Before the Hobusian Election Begins

“Odell!” Cecilia called out through the blocky Hobusian castle halls. She had been looking for him all morning, but the prince was nowhere to be found.

Ordinarily, such a task would be easy. The first spot to check would be his room, as Odell had a habit of sleeping well past the morning hour. The second spot to check would be the castle garage, where he spent much of his time with the mechanics, and the last spot would be the castle’s ‘game room’ that King Fio would sometimes also be found within.

Odell stood in none of the usual locations, which left Cecilia to float through the castle corridors and call his name.

A gaudy voice called out, “Dear Cecilia! Is my younger brother causing trouble for you again?” The eldest prince, Avon, shouted from the castle floor. Cecilia had not even noticed him; she was too focused on finding Odell to care about his older brother.

“Oh, hi Avon,” she said as she floated to the floor and set her feet firmly on the ground, her shoulders lowered as her natural weight returned. Odell’s elder brother flipped his long hair that flowed down his back like a waterfall and took an extravagant stance.

“He really can be a bother. I try and try to tell him, but he doesn’t listen.”

“Uh-huh, well, I ought to keep looking for Odell. We are supposed to go together.” Before Cecilia could walk or float away, Avon shouted out to her:

“Wait! It would be uncouth of me to let such a beautiful lady search alone!”

“Don’t worry, I have gotten good at finding my fiancé.”

“Such a tragic line; you should not have to find him at all! A good fiancé would be by your side at all times! If I was engaged to you, why—”

“Thank you for your concern, Avon,” Cecilia said. She shook her head and walked away. The older Hobusian prince followed close by her side. “I will be well on my own, you know.”

Avon held a hand over his heart and bowed slightly to Odell’s fiancé.

“I think not! I must accompany you to give my brother a proper earful once I see him!”

“Don’t you have elections to be worried about?” Cecilia asked as they exited the castle into a raised bridge, which extended the hallway to the next building.

“Child’s play! The Fio family has this election once again. Soon you will be talking to the future Hobusian king! You should get into my favor now before I am forced to purge dissenters!”

Cecilia rolled her eyes and said nothing more as they walked back into the castle. Avon tried to keep a conversation with her, but the Hobusian girl focused on finding her missing fiancé. It was after searching a few more locations where Odell had been known to goof off when it must have occurred to the elder brother.

“Fine!” Avon suddenly said as they stood in the castle’s kitchens, “he did say something about seeking the so-called ‘hammer master’ the other day. I think he’s been training.”

“Odell? Train?” Cecilia said. She could not hide the shock on her face. Her future husband had picked up some strange habits since returning home, he talked about wanting to get better in battle, but she had never thought he was serious. “Am I a failure of a fiancé for not believing him?” she quietly added.

With the realization in mind, the duo quickly was able to track down where the master, a burly Hobusian man known as Judas Mack, would be likely to hold lessons. Due to the upcoming elections, the coliseum had its activities suspended, and it was the perfect place to train in secret. After a quick drive across the square and blocky city, the duo entered the stadium seating. Avon wanted to charge in and yell at his brother, and though Cecilia wanted to screech at him as well, she opted to hold off to see just what kind of training the prince was up to.

The young prince stood in the center of the arena, panting and holding the handle of a long hammer lodged in the ground. To his right stood the Hammer Master, Judas, whose face had a firm scowl, and arms were crossed like a pretzel. Cal, the green Needaimus, sat by the master and watched as Odell struggled to lift the heavy chunk of metal over his head.

Judas bellowed. “Good, now swing!”

Odell swung the hammer forward and tried to stop it when it floated just in front of his chest—like swinging a wooden kendo sword—but the weight overwhelmed him, and the hammer cracked into the ground below. Judas shook his head before shouting: “Again!”

They repeated the process, Odell swinging and failing to stop just before hitting the ground each time until the prince’s gray fingers grew too weak to hold the handle. He fell to a seated position and gasped for air. Cal scurried to the prince’s side and patted Odell’s leg with a small green foot, as if to tell him he had done a good job.

“How was that?” Odell asked as he turned to Judas. For a moment, a shaking head was the only reply.

“Terrible!” the hammer master bellowed. “I thought hammer might be fitting, considering your time in the garage, but I’ve seen better potential in Aqueen–ehem, that is, you don’t show much promise as my student.”

Odell’s head drooped as he stared at his empty palms.

Cecilia gritted her teeth and immediately floated above the seating, wailing like a banshee the whole time.

“Odell!” her words seemed to form through the shouting as she wrapped her two long arms around the sitting prince from behind. She held him close while staring daggers at Judas.

Before the hammer master could reply, Odell stood up and pushed his finance’s arms off. He stared at all the coliseum seating, likely checking that no one else was watching in secret—Avon had ducked—and Odell turned back to Judas and bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

“Please, sir, I know I seem hopeless, but I have already tried all the other weapons and am more hopeless with them.”

Judas rubbed the back of his head and looked away.

“I don’t feel right for a prince to bow to someone like me. If you think you want to try again, I can’t exactly argue with your position.”

“Please, sir, don’t consider my position! Avon may very well lose this election and…”

“I would do no such thing!” the elder prince shouted as his head popped above the seating. Realizing that he had made a mistake, he covered his mouth and slowly slid back into hiding; while the other three watched.

“We already saw you! Just get down here!” Cecilia shouted back after Avon’s crown had disappeared from sight.

The elder prince replied in a sing-song voice, “I would never refuse a request from such a lovely lady!” With several skip-like bounds, he arrived with the rest of the group. “My dear brother, don’t you realize you have caused so much trouble for Cecilia? She has been looking for you for a long while now!”

Odell’s yellow eyes grew wide.

“Am I late for something?”

“Beyond late,” Cecelia replied. Cal quickly bonded to Odell’s arm, and Cecilia figured the Needaimus must have put a clock in his field of vision. Odell’s mouth hung open as his fiancé grabbed him by the arm.

“Sorry, sir! Please consider taking me on as a student!” The younger prince shouted as he was pulled away. Judas shrugged and lifted the heavy hammer with ease. He spun it around like a baton and offered the handle to Avon.

“Want to try as well?”

“Oh no, I believe in more refined fighting.” Avon flung his hand through his hair as he spoke. “But I would appreciate it if you would support me in this election!”

Judas spun the hammer again and sat it over his shoulder.

“We’ll see.”

With the hammer master’s last words, he left the older prince alone in the arena, following close behind Cecilia and Odell.