As Leilani narrowly dodges the opponent’s swift sword, she is frowning, trying to remember if she set aside the melon pastry for her after-match snack. Those breads are the fastest selling items at their bakery. Mama Jay usually sets one aside, but sometimes Papa Jay sees it and thinks he missed putting it for sale and takes it away. Melon season is almost over! 

Swish, Clank, Clunk

Leilani internally sighs as she pretends to stumble while dodging one swing and lightly parries another. As per her gladiator contract, she needs to drag this out for at least 20 minutes. She is also trying to look weak so her betting odds grow wider. 

She looks over at her friend and accomplice Jay. He is still sitting with his arms crossed. Damn, we aren't close to the desired odds. 

She looks down at her shirt. Maybe Annabelle can mend it and possibly spruce it up with some embroidery. This shirt is in too good a condition to throw away. She angles herself to take a cut.

“AAHHHH!” She screams and covers her chest. Her shirt is cut, exposing her sexy leather corset. 

The crowd starts whistling at the sight of her exposed corset. 

Her opponent smirks and jeers, “If you take everything else off, I'll show you how to be a woman before you die. HAHAHA”

Her eyes narrow. Creep. But this is the reaction she needs to play the odds in her favor. She taunts her opponent while using one hand to cover her chest. 

She looks over at Jay again. One hand on his chin. Sigh, tough crowd. 

Maybe she can lose her weapon. Man, how does this idiot with his terrible skills expect to win in a gladiator fight? Though I guess that is why he chooses to only fight newbies and women.

Clunk, clunk, CLUNK

“OOHHH!”

Leilani throws her khopesh dramatically, but safely, so nothing gets damaged, and it lands sticking up out of a sandpile off stage. Swords are expensive, and this sword was specially designed to match her stage name. It can't look beat up, or she'll need to buy a new one. The official blacksmith for this gladiator program is a rip off, but everyone is required to use him. Nepotism. She had to secretly bring this to an outside blacksmith and pay hush money so she could have a decent looking weapon. 

She looks over at Jay once more. He's leaving his seat to place the bet. Finally! 

She dodges some more swings to buy time. She spots Jay. He has his hands shielding his eyes. It means the bet has been placed, and she can go get her sweet, sweet melon bread soon!

“Let me show you how a man should fight.”

She runs toward him and fakes a lean to draw a swing. Then she trips him and knocks him on the head as he falls.

The idiot loosens his grip as he is hit and drops his sword. She takes the gladius and before anyone can comprehend what is going on, she drives his own sword into him. 

The crowd is stunned silent. 

Leilani walks off the stage toward her sword, examines it, and swings it to get all the dust off. She returns to center stage, stabs her sword into him once again, and as she pulls it out, flings the excess blood from it at the crowd. 

“WWOOAAHH SEKH-MET SEKH-MET SEKH-MET”

Her stage name is Sekhmet, the goddess of war in some old folklore along with her weapon, a sword that starts straight, but curves halfway though. They are both from the same folklore. She picked it during her gladiator internship. In the 2-rotation internship, there was little training in fighting, it was mostly showmanship, like how to get an audience excited and engaged. If you survived the internship with enough audience favor, you’re granted the right to pack a stage name and offered a 5-rotation contract where you must fight twice a cycle, most opt to fight every 12 sols, so they do not miss the 2 matches needed over a 24 sol cycle. After 150 matches, you get their long term contract, fighting twice a rotation, any match of your choice and with the right to turn down challenges. 

Off stage, she walks toward the staging room. An employee from Cloud's End is waiting outside the challenger changing room, though you would confuse him for a bodyguard the way he is built. 

He glances at her and smirks. “Double dipping, huh?” 

He tosses her a bag of money. After the split and the penalty fee for killing a gladiator, her portion is 15 klouts for this job. Since she finished her gladiator contract young, she now only needs to fight twice a year to be considered part of the Colosseum family of performers. But she still only fights when she can get a substantial payout.

Cloud's End is an intelligence guild masked as Vevertas's grandest event planning organization, including all royal celebrations, the rotation end’s festival, and all the auctions. But Cloud's End's more profitable side is Rainbow. They take any assignment at the right price and handle all underground auctions that can’t be associated with Cloud’s End. With their extensive network and knowledge; anything can be staged. 

The gladiator Leilani finished off was a loan shark with a team of muscle that was exploiting local merchant families. His rates have caused some merchant families to team up and pay for his hit, rather than pay his loan fees. A Klout feeds a merchant family of 4 for a year. 

“I'm efficient,” Leilani said, flashing her business smile.

