I speak the creature's name with a newfound reverence.

"Never seen a horse before?"

I shake my head no.

"What animals pull the carriages in Fumedge?" Sophie leans forward with interest.

"People." I swallow.

When I am seated on the velvet cushion, the coachman clicks his tongue, egging the animal. As we move southward, we pass buildings of a dozen stories tall, with steam powered lifts to take the citizens across the floors. An overhead monorail connects the sections of Lighthaven to the Castle District.

The up-and-down of the carriage wheels disturbs my unpleasantly full stomach and I open the window fer some air before I can vomit me soul out again. Here I am, plump and well-fed, takin a cozy ride inna carriage, while Pa is working hard at home, starving.

The people in Fumedge are starvin. Starvin for fresh meat, for beautiful clothing, for clean air, for rest. 

The people in Lighthaven are starving too. Starvin' fer novelty. When one has everything, one always yearns for more.

As my ride halts in the Commons Pit, I am the last Champion to arrive. Seven identical carriages are parked at the back arena entrance.

Everyone wears the same uniform as me, but their shirts and hooded jackets are in different  color.

When I trot over to join the circle, the Grand Duke frowns at my tardiness.

Seeing Mar in cobalt blue attire, and the Puncher in pumpkin-orange one, confirms my worst fears. She tries to catch my eye, but I ignore her and stare promptly ahead.

What she did was unforgivable.

The Duke steps up on a raised platform and speaks in a sprightly fashion. "Welcome, Champions, to the tour of your very own... Workshop! It is designed exclusively for you inventors." He gestures at us to follow him as he walks through the entrance.