Above is Princess Juliana's iconic red peacoat! (Please excuse my messy dorm- I really did clean it up later). Of course, Jules looks a lot better in it than I do. 

.....................

Chapter poll: (because I want this book to be better than my others, and thought making it interactive might help. Results will be published and commented on in the next chapter. The first one will be kinda simple because I'm just trying to see how this goes). 

Jackers

or 

Order of Chance

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For such a long fall, Chase's landing was surprisingly soft. His feet touched gently on the ground before they were joined by his entire weight. Before he could marvel at his newfound grace, he noticed that he was suspended by two bungee cords looped under his arms and had landed on a small, trampoline-like pad. Pulling his arms out of the contraption, which must've automatically attached to him while he was falling, he stepped off the resilient pad and onto solid ground, watching as others did the same on identical pads all around him. These people- members of the Order, he assumed- were dressed in a dizzying in a variety of ways, from formal business attire to superhero-esque black combat suits complete with thigh and hip holsters. 

"See? You made it down alive," Chase looked up to see Juliana and Roy standing in front of the long, tunnel-like hallway that led out of the receiving area and into what Chase assumed was the main body of Order Headquarters. "Let's go," Juliana gestured to the hallway. Chase followed the pair, his eyes wide as he tried to wrap his head around the engineering of the entrance system. It was nothing like anything he'd ever seen at home; he wouldn't have been surprised if it was the only one of its kind in the entire world. 

After about a minute of walking in relative darkness, the tunnel fanned open to reveal a space much larger than could ever fit under the Hesche building. Chase wondered how many of the surrounding buildings the Order had to own in order to carve out such a spacious underground unit. 

Even aside from its overwhelming size, the Order was magnificent. A huge, main bridge arced over Chase's head, its railing decorated with a gigantic glass representation of the Order of Chance insignia- a stylized pair of dice. Elevator-like cylinders shuttled individual people up and down to the many underground levels of the facility at breathtaking speeds while gigantic screens mounted on the walls displayed various messages pertaining to Order business. The largest of these screens glowed with artificial sunlight so realistic that Chase had to remind himself that it couldn't be a window because they were at least six stories underground. 

"Welcome to the Order of Chance," Juliana beamed with immeasurable pride, raising her arms as if to encompass the entire scale of the place. 

"Alright, Miss Dramatic, it's time to go upstairs," Roy gestured to one of the elevator-cylinders. This one was slightly larger- probably for group transport. 

"I'll never cease to be proud of this place, no matter how much of a spoilsport you are," Juliana said with a soft 'hmph,' crossing her arms as she made her way to the elevator, muttering something about ungrateful nobles under her breath. Chase smiled at Juliana's back as he followed her. Roy wasn't intentionally sour- he'd grown up with all this stuff, it was natural that none of it impressed him anymore. But Juliana... she marveled at the Order almost as much as Chase did, gushing over it with childlike enthusiasm. Now he understood why she, a princess with a thousand leadership and social responsibilities, had decided to run a YouTube channel about math of all things. She did it for the same reason she skipped joyously toward an elevator she'd probably been on a million times: she found happiness in taking something mundane and turning it into something beauti-

"Will you stop?" Roy snapped Chase out of his thoughts, rapping on the glass elevator wall behind him with his knuckles. "You've been staring at her like a puppy for the past thirty seconds. It's rather weird, if I must say."

Chase turned red in the face, turning his gaze to the ground so he didn't have to make eye contact with Juliana.

"Oh, stop acting like you're my big brother or something," Juliana rolled her eyes crossly. "Lady Violet told me that Chase watched my entire YouTube channel forty times. Forty times! And I didn't think anyone would make it past the first video, considering how abstruse some of it is. If I'd been waiting my entire life to meet someone and finally got to see them up close, I'd give them a good, long look too!" 

This was something Chase hadn't considered. His mother had told Juliana about his, er, hobby? How much detail had she gone into? The last thing he wanted her to think was that he was a creep... 

"Um, well, I really do admire your work. I'm sorry if it came off as weird- I really didn't mean it like that," Chase mumbled. "I mean, you're a brilliant mathematician, and the way you think about math is just insane. I've never seen anyone else do it your way, if you know what I mean... I'm rambling. Oh dear, I'm rambling, aren't I? Sorry, I'm not great at this whole conversation thing." 

The elevator opened with a ding into what looked like some kind of lobby. Chase looked up to see Juliana and Roy looking at him with puzzled looks on their faces. Oh great, I've made it worse. 

"No worries," Juliana smiled kindly, patting Chase on the shoulder as she made her way out. She and Roy took their Maskeys out from under their tongues, sliding them into their pockets, and Chase followed their lead. He surveyed the area, taking a few steps forward and watching as his shoes sank into the soft carpet beneath them. This was clearly a more exclusive space than the massive hall downstairs: soft background music played from hidden speakers and the area was empty except for what looked like a receptionist behind a nondescript wooden desk at the front of the room. 

"Your Highness! His Majesty is expecting you in the Platinum Boardroom," the receptionist said helpfully, putting down her phone at the sight of the heirs. "And you must be the mysterious Hewkin heir..." she smiled cryptically at the sight of Chase. "Elegant... you take after your mother." 

"Ah, thank you, Mrs. Brumley. Yes, this is Chase- this is his first visit to headquarters," Juliana nodded in acknowledgement, noticing Chase's awkward reluctance to respond. "This way," she gestured to a long hallway leading out of the lobby. Roy and Chase followed her, passing several wooden doors each mounted with a brass plaque inscribed with its name. 

Conference Room. 

Office: High General Serpentine

Rose Boardroom

Silver Boardroom

Office: High General Evarbor

Chase couldn't help but try to read the plaques as he passed by them, but he only managed to discern these few. Finally, they came to what he assumed was their destination: the Platinum Boardroom. It was tucked into a nook at the end of the hallway, which led Chase to assume it was larger and/or more important than the other rooms. In addition to its name, a tiny monochrome version of the Order insignia was etched into its plaque. It wasn't difficult to guess that this was the kind of place where powerful people made important decisions. 

Juliana stepped forward from the group, raising her fist to deliver three sharp, precise knocks to the top of the heavy, wooden door. It swung open from the inside, revealing a heavily illuminated space. The room was arranged somewhat like a theater, with several semicircular rows of leather chairs parted by a wide aisle. Each row was set higher than and contained more chairs than the one below it, and Chase followed the rows down with his eyes to the final and lowest one, which consisted of only four chairs facing the other rows instead of the back wall. Before each of these seats was a small table adorned with a clipboard, a plastic water bottle, and a decorative name plate. Even from near the door, Chase could read the names on the plates: Hewkin, Serpentine, Evarbor, and VanderSchee. Of the four seats, only one was currently occupied- the one labeled VanderSchee. 

"Good evening, grandfather," Juliana bowed her head at the sight of the elderly but energetic-looking man in the seat. The King of Arcana raised a hand covered in gemstone rings to his face, presumably to hide a smile, as his eyes fell upon his granddaughter. "Welcome home, Juliana, Roy," the King turned his head slightly, acknowledging each of his agents. "And most importantly today, welcome home, Chase. I am sincerely regretful that we could not provide you with a smoother transition to Order life. As you must have heard, and which you will realize for yourself, you have entered in the midst of a tense and troubled time. It is our hope that you will shoulder the legacy of your forefathers with pride and fight for your country and for your world." 

"I...I will certainly try, Your Majesty," Chase managed to sputter. 

"Should I bow or something?" he whispered to Juliana. 

"Don't be ridiculous, he's just the King." 

Just the King. Chase didn't know what to say. 

"Delegates, you may take your seats," the King offered. At this, Juliana and Roy, with Chase close behind them, selected adjacent leather chairs in one of the rows closer to the back of the room. Just as they moved away from the door, another group of people came through it: these three looked more like a family than any family Chase had ever seen before. For starters, they were all blond, dressed in flashy Arcanese colors, and quite trim, but the girl was quite possibly one of the thinnest human beings Chase had ever encountered. She was dressed in a baggy green blouse and a tight black skirt with her hair pulled up into two French braided buns on top of her narrow head. Chase watched as her father walked toward the Serpentine seat at the front of the room while she and her mother stayed behind. 

"Ooh, Jules, you look killing today if you know what I mean," she winked conspicuously, her animated, green eyes darting around the room as she slid over to the trio, taking her seat as close to Juliana and as far from Roy as possible. 

"Hayley, you're hilarious," Juliana sighed, pulling the blond girl into a tight hug. "Chase, this is Hayley Serpentine. Hayley, Chase Hewkin." 

"Nice to meet you, Chase," Hayley said between chomps on her chewing gum, extending her right hand for him to shake. "I heard you were raised in America? That's so awesome! You'll have to tell me all about that sometime." 

"You would probably find it very boring," Chase laughed, amused by the animated younger girl. "I mean, considering that you were raised in this place," he gestured to the room around him. 

"I find very few things boring," Hayley asserted confidently, bouncing in her seat. She looked like one of those people who could never sit still. 

She, Juliana, and Chase continued their friendly banter with Roy glaring sulkily at Hayley as more important Order members filed into the room, some removing their Maskeys as they came in and morphing into entirely different people. Soon, the room was nearly full... except for the Hewkin seat. 

"As High General of the VanderSchee line and King of Arcana, I hereby call this meeting into session!" the King announced, his commanding voice instantly stopping the low murmuring chatter around the room. "Delegates, if any of you are aware of the whereabouts of Lord and Lady Hewkin, please stand and speak when addressed." 

Juliana stood up almost instantly. 

"Yes, General VanderSchee?" 

She's an Order general... was the only thing Chase could think as she began to speak. 

"They went to the back of the building to park our van, grandfather. They shouldn't be too long." 

"Thank you," the King nodded. "We will commence by addressing the most important issue facing the Order of Chance at this moment in time: developments concerning the Eagle and the Jackers. Would General Juliana VanderSchee and High Commander Roy Evarbor please preface the issue?" 

"Yes, Your Majesty," Roy stood up, adjusting his coat as the Order members around him turned to look at him. "It started when we went to America to pick up the Hewkin heir- Chase- as per his father's instructions. Our encounter with the Jackers while there was brief, but consequential." 

As he continued his account of the events of the past twenty four hours, Chase found himself looking nervously from the door to the front of the room. It didn't take that long to park a van. Where were his parents?