Every day, someone lives amid destruction and chaos because of the enforcers. Every day, someone's street fills with gunpowder's haze, a child's laughter turns to tears.

There had been a time when people of Fumedge could stroll in the evening's peaceful quiet. A time when the children caught fireflies in mason jars. But such time is no more.

We are no longer safe, not even in our own home — a place supposed to be the safest in the world.

"Veda, listen to me," Pa speaks so fast now I can barely follow. "Government is familiar with electricity but has secretly banned it. Lucius Sextus wants to destroy any progress towards a better, cleaner source of energy. If the word of it gets out... His steam empire crumbles. I called it a spark, because your Ma liked the pleasant warm orange sparks from our firepla..."

The smack of the leather boot interrupts him mid-sentence. It's so strong that our decrepit, worm-riddled front door gives way and sways forth on its rusty hinges.

An enforcer in a simple white dress shirt and a dark gray buttoned coat with a tall collar stands at our doorstep. His formal pants are tucked into high black boots, and on his back rests a crimson ankle-length cape. Five copies of the man stand behind, but the others wear no wide-brimmed crimson hat.

His face is straighter than a poker player. For a fraction of a second, a corner of the enforcer's mouth twitches upwards, and he says, "The Duke of Lighthaven has ordered an arrest for Otto Igglesden."

"How dare you break into our house?" I yell.

"You call... this... a house?" The enforcer wrinkles his sensitive nose, then shields it with a gray sleeve.

"My father ain't going nowhere." I spit at him through my missing incisor, and the blob lands on his formal black pants.

The man swears. "Careful there, girl. Do you even know who I am?"

"Ye are the chief law enforcer of Fumedge, aren't ye? Ooh, I'm quaking in my boots from your mere presence."

"I am indeed. A chief law enforcer of Fumedge, and an assistant to the Grand Duke. Now, step aside.

"No!" I scream, and push him with all my might. "Get out of our home!"

The man staggers backwards, but then recovers his balance. He pulls out a gun with a murderous glint in his eye, and presses it onto my chest.

"Whatcha gonna do with that?" Foam pools in my mouth. "Gonna shoot me?"

"If you stand in the way of me executing my direct order, I will. I am here as a soldier of his Highness, the Grand Duke, sworn to serve and uphold the law of the Lighthaven."

"A soldier of his Highness, me arse. Ye ain't no soldier. Soldiers serve and protect people, not a stupid law someone wrote onna old piece of paper long ago. You're nothing but a bully. An armed felon."

"Veda," Langdon says in a soft tone. "Let me try." He pushes past me and stares the chief enforcer right in the eye.

The man recognizes him, and bows so low his head is almost reaching the tips of his boots. "Milord Langdon Septimus, I... I had no idea."

"Good morning, gentlemen." The lad salutes every single soldier.

A murmur of "Good morning, Milord," is heard back.

"What is your name, good sire?"

"Tiberius, Milord, but that is hardly the point," the chief enforcer stammers.

"Tiberius." Langdon places his hand on the soldier's shoulder. "Must we resort to violence? What seems to be the problem here?"

"The Grand Duke of Lighthaven sent a wire telegraph to the Fumedge enforcers' office at dawn. He claims the inventor Otto Igglesden is a dangerous man, who sorely violated the law. He ordered me and my men here to retrieve him and take him to the Castle of Lighthaven."

"What nonsense. How am I dangerous?" Pa shakes his head, his bare toe drawing circles in the floor dust.

"I hereby vouch that Otto Igglesden is by no means a threat to the communities of Fumedge and Lighthaven. Will that be enough, Tiberius?"

The lad's got a silver tongue on him that would charm a snake itself, I'll give him that.

"Uh...I... I do apologize, Milord Septimus, but... that is for the Grand Duke to decide. Strict orders. Surely you understand." The chief enforcer shifts from one foot to another.

"And what if he refuses to go, huh? What then?" I jut my chin, ready to headbutt that cocky man.

"Then... there will be repercussions for the entire Fumedge." The man's mouth twists into a malicious grin.

"No need, no need. I will gladly travel to the Castle of Lighthaven with you. I am more than prepared to clear any misunderstandings that might be tied to my name." Pa coughs and raises his hand to halt the discussion. 

He opens a small wardrobe and picks out his only black decent suit. The one he wore at the train station when we said goodbye.