“Business is picking up since the Rotation’s End festival is near. How about signing up to work on any 5 sols on this last cycle of the rotation? You could even work just the first 5 sols and have the remaining 19 sols free.” 

“You know my answer.”

“That's why I said any five sols in the cycle. We can make sure you can still make your auctions and get paid.”

 Leilani looks incredulously over at Hawk. They enter a playful staring contest. 

Then a light breeze of cold air flows between them, causing them to step away from one another.

“Aegir, the offer still stands for a contract to work at Rotation’s End Royal Ball. Your skills are always welcome” Hawk says as he too flashes a business smile in the direction of the cold breeze. 

“Don't you have work to do?” grumbled Aegir as he leans against the wall with a gruff look on his face.

“You know where to find me,” Hawk says as he is walking away.

“What are you wearing… why are you walking around like that!?” Aegir hissed after Hawk is out of sight.

“It's so hot! What's wrong with just wearing this? Honestly, even this corset is getting warm.” Leilani mischievously starts untying her corset.

Aegir's eyes narrow. He opens the door, roughly pushes her in, slams the door shut, and yells, “Hurry up”. He slumps against the door.

Leilani giggles since she knows he'll be grouchy when he sees her come back out with the same shirt. She didn’t bring a change of clothes since this was a late request.  

She wrapped her blade safely. Since she has no other clothing options, she decides to take off her shirt and wear it like a cape. She slings the wrapped sword over her shoulder and walks out.

Aegir’s blue eyebrow twitches as he looks at what she is wearing,then sighs and takes a strange, shimmering shirt out of his bag and hands it to her. 

“Oh, this is my size.” Leilani is surprised since she was expecting one of Aegir's shirts. 

“Mother was experimenting with new materials. This should help cool you down as you wear it.”

“OH! Please thank Auntie for me!”

Aegir sighs, “She said if you're thankful, come early before dinner so you guys can catch up.”

Leilani flinches. Every time she goes there, they spend hours as models for their work. Aegir's mother is a manipulation magician specializing in coating items with different functional materials. Aegir's father is a manipulation magician specializing in storytelling. He is a highly compensated magician at Cloud's End, which is how Cloud's End keeps its stronghold on hosting all royal events. 

“Has it been a full cycle already?”

Aegir gently sarcastically smirks as says, “I could tell them that you forgot and am now riddled with guilt, offering to spend your next day off with them.”

“Oh handsome and excessively BE-NE-VO-LENT Aegir, how about we go on a date on my next day off!” Lelani hugs his arm and smiles. “We can even have the date at Torresdale! I'll go up to the Academy so you don't need to come down!”

Aegir gave a smug victory smile. “And spend the night. Oh, we need to hurry. Jay is getting ice to celebrate.”

He drags Leilani away before she can negotiate. 

Outside of the Coliseum, the bazaar is rather quiet. Almost everyone is watching the Gladiator matches. They walk a few blocks and start to smell their destination. 

The smell outside Enzuccio Bakery is always amazing. You can smell the bread from a block away in any direction. Jay's parents, Enzo and Elena, took it over from Enzo's parents. Since they are an established institution, they have the luxury to try strange and new items to see if it will be a successful product. Their new shaved ice is such an item. As the hot weather was coming to an end, this would likely be the last block of ice they purchased and made shaved ice with. Rotation's End usually takes place shortly after the great harvest. Though it's warm enough to grow through the winter down here in Veveras, most of the lands toward the Academy and further north are not able to. The Port of Veveras serves as the only way to import any additional needs the land could not provide. 

Leilani and Aegir can hear Elena yelling at Jay from outside, “How are these shaves? You’re just chipping the ice, this is a waste! No one will want this!”

Leilani and Aegir speed up their pace. They need to get to the ice block before Jay ruins any more of it.

“Mama Jay!” Leilani shouts and she runs over and hugs Elena. “How about you take a seat as Ari and I handle the shaved ice?”

Aegir, who is already hard at work using his magic to shave the ice, frowns at her statement. He hates the name Ari. But he doesn't want to argue right now because there is a lemon flavored shaved ice with his name on it. 

Leilani helps make the syrup. It's unfortunately her only cooking skill, turning items like fruit into liquid. Matter of fact anything into liquid: potato, meat, grains. Everything she cooks turns to a mush. She has long been banned from the dinner prep.

As she finishes the syrups, Aegir walks over with 2 bowls of shaved ice. 

He goes for the lemon syrup with a little bit of sweetened cream. 

She is trying to decide what she wants when Annabelle rushes breathlessly in, panting…

Hotel…

Trouble…

Now…