"Pa!" I protest, trying to stop him from putting on his moth-eaten breeches.

"It's okay, Veda." He cups his hands around my face. "I do not wish for harm to befall any of our neighbors."

"But they are going to hurt you."

"You need to let it go, my sweetpea." Pa smiles.

"I can't simply stand here and watch them take you away."

"Just win tomorrow. If you win, you will do everything that needs to be done. Lead the way, gentlemen."

⚙️🕰🗝️🎩⚙

Sleeplessness can be an invitation to brood over my life. To ask myself what isn't working, and how I can make it better — for myself and others.

But to me, it's just agonizing torture. I'm trapped in my chamber of worries; I can't put them into perspective, can't adapt, can't overcome them.

Ever since we came back from Fumedge, Pa has been locked up inna Brig District. Until his evening hearing, that is. I keep imagining what he's going through right now in the Council Chamber. Why are they bloody taking so long?

I pull on a thick fleece nightgown and climb into bed. I take five seconds to realize I'll never fall asleep. And I need to sleep because the final combat is tomorrow.

Every moment I give in to fatigue will be an opening for a Demolisher. An invitation to death.

The hour hand and the minute hand race each other on an antique wall clock. One, two, three hours pass and my eyelids refuse to get heavy. The more anxious I am to find sleep, the more it eludes me.

Finally, I am too restless to even stay in bed. I hop down and pace the floor, heart beating too fast, breathing too short. My bedchamber is a prison cell.

I desperately order my mind to turn off, but it disobeys.

What a coward you are, it says. Playing by the Lucius Sextus rules. You sit in here like a good little girl; preparing for a fight the Duke put you up to.

And it's not wrong.

I shouldn't be here; I should be by my Pa's side.

I approach the window and push the shutters open. When I place my sweaty palms on the ornamented ledge, it's cool to the touch. Sticking my head out into the chill, windy air, I catch my breath at the view.

The Lighthaven twinkles like a vast field of fireflies.

The Council Chamber is just across my dormitory. I walk to a railing at the top of the roof and keep going, trying not to think about getting splattered in a puddle of meat and blood if I slip up.

Through the squeaky clean glass, I glimpse a vast white marble room. An oval wooden table dominates its center, and a bunch of frowny-faced, yawning, boring old people occupy the chairs labeled with tiny enameled panels. Them mus' be the Magistrates and the stuff scribbled on the plaques — their names.

Only two men are standing. One is Pa, and the other one, in his flawless dark-blue uniform with golden epaulets and goatskin breeches — is the Grand Duke of Lighthaven.

He looks straight at me.

I duck behind the nearest chimney as fast as I can, my heart a rabbit caught inna trap.

Has the Duke seen me?

I close my eyes, counting seconds, but nothing happens. No one arrives to open the window. No one yells: "Seize her!"

A droning mumbling reaches me from the room instead, and I prick my ears to get an idea of the conversation.

"Last I checked, science didn't require subterfuge. Lighthaven University did not officially approve your energy meddling. Who authorized your research?" The Duke sounds bored, as if he's asked Pa this same question a dozen times.

"What am I being accused of?" I can't see Pa, but I'm bloody proud of the tranquil tone he employs.

"We accuse you of conducting illegal, risque experiments and endangering the citizens of both Fumedge and Lighthaven. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"The materials I used were not dangerous, I assure you. Yet I now know my actions were against the University regulations. It was reckless, and for that, I am deeply sorry. I ask the Council's forgiveness and I hope I will be allowed to resume my studies."

"Are we to understand that the sparkling lights that were seen in the semifinal Trials battle between the Yellow Champion and the Blue Champion had to do with your research?" An unknown, mellow female voice inquires.

"Just so."

I admire Pa's calm. I would have trampled them all ten times over. There's no use reasoning with the eejits.

"Perhaps, yet to my mind, it came to nothing." The Duke's snide remark has me clench my fists.

"So you are saying Otto Igglesden's study was meaningless?" The same woman asks.

"It was revolutionary!" My Pa interjects.

I smile, clutching the bright red chimney bricks. He is so proud of his energy source.

"Revolutionary how? You are but a senile old fool, meddling with things he doesn't understand." Lucius Sextus sniggers.

"No, please..." Pa's voice becomes more urgent, more excited. "You see, esteemed members of the Council. I was trying to re-create electricity."

"Electricity? Ridiculous. It's just a myth. An old wife's tale. It cannot be fabricated," says the Duke.

"I believe it is possible, and that it has been done."

"Creating electricity was the curse of our world, the Scripts say." Another Magistrate speaks up, a youthful male voice.

"Nonsense. Lucius..." Pa takes on a desperate tone, and addresses Duke by the first name, as if talking to a friend.

There is a momentary pause and then I hear the Duke exclaim, "Let go of me!"

"Surely we, the pioneers of science, can use it for good. We were the champions of its re-discovery, remember? This man and I...," says Pa, "we discovered that we can harness electricity through steam. It spins a turbine, which generates electric current. Once connected to an actuator, it charges a battery. The battery stores the electrical energy." He is getting more and more excited.

I wonder if it'd be better for Pa to deny anything related to this blasted ele-ctricity, instead of telling the Magistrates all of this.

"That is quite enough. I am certain that I have no idea what you speak of." The Duke clears his throat.

"Why do you cower so? Why fear it when we can master it? This is the city of progress, Lucius. Think of the wonders we could create. This technology is real, more efficient than steam power will ever be. No matter what happens here, with me, today, it is going to change the world as we...." Pa coughs.

"No word about this unstable form of energy must leave the Council Chamber." The Duke's voice is adamant.

"Lucius. It is not right to hide it. We should put it out in the open. We should be the ones to lead it. The Empire. The land of progress, equality, innovation. I want to bring electricity to everyone. I know it sounds impossible, but impossible is nothing. When have we ever let the impossible stop us?"

I dare to peek from behind the chimney. The Magistrates are at a loss for words. They must be processing the enormity of what my Pa has said.

Just as the Grand Duke opens his mouth again, the massive Council Chamber door flies open.

My heart skips a beat when I see who passes through it.

L?

Two very upset lookin' constables are at his heels, stammering, "We are very sorry, Grand Duke, we could not stop him from..."

The Duke waves them off with a leisurely movement. As father and son stare at each other, the tension in the air is palpable. 

My mouth hangs open, and I totally forget to return to my hiding place.

"Whatever it is, it can wait. We are discussing an important matter now, Langdon. You will have to schedule a session with the Council."

"Schedule a session with the Council, father? You are the head of the Council and I am your son." L juts his chin in a very me way.

"Exactly. You are my son. These... rash, imprudent actions of yours reflect on the entire Council body."

"My actions? You know what else reflects on the Council? Debating an insignificant case such as this one. This poor elderly inventor has done nothing wrong. I demand you release him at once."

"You demand?" Lucius Sextus chuckles.

"Hear this, father. The citizens of Fumedge are living in the streets. Their lungs are being blackened by the work in the mines and diesel power factories, as they provide luxurious items for us. I have seen it with my own eyes. Young men and women are selling their bodies at the Menagerie. They have to choose between a kingpin who wants to exploit them, and a government who does not care. How about the Council body discussing that, dammit?" His face is beet-red, and his chest heaving, but the lad says it all as is.

I can't help but admire the boy's raw honesty, and his quiet determination. Langdon Septimus speaks from the heart, and I can sense how much the sorrows of Fumedge hurt him. His words show this wonderful compassion, and an awareness of the vulnerability of others.

"Langdon! Language. You will fall silent this instant!"

"I shan't, father. I need to say how I feel, what I truly think. I don't want to live a wrong life and then die."

"That's enough. Barging in here, interrupting a discussion on an important matter... I give you credit for your stunt. Didn't think you had the guts. But this big display, followed by a request for the release of this dangerous man... You're tipping your hand, Langdon. This is a rash, inappropriate and juvenile outburst. It shows you could never be a leader."

Langdon lowers his head and stares at the tip of his boots.

I wish nothing more than to comfort the lad. He stood up for me and Pa the way no one else has.

"I know what you plan to do with the invention blueprints!" The boy's sonorous voice reverberates in the marble chamber.

"And what if you do, huh?" Lucius Sextus circles around Langdon like a dire wolf stalking his helpless prey. "Leave the war games to the big boys, son. You have shown me you are not a winner."

The lad rocks back and forth.

I can see how much these words hurt him.

"Or am I interpreting things wrong? You could not even win against the Demolisher with that ridiculous augment of yours. That... winged armor thing." The derision rings in the Duke's voice.

"I did my best, father, and you... You know it."

"If that was your best, then I am glad I did not have to see you do your worst. You are but a child, Langdon. What do you know of the Empire's politics? You comprehend nothing. You cannot do anything right." The Duke hisses, getting into his son's face. "You were not even born right. You ripped through your mother's womb, killing her in an instant!" His cheeks go purple with rage. "You incompetent, clumsy boy with head in the clouds. Get out of here. Now!"

"And to think I defended you before the citizens of Fumedge," says Langdon, his eyes half-closed. The lad turns around and runs out of the Council Chamber without looking back.

I bite into my lower lip. Poor L. Always so calm and composed. A reliable lad who feels the need to be strong, to extend the hand to others in compassion. Heck, he had done it countless times during the past weeks, to me.

Now I see this vulnerable side to him: the scars, the mess, the fear. And I wish I could stand by him.

"I adjourn this session. We are to continue on the morrow." The Grand Duke slams his fists on the table.

The Magistrates rise one by one, murmuring, but no one protests as they make an orderly exit.

Lucius Sextus waves at the two constables, who sprint towards him in a nervous gait. "Take the prisoner. Back to the Brig with him."

I grit my teeth. Eejit. Another night in that horrible cell for my father. Another shitty day fer me, full of worry. How will I even focus onna final battle?

"Yes, Grand Duke." The two poor, servile sods whimper. "Right away, Grand Duke."

When the Council Chamber is emptied, Lucius Sextus takes a deep breath. He walks up to his seat and stares at a bunch of papers on the table.

I turn my face from the red-brick chimney, my mind set on returning to bed when he speaks.

"Care to come inside, Madam Igglesden?" The Grand Duke says, accentuating the last word with a sneer.

I freeze onna spot. He knew I was there all along!

To the heck with it, then. I push the window open and jump into the Council Chamber.

"Might as well," I say.

"How did you find our session?" The Grand Duke's voice is unusually calm but his watery gaze is sinister, fixated on me like a rattlesnake onna small frog.

"Positively electrifying, Grand Duke." I mock-curtsy.

"Bravery. Risqué. Your mother possessed them both, too. I should have realized the likeness sooner. That fiery hair." He crosses the space between us in two long steps, and lifts my chin between his thumb and forefinger.

I wanna spit 'im right between the eyes, but I refrain myself. I grit my teeth and stare at the marble floor instead, hoping this conceals the fury boiling up inside me.

Must not offend Lucius Sextus. Pa's destiny depends on his good will.

"I would, however, say one thing, Grand Duke."

"Go on." An amused smirk blooms on his lips.

"As a simple girl from Fumedge, I know my thoughts don't hold much weight here. But as Otto's daughter, I have a voice that matters. My Pa isn't always in his right mind. His entire life, he's chased an impossible dream. What he did was, uh, foolish and unwise. But he has a good heart. Please, let him go."

"You are suggesting I let him go? False and perilous claims such as this one cannot go on overlooked. Otto Igglesden must be punished." He drums his fingers on the table.

"I beseech you, Grand Duke. His health is frail and... Are you entertaining the old man's ramblings? He wasn't wrong, was he? The consumption of coal hastens environmental catastrophe in Fumedge. People cannot breathe there. Will the wonders of steam technology free us or enslave us? Can science explain the strangeness of the mind and heart?" I give it me best to sound as eloquent as possible.

"You pose all the right questions." He cocks his head. "A true Volta, indeed."

"You laugh at me? Mock me? Bah. Machines surround ye, but you are as much a machine as they are. There is not a shred of human decency within you." I spit out each word as if throwing a bone to a dog.

"We might still come to an agreement," says the Duke. "I have certain favors to ask of you, Madame Igglesden."

"Whatever it takes for my Pa's life."

"I did imagine you may consider offering your full cooperation, in exchange for the wellbeing of your... father."

He has me right where he wants me, but I don't feckin' care. I'd say anything; do anything, just to see Pa well, and out of that horrible place.

"One: do not use the sparks in the Finals. The audience must forget about them. Two: tell no one the real reason behind the Gaslight Trials. And three: renounce the House of Volta. If you follow these instructions, I give you my word that your father shall be released upon the completion of the final match on the morrow. Do we have a deal?